World Sports News in Brief

Wolves substitute Neto salvages 1-1 draw with Southampton

Wolverhampton Wanderers's Pedro Neto came off the bench to cancel out a Theo Walcott strike for high-flying Southampton as the two sides battled to an entertaining 1-1 draw in their Premier League clash at the Molineux Stadium on Monday (Nov. 23).

Premier League - Wolverhampton Wanderers v Southampton - Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, Britain - November 23, 2020 Wolverhampton Wanderers' Pedro Neto (R) celebrates scoring their first goal. (Photo: Pool via Reuters)
Premier League - Wolverhampton Wanderers v Southampton - Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, Britain - November 23, 2020 Wolverhampton Wanderers' Pedro Neto (R) celebrates scoring their first goal. (Photo: Pool via Reuters)

Wolves had the better chances but there were no more goals and the stalemate leaves Southampton in fifth on 17 points, three behind pacesetters Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool, while Wolves rise to ninth on 14 points after nine games.

* The Premier League said on Monday that eight people had returned positive results in its latest round of COVID-19 tests conducted on players and staff last week. The league said the individuals who had tested positive for the novel coronavirus would now self-isolate for 10 days.

* Burnley secured their first win of the Premier League season as Chris Wood's eighth minute goal was enough to earn a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace at Turf Moor on Monday. The result moves Burnley out of the bottom three up to 17th place, on five points from eight matches, while Palace drop to 10th on 13 after nine games.

* Italy's top flight soccer league Serie A said on Monday it would tender the right to screen live matches for the 2021-2024 period on flights and ships travelling outside the country as part of a wider sale of its media rights abroad.

* Soccer's rule-making body IFAB has clarified its new handball rules following a series of controversial decisions since its introduction last year, saying on Monday that the final judgment remains with the referee.

* The head of African football, Ahmad Ahmad, has been banned from football for five years by FIFA following an ethics investigation by world soccer's governing body.

* Up to 4,000 spectators will be allowed to attend outdoor elite sports events in lowest-risk tier one areas of England when a month-long national lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19 is lifted on Dec 2, the British government said on Monday.

* AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be out of action for at least ten days after picking up a muscle injury in the 3-1 league win against Napoli at the weekend, the Serie A club said on Monday. The 39-year-old scored twice before suffering the injury as the Serie A leaders recorded their first league win in Naples for more than 10 years.

* Manchester United may need six points from their three remaining Champions League group stage games to qualify for the next phase of the competition after a shock defeat by Basaksehir this month, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said on Monday.

* Chelsea are hopeful that striker Olivier Giroud will continue his career at the Premier League club but will not stand in the way of the French international if he chooses to leave, manager Frank Lampard said on Monday. Giroud has made four league appearances as a substitute this season with Lampard favouring Timo Werner and Tammy Abraham, and France boss Didier Deschamps said the 34-year-old must sort out his situation to avoid compromising his national team future.

* Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman has joined other managers in lashing out at the packed European football calendar after deciding to rest Lionel Messi for Tuesday's Champions League trip to Dynamo Kyiv. Barca lost Gerard Pique and Sergi Roberto to serious injuries in Saturday's 1-0 defeat by Atletico Madrid in La Liga, leaving them with only three defenders in the first team squad for the trip to Ukraine.

* Borussia Dortmund's Jadon Sancho could return to the lineup against Club Brugge in the Champions League on Tuesday with coach Lucien Favre saying rotation will be the key for their busy schedule until the end of the year. The 20-year-old England international, who is nowhere near his sensational form of last season with two goals in nine games in all competitions so far, sat on the bench for the entire game during their 5-2 Bundesliga win over Hertha Berlin on Saturday.

* South Africa international defender Anele Ngcongca was killed in a car accident on Monday, his Premier Soccer League club AmaZulu have confirmed. Ngcongca, 33, was a member of South Africa squad at the 2010 World Cup and started the 2-1 victory over France, winning 53 caps over seven years in the national team. His last appearance was in 2016.

* Tottenham Hotspur suffered a net loss of 63.9 million pounds (US$85.45 million) in the last financial year as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted schedules and forced games to be played in empty stadiums, the Premier League club said on Monday. Spurs said revenue for the year ended June 30 was 402.4 million pounds, down from 460.7 million pounds in the previous year.

* The German Football Association will review the state of the national team following their 6-0 demolition by Spain last week in a meeting with team manager Oliver Bierhoff on Dec. 4, it said on Monday. While Germany have qualified for next year's European Championship they have exited their last three competitions in the first round, and their defeat by Spain was the heaviest since 1931.

* Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah, who missed Sunday’s 3-0 Premier League win over Leicester City after contracting COVID-19, has now tested negative and can return to training, manager Juergen Klopp has said. Salah tested positive for the novel coronavirus while on international duty with Egypt last week.

Reuters