FA Cup final four set
Kevin de Bruyne’s firsthalf penalty and a superb strike by Raheem Sterling after the break earned holders Manchester City a comfortable 2-0 win away at Newcastle United in the weekend’s last FA Cup quarterfinal on Sunday.
City’s domination of the first half was absolute and the only surprise was it took a penalty for them to lead at halftime, De Bruyne slotting home in the 37th minute.
Newcastle did improve marginally after the break and substitute Dwight Gayle somehow missed a gaping goal.
One minute later Sterling curled home a delightful effort to seal City’s progress and set up a semifinal against Arsenal.
All four of this year’s Cup quarterfinals, all played behind closed doors, were won by the away team — the first time that has happened since 1987.
Manchester United will face Chelsea in the other semifinal.
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard showed his ruthless side as he hauled off three of his brightest young players at halftime in his team’s 1-0 win over Leicester City.
Mason Mount, Billy Gilmour and Reece James made way for the vastly more experienced trio of Ross Barkley, Mateo Kovacic and
Cesar Azpilicueta, and the difference was clear.
Barkley struck the game’s only goal in the 63rd minute, ghosting on to Willian’s cross to steer a shot home.
Arsenal defeated Sheffield United 2-1 on a goal by Dani Ceballos in the 91st minute.
In the only game in the Premier League, Watford was dealt a major blow in its bid to avoid relegation as a
Danny Ings double and
James Ward-Prowse’s stunning late free kick condemned them to a 3-1 defeat at home to Southampton.
Watford manager Nigel Pearson said he would wait for the facts before commenting on the absence of Andre Gray, Domingos Quina and Nathaniel Chalobah.
Gray, Chalobah and Quina were all omitted from the squad as a “precautionary measure” after British media reported that striker Gray had breached coronavirus lockdown rules by holding a birthday party at his home, with Quina also pictured at the gathering.
SPANISH LA LIGA
Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema produced an audacious back-heeled assist for Casemiro to score as in a 1-0 away win over Espanyol on Sunday to capitalize on Barcelona’s slip-up a day earlier and move two points clear at the top of La Liga.
Brazilian midfielder Casemiro slid to the ground to guide the ball home on the stroke of halftime after being played in by a stroke of genius from Benzema, who dragged the ball through the legs of the defender marking him to find his teammate.
Real saw out its slender lead for a fifth consecutive victory which gave a twopoint cushion in the title race over Barca, which was held to a 2-2 draw at Celta Vigo on Saturday.
ITALIAN SERIE A
Third-placed Inter Milan scored twice in the last six minutes through Stefan De Vrij and Alessandro Bastoni to snatch a 2-1 win at Parma despite a subdued display.
The scarcely deserved win left Inter eight points behind leaders Juventus and four adrift of second-placed Lazio with 10 games each to play.
Gervinho put Parma ahead with a solo goal in the 15th minute and a lacklustre Inter rarely looked like forcing their way back into the match until the closing minutes.
De Vrij headed an equalizer from a corner in the 84th and substitute Bastoni nodded home an unlikely winner three minutes later. Parma had Juraj Kucka sent off in between the goals.
AC Milan scored twice in the last quarter of an hour to sink AS Roma 2-0 in a slowpaced Serie A match as both teams struggled in the San Siro heat.
The match kicked off at 5:15 p.m. local time with the temperature around 32C and, although the pitch was almost entirely in the shade, the conditions clearly affected both teams.
REPORT: ARTHUR TO JUVE
Juventus is set to sign Brazil international Arthur Melo from Barcelona after the midfielder agreed a five-year contract with the Italian champions and passed a medical, according to Spanish media reports on Sunday.
The move is part of a twin negotiation between the clubs which involves Bosnia midfielder Miralem Pjanic moving to Barca, said reports in sports dailies Mundo Deportivo and Marca.
Mundo Deportivo said Juve will pay Barca 70 million euros ($78.55 million) for Arthur, 23, and will receive 60 million for 30-year-old Pjanic.