Matheus Cunha on Saturday fired Manchester United toward the UEFA Champions League with a 1-0 win at Chelsea, while Tottenham Hotspur remain in the relegation zone after twice blowing the lead to draw with Brighton & Hove Albion.
Chelsea failed to take advantage of a United defense ravaged by injury and suspension as a fourth straight league defeat for the Blues left their Champions League hopes in ruins.
United have missed out on the riches of Europe’s elite competition for the past two seasons, but are closing in on a return thanks to an upturn in fortunes under interim manager Michael Carrick.
Photo: AFP
Cunha swept home Bruno Fernandes’ cross just before halftime to open up a 10-point gap between the Red Devils in third and Chelsea in sixth.
“It was massive for us, a big win,” Carrick said. “To come here and keep a clean sheet like we did, and defend the way we did, I thought it was a magnificent performance.”
At the other end of the table, Spurs sank ever closer to dropping out of the top flight for the first time in almost 50 years.
In Roberto de Zerbi’s first home game in charge, Tottenham were heading for their first win in 15 league matches until Georginio Rutter’s strike five minutes into stoppage time.
Pedro Porro’s header was quickly canceled out by Kaoru Mitoma’s spectacular volley in first-half stoppage time.
Xavi Simons’ stunning strike 13 minutes from time sparked an outpouring of joy around the state-of-the-art Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Yet, the home fans were silenced in added time when Jan Paul van Hecke outmuscled Kevin Danso and squared for Rutter to blast high into the net.
Spurs edge to within one point of West Ham United in the battle for survival.
However, the Hammers have a game in hand and could stretch that advantage when they travel to Crystal Palace today.
“Everyone of us knows it’s a tough moment, it’s a difficult situation, but we have another five games, 15 points,” De Zerbi said. “And this team is able to win five games in a row.”
Brighton’s equalizer also saved Wolves from being officially relegated.
However, their eight-year stay in the top flight is coming to an end after a 3-0 defeat at Leeds United.
Fresh from a first league win away at fierce rivals Manchester United since 1981, Leeds all but secured their top-flight status.
Two goals in the first half from James Justin and Noah Okafor put the home side in control before Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s penalty in stoppage time rounded off the scoring.
Tottenham’s woeful campaign has been compounded by an impressive return to the top flight by Sunderland and Leeds, to buck the trend of the past few seasons.
For the past two years all three promoted sides have gone straight back down.
However, Daniel Farke’s men not only look set for survival, but could reach a first FA Cup final since 1973 should they beat Chelsea in next weekend’s semi-finals.
AFC Bournemouth piled more pressure on Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe with a 2-1 win at St James’ Park.
The Cherries showed no ill effects from the news that Andoni Iraola would depart as boss at the end of the season.
Marcus Tavernier and Adrien Truffert struck for the visitors to extend their unbeaten Premier League run to 13 matches.
Bournemouth climb to eighth and within four points of the Champions League places.
Newcastle, by contrast, remain in 14th with their hopes of European soccer next season all but over.
Taiwanese gymnast Tang Chia-hung on Sunday topped the men’s horizontal bar event at the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) World Cup in Osijek, Croatia, scoring 15.233 to take his third title this season. Tang delivered an outstanding performance in the final, earning a difficulty score of 6.500 and an execution score of 8.633 with a 0.1 stick bonus. His closest competitor was Milad Karimi of Kazakhstan, who finished second with 14.933 points. It was Tang’s third gold medal in the FIG World Cup series this year, following his horizontal bar wins in Azerbaijan on March 8, and in Turkey on March
This year’s Taiwan Athletics Open, which offers Taiwanese athletes an opportunity to compete against their international peers, would be held under a new name after its organizers had earlier announced the event’s cancelation. In a statement issued yesterday, the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association said the competition would still take place on June 6-7 at Banciao Stadium, but under the name “New Taipei City Athletics Open 2026.” The event was given a new name to emphasize its local identity and conform with the international practice of naming World Athletics Tour events after cities, the association said. It said it would soon
Denmark’s double Olympic badminton champion Viktor Axelsen, long a rival of Taiwan’s former world No. 2 Chou Tien-chen, yesterday announced his retirement at age 32, saying back problems meant he could no longer “compete and train at the highest level.” Axelsen, who won gold at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and again in Paris in 2024, had back surgery in April last year and said he had not overcome his physical issues. “Accepting this situation has been incredibly difficult,” he said in a statement. “But I have now reached a point where my body won’t allow me to continue.” Axelsen retires as one
SEASON ENDING: The Nuggets took the third seed in the Western Conference and are to face the sixth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round The Denver Nuggets, fueled by 23 first-half points from Nikola Jokic, on Sunday beat the San Antonio Spurs 128-118, notching their 12th straight victory to clinch the Western Conference third seed on the last day of the NBA regular season. On a day when coaches rested dozens of players in preparation for the looming playoffs, three-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Jokic had to play at least 15 minutes to be eligible for end of season awards, including MVP. The Serbian big man played just over 18, propelling the Nuggets to a 70-56 halftime lead that they would not relinquish
RSS