Sports

Jonathan Cook’s World Game Wrap-Up

Posted on | Posted by Jonathan Cook

Wolves riding high

Quiet-achieving Wolverhampton Wanderers are within four points of the Premier League’s top four teams after condemning Tottenham Hotspur to a third successive league defeat.

The 2-0 win, secured by goals from Raul Jimenez and Leander Dendoncker, lifted Wolves above Spurs and into seventh place on the Premier League table.

Spurs have three games in hand on fourth-placed West Ham but recent form suggests they are facing an uphill battle.

Wolves have won five and lost only one of their last seven Premier League matches.

Eriksen gets hero’s welcome

Christian Eriksen received a hero’s reception on Saturday as he was introduced to fans of his new club Brentford before their 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace.

It’s hard to imagine that just eight months ago he was being resuscitated on the pitch after suffering a cardiac arrest during Denmark’s opening Euro 2020 match against Finland.

The consequence of that near-death experience was that Eriksen had a heart regulator fitted, which prevented him from playing in Italy.

He was released by Inter Milan and recently signed a six-month deal with Brentford, where fellow Dane Thomas Frank is manager, and several Danish players are on the books.

United find wrong kind of consistency

Manchester United have found consistency under interim manager Ralf Rangnick, although not the kind they have been hoping for.

After a 1-1 FA Cup draw against Middlesbrough – which was followed by a penalty shoot-out defeat – United have also drawn 1-1 in Premier League games against Burnley and Southampton.

The stalemate against the Saints at Old Trafford on Saturday followed a familiar pattern with United scoring first, this time through Jadon Sancho, before conceding an equaliser. Che Adams obliged on this occasion.

United are now fifth on the Premier League table and fighting to qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League.

Sterling hat-trick as City march on

Raheem Sterling warmed up for a trip to Portugal this week with a perfect hat-trick in Manchester City’s 4-0 English Premier League win over Norwich City.

Manager Pep Guardiola will be hoping the England international can take his current form into the UEFA Champions League match against Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday.

Norwich, who have picked up seven of a possible 15 points in 2022, have shown clear signs of improvement under manager Dean Smith.

And the Canaries held out City for 31 minutes before Sterling scored the first of his three goals. Phil Foden was also on target for City.

Lampard claims first Everton win

Everton’s new manager Frank Lampard claimed a first Premier League win with a 3-0 thumping of Leeds United.

The win lifted Everton five points clear of the relegation zone with Leeds just a point above them.

Although Lampard’s reign had started with a big FA Cup win over fellow Premier League side Brentford, Everton were brought back down to earth with a league defeat to Newcastle.

But the return of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Alex Iwobi and a first start for new signing Donny van de Beek transformed the Toffees.

150 for Keogh as Stynes shines

Daniel Stynes scored a last-gasp equaliser to earn a point for Perth Glory and spoil Central Coast Mariners’ hopes of a home victory.

On a day when Andy Keogh became the first Glory player to reach 150 A-League appearances for the club, Stynes was the man in the spotlight with the late equaliser in the 1-1 draw.

With six players only recently out of COVID quarantine, coach Richard Garcia was again forced to shuffle the pack. And it was A-League debutant Adam Zimarino, who provided the assist for substitute Stynes’ 93rd-minute goal.

The fightback, which came after Jason Cummings had given the Mariners the lead, still left Glory at the bottom of the table on eight points from as many games.

But Glory have played fewer games than all other teams, including having two games in hand on 11th-placed Western Sydney Wanderers (9 points) and 10th-placed Brisbane Roar (11 points).

Roar score early to sink Bulls

A goal after just 62 seconds from Nikolai Mileusnic was the platform for Brisbane Roar’s 3-1 win over Macarthur.

It was a well-deserved victory for the Roar, whose win came in Jack Hingert’s 200th appearance for the club.

Roar have now won three of their last five matches and sit 10th on the table, four points behind Macarthur who are sixth.

After winning four of their first five games of the season, Macarthur have failed to win any of their most recent five games with only two points picked up in draws against Central Coast Mariners and Western United.

Chelsea claim Club World Cup crown

They might have no hope of winning the English Premier League this season, but Chelsea are kings of the world after a victory over Brazil’s Palmeiras in Abu Dhabi.

The Blues, who are 16 points adrift of Premier League leaders Manchester City, scored a 2-1 extra time victory after Raphael Veiga’s penalty had cancelled out Romelu Lukaku’s header.

Kai Havertz, who had scored Chelsea’s winner in the 2021 UEFA Champions League final, kept his cool to score the winner from the penalty spot after a handball by Luan.

Chelsea’s German manager Thomas Tuchel, who had missed the semi-final win over Al-Hilal because of a positive COVID test, returned a negative test just in time to be at the final.

Milan overtake Inter in title chase

AC Milan took full advantage of Inter Milan’s dropped points to go top of Italy’s Serie A.

Inter had gone into the weekend’s fixtures top of the table but were held to a 1-1 draw by third-placed Napoli on Saturday, leaving the door ajar for Milan last night.

And they made the most of the opportunity. Rafael Leao scored after just eight minutes to ease Milan nerves and that was all they could muster in a 1-0 win over Sampdoria.

On Saturday, Napoli had opened the scoring through Lorenzo Insigne’s penalty but Edin Dzeko fired home an equaliser.

Milan, on 55 points, are just a point ahead of Inter and only two clear of Napoli.

Bochum shock Bayern Munich

Bundesliga newcomers Bochum stunned Bayern Munich by scoring four first-half goals in a 4-2 victory over the league leaders.

Remarkably, Bochum had conceded four goals in the opening 45 minutes against Bayern in a 7-0 defeat earlier in the season.

But the tables were turned in spectacular fashion as Bochum, without a win in their past three league games, became the first team to score four first-half goals against Bayern since Eintracht Frankfurt in 1975.

Bochum, who had not won in their last three games, only returned to the top division this season following an 11-year absence.




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