Man United finally heading in right direction but Liverpool's losing run goes on

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — The crisis is over for Manchester United. For now at least.

For Liverpool, however, it is a very different story after a fourth straight loss in the Premier League on Saturday. A 3-2 defeat at Brentford delivered the latest blow to the defending champion's trembling title defense and left it sixth in the standings.

United is heading in the opposite direction, a 4-2 win against Brighton moving Ruben Amorim's team up to the heady heights of the top four.

Sunderland, though, is providing the unexpected narrative of the season after a stunning comeback 2-1 win at Chelsea saw it climb to second.

The losses keep on coming for Liverpool.

Not even a frantic fightback at the Gtech Community Stadium could prevent coach Arne Slot suffering a fourth straight defeat in the league, a result that leaves his team four points adrift of leader Arsenal, having played a game more.

“This is a tough one to take. Unfortunately this was another not nice evening to have,” said Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk. "I am sure we will get out of it, but we won’t get out of it by just talking about it.”

Brentford led 2-0 after goals from Dango Ouattara and Kevin Schade. Milos Kerkez then got Liverpool back into the game in first-half stoppage time.

Igor Thiago’s penalty in the second half put Brentford back in control until Mohamed Salah lashed a brilliant shot into the top corner in the 89th. With 11 minutes of added time, the Merseyside club ramped up the pressure in search of an equalizer, but couldn’t find a way through.

It raises further questions about Liverpool's title defense, coming on the back of defeats against Crystal Palace, Chelsea and United. Not since 1984 has Liverpool successfully retained the title.

In all, it was a fifth loss from the last six games in all competitions.

Slot said it was the worst performance of all the losses in the league.

“We didn’t do the basics right, especially the first half, but during parts of the second half as well,” he told TNT Sports.

A third straight win for United extended Amorim’s best league run since he was appointed as coach last November, and provided a sense of momentum not felt for a long time at Old Trafford.

“I think we are improving in the bad moments,” he said. “We can respond in a different way and we feel that we can solve anything. It’s so hard and in football, everything can change in one week, so let’s enjoy today and focus on the next one.”

It was the first time United had won three league games in a row in the same season since February 2024.

Victory also ended Brighton's winning streak in this fixture, which dated back three seasons.

It is still too early to tell if Amorim has turned a corner after such a wretched start to his tenure, including the 20-time champion's worst-ever season in the Premier League last term.

But coming on the heels of last week’s morale-boosting win at Liverpool, the signs are positive, even if Brighton sparked a fightback to make it a nervy finish for the home fans.

A prime source of encouragement for Amorim is the manner in which his summer signings have added a new dimension.

Brazil forward Matheus Cunha scored his first goal for the club with a curling shot from outside the area to give United a 24th-minute lead.

Another new signing, Bryan Mbeumo, also scored twice in the second half, making it three in his last two games, after Casemiro had doubled the lead with a deflected effort before the break.

“The money was well invested,” Brighton coach Fabian Hurzeler said.

It was a former United player, Danny Welbeck, who gave Brighton hope with a brilliant free kick that flew into the top corner. When substitute Charalampos Kostoulas headed another goal in time added on, the tension rose inside the stadium.

Then came Mbeumo's second to snuff out any chance of a collapse and ensure the winning streak continued.

“This needs to be the normal for this club,” said Cunha. "I am so happy to be a part of this. Amazing day, I will remember this.”

Chemsdine Talbi scored Sunderland's stoppage-time winner at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea led after four minutes through Alejandro Garnacho, but Wilson Isidor leveled in the 22nd before Talbi’s dramatic winner in the third minute of second-half added time.

“We have a great team with great players," Talbi said. "We knew we could do the job and we showed it today.”

Sunderland was only promoted this season and moved to within two points of leader Arsenal, which plays Crystal Palace on Sunday.

There was also a late winner at St James’ Park, where Bruno Guimaraes scored in the 90th minute to seal Newcastle's 2-1 victory over Fulham.

Jacob Murphy put Newcastle ahead in the 18th, but Sasa Lukic equalized in the 56th for Fulham.

“We have to learn how to finish. In the first half we could have finished at least 3-0,” Guimaraes said. “We had a lot of chances, but I am happy in the end we scored a goal. In the last few games we have been punished at the end.”

James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Brentford's Igor Thiago reacts after scoring from a penalty kick during the Premier League soccer match between Brentford and Liverpool in London, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)

Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk reacts during the Premier League soccer match between Brentford and Liverpool in London, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)

Manchester United's Bryan Mbeumo, front, celebrates with Benjamin Sesko after scoring his side's third goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion in Manchester, England, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Manchester United's Matheus Cunha celebrates scoring the opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion in Manchester, England, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)

Newcastle United's Jacob Murphy celebrates scoring during the English Premier League soccer match between Newcastle United and Fulham at St James' Park, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, Saturday Oct. 25, 2025. (Richard Sellers/PA via AP)

Newcastle United's Bruno Guimaraes celebrates scoring during the English Premier League soccer match between Newcastle United and Fulham at St James' Park, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, Saturday Oct. 25, 2025. (Richard Sellers/PA via AP)

Chelsea's Reece James, Pedro Neto and Joao Pedro, from left, react during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Sunderland in London, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Joanna Chan)

Chelsea's head coach Enzo Maresca reacts at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Sunderland in London, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Joanna Chan)

Sunderland's Chemsdine Talbi, left, celebrates scoring their side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Sunderland at Stamford Bridge, London, Saturday Oct. 25, 2025. (John Walton/PA via AP)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An ailing astronaut returned to Earth with three others on Thursday, ending their space station mission more than a month early in NASA’s first medical evacuation.

SpaceX guided the capsule to a middle-of-the-night splashdown in the Pacific near San Diego, less than 11 hours after the astronauts exited the International Space Station.

“It’s so good to be home,” said NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, the capsule commander.

It was an unexpected finish to a mission that began in August and left the orbiting lab with only one American and two Russians on board. NASA and SpaceX said they would try to move up the launch of a fresh crew of four; liftoff is currently targeted for mid-February.

Cardman and NASA’s Mike Fincke were joined on the return by Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russia’s Oleg Platonov. Officials have refused to identify the astronaut who had the health problem or explain what happened, citing medical privacy.

While the astronaut was stable in orbit, NASA wanted them back on Earth as soon as possible to receive proper care and diagnostic testing. The entry and splashdown required no special changes or accommodations, officials said, and the recovery ship had its usual allotment of medical experts on board. It was not immediately known when the astronauts would fly from California to their home base in Houston. Platonov’s return to Moscow was also unclear.

NASA stressed repeatedly over the past week that this was not an emergency. The astronaut fell sick or was injured on Jan. 7, prompting NASA to call off the next day’s spacewalk by Cardman and Fincke, and ultimately resulting in the early return. It was the first time NASA cut short a spaceflight for medical reasons. The Russians had done so decades ago.

The space station has gotten by with three astronauts before, sometimes even with just two. NASA said it will be unable to perform a spacewalk, even for an emergency, until the arrival of the next crew, which has two Americans, one French and one Russian astronaut.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

This screengrab from video provided by NASA TV shows the SpaceX Dragon departing from the International Space Station shortly after undocking with four NASA Crew-11 members inside on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This photo provided by NASA shows clockwise from bottom left are, NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui gathering for a crew portrait wearing their Dragon pressure suits during a suit verification check inside the International Space Station’s Kibo laboratory module, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows recovery vessels approaching the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 capsule to evacuate one of the crew members after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 members re entering the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 members re entering the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)