Chelsea held their place in the Premier League’s top four by bouncing back to beat Watford 3-0 on Saturday after Manchester United briefly powered past them with a 5-2 rout of struggling AFC Bournemouth.
Third-placed Leicester City also got back on track with Jamie Vardy reaching 100 top-flight goals in a comfortable 3-0 win against Crystal Palace, while Arsenal dealt a blow to Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Champions League chase by winning 2-0 at Molineux Stadium.
United’s front four of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Bruno Fernandes and Mason Greenwood, who netted twice, were all on the scoresheet as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men hit five goals in a home Premier League game for the first time since 2011.
Photo: AFP
“Confidence is sky high. You get energy and confidence by performances and results and we are getting that at the minute,” said Solskjaer, who is feeling the benefits of a 16-match unbeaten run. “I have enjoyed the last few games to be honest and it is healthy. You don’t age as quickly.”
Bournemouth are moving fast in the other direction as they remain second from the bottom and the Cherries’ defensive problems were quickly exposed after they took a shock 16th-minute lead through Junior Stanislas.
Greenwood got the comeback started as he smashed home from Fernandes’ pass before Rashford, from the penalty spot, and Martial, with a stunning shot into the top corner, scored their 20th goals of the season.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“Mason is one of the best if not the best finisher I have worked with and seen,” Solskjaer said. “He is so calm. He knows where to finish if it is on the training ground, here or in his garden at home.”
Bournemouth were given hope when Josh King scored from the spot after Eric Bailly handled inside his own box just four minutes after coming on as a halftime substitute, but there was no stopping Solskjaer’s men going forward and Greenwood restored their two-goal cushion with another powerful drive, this time on his weaker right foot, before Fernandes then capped another influential display with a fine free-kick.
LA LIGA
Photo: AP
AFP, MADRID
Valencia’s disappointing end to the season continued on Saturday as they conceded an 86th-minute equalizer to draw 2-2 away against Granada in La Liga.
Earlier, RC Celta de Vigo’s emergency signing Nolito scored his second goal since returning to the club last month, but it was not enough for victory against Real Betis Balompie.
Nolito’s free-kick set Celta up for a valuable home victory at Balaidos only for Zouhair Feddal to smash in a Betis equalizer 11 minutes from the end to seal a 1-1 draw.
Valladolid climbed a point above Betis after they beat Alaves 1-0.
SERIE A
AFP, MILAN
Gianluigi Buffon set a new Serie A appearances record on Saturday as Juventus beat Torino 4-1 in the Turin derby to move seven points clear at the top of the table after nearest challengers SS Lazio lost to a Zlatan Ibrahimovic-inspired AC Milan.
The 42-year-old goalkeeper passed the previous record of 647 appearances he jointly held with AC Milan great Paolo Maldini as he started the game at the Allianz Stadium.
“Maybe... He definitely won’t beat the record for scoring goals, though,” coach Maurizio Sarri told Sky Sport Italia when asked if Buffon could still play the 35 games he needs to equal Alessandro del Piero’s overall record total of Juventus appearances.
Sarri’s men moved further clear of second-placed Lazio, who were beaten 3-0 by Milan at the Stadio Olimpico.
Elsewhere, US Sassuolo beat US Lecce 4-2.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
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