Fernando Torres returned to form in stunning fashion as his double-strike inspired Liverpool’s 2-0 win over champions Chelsea, while Andy Carroll gave Newcastle a surprise 1-0 victory at Arsenal on Sunday.
Torres had scored just twice this season before Chelsea’s visit to Anfield, fueling talk that his lackluster displays were a sign he is keen to leave the Reds.
But the Spain striker was back to his predatory best as he netted with a cool finish from Dirk Kuyt’s pass in the 11th minute and then curled a brilliant second past Petr Cech from the edge of the penalty area just before halftime.
Those two lethal finishes condemned Chelsea to their second league defeat this season and left Carlo Ancelotti’s league leaders just two points ahead of second-placed Manchester United.
Liverpool’s victory extended their recent revival to four successive wins in all competitions and lifted Roy Hodgson’s team into midtable.
“He is a vital player for us and would be any club. You can’t have success if you don’t have front players who do a good job for you,” Hodgson said of Torres. “He wants the club to do well and can see we’re moving in the right direction. He couldn’t say much when [the] club was in the throes of being sold, but like myself he sees a bright future with new owners.”
Ancelotti added: “Liverpool played very well and at 2-0 down it was difficult to come back in the game. Torres played very well and scored two fantastic goals.”
“We are still top of the table. It’s impossible to win every game, sometimes you lose, but the team showed the same mentality and strength. We don’t have to react — we have to win the next game,” he said.
At the Emirates Stadium, Newcastle’s Carroll finally made headlines for the right reasons as the striker gave the Magpies a shock victory over Arsenal.
Carroll, who along with teammate Kevin Nolan had been the subject of lurid tabloid newspaper allegations about his private life hours before kick-off, netted the winner when he rose superbly to beat Arsenal ’keeper Lukasz Fabianski to Joey Barton’s free-kick moments before the interval.
That was enough to ensure Newcastle claimed a third successive league victory, while Arsenal’s title challenge was dented by their third defeat of the season.
The Gunners failed to offer enough of an attacking threat despite dominating long periods of possession and a miserable afternoon was summed up by the dismissal of Laurent Koscielny in added time.
Mario Balotelli eased the pressure on Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini by scoring twice before being sent off in the 2-0 win against West Bromwich Albion.
Balotelli netted twice in six minutes in the first half at the Hawthorns before he made a rapid transformation from hero to villain with a straight red card in the second half for a reckless kick at Youssouf Mulumbu, who was also later sent off.
City had lost their last three matches, but were more menacing thanks to the return of Carlos Tevez and his cross allowed Balotelli to bundle the ball over the line in the 20th minute.
Balotelli ruthlessly capitalized on suspect Albion defending from Gabriel Tamas six minutes later to beat goalkeeper Scott Carson with a low drive.
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