Sunderland, which lost 3-0 at home to Manchester City on Monday night, were booed off the pitch as its Premiership fortunes remained mired in the relegation zone.
Marc-Vivien Foe, Sun Jihai and Shaun Goater found the net for the Mancunians in a one-side, comfortable win at the Stadium of Light which left a bitter taste in the mouths of the Wearside fans.
The home side pushed up from the start, with George McCartney making good progress down the left flank, but they lacked the final, penetrating ball up front.
PHOTO: AP
City grabbed the opening goal just before half-time when the Sunderland defense failed to pick up a hopeful punt upfield by Jihai and Foe outpaced the home rearguard to flick the ball over the on-rushing keeper Jurgen Macho.
Sunderland's defensive problems intensified in the 62nd minute when more slack defending gave City their second goal.
Goater sent Anelka cutting into the Sunderland box from the left and Macho could only parry the Frenchman's cross-shot into the path of Jihai, who knocked home the simplest of chances.
City should have gone further ahead in the 84th minute when Richard Dunne cut in from the left and found Anelka who somehow hit the bar from under the post.
Goater finished off Sunderland however with a neat turn and low shot past Macho in the 87th minute.
Champions league
AP, London
Veteran England goalkeeper David Seaman was to return to the Arsenal lineup to face Valencia in the Champions League yesterday, but French midfielder Patrick Vieira is doubtful after a leg muscle strain on Monday.
While Seaman's return avoided a goalkeeping headache for Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, Vieira's likely absence is a major blow. Wenger said Vieira is only 40-60 to face Valencia in a matchup between two champions which have never won European soccer's biggest prize.
The other Group B game is Ajax vs. AS Roma.
The Italians are missing two injured stars, midfielder Damiano Tommasi and striker Marco Delvecchio. Experienced defender Christian Panucci is another doubt after suffering a back injury in Saturday's 1-0 loss at AC Milan but he travels to Amsterdam in the hope of playing.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
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