Liverpool downed 10-man Everton 2-0 to move up to fourth in the Premier League table yesterday after another stormy edition of the Merseyside derby.
Second-half goals striker Andy Carroll and Uruguayan international Luis Suarez sealed the points for Kenny Dalglish’s men at Goodison after Everton midfielder Jack Rodwell was controversially sent off.
After a bright opening by Everton, the complexion of the match changed in the 23rd minute when Rodwell was given a straight red by referee Martin Atkinson for a robust challenge on Suarez.
Photo: AFP
The Uruguayan was left writhing on the floor in agony following the tackle, but replays showed Rodwell clearly played the ball. Rodwell protested his innocence to no avail before leaving the pitch.
It got worse for Everton shortly before halftime when Phil Jagielka clattered into Suarez from behind for a certain penalty.
Dirk Kuyt’s spot-kick was low and well-placed, but Tim Howard guessed correctly to pull off a fine diving save as Everton breathed again.
Howard was well beaten soon afterward when Charlie Adam crashed a 25m thunderbolt off the underside of the bar, but again Everton escaped.
The deadlock was finally broken by Carroll in the 71st minute shortly after Dalglish had sent on substitutes Craig Bellamy and Steven Gerrard.
Bellamy surged forward and released fullback Jose Enrique down the left who crossed from the byline. Kuyt cleverly ducked out of the way of the cross for Carroll, who hooked his shot into the corner beyond Howard.
Liverpool wrapped up the points on 82 minutes when a dreadful defensive mix-up involving Sylvain Distin and Leighton Baines gifted Suarez a straightforward finish to make it 2-0.
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