A tough week for Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur, two of the rebel clubs in the failed Super League project, got even more difficult when they fell behind on their return to Premier League action on Wednesday.
However, both teams recovered to register vital wins and leave them in good spirits for their next match — their meeting at Wembley Stadium for the EFL Cup final on Sunday.
City fought back from conceding a goal after just 20 seconds to beat Aston Villa 2-1 and move 11 points clear in their march to a third league title in four years. A maximum of eight points are needed by Pep Guardiola’s team from their final five games.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Each side had a man sent off at Villa Park, with City defender John Stones’ straight red card for a reckless lunge late in the first half ruling him out for three matches — starting with the Cup final.
Tottenham needed a late penalty from Son Heung-min to clinch a 2-1 victory over Southampton and close to within two points of fourth-placed Chelsea in the race for Champions League qualification.
LA LIGA
AP, MADRID
Karim Benzema scored two goals and set up another to lead Real Madrid to a 3-0 win over Cadiz in La Liga, in the team’s first game since the implosion of the proposed Super League.
The Cadiz players wore T-shirts before the game condemning the Super League.
Madrid president Florentino Perez had been one of the key figures behind the proposal.
Alvaro Odriozola also scored as Madrid pulled within a point of league leaders Atletico Madrid ahead of their game against SD Huesca.
Elsewhere, Sevilla beat Levante UD 1-0, CA Osasuna defeated Valencia 3-1, Real Betis Balompie held Athletic Bilbao to a 0-0 draw, Deportivo Alaves defeated Villarreal 2-1 and Elche drew 1-1 with Valladolid.
BUNDESLIGA
AFP, BERLIN
Borussia Dortmund moved back within four points of the Champions League places in the Bundesliga as Raphael Guerreiro’s goal late in the game helped seal a 2-0 home win over Union Berlin on Wednesday.
Dortmund moved to four points behind fourth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt, but also only five adrift of VfL Wolfsburg, who beat VfB Stuttgart.
Elsewhere, FSV Mainz 05 won 1-0 against Werder Bremen and Borussia Moenchengladbach lost 3-2 to TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
SERIE A
AP, MILAN, Italy
Inter on Wednesday were held to a 1-1 draw against Spezia, who are facing possible relegation, but still extended their lead at the top of the Serie A table.
Ivan Perisic canceled out Diego Farias’ opener for Spezia as Inter moved 10 points above second-placed AC Milan after they lost 2-1 at home to US Sassuolo.
“It’s inevitable to feel a bit of pressure, especially as lots of our players are challenging for something important for the first time, but it’s OK, the performance was there,” Inter coach Antonio Conte said. “We must live with the pressure.”
Elsewhere, ACF Fiorentina won 2-1 against Hellas Verona, Juventus came from behind to win 3-1 against Parma, Cagliari inched closer to safety after winning 1-0 against Udinese, Benevento drew 2-2 with Genoa, Torino drew 1-1 against Bologna and Crotone lost 1-0 to UC Sampdoria.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
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