Garry Rodrigues scored a stoppage-time winner as Cape Verde beat Chris Hughton’s four-time winners Ghana 2-1 to go top of Group B in the Africa Cup of Nations.
Rodrigues took advantage of a mix-up in the Ghana defence to tap the ball into an empty net and give his side a deserved victory in Abidjan.
Jamiro Monteiro had put the islanders ahead in the 17th minute and Ghana had a goal ruled out by the VAR before Alexander Djiku got them back on level terms with a stooping header, 10 minutes into the second half.
Ghana goalkeeper Richard Ofori made two vital saves before substitute Rodrigues pounced at the death to secure all three points.
It was another disappointing result for the Black Stars, who last won the title in 1982 and failed to get out of the group stages in 2021.
Hughton’s side were without West Ham forward Mohammed Kudus due to injury but it was defensive lapses which proved costly and Monteiro was left with a simple tap-in to open the scoring after Ofori palmed a shot from Jovane Cabral straight into his path.
Ghana thought they had equalised in the 36th minute when Majeed Ashimeru rifled a superb long-range strike into the bottom corner, only for it to be ruled out following a lengthy VAR check.
Referee Jean-Jacques Ndala Ngambo eventually decided that Ransford Konigsdorffer, who had unwittingly hit the post moments earlier when the ball was palmed onto his head by Vozinha, was blocking the view of the goalkeeper inside the area.
Djiku did equalise in the 56th minute as he headed home Jordan Ayew’s corner and the defender also produced a vital block at the other end from Bebe’s scuffed shot.
But just as the game looked set to fizzle out, Gilson Benchimol took advantage of a blunder from Mohammed Salisu to nip in front of Ofori and set up Rodrigues for the easiest of winners.
Carragher lambasts Salah's 'selfish' contract talk
Jamie Carragher has criticised Mohamed Salah for being “selfish” after the Liverpool forward indicated he would more likely than not leave the club at the end of the season.
Salah suggested he was “probably more out than in” following his match-winning brace at Southampton that sent league leaders Liverpool eight points clear at the top of the Premier League.
His second goal of the two was his 100th away from Anfield for Liverpool in all competitions, but with his contract up at the end of the season, Salah is yet to receive a new offer.
Carragher was disappointed in the Egyptian’s decision to cast doubt on his future with clashes against Real Madrid and Manchester City fast approaching.
"Right now, there's obviously a big difference in the valuation. What Salah and his agent value themselves at, whether that's financially or in terms of length of contract, to what Liverpool do,” Carragher explained on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football.
"So the reason Liverpool wouldn't have offered a contract yet is because Salah will turn it down, so they're still in talks. I'm desperate for them to meet in the middle, but I am very disappointed with Salah.
"Liverpool have got Real Madrid midweek and they've got Manchester City at the weekend, that's the story for Liverpool right now.
"We’re all quite aware, certainly the local reporters are in Liverpool, that in the seven years he's been at the football club he's stopped in the mixed zone twice, which is his right, which is absolutely fine.
"But he decided to stop for the third time away at Southampton on the back of winning Liverpool the game and putting that out.”
Liverpool came back from behind to win 3-2 on the south coast with Salah sealing the three points from the spot seven minutes from time.
The right-winger has 16 goal contributions already this season (10 goals, six assists), leading Liverpool for goals and assists. He also boasts the best goalscoring rate in the squad, with a goal every 106 minutes.
His form has been invaluable to new boss Arne Slot, who has won 10 of his 12 Premier League games in charge of Liverpool (D1 L1), the joint-fastest any manager has reached double figures for wins from the start of their career in the competition.
It places the Merseyside team in a strong position to reclaim the league title.
"Now the most important thing for Liverpool this season is not the future of Mo Salah, it's not the future of Virgil van Dijk and it's not the future of Trent Alexander-Arnold,” added Carragher.
"The most important thing is Liverpool winning the Premier League. That is more important than any of those players, and if he continues to put comments out or his agent keeps putting cryptic tweets out, that's selfish, that's thinking about themselves and not the football club."
Arsenal must be 'ruthless' to earn statement win at Sporting, says Arteta
Arsenal need to be ruthless to secure a win against Sporting and snap their negative run of form away from home in the Champions League, manager Mikel Arteta said ahead of Tuesday's clash.
Winless in their last four European outings, Arsenal arrive in Portugal following a 1-0 defeat against Inter Milan at San Siro earlier this month.
Arteta's side currently sit 12th in the new Champions League 36-team format, where the top eight teams qualify automatically for the last 16, and the next 16 enter a two-legged playoff to join them.
The Spaniard acknowledged that improving their away form is key to his team's chances in Europe's top-tier club competition.
"It's certainly something we have to improve. We have the right steps, and looking back at the way we played against Inter, we dominated the game and should have won," Arteta told a news conference on Monday.
"But the reality is you have to make it happen, and we didn't. Those steps are what we need to take next - be ruthless and much more efficient in the opposition box.
"We wanted to be higher (in the standings), but it's the position we are in right now.
"We have to play in a way that's going to give us a chance to win the game and fight to do it as quickly as possible. Tomorrow we have a great opportunity to do that."
It will be the seventh meeting between Sporting and Arsenal in European competition. The Portuguese side are still looking for their first victory over the Gunners (D4 L2), though each of their last three meetings have ended level.
Sporting, who thrashed Manchester City 4-1 in their last outing, are enjoying an outstanding campaign, remaining unbeaten in second place with 10 points. However, they are now without former manager Ruben Amorim, who has departed to Manchester United.
Arteta acknowledged the Portuguese champions pose a major challenge for Arsenal but also offer an opportunity for a morale-boosting triumph.
"The run they are on is incredible, which tells you it's not only about their qualities but their ambition and the team energy they have. That's the great challenge we have," he said.
"To come here tomorrow, make a statement, and show that we are capable against this kind of opponent by being ourselves and winning the game."
Howe bemoans 'strange decisions' from Newcastle in West Ham defeat
Eddie Howe bemoaned some "strange decisions" and individual errors as Newcastle United lost 2-0 against West Ham at St James' Park.
Newcastle's three-match winning run in all competitions was halted as goals from Tomas Soucek and Aaron Wan-Bissaka earned West Ham victory in Monday's Premier League clash.
Soucek's 10th-minute opener came via a free header from a corner, while Wan-Bissaka had space inside the box to get a shot away for his goal early in the second half.
At the other end, Alexander Isak failed to find the target from any of his six shots, including one Opta-defined big opportunity at 1-0 down.
Reflecting on the defeat, Howe told Sky Sports: "It was a mixed night for us. In the first 60 minutes, although we were 2-0 down, we played some good football.
"But I was disappointed by the two goals we conceded and the last half-hour was really disappointing. We got our organisation wrong and made a couple of individual errors.
"If you leave a player with Tomas Soucek's aerial ability unmarked, you are going to pay the price. It's something we have to learn from.
"I was always confident we were in the game and there was a very good chance we could come back. But we missed some gilt-edged chances in the first half.
"I didn't feel we really got going in the second half. We made some strange decisions. I didn't like the end part of the game."
Newcastle have now lost two of their past three Premier League home games, as many losses as in their previous 20 outings at St James' Park.
The Magpies tasted defeat against West Ham in the Premier League for only the second time in 11 outings and dropped one place to 10th in the table, four points adrift of the top four.
"It's a really difficult one to take," Newcastle defender Lewis Hall told BBC Sport. "It was a massive game for us. We'd have been two points off second if we won.
"It was a frustrating game for us. We had a lot of the ball. When you are on top, you have to find a way to put the ball in the net, which we didn't do today."
Newcastle have failed to find the net in three of their past six league games and have just 13 goals for the season – only Everton, Crystal Palace (both 10) and Southampton (nine) have fewer.
"We know we can score goals," Hall added. "This season, we've defended better than we've attacked. But last season, we attacked better than we defended.
"It's about doing both. My message to the fans is to stick with us. Everyone works so hard throughout the week."
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