Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas scored twice in extra time as they fought back from two goals down to knock Premier League champions Leicester City out of the EFL Cup 4-2 on Tuesday.
Spaniard Fabregas has played a bit-part role in Antonio Conte’s Chelsea side since the start of the season, but gave the manager a reminder of his talents with two neat finishes in the space of two minutes to turn the third-round tie on its head.
Everton were dumped out 2-0 by second-tier Norwich City at Goodison Park as the club’s former striker Steven Naismith returned to torment his old employers with the opener.
Photo: AFP
Record eight-time winners Liverpool eased past Derby County 3-0 with goals from Ragnar Klavan, Philippe Coutinho and Divock Origi, while Arsenal enjoyed a 4-0 stroll at Nottingham Forest.
Denmark striker Nicklas Bendtner lined up for Forest against his old club, but it was Arsenal’s new arrivals who shone.
Granit Xhaka rifled in the opener from distance and Lucas Perez scored a penalty and a fine individual goal. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain netted the fourth goal in stoppage-time.
Premier League AFC Bournemouth went out in a 3-2 defeat at home to second-tier Preston North End, whose striker Simon Makienok bagged a hat-trick, including an extra-time winner.
Newcastle United progressed with a 2-0 victory at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers, having lost to the Midlands side by the same scoreline in the Championship on Saturday.
Reading won 2-1 away to Brighton and Hove Albion and Leeds United beat Blackburn Rovers 1-0 in all second-tier ties.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
Playing soccer and competing for trophies is the best way that many transplanted Hong Kongers and Macanese have found to stay in touch, and to interact with Taiwanese society, said officials at the Taiwan-Hong Kong-Macau Football Friendship Cup, which was held on April 13. Twelve clubs, mostly of players and coaches originally from Hong Kong and Macau, took part in the tournament in New Taipei City. The event is sponsored by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and the Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council. Participating teams were from the wider Taipei area, Hsinchu, Taichung, Kaohsiung and other areas. They divided into two