World Sports News in Brief

Football: Uruguayan Cavani extends Man Utd stay with one-year deal

Manchester United's Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani has signed a one-year contract extension at the Old Trafford outfit having hit a purple patch in recent matches, the Premier League club said on Monday.

Manchester United's Edinson Cavani celebrates scoring their third goal. (Photo: Reuters)
Manchester United's Edinson Cavani celebrates scoring their third goal. (Photo: Reuters)

Free agent Cavani arrived at United on a one-year contract in October with an option of another 12 months, taking his goal tally for United to 15 from 35 games in all competitions so far, with eight goals in seven matches including one in Sunday's 3-1 league win over Aston Villa.

* Italy's Juventus will be excluded from the next Serie A championship season should the Italian soccer club decide to stay in the proposed European Super League, the head of the national soccer federation (FIGC) said on Monday.

* The Premier League has welcomed the UK government's announcement on the easing of lockdown restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic and Chief Executive Richard Masters said on Monday it is their priority to have full stadiums next season. The government said in February that under the third stage of its four-stage roadmap, stadiums would - if all conditions are met - from May 17 be allowed to hold up to 50% of their capacity, or 4,000 people, whichever is lower.

* Australia started administering COVID-19 vaccines to athletes around the country on Monday (May 10) to give them comfort and certainty for their final preparations for the Tokyo Olympics.

* Former world number one Andy Murray will play in next month's Queen's Club Championships in London, organisers said on Monday. The 33-year-old Murray, who has won the ATP 500 event five times, last played in March at the Rotterdam Open, where he was beaten by Russian Andrey Rublev in the round of 16. He then pulled out of the Miami Open with a groin injury.

* Uzbekistan will host the remaining centralised matches of the Asian Champions League (East) Groups H and I from June 25 to July 11, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said in a statement. The decision follows confirmation that Thailand will host matches for Groups F, G and J from June 22 to July 11.

* China head coach Li Tie has included five overseas-born players in his 26-man squad ahead of the resumption of their World Cup qualifying campaign later this month. The former Everton player has selected England-born duo defender Tyias Browning and midfielder Nico Yennaris as well as Brazil-born forwards Elkeson, Alan Carvalho and Fernandinho.

* Dutch rider Taco van der Hoorn claimed a surprise breakaway win on stage three of the Giro d'Italia, a 190-km ride from Biella to Canale, on Monday as Italy's Filippo Ganna retained the overall lead. Van der Hoorn, riding for the Belgian team Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert Materiaux, attacked out of a dwindling and seemingly doomed breakaway group with just under nine km to go and held off the chasing peloton to win by four seconds.

* Russian Daniil Medvedev overtook Rafael Nadal and moved into No 2 in the ATP rankings on Monday. Novak Djokovic remained No 1, extending his all-time record to 320 weeks. Medvedev slid in behind him after Spain's Nadal fell to eventual champion Alexander Zverev of Germany in the quarterfinals of the Mutua Madrid Open last week.

Reuters