English Premier League leaders Chelsea were on Sunday held to a 1-1 draw at home to Manchester United, as Manchester City moved to within a point of the top spot following a 2-1 win over West Ham United in swirling snow.
Blues midfielder Jorginho rescued a point as the Italian’s penalty atoned for the error that allowed Jadon Sancho to put the visitors in front at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea fell behind when poor control from Jorginho enabled Sancho to score early in the second half, but Jorginho made amends when he scored from the penalty spot after Aaron Wan-Bissaka fouled Thiago Silva.
Photo: EPA-EFE
It was an impressive result for United under former midfielder Michael Carrick, standing in as manager following the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Not that Carrick, who took the bold decision to leave Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench, was delighted with the performance.
“Disappointed actually,” Carrick told Sky Sports. “When you are in front in a game like this, to have it taken away is disappointing.”
“I don’t think it was a penalty at all... I am not getting carried away, but I thought we defended well. I cannot fault the boys one bit,” Carrick added.
“I am happy, absolutely happy,” Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel said. “I saw a huge effort. We put the pressure up high, we were brave and courageous.”
Free-scoring Liverpool on Saturday hammered Southampton 4-0 to move to within one point of Chelsea, but reigning champions City stayed in touch with victory at home to the high-flying Hammers on Sunday.
City took the lead shortly after the half-hour mark when Riyad Mahrez played the ball into the box and it was deflected into the path of Ilkay Gundogan. Substitute Fernandinho made it 2-0 late on.
Manuel Lanzini pulled one back deep into stoppage time, but it was not enough for manager David Moyes’ team to avoid a second successive defeat.
“The chances we created ... it could have been three or four. The players we have out ... those that came here were brilliant. All of them,” City manager Pep Guardiola told the BBC.
“We cannot forget which opponent we played. They have everything,” he added.
Aaliyah Edwards on Monday pulled off the stunner of the opening round of the Unrivaled one-on-one tournament, beating top-seeded Breanna Stewart 12-0. The tournament to be played over three days featured 23 of the WNBA’s 36 players. A few had other commitments and a couple others were out with injuries. Stewart got the ball first against Edwards and missed a contested layup. Edwards then hit a three-pointer from the corner and a jumper from the elbow to go up 5-0. The player who scores keeps the basketball. Edwards hit two layups and a three-pointer to seal the win. Stewart, a two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player,
SPEEDSKATER: Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s run at the Asian Winter Games without a medal since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990 Speedskater Chen Ying-chu yesterday made history as the first athlete representing Taiwan to secure a medal at the Asian Winter Games. Competing at the HIC Speedskating Oval in Harbin, China, Chen clocked 10.510 seconds in the women’s 100m event, finishing third behind South Koreans Lee Na-hyum and Kim Min-sun, who posted times of 10.501 and 10.505 seconds respectively. Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s drought at the Asian Winter Games since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990. This year’s Games mark Chen’s debut at the event. Previously excelling in roller speedskating, she won six medals at world championships before transitioning
Taiwan’s Lin Yun-ju and Kao Cheng-jui were defeated by their Chinese counterparts 3-0 on Saturday in the men’s doubles final at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Singapore Smash. Lin and Kao received their silver medals after being defeated by third-seeded duo Lin Shidong and Wang Chuqin of China 2-11, 4-11, 11-13. The Taiwan pair were left playing catch-up early in the match after the Chinese duo proved unstoppable in the first and second game. Although Lin and Kao picked up their pace in the third game and at one point took a 10-8 lead, they were crucially unable to take
Australia yesterday won two of four races on the first day of the SailGP Sydney event on Sydney Harbour to finish the day atop the points table ahead of Britain and a French team who made an outstanding return after missing the first two events of the season. Australia also had a third and a second placing, finishing the day with 37 points, ahead of Britain with 32 points and France with 27. Britain won the second race of the day and Switzerland, who won the first race, were in fourth place overall. Australia’s prowess in the start box was again the