Salah's goal record, unstoppable Atalanta and the big Netflix WWC deal
Kick your Monday off with all the news from this past weekend
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
This morning’s newsletter — the last one of 2024 — is highlighted by Mo Salah’s goal exploits as he tries to lead Liverpool to another Premier League title in his final season with the club.
Over in Italy, Atalanta are unstoppable after recording an 11th straight win and remain first in Serie A. While title dreams aren’t too far from the thoughts of Atalanta fans, Napoli (who are just two points behind) hope to spoil the party as we head into 2025.
While many of Europe’s top leagues play over the next two weeks, the newsletter will be taking a much-needed break for the holidays. The newsletter will return Jan. 6.
And with that, here are the biggest storied from this past weekend:
Premier League: Salah sets yet another goal record
Mohamed Salah just keeps piling on the goals.
The Egypt striker scored twice and set up two more in Liverpool’s 6-3 win at Tottenham on Sunday to become the first player to reach double figures for both goals and assists before Christmas in a Premier League season.
“It’s something that makes me happy and proud. I just keep working hard,” he said.
Salah leads the league in goals with 15 — two more than Manchester City’s Erling Haaland.
Salah has won the Golden Boot for the leading scorer in the Premier League three times before — on his own in the 2017-18 season, before sharing it in 2018-19 and again in 2021-22.
Serie A: Atalanta records 11th straight league win
League leaders Atalanta remained atop the Serie A table following Sunday’s 3-2 win against Empoli.
The result marked the club’s record-extending 11th consecutive Serie A win.
Charles De Ketelaere scored two goals on Sunday and African player of the year Ademola Lookman grabbed the other as Atalanta restored its two-point advantage over Napoli, which had put the home team under pressure with a 2-1 win against Genoa the previous day.
With the game tied at two, De Ketelaere sent the home fans into ecstasy four minutes from time when he scored from the edge of the penalty box despite facing three defenders.
Atalanta, who won the Europa League last season, have never won a Serie A title.
Women’s World Cup: Netflix signs U.S. broadcast deal with FIFA
The revolution won’t be televised — it’s going to be streamed.
Netflix has secured the U.S. broadcasting rights to the Women’s World Cup in 2027 and 2031 as the streaming platform continues to make inroads into live sports. The deal, announced on Friday, is what The Associated Press called “the most significant FIFA has signed with a streaming service for a major tournament.”
“Bringing this iconic tournament to Netflix isn’t just about streaming matches,” Netflix’s Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria said. “It’s also about celebrating the players, the culture and the passion driving the global rise of women’s sport.”
Netflix dipped into live sports last month with more than 60 million households watching the heavily hyped boxing match between retired heavyweight legend Mike Tyson and YouTuber Jake Paul.
That event, however, was plagued by glitches after some viewers reported streaming problems.
In other news: Former England midfielder George Eastham, a member of the country’s 1966 World Cup winning squad who was better known for his social activism, has died at age 88. Stoke City announced Eastham’s death late Friday, saying it was “immensely saddened” to lose a “club legend.” It did not specify a cause of death. … Ivan Juric was hired as the manager of Southampton on Saturday and was quickly challenged with the task of preserving its place in the Premier League. Juric replaced Russell Martin, who was fired last week with his team on the bottom of the table. He most recently coached Serie A side Roma. … Kylian Mbappe added to his scoring streak with a superb strike in Real Madrid’s 4-2 win against Sevilla in La Liga on Sunday to finish the year on a positive note after hitting what he called “rock bottom” earlier this month. Mbappe sent a right-footed shot into the upper corner 10 minutes into the game for his fourth goal in as many games with Real Madrid in all competitions.