Mumbai: Steve Coppell led Jamshedpur FC today consolidated their chances of qualifying for the Hero Indian Super League semi-finals as they shocked Mumbai City FC with a 2-1 win at Mumbai Football Arena, Mumbai. Jamshedpur were second best to Mumbai City for long spells, particularly in the second session. The visitors took the lead in the first half after Sanju Pradhan turned the ball into his own goal in the 37th minute. In the second session, Mumbai equalised through Everton Santos in the 79th minute. But just when it seemed like the match was heading for a draw, substitute Bikash Jairu scored with six minutes left to be played to hand Jamshedpur an important win. Today’s victory propelled Jamshedpur to the top four for the first time in this season. The debutants now have 22 points from 14 matches and are placed fourth. However, this was Jamshedpur’s 14th match – the most by any team in the league so far.. With just four matches left to be played, not everything is in their own hands but the Steve Coppell boys will return home happy that they are still in the race.
Mumbai City are placed sixth with 17 points from 13 matches. Bikash Jairu was the man who made the victory possible with a late strike but the Hero of the night was Subrata Paul. The goalkeeper made several superlative saves and was responsible for keeping the visitors in the game. Jamshedpur started with positive intent but lacked the cutting edge infront of goal as the strikers misfired. They needed an own goal from Sanju Pradhan to surge ahead in the 37th minute. Farukh Choudhary danced his way through the middle and shot on goal. The ball lacked power and direction but to Jamshedpur’s luck, it ricocheted off defender Marcio Rozario's heel towards goal where Sanju desperately tried to clear but it was too late. In the second half, Mumbai City changed gears and constantly attacked. Everton Santos, Thiago Santos, Balwant Singh and even Sahil Tavora had chances to draw level. They tried as well but Subrata was unbeatable, effecting several saves. The goalkeeper, however, was found wanting in the 79th minute when a corner from Thiago at the near post saw Everton attack. Subrata was on hand to keep it away but his hesitant clearance hit Everton and sailed into the net. A draw would have been disastrous for both teams. Towards the closing stages of the match Bikash made his presence count. It was Andre Bikey who initiated the move from the right by finding Kervens Belfort all alone with the keeper but couldn’t get the better of Amrinder Singh. The rebound fell for Bikash and he made no mistake to hammer it home.
LONDON: Formula One is ending the use of female models who parade on the starting grid and stand with the drivers’ name boards before every grand prix. The decision was announced in a statement on Wednesday with the change, which also applies to all support races, coming into effect from the start of the season in Australia on March 25. “While the practice of employing grid girls has been a staple of Formula One grands prix for decades, we feel this custom does not resonate with our brand values and clearly is at odds with modern day societal norms,” said commercial manager Sean Bratches. “We don’t believe the practice is appropriate or relevant to Formula One and its fans, old and new, across the world,” he added. The move became a major talking point among fans on social media and was welcomed by Britain’s Women’s Sport Trust, who said in a tweet: ”Thank you @F1 for deciding to stop using grid girls. “Another sport making a clear choice about what they want to stand for.” Cycling, professional boxing and the UFC still have women parading between bouts or featuring as podium hostesses but the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) recently scrapped such walk-on roles.
Britain’s Sun tabloid newspaper took a different view, however, with a front page headline on Thursday blaming ‘killjoys’ for turning the sport into ‘Formula Dumb’. Formula One has not had a woman race driver on the starting grid since the 1970s but is now far more mixed off the track, with female engineers, aerodynamicists and mechanics as well as in media and marketing. Two of the 10 teams have had female bosses, including former champions Williams, and Formula One management has a number of women in senior positions. SEXIST AND OUTDATED The use of female models, even if not as scantily-clad as in the past, has been increasingly criticised as sexist and outdated in a sport that is now undergoing a revamp since Liberty Media took over last year. Liberty, who ousted octogenarian former supremo Bernie Ecclestone a year ago, have been looking to make the pre-race show more of a feature with the emphasis on entertainment for fans and promotion. “Formula One considers the time spent by teams and drivers on the grid before a race as one of celebration, where guests and various performers can add to the glamour and spectacle of the Grand Prix,” the statement said. It added that the change would allow promoters and partners “to showcase their countries and products”. Ross Brawn, Formula One’s managing director for motorsport, gave notice last December that the use of female models on the grid was under review. “There’s a lot of people respect the tradition of the grid girls and there’s people who feel that it has become a bit dated, so we’re addressing that,” he told the BBC at the time. In 2015, men were deployed in place of the women at the Monaco Grand Prix -- a move welcomed by some fans and deplored by others.
SEOUL : A North Korean figure skating pair along with eight other athletes will arrive in South Korea later on Thursday by airplane, set to compete in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics that will begin next week. The figure skating pair had been the only North Koreans to have secured a spot at the Winter Games through the conventional qualifying competition. Despite losing their place after failing to register, they were handed one quota place by the International Olympic Committee last month.
Three alpine skiers, three cross-country skiers and two short-track skaters will accompany the pair, according to the Ministry of Unification. The North Korean athletes, who have been also been handed quota places, will join 12 ice hockey players who arrived in South Korea last month. North and South Korea have agreed to march under a single flag at the opening ceremony at the Pyeongchang Olympics and field a united team in the women’s ice hockey after rare inter-Korean talks were launched in early January. Quota places are a rarely-used form of wild card. On the Asiana flight to South Korea’s Yangyang International Airport, the North Korean athletes will join South Koreans who are visiting the North for a two-day joint ski training program that began Wednesday at the North’s Masikryong ski resort. According to a pool report from South Korean reporters who accompanied the athletes, the visitors from the South were given a 19-course meal on the second floor of the hotel at the ski resort. Members of the South Korean crew supporting the athletes, as well as journalists, were given a set of padded clothes, hats, goggles and gloves, the report said. When asked to compare the ski resort to South Korean ski facilities, athletes told reporters there that Masikryong “wasn’t largely lacking”.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has recommended the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang use an older version of doping sample bottles after concerns were raised about the latest model, the agency said on Wednesday. The recommendation, to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), came after it was confirmed a portion of the new generation bottles are susceptible to manual opening without evidence of tampering, whether they have been frozen or not, WADA said in a statement. Previously it was thought a problem existed with the newer bottles only when they were frozen. The Winter Olympics begin on Feb. 9.
The IOC was not immediately available for comment but earlier had said it was concerned about the new bottles. GUARANTEES INTEGRITY “At this stage, our clear recommendation to the IOC is that it continue to use the earlier model, which is still used by a number of testing authorities around the world,” WADA Director General Olivier Niggli said. “This should be seen as a precautionary measure that guarantees the integrity of the doping control process at the Games.” WADA said it had managed to find enough kits of the earlier model bottles used at the 2016 Rio Games to cover the entire testing program for Pyeongchang. WADA began an investigation into the new model, released in 2017, after the accredited laboratory in Cologne, Germany, had discovered they may potentially be susceptible to manual opening “upon freezing”. WADA said they had advised anti-doping agencies who only have the newest security bottles available to continue to use them in the short-term until stock of other kits can be obtained rather than suspend testing. Anti-doping agencies had turned to newer bottles after a major doping scandal at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. U.S. Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart, who earlier had thought the newer generation bottles could be used at the Winter Olympics if they were not frozen, said he supported WADA’s recommendation. “It’s obvious after watching the (German broadcaster) ARD documentary released today that the problems with the (newer) bottles also can happen, even if not frozen,” Tygart told Reuters. ”Given this, it’s critical these bottles are replaced for the Games.
London: Manchester City tightened their stranglehold at the top of the Premier League on Wednesday by trouncing bottom club West Bromwich Albion 3-0 as nearest rivals Manchester United suffered a chastening 2-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur. Pep Guardiola’s runaway leaders, whose new record signing Aymeric Laporte enjoyed an impressive debut, surged 15 points clear of their neighbours, who were outplayed by Spurs at Wembley after Christian Eriksen scored in just under 11 seconds. The last night of the transfer window provided a fascinating backdrop to the midweek fixture list with Chelsea’s final-day signing Olivier Giroud doubtless shocked at Stamford Bridge to see the champions suffer a remarkable 3-0 loss to Bournemouth. Manchester City’s 12th straight league home win, thanks to goals from Fernandinho, Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero, took them to 68 points - level with Tottenham Hotspur in 1960-61 as the best record by any club after 25 matches of an English top-flight season. Manchester United are on 53 points with Chelsea dropping to fourth on 50, the same as third-placed Liverpool. Spurs moved to within two points of the pair on 48. Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering City took their tally of goals in all competitions this season to 100 when the outstanding De Bruyne, who had provided a superb first-half assist for Fernandinho to shoot home, scored their second.
Frenchman Laporte, signed from Athletic Bilbao for a City club record of 57 million pounds ($80.9 million) on Tuesday, slotted into their defence comfortably. His debut left Guardiola enthusing: “Yesterday he made the first training session but today we saw how good he is. He made an amazing, amazing performance.” The match of the night at Wembley, though, played in front of a record crowd for a Premier League game of 81,978, proved a disappointing one for Jose Mourinho as his own major signing Alexis Sanchez failed to shine after United had conceded a “ridiculous” early goal. Eriksen cashed in with a neat finish after Spurs had launched a long ball straight from kickoff that was flicked on by Harry Kane and Dele THIRD FASTEST Timed at just under 11 seconds, it equalled the third fastest goal scored in the Premier League era after the 10-second efforts netted by former Spurs favourite Ledley King and Newcastle United’s Alan Shearer. When Phil Jones, who was bullied by Kane for the first goal, hammered the ball clumsily into his own net when trying to clear from Kieran Trippier’s cross midway through the first half, Mourinho conceded that the own goal “mentally killed us”. “After 10 seconds, we made a ridiculous mistake,” Mourinho told reporters. “My players have watched the Tottenham kickoff many, many times. It was a really, really bad goal.” Antonio Conte suffered one of his worst Premier League defeats at Chelsea after three second-half goals in the space of 16 minutes from Callum Wilson, Junior Stanislas and Nathan Ake earned Eddie Howe his best top-flight win with the Cherries. “We have to accept it’s a bad result and understand that we have to fight this season,” Conte told the BBC. West Brom’s defeat left them rooted at the foot of the table while Southampton also remain in the bottom three despite largely dominating while coming from behind to earn a 1-1 draw at home to fellow strugglers Brighton & Hove Albion. Brighton are just a point above the relegation zone alongside Newcastle, who have now not won a home league match in eight attempts after goalkeeper Karl Darlow’s 85th-minute own goal earned Burnley a 1-1 draw at St James’ Park. Stoke City’s goalless draw with Watford also left them alongside Newcastle and Brighton, just four points ahead of West Brom.
The January transfer window slammed shut on Wednesday after a frantic month of activity during which Barcelona completed the biggest deal by signing Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool and Premier League clubs spent heavily across the board. ENGLAND The Premier League clubs’ purchasing power was evident again in January but unusually the big money went on defenders. Early in the window, Liverpool made Virgil van Dijk the world’s most expensive defender by splashing out a world record 75 million pounds ($106 million) to sign the Dutchman from Southampton. Liverpool badly needed more quality in their back line but the improvement in the squad was undermined by the departure of Brazil attacking midfielder Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona for a transfer fee reported at about 142 million pounds. Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has also not been afraid to spend big on defenders - his signing of French centre-half Aymeric Laporte from Athletic Bilbao for a club record fee of 57 million pounds means they have spent more than 200 million pounds on defenders and a keeper since the end of last season. City lost out on some attacking talent, though, with Chile forward Alexis Sanchez, long linked with a move to The Etihad, opting instead to join rivals Manchester United with Armenia midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan moving the opposite way. City also failed to agree a deal with Leicester City for midfielder Riyad Mahrez. While Arsenal fans were disappointed to see Sanchez go, the London club splashed out a club-record transfer fee to sign Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for a reported 65 million pounds from Borussia Dortmund.
They also got a pleasant surprise when Germany midfielder Mesut Ozil signed a new contract until 2021, though their France striker Olivier Giroud was shipped out to rivals Chelsea. Tottenham Hotspur were also active on deadline day, signing Brazilian winger Lucas Moura from Paris St Germain for 25 million pounds. SPAIN Barcelona will feel the most pleased of all the Liga sides with their January transfer business after capturing coveted playmaker Philippe Coutinho for a club record 142 million pounds and signing Colombia defender Yerry Mina. The signings of Coutinho, 25, from Liverpool and Mina, 23, from Palmeiras will rejuvenate Ernesto Valverde’s ageing squad and buttress his already brilliant side, which has an 11-point lead in the table and look destined to win a 25th league title. Cup-tied Coutinho cannot help Barca in the Champions League but the Brazilian already looks to be on the same page as Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez and has been praised by team mates for his early performances, with Gerard Pique saying he has “Barca DNA”. Colombian defender Mina, 23, was signed as a direct replacement for the departing Javier Mascherano, who is 10 years his senior, while Barca have temporarily cut loose inconsistent winger Gerard Deulofeu, loaning him to Premier League Watford. Champions Real Madrid have strangely not boosted their squad to help their crumbling campaign, with coach Zinedine Zidane saying he did not want new signings despite his side sitting in fourth place an embarrassing 19 points adrift of Barca. The Frenchman’s stance may have blocked a move for Spain goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga who according to local media had passed a medical with Real and was on the verge of a move but eventually signed a new contract with Athletic Bilbao. Bilbao made their most expensive sale ever with French defender Aymeric Laporte moving to Manchester City for 65 million euros and then swiped Inigo Martinez from local rivals Real Sociedad for 32 million. Barca’s closest title challengers Atletico Madrid made no high profile signings in January but got a huge lift with Spain forwards Diego Costa and Vitolo able to play after the ban on the club registering new players expired. Costa has added extra aggression to their underperforming attack although he has also reminded Atletico of his infamous problems with fitness and discipline, getting sent off on his full debut and sustaining a muscle problem later in January. Perhaps the most eye-catching moves, however, saw Saudi Arabia’s Fahad Al-Muwallad, Yahia Al-Shehri and Salem Al Dawsari join Levante, Leganes and Villarreal respectively as part of an agreement between La Liga and the Arab state’s authorities. ITALY Serie A clubs largely stayed out of the transfer window in another indication of their relatively limited spending power. The main moves were outwards with AS Roma selling full back Emerson Palmieri to Chelsea for around 22 million euros and Genoa letting 16-year-old prodigy Pietro Pellegri leave for AS Monaco for slightly more, according to Italian media. Roma forward Edin Dzeko was also the subject of speculation over a move to Chelsea, with every game reported as being possibly his last, but that move fell through. Neither of the leading pair, Napoli and Juventus, made any signings although the former had been chasing Sassuolo winger Matteo Politano. AC Milan, having splurged 230 million euros in the summer, spent nothing at all in January after UEFA rejected the club’s request to waive its breakeven “Financial Fair Play” rules under a so-called voluntary agreement. UEFA cited “uncertainties in relation to the financing of the loans to be paid back in October 2018 and the financial guarantees provided by the main shareholder.” Neighbours Inter Milan, also being monitored by UEFA over the breakeven rule, had warned beforehand that there would be no spending spree on their part. Their only signings were Brazilian midfielder Rafinha and Argentine defender Lisandro Lopez on loan from Barcelona and Benfica respectively. They also chased Paris St Germain midfielder Javier Pastore without success. Underachieving Portuguese Euro 2016 winner Joao Mario was loaned out to West Ham United and forward Gabriel Barbosa to Santos, the club he arrived from 18 months ago, although the Brazilian had already been on loan at Benfica. “We can do better by making sure that our players play to their potential,” said Inter coach Luciano Spalletti. “That gets over difficult moments.” GERMANY The sale of Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Arsenal for 56 million pounds ($79 million) dwarfed any signings made by Bundesliga clubs, again showing the remarkable spending power of their English counterparts. The biggest buys by Bundesliga sides were Dortmund’s 21.5-million-euros capture of Switzerland defender Manuel Akanji from FC Basel, and Germany forward Sandro Wagner’s move to Bayern Munich from Hoffenheim for 13 million euros. Wagner, 30, began his career at Bayern and returned after a 10-year absence, having played at half a dozen clubs, all in the Bundesliga. In a similar move, another veteran striker, Mario Gomez, returned to his first club VfB Stuttgart nine years after departing. Dortmund, who are sixth in the table and 19 points behind leaders Bayern, were the most active team, also signing Michy Batshuayi on loan from Chelsea while defenders Marc Bartra and Neven Subotic both left. Most other clubs forked out one or two million euros at most while RB Leipzig, Hoffenheim, Hertha Berlin, Borussia Moenchengladbach, Bayer Leverkusen, FC Augsburg and Hamburg SV spent nothing at all. Dutch midfielder Nigel de Jong, a player with a bruising reputation, signed for Mainz 05 at the age of 33 and the same club also signed Nigerian Anthony Ujah from Liaoning FC.
Mumbai: Mumbai City FC and Jamshedpur FC lock horns in a crucial Hero Indian Super League battle for a “prize worth winning” at the Mumbai Football Arena, on Thursday. Jamshedpur and Mumbai City are placed fifth and sixth respectively on the points table and know that a win for either team will boost their chances of qualification and significantly reduce the chances of the other from moving ahead. It’s a straight battle for the semi-final slot and nobody wants to leave anything to chance. “You saw how in Jamshedpur, we had a 2-2 result. Both teams wanted to win and the same will be true tomorrow. The prize is worth winning tomorrow and both sides will be very much trying to win,” said Jamshedpur FC coach Steve Coppell.
Jamshedpur are placed fifth with 19 points from 13 matches and can displace FC Goa from their fourth spot, even though the Goan club would have played two matches less. Coppell disagreed with suggestions that it’s a do or die clash but agreed that a win can work wonders. “I don’t think so it’s a do-or-die match for either team. We have five games left. Can you lose the game and still be part of the playoff? Yes. But it will be more difficult. There is lots to play for. It’s not quite do-or-die but almost do-or-die,” said Coppell. Mumbai City FC managed a fantastic 4-3 victory over FC Goa in an away game with a late winner from Balwant Singh. The victory threw them a lifeline and with 17 points from 12 matches, they are still in the running for a place among the top four. “In these kind of games, every detail will make the difference. Jamshedpur is not a team which concedes too many goals. We have to be very much accurate to convert the chances that we have. Our defence has to be very alert. In the last games, they have changed their approach. This is one of the tough matches,” said Mumbai City coach Alexandre Guimaraes. Mumbai City lost their last two matches at home against Kerala Blasters (0-1) and Bengaluru FC (1-3). Guimaraes is aware of the shortcomings that led to their defeats and has now taken measures to overcome those problems. Mumbai City missed out on the services of their injured captain Lucian Goian and Brazilian midfielder Leo Costa in the earlier match. Guimaraes will be hoping he can count on their services, particularly in a game with so much at stake.
MADRID: Football clubs across the world splashed out a record $6.37 billion on players during 2017 with English teams again the biggest spenders, FIFA’s Global Transfer Market Report said. The total paid out was about 33 percent more than in 2016 as English clubs led the way with a net spend of $988 million on squad improvement. Deals such as Romelu Lukaku’s 75 million-pound move from Everton to Manchester United and Alvaro Morata’s 60 million-pound switch from Real Madrid to Chelsea put English teams at the top of the list. But those individual deals were eclipsed by Brazilian forward Neymar’s move from Barcelona to Paris St Germain in a world-record transfer worth 222 million euros ($263 million).
The fee was over double the previous record which took France midfielder Paul Pogba to Manchester United from Juventus for $126 million. “Spending growth is driven by a relatively small group of clubs,” the report said, with over two-thirds of the total amount spent by 50 clubs in 13 different countries. The average transfer fee for a player in the top 50 most-expensive moves was $48.4 million, up from $35.2 million in 2016. The report shows that only 15.8 percent of transfers involved fees being paid from one club to another. Fees paid to agents also increased significantly. English clubs forked out a reported $125.7 million on intermediary payments and $447 million was handed over worldwide – up from $387 million in 2016. Brazil was the country most involved in international transfers with 1,755 of their players switching teams in 2017. Two hundred and fifty four Brazilian clubs conducted international transfer deals with Germany (143), England (132), Argentina (111) and Spain (98) making up the top five. Spanish clubs received the most money in transfer fees ($840.4 million), but Portuguese ones posted the highest net receipts of $707.5 million.
PARIS: Holders Paris St Germain reached the League Cup final with a 3-2 victory at Stade Rennes on Tuesday although their France striker Kylian Mbappe was sent off just past the hour mark. PSG, aiming for a fifth straight League Cup triumph, had taken a 3-0 lead through Thomas Meunier, Marquinhos and Giovani Lo Celso when Mbappe was shown a straight red card. Rennes reduced the arrears thanks to late goals by Diafra Sakho and Sanjin Prcic but it was too late to stop PSG.
They went ahead in the 24th minute when full back Meunier struck a spectacular volley before Rennes’ Wahbi Khazri was denied an equaliser on the stroke of halftime for handball. The visitors doubled their advantage nine minutes into the second half when Marquinhos scored from close range. Four minutes later, Lo Celso scored PSG’s third goal when his shot was poorly handled by keeper Abdoulaye Diallo. Mbappe was sent off in the 63rd for a rough tackle on Ismaila Sarr and the 10 men allowed Sakho and Prcic to pull two goals back in the last five minutes but it was too late.
source: news agency
SEOUL:South Korea will begin a joint training programme at the Masikryong ski resort in North Korea on Wednesday as had been initially planned, the South’s Ministry of Unification said, with a 45-person delegation engaging in a two-day trip. The South Korean delegation, which includes roughly 30 athletes, flew in a chartered Asiana Airlines (020560.KS) plane at 0140 GMT on Wednesday from Yangyang International Airport in northeastern South Korea to Kalma Airport in Wonsan, the ministry said. The charter had been set up in order not to conflict with existing sanctions imposed against North Korea by the United States, spokesman Baik Tae-hyun told a regular briefing. Baik said he could not say how Asiana was selected for the charter flight. According to U.S. unilateral sanctions against North Korea, no ship or aircraft can visit the United States within 180 days of going to North Korea. “Negotiations were made (with the United States) to avoid conflict with sanctions for this time only,” said Baik, adding Washington had given its consent for the flight.
The South Korean delegation will be joined on their return trip by North Koreans who will visit the South to prepare for the Pyeongchang Olympics that begin on Feb. 9. North and South Korea launched rare talks early in January to bring North Koreans to the Winter Olympics after the North’s leader, Kim Jong Un, said in a New Year’s address he was willing to open discussions with Seoul. The two Koreas have since agreed on several things, including cultural performances by North Korea in the South and a unified women’s ice hockey team for the Olympics. They were also scheduled to hold a joint cultural performance in North Korea’s Mount Kumgang resort but Pyongyang decided to call it off late on Monday, blaming South Korean media for encouraging “insulting” public sentiment about the North. [nL4N1PP2QG] Asked why South Korea or North Korea had not called off Wednesday’s joint training, Baik said it was “inappropriate” to try to assess Pyongyang’s intentions while the South was only carrying out its agreements made with the North.
Arsenal suffered another painful Premier League defeat as Swansea City capitalised on some glaring errors to win 3-1 on Tuesday, boosting their survival hopes and denting the visitors’ top four chances. Swansea’s Sam Clucas struck either side of Jordan Ayew’s strike to give Swansea the points after Arsenal had taken the lead through full back Nacho Monreal. The visitors scored after 33 minutes but their advantage lasted just seconds as Mesut Ozil gave the ball away and Clucas equalised for the Welsh side. Worse was to come for Arsenal in the second half as keeper Petr Cech sliced an attempted clearance, leaving Ayew to fire home after 61 minutes before Clucas finished right-footed to grab his second of the night with four minutes remaining. “I felt defensively we were very poor and made big mistakes,” said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. “It’s better not to talk about the second or third goals.”
The defeat leaves Arsenal in sixth place, eight points adrift of Liverpool in fourth after the Merseysiders won 3-0 at Huddersfield Town, and they were left licking their wounds after one win in their last five league games. They have three wins and six defeats in their 13 league matches on the road this season and have gone five successive away games without a victory in all competitions. Swansea, however, have been rejuvenated by new manager Carlos Carvalhal and climbed out of the bottom three with the win, moving above Stoke City on goal difference. Having also beaten visitors Liverpool in the league last week, Swansea have won four and lost one of eight games in all competitions under the Portuguese coach. “We have a chance (of staying up). We are not in intensive care,” said Carvalhal. “We are not far away from the doctor saying we can go home.” Arsenal started with new signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan on the bench following his move from Manchester United as part of the deal that took Chile forward Alexis Sanchez in the other direction, but it was not long before they were ahead. Ozil’s superb ball over the defence found Monreal sliding in at the back post to score his fourth goal of the season. That lead was wiped out in a flash, however, as Ozil went from hero to villain, giving the ball away under pressure to Alfie Mawson, who slid it through for Clucas to score. Mkhitaryan came on to make his debut after an hour but moments later the hosts stunned the visitors by taking the lead thanks to another error, this time from Cech. Arsneal defender Shkodran Mustafi rolled the ball back to the keeper but he made a mess of his clearance, presenting a gift for Ayew to score before Clucas wrapped up the win by firing home after another superb run from Ayew.
London:India Test batsman Cheteshwar Pujara will warm up for India's tour of England by playing county cricket for Yorkshire. "It goes without saying that Cheteshwar is a highly-driven individual and very skilled batsman," Yorkshire's director of cricket Martyn Moxon was quoted as saying by espncricinfo website. "We're delighted to have him on board. The plan is for him to relieve some of the pressure on the top order that we struggled with at times in 2017. Just as he did in 2015, Pujara will relish the challenge of performing in English conditions."
Pujara previously had two spells at Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. Pujara has amassed 816 runs in County cricket with three fifties and as many hundreds.
source: news agency
