Leaders Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw by Aston Villa in the English Premiership on Saturday, while Bolton Wanderers beat Liverpool 2-0 to move up to second.
Beginning the day two points clear of Manchester United and Portsmouth, Chelsea looked set for another victory when Didier Drogba put them ahead at Stamford Bridge after just one minute.
But Aston Villa, who have made a superb start to the season under new manager Martin O'Neill, hit back and Gabriel Agbonlahor headed them level on the stroke of half-time.
PHOTO: EPA
"The result is not fair. One team tried to win, the other tried to get a draw," Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said.
"I think it was our best game of the season. We produced incredible football and I think 10 great chances. I wouldn't have been surprised if they had scored a winner at the end. It just wasn't our day," he said.
The result moved Chelsea two points clear of Bolton, who upset Liverpool with a typically physical performance at The Reebok.
Goals from Gary Speed and Ivan Campo gave the home side victory.
Eidur Gudjohnsen and Javier Saviola scored to help defending champion FC Barcelona defeat 10-man Athletic Bilbao 3-1 and take a three-point lead in the Spanish league on Saturday.
Gudjohnsen, replacing injured Samuel Eto'o, struck Barcelona's second goal from Xavi Hernandez's pinpoint pass in the 61st minute, while substitute Saviola added the third 16 minutes later to seal his team's victory on coach Frank Rijkaard's 44th birthday.
Saviola hadn't scored a league goal for Barcelona since 2004.
Bilbao took an early lead in the fifth-round game at its San Mames stadium through Fran Yeste but was then hit by the 19th-minute ejection of left back Javier Casas, and an own-goal by Ustaritz Aldekoaotalora just before the interval.
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