World Sports News in Brief

Iheanacho secures vital win for Leicester over Palace

In-form Kelechi Iheanacho's late stunner earned Leicester City a crucial 2-1 home victory over Crystal Palace which tightened their grip on third place in the Premier League on Monday (Apr 26).

Leicester City's Kelechi Iheanacho celebrates after the match. (Photo: Reuters)
Leicester City's Kelechi Iheanacho celebrates after the match. (Photo: Reuters)

Nigerian Iheanacho set up Leicester's equaliser for Timothy Castagne just after halftime, then smashed home an 80th-minute winner to complete the turnaround at the King Power Stadium.

* Former Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer and ex-Arsenal forward Thierry Henry have become the first two players inducted into the Premier League's Hall of Fame, the league said on Monday (Apr 26). Shearer is the Premier League's all-time top scorer, having netted 260 goals across 14 Premier League seasons with Newcastle and Blackburn Rovers. Meanwhile, former France international Henry scored a club-record 175 Premier League goals in 258 matches for Arsenal.

* Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa and England have all qualified for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England as cricket returns to the event next year, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Monday.

* The Italian football federation (FIGC) said on Monday (Apr 26) that clubs who join a breakaway league would be banned from all domestic competitions including Serie A. Three Serie A clubs - Juventus, Inter Milan and AC Milan - were among 12 major European sides who were involved in the plans to launch a European Super League last week. Inter Milan announced their withdrawal from the proposed Super League last Wednesday after the departure of the 'big six' English clubs.

* Manchester United defender Eric Bailly has signed a new three-year contract that ties him to the Premier League club until 2024 with the option of a further 12 months. The 27-year-old has struggled with several injuries since arriving from Villarreal in 2016, but he has delivered some of his best displays for United this season, reaching 100 career appearances for the club.

* Formula One said on Monday it will debut a new sprint qualifying format at three races in the 2021 season after it was unanimously approved, with the events to be hosted at two European and one non-European Grands Prix. The new format will have a qualifying session after the first free practice session on Friday to determine the grid for sprint qualifying on Saturday.

* UEFA have appointed an Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector to conduct an investigation into Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic for having an "alleged financial interest in a betting company", European soccer's governing body said on Monday. Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet reported earlier this month that Ibrahimovic, 39, is a part-owner of betting company Bethard who he teamed up with in 2018.

* Napoli climbed above Juventus into fourth place in Serie A with a 2-0 win at relegation-threatened Torino on Monday (Apr 26) thanks to early goals from Tiemoue Bakayoko and Victor Osimhen. Gennaro Gattuso’s side went level with the champions on 66 points, but leapfrogged them in the standings due to their superior goal difference, as the two sides’ head-to-head record is even.

* Lazio revived their hopes of Champions League qualification and subjected AC Milan to a second consecutive Serie A defeat as Joaquin Correa scored twice in a 3-0 win for the Roman club at the Stadio Olimpico on Monday (Apr 26). Milan are in fifth place, level on 66 points with Napoli and Juventus and two points behind Atalanta, while Lazio are five points behind with a game in hand.

* Salem Saleh scored a brace as Group B hosts Sharjah qualified for the knockout rounds of the Asian Champions League for the first time since 2004 with a 3-2 win over Iraq's Air Force Club on Monday.

Reuters, CNA