BIRMINGHAM, United Kingdom: Romelu Lukaku came on to score his first Premier League goal since September to keep Chelsea in the title race as the European champions came from behind to beat Aston Villa 3-1.
Reece James’ own goal put Villa ahead, but Jorginho quickly levelled from the penalty spot in a clash between two of the many English sides hit by cases of coronavirus.
Lukaku was one of Chelsea’s absentees due to a positive test for draws against Everton and Wolves last week that saw them lose ground in the title race.
But he made his return off the bench at the break and made an almost instant impact to head home Callum Hudson Odoi’s cross.
The Belgian’s blistering run then won a second Chelsea penalty in stoppage time that Jorginho slotted home.
Thomas Tuchel’s men move level on points with Liverpool, who have a game in hand, and back to within six of Manchester City, who were 6-3 winners over Leicester earlier on Boxing Day.
Villa’s own Covid outbreak saw manager Steven Gerrard forced into isolation after he tested positive on Christmas Day.
Gerrard has made a big impression since taking over in November, but this was another lesson in the gap he has to bridge to the Premier League’s top three after defeats to City and Liverpool.
The home side got off to the perfect start when James flicked Matt Targett’s effort over his own goalkeeper Edouard Mendy to open the scoring on 28 minutes.
However, the lead lasted just six minutes due to Matty Cash’s rash challenge on Hudson-Odoi inside the area.
Jorginho was Chelsea’s top league scorer last season despite all of his goals coming from penalties and the Italian international is his side’s leading marksmen in all competitions thanks to nine spot-kicks this season.
Lukaku will expect that to change over the coming weeks as the club’s record signing finds his form after a disrupted start to his second spell at Stamford Bridge.
He is still yet to start in the Premier League since suffering an ankle injury in October, with his positive test for Covid coming just as he was returning to full fitness.
But a Lukaku in form is what Chelsea need if they are to mount a serious title challenge with clashes against Liverpool and City to come in January.
The former Manchester United striker took just 11 minutes to make the difference as he timed his run perfectly to meet Hudson-Odoi’s cross and powered a header low past Emiliano Martinez.
Chelsea should have run out more comfortable winners as Mason Mount dragged his shot wide with the goal gaping after rounding Martinez.
The Argentine then spread himself to deny Hudson-Odoi when one-on-one.
But the only way Ezri Konsa could stop Lukaku as he powered his way through the Villa defense late on was by hauling him down and Jorginho got the better on Martinez once more from the spot.
Lukaku revives Chelsea’s title bid at Aston Villa
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Lukaku revives Chelsea’s title bid at Aston Villa
- Lukaku was one of Chelsea's absentees due to a positive test for draws against Everton and Wolves last week
- The Belgian's blistering run then won a second Chelsea penalty in stoppage time
Proud Draper sees Indian Wells triumph as fruit of his labors
- Draper’s Indian Wells victory was viewed as a surprise in many quarters but the player himself said he had felt an important win was increasingly within his reach
- Draper said his first tournament victory on the tour, in Stuttgart last June, had been a turning point in his confidence that he could reach the elite in the sport
MIAMI GARDENS: For Britain’s Jack Draper, his first Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells on Sunday was a moment of pride and joy but not, he suggests, a huge surprise.
The 23-year-old enjoyed an outstanding two weeks in the Californian desert, enjoying an upset win over Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals, after beating top Americans Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz.
In the final he defeated Denmark’s Holger Rune in straight sets — a triumph which moved him into the top 10 for the first time in his career.
Asked what his main emotion had been in the aftermath of that triumph, Draper said: “I think big pride ... to be able to celebrate that with my team ... in tennis, there’s lots of ups and downs, there’s lots of adversity, especially for me over the years.
“I feel like I’ve been on a big journey with my team and the guys around me, and they’ve been incredibly supportive of myself,” Draper said Wednesday as he prepared for this week’s Miami Open in Florida.
Draper’s Indian Wells victory was viewed as a surprise in many quarters but the player himself said he had felt an important win was increasingly within his reach.
“I feel like, I’ve been on a trajectory where I’ve been really consistent for a while, putting in great work, trying to really learn and grow, not only as a player, but also as a person off the court. And I feel like it’s amazing,” he said.
“That moment felt amazing, not because of the win and all that, just because, you know, the accumulation of all the hours spent, all the hard work, all the figuring out the problems and the things we need to improve.
“And to be able to celebrate that with the close people around me, my family, you know, that feels amazing,” he said.
Draper said his first tournament victory on the tour, in Stuttgart last June, had been a turning point in his confidence that he could reach the elite in the sport.
“I was a lot calmer because of that. I feel like that was something I needed to get over as a hurdle in my mind as a young player. When you come onto the tour, it’s difficult. You’re kind of in the changing room with all the players you’ve watched on the TV and you admire.
“I’m sure everyone feels that, you feel like you don’t belong and then you’re out on court and you’re playing. But I think the more and more experiences I’ve got of playing big matches and winning against big opponents and all this sort of stuff.
“And obviously, semifinal of US Open and winning Vienna, all the accumulation of things, I think over time is helping me to believe more and more that I’m capable of, you know ... I don’t know what I am capable of, I don’t like to think too far ahead,” he said.
With the distance of a few days, Draper is able to put Sunday’s victory into context but he didn’t try to hide the satisfaction it had given him and the extra boost to his self-belief.
“It definitely gives me more confidence and more inner belief than I had before.
“But at the same time, I’ve been sort of building toward this, I’ve been improving all the time at the back end of last year. I was on a really good run of form.
“I feel great about everything and I don’t feel crazily different. I just keep up the hard work, keep on doing what I’m doing, and hopefully it keeps on coming together for me,” he said.
Draper will start off his Miami Open bid on Saturday against either Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut or Czech Jakub Mensik.
How the sale of Newcastle United to Saudi Arabia’s PIF transformed the club’s fortunes
- NUFC was purchased by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in October 2021, marking the start of a major turnaround for the club
- Under team captain Eddie Howe, the English football side have avoided relegation and quickly become top Premier League contenders
DUBAI: For the majority of football fans, Jan. 22, 2021, is unlikely to be a date that sticks in their long-term memory. But for supporters of one club in particular, it is one that is laden with significance.
With just 15 minutes left of Newcastle United’s match against Leeds United at Elland Road, the score was 0-0. A miserable Premier League season looked set to continue for Eddie Howe’s team.
Then up stepped Jonjo Shelvey to give Newcastle a priceless 1-0 victory. It is no exaggeration to say that the win instantly changed the complexion of the team’s season and with it the club’s trajectory.
Going into their 21st match of the league season, Newcastle United had found themselves with just one previous win, leaving them stuck in the relegation zone.
FASTFACTS
• Newcastle is a one-club city.
• Newcastle United’s Carabao Cup win was their first trophy in 55 years.
• Newcastle have won Four League titles and six FA Cups.
After the win at Leeds, however, Newcastle would embark on a run that would see them win five of their next six matches, and nine of the next 13. The team cruised to safety and ended the season in a comfortable 11th place.
Howe had conjured a miracle that barely seemed feasible just a few months earlier when he was tasked with turning around the club’s fortunes following their sale by long-time owner Mike Ashley.
On Sunday, as Howe, his team, and chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan celebrated with delirious fans at Wembley after Newcastle defeated Liverpool 2-1 in the Carabao Cup final, those memories from just three years earlier must have seemed like a distant bad dream.
Newcastle had won their first major trophy in 55 years, justifying the faith that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) had shown in the club and the city when it finally completed a takeover on Oct. 7, 2021.
PIF, alongside Amanda Staveley’s PCP Capital Partners and Reuben Brothers, had been pursuing the club for more than a year. Once the deal with Ashley had been completed, they set about reawakening a sleeping giant — one of England’s and Europe’s biggest clubs.
Newcastle United supporters had had few reasons to celebrate since the mid-1990s when manager Kevin Keegan’s “Entertainers” team had come close to winning the Premier League, only to lose out to Alex Ferguson’s unstoppable Manchester United.
Now, backed by PIF and its chairman Al-Rumayyan in the boardroom, and with Staveley and husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi initially their public face, this was a club reborn.
The mission was to not only build a successful football team, but to also rejuvenate the local area surrounding St James’ Park in this one-club city.
First up was to hire Howe, a promising young English coach who had performed footballing miracles with Bournemouth FC by taking them from League One to the Premier League.
While at the time some supporters had expected a more established European coach, PIF’s decision to give Howe the reins on Nov. 8, 2021, has proved to be inspired.
Next was to assemble and oversee a squad capable of Premier League survival. If and when that was achieved, they would need to go on to challenge the country’s elite clubs at the other end of the table.
Without splurging on superstar names, Howe’s signings were astute. January of 2022 saw the arrival of Kieran Trippier for Atletico Madrid, Chris Wood from Burnley, Matt Targett from Aston Villa, and former Newcastle youth player Dan Burn from Brighton.
But, without a doubt, the jewel in the crown was Bruno Guimaraes from Olympique Lyon. Fans instantly fell in love with their gifted Brazilian midfielder.
Another masterful trick managed by Howe was to rejuvenate players like Joelinton Cassio Apolinario de Lira, Sean Longstaff, and Miguel Almiron, who had stagnated under the reign of previous coach Steve Bruce and owner Ashley.
After relegation was easily avoided with a stunning second half to the 2021-22 Premier League season, the squad was strengthened in the summer transfer window with the signings of goalkeeper Nick Pope from Burney, highly rated Dutch defender Sven Botman from Lille, and the superlative Swedish international Alexander Isak from Real Sociedad.
Newcastle now had a formidable squad that was ready to challenge for trophies and European places. And that is exactly what they did in the 2022-23 season.
At the start of 2023, Howe led the club to its first major cup final since 1998. But, on Feb. 28, the still-developing team found the task of defeating Manchester United a step too far, losing 2-0 at Wembley Stadium.
Despite the cup final defeat, Howe’s first full season as manager ended on a major high as the club finished in fourth place in the Premier League to secure a spot in the following season’s UEFA Champions League.
The following season would prove to be one of consolidation. Despite the signings of Anthony Gordon from Everton, Sandro Tonali from AC Milan, and Harvey Barnes from Leicester City, the team found it hard to balance the challenges of the Premier League and European competition.
A stunning 4-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain at St James’ Park in October, could not stop Newcastle from exiting the Champions League in the group stages. Their final position of seventh in the Premier League would have disappointed fans hoping for another invite to Europe’s top table.
But that was only a prelude to what will now go down as one of the greatest seasons in Newcastle’s history. There were moments of uncertainty for fans as the team’s Premier League form fluctuated throughout the current campaign. But glory was just around the corner.
A superb two-legged Carabao Cup semi-final win, which saw a 2-0 victory at the Emirates followed by another at St James Park, gave Newcastle another chance to claim its first trophy in generations. This time it would be against Premier League leaders and England’s most successful club, Liverpool.
Sunday, March 16 would prove a golden day for Newcastle. Their fans, who had taken over central London in the two days leading up to the final, were as remarkable in the stands as their heroes were on the pitch.
Goals by the local hero Burn and talisman Guimaraes either side of half time left supporters in dreamland. Despite a late Liverpool goal, Newcastle were not denied a well deserved 2-1 win.
Cue Bruno’s tears, Al-Rumayyan’s joyous celebrations and pure delirium on the Wembley terraces.
It was a victory 55 years in the making, but one achieved almost in a blink of an eye since the dark days of 2021.
Saudi olympic committee vice president attends opening of IOC’s 144th session
- Princess Reema bint Bandar, member of the committee and Saudi ambassador to the US, also attended the event
Vice President of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee Prince Fahd bin Jalawi bin Abdulaziz attended the opening of the 144th session of the International Olympic Committee in Olympia, Greece.
The committee was inaugurated by Greek President Konstantinos Tasoulas.
Princess Reema bint Bandar, member of the committee and Saudi ambassador to the US, attended, along with several officials and IOC members.
The session sets the stage for the official proceedings, which takes place from March 19 to March 21 in Costa Navarino.
Barca on track for women’s Champions League semis after thumping Wolfsburg
- Janina Minge pulled one back inside the final 15 minutes for Wolfsburg, before Sydney Schertenleib added a late fourth
- Winners of three of the past four Champions Leagues, Barcelona showed fluency in attack and pinned the Wolves back early
WOLFSBURG, Germany: Defending champions Barcelona are on track for the final four of the women’s Champions League after a dominant 4-1 win in their quarter-final first leg at Wolfsburg on Wednesday.
Unlike the 2023 Champions League final between the same two opponents, won narrowly 3-2 by Barcelona who came from two goals down, Wednesday’s clash was an uneven affair.
A first-half own-goal by Caitlin Dijkstra, followed up by two strikes in quick succession in the second period by Irene Paredes and Salma Paralluelo put the visitors firmly in control.
Janina Minge pulled one back inside the final 15 minutes for Wolfsburg, before Sydney Schertenleib added a late fourth.
Winners of three of the past four Champions Leagues, Barcelona showed fluency in attack and pinned the Wolves back early.
Barcelona’s dominance of the ball finally showed on the scoreboard after 26 minutes when Ewa Pajor, who spent almost a decade at the German club, pressured Dijkstra into conceding an own goal from Aitana Bonmati’s cross.
The visitors were unable to make their dominance count further with just a one-goal lead heading into half-time.
But Barcelona quickly took control of the match, and the tie, with two goals in three minutes just after the interval.
Paredes tapped in from close range after Wolfsburg failed to deal with a Barcelona corner on 50 minutes.
On the 53rd-minute mark, Paralluelo scored on a Barcelona counter, her shot scuffed into her own net by Wolfsburg’s Minge.
Paralluelo looked to have scored again just five minutes later, but was half-a-meter offside when assisted by Pajor.
Minge gave Wolfsburg hope when she headed in unmarked from just near the penalty spot with 79 minutes gone, but Swiss teenager Schertenleib’s fine curling finish with two minutes remaining put Barcelona firmly in control of the tie.
The scope of the loss leaves Wolfsburg needing a mountain to climb next week in Barcelona if they are to move past the Catalans and try and add to their total of two Champions League titles.
Later, Manchester City host English champions Chelsea in Wednesday’s other quarter-final.
The Tour de France is returning to the UK in 2027 with a start from Edinburgh
- It will be the 28th time that the Tour de France starts from a foreign country
- For the Tour de France Femmes, it will be the first time holding stages in Britain, with the start location to be announced later
PARIS: Britain will host the Grand Départ of both the Tour de France and the women’s version of the race in 2027, organizers said Wednesday.
It will be the 28th time that the Tour de France starts from a foreign country, and the first time since 2014 — when the Tour began in the Yorkshire region — that Britain hosts the start of cycling’s biggest race. The 2007 Tour started in London.
For the Tour de France Femmes, it will be the first time holding stages in Britain, with the start location to be announced later.
The men’s and women’s races will take place on different dates.
Full details of the route have yet to be announced but organizers revealed that the men’s Tour de France will begin in Edinburgh, Scotland. There will be stages in England and Wales, too.
When the Tour departed from Yorkshire, the event drew enormous crowds.
“The Tour de France and the UK share a rich history, and I am delighted to bring the Grand Départ to the country in 2027,” said Christian Prudhomme, the Tour de France director. “Britain has always welcomed the Tour with enthusiasm and pride, and this collaboration across England, Scotland, and Wales promises to make the event even more special.”
Three British riders have won the Tour — Bradley Wiggins in 2012, four-time champion Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas.
Last year’s Grand Depart took place in Florence, Italy, with the 2026 race due to start in Barcelona, Spain.
This year’s race will start from the northern French city of Lille.
It will be the second start of the women’s race outside France following the Grand Départ in the Netherlands in 2024, organizers said.
