No Xhaka, no party: Sunderland suffer a heavy defeat without their captain Granit Xhaka. Manchester City bounce back against the bottom club, Liverpool continue to weaken.
24.01.2026, 15:54
24.01.2026, 21:37
SDA
Premier League promotion contenders Sunderland lost 3-1 at relegation candidates West Ham in the 23rd round and failed to temporarily climb back into a European Cup place. Xhaka was not involved in the game due to an ankle injury. It is not yet known whether the midfielder will be out for longer.
The match at West Ham was Sunderland's second competitive game without Xhaka since his move from Bayer Leverkusen last summer. It was the second time they had lost. West Ham, who are third-bottom of the table, managed to close the gap to the non-relegation places with their second win in a row.
Manchester City got back on track four days after a 3-1 defeat in the Champions League at Bodö/Glimt and four league games without a win. Coach Pep Guardiola's team won 2-0 at home against bottom-placed Wolverhampton thanks to goals from Omar Marmoush and Antoine Semenyo and reduced the gap to leaders Arsenal to four points, at least temporarily.
Liverpool continue to weaken in the new year. The champions lost 3-2 at Bournemouth after an unrewarded comeback. After Virgil van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai had erased a 2-0 deficit, Amine Adli scored in the 95th minute to secure victory for Bournemouth. In the wake of the four draws and the misstep at Bournemouth, Liverpool are in danger of losing 4th place on Sunday.
