World Sports News in Brief

United hit Leeds for six, Leicester win at Spurs

Manchester United crushed Leeds United 6-2 while Leicester City handed Tottenham Hotspur a second straight defeat in the Premier League on Sunday (Dec 20).

Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester United v Leeds United - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - December 20, 2020 Manchester United's David de Gea and Victor Lindelof celebrate their fifth goal scored by Daniel James. (Photo: Pool via Reuters)
Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester United v Leeds United - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - December 20, 2020 Manchester United's David de Gea and Victor Lindelof celebrate their fifth goal scored by Daniel James. (Photo: Pool via Reuters)

United’s win, with two goals each for midfielders Scott McTominay and Bruno Fernandes, sent Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side up to third on 26 points, above fourth-placed Everton on goal difference.

* Jamie Vardy’s penalty and a Toby Alderweireld own goal gave Leicester victory in North London and left the Foxes in second place, five points behind leaders Liverpool who had won 7-0 at Crystal Palace on Saturday.

* Sam Allardyce’s debut in charge of struggling West Bromwich Albion ended in a 3-0 home defeat by West Midlands rivals Aston Villa with Anwar El Ghazi on target twice.

* Bottom club Sheffield United ended their eight match losing streak, picking up just their second point of the campaign with a 1-1 draw at home to Brighton & Hove Albion.

* Lazio brushed aside their dismal home form in Serie A when goals from Ciro Immobile and Luis Alberto gave them a 2-0 win over Napoli on Sunday. The hosts scored from their only two shots on target as they notched their second win in seven home league games this season while Napoli slumped to a second defeat in five days after losing 1-0 at Inter Milan on Wednesday.

* Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema kept up his impressive run of form by scoring and providing two assists in a 3-1 win away to Eibar on Sunday, taking the champions level on points with La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid.

* Lewis Hamilton was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year on Sunday, rounding off a remarkable year in which he became Formula One world champion for a seventh time. Hamilton, 35, beat off competition from Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson and jockey Hollie Doyle, who finished second and third respectively, to collect British sport's premier annual award for a second time after winning it in 2014.

* Paris Saint Germain missed a chance to return to the summit of Ligue 1 after they were held to a 0-0 draw at Lille, who retained pole position on Sunday ahead of Olympique Lyonnais. Lille have 33 points and a superior goal difference to Lyon, who were 4-1 winners at Nice on Saturday, while third-placed PSG are a point adrift after squandering a number of opportunities in a scrappy contest at Lille.

* Watford have appointed Spaniard Xisco Munoz as their new manager following the sacking of Vladimir Ivic, the English second-tier Championship club said on Sunday. Munoz, who guided Georgian club Dinamo Tbilisi to the top-flight title this season, is the fifth Watford manager to be hired in over a year.

* Atalanta rediscovered the form that made them Serie A’s most entertaining side last season as they hit back with four second-half goals to thump AS Roma 4-1 on Sunday.

* AC Milan forward Rafael Leao scored the fastest goal in Serie A history when he was on target after six seconds in the match at Sassuolo on Sunday. According to statistics specialists Opta, the previous record of eight seconds was set by Piacenza’s Paolo Poggi against Fiorentina in 2001.

* A solitary goal from a Josip Brekalo free kick gave VfL Wolfsburg a 1-0 victory over VfB Stuttgart on Sunday to return them to the Bundesliga's top four. The hosts had a goal disallowed in the first half before they found the breakthrough in the 49th minute which moved them fourth, six points behind leaders Bayern Munich heading into the league's winter break.

* Scottish champions Celtic beat Heart of Midlothian 4-3 on penalties in the Scottish Cup final to clinch an unprecedented domestic 'quadruple-treble' at Hampden Park in Glasgow on Sunday. Celtic have now won all three domestic trophies - the Scottish Premiership, Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup - for the fourth successive year.

* Arsenal thumped Everton 4-0 to climb to second place behind Manchester United, who thrashed bottom side Bristol City 6-1 on a Sunday that had three of the six FA Women's Super League games postponed, two of them due to COVID-19.

* Second-placed Inter Milan needed second-half goals from Achraf Hakimi and leading scorer Romelu Lukaku to overcome stubborn resistance from Spezia as they beat the Serie A newcomers 2-1 on Sunday. The win kept Antonio Conte's side one point behind leaders AC Milan, who won 2-1 at Sassuolo, after they extended their unbeaten run to seven games in all competitions, including six wins.

* Brazil soccer great Pele has paid tribute to Lionel Messi for equalling his goal-scoring record for a single club after the Argentine forward netted his 643rd goal for Barcelona in Saturday's 2-2 home draw with Valencia. Messi, who made his first appearance for Barcelona aged 17 in 2004, needed 748 matches to score 643 goals, while Pele managed the tally in 665 competitive games for Santos.

Reuters