Two penalties from Wayne Rooney helped Manchester United fight back from three goals down to draw 3-3 away at Chelsea in the weekend’s big Premier League game on Sunday, the first time in Premier League history that Chelsea have surrendered a three-goal lead.
Daniel Sturridge forced Jonny Evans to turn the ball into his own net in the first half and within five minutes of the restart Chelsea had increased their lead to three. Juan Mata volleyed a Fernando Torres cross home in the first minute of the second half and David Luiz directed a Mata free kick in off Rio Ferdinand for Chelsea’s third.
United rallied, though, and Patrice Evra and then Danny Welbeck won two penalties for their side which Rooney converted to set up a thrilling finale.
A header from substitute Javier Hernandez completed the comeback after in the 84th minute but United needed a fingertip save from much-maligned keeper David De Gea to keep out a Mata free kick in injury time.
Arsenal produced the standout side from Saturday’s fixtures, demolishing Blackburn 7-1 at the Emirates Stadium. Two goals from Robin van Persie had helped Arsenal to a 3-1 lead before Gael Givet was dismissed for a dangerous tackle just before half-time.
Van Persie sealed his hat-trick just after the hour for Arsenal’s sixth and Thierry Henry completed the rout in injury time.
Manchester City moved ahead of United with a comfortable 3-0 win over Fulham. Chris Baird gave away a penalty and an own goal in the first half and Edin Dzeko scored a third late on.
In an interview with Italian broadcaster RAI, England manager Fabio Capello broken ranks to state that he disagrees “absolutely” with the FA’s decision to strip John Terry of the England captaincy. “I thought it was right that Terry should keep the captain’s armband”, he said. Former FA chairman David Davis believes that the comments could constitute breach of contract.
In the opening weekend of the Six Nations, Leigh Halfpenny scored a match-winning penalty with 30 seconds left on the clock as Wales fought back to a 23-21 victory against Ireland. Wales lock Bradley Davies was sent to the sin bin on 65 minutes but has since been cited for the dangerous tip tackle and Wales coach Warren Gatland has admitted that the tackle was worthy of a red card.
England won at Murrayfield for the first time since 2004, but the match was notable for Scotland’s inability to convert chances into tries rather than England’s own attacking play. Charlie Hodgson’s converted try was the difference in a 13-6 win as Ross Rennie and Greig Laidlaw amongst others will be left to rue a raft of missed opportunities.
France comfortably beat Italy 30-12 in Paris to kick-off this year’s Six Nations. Clermont’s Aurelien Rougerie and Julien Malzieu helped France to a 15-6 lead at half-time and Vincent Clerc and debutant Wesley Fofana scored in the second half to dismiss any chances of a repeat of last year’s shock 22-21 win by Italy.
Pakistan look set to complete a 3-0 series whitewash on the fourth day of the third test in Dubai. England have been set a hefty target of 324, with Azhar Ali and Younis Khan scoring 157 and 127 respectively.
Rugby League’s Super League kicked off this weekend and it’s Catalan Dragons who lead the earliest of Super League tables after a 34-12 win at Bradford, in part thanks to the boot of Scott Dureau. Reigning champions Leeds beat Hull KR 34-16 in the season’s first game on Friday evening. Wigan lost at home to Huddersfield 20-16 and St. Helens beat London Broncos 34-24 at the Stoop.
The New York Giants came from behind to win Super Bowl XLVI 21-17 in a repeat of the 2008 season-ending match. Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady had excelled to help his side to the lead after a poor start to the match in which the Giants took a 9-0 lead.
He was unable to inspire his side to victory despite stringing together a Super Bowl record of 16 straight completed passes and his Hail Mary pass in the final seconds was knocked to the ground for the Giants to win their fourth Super Bowl Championship.
