Resurgent AC Milan overcame the dismissal of Serie A debutant Mark van Bommel to seal a 2-0 win at Catania on Saturday and power seven points clear at the top.
The combative Dutch midfielder, signed from Bayern Munich in midweek, was sent off for his second booking nine minutes into the second half, but four minutes later Robinho had the ball in the net after Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s fierce free-kick was parried.
The hosts pushed hard for an equalizer with their one man advantage, but Milan grabbed a second goal when Ibrahimovic tucked away Robinho’s cross after 85 minutes to show that the Rossoneri’s lackluster form this month is behind them.
The win put Milan on 47 points, ahead of Napoli, who were scheduled to host Sampdoria yesterday, and an overachieving Lazio side also on 40 points after a 2-0 win over mid-table visitors Fiorentina.
Milan’s battling victory could prove crucial in the Scudetto run-in as Catania are always tough to beat in Sicily and demanding new coach Diego Simeone was making his home debut.
“We did really well, it’s difficult to play here. This three points is very important for us,” Robinho told Sky. “It was tough to play 10 against 11, but this is a team that sticks together. We’re playing better now than a few weeks ago.”
Milan, whose resilience was all the more impressive given they had five midfielders injured, next host Lazio tomorrow, with both sides on a high.
Czech striker Libor Kozak bagged two second-half goals to give the Romans victory over Fiorentina.
Kozak, who at one point looked set to leave in the transfer window, opened the scoring from the penalty spot in a niggly encounter after being fouled by Per Kroldrup in the 69th minute.
Soon after, the gangly forward netted a close-range header to continue the fairytale for a modest team who narrowly avoided relegation last term and suffered a recent wobble.
Fiorentina handed a debut to Swiss former Lazio midfielder Valon Behrami, but again lacked any bite and fans will hope top striker Romanian striker Adrian Mutu’s apology last week for walking out on training will lead to his reintegration into the squad.
Injury and suspension-ravaged champions Inter, now 12 points adrift of Milan in fifth place, were to host Palermo yesterday.
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