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City, Villa falter in Premier League title race | The Express Tribune

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City, Villa falter in Premier League title race | The Express Tribune


Manchester City drew 1-1 with Brighton, dropping points for the third game in a row. Photo: AFP


MANCHESTER:

Manchester City and Aston Villa missed the chance to make significant inroads into Arsenal’s Premier League lead on Wednesday as managerless Manchester United were held at lowly Burnley.
Elsewhere on a frantic night of action, 10-man Chelsea went down 2-1 at Fulham in front of new boss Liam Rosenior and Antoine Semenyo scored a fairytale winner for Bournemouth against Tottenham.
Erling Haaland scored his 150th City goal from the penalty spot to put Pep Guardiola’s team ahead at the Etihad but Kaoru Mitoma made it 1-1 in the second half.
Norway forward Haaland has reached 150 goals in all competitions in his 173rd appearance — 28 games faster than any other Premier League player.
But he and his teammates squandered a succession of chances as they drew a third game in a row.
City are now on 43 points, five behind Arsenal, who can go eight clear with a home win against Liverpool on Thursday.
Villa are level on points with City following a costly goalless draw at Crystal Palace.
City boss Guardiola bemoaned his team’s profligacy in front of goal.
“I love a lot the way we played, we did many good things, but we don’t score goals,” he said. “There are too many clear chances.”
 
Rosenior watches Chelsea defeat
Chelsea’s new head coach Rosenior watched his charges from the stands at Craven Cottage.
The Englishman, who replaced the departed Enzo Maresca this week, will be in the dugout for the first time at second-tier Charlton in the FA Cup third round on Saturday.
The former Strasbourg boss said before kick-off that the team “need to hit the ground running for the rest of the season”.
But, still under the interim leadership of Calum McFarlane, they were reduced to 10 men midway through the first half when Marc Cucurella was shown a straight red card for hauling down Harry Wilson.
Liam Delap cancelled out Raul Jimenez’s opener but Wilson scored what proved to be the winner from the edge of the area.
Bournemouth beat troubled Tottenham 3-2, with Semenyo scoring from outside the area deep into stoppage time on his 26th birthday.
The winger, expected to join City in the next few days, was given a standing ovation when he was substituted moments before the final whistle.
Defeat heaps the pressure on Spurs boss Thomas Frank, who has overseen just two wins in his past 12 Premier League matches during his first season at the London club.
“It’s extremely painful to be on the Tottenham side after the game,” the Dane told the BBC. “We put everything into the game.”
Manchester United travelled to relegation-threatened Burnley under the temporary leadership of former midfielder Darren Fletcher, two days after the sacking of Ruben Amorim.
Benjamin Sesko doubled his Premier League tally for the season, scoring twice as United came back from a goal down at Turf Moor.
But Jaidon Anthony finished smartly past the diving Senne Lammens as United drew 2-2 — they have won just once in their past six games.
“For me the fact we have drawn is a massive disappointment,” Fletcher told the BBC. “If you look at the context of the game, the chances we created, goalline clearances, a disallowed goal, 30 shots, lots of attacking play.
“We created more than enough to win the game so obviously it is disappointing when you only come away with a point.”
Harvey Barnes scored a dramatic winner in the 102nd minute as Newcastle, who had been trailing heading into stoppage time, beat Leeds 4-3 at St James’ Park.
The home fans chanted for former manager Kevin Keegan as the club posted the words “We’re all with you King Kev” on the big screen.
The club earlier shared a statement from Keegan’s family announcing the ex-England boss had been diagnosed with cancer.
Brazilian forward Igor Thiago scored his 15th and 16th Premier League goals of the season as Brentford beat Sunderland 3-0 to climb to fifth in the table.
Everton, reduced to nine men late in the match, held on to draw 1-1 with bottom club Wolves. 



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Michigan’s Richard repeats as NCAA men’s all-around champion

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Michigan’s Richard repeats as NCAA men’s all-around champion


CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Michigan’s Fred Richard won his second straight all-around individual crown Saturday night, and Cooper Kim and Jun Iwai each won individual titles to lead Stanford to its sixth NCAA men’s gymnastics championship since 2019.

Richard took home silver in the floor and parallel bars as he ran away with his third all-around individual national championship with a score of 83.598. Nebraska’s Max Odden (78.698) was second, 0.432 ahead of third-place Kristian Grahovski of Ohio State.

Stanford had 329.825 points, second-place Oklahoma finished with 328.495 and Michigan — the defending national champion — was third with 324.857. Asher Hong (14.300) took silver and Nick Kuebler (14.166) bronze on the rings in the final rotation to seal it for the Cardinal. Asher Cohen finished with a 14.500 to become the first Nebraska gymnast to win the rings since Jim Hartung in 1982.

Stanford claimed the program’s 11th national gymnastics championship; the Cardinal have won at least one NCAA team title for 50 straight seasons, since the men’s water polo team beat UCLA 13-12 for the national championship on Nov. 28, 1976. The next longest active streak is North Carolina’s seven straight years with at least one team title.

Iwai had a 14.433 on the vault, tied with Nebraska’s Tyler Flores for first. Landen Blixt of Michigan was third (14.366).

Flores, Nathan Roman (14.800 on the parallel bars) and Kelton Christiansen (14.400, high bar) each won individual titles for the second-place Sooners.

Kim scored a 14.466 to win gold on the floor to beat Richard (14.400). Kuebler and Tate Costa of Illinois finished third with 14.166.

Brandon Dang (Illinois) won the pommel horse with a score of 14.700, Michigan’s Aaronson Mansberger was second (14.566) and Colby Aranda of Oklahoma finished third with 14.133 points.



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Mets in free fall after losing 10th straight game

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Mets in free fall after losing 10th straight game


CHICAGO — The New York Mets will have to defy the odds if they plan on making the postseason this year after dropping their 10th consecutive game on Saturday, a 4-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs.

Only three teams in the divisional era (since 1969) have made the postseason after a double-digit losing streak — including last year’s Cleveland Guardians.

“No one is going to feel sorry for us,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said after the latest defeat. “We have to keep going. We haven’t been playing good baseball. We have 5½ months ahead. We have the opportunity to write our own story.”

The Mets say they can’t point to any single thing which has led them to their longest April losing streak in franchise history. They certainly aren’t hitting enough, scoring just 18 runs during the streak, the fewest for them over 10 games since June 3-5, 2018.

They’re also making bad pitches, like the one reliever Brooks Raley made to pinch hitter Carson Kelly in the sixth inning Saturday. Kelly deposited Raley’s first pitch cutter into the left-field bleachers for a three-run home run, breaking a 1-1 tie. The Cubs cruised to victory from there.

“We haven’t been able to put together a complete game,” Mendoza said. “It’s either the offense or starting pitching, like not making [that] pitch, not making a play, not getting a big hit. Just having a hard time playing a complete game right now.”

Mendoza’s job is seemingly safe after president of baseball operations David Stearns said Friday he thought his third-year manager was doing a good job and is putting players in a position to succeed. Of course, things can change if the losses continue to pile up for the Mets, who missed the postseason last year after a disastrous second half.

The team is trying not to focus on the negative this early in the season.

“It’s a big boy league,” infielder Marcus Semien said. “There is no time to dwell on tonight. Tomorrow is a new day … It’s as simple as showing up tomorrow with a good attitude. Hopefully other guys see a smile on my face when I show up.”

Semien and Mendoza offered up few solutions to the team’s plight, though getting All-Star Juan Soto back from a calf injury should help. But that won’t happen for a few more days. With DH Jorge Polanco (wrist) on the shelf as well, the Mets will need others to step up.

A late winter overhaul by Stearns led to a positive feeling about the team entering this season. But those additions, like Saturday’s starter Freddy Peralta, haven’t produced enough. Third baseman Mark Vientos did hit a long home run in the loss but New York’s offense was mostly quiet the rest of the day.

Mendoza was asked how he thought Mets fans were feeling right now.

“They have the right to be pissed and frustrated,” he said. “They care. Just like we do. … I understand how they’re feeling. I’d be pissed too, if I was a fan. I’m pissed. They’re pissed.”

The 10-game losing streak is the longest in April since the 2023 White Sox. The loss has the Mets 6½ games behind the Atlanta Braves in the NL East, an unusually large deficit for this time of year.

“It’s frustrating to lose baseball games and when you lose this many in a row, it compounds,” Semien said. “The game does not own you any wins. You have to go out and get it.”

The Mets rank in the bottom half of the league in most offensive and pitching categories, including home runs. They’ve hit just 15 this season, only ahead of the San Francisco Giants for fewest in the National League. Their starting pitching isn’t much better, ranking 21st in ERA.

The team is hoping Sunday will bring them different results.

“We have to do something to get in the W column,” Semien said. “No one is showing up thinking about how it’s going to happen again. We’re thinking about how we’re going to win.”

Mendoza added: “Were putting ourselves in a hole right now. There is only one way to [get out of] it. Come back tomorrow, ready to go.”

ESPN Research contributed to this report.



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Bron Breakker crushes Seth Rollins with two spears in epic return at WrestleMania 42

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Bron Breakker crushes Seth Rollins with two spears in epic return at WrestleMania 42


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Seth Rollins was supposed to be going up against Gunther at WrestleMania 42 on Saturday night but he wasn’t expecting a freight train to run through him.

Rollins appeared to be in the driver’s seat toward the end of the match. He hit Gunther with a pedigree on the announce table and followed up with a storm. All he had to do was get Gunther back in the ring and finish the job. As the referee tended to Gunther, a wild Bron Breakker appeared.

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Bron Breakker performs during WrestleMania 42 Night 1 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 18, 2026. (WWE)

Breakker ran down the side of the entrance ramp at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas at full speed and tore through Rollins with a gnarly spear. He rolled Rollins back in the ring, spat on him and waited for Gunther to finish the job.

Gunther put Rollins in a sleeper hold, forcing “The Revolutionary” to tap out.

WWE STARS REVEAL WHAT MAKES WRESTLEMANIA SO SPECIAL: ‘IT’S THE SUPER BOWL OF PRO WRESTLING’

Wrestler Gunther with arm raised by referee at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas

Gunther has his arm raised by the referee after defeating Seth Rollins during their match on night one of WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 18, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Gunther walked to the back as the winner. Breakker was hung around to pick apart the scraps.

Breakker sprinted back down the ramp and hit Rollins with another crushing spear, stunning the crowd.

Breakker has been out of action for a few weeks with an injury, likely costing him a match of some kind at WrestleMania 42. Nevertheless, he still had bad blood with Rollins as their rivalry turned up a notch.

Seth Rollins entering arena at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas

Seth Rollins enters the arena before his match against Gunther on night one of WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 18, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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This will not be the last of Breakker and Rollins. On the flip side, Paul Heyman will now owe Gunther a favor. It’ll will be interesting to see how the favor gets cashed in.



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