Sunderland, which lost 3-0 at home to Manchester City on Monday night, were booed off the pitch as its Premiership fortunes remained mired in the relegation zone.
Marc-Vivien Foe, Sun Jihai and Shaun Goater found the net for the Mancunians in a one-side, comfortable win at the Stadium of Light which left a bitter taste in the mouths of the Wearside fans.
The home side pushed up from the start, with George McCartney making good progress down the left flank, but they lacked the final, penetrating ball up front.
PHOTO: AP
City grabbed the opening goal just before half-time when the Sunderland defense failed to pick up a hopeful punt upfield by Jihai and Foe outpaced the home rearguard to flick the ball over the on-rushing keeper Jurgen Macho.
Sunderland's defensive problems intensified in the 62nd minute when more slack defending gave City their second goal.
Goater sent Anelka cutting into the Sunderland box from the left and Macho could only parry the Frenchman's cross-shot into the path of Jihai, who knocked home the simplest of chances.
City should have gone further ahead in the 84th minute when Richard Dunne cut in from the left and found Anelka who somehow hit the bar from under the post.
Goater finished off Sunderland however with a neat turn and low shot past Macho in the 87th minute.
Champions league
AP, London
Veteran England goalkeeper David Seaman was to return to the Arsenal lineup to face Valencia in the Champions League yesterday, but French midfielder Patrick Vieira is doubtful after a leg muscle strain on Monday.
While Seaman's return avoided a goalkeeping headache for Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, Vieira's likely absence is a major blow. Wenger said Vieira is only 40-60 to face Valencia in a matchup between two champions which have never won European soccer's biggest prize.
The other Group B game is Ajax vs. AS Roma.
The Italians are missing two injured stars, midfielder Damiano Tommasi and striker Marco Delvecchio. Experienced defender Christian Panucci is another doubt after suffering a back injury in Saturday's 1-0 loss at AC Milan but he travels to Amsterdam in the hope of playing.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB