World Sports News in Brief

Wolfsburg ease past Bielefeld 3-0 for sixth straight clean sheet

VfL Wolfsburg cruised past struggling Arminia Bielefeld 3-0 with two goals from Swiss international Renato Steffen on Friday to earn their fifth win in the last six league games and move up to third place in the Bundesliga.

Soccer Football - Bundesliga - Arminia Bielefeld v VfL Wolfsburg - Bielefelder Alm, Bielefeld, Germany - February 19, 2021 VfL Wolfsburg's Maximilian Arnold celebrates scoring their third goal with teammates. (Reuters)
Soccer Football - Bundesliga - Arminia Bielefeld v VfL Wolfsburg - Bielefelder Alm, Bielefeld, Germany - February 19, 2021 VfL Wolfsburg's Maximilian Arnold celebrates scoring their third goal with teammates. (Reuters)

* A freakish own goal by goalkeeper Illan Meslier gave Wolverhampton Wanderers a 1-0 home win over Leeds United in the Premier League on Friday and enabled them to leapfrog their opponents in the standings.

* Olympique Lyonnais went provisionally top of the Ligue 1 standings by beating Stade Brestois 3-2 after benefiting from some terrible defending by their hosts on Friday.

* Second-seeded Elise Mertens and Aryna Sabalenka swept past Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova to clinch their maiden Australian Open doubles crown on Friday (Feb 19). The Belgian-Belarusian combination proved too strong for the third-seeded Czech pair, winning 6-2, 6-3 at the Rod Laver Arena after sealing the match on their fourth championship point.

* World number one Ash Barty, who exited the Australian Open with a quarter-final defeat, has taken a wild card to defend her title at the WTA 500 event in Adelaide next week, organisers said on Friday. The 24-year-old Australian will be the top seed at the US$535,530 event, scheduled to be held from Feb. 22-27, at the Memorial Drive Tennis Centre in South Australia.

* Russia's Daniil Medvedev lived up to Novak Djokovic's praise as the "man to beat" at the Australian Open as he booked his first Melbourne Park final with a 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 win over Stefanos Tsitsipas on Friday (Feb 19).

* Arsenal winger Willian has become the latest Premier League player to be racially abused online and the Brazilian shared screenshots of the messages he received on social media.

* No spectators will be allowed at the upcoming Singapore Tennis Open, said organisers in a press release on Friday (Feb 19). The event, which will be held at the Singapore Sports Hub's OCBC Arena, will run from Feb 22 to Feb 28 with qualifiers taking place on Feb 20 and 21.

* Manchester United will hold talks with Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani over extending his stay at the Premier League club, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said. Cavani joined United on transfer deadline day in October on a year-long deal with an option for a further year following his exit from Paris St Germain.

Reuters, CNA