ENGLAND
Reds mauled by Tigers
Liverpool’s preparations for the new Premier League season suffered a setback when the Reds were routed 3-0 by Championship club Hull City in a friendly at the KC Stadium on Saturday. Kenny Dalglish handed debuts to new signings Stewart Downing, Jordan Henderson and Alexander Doni, but the Liverpool manager, who used 22 players over the course of the match, witnessed a lackluster display by his revamped squad. Hull took the lead in the 21st minute when fullback Joe Dudgeon picked out Robbie Brady, who gave former Roma goalkeeper Doni no chance with an emphatic finish. The hosts increased their lead soon after when Robert Koren scored with a superb effort from the edge of the penalty area. Dalglish made 11 changes at halftime, sending on former Aston Villa winger Downing and former Sunderland midfielder Henderson for their first appearances, and also introducing Andy Carroll and Charlie Adam, but those four, who cost a combined £83 million (US$135 million), could not halt Hull’s momentum. Downing was just inches away from opening his account within two minutes of the restart when he forced a fine save from Adriano Basso, but Jay Simpson got Hull’s third goal when the striker chested down Kevin Kilbane’s cross and fired home.
UNITED STATES
Red Devils douse the Fire
Three second-half goals lifted English Premier League champions Manchester United to a 3-1 friendly victory over Major League Soccer’s Chicago Fire on Saturday. Wayne Rooney’s goal in the 66th minute got the English giants on level terms in a match played before a crowd of 61,308 at Soldier Field. Rafael da Silva made it 2-1 in the 76th minute, dribbling through the defense and using his left foot to slot the ball through the legs of Chicago’s goalkeeper Jon Conway. Nani added the third in the 82nd minute.
UNITED STATES
Real cruise to another win
Jose Maria Callejon and Mesut Ozil each scored first-half goals as Real Madrid cruised to a 2-1 victory over Philadelphia Union in a friendly on Saturday. It was Real Madrid’s third win, with no losses, in the World Football Challenge, which features North American teams playing visiting European clubs. “I think that clubs in the MLS are much better,” Real Madrid midfielder Kaka said. “I was impressed with the Union. They played very well. They gave us a tough match. They’re a very good team.” Michael Farfan scored the lone goal for Philadelphia in the 80th minute in front of a crowd of 57,305 at Lincoln Financial Field.
GERMANY
Gervinho nets two on debut
Ivory Coast international Gervinho marked his Arsenal debut with both goals in a 2-1 win over Bundesliga side Cologne in a pre-season friendly on Saturday. Gervinho, signed in the summer from French champions LOSC Lille Metropole, played just 29 minutes before he was substituted following a collision with Cologne goalkeeper Michael Rensing. His first goal came after a fine pass from Jack Wilshere, before a Theo Walcott cross set up the second.
GERMANY
Schalke lift the Super Cup
German Cup winners Schalke 04 defeated Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund 4-3 in a penalty shootout on Saturday to take the Super Cup. Schalke goalkeeper Ralf Fahrmann saved spot-kicks from Kevin Grosskreutz and Ivan Perisic to help his team to the silverware. “This win is very satisfying, it’s super,” Fahrmann said.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but