City close in on title, Wood helps Burnley stay afloat
Te Akau to decide if Sword of State is on plane to Sydney
Manchester City need only to win five of their remaining eight games to secure the Premier League trophy.
A 3-0 victory over Fulham yesterday moved Pep Guardiola’s side 17 points ahead of second-place Manchester United, but having played two games more.
Everton were previously in the title mix but a 2-1 home loss to Burnley was the latest setback in their attempt to make the top four.
It’s Chelsea in the fourth Champions League spot, even after a 0-0 draw with Leeds. West Ham can move level on points with Chelsea this morning with a victory at Manchester United and still have a game in hand.
City cruising
City are set to make it three titles in four seasons by dethroning eighth-placed defending champions Liverpool. After beating Liverpool last week, Fulham held off City for 47 minutes until John Stones tapped into the back of the net from a ball sent into the box by Joao Cancelo.
A fortunate rebound allowed City to extend their lead in the 56th minute. Joachim Andersen cleared the ball into Fulham teammate Ivan Cavaleiro, and it rebounded behind the home backline and into the path of Gabriel Jesus. He had enough time and space to round keeper Alphonse Areola before putting the ball in the back of the net
The third goal came on the hour after former City defender Tosin Adarabioyo pushed Ferran Torres in the box and referee Andre Marriner pointed immediately to the penalty spot. Sergio Aguero then fired the ball into the corner of the goal.
“I’m so satisfied,” Guardiola said. “Now we have three weeks I think until the next Premier League game, now we have two ‘finals’ in the Champions League and FA Cup, but the team is ready to try it.”
Fulham are in the relegation zone on goal difference but 17th-placed Brighton have two games in hand.
Everton stunned
Burnley took a step closer to safety by denting Carlo Ancelotti’s bid for a topfour finish.
Dwight Mcneil curled a superb leftfooted effort into the top corner in the 24th minute after All White Chris Wood’s opener to clinch the win that took Burnley seven points clear of the relegation zone.
Johann Berg Gudmundsson hit a post as Burnley looked to make it three before Dominic Calvert-lewin pulled one back in the 32nd minute.
“It’s a big disappointment but what can we do, we can’t give up,” Ancelotti said. “We want to still fight for the position in Europe.”
Tuchel unbeaten
Chelsea extended their unbeaten start under Thomas Tuchel to 10 Premier League games with the draw at Leeds. Back in the top division after 16 years, Leeds made Chelsea work for their point. Both sides struck the crossbar in a frenetic first half and both keepers were forced into decisive saves. It was also another clean sheet for Tuchel’s team, who have conceded only two goals since he replaced Frank Lampard in late January and are unbeaten in 12 matches in all competitions.
Zaha stance
Wilfried Zaha became the first Premier League player not to take a knee before his Crystal Palace team beat West Bromwich Albion 1-0.
It was secured by Luka Milivojevic’s first-half penalty, which Zaha had won. Zaha, who is Black, was back in the starting XI after an injury and it gave him the chance to stand at kickoff.
“There is no right or wrong decision, but for me personally, I feel kneeling has just become a part of the pre-match routine and at the moment it doesn’t matter whether we kneel or stand, some of us still continue to receive abuse,” he said.
Zaha had already indicated he thought taking a knee has lost meaning after being brought in by the Premier League in June as an anti-racism message when football resumed.
Victory took Palace to 37 points, enough to avoid relegation the past four years. —AP
Lee Westwood gets another shot at winning The Players Championship, and another crack at Bryson Dechambeau. The Englishman made a 25-foot birdie putt on the island-green 17th hole, and he closed out a 4-under 68 with a 5-footer for par to extend his bogey-free streak at the TPC Sawgrass to 44 holes.
It also gave him a two-shot lead over Dechambeau and set up a rematch from last week in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
They were in the final group at Bay Hill, where Westwood took a one-shot lead into the final round only for Dechambeau to make a 5-foot par on the final hole to beat him by one on a big-hitter’s ballpark.
“Round two,” Westwood said with a smile.
The Stadium Course at Sawgrass is more about position than power, though Dechambeau appears capable of winning on just about any course at the moment. He ran off three straight birdies to start the back nine and was most excited about his 15-foot par putt on the 18th for a 67. Westwood was at 13-under 203. The 47-year-old from England had the 54-hole lead at Sawgrass in 2010 only to hit into the water on the par-3 17th to end his chances. He tied for fourth.
All these years later, he gets another chance and looks to be up to the task.
So does Dechambeau, going for his third victory this season.
He can’t blast away at Sawgrass because of the bending tree-lined fairways and water hazards. But his power still comes in handy. With his tee shot buried in deep rough right of the 18th fairway, some 192 metress away, he ripped an 8-iron to just short of the green and set up his chance at par. Dechambeau twice pumped his powerful arms when it dropped.
“You’ve got to make those to win tournaments,” he said. “I didn’t want to leave a sour taste in my mouth.”
Westwood has been around long enough to know that even with recent history of Bay Hill, Dechambeau is not the only one standing in his way, especially on a troublesome course like Sawgrass. Yesterday was evident of that. Justin Thomas started the third round seven shots behind, opened with four straight birdies and then hit a 5-iron that stopped inches away on the par-5 16th that left him a tap-in eagle. He shot 64 and was three shots behind, along with Doug Ghim, who is making his debut in The Players.
Ghim, one of seven players who had at least a share of the lead at one point yesterday, was motoring along until one costly swing on the easiest hole, the par5 16th. He came up well short in a bunker under a tree, tried to blast low under the limbs and caught the rough and wound up with his lone bogey.
Paul Casey had six birdies and an eagle to offset his mistakes in a 67, leaving him four shots behind with Jon Rahm (67). Sergio Garcia was five shots behind and still can’t handle the short putts, including a 4-footer for birdie that missed badly on the low side at the 17th. He had to settle for a 72.
Westwood said this would be the biggest win of his career, and while there were times he chose not to play as a European Tour member, there is no denying the strength of the field — 48 of the top 50 players — and the nature of a Sawgrass course where fortunes can change with a single swing.
For Dechambeau, it’s a chance to stamp himself as the favorite as the Masters nears, if he’s not already.
He won with power and putting at Bay Hill. He’s having to rely on a little more this week, and says missing in the right spots has helped him avoid dropping more shots. — AP
The Golden Slipper may not be the perfect fit for juvenile flying machine Sword Of State but he could still find himself in Sydney this autumn. Today is D-day for the expensive colt, with Team Te Akau to make the final decision this afternoon whether he is flown to Sydney tomorrow for Saturday’s iconic freshman dash for cash at Rosehill.
But while Sword Of State is fully qualified for the Slipper after his effortless win in Saturday’s Sistema Stakes at Ellerslie, it would surprise to see him trying the slipper on for size this week.
“We will trot him up in the morning and then have a pow wow on the phone around lunch time and the final decision will be David’s [Ellis],” says trainer Jamie Richards.
Ellis would love to win a Slipper, especially with a colt who could rocket into the $20 million-$30 million price tag range with victory and he says the fact the race is just a week after last Saturday’s win isn’t a deal breaker.
“It would be with a lot of horses but he is such a good doing colt I think he could handle it,” says Ellis.
“But I am probably 60-40 against going at this stage. But even if we don’t go he could very well go to Sydney for the Sires’ over there and even Brisbane in an option.”
The desire for an Australian group one is understandable as it would exponentially increase Sword Of State’s stud value and that could see him miss the Sires’ Produce at Awapuni on April 3, a race that looks at his mercy.
That could also change the pathway of stablemate On The Bubbles, who may not be as sharp as Sword Of State at the moment but appears to have most of the other juveniles covered.
If Sword Of State heads to Australia it would be tempting to keep On The Bubbles in work to win the Sires’ Produce at Awapuni because group one wins are not to be sneezed at and he could probably get away with it at 90 per cent.
The two speedfreak babies won’t be the only stars at the centre of the team chat today as goals will need to be set for Melody Belle, Avantage and Probabeel among others.
Melody Belle is almost certain to head to Australia for one more crack at group one glory there but Richards is leaning toward keep Avantage here and maybe targeting the Breeders Stakes at Te Aroha, which could see her clash with Saturday’s other outstanding winner Levante in a fitting finale to New Zealand’s Group season.
Probabeel was robbed of any real chance in the A$5m All Star Mile on Saturday when rain soaked The Valley and Richards says the favourite looked after herself.
“She just didn’t handle it, which was a real shame,” he offers.
“But at this stage she will stay over there and head to Sydney and, if the tracks stay dry, we will give her one more shot at a Group 1 this season.”
While New Zealand will have significant Derby representation as usual in Sydney, Saturday’s Auckland Cup winner Ocean Billy is not heading to the Sydney Cup. 1
“It will come around a bit quick and I haven’t entered him so I’d have to pay a late entry fee so we won’t be going to Sydney,” said trainer Bill Pomare.
New Zealand’s main Sydney Cup chance The Chosen One was solid in his return to Sydney racing at Rosehill on Saturday in a 2000m race and he is already looking for further as he counts down to the A$2 million Sydney Cup on April 10.
Meanwhile his stablemate Aegon is being aimed at the A$3m Doncaster at Randwick on April 3 with Kerrin Mcevoy confirmed for the ride at 52.5kg.