Posted on

Football: West Brom relegated after 3-1 defeat at Arsenal

LONDON (REUTERS) - West Bromwich Albion were relegated from the Premier League on Sunday (May 9) after a 3-1 loss at Arsenal sent them straight back down to the Championship after one season in the top flight. The defeat left the Baggies in 19th place with 26 points, 10 points behind fourth-bottom Burnley with only three games left to play. It is the first time manager Sam Allardyce has suffered relegation from the Premier League during his 17 campaigns. West Brom started brightly but struggled to move the ball into good attacking positions, and when they did they failed to get their efforts on target. Arsenal, on the other hand, put on a brilliant display of finishing to condemn them to the drop. Emile Smith Rowe connected perfectly with Bukayo Saka’s cross in the 29th minute to deftly volley Arsenal’s opener, and Nicolas Pepe cut in from the right before curling home an unstoppable left-foot shot six minutes later. Pepe had another thumping effort saved by Sam Johnstone early in the second half and, with Saka carving West Brom open down the left, Arsenal had lots of chances to add to the score. However, Matheus Pereira pulled one back for the visitors in the 67th after a surging run from deep inside his own half ended with him scoring from West Brom’s only shot on target. That was all the Baggies could muster and Willian’s brilliant 90th-minute free kick wrapped up the points for Arsenal, who are in ninth place on 52 from 35 games. West Brom will join basement club Sheffield United, who are already down, in the second-tier next season, but defender Kyle Bartley was in defiant mood despite his side’s relegation. “(I’m) massively disappointed, (but) it’s time to focus on these next three games, get as much momentum as possible to make sure we come straight back up next season,” he told BT Sport. “I am really proud of the way the boys kept going. It would have been so easy to fold out there and lose four or five nil, but everyone kept going.” Third-bottom Fulham host Burnley on Monday knowing a defeat would also send them straight back down to the Championship.

Read More
Posted on

Sports World: Marin to play Tai for second straight final

Marin to play Tai for second straight final BANGKOK • Fifth seed and former world No. 1 Carolina Marin breezed into the final of badminton's Toyota Thailand Open yesterday, beating South Korea's An Se-young 21-19, 21-15. The 27-year-old Spaniard, ranked sixth in the world, is aiming for back-to-back titles. She came out on top last week against the top-seeded Tai Tzu-ying, and will face her again today, after the Chinese Taipei star beat Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon 12-21, 21-12, 23-21. AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Ferrari accept first female in academy PARIS • Ferrari announced 16-year-old Dutch go-karter Maya Weug on Friday as the first female member of the Formula One team's driver academy. Weug, the winner of a five-day scouting camp at the Italian team's Maranello headquarters and Fiorano test track, will be given a season in the FIA-sanctioned Formula Four championship. REUTERS Benitez quits Dalian, cites family and virus SHANGHAI • Rafa Benitez left abruptly as coach of Chinese Super League side Dalian Pro yesterday, saying it was for family reasons in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. The 60-year-old Spaniard, who took Liverpool to Champions League glory in 2005 and also coached Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Napoli and Chelsea, had been in charge of Dalian since July 2019. AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE McIlroy shots 67, has slim lead in Abu Dhabi ABU DHABI • Rory McIlroy fired a five-under 67 yesterday to reclaim the lead at the HSBC Abu Dhabi Championship heading into today's final round. The former world No. 1, who was the first-round leader before being caught by England's Tyrrell Hatton, is on 13-under 203. Hatton shot a third-round 71 and is second on 204 with compatriot Tommy Fleetwood (67) a further stroke back in third. Im in front by a stroke at La Quinta LOS ANGELES • South Korea's Im Sung-jae matched the best score of the day, a seven-under 65, and grabbed the midpoint lead at The American Express in La Quinta, California. The 22-year-old golfer thrived on Friday at PGA West's Stadium Course to end the day at 11-under 133. He holds a one-shot advantage over first-round leader Brandon Hagy (70) as well as Tony Finau (66), Canada's Nick Taylor (66), Mexico's Abraham Ancer (65) and compatriot Kim Si-woo (68). REUTERS

Read More