Sanchez goes from hero to villain as Inter win again

Barcelona end struggles on the road

MILAN, Sept 28, (RTRS): Alexis Sanchez scored and was sent off in his first start for Inter Milan as the Serie A leaders maintained their perfect record with a 3-1 win at Sampdoria on Saturday.

Stefano Sensi’s deflected strike put Inter in front after 20 minutes before on-loan Manchester United forward Sanchez finished from close range to double the lead two minutes later.

The match turned on its head a minute into the second half when Sanchez was shown a second yellow card for simulation and Jakub Jankto pulled back a goal for Sampdoria with 35 minutes still to play.

But Roberto Gagliardini pounced to seal the three points for Inter, who have won their first six league games of a season for the first time since 1966-67 and only the second time in their history.

“Fortunately, the way it finished, I can look at the glass half full,” Inter coach Antonio Conte told Sky Italia.

“I’d prefer a more relaxed match on an emotional level, as we absolutely dominated the first half and were in complete control.

“Finding ourselves in that situation and emerging with a victory fortifies us. It helps us realise we can consolidate success and continue playing our football even when down to 10 men.” The victory restored Inter’s two-point

Mainz’s Karim Onisiwo (left), and Wolfsburg’s Jerome Roussillon (right), challenge for the ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match between

FSV Mainz 05 and VfL Wolfsburg in Mainz, Germany on Sept 28. (AP)

lead over Juventus at the top of the table ahead of a meeting between the sides at San Siro next Sunday, while Sampdoria are rooted to the bottom of the table after taking three points from the opening six rounds.

Conte made several changes to his side ahead of the visit of Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday, resting Romelu Lukaku, Diego Godin and Nicolo Barella and handing Sanchez his full debut.

In a meeting of the top and bottom sides in the league, Inter got off to a fast start as Sensi’s shot from distance took a big deflection of Sanchez on the way in and the goal was awarded to the midfielder despite the Chilean celebrating it as his own.

Sanchez needed only two more minutes to open his account for the club as he latched onto a mis-hit Sensi effort to slot home from close range.

However, things took an ugly turn for the 30-year-old when he was shown a second yellow card for diving inside the box a minute into the second half, meaning he will be suspended for the clash with Juventus.

The incident spurred the home side into life and they were given hope when Jankto spun in the box and fired a low shot into the bottom corner after 55 minutes.

However, their rally was short-lived as Gagliardini pounced on an Emil Audero parry to bundle a shot in from close range and condemn Eusebio Di Francesco to his fifth defeat in six games as Sampdoria coach.

In Madrid, Barcelona ended a string of bad results away from home with a 2-0 win at Getafe on Saturday in La Liga.

Strikes by Luis Suarez and Junior Firpo either side of halftime gave the Spanish champions their first win of the season on the road, although they finished with 10 men after Clement Lenglet’s dismissal.

It was Barcelona’s first win in their last nine competitive games away from Camp Nou and it eased the pressure on coach Ernesto Valverde.

Barca moved provisionally into second with 13 points from seven matches, one behind leaders Real Madrid who face Atletico Madrid later Saturday.

“Lately teams have made a lot of chances against us but today they didn’t make so many,” said Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, whose pass set up Suarez for the opening goal.

“I think in some moments we used our experience, which is important. In the end you have to stick together and know how to defend.

Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo (right), vies for the ball with SPAL’s Demba Thiam during the Serie A soccer match between Juventus and SPAL at the

Allianz Stadium in Turin, Italy on Sept 28. (AP)

Kababayans who trooped their way to the sprawling Hamdan Sports Complex along the Emirates Road.

But the Dubai All Stars-DJMC, composed of former pro and collegiate Filipino cagers who are now based in UAE, had other plans as they played all out right from the opening tip to take the opener of the exhibition matches serving as fitting appetisers for regular MPBL matches.

Former MBA star Chris De Jesus led the hosts with 17 points while former University of the East standout Arnold Booker and Perpetual Help product Chris Elopre tallied 16 points apiece as they took turns in the extra five-minute period that salvaged what seemed to be a blown opportunity in regulation.

It was Pacquiao, as expected, who commanded much of the spotlight in the opening day of the league’s breakthrough foray overseas made possible by the Dubai Sports Council and Hamdan Sports Complex, with Happy Holidays, Herschel, Blue Eyes, King’s Medical Center, Shogun Global and Transform as support sponsors.

“It’s always a humbling experience to play in front of my Kababayans,” said Pacquiao, who personally offered $3,000 reward to the winning team. “We came here to entertain them more than anything and I hope we were able to do so. I’m very thankful for their warm welcome and the to the government of Dubai for their great hospitality.”

For his part, Dunstan Rozario, Chairman of DJMC Events, the main organiser of the two-day hoop-fest, said: “Earlier, I told them to just enjoy this special moment of playing against Senator Manny Pacquiao. But when the opportunity presented itself, the guys gladly took it. This victory made the hosting sweeter for us.”

Playing inspired with Narvacan, Ilocus Sur Mayor Chavit Singson and a handful of Philippine lawmakers in attendance, the Filipino boxing icon went on a scoring binge in the first period with 12 points, spiked by pair of triples, helping the MPBL Executives overcome a jittery start and even take a 26-23 lead.

But the Dubai All Stars-DJMC refused to give in and hold their ground on both ends, taking control in the middle quarters and putting themselves on the cusp of a stunner with an 89-85 lead

Manny goes up for a basket. off De Jesus’ split with 29.5 ticks to go in regulation.

However, former pro Emerson Oreta, the league’s Operations Head, made scored five straight points, capped by a completed and-one play that knotted the count at 90-apiece with 10.4 seconds remaining.

The Dubai All Stars botched their final two attempts in the closing seconds, but quickly regrouped in overtime, with Elopre hitting five quick points and De Jesus scoring an unmolested lay-up that negated Bobby Pacquiao’s jumper for a 97-92 lead.

Manny Pacquiao split his charities then Oreta scored the next three points as the MPBL Executives kept breathing down the Dubai All Stars-DJMC’s neck, 96-97, setting the stage for a cardiac finish.

However, Oreta turned from hero to zero as he muffed a point-blank attempt and turned the ball over, leaving them with no recourse but to foul the Dubai All Stars-DJMC, who canned two of their four free throw attempts in the last 15 seconds.

The MPBL Executives had one final chance to force another overtime, but Rob Wainwright’s last gasp attempt came up short, enabled the Dubai All Stars-DJMC to escape with the big victory.

In the main game, former pro Mark Yee notched his 30th double-double while Billy Robles carried the cudgels as the Davao Occidental-Cocolife Tigers defeated the Batangas CityTanduay Athletics, 67-57.

Robles finished with 17 points, while Yee wound up with 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Cocolife-backed Tigers, the MPBL Datu Cup South champion and losing national finalist to North division titlist San Juan Knights who jacked up their pacesetting winloss record to 14-2 in the Lakan Cup.

The Athletics saw their own threewin run come to a halt and slid to 9-5. They have a chance to bounce back as they take on the struggling ImusKhaleb Shawarma Bandera (3-11) on Saturday night at 8 pm.