Ahmed Mido and Robbie Keane scored to give Tottenham a 2-0 victory at Manchester City on Wednesday as Martin Jol's team took a firm hold of fourth place in the Premier League and moved within a point of Liverpool.
It was the Hotspurs' fourth victory in five visits to Man City, and Jol's team opened up a six-point advantage over north London rival Arsenal in the race for next season's European Champions League spots.
Spurs dominated the first half hour and capitalized on a 31st-minute blunder by City defender Sylvain Distin.
The centerback tried to let a Spurs pass go out for a goalkick but misjudged the speed of the ball and Aaron Lennon dispossessed him by the line. The midfielder drew goalkeeper David James out line and laid the ball back to Egyptian striker Mido, who scored with a first-time left-foot shot.
Spurs' South Korean defender Lee Young-pyo was carried off with a leg injury in the second half after a fierce challenge by City's David Sommeil.
Spurs scored a second with three minutes to go when goalkeeper Paul Robinson's clearance was headed on by Mido, and Keane ran through to shoot powerfully past James.
Mario Regueiro and David Villa scored second-half goals and Valencia beat regional neighbor Villarreal 2-0 in a first-leg game of the fifth round in the Copa del Rey.
Both sides attacked frequently, including Villarreal, who rested Argentine captain Juan Roman Riquelme for the match.
Reguiero put Valencia ahead in the 53rd and Villa all but secured the victory 13 minutes later by converting a penalty after being pulled down by Villarreal's Argentine keeper Mariano Barbosa, who was sent off for the foul.
In other games, Deportivo La Coruna dominated second-placed Osasuna 3-0 while Celta drew 1-1 with Betis.
Elsewhere, it was: Cadiz 3, Sevilla 2 and Getafe 0, Espanyol 1. On Tuesday, it was Zamora CF 1, FC Barcelona 3 and Athletic Bilbao 0, Real Madrid 1.
Pedro Munitis put Deportivo La Coruna ahead in the 11th minute and Juan Carlos Valeron doubled the lead a minute before halftime. Argentina's Lionel Scaloni added the finale in the 85th minute.
Jesus Perera put Celta in the lead with a 22nd-minute penalty but Argentine teammate Matias Lequi allowed Betis to equalize with an own-goal in the 79th minute.
Croatian striker Nenad Mirosavljevic and Uruguayan forward Alexandre Medina scored two minutes apart to put Cadiz ahead 2-0 by the 27th minute and an own-goal by Sevilla's Ivica Dragutinovic gave Cadiz a three-goal lead by the 59th.
Malian Frederic Kanoute tried to rally Seville with goals in the 71st and 89th minutes.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care