City still top, likewise Rangers, Stoner wins in Spain

FOOTBALL Top-Of-The-Table Manchester City recorded their eighth straight victory by beating QPR 3-2, and by scoring in every PL game this season (11) they’ve set a new competition record.

Rivals United beat Sunderland 1-0, with an own-goal by ex-player Wes Brown; unbeaten Newcastle defeated Everton 2-1; Chelsea won 1-0 at Blackburn; Tottenham triumphed 3-1 at Fulham and Arsenal (with Robin van Persie’s 29^th goal this year) clipped WBA 3-0.

At the basement, there were vital wins for Wolves (3-1 v Wigan) and Bolton (5-0 v Stoke). Meanwhile in the SPL Rangers (24 games unbeaten) lead Celtic by 12 points. 

In last week’s Champions League, Manchester City beat Villarreal 3-0 – their best away win in Europe for 42 years. Mario Balotelli’s penalty was City’s 50^th goal this season.

Man United defeated Galiti 2-0, Arsenal and Chelsea scrambled draws and Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in Real Madrid’s 2-0 win in Lyon. His second was his 100^th in 105 games for Real, a new record for the quickest century of goals for the Bernabeu club

* I’ll be covering Ronaldo’s career in the EWN next month.

Also in the Europa League, Rubin Kazan beat Spurs, Birmingham drew with Brugge, Stoke won in Tel Aviv, Fulham whipped Krakov and Celtic defeated Rennes.

Spurs’ boss Harry Redknapp was not in Russia. Instead he had an operation to remove blocked arteries in his heart and has been told to rest for a month.

On Saturday England play Spain at Wembley (teatime kick-off) and therefore there’ll be no PL games. Instead it’s FA Cup 1^st round action with five League clubs on a banana skin – Plymouth (v Stourbridge), Charlton (at Halifax), Shrewsbury (at Newport), Aldershot (at Maidenhead) and Rotherham (at Barrow).

David Beckham, 36, wants to play for GB in next year’s Olympics, saying: “I still have a lot to offer.” And another ex- United star, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, has guided Molde to the Norwegian League title for the first time in the club’s 100-year history.

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CONGRATULATIONS TO SIR ALEX FERGUSON… on celebrating 25 years as manager of Manchester United.

“It’s been a fairy tale. I never believed I’d be so successful” said the Scot. Under his control, United have played 1,410 games, (837 won, 326 drawn and 247 lost) while lifting 37 trophies.  

“He’s the game’s greatest-ever manager” said Sir Bobby Charlton. 

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SPORTS SHORTS

• The Pakistani cricketers, found guilty of spot-fixing, were given custodial sentences – Salman Butt two-and-a-half years, Mohammad Asif 12 months and Mohammad Amir six months detention. Their agent got 32 months… it should have been 32 years!
• World champion Casey Stoney shot past Ben Spies on the last bend to win the final MotoGP of 2011 in Valencia. The late Marco Simoncelli’s Gresini team won the Moto2 race.

• Golfer Rory McIlroy is second in the World rankings after finishing fourth in the WGC Champions Tournament in Shanghai, won by Martin Kaymer.
• Sir Chris Hoy took gold in the men’s sprint competition in the track cycling World Cup in Kazakhstan.
• England’s Rugby League team must beat New Zealand on Saturday to reach the Four Nations final.
• Roger Federer won the Swiss Indoor Tennis tournament on home soil.
• Joe O’Brien, 18, the youngest jockey ever to win the £3m Breeder’s Cup, rode Sea Moon, trained by his father Aidan, to victory in Kentucky.
• And Paul Hannigan has defended his flat race jockey championship.

DID YOU KNOW?

BBC TV began 75 years ago, in November 1936, and the first ‘live’ football game was Arsenal v Arsenal reserves from Highbury!

And well done Huddersfield – 42 games unbeaten, a new FL record. Arsenal hold the Premiership record, 49 games unbeaten.

FRAZIER DIES

FORMER World heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier has died at the age of 67. The only man to beat Muhammad Ali, doing so in 1971, he then lost his next two bouts with the ‘King of the Ring’ one of them in the ‘Thriller in Manilla’, which is regarded as the most gruelling fight ever.