World Sports News in Brief

Traore fires late winner as Wolves beat Fulham 1-0

Wolverhampton Wanderers winger Adama Traore struck deep into stoppage time to give his side a 1-0 win at Fulham that leaves the Londoners languishing in the bottom three of the Premier League with six games left to play.

Soccer Football - Premier League - Fulham v Wolverhampton Wanderers - Craven Cottage, London, Britain - April 9, 2021 Wolverhampton Wanderers' Adama Traore in action with Fulham's Antonee Robinson. (Photo: Pool via Reuters)
Soccer Football - Premier League - Fulham v Wolverhampton Wanderers - Craven Cottage, London, Britain - April 9, 2021 Wolverhampton Wanderers' Adama Traore in action with Fulham's Antonee Robinson. (Photo: Pool via Reuters)

The defeat leaves Fulham in 18th place in the table with 26 points, three behind 17th-placed Newcastle United who have two games in hand, while Wolves are 12th on 38 points.

* Will Zalatoris and Brian Harman tamed their nerves and Augusta National in the first two rounds of the Masters to claim a share of second place heading into the weekend as better-known players were sent packing. Zalatoris, who birdied his final three holes to sit tied with Harman at six-under par and one shot back of leader Justin Rose, showed confidence beyond his 24 years in his first Masters appearance.

* Burak Yilmaz and Mehmet Zeki Celik struck after the break to give Lille a 2-0 win at Metz as the northerners opened a provisional six-point gap at top of the Ligue 1 standings on Friday (Apr 9). The Turkish duo put Lille on 69 points from 32 games, with second-placed Paris St Germain playing their match in hand at Racing Strasbourg on Saturday.

* Xavi Hernandez added another feather to his cap as manager when his champion side Al-Sadd finished the Qatar Stars League campaign without losing a single game after winning the final match of the season on Friday. Having already sealed the title when second-placed Al-Duhail were mathematically out of the title race last month, Al-Sadd beat Qatar Sports Club 3-0 to finish with 19 victories and three draws in their 22 games to win the title by 13 points.

* Former Italy captain and the national team’s technical coach Daniele De Rossi has been hospitalised after testing positive for COVID-19 during last month’s World Cup qualifiers, Sky Italy reported on Friday. The former AS Roma midfielder tested positive along with three other staff and several players in the national camp during the international break.

* Frenchman Richard Gasquet said on Friday that he was pulling out of next week's Monte Carlo Masters because of "complications related to COVID-19". The world number 49, who reached the semi-finals of the claycourt Masters in 2005, has had a tough start to the season, notably not being able to take part in the Australian Open because of a foot injury.

* Ferrari Formula One driver Charles Leclerc has a new car in his garage - the one he raced to victory from pole position in Belgium and Italy in 2019. The 23-year-old Monaco resident posted pictures on Instagram on Friday of the SF90 under a red Ferrari covering in the back of a transporter and then safely indoors.

* Aston Villa suffered losses of 99.2 million pounds (US$136.23 million) in the 2019-20 season as the COVID-19 pandemic hit their finances, the Premier League club said on Friday. The club spent 155.9 million pounds in new recruits after they were promoted in 2019 in a bid to stay in the top flight beyond the 2019-20 season and the club finished 17th on the final day to survive.

* UEFA have given four European Championship host cities, at risk of being replaced, ten days to come up with further details of their plans for fan access to games after they failed to commit to allowing supporters into the stadiums. Munich, Rome, Bilbao, Dublin have been given the extra time to come up with more details before a final decision is made at UEFA’s executive committee meeting on whether they will remain hosts at Euro 2020.

* Newcastle United striker Callum Wilson will return to the squad for Sunday's Premier League trip to Burnley after being out for more than two months due to a hamstring injury, manager Steve Bruce said. Wilson, who is Newcastle's leading Premier League scorer with 10 goals in 21 games this season, last played in their 3-2 defeat by Southampton on Feb. 6.

* Mike Elliott will take over from James Allison from July 1 as technical director of Formula One champions Mercedes, the team announced on Friday. Allison will stand back from day-to-day management of technical operations and take on the newly created role of chief technical officer, working closely with the factories at Brackley and Brixworth.

* Indonesia's new Mandalika circuit on the island of Lombok has been pencilled in for a March 2022 MotoGP debut after being listed as a reserve venue this year, series organisers said on Friday. Promoters Dorna said in a statement after a circuit inspection that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all parties involved had agreed to wait until the first part of the 2022 season.

* Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish has suffered an injury setback and could be out for a few more weeks, manager Dean Smith confirmed on Friday ahead of the weekend clash with Liverpool. Grealish, whose form this season pushed him into the England squad, has been out since February with a shin injury.

* Hungarian skeet shooter Diana Igaly, an Olympic champion in Athens in 2004, has died at age 56 from complications related to the coronavirus, the Hungarian Shooting Association said on Friday.

* Brighton & Hove Albion are keen to retain Danny Welbeck and will sit down with the striker when his contract expires at the end of the season, manager Graham Potter said. Welbeck, who joined Brighton on a free transfer in October, has bagged two goals and an assist in his last three games for the Premier League club after being sidelined for more than a month due to a knee injury.

Reuters