Connect with us

Sports

Three talking points from the Premier League weekend | The Express Tribune

Published

on

Three talking points from the Premier League weekend | The Express Tribune


Ollie Watkins of Aston Villa celebrates scoring their second goal. Photo: AFP


LONDON:

Ollie Watkins kept Aston Villa in the hunt for the Premier League title with an impressive win at Chelsea to leave the top three separated by just three points heading into the final Premier League games of 2025.

Arsenal maintained a two-point lead over Manchester City after they both battled to 2-1 wins against Brighton and Nottingham Forest respectively on Saturday.

On the back of an 11-game winning streak, Villa visit Arsenal next on Tuesday in a huge game in the title race.

At the other end of the table, West Ham are looking increasingly likely to join fellow strugglers Burnley and Wolves in the Championship next season.

AFP Sports looks at three talking points from the Premier League weekend:

Watkins adds X factor to Villa charge

Villa are enjoying their best run since 1914 to force themselves into an unexpected challenge for a first league title in 45 years.

Unai Emery’s men had put themselves in that position without much of a contribution from their top scorer for the past five seasons.

Watkins had netted just three times this campaign before coming off the bench to turn the game at Stamford Bridge.

Emery revealed earlier this month that the England international has been battling knee discomfort for more than a year, but he looked back to his best inside the box to put Chelsea to the sword.

“His mentality was amazing, his commitment was amazing,” said Emery.

Watkins is hoping for more to celebrate on his 30th birthday when Villa visit the Emirates, aiming to move level on points with title favourites Arsenal.

If this does prove to be a turning point in his season then Villa truly can dream about ending a 30-year wait to win any trophy.

“I haven’t been where I wanted to be. But look I can use this as a marker now and and push on from here,” said Watkins.

Pressure mounts on Maresca

Just a month ago, Chelsea were Arsenal’s closest challengers before the two sides met at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues have won just once in six league games since to tumble out of the title race and down to fifth.

Enzo Maresca took the chance after his only victory in that run — 2-0 over Everton earlier this month — to complain about a lack of support inside the club for him and his players.

But the Italian is beginning to exhaust the patience of many Chelsea fans.

Maresca has credit in the bank after winning the Conference League and Club World Cup in his debut season.

But playing long into the summer in sapping conditions to become world champions is beginning to take its toll.

Maresca could only watch from the stands, serving a touchline ban, as his side failed to capitalise on a dominant first half before crumbling once Villa clicked into gear in the second half.

Emery’s ability to change the game also did little favours for the former Leicester boss.

Watkins labelled his manager a “tactical genius” for a triple substitution and change of shape that turned the tide Villa’s way.

Maresca attempted to respond but his own triple change had no positive impact and his next decision to withdraw Cole Palmer drew an angry response from the England international.

West Ham woe

The Hammers are in desperate trouble after a 1-0 home defeat to Fulham left them five points adrift of safety.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s arrival in east London inspired a run of eight points from his first seven games, but West Ham have taken just two from the last 18 available.

Meanwhile, Leeds and Forest have found far better form to pull away from the bottom three.

“We can spend hours and hours talking about all the aspects, but basically when you don’t score, the situation that we are in, everything bad happens to us,” said Nuno.



Source link

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sports

Who Are The 10 Test Indy 500 Drivers Of All time?

Published

on

Who Are The 10 Test Indy 500 Drivers Of All time?


NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

The 2026 INDYCAR season has already delivered stellar moments, even before “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” 

That highly anticipated race happens on Sunday, May 24, with the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500.

Coverage for the Indy 500 begins at 10 a.m. ET.

You can watch the Indy 500 pre-race and race broadcasts on FOX and stream the broadcasts on FOX One, FOX Sports.com and the FOX Sports App

Ahead of all the action, we’ve rounded up the best drivers to grace the course.

Here are the 10 best Indianapolis 500 drivers of all time.

10 Best Indy 500 Drivers Of All Time

10. Dario Franchitti

Although he had one of the shorter Indy 500 careers on this list, Franchitti managed to compile some impressive results. He earned three victories at the track between 2007-2012. Moreover, he added three other top-10 finishes to his name despite participating in just 10 races. His best stretch was when he claimed six top-seven finishes in seven attempts from 2005 and 2012.

9. Arie Luyendyk

Luyendyk won the Indy 500 twice, but it was a mixed bag overall. He raced in the event every year from 1985 to 2002 and withdrew in 2003, but he finished outside the top 10 in 10 different races. Still, few can match the success he found, with seven top-10 finishes at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 

8. Louis Meyer

The first three-time winner in the race’s history, Meyer is one of the top drivers who isn’t talked about nearly enough. He had a truly remarkable race in 1936, becoming just the second racer in history — and last — to win the Indy 500 from a starting position of 28th or lower. Meyer grabbed first and second, respectively, in his first two tries in Indianapolis.

7. Bobby Unser 

It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. Never has that been more true than with Unser, who had just one top-10 finish in his first four tries at Indy. However, Unser would eventually win the Indy 500 three times (1968, 1975 and 1981). In his last four starts, he had three top-six finishes, including winning the event on his last time at the track at age 47. 

6. Johnny Rutherford

Another three-time Indy 500 winner, Rutherford claimed his victories between 1974 and 1980. Rutherford had a bit of a slow start to this race, finishing 18th or lower in each of his first nine times at the track. He then turned in four straight top-10 finishes, including winning in 1974 and 1976 and grabbing second in 1975. 

5. Wilbur Shaw

As good as Rutherford’s three-year stretch was, Shaw one-ups him with his bonkers four-year run. From 1937 to 1940, Shaw placed first, second, first and first. A run like that automatically vaults you into the top five in the history of the Indy 500. Before that, it had been an up-and-down race for Shaw, but you cannot overlook just how dominant he was overall, with three victories and seven top-five finishes.

4. Helio Castroneves

Castroneves is the first of four drivers on this list tied for the most wins (four) at the Indy 500. He earned his most recent victory in 2021, while his previous three wins came between 2001 and 2009. He’s also one of just six drivers to claim back-to-back Indy 500 victories, doing so in 2001 and 2002. Perhaps the most remarkable part of his driving career at IMS is the fact that he owns the record for the longest span between his first and last win — 20 years.

3. Al Unser Sr.

Unser isn’t just tied for the most Indy 500 wins, claiming his four in 1970, 1971, 1978 and 1987. He’s also the oldest winner ever at 47 years, 360 days old, slightly edging out his brother, Bobby. In his second-to-last race at IMS in 1992, Unser finished in third, while his son, Al Unser Jr., was the winner. 

2. A.J. Foyt

Foyt is undoubtedly deserving of one of the top spots on this list as the first four-time winner in the race’s history, finishing in first place in 1961, 1964, 1967 and 1977. Most impressive about his career in Indy, though, is that Foyt has the most starts there of any driver (35), including racing in every single one from 1958 to 1992.

1. Rick Mears

The other driver tied for the most wins at IMS, Mears dominated in Indy. He started 11 times on the front row, with six of those times coming consecutively from 1986 to 1991 — both of which are records at the track. He has also claimed a record six pole positions at the event and is one of just 12 racers to earn back-to-back pole positions. 

Check out all of our Daily Rankers.



Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

Congo team must isolate to enter United States for World Cup amid Ebola outbreak

Published

on

Congo team must isolate to enter United States for World Cup amid Ebola outbreak


NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Congo is dealing with an outbreak of Ebola, and executive director of the White House Task Force for the World Cup Andrew Giuliani said the Congolese national soccer team must isolate if they want to enter the United States for the global tournament.

The U.S. has told FIFA, the Congolese government and national soccer team, that they must isolate for 21 days in order to enter the country for the World Cup. The team is currently training in Belgium and is scheduled to play two warmup games there.

“We’ve been very clear to Congo that they should maintain the integrity of their bubble for 21 days before they can then come to Houston on June 11,” Giuliani told ESPN. “We’ve made it very clear to the Congo government as well that they need to maintain that bubble or they risk not being able to travel to the United States. We cannot be any clearer.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Meschack Elia of Congo reacts during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Play-Off final match between Congo DR and Jamaica at Estadio Guadalajara in Zapopan, Mexico, on March 31, 2026. (Agustin Cuevas/Getty Images)

“We want to make sure that there is nothing that’s going to come in or near our borders here on this,” he said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been monitoring two American doctors who were in quarantine in Europe after being exposed to Ebola, Giuliani said. He said they have discussed sending staff to Belgium to check on the Congo team.

In Congo last week, they had a confirmed outbreak of Bundibugyo, a rare type of Ebola. It is thought to have killed more than 130 people, with nearly 600 suspected cases.

ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!

Lens' DR Congo defender Arthur Masuaku and Malian midfielder Amadou Haidara training at Stade de France stadium

Lens’ DR Congo defender Arthur Masuaku and Malian midfielder Amadou Haidara attend a training session at Stade de France stadium in Saint-Denis on May 21, 2026, ahead of the French Cup final against Nice on May 22, 2026. (Franck Fife/AFP)

“If there are other people that are going to be coming in, they need to have a separate bubble from that team. If they end up coming, and any of those people end up symptomatic, they are risking the entire team being able to come and compete in this World Cup,” Giuliani said.

The CDC announced this week that all foreign nationals who had been in Congo, Uganda and South Sudan within the past three weeks would be banned from entry into the United States for 30 days.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Renaldo Cephas and Brian Cipenga fighting for the ball during a soccer match

Renaldo Cephas of Jamaica and Brian Cipenga of Congo compete for the ball during the FIFA World Cup 2026 play-off final at Estadio Guadalajara in Zapopan, Mexico, on March 31, 2026. (Agustin Cuevas/Getty Images)

The Congo canceled a planned farewell by the team to fans and a three-day World Cup preparation training camp on Wednesday.

Congo is in Group K and is scheduled to play Portugal in their opening game in Houston on June 17. Their next two games are against Colombia in Guadalajara, Mexico, on June 23, and Uzbekistan in Atlanta on June 27.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.





Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

NASCAR champion Kyle Busch’s cause of death revealed by family

Published

on

NASCAR champion Kyle Busch’s cause of death revealed by family


NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch died Thursday from complications related to “severe pneumonia [that] progressed into sepsis,” according to a family statement obtained by FOX Sports on Saturday.

“The medical evaluation provided to the Busch Family concluded that severe pneumonia progressed into sepsis, resulting in rapid and overwhelming associated complications,” the statement, according to FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass, read. 

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates. 

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

 





Source link

Continue Reading

Trending