Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.
Soccer-Dembele strike gives Barcelona narrow win over Atletico
Barcelona went three points clear at the top of LaLiga on Sunday with a 1-0 away win at Atletico Madrid, thanks to a first-half goal from Ousmane Dembele. Rivals and second-placed Real Madrid suffered a 2-1 defeat at Villarreal on Saturday, giving Barca the chance to seize the advantage in the league after 16 rounds.
Soccer-Man City crush Chelsea in FA Cup, Stevenage stun Villa
Manchester City cruised to a 4-0 win at home to Chelsea in the third round of the FA Cup on Sunday, enjoying their third successive win over Graham Potter’s side in the space of two months. Elsewhere, League Two (fourth tier) side Stevenage pulled off the shock of the weekend by winning 2-1 at Premier League Aston Villa, scoring two goals in the final few minutes.
Soccer-Napoli ease to 2-0 win at Sampdoria
Napoli brushed aside Sampdoria with a 2-0 win on Sunday after goals from Victor Osimhen and Eljif Elmas, putting the Serie A leaders back on the winning track. The visitors got a penalty after just six minutes but Matteo Politano was unable to score from the spot.
Rallying-Loeb wins eighth stage as Al-Attiyah leads Dakar into rest day
Sebastien Loeb won the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally on Sunday as Toyota’s defending champion Nasser Al-Attiyah took a lead of just over an hour into the second week of the event in Saudi Arabia. Nine-times world rally champion Loeb, driving for the Bahrain Raid Xtreme team, inherited victory in the 345km special stage from Al Duwadimi to Riyadh after Audi’s Carlos Sainz was handed a five minute penalty for speeding and dropped to third.
Motor racing-FIA boss surprised by ‘adverse reaction’ to Andretti F1 plan
The head of Formula One’s governing body on Sunday strongly supported a proposed new Andretti Cadillac all-American team and said he was surprised by “adverse reaction” to the plan. Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s comments on Twitter hinted at a row brewing between the president of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) and Formula One’s commercial rights holders Liberty Media and teams.
NFL-Emotional Bills win for Hamlin in first game since his cardiac arrest
The Buffalo Bills made an emotional return to the field on Sunday with a slew of tributes in honor of safety Damar Hamlin, who sent his love and watched from a hospital bed in Cincinnati after suffering cardiac arrest during an NFL game last week. The Bills arrived at their home stadium in Hamlin-inspired apparel and took the field waving “Pray for Damar” flags before gathering at the 50-yard-line where they collectively held up three fingers in honor of his jersey number.
Tennis-Former champion Osaka withdraws from Australian Open
Two-times champion Naomi Osaka has pulled out of the Australian Open, organisers of the year’s first Grand Slam which begins on Jan. 16 said on Sunday without elaborating on the reason, as a cloud hung over one of the sport’s brightest stars.
The Japanese former world number one’s name was on the entry list for the Australian Open, but Osaka was not scheduled to play in warm-up tournaments in Adelaide and Hobart, raising doubts about her participation in the hardcourt major.
Tennis-Djokovic lost sleep to deal with hamstring problem
Novak Djokovic said he worked with his physiotherapist all night to fix a hamstring issue before the Serbian beat Sebastian Korda in the Adelaide International 1 final on Sunday ahead of this month’s Australian Open. Djokovic underwent treatment on his left leg during Saturday’s semi-final victory over Daniil Medvedev after he hyper-extended his left hamstring while stretching to make a forehand.
Soccer-Roma snatch last-gasp 2-2 draw with Milan
A goal in stoppage time by striker Tammy Abraham helped AS Roma snatch a 2-2 draw at AC Milan on Sunday as Stefano Pioli’s men’s hopes of catching up to Serie A leaders Napoli suffered a blow. It was a soggy night at the San Siro, creating slippery conditions that affected the play.
Tennis-Fritz delivers as U.S. win inaugural United Cup crown
Taylor Fritz edged Matteo Berrettini 7-6(4) 7-6(6) as the United States justified their status as favourites to outclass Italy in a one-sided final at the inaugural United Cup mixed team tournament on Sunday. Coming into the third rubber with his team 2-0 up and needing one more victory to win the $15 million event, world number nine Fritz took the opening set when his big-hitting opponent found the net in a tight tiebreak.
(This story has not been edited by Newsd staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
