Promoted Brighton and Hove Albion’s promising English Premier League campaign continued on Monday as they twice came from behind to earn a 2-2 draw at home to Stoke City.
The visitors went ahead through Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, but Pascal Gross equalized just before halftime, only for Kurt Zouma to head Stoke back in front moments later.
Jose Izquierdo then leveled for Brighton on the hour to earn a deserved point.
A third straight home draw frustrated some supporters, but Brighton manager Chris Hughton put the point into perspective.
“When you have been behind twice you have to show character and we did. We were not at our best today. Stoke are a very manly team, we had to stand up to that,” Hughton said. “We have to be realistic. We are playing against better teams and better players, and if you can’t win games then try to make sure you don’t lose them.”
The draw leaves Brighton in ninth place on 16 points from 12 games, while Stoke are 15th on 13 points.
The hosts were furious when a penalty appeal was turned away after Glenn Murray fell under a Ryan Shawcross challenge and after the game the Stoke defender conceded he had brought down the veteran striker.
“I think I clipped him. The referee didn’t have the best angle. It probably was a penalty,” Shawcross said.
“It’s an away point and you have to be happy with that. Brighton didn’t create too much of note so we are disappointed with the goals we conceded,” Stoke manager Mark Hughes said. “Overall, we were very much in control of the game. I suppose we have to be happy with the result.”
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