Arsenal bounced back from two successive Premier League defeats in emphatic style by thrashing Wigan Athletic 4-0 at the Emirates on
Belgian centerback Thomas Vermaelen got two for Arsenal in a one-sided affair, while Fernando Torres grabbed a double as Liverpool overcame a West Ham side who twice came from behind.
Aston Villa also gained ground on the leaders with a 2-0 home win over Portsmouth, who are still without a point after six games.
PHOTO: EPA
Promoted Burnley’s good start continued when they beat Sunderland 3-1, with two goals on debut from on-loan striker David Nugent. Birmingham City beat Hull City 1-0 away, while Bolton Wanderers and Stoke City drew 1-1.
Arsenal began the day nine points behind leaders Chelsea, but were back to their imperious best on home soil against Wigan Athletic.
Their early control was rewarded after 25 minutes when Vermaelen headed in a corner.
Vermaelen, already looking an astute summer signing, doubled the lead with a superbly taken left footed curler four minutes into the second half.
Emmanuel Eboue got the third on the hour when he diverted an Eduardo Da Silva shot after the Croatian’s initial effort came back off a post.
Cesc Fabrega backheeled the fourth in the last minute.
Liverpool went ahead after 20 minutes when Fernando Torres burst through in the area, but West Ham United, with only one win over the Reds in nine years, equalized with an Alessandro Diamanti penalty after Zavon Hines, who hit a post early on, was brought down by Jamie Carragher.
Dirk Kuyt restored their lead after 41 minutes when he diverted a Steven Gerrard header into the net, only for Carlton Cole to level again at the end of the half.
Liverpool gradually exerted more pressure and took the points when Torres nodded in Ryan Babel’s cross after 75 minutes.
Yesterday’s early kick-off:
• Manchester U 4, Manchester C 3
Tainan TSG Hawks slugger Steven Moya, who is leading the CPBL in home runs, has withdrawn from this weekend’s All-Star Game after the unexpected death of his wife. Moya’s wife began feeling severely unwell aboard a plane that landed at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday evening. She was rushed to a hospital, but passed away, the Hawks said in a statement yesterday. The franchise is assisting Moya with funeral arrangements and hopes fans who were looking forward to seeing him at the All-Star Game can understand his decision to withdraw. According to Landseed Medical Clinic, whose staff attempted to save Moya’s wife,
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt yesterday backed Nick Champion de Crespigny to be the team’s “roving scavenger” after handing him a shock debut in the opening Test against the British and Irish Lions Test in Brisbane. Hard man Champion de Crespigny, who spent three seasons at French side Castres before moving to the Western Force this year, is to get his chance tomorrow with first-choice blindside flanker Rob Valetini not fully fit. His elevation is an eye-opener, preferred to Tom Hooper, but Schmidt said he had no doubt about his abilities. “I keep an eye on the Top 14 having coached there many years
ON A KNEE: In the MLB’s equivalent of soccer’s penalty-kicks shoot-out, the game was decided by three batters from each side taking three swings each off coaches Kyle Schwarber was nervous. He had played in Game 7 of the MLB World Series and homered for the US in the World Baseball Classic (WBC), but he had never walked up to the plate in an All-Star Game swing-off. No one had. “That’s kind of like the baseball version of a shoot-out,” Schwarber said after homering on all three of his swings, going down to his left knee on the final one, to overcome a two-homer deficit. That held up when Jonathan Aranda fell short on the American League’s final three swings, giving the National League a 4-3 swing-off win after
Seattle’s Cal Raleigh defeated Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero 18-15 in Monday’s final to become the first catcher to win the Major League Baseball Home Run Derby. The 28-year-old switch-hitter, who leads MLB with 38 homers this season, won US$1 million by capturing the special event for sluggers at Atlanta’s Truist Park ahead of yesterday’s MLB All-Star Game. “It means the world,” Raleigh said. “I could have hit zero home runs and had just as much fun. I just can’t believe I won. It’s unbelievable.” Raleigh, who advanced from the first round by less than 25mm on a longest homer tiebreaker, had his father
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