News+Notes:
Ronaldo overcomes nerves for Man United homecoming double,
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND >> The Manchester United fans wanted to soak up every moment, savor every possible glimpse of Cristiano Ronaldo and try to roll back the years, to the time when the trophies were flowing.
Almost an hour after seeing Ronaldo’s double help United defeat Newcastle 4-1 on Saturday, hundreds of fans were still inside Old Trafford to see their homecoming hero re-emerge.
Just like he did so often before leaving United for Real Madrid in 2009, Ronaldo reveled in celebrating again in front of the Stretford End where compatriot Bruno Fernandes and Jesse Lingard also scored.
One of the greatest threats to United’s first hope of a trophy under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer — and a first since the 2017 Europa League — could be Chelsea, especially with its own returning striker.
Unlike Ronaldo, Romelu Lukaku was never appreciated by Chelsea in his first stint from 2011 to 2014. He never even scored at Stamford Bridge, even while playing for Everton or United.
The Belgium striker put that right, scoring twice in a 3-0 win over Aston Villa with a low right-footed shot and high strike into the roof of the net at the end. Mateo Kovacic got the other goal.
Tottenham became the final team to lose its perfect record. After Japhet Tanganga received two yellow cards in the space of five minutes, Crystal Palace used its man advantage to claim a 3-0 win with new signing Odsonne Edouard scoring twice to add to a penalty by Wilfried Zaha.
Brentford’s unbeaten start to its first Premier League campaign ended when Leandro Trossard curled in a shot to give Brighton a 1-0 win.
Golf
LAPORTA LEADS AT WENTWORTH >> Francesco Laporta of Italy shot 3-under 69 to take a one-stroke lead after three rounds of the BMW PGA Championship as Bernd Wiesberger moved closer to sealing a place in Europe’s Ryder Cup team.
Nineteen players were within five shots of the 264th-ranked Laporta, who was 14 under overall, heading into the final round of the flagship event on the European Tour. The closest was English player Laurie Canter, who shot 70 and was a stroke behind in second place outright.
Ryder Cup qualification is the major subplot of this week’s tournament at the tour headquarters at Wentworth, which marks the final chance for players to earn points to gain an automatic place in the European team.
Motor sports
TRUEX LEADS 1-2-3 FINISH FOR JOE GIBBS RACING AT RICHMOND >> Martin Truex Jr. assumed the lead when Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch was penalized for speeding with about 50 laps to go and won the NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway.
The victory was the third for Truex in the last five races at Richmond. He got the lead when Busch was caught speeding entering pit road during green flag pit stops, causing him to relinquish a big lead and fall back to 10th.
Truex led a 1-2-3 finish for JGR, with Denny Hamlin finishing second and Christopher Bell. And Truex did it after being black-flagged on the first lap for beating Hamlin, the pole-sitter, to the start-finish line for the start of the race.
The finish marked the sixth time JGR cars swept the top three spots.
The penalty sent Truex to the back of the field, but as he has done repeatedly since ending an 80-race winless drought on tracks shorter than a mile at the start of his career, he masterfully worked his way back into contention.
Defending series champion Chase Elliott was fourth, followed by Joey Logano and points-leader Kyle Larson, who started the race at the back of the field after twice failing pre-race inspection. Larson did, however, manage to clinch his spot in the second round of the playoffs.