LONDON (REUTERS) - Manchester United suffered another humbling home defeat as neighbours Manchester City outclassed them in a 2-0 Premier League win that ratcheted the pressure back up on manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Old Trafford on Saturday (Nov 6). Solskjaer's side never looked like being buried as they were in a 5-0 loss to Liverpool a fortnight ago but the defeat was just as hard to stomach for the home fans, thousands of whom headed for the exits before the end. A seventh-minute own goal by United defender Eric Bailly gave City a dream start and they doubled their advantage just before halftime when Bernardo Silva poked home from close range. City won at a canter and enjoyed a bonus as league leaders Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw at home to lowly Burnley. Chelsea lead the standings with 26 points, three ahead of City, while Liverpool can close to within a point if they win at fourth-placed West Ham United on Sunday. United's 3-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur last weekend relieved some of the pressure on Solskjaer although they were fortunate to get a 2-2 draw away to Atalanta in midweek courtesy of Cristiano Ronaldo's last-gasp equaliser. There was no salvation on Saturday though and Solskjaer cut a sombre figure in the rain. "Of course it's very disappointing," Solskjaer said. "It's a big step backwards, it is a way of losing that we don't like. "When you lose a game against a good team you want to see a better Man United team than that." Chelsea could hardly believe their misfortune as they dominated Burnley with 25 goal attempts but were robbed of two points, according to manager Thomas Tuchel. Kai Havertz headed Chelsea in front from a Reece James cross but 18th-placed Burnley levelled late on through Matej Vydra. "That's why everyone loves the game - a team can steal a point if the other team forgets to score the goals they deserve," said Tuchel, whose side's run of seven successive wins in all competitions came to an end. Time for a change Norwich City enjoyed a first league win of the season as they hung on for a 2-1 victory at Brentford but it was not enough to keep coach Daniel Farke in his job. Hours after Canaries fans celebrated in west London, news broke that Farke had left the club after four-and-a-half years. "I know how determined Daniel and his staff were to succeed at this level, but we feel that now is the right time for a change to give ourselves the best opportunity of retaining our Premier League status," sporting director Stuart Webber said in a club statement. More on this topic Related Story Football: Man City deepen Man United crisis with 2-0 derby win Related Story Football: Solskjaer denies he is on borrowed time despite Man City defeat Norwich briefly climbed off the bottom of the table but ended the day back in 20th spot as Newcastle United drew 1-1 at Brighton and Hove Albion. With expected new manger Eddie Howe watching from the stands, Newcastle earned a point as Isaac Hayden cancelled out Leandro Trossard's first-half penalty. Brighton ended the game with 10 men and centre half Lewis Dunk in goal after keeper Robert Sanchez was sent off for fouling Callum Wilson just outside the area with the striker clear on goal, but Newcastle could not take advantage and are still without a league win after 11 games. More on this topic Related Story Football: 'Best way to silence United is pass, pass, pass', says Guardiola on City's dominance Related Story Football: Vydra strikes as Burnley hold Chelsea to 1-1 draw Norwich and Newcastle have five points. Crystal Palace extended their unbeaten league run to six games as goals by Wilfried Zaha and Conor Gallagher secured a 2-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers. The win lifted Palace into the top half of the table. More on this topic Related Story Football: Hayden rescues point for Newcastle in 1-1 draw against Brighton Related Story Football: Howe set to take over as Newcastle manager after attending Brighton draw
ROME (REUTERS) - Serena Williams, playing the 1,000th Tour-level match of her glittering career, suffered a shock 7-6(6) 7-5 defeat by Argentina's Nadia Podoroska in the the Italian Open second round on Wednesday (May 12). Playing her first competitive match in nearly three months, the 23-times Grand Slam champion twice came back from a break down but struggled on her first serve as Podoroska took the opening set in the tiebreak. Podoroska, who reached the French Open semi-finals last year, produced a string of heavy topspin forehands to take control of the match with an early break in the second set. Although Podoroska was broken to love on her first attempt to serve out the match, she maintained her composure to break again and secure a place in the round of 16. Defeat for Williams, who received an opening round bye in Rome, was a major blow to her preparations for the French Open, starting on May 30. It was the American's 149th defeat in her 1,000 career WTA matches. World number two Naomi Osaka also crashed out of the tournament, losing 7-6(2) 6-2 to American Jessica Pegula. Osaka, a four-times Grand Slam winner, has often struggled on clay and her defeat in Rome followed a second-round loss at the Madrid Open this month.
DUISBURG, GERMANY (AFP) - Germany had their 17-match winning streak in World Cup qualifiers abruptly ended on Wednesday (March 31) as they crashed to a shock 2-1 home defeat against North Macedonia. Napoli midfielder Eljif Elmas scored the winner five minutes from time to cancel out Ilkay Gundogan's penalty after 37-year-old striker Goran Pandev had given the visitors a first-half lead. After winning their opening World Cup qualifiers against Iceland and Romania, Wednesday's defeat is the latest setback suffered by Joachim Loew's Germany since their humiliating 6-0 drubbing by Spain last November.
MADRID (AFP, REUTERS) - Lionel Messi's Barcelona suffered a fourth defeat in La Liga this term with Saturday's (Dec 5) 2-1 loss at promoted Cadiz. Alvaro Gimenez and Alvaro Negredo scored for the hosts either side of Pedro Alcala's own goal, leaving Ronald Koeman's side in seventh place, 12 points off league leaders Atletico Madrid. The Catalans fell behind in the eighth minute when centre back Oscar Mingueza headed the ball towards his own goal and although keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen got a hand to the ball, Cadiz forward Gimenez helped it over the line. Barca drew level with a fortuitous goal of their own in the 57th when Cadiz defender Pedro Alcala diverted a Jordi Alba cross into the net, flummoxing his impressive goalkeeper Jeremias Ledesma who had been keeping Barca at bay. Cadiz restored their lead six minutes later, however, thanks to a calamitous error from Barca keeper Ter Stegen, who kicked the ball against Negredo and the veteran forward followed the bounce to dribble it into the unguarded net. Barca’s fourth defeat of the season left them seventh in the standings on 14 points after 10 games. Cadiz, who recorded their first home win since returning to the top flight, moved above them into fifth place on 18 points. The Andalusians also beat champions Real Madrid 1-0 away from home earlier in the campaign. Barca captain Lionel Messi had a frustrating night despite being rested for the Champions League win at Ferencvaros in midweek and was repeatedly thwarted by fellow Argentine and Rosario native Ledesma in the Cadiz goal. Ledesma also kept out a stinging shot from Miralem Pjanic late on and a close-range effort from Antoine Griezmann. Cadiz should have put the game out of Barca’s reach when Bobby Adekanye raced towards goal unchallenged but failed to beat Ter Stegen.
LONDON (REUTERS) - Russian fourth seed Daniil Medvedev finally claimed his maiden victory at the ATP Finals with an impressive 6-3 6-4 defeat of Germany's Alexander Zverev to join Novak Djokovic at the top of the Tokyo Group on Monday (Nov 16). Medvedev went home empty-handed from his debut at the season-ender last year, losing all three matches. But after an error-strewn opening to the match from both players, the 24-year-old dominated the 2018 champion who again struggled with his shaky serve. Medvedev dumped a second serve in the net to lose the opening game but Zverev served three consecutive double-faults in the next game on the way to handing the break back. Some brutal baseline exchanges took their toll on both players and Zverev worked overtime trying to stay level at 2-3, only two throw away the game with consecutive double-faults. From then on Medvedev was too solid for the German, taking the first set with an ace and breaking in the seventh game of the second set as Zverev again wavered. Zverev won only four of 19 second serve points in the match - a statistic that ultimately proved costly as the wily Medvedev closed out the victory. Medvedev will face world number one Djokovic on Wednesday. Djokovic opened his quest for a sixth ATP Finals title with a crushing straight-sets defeat of Diego Schwartzman.
In his last fight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Anderson Silva suffered a fourth-round technical knockout defeat by Uriah Hall in Las Vegas on Saturday. The mixed martial arts great still holds the record for the longest title reign in UFC history at 2,457 days.