Manchester United's grip on the English Premier League trophy tightened on Saturday as rivals Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Middlesbrough.
That left defending champions United, who claimed a hard-fought 1-0 win over bottom side Derby earlier in the day, at the top of the table on goal difference with a game in hand over their rivals.
It was the Gunners' fourth successive draw in the league but it could have been worse but for Kolo Toure's 86th-minute header, which cancelled out a first-half strike by Gunners old boy Jeremie Aliadiere.
Chelsea were also 1-0 winners, at relegation-threatened Sunderland, and are well-placed to challenge United in the title run-in.
Derby are on track to finish the season with the lowest points total of any side since the launch of the Premiership in 1992-1993.
But Paul Jewell's side nevertheless defied the champions for over an hour before the good fortune that had seen Cristiano Ronaldo spurn a handful of chances finally deserted them.
Wayne Rooney, from what seemed to be an offside position, rolled the ball across goal for his prolific team-mate to notch his 31st goal of the season with a side-footed finish.
Arsenal went behind at the Emirates Stadium as a result of sloppy defending, Turkish striker Tuncay Sanli allowed to run unchecked on to Mark Schwarzer's forward punt before crossing for Aliadiere to finish.
But just as it seemed that Boro would win, Toure popped up in the box to power a Cesc Fabregas corner goalwards, the ball richocheting off Schwartzer and Andrew Taylor on its way to the back of the net.
John Terry's tenth-minute header from a corner, was enough to give Chelsea the points at the Stadium of Light.
Liverpool kept the pressure on Merseyside rivals Everton in the battle for fourth place by coming from behind to beat Reading 2-1.
Portsmouth leapfrogged Aston Villa to move into sixth place in the table with a 2-0 win at Fratton Park and youth team striker Fred Sears marked his West Ham debut with the winner as Alan Curbishley's side beat Blackburn 2-1 at Upton Park.
The New Taipei Kings claimed the inaugural Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL) championship on Sunday, defeating the Kaohsiung FamilyMart Aquas 108-89 in the final. Playing at home, the Kings pulled ahead with Jeremy Lin’s (林書豪) clutch three-pointers, securing their victory over the Aquas in the TPBL final. The Kings came out strong in the first quarter, dominating to build a 35-18 lead. By halftime, they had stretched their advantage to 61-38. In the third quarter, the Aquas narrowed the deficit to 12 points, but Lin stepped up, sinking several tough three- pointers to extend the lead. In the final quarter, the Kings pushed the
In an unlikely Ethiopian outpost of one the most French of pastimes, four men are leaning over their petanque balls, arguing over who is winning. Petanque, the bowling game also known as boules, is more readily associated with French village squares where locals launch metal balls at a jack while enjoying an afternoon drink, but for decades, it has also been a beloved pastime for members of a club near the iconic Meskel Square in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. It was founded in the early 20th century to cater to French railway workers, who built a line connecting Addis Ababa
Taiwanese women’s doubles star Hsieh Su-wei and Australian teenager Maya Joint on Tuesday eased into the Eastbourne Open quarter-finals in England as Hsieh prepares for the Wimbledon Championships next week. Four-time Wimbledon women’s doubles champion Hsieh and 19-year-old Joint fired two aces and converted five of eight break points to defeat Japan’s Shuko Aoyama and Poland’s Katarzyna Piter 6-3, 6-3 in 58 minutes on the grass court. Hsieh and Joint are today to face fourth seeds Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, who advanced on Monday with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Quinn Gleason of the US and
BEAT THE HEAT: A brutal heat wave in the US has made cooling breaks standard. Dortmund’s coach said the weather could shape the destiny of the tournament Chelsea on Tuesday beat Esperance of Tunisia 3-0 to set up a FIFA Club World Cup last-16 tie against SL Benfica, who earlier defeated Bayern Munich 1-0, as furnace-link heat and the threat of thunder and lightning wreak havoc at the tournament. Elsewhere, minnows Auckland City claimed a memorable draw against Boca Juniors, while Los Angeles bowed out of the tournament with a stalemate against Flamengo. In Charlotte, Andreas Schjelderup scored the only goal for Benfica in their Group C clash with Bayern in front of 33,287 fans, finishing first-time from a cutback by his fellow Norwegian Fredrik Aursnes in the 13th
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