The race for the Reimer League title took yet another twist yesterday. In the lunchtime kick-off, Manchester United twice gave up a two-goal lead to draw 4-4 with Everton.
They lead 3-1 and 4-2 thanks to a brace form Wayne Rooney and one each form Nani and Danny Welbeck but Everton kept coming back. With seven minutes to play Nikica Jelavic scored his second before Steven Pienaar nipped in to earn his side point.
Manchester City meanwhile kept up the pressure on their title rivals with a 2-0 win over Wolves. Sergio Aguero and Samir Nasri netting for city but the defeat for Wolves means they’re the first team this season to have their relegation from the Premier League confirmed.
Roy Hodgson’s West Brom beat his former side Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield thanks to a Peter Odemwingie goal who profited from an error from Glen Johnson after 75 minutes.
Arsenal and Chelsea played out a goalless draw on Saturday with Chelsea making eight changes to the side that beat Barcelona on Tuesday evening. Arsenal had the best of the chance through Robin van Persie and Laurent Koscielny who both saw efforts hit the crossbar.
Blackburn registered a win after five defeats in a row with a 2-0 victory at home to Norwich to give them a much-needed boost in their fight against relegation. Bolton could only muster a 1-1 draw with Swansea, and now sit four points away from safety with two games in hand on Wigan. Blackburn are three behind the Latics.
Robin van Persie was named PFA Player of the Year last night at a ceremony at London’s Grosvenor House. Tottenham’s Kyle Walker took the Young Player of the Year award.
Sebastian Vettel became the fourth different winner of a Grand Prix from four races this season. The world champion overcame the challenge of Kimi Raikkonen. Vettel, who started on pole saw his early lead cut by Raikkonen’s Lotus but he restored his advantage with some efficient pitting.
The other man to make the podium was Lotus’s Romain Grosjean. Lewis Hamilton finished eighth while Jenson Button retired.
In cricket’s County Championship, reigning champions Lancashire suffered their second defeat in their opening two matches against Warwickshire. Keith Barker and Jeehan Patel both took five wickets for Warwickshire.
Hampshire beat Glamorgan with Hamza Riazuddin hitting the winning runs off the penultimate ball of the match. Yorkshire and Essex’s drew their rain-affected match while the poor weather affected the match between Durham and Middlesex at Lords, which also finished a draw.
In the penultimate round of matches in Rugby Union’s Aviva Premiership,
At the top of the table Leicester beat Harlequins 43-33 at the Stoop to go second ahead of Saracens, a single point behind their opponents Quins. Ugo Monye and Nick Easter scored in the first half to give the home side the lead, but tries from George Lowe, Alesana Tuilagi and Thomas Waldrom along with the boot of Toby Flood put Leicester in charge.
Northampton beat Exeter 18-15 to go above their opponents into the fourth and final playoff place. Paul Diggins gave the Saints an eight-point lead and despite scoring through Richard Baxter Northampton held on. Exeter now need Worcester to beat Northampton in the final round of games if they are to stand any chance of making the playoffs for the first time in the club’s history.
Wasps earnt an important bonus point despite losing 17-12 to Bath. They play relegation rivals Newcastle Falcons on the final day of the season and Newcastle must score four tries and win by seven points to overhaul Wasps.
Huddersfield continued their excellent run of form with their fourth straight Super League win – their tenth of the 12-game old campaign – this time against Bradford. Danny Brough scored two penalties and a try in the second half to help his side to a 20-6 win.
Pat Richards scored a hat-trick as second-placed Wigan thrashed Hull 56-12. Warrington registered an equally good win over Castleford. They scored seven first-half tries and a further three after the break.
St Helens thrashed basement club Widnes 62-0 and fellow strugglers London Broncos lost 44-6 away at Hull KR.
Rafael Nadal cruised past Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-1 to win his eight-straight Monte Carlo Open title ahead of next month’s French Open.
Kenyan pair Wilson Kipsang and Mary Keitany won the elite races in Sunday’s London Marathon. Lee Merrien was the fastest British man, finishing in a time of 2:13:40. In the women’s race, Claire Hallissey finished in 2:28.
