LONDON: Chelsea moved into the Premier League’s top four with a 4-0 demolition of hapless Southampton, but Aston Villa’s hopes of Champions League football next season diminished after a 4-1 defeat at Crystal Palace.
After a run of three consecutive defeats, Chelsea badly needed a response against bottom-of-the-table Saints, who are set for an immediate return to the Championship.
The Blues duly delivered with three first-half goals through Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto and Levi Colwill for just a third league win 11 games.
Before kick-off at Stamford Bridge, a small band of Chelsea fans gathered to protest against the club’s owners over the club’s form and discontent over ticket prices.
Once the action got underway, it was a much-needed comfortable evening for Enzo Maresca’s men which the Italian will hope can restore confidence among his squad.
Nkunku took his tally for the season to 14 but only three of those have come in the Premier League as he has often had to play reserve to the injured Nicolas Jackson.
The Frenchman stooped to head in a corner at the back post before teeing up Neto to blast home a second.
Colwill headed in Neto’s free-kick to make the points safe before the break.
Marc Cucurella rounded off the scoring with a calm finish from teenager Tyrique George’s cross.
Victory takes Chelsea two points above Manchester City into fourth.
Thanks to English clubs’ strong performance in European competition this season, a top-five finish is likely to be enough for a place in next season’s Champions League.
Villa had rejuvenated their hopes of a second consecutive season in Europe’s elite competition after beating Chelsea on Saturday.
But Unai Emery’s men have won just one of their last seven league games after a capitulation at Selhurst Park.
Ismaila Sarr’s first-half opener was canceled out early in the second period by Morgan Rogers.
Jean-Philippe Mateta quickly restored Palace’s advantage before Sarr and Eddie Nketiah maintained the Eagles fine form.
Oliver Glasner’s side have won seven of their last nine games to rise to 12th, just six points behind Villa in 10th.
Brighton won the battle of the south coast clubs with ambitions of European football next season, over Bournemouth 2-1.
Joao Pedro won and converted a penalty on 12 minutes to give the Seagulls the lead.
A wonder strike from Justin Kluivert levelled for the Cherries, but Danny Welbeck’s winner moved the sides level on points.
Bournemouth sit seventh on goal difference with Brighton in eighth, but now just one point behind fifth-placed City.
Wolves missed the chance to pull further clear of the relegation zone after a 2-1 home defeat to Fulham.
A fast start to both halves saw the visitors take the points as Ryan Sessegnon struck inside the first minute and Rodrigo Muniz got the winner two minutes into the second period.
Wolves remain five points above the bottom three.
League leaders Liverpool can take another step toward just their second title in 35 years when they host Newcastle on Wednesday.
Second faces third as Arsenal visit Nottingham Forest, while Tottenham host City.
Chelsea thrash Southampton, Villa beaten by Palace in race for Champions League
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Chelsea thrash Southampton, Villa beaten by Palace in race for Champions League
- The Blues duly delivered with three first-half goals through Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto and Levi Colwill for just a third league win 11 games
Mahindra Racing secures season-best result in Monaco E-Prix as Rowland takes first place
- The team had arrived in Monaco on the back of nine consecutive points finishes
MONACO: Mahindra Racing recorded its strongest result of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship season to date with a second-place finish in the opening Monaco E-Prix on Saturday.
Nyck de Vries secured a runner-up finish in the Principality behind eventual winner Oliver Roland of Nissan, while team-mate Edoardo Mortara crossed the line in fourth, moving Mahindra up to third in both the Teams’ and Manufacturers’ standings.
Jake Dennis scored the third and final podium sport for Andretti.
The team had arrived in Monaco on the back of nine consecutive points finishes and a perfect Duels qualification record so far in Season 11 with its M11Electro car.
That consistency continued in qualifying, where de Vries advanced to the Semi-Finals and secured fourth on the grid. Mortara qualified ninth, giving Mahindra two cars in the top 10.
De Vries made a strong start, moving into third at the first corner before managing his race through two full-course yellow periods, a mandatory PIT BOOST stop – which requires a 34-second stationary recharge – and two Attack Mode activations. He moved into second in the closing stages and held position to the flag despite late pressure from behind.
“I’m very happy to be on the podium today, especially in front of my family and friends here in Monaco,” said de Vries. “The car was excellent, and we executed a very strong race strategically, so the whole team deserve a lot of credit for the work that we’ve done.
“Tomorrow is another day, and another race, but we’ll enjoy this result, and it’s great to have some confirmation of the progress we’re continuing to make, and a reward for the work we’ve done so far. We know the next steps will be harder, but this is encouraging.”
Mortara also moved forward through the race despite running with minor front wing damage following contact from another car. He climbed from ninth on the grid to fifth by managing his energy and using the PIT BOOST period to gain track position. He passed Nico Mueller on the final lap to take fourth.
“It’s a strong result for the team, and I was very happy to come through the field and score some good points today,” said Mortara. “Even with some minor damage, we were able to make progress and fight towards the front, which is very encouraging and another sign we are on the right path with our development of this new package.
“It’s a great start to the weekend, and hopefully we can have another positive result tomorrow.”
Team Principal and CEO Frederic Bertrand praised the team’s performance and execution, particularly under the new PIT BOOST format that was introduced this season.
“These are the days we’ve been working towards as a team, and it’s important to enjoy them whilst also being hungry for more,” said Bertrand.
“Today was a great example of what we have been building. We’ve extended our run of qualifying for the Duels and scoring points in every race this season, and I was particularly pleased to see not only how Nyck was able to fight at the front, but how Edo moved through the pack despite some small damage.
“PIT BOOST races are still a bit of an unknown for the whole paddock, but our engineers and mechanics executed a great strategy, and we were able to use it to our advantage again, as we did in Jeddah.
“Overall, a very pleasing result. It’s always nice to end the day with a trophy, but our focus remains to keep up this level of performance consistently and keep being ambitious and aim for even higher.”
Mahindra will return to action on Sunday for the second Monaco E-Prix of the weekend.
Arsenal suffer Bournemouth defeat ahead of PSG showdown
- Mikel Arteta’s side took the lead through Declan Rice’s opener on his 100th appearance for the club
- Arteta admitted this week that it was “very painful” to watch Liverpool celebrate winning the Premier League title last weekend
LONDON: Arsenal suffered a blow ahead of their Champions League showdown with Paris Saint-Germain as Evanilson fired Bournemouth to a 2-1 victory at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
Mikel Arteta’s side took the lead through Declan Rice’s opener on his 100th appearance for the club.
But Dean Huijsen equalized in the second half and Evanilson completed the comeback to give Bournemouth their first ever away win over Arsenal.
Beaten 1-0 by PSG in the Champions League semifinal first leg on Tuesday, Arsenal will need a much-improved performance in the second leg in Paris on Wednesday.
The second-placed Gunners also still require six points to guarantee Champions League qualification for next season via a top five finish in the Premier League.
Arteta admitted this week that it was “very painful” to watch Liverpool celebrate winning the Premier League title last weekend.
The Gunners finished as runners-up behind Manchester City for the last two seasons and the Champions League is their last hope of a trophy this term.
Arteta is still waiting to win the second trophy of his six-year Arsenal reign, with his last silverware coming in the 2020 FA Cup.
Arsenal last reached the Champions League final in 2006 and have never won the tournament.
With so much at stake in the Parc des Princes next week, it was intriguing to see Arteta select a full strength side for a relatively meaningless game against Bournemouth.
Instead of resting, key stars Rice, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and William Saliba were all in Arsenal’s starting line-up.
Jurrien Timber and Mikel Merino were the notable absentees for Arsenal, with Arteta revealing the former will need a fitness test to determine his availability for the PSG game.
Bournemouth arrived in north London with an outside chance of qualifying for Europe and had already beaten Arsenal at the Vitality Stadium in October.
Evanilson started for Bournemouth after his red card against Manchester United was overturned.
The Brazilian forward wasted a golden opportunity when he headed over after Jakub Kiwior slipped while trying to clear Milos Kerkez’s cross.
Leandro Trossard went close to the opener as the Arsenal forward stooped to meet Martinelli’s cross with a header that forced a good save from Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Rice made the breakthrough in the 34th minute, running onto Odegaard’s precise pass and rounding Kepa to slot into the empty net before celebrating with a bow to the crowd.
Evanilson nearly caught out David Raya with a lob from 40 yards after the Arsenal keeper miscued a pass to the striker.
Saka should have done better than head tamely at Kepa from Martinelli’s cross immediately after the interval.
Saka went closer moments later, nimbly cutting inside for a curler that fizzed past the far post.
Arsenal had failed to win nine league games in which they held the lead this season, a failing that played a major role in their title race surrender.
And once again Arteta’s side were rocked by a sucker punch as Bournemouth levelled with their first effort on target in the 67th minute.
Antoine Semenyo launched a long throw into the Arsenal area and Huijsen eluded Rice as he climbed to loop a header over Raya into the far corner from six yards.
The Gunners had lost their way and Evanilson made them pay in the 75th minute.
Marcus Tavernier flicked the ball toward the far post and Evanilson poked home, with Bournemouth finally able to celebrate after a VAR check for a potential handball.
Asian Glory for Al-Ahli with Champions League triumph
- Deserved win in front of 60,000 ecstatic fans at the King Abdullah Sport City Stadium
- First-half goals from Galeno and Franck Kessie did the damage
JEDDAH: Al-Ahli are the champions of Asia for the first time after a 2-0 victory over Kawasaki Frontale in Jeddah on Saturday.
It was a deserved win in front of 60,000 ecstatic fans at the King Abdullah Sport City Stadium as the green giants join local rivals Al-Ittihad as well as Al-Hilal in that exclusive club — Saudi Arabian champions of Asia.
First-half goals from Galeno, a beauty, and Franck Kessie did the damage and once Al-Ahli were ahead, they never looked like letting the trophy slip after being runners-up in 1986 and 2012.
Roared on by the home fans who produced another stunning exhibition of tifos before kick-off and did not let the energy levels drop, the home team starting brightly. Ivan Toney turned smartly on the right corner of the penalty area in the fifth minute, and the England striker’s strong shot forced a flying save from Louis-Thebault Yamaguchi. Moments later, it was Ziyad Al-Johani in the air on the edge of the six-yard box but his shot was also blocked by the keeper.
It was not all one-way traffic, and Marcinho’s shot from the left went just wide of the opposite post. It seemed to spur Al-Ahli on, however, and they kept pushing forward. Toney, Ibanez and Galeno all had shots, although not enough to trouble the goalkeeper too much.
Al-Ahli were on top and just when it started to look like it could be a frustrating evening, Galeno produced a moment of magic. Receiving the ball from Roberto Firmino outside the area, the Brazilian winger was given a little too much time and space. Even so, few expected the outcome — a perfect shot curled into the top corner to repay a considerable slice of that transfer fee paid to FC Porto in January.
For the five-time Japanese champions it was then crucial that they did not concede again before the break but that is exactly what happened. Firmino crossed from the right and there was former AC Milan and Barcelona midfielder Kessie to head home from close range. Kawasaki were shellshocked and desperately trying to stay in the game and not fall even further behind.
Their best chance came just before the hour. A cross from the left went all the way to the far post and perhaps Sai van Wermeskerken should have done better with the header but it went high and wide.
Al-Ahli were able to sit back and then look to break and cause problems. Riyad Mahrez, with nine goals already in the tournament, shot just wide from the edge of the area and it was all looking too comfortable for his side.
Kawasaki could not create clear chances with only Tatsuya Ito, scorer of a stunner in that 3-2 semi-final win over Al-Nassr on Wednesday, causing a few nerves among the home ranks. He shot just wide from the edge of the area with 15 minutes remaining and then came closer soon after, making a little space for himself outside Toney on the right side of the area and firing just across the face of goal.
That was as good as it got. It was a professional performance from Al-Ahli who never looked like letting their two-goal lead slip. It was a deserved win on the night and also the tournament, finishing as the only unbeaten team throughout the group and knockout stages.
The celebrations at the final whistle may well have been heard in Riyadh but the message has certainly been sent loud and clear to the rest of Asia: Al-Ahli are the new champions of the world’s biggest continent and it looks like there is more to come.
Dortmund crush Wolfsburg 4-0 to get back into Champions League mix
- The Ruhr Valley club climbed to fourth place on 51 points
- The top four teams earn an automatic spot in next season’s lucrative Champions League
DORTMUND: Borussia Dortmund cruised past VfL Wolfsburg 4-0 in the Bundesliga on Saturday, with Serhou Guirassy and Karim Adeyemi both scoring twice, to get back into the top four and boost their chances of a Champions League spot next season.
The Ruhr Valley club, last season’s Champions League finalists who for weeks looked at risk of missing out on Europe’s premier club competition, climbed to fourth place on 51 points with their fifth win in the last six league games.
They are ahead on goal difference of Freiburg, who host Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday, and a point ahead of sixth-placed RB Leipzig, who drew 3-3 with league leaders Bayern Munich.
The top four teams earn an automatic spot in next season’s lucrative Champions League.
Guinea international Guirassy struck after three minutes, charging into the box and pouncing on some sloppy defending to tuck the ball home before adding another just before the hour after a superb passing move for his 19th league goal.
Substitute Adeyemi then took matters into his own hands with two goals in four minutes. He struck in the 69th, two minutes after coming on, following a superb solo 35-meter run and then made it 4-0 with a similar effort to put the game to bed.
Motor racing-Norris wins wet Miami sprint to trim Piastri’s lead by a point
- “My luck in Miami seems pretty good at the minute, really happy,” grinned Norris
- Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was handed a 10 second penalty for an unsafe release
MIAMI: Lando Norris lucked in to win a rain-hit and crash-strewn Miami Grand Prix sprint race in a McLaren one-two on Saturday that trimmed teammate Oscar Piastri’s Formula One lead to nine points.
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, winner of the season’s first sprint in China, had a smile on his face again after finishing third with the safety car leading the closing laps before peeling off at the end.
“My luck in Miami seems pretty good at the minute, really happy,” grinned Norris, who won last year’s main grand prix for his first F1 victory.
The Briton got lucky with the safety car just at the right moment as he pitted for slick tires, with Piastri having already stopped, and came back out still in the lead he had inherited.
“I probably would’ve preferred if this had happened tomorrow, rather than today, but I’ll take it. Good job by the team,” he said.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was handed a 10 second penalty for an unsafe release that led to a pitlane collision with Mercedes’ pole-sitter Kimi Antonelli as the Italian was coming in and the champion pulling out.
That dropped four-times champion Verstappen to last of those who took the chequered flag.
Antonelli finished 10th — the 18-year-old left with nothing more than the record for youngest ever F1 polesitter in any format after only 14 laps of actual racing from an original 19.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc crashed on his way from the pits to the starting grid, with heavy spray making conditions treacherous, and did not start.
The safety car led the field around before the start procedure was suspended, with drivers struggling to see, and all 19 cars returned to the pit lane before an eventual standing start on a drying track.
Carlos Sainz crashed his Williams and Fernando Alonso was pitched into the wall after contact with Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls, triggering the decisive safety car to the finish.
“I did pretty much everything right. A bit disappointed to come away with second but that’s how it goes sometimes. Racing is a pretty cruel business,” said Piastri, who will be chasing a third grand prix win in a row on Sunday.
“Hopefully that means I get a bit of luck this afternoon in qualifying and tomorrow.”
Hamilton was one of the first to change from inters to slicks, reaping the benefit as he carved back up through the field.
“It’s been a tough year so far but...I never thought it was going to rain in Miami. It’s the first time we’ve been on track in the wet here and what a race it provided us,” said the seven-times world champion.
Alex Albon finished fourth, but under investigation for a safety car infringement, with Mercedes’ George Russell fifth and Lance Stroll sixth for Aston Martin.
Lawson was seventh and Haas rookie Ollie Bearman took the final point.
