■ENGLAND
Benjani loaned to Black Cats
Struggling Premier League side Sunderland added some much needed firepower to their out-of-form strike force on Tuesday with the loan signing of Zimbabwean international Benjani Mwaruwari from rivals Manchester City. The Black Cats got the benefit of the doubt from the Premier League over signing the 31-year-old, even though they failed to process the required paperwork before Monday’s 5pm transfer deadline. Sunderland boss Steve Bruce — whose side have been in free-fall after a winless run of 11 games — blamed technical problems for the delay. Benjani — scorer of 29 goals in 43 international appearances — is a free agent in the summer, but Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini had said he could move on if he wanted to.
■PARAGUAY
Libertad make group stage
Pablo Velazquez’s two second-half goals helped put Paraguayan club Libertad into the group stage of the Copa Libertadores with a 3-1 home win against Deportivo Tachira of Venezuela on Tuesday. Libertad advanced 3-2 on aggregate to be the first through the preliminary first round. Pedro Boada opened the scoring for Tachira following a corner in the 30th minute to leave Libertad needing three goals to progress. Rodolfo Gamarra tipped the ball past Tachira goalkeeper Manuel Sanhouse, flicked the ball over Jong Viafara’s challenge and volleyed the equalizer from a narrow angle in the 41st minute. Velazquez side-footed in following a scramble in the Tachira box with just over 20 minutes to play, and sealed Libertad’s passage in the 81st minute.
■PORTUGAL
Porto put five past Sporting
Holders Porto thrashed Sporting 5-2 to reach the semi-finals of the Portuguese Cup on Tuesday. Porto took the lead on 18 minutes through a Rolando tap in, but Russian midfielder Marat Ismailov equalized four minutes later with a thunderous drive from outside the box. Colombian striker Radamel Falcao put Porto ahead again on 34 minutes from the edge of the area and added another in the 42nd minute with a flying header after a Ruben Micael cross. Varela scored the fourth just after halftime and Argentine Mariano Gonzalez made it five with a stunning long-distance strike in the 57th minute, before Liedson scored Sporting’s second in stoppage-time.
■ITALY
Berlusconi slams own club
AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi lambasted his own club and chief executive Adriano Galliani on Tuesday for signing Inter winger Mancini on loan. The Brazilian, who has barely played for bitter city rivals Inter in the last two seasons after a dip in form, joined Milan on Monday on the last day of the transfer window. “I really don’t understand it,” the Italian prime minister told Jerusalem’s Italian community, sources at the meeting said. “He is another creative player when we need someone who can finish off moves. He’s not played for two years. I don’t agree with getting him and I’ve told Galliani.”
■ENGLAND
Pompey cash held back
The Premier League will keep more than £2 million (US$3.2 million) Portsmouth raised from selling players during the transfer window and hand it to clubs owed money by Pompey. Portsmouth sold defender Younes Kaboul to Tottenham Hotspur and goalkeeper Asmir Begovic to Stoke City for a total of about £8 million. The southeast club is reported to be about £60 million in debt.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that