Manchester City missed the chance to regain a place in the top four in the English Premier League on Sunday when they were beaten 2-1 at Wigan Athletic.
The big-spending Lancashire side struggled to produce the end product and a controversial penalty decision proved to be the difference, with Zaki converting to lift the home side into the top half of the table.
Antonio Valencia ripped a 30m shot past Joe Hart for the first goal on 16 minutes, but City, who again fielded Brazilian Robinho, equalized six minutes later when Wilson Palacios’s attempted clearance hit Vincent Kompany and went past Chris Kirkland.
But on 33 minutes, Wigan regained the lead thanks to a contentious penalty decision. Javier Garrido and Palacios contested the ball in the area and the Wigan man fell dramatically and referee Steve Bennett awarded a penalty, which Zaki scored.
Brazilian Elano flashed a good attempt wide on the hour mark and Stephen Ireland stabbed a shot past the post five minutes later, while Kirkland saved well from Shaun Wright-Phillips.
Wigan battled for every ball and Zaki almost made it 3-1 late on, forcing Hart to tip a fine curler over the bar.
The result leaves City eighth, with nine points, five off the lead, while Wigan moved up to tenth, one point behind.
Portsmouth occupy ninth spot after they beat bottom side Tottenham Hotspur 2-0, thanks to goals from Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch.
The home side had conceded 10 goals in their previous two games but they were back on song against a Spurs side looking toothless in attack and short on confidence.
Defoe put Portsmouth ahead from the penalty spot after 34 minutes, after a handball by Jermaine Jenas.
Spurs thought they should have had a penalty of their own when Aaron Lennon’s cross hit Lassana Diarra’s arm, but the referee waved play on.
Crouch then headed the second goal for Portsmouth midway through the second half and though Diarra was sent off for two bookings late on, the home side were comfortable winners.
Juande Ramos’s Tottenham side have just two points from their first six games and sit bottom, two points adrift.
“It was a great result for us,” Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp said.
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