World Sports News in Brief

Football: Sociedad finally win again by taking spoils in derby at Athletic

Real Sociedad ended a long barren spell without a win by beating Basque rivals Athletic Bilbao 1-0 away from home in La Liga on Thursday (Dec 31), collecting their first victory in all competitions in 10 matches.

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Europa League - Group F - Napoli v Real Sociedad - Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, Naples, Italy - December 10, 2020 Real Sociedad coach. (Reuters)
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Europa League - Group F - Napoli v Real Sociedad - Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, Naples, Italy - December 10, 2020 Real Sociedad coach. (Reuters)

Forward Portu struck the only goal of the game in the fifth minute by tapping in a cross from his side's top scorer Mikel Oyarzabal, who was making his first appearance since getting injured on Dec 3.

* Former Manchester United and Scotland manager Tommy Docherty, popularly known as 'The Doc', has died after a long illness at the age of 92, his family announced on Thursday (Dec 31). Docherty managed 12 clubs - including Chelsea and Aston Villa and a stint in Australia - after a playing career that included 25 caps for Scotland between 1951-59 and more than 300 games at Preston North End.

* Sead Kolasinac has agreed to join Bundesliga side Schalke on loan for the rest of the season, Arsenal announced on Thursday (Dec 31). The Bosnia defender, 27, will head back to the club where he joined the youth set-up and went on to become a first-team regular before moving to the Premier League in June 2017.

* Burnley's new American chairman has vowed to back manager Sean Dyche in the January transfer window as the East Lancashire club look to pull further clear of the Premier League relegation zone. The Clarets confirmed on Thursday that American investment group ALK Capital had purchased an 84per cent controlling stake in the club and that the deal had been ratified by the Premier League.

* Mikel Arteta says Arsenal's priority in the January transfer window is to trim their bloated squad as he seeks to build on a mini-revival at the Premier League club. The Gunners were able to offload Emiliano Martinez and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the summer window, while Matteo Guendouzi and Lucas Torreira departed on loan.

* Andy Murray has pulled out of the season-opening Delray Beach Open in Florida next week to reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19 ahead of the Australian Open in February. Murray, who missed most of the 2020 season due to complications with his hip and struggled for form on his return after the COVID-19 hiatus, accepted a wildcard for the Jan. 7-13 ATP 250 tournament last week.

* Manchester United and Manchester City will play their rescheduled fixtures from the opening weekend of the season in January, the Premier League announced on Thursday. Both Manchester clubs did not play on the opening weekend in September due to their participation in the knockout stages of last season's European club competitions which ended only in August due to the COVID-19 hiatus.

* Manchester United striker Edinson Cavani has been suspended for three games and fined 100,000 pounds (US$136,590) after he admitted a Football Association (FA) charge for using a racial term, the soccer governing body said on Thursday (Dec 31).

Reuters