Sports

Arsenal fight back To Claim Europa League Last 32 Spot

December 12, 2019 5:24 pm

Arsenal came back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at Standard Liege and make sure of a place in the Europa League last 32 as Group F winners on Thursday.

Alexandre Lacazette and Bukayo Saka were on target in the space of three second-half minutes.

The Gunners, runners-up to Chelsea last season, finished the group stage with 11 points and a relatively easier draw in the knockout rounds.

They lived on their nerves as Eintracht Frankfurt were poised to knock them off top spot when the Germans led Guimaraes 2-1.

However, the Portuguese side, already eliminated, scored twice in the

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Captain Woods To Play Again As US Look To Bounce Back

December 12, 2019 5:24 pm

Tiger Woods will juggle his captain’s duties with playing for a second day at the Presidents Cup on Friday as the United States attempt to claw back a 4-1 deficit.

The 15-time major winner was the standout player for his team during the opening fourballs on Thursday and he opted to go again with the same partner Justin Thomas.

They were the only winners among the Americans at a blustery Royal Melbourne, beating Marc Leishman and Joaquin Niemann 4 and 3.

Woods said he would not have played again if the United States were not so far behind against

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Heavy security As Pakistan Host First Cricket Since Attack

December 11, 2019 4:12 pm

Tight security ringed Rawalpindi cricket stadium on Wednesday as Pakistan hosted their first Test match since a deadly attack on Sri Lanka’s team ushered in a decade of sporting isolation.

Despite being targeted in the 2009 guns-and-rocket assault, Sri Lanka have returned for two Tests in Rawalpindi and Karachi which Pakistan hope will help convince other teams to visit.

Eight people were killed and several players and officials were wounded when militants attacked a convoy of buses headed for Lahore’s Gadaffi Stadium for the second Test in March 2009.

Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat on Wednesday, …

Ford Seals First Win With Beaver Creek Giant Slalom Victory

December 9, 2019 5:02 pm

Tommy Ford swept to the first World Cup victory of his career at the Beaver Creek giant slalom in Colorado on Sunday.

The 30-year-old American, who had led after a blistering first run on the Birds of Prey course, sealed victory with a flawless second run of 1min 14.85 for a combined time of 2:31.25.

That was good enough to edge ahead of Norwegian duo Henrik Kristoffersen and Leif Kristian Nestvold-Haugen, who finished second and third respectively.

Kristoffersen, third fastest after the first run, had moved into first place after clocking 1:15.42 with his second run for a total of …

Riquelme Beats Maradona As Boca Juniors Elect New President

December 9, 2019 5:02 pm

Former Argentina playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme has won a three-way battle with bitter rival Diego Maradona and Gabriel Batistuta after his group won the elections at Boca Juniors, striking a big blow against his old foe Maradona.

The list headed by Jorge Ameal, who was club president between 2008 and 2011, won 52.8 percent of the vote from Boca’s 84,000 members, bringing Riquelme into the 33-time Argentine champions’ hierarchy.

The 41-year-old stood alongside Ameal as prospective second vice-president and helped see off the faction supported by Maradona and powerful outgoing president of Argentina Mauricio Macri, which was led by …

Real Madrid Forward Benzema Could Face Trial Over Sextape

December 9, 2019 5:01 pm

Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema may be facing a criminal trial after France’s highest court of appeal on Monday dismissed his appeal challenging the legality of a blackmail investigation over a sextape featuring fellow footballer Mathieu Valbuena.

The court found that the investigative methods used in the case, in which Benzema is alleged to have colluded in blackmailing Valbuena, were within the law.

Benzema and Valbuena were both in the French national team at the time of the attempted blackmail.

In June 2015, Valbuena, who now plays for Greek club Olympiakos, filed a complaint, claiming he was the victim of …

Ten-Man Celtic Prolong Rangers’ Wait For Silverware

December 8, 2019 4:46 pm

Steven Gerrard lamented a huge missed chance to land his first silverware as Rangers manager as 10-man Celtic claimed a 10th straight Scottish domestic trophy with a 1-0 win over their fierce rivals in Sunday’s League Cup final.

Christopher Jullien scored the only goal on the hour mark, but Neil Lennon’s men had goalkeeper Fraser Forster to thank for a string of saves, including from Alfredo Morelos’ second-half penalty after Jeremie Frimpong was sent off for bringing down the Colombian striker.

Rangers enjoyed by far the better of the play and the chances even when Celtic had their full compliment

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South Africa Win Dubai Sevens

December 7, 2019 4:22 pm

Blitzbokke flyer Rosko Specman helped South Africa to a 15-0 victory over New Zealand on Saturday to win the opening leg of the World Rugby Sevens Series in Dubai.

The South Africans scraped past Argentina 12-5 in the quarter-finals before routing Samoa 38-7 in the semi-finals.

New Zealand had overcome the United States (26-5) and England (19-12) to set up the final, but the Boks proved too strong, keeping the All Blacks pointless as they notched up a seventh title in the United Arab Emirates, the first of 10 tournaments in a season that culminates in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic …

China’s Sui And Han Win ISU Grand Prix Final Pairs Gold

December 7, 2019 4:21 pm

Two-time world champions Sui Wenjing and Han Cong led a Chinese 1-2 to claim their first pairs gold in the ISU Grand Prix figure skating final in Turin on Friday.

But Japan’s Rika Kihira’s crashed in her title defence as she sits last after the women’s short programme with Russia’s Alena Kostornaia leading the way with a new world record mark.

Despite Han’s errors in their free skate to “Rain in Your Black Eyes” by Italian composer Ezio Bosso the Olympic silver medallists won by a comfortable 7.42-point margin.

Peng Cheng and Jin Yang took the top scores in the …

United Win Feisty Manchester Derby

December 7, 2019 4:11 pm

Manchester United delivered a potentially fatal blow to Manchester City’s Premier League title hopes on Saturday after leaders Liverpool secured the Christmas number one spot with victory against Bournemouth.

Defending champions City came into the match at the Etihad Stadium knowing they had to win after Jurgen Klopp’s men coasted to a 3-0 victory on England’s south coast but they succumbed to United’s lightning-quick attacks, losing 2-1.

Earlier, Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham blitzed Burnley 5-0, with Son Heung-min scoring a sensational individual goal, while fourth-placed Chelsea went down 3-1 to Everton at Goodison Park.

City’s fourth league defeat of the season …

Arnis, Philippines Martial Art That Evokes Magellan’s Wrath

December 7, 2019 4:10 pm

To the untrained eye, arnis — the stick-wielding martial art of the Philippines — is brutal and frenzied, but behind the chaos lies a tradition dating back hundreds of years.

With some contests lasting just a few minutes, the fast and furious combat sport made a triumphant return to the Southeast Asian Games this week, boosting the home nation’s haul of golds by 14.

Filipino ‘arnisadors’ are fiercely proud of their country, and the sport that symbolises their spirit of battle and revolution.

AFP / WAKIL KOHSARTo the untrained eye, arnis — the stick-wielding martial art of the
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Second-String Saracens Suffer Title Hopes Blow At Munster

December 7, 2019 4:10 pm

Coach Mark McCall made nine changes as Saracens’ hopes of defending their European Champions Cup title were dealt a blow after a 10-3 defeat at Munster on Saturday.

The English champions, who have been fined and deducted points in the Premiership for salary cap irregularities, rested England’s Owen Farrell as well as Billy and Mako Vunipola for the bonus point loss.

It leaves them third in the Pool 4 standings, five points behind the Irish province and six behind Racing 92 before hosting the two-time winners next Saturday.

In the other game in the group the French club hammered

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𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬, 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐘𝐨𝐫𝐤, is a nonpartisan online news portal founded on the truth to provide you with weekly, insightful articles written with precision and current updates on current events from Africa in particular and the rest of the world in general. All of our reports undergo extensive fact-checking to ensure their veracity, and we adhere strictly to the facts, no matter whose ox is gored.

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