Pulisic scores three goals for Chelsea in Premier League win
Christian Pulisic seemed to surprise himself with his hat trick for Chelsea. and while there have been U.S. stars in the Premier League before, there have been none quite like Pulisic.
As he left the field after the 4-2 defeat of Burnley on Saturday, the young American needed reminding by his teammates that scoring three goals means you get to keep the ball.
“I didn’t realize that was the tradition,” he said. “My teammates helped me out.”
Pulisic hadn’t scored for Chelsea but seized his chance on his first English Premier League start since August, extending Chelsea’s unbeaten run to seven games in all competitions.
Pulisic showed off his versatility with his first goal in the 21st minute, stealing the ball from defender Matt Lowton, sprinting forward, beating the experienced James Tarkowski, and shooting precisely inside the far post.
The second goal saw Pulisic beat Tarkowski again before hitting a deflected shot, and the third was a fine header off Mason Mount’s cross, again showcasing Pulisic’s versatility.
Scoring a Premier League hat trick was something only one American had done before, Clint Dempsey in 2012.
Federer defeats Tsitsipas at Basel
BASEL, SWITZERLAND >> Roger Federer delighted his hometown fans by cruising past Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4 in the Swiss Indoors semifinals on Saturday.
Seeking a 10th career title in Basel, the
38-year-old Federer will play 20-year-old Alex de Minaur in Sunday’s final.
De Minaur, a wild card, advanced by beating big-serving American Reilly Opelka 7-6
(2), 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3) in a meeting of unseeded players.
Both finalists have won three titles this season, though for De Minaur these are the only three of his career so far while Federer is chasing his 103rd.
Serving for the match, Federer saved the only break point he allowed the seventhranked Tsitsipas.
Federer and De Minaur, who was born in February 1999, four months after the Swiss great played his first match at Basel, have never played each other on tour.
Former Vonn coach helps Robinson, 17, beat Shiffrin
SOELDEN, AUSTRIA >> A coach who helped Lindsey Vonn become the winningest female skier of all time guided one of the sport’s biggest prospects to her first World Cup victory on Saturday.
Led by Chris Knight, New Zealand teenager Alice Robinson edged Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin to win the traditional World Cup season-opener on the Rettenbach glacier.
It was the first women’s World Cup giant slalom victory for a skier from New Zealand, and the first in any discipline since Claudia Riegler won a slalom in Switzerland in 1997.
“It’s going to take a while to sink in,” 17-year-old Robinson said, adding she planned to fly back to New Zealand on Monday to finish her high school education this week.
Auriemma wants to de-emphasize 3-pointers in women’s game
UConn coach Geno Auriemma doesn’t want women’s college basketball to be dominated by the 3-point shot, like the men’s game is at virtually every level now.
Speaking to reporters before a coaches clinic at Harvard on Saturday, the 11-time NCAA champion said he is still hoping the NCAA will move the women’s 3-point line back, as the men did this year. In a straw poll at the Final Four this spring, the women’s coaches overwhelmingly voted against joining them.
“That was stupid, that the women didn’t move the line back,” Auriemma said. “Now you’ve got two lines on the court, which is stupid. And the other part is everybody thinks they’re a 3-point shooter.