World Sports News in Brief

Man Utd delay Man City's party, West Brom relegated

Manchester United extended rivals Manchester City’s wait for the Premier League title for at least another two days as they came from a goal down to beat Aston Villa 3-1 on Sunday (May 9).

Soccer Football - Premier League - Aston Villa v Manchester United - Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain - May 9, 2021 Manchester United's Edinson Cavani celebrates scoring their third goal. (Photo: Pool via Reuters)
Soccer Football - Premier League - Aston Villa v Manchester United - Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain - May 9, 2021 Manchester United's Edinson Cavani celebrates scoring their third goal. (Photo: Pool via Reuters)

At the bottom, West Bromwich Albion’s hopes of avoiding relegation were ended as they went down 3-1 at Arsenal while West Ham United’s top-four hopes were dealt a blow. Bruno Fernandes, Mason Greenwood and Edinson Cavani scored United’s goals in the second half at Villa Park to guarantee a top-four finish and Champions League football, courtesy of West Ham United’s 1-0 defeat by Everton.

* Morgan Gibbs-White's late strike earned Wolverhampton Wanderers a 2-1 comeback victory against 10-man Brighton & Hove Albion in a drama-filled Premier League encounter at Molineux on Sunday. The result means Brighton remain in 15th on 37 points after 35 games, 10 points clear of 18th-placed Fulham, who have a game in hand.

* Paris St Germain's Ligue 1 title hopes took a major knock on Sunday (May 9) when the defending champions were held to a 1-1 draw at Stade Rennes, leaving Lille holding a three-point advantage at the top with two games remaining. Neymar opened the scoring with a penalty on the stroke of halftime but Serhou Guirassy equalised in the 70th minute to leave PSG, who finished with 10 men after Presnel Kimpembe was sent off in the 87th minute, on 76 points.

* Real Madrid missed the chance to go top of La Liga after drawing 2-2 at home to Sevilla but earned a point when an own goal from Diego Carlos in added time added a final twist to a remarkable game containing two huge VAR decisions. The result left Atletico Madrid top of the standings with three games to go on 77 points, two ahead of second-placed Real and third-placed Barcelona.

* Juventus started the season looking to win a 10th straight Serie A title but instead find themselves in danger of missing out on a Champions League spot after a 3-0 home defeat by top-four rivals AC Milan on Sunday left them fifth with three games left. Goals from Brahim Diaz, Ante Rebic and Fikayo Tomori secured the win and sent Milan up to third on 72 points from 35 matches, leaving Juve a point behind fourth-placed Napoli and needing teams to drop points as they battle for a top-four finish.

* Alexander Zverev underlined his credentials as a French Open title contender with a battling 6-7(8) 6-4 6-3 victory over Italian Matteo Berrettini on Sunday to claim his fourth Masters 1000 crown and second Madrid Open title.

* All Blacks winger Caleb Clarke, who lit up international rugby with an eye-catching debut season last year, has put his hand up for selection in New Zealand's Olympic rugby sevens team for the Tokyo Games. Explosive 22-year-old Clarke and Waikato Chiefs outside back Etene Nanai-Seturo return to the country's sevens programme after an aborted bid last year when the Games were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

* Belgian Tim Merlier won the second stage of the Giro d’Italia, a 179-km ride from Stupinigi to Novara, with an impressive sprint to give his Alpecin Fenix team a victory on their first appearance in the race on Sunday. Monday’s third stage is a 190-km undulating ride from Biella to Canale.

* Eintracht Frankfurt's Ajdin Hrustic scored an 86th-minute goal to rescue a 1-1 draw against visiting Mainz 05 on Sunday and retain some hope of a top-four finish and a spot in next season's Champions League. The result meant Eintracht dropped to fifth place on 57 points, one behind Borussia Dortmund, 3-2 winners over Leipzig on Saturday, and three off third-placed VfL Wolfsburg.

* Chelsea thrashed Reading 5-0 on the final day of the FA Women's Super League to be crowned champions of England after a superb season in which they lost only once, with Manchester City finishing second and Bristol City relegated. Chelsea finished the 22-game season on 57 points, two ahead of Manchester City, who beat West Ham United 1-0.

* Seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton hunted down "sitting duck" Max Verstappen to win the Spanish Grand Prix for a record-equalling fifth year in a row on Sunday and go 14 points clear at the top of the standings. The Briton's 98th victory, from his 100th pole, was his third in four races and he and Mercedes delivered a strategic masterclass after Red Bull's Verstappen, who finished second, seized the lead at the first corner.

* Former world number one Ariya Jutanugarn hit a flawless nine-under-par 63 in the final round of the Honda LPGA Thailand on Sunday to become the first local winner of the US$1.6 million tournament. The 25-year-old Thai had a nervous wait in the clubhouse before her 11th LPGA title was confirmed when a thunderstorm forced a one-hour suspension of play at the Siam Country Club with six players still on the course.

* Delicate negotiations are going on between the British government, European soccer's governing body UEFA and others about where the Champions League final should be played, senior British minister Michael Gove said on Sunday.

* Hundreds of athletes participated in a test event at the Olympic Stadium on Sunday. Sunday's event, involving 420 athletes, including nine from abroad, was split into morning and evening sessions. No spectators were present in the stadium, where the Olympics opening and closing ceremonies will be held.

Reuters