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Ferran Torres scored a hat-trick as champions Manchester City beat Newcastle United 4-3 to set a record for consecutive Premier League away wins on Friday (May 14) with their 12th victory on the road. With Pep Guardiola's City having already bagged the title and Newcastle safe, there was nothing riding on the fixture but it served up some rich entertainment with Spaniard Torres especially enjoying himself at St James' Park. City dominated early on but Newcastle took the lead against the run of

The French race at Le Castellet will now be on Jun 20, kicking off a "triple header" of three grands prix on successive weekends, the Liberty Media-owned sport said in a statement on Friday (May 14). The Red Bull Ring will host the newly-inserted Styrian Grand Prix on Jun 27 and the Austrian Grand Prix on its original Jul 4 date. "We were all looking forward to racing in Turkey but the travel restrictions in place have meant we are not able to

LONDON: Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said he has enjoyed chasing teams throughout his career as the battle to qualify for next season's Champions League goes down to the final three games of the season. Liverpool moved within four points of fourth-placed Chelsea with a game in hand after Thursday's (May 13) 4-2 Premier League victory over Manchester United. The Merseyside club were already crowned champions at this stage last season but Klopp said he still enjoys playing catch-up to the sides ahead of

LONDON: Thomas Tuchel said he would lead an "angry" Chelsea into Saturday's (May 15) FA Cup final after defeat by Arsenal dented their Premier League top-four hopes. The Blues boss admitted preparations for the match against Leicester at Wembley would be made easier by his team's frustrations following Wednesday's 1-0 defeat. "We all feel that anger on ourselves on the missed opportunity and the performance that night against Arsenal," he said on Friday. "So it's a good thing, in that it's easy to

LONDON: Arsenal's Brazilian defender David Luiz will leave the Premier league club at the end of the season, according to British media reports on Friday. The 34-year-old has been at Arsenal for two seasons after joining from London rivals Chelsea where he won the league title, Champions League and two FA Cups. He also won the FA Cup with Arsenal last season. Sky Sports and the BBC said the decision was made after Luiz, who is sidelined by a hamstring injury and has

ROME: World number one Novak Djokovic's quarter-final match against Stefanos Tsitsipas has been pushed back until Saturday after play was suspended because of rain on Friday. Monte Carlo winner Tsitsipas was leading defending champion 6-4, 2-1 when the match was interrupted for a second time at the Foro Italico. The match was first halted for 3 hours 30 minutes with the fifth seed leading 4-3 before heavy rain hit the Italian capital. Play resumed at 16:45 GMT, enough time for Tsitsipas to close

A petition calling for the cancellation of the Tokyo Olympics which garnered 350,000 signatures in nine days was submitted to organisers on Friday, reflecting growing public opposition to the event as a fourth wave of COVID-19 infections sweeps Japan. "Stop Tokyo Olympics" campaign organiser Kenji Utsunomiya said the global festival of sport - already postponed from 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic - should take place only when Japan can welcome visitors and athletes wholeheartedly. "We are not in that situation and therefore

ROME: World number one Novak Djokovic swept into the Italian Open quarter-finals on Thursday (May 13) with a straight-sets win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in front of spectators at the Foro Italico. The five-time Rome champion won 6-2, 6-1 in 70 minutes against the 48th-ranked Spaniard, with the venue filled to 25 percent of capacity for the first time amid the easing of Covid-19 restrictions. "It was not good, it was great. I missed the crowd," said the 33-year-old, who next plays Stefanos

There are very few people who can tell Cristiano Ronaldo what to do, but his mum, Dolores Aveiro, insists she will try to convince her son to return to his boyhood club Sporting this summer. While Ronaldo leads the way in the Serie A goalscoring charts this term, scoring his 100th Juventus goal in his side's 3-1 win at Sassuolo on Wednesday, his club have endured a difficult season and could finish outside the top four. In contrast, the club where Ronaldo started

The NBA is set to announce on Thursday a new award that will recognize a current player for pursuing social justice and upholding the league's values of equality, respect and inclusion. Named after one of the most accomplished players in NBA history, the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion award winner will select an organization to receive a $100,000 contribution on his behalf, according to an NBA statement reviewed by Reuters. The other four finalists will each select an organization to receive a $25,000

Real Madrid swatted aside Granada 4-1 on Thursday to ensure the La Liga title race will go down to the wire. Despite missing a number of first-team regulars, Real started the stronger and first-half strikes from Luka Modric and Rodrygo put the visitors in control. Such was their dominance that even when Jorge Molina halved the deficit on 71 minutes, tapping in after Thibaut Courtois had kept out Luis Suarez's initial effort, they rarely looked troubled. Substitute Alvaro Odriozola restored Real's two-goal advantage,

MANCHESTER, England: Roberto Firmino scored twice as Liverpool boosted their hopes of a late push into the top four and Champions League football next season with a 4-2 Premier League win at Manchester United on Thursday (May 13). The fixture, re-arranged after fan protests 10 days ago led to the match being postponed, took place after a massive security operation foiled another attempt at disruption from protesters. After spending seven hours inside the ground having arrived early to avoid attempts to block their

The Qatar Football Association (QFA) has announced that Amir Cup 2021 final, which was set to play on Friday, May 14 at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Al Sadd sports club between Al-Sadd Club and Al Rayyan Club is postponed QFA said that, “the new date for the final will be announced later after full coordination with all the relevant authorities, especially the Ministry of Public Health.” This decision of postponing the final is followed after the announcement of gradual lifting of limitations

LONDON: Chelsea slipped up in their push for a Champions League spot when they lost 1-0 at home to Arsenal in the Premier League on Wednesday (May 12) with Emile Smith Rowe's first-half goal settling the London derby after a defensive mix-up by the hosts. The visitors capitalised on a wayward back pass by Chelsea's Jorginho to goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga who scrambled back to palm it off the line. The ball fell to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who cut it back for Smith Rowe to

MADRID: Atletico Madrid held their nerve to beat Real Sociedad 2-1 on Wednesday (May 12) and move within touching distance of winning La Liga. Yannick Carrasco and Angel Correa made a dominant first half count for Atletico, who retreated in the second and were left hanging on after Igor Zubeldia blasted in for La Real with seven minutes left. When the final whistle blew, Diego Simeone jogged up the tunnel at the Wanda Metropolitano, punching the air as he went, fully aware how

SINGAPORE: The Singapore Open Badminton tournament will be cancelled, it was announced by organisers Singapore Badminton Association (SBA) and the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Wednesday (May 12). The tournament, which was due to be held from Jun 1 to 6, will not be rescheduled. In a joint statement, the SBA and BWF said that the decision was made on the grounds of health and safety. "All attempts were made by the organisers and BWF to provide a safe tournament environment for all

DOHA: Qatari side Al-Sadd announced on Wednesday (May 12) former Spain midfielder Xavi has signed a contract extension to keep him as their coach until 2023. Xavi, 41, has been linked with a move back to Barcelona to replace Ronald Koeman but the 2010 World Cup winner denied the reports in the Spanish press. "This is incorrect. I have a two-season contract with Al-Sadd, and I respect this contract, and I also respect the official negotiation methods between all parties," he said in

ROME: Champion Simona Halep was forced to retire injured in the second round of the Italian Open on Wednesday (May 12) weeks before her bid to reclaim the French Open. The world number three pulled up with a left calf issue while leading Germany's Angelique Kerber 6-1, 3-3 in their match on clay at the Foro Italico in Rome. The 29-year-old limped back to her chair helped by officials but left the court in tears after treatment. The injury comes three weeks before

LONDON: New Zealand's most successful test wicketkeeper BJ Watling will retire from all forms of cricket after their upcoming tour of England, the country's cricket board (NZC) said on Wednesday. Watling, 35, has been an integral part of New Zealand's test team since debuting in 2009, and holds the Black Caps' record for test dismissals with 249 catches (excluding 10 as a fielder) and eight stumpings. Watling, who also represented New Zealand in 28 one-day internationals and five Twenty20s, said the time had

LONDON: Manchester City were crowned Premier League champions for the third time in four seasons after Manchester United crashed to a 2-1 defeat against Leicester on Tuesday (May 11). Pep Guardiola's side are 10 points clear of second placed United and have wrapped up the title with three games to spare. In the midst of a gruelling run of three games in five days, United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer effectively handed the title to arch rivals City by picking a weakened team with