Premier LeagueAustralia striker Mark Viduka's 90th minute winner saw Middlesbrough beat English Premiership champions Chelsea 2-1 at the Riverside on Wednesday.
Emanuel Pogatetz headed in a Fabio Rochemback free-kick with 10 minutes remaining to level the scores after the visitors, in their second league match of the season, had seen £30 million (US$56.7 million) striker Andriy Shevchenko score his first Premiership goal for the Londoners in the 16th minute.
It gave 'Boro's rookie manager Gareth Southgate a notable scalp especially as he had seen his side surrender a 2-0 lead on Saturday and end up losing 3-2 to Reading.
PHOTO: AP
Elsewhere Manchester United made it two wins from two, and so went top of the table, by defeating Charlton 3-0 at The Valley, with goals coming from Darren Fletcher, Louis Saha -- his second in two matches -- and veteran striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Fletcher pounced on a slip by Jonathan Fortune and kept his composure before firing past Scott Carson and finding the roof of the net.
Saha then fired an unstoppable low shot past Carson late on before Solskjaer produced a composed finish from Saha's cross.
"It was a great performance by us with Gary Neville ruled out this morning and others missing, it's a real demonstration of how strong the pool is," said United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. "It's a maturing team, the young players like Fletcher and O'Shea are growing up."
And Ferguson was especially pleased Solskjaer had score his first league goal for three years after career-threatening injuries.
Australia's Tim Cahill came off the bench to grab an equalizer for Everton in a 1-1 draw against Blackburn at Ewood Park.
South African striker Benni McCarthy had opened the scoring early in the second half, his shot creeping in following a run into the area by David Bentley.
Everton had a penalty appeal turned down before Cahill then swept home after confusion in the Rovers penalty area.
It was a tale of two penalties as Jimmy Bullard's stoppage-time spot-kick cancelled out El-Hadji Diouf's 73rd minute penalty to ensure a 1-1 draw for Fullham against Bolton at Craven Cottage.
Diouf opened the scoring after Gary Speed was brought down by Luis Boa Morte but Abdoulaye Faye's handball gave Bullard a chance to level.
Meanwhile Martin O'Neill's first home game as Aston Villa manager ended in victory as his side came from a goal behind to defeat Premiership newcomers Reading 2-1 at Villa Park.
The visitors took the lead after four minutes when Korean star Seol Ki-Hyeon twisted and turned on the right flank before crossing for Kevin Doyle, who headed home from close range.
Villa leveled after 34 minutes through Juan Pablo Angel's penalty after Ibrahima Sonko brought down Luke Moore, with the Royals center-back receiving a red card. Gareth Barry nodded in the winner from Peter Whittingham's cross.
Manchester City and Portsmouth played out a goalless draw at Eastlands in a match where Pompey midfielder Pedro Mendes was carried off on a stretcher after being sent crashing into the advertising hoardings by Ben Thatcher.
Champions League
Arsenal booked their place in the Champions League group stage but needed a late comeback to spare their blushes and see off Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday and 5-1 on aggregate.
The English Premiership side -- last season's beaten finalists -- led the Croatian title-holders 3-0 from the third qualifying round first leg in Zagreb and were looking to cruise past them again in the first European-level match at Arsenal's shiny new home.
But the visitors' Brazilian forward Eduardo scored in the 12th minute to give Dinamo a shock lead.
Gunners skipper Freddie Ljungberg headed a 77th-minute equalizer and French midfielder Mathieu Flamini scored an injury-time tap-in -- set up by teenage starlet Theo Walcott -- to seal Arsenal's first win at their new stadium.
"We had a sloppy start and then it became difficult for us because we were in shock and when you don't start very well it is always difficult to come back in a game in a convincing manner," Gunners boss Arsene Wenger said. "It is a relief because you know how much implication that game has on the whole season. We knew that was a tricky tie."
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and