Dubai: There was no shortage of sporting action this weekend, with the Premier League showcasing some upsets, cricket, golf and more, providing plenty of standout performances and some big disappointments.
Check out the Gulf News’ winners and losers from a packed weekend of sport, as we look at the biggest stars, teams and talking points from the action.
Winners
Brentford: The Bees produced one of their most impressive performances of the season by beating Chelsea 3-0 at the Gtech Community Stadium. The Bees scored all three goals after the 60th minute, with Jaidon Anthony, Igor Thiago and Fabio Carvalho finding the net. The victory kept Brentford unbeaten after five Premier League games and moved them up to third with nine points.
Brighton: Albion celebrated their 125th anniversary in style by beating reigning Premier League champions Arsenal 3-0 at the Amex Stadium. Pascal Groß and Charalampos Kostoulas scored before Chema Andrés completed the victory, handing Arsenal their first defeat of the season.
Brighton have now scored eight goals across their last two league games after also beating Coventry 5-0.
Raphinha: The Brazilian continued his extraordinary start to the La Liga season by scoring a hat-trick in Barcelona’s 3-1 comeback win over Sevilla. It was his second consecutive league hat-trick, taking his tally to 12 goals in seven La Liga appearances. The victory also maintained Barcelona’s perfect league record and kept them at the top of the table.
Shadab Khan and Antigua & Barbuda Falcons: The Barbuda team won their maiden Caribbean Premier League (CPL) title after defeating Jamaica Kingsmen by eight wickets in the final. Shadab Khan played a major role in their campaign and was named Player of the Tournament after scoring 132 runs and taking 11 wickets, including a hat-trick in the playoffs.
The award capped a strong comeback for Shadab, who said he had been struggling for the previous couple of years and needed a performance like this to regain his rhythm and confidence.
J.J. Spaun: The American golfer responded to his omission from the U.S. Presidents Cup team by winning the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. Spaun shot a final-round 67 to finish 17-under and two shots clear of Rory McIlroy, Aaron Rai, Adam Scott and Manuel Elvira. Spaun admitted that being left off the Presidents Cup team gave him extra motivation, saying he played with a “huge chip on his shoulder.”
Middlesex County Cricket club: They ended a 36-year wait for a List A trophy by beating Leicestershire by 31 runs in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup final. Ryan Higgins produced a maiden List A century, rescuing Middlesex from 71-5 alongside Harry Duke in a crucial 135-run partnership. Middlesex eventually posted 231 before dismissing Leicestershire for 200 to secure their first one-day trophy since 1990.
England: The Three Lions swept Sri Lanka 3-0 in their T20I series after an eight-wicket victory in the third match at Old Trafford. Jos Buttler smashed an unbeaten 62 from 32 balls as England chased down 125 in only 9.4 overs. The clean sweep moved England back to No. 1 in the ICC men’s T20I rankings, replacing India at the top.
Smriti Mandhana: The Indian star made history by becoming the leading run-scorer in women’s T20I cricket. She surpassed New Zealand’s Suzie Bates during India’s Asian Games semi-final against Bangladesh, moving beyond Bates’ previous mark of 4,758 runs. Mandhana’s record added another milestone to an already prolific international career.
Losers
Real Madrid: Los Blancos suffered their second La Liga defeat of the season after losing 2-1 to Atletico Madrid in the Madrid derby.
The result left Jose Mourinho’s side with 15 points from their opening seven matches, which is his second-worst start as Real Madrid manager, behind only the 11-point tally from 2012-13. Madrid also sits six points behind Barcelona after the opening seven rounds.
Arsenal: Mikel Arteta’s side’s perfect start to their Premier League title defence ended abruptly with a 3-0 defeat at Brighton. Pascal Groß, Charalampos Kostoulas and Chema Andrés scored as Brighton handed the champions their first loss after four consecutive league victories. It was also the first time Arsenal had conceded three goals in a Premier League match since December 2023.
Gable Steveson: The Olympic gold medallist’s highly anticipated UFC heavyweight bout against Sean Sharaf lasted just 12 seconds. Sharaf landed a devastating left hook to hand Steveson his first professional MMA defeat. The result was particularly striking given the amount of confidence and trash talk surrounding the fight, with Sharaf entering as a massive underdog and emerging with one of the biggest upsets of the UFC weekend.
Ben Shelton: The American endured a difficult Davis Cup weekend as the United States were eliminated by the Czech Republic. Shelton lost to Jakub Mensik 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, a day after being beaten by Jiri Lehecka, meaning he failed to win either of his singles matches. The defeats came shortly after Shelton’s run to the US Open final, where he beat Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals before losing to Alexander Zverev.
