MANCHESTER UNITED BOUNCES SOLSKJAER
Manchester United’s 4-1 loss Saturday against Watford determined the fate of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who was fired as the team’s manager Sunday after the club’s fifth loss in seven Premier League games.
The Glazer family, which owns the club, made the announcement hours after the loss contributed to reports that it was imminent.
“Ole will always be a legend at Manchester United and it is with regret that we have reached this difficult decision,” the team said in a statement. “While the past few weeks have been disappointing, they should not obscure all the work he has done over the past three years to rebuild the foundations for long-term success.”
The club added that Michael Carrick, a former player who was on Solskjaer’s staff, will take over until an interim manager is appointed for the rest of the season.
The pressure on Solskjaer increased after Manchester United, one of the world’s most popular and valuable clubs, added star power over the summer, bringing Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane onto the roster.
But the loss to Watford, which sits 16th in the 20team Premier League — nine spots behind Manchester United — accelerated the owners’ decision.
More soccer
Antonio Conte registered a first Premier League win in charge of Tottenham as the team came from behind to beat Leeds 2-1. In the earlier game, Manchester City swept past Everton 3-0 to move back to second place, three points behind Chelsea.
Golden Boot winner Valentin Castellanos and Alexander Callens scored less than four minutes apart early in the second half and host New York City FC beat Atlanta United 2-0 in the first round of the MLS playoffs.
Sebastian Blanco scored the go-ahead goal and adding an insurance score and the host Portland Timbers eliminated Minnesota United from the MLS playoffs with a 3-1 openinground victory.
Horse racing
The second feature of the penultimate weekend of Del
Mar’s fall season produced a Cinderella result for ownertrainer Librado Barocio,
jockey Kent Desormeaux
and 18.50-to-1 long shot Principe Carlo. Desormeaux capped a four-win weekend by powering Principe Carlo past two other horses in the final strides to win the Cary Grant Stakes, a 7-furlong race for older California-bred horses. Desormeaux rallied Principe Carlo ($39) to nose out favorite Positivity for the win with Colt Fiction third, another neck back.
Motorsports
Lewis Hamilton inched closer to the Formula One championship lead with a dominating victory in the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix to earn back-to-back wins and chip away at Max Verstappen’s points advantage.
Boxing
Terrence Crawford (38-0) stopped Shawn Porter in the 10th round by technical knockout Saturday night in Las Vegas in one of the most anticipated bouts of the year.
Crawford knocked down Porter (31-4-1) early in the 10th round with a left uppercut and then delivered an exclamation point with a devastating right hook to the temple, followed by a left hook to the face.
Porter’s trainer and father, Kenny, threw in the towel and called for referee Celestino Ruiz to stop the fight. Porter stunned reporters by announcing his retirement from boxing at his post-fight press conference.
Tennis
If Alexander Zverev’s performance this weekend is any indication, a lot can be expected from the third-ranked German in 2022. Zverev beat the top two players in consecutive matches to earn his second title at the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy. After eliminating No. 1 Novak Djokovic over three sets in the semifinals, Zverev put on a dominant performance in the final, beating No. 2 Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-4.
Also
Japanese outfielder Seiya Suzuki, 27, will be posted today by his Japanese club and will be available for bidding by the 30 MLB teams.
A strong comeback bid fell short as the 10th-ranked UC San Diego men’s water polo team (14-10) was beaten, 18-16, by No. 15 Loyola Marymount (12-14) in the third-place match at the Western Water Polo Association tourney at UC Davis.