Branislav Ivanovic’s second-half goal earned Chelsea a 2-1 victory against Aston Villa as the Premier League leaders moved seven points clear at the top on Saturday.
Manchester City’s draw against Hull enabled Jose Mourinho’s side to extend their lead in the title race as the Blues boss finally claimed a first-ever win at Villa Park in six attempts.
Villa’s goal drought had ended at precisely the 11-hour mark after Jores Okore had canceled out Eden Hazard’s opener, yet Serbia defender Ivanovic had the final say with the winner midway through the second half.
Photo: Reuters
It was not until that goal had gone in that Villa manager Paul Lambert opted to introduce Christian Benteke, whom he dropped from his starting line-up, but the Belgian striker could not stop his team sliding to within two points of the relegation zone.
A positive afternoon for Chelsea was completed when deadline day signing Juan Cuadrado, a Colombia international, was handed a 79th-minute debut as a substitute.
Chelsea moved ahead in the eighth minute through lead-up work from midfielders Oscar and Willian, the latter moving menacingly toward goal before his cross-shot was seamlessly swept home by Hazard.
Photo: Reuters
It was a 13th strike of the campaign for the Belgium international and only the second goal Mourinho had ever seen his side score at Villa Park.
Villa supporters struggled to contain their mounting frustrations and a cluster of fans held up placards with big arrows which they pointed toward Thibaut Courtois’ goal.
Lambert expressed his bitter disappointment at the manner in which his team “threw the towel in” during their 5-0 thrashing against Arsenal the previous weekend.
There was no repeat of that lethargy in this feisty encounter. While Villa struggled to create clear-cut openings, Chelsea defender Gary Cahill could count himself somewhat fortunate to escape when Gabriel Agbonlahor’s shot appeared to strike his arm inside the penalty area.
Mourinho’s team lacked their early fluency and it was Villa who made the more purposeful opening to the second half, with Andreas Weimann driving a shot narrowly over the crossbar.
Then came the moment Lambert and Villa’s beleaguered support had been waiting for.
Carles Gil hoodwinked Oscar before accelerating down the left channel to cross to the far post, where Okore escaped his marker to head home.
Cue delirium at Villa Park as what will go down as the worst run in the club’s 141-year existence finally came to an end.
Mourinho has had few fond memories to previously recall at this stadium, yet his side at least had time on their side.
Swiftly, they reasserted their authority on the match with Willian twice seeing efforts flash agonizingly wide before the breakthrough arrived in the 66th minute.
Okore, having failed to clear his lines, turned from hero to villain as possession was gifted back to Cesar Azpilicueta, whose cross was emphatically converted by Ivanovic’s fine left-footed half-volley.
Within two minutes Benteke had been called upon, but he could not make a difference.
Instead it was left, predictably, to Mourinho to take center stage at the final whistle as he ventured onto the pitch to orchestrate the visiting Chelsea supporters’ celebrations.
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