The Times - UK (2020-12-03)

(Antfer) #1

the times | Thursday December 3 2020 2GM 75


Sport


Youssef En-Nesyri, who couldn’t find
the empty net from halfway. Then
Mateo Kovacic gave away a dangerous
free kick in the middle of the “D”, swept
anticlimactically into Antonio Rüdi-
ger’s face by Ivan Rakitic.
Jesus Navas played a lovely scooped
inside pass to Nemanja Gudelj, who
leathered the bouncing ball just over
the bar.
But just as it looked as though Seville
were building up a head of steam, Chel-
sea tightened their grip on the match.
Callum Hudson-Odoi, who flickered
brightly on the right wing, flashed a
tantalising ball across the six-yard box,
but it was a warning shot that the hosts
didn’t heed. From Chelsea’s next attack,
a patient, intricate move, Jorginho
passed to Kovacic, who opened his
body and slipped a subtle pass to
Giroud. The Frenchman held off Sergi
Gómez and dinked a glorious finish
over Pastor with his weaker right foot.
With a quarter of the match remain-
ing, Lampard brought on Mason
Mount, Hakim Ziyech and N’Golo
Kanté. The Englishman almost made

King 1, Bell 21
Hyde 44, Earing 47
Woods 56

Faal 68
Effiong 85

Dag & Red (0) 0 Notts County (0) 0

Cricket
Third one-day international
Canberra India 302-5 (V Kohli 63, H H Pandya
92). Australia 289 (A J Finch 75, G J Maxwell
59; S N Thakur 3 for 51). India win by 13
runs.
6 Australia win two-match series 2-1.
Snooker
UK Championship
Milton Keynes: Fourth round N Robertson
(Aus) bt A McGill (Scot) 6-4; Zhou Yuelong
(China) bt J Higgins (Scot) 6-2; J Perry (Eng) bt
J Jones (Wales) 6-3.

Football fixtures


Carlisle (1) 2 Salford City(0) 1
Alessandra 33
Bennett 55

Dieseruvwe 90

Walsall (0) 1 Stevenage (1) 1
Gordon 90+1 (pen) Oteh 50
P WD LFA GD Pts
Newport Co........ 14 9 3 2 22 12 10 30
Cheltenham........ 15 9 2 4 24 13 11 29
Exeter................... 15 7 6 2 30 18 12 27
Forest Green...... 15 7 5 3 20 14 6 26
Carlisle.................. 15 8 2 5 21 16 5 26
Cambridge.......... 14 7 4 3 26 11 15 25
Leyton Orient.... 15 7 3 5 24 17 7 24
Tranmere............ 15 7 3 5 18 15 3 24
Salford City......... 14 6 4 4 22 13 9 22
Bolton................... 15 6 4 5 17 18 -1 22
Morecambe........ 15 6 4 5 18 25 -7 22
Colchester........... 14 5 6 3 21 21 0 21
Crawley................ 15 5 4 6 20 19 1 19
Port Vale.............. 15 6 1 8 18 18 0 19
Harrogate ........... 15 5 4 6 17 19 -2 19
Walsall.................. 15 3 9 3 14 17 -3 18
Oldham................ 15 5 2 8 21 28 -7 17
Grimsby............... 13 4 3 6 12 22 -10 15
Mansfield.............15 2 8 51419 -514
Scunthorpe......... 13 4 2 7 13 21-8 14
Barrow.................. 15 2 7 6 20 23 -3 13
Bradford.............. 14 3 4 7 14 19 -5 13
Stevenage........... 15 2 6 7 11 16 -5 12
Southend............. 14 1 2 116 29 -23 5
Vanarama National League
FC Halifax (3) 5 Barnet (0) 2

Hull (1) 2 Doncaster (0) 1
Magennis 26
Eaves 87

John-Jules 82

Shrewsbury(1) 2 Accrington (1) 2
Pierre 27
Whalley 86

Pritchard 24
Cassidy 90+5
P WD LFA GD Pts
Hull............................14 11 0 3 26 11 15 33
Lincoln City.......... 14 9 2 3 18 10 8 29
Peterborough..... 15 9 1 5 24 15 9 28
Charlton................. 14 8 2 4 19 13 6 26
Ipswich................... 15 8 2 5 19 15 4 26
Portsmouth.......... 15 7 4 4 26 15 11 25
Sunderland.......... 14 6 6 2 18 12 6 24
Fleetwood ........... 15 7 2 6 25 15 10 23
Accrington S ...... 12 7 2 3 16 12 4 23
Doncaster............. 13 6 3 4 23 16 7 21
AFC Wim’don...... 14 5 5 4 18 17 1 20
Gillingham............ 14 6 2 6 15 17 -2 20
Crewe...................... 15 6 1 8 17 16 1 19
Blackpool.............. 14 6 1 7 15 18 -3 19
Plymouth.............. 14 5 4 5 20 25 -5 19
Northampton...... 15 5 3 7 15 23-8 18
MK Dons................15 4 5 61719 -217
Rochdale...............14 4 4 61620 -416
Swindon................. 15 5 1 9 21 30-9 16
Oxford Utd........... 14 4 2 8 15 23-8 14
Bristol Rovers..... 14 3 4 7 11 22 -11 13
Burton Albion..... 15 2 5 8 19 29 -10 11
Shrewsbury......... 14 1 7 6 15 23-8 10
Wigan...................... 14 2 2 10 10 22 -12 8
Sky Bet League Two
Cambridge (0) 0 Mansfield (0) 1
Reid 65

P WD LFA GD Pts
Norwich............... 15 8 4 3 19 14 5 28
Bournemouth.... 15 7 6 2 25 16 9 27
Watford................ 15 7 6 2 19 11 8 27
Reading................ 15 8 3 4 24 19 5 27
Bristol City.......... 15 8 3 4 19 15 4 27
Brentford............. 15 7 5 3 22 13 9 26
Swansea............... 15 7 5 3 17 10 7 26
Stoke..................... 15 7 4 4 22 18 4 25
Blackburn............ 15 7 3 5 29 17 12 24
Middlesbrough..1566 31610 624
Luton..................... 15 6 4 5 14 18-4 22
Cardiff...................155552013 720
Millwall................. 15 4 8 3 13 12 1 20
Barnsley............... 15 5 4 6 17 17 0 19
Preston................. 15 6 1 8 20 23 -3 19
Huddersfield......15 5 3 71822 -418
QPR........................15 4 5 61722 -517
Birmingham....... 15 3 7 5 11 14 -3 16
Coventry.............. 15 3 5 7 15 25 -10 14
Rotherham.......... 15 3 4 8 14 20-6 13
Nottm Forest...... 15 3 48 9 17-8 13
Wycombe............ 15 2 49 7 21 -14 10
Sheff Wed............ 15 3 66 8 13-5 9
Derby.................... 15 1 59 7 22 -15 8
Sky League One
AFC Wim’don(0) 2 Peterboro’ (0) 1
Longman 54
Pigott 60

Clarke-Harris 71

Bristol Rovers (0) 0 Gillingham (1) 2
Oliver 26, 74
Charlton (0) 0 MK Dons (0) 1
Fraser 76

Football


Champions League
Group E
Krasnodar (0) 1 Rennes (0) 0
Berg 71
6 Table above
Group F
B Dortmund(1) 1 Lazio (0) 1
Guerreiro 44 Immobile 66
Club Brugge(1) 3 Zenit (0) 0
De Ketalaere 33
Vanaken 58 (pen)
Lang 73
PW D L GF GA GD Pts
B Dortmund 5 3 1 1 10 4 6 10
Lazio 52309549
Club Brugge52 1268-27
Zenit 50 1 4 311-8 1


Group G
Ferencvaros (0) 0 Barcelona (3) 3
Griezmann 14
Braithwaite 20
Dembélé 27
Juventus (1) 3 D Kiev (0) 0
Chiesa 21
Ronaldo 57
Morata 66


PW D L GF GA GD Pts
Barcelona 5 5 0 0 16 2 14 15
Juventus 5 4 0 1 11 4 712
D Kiev 5 0 1 4 3 13 -10 1
Ferencvaros 5 0 1 4 5 16 -11 1
Group H
Istanbul B (1) 3 RB Leipzig (2) 4
Kahveci 45+3, 72, 85 Poulsen 26
Mukiele 43, Olmo 66
Sorloth 90+2
Man Utd (1)1PSG (1) 3
Rashford 32
Sent off: Fred (70)

Neymar 6, 90+1
Marquinhos 69
6 Table on page 76
Sky Bet Championship
Blackburn (1) 2 Millwall (1) 1
Elliott 25
Armstrong 90+1

Malone 35

Luton (2) 3 Norwich (1) 1
Moncur 15
Pearson 22
Collins 47 (pen)

Buendía 20 (pen)

Middlesbro’ (1) 2 Swansea (0) 1
Watmore 26, 67 Dhanda 78
N Forest (0) 0 Watford (0) 0
Sheff Wed (1) 1 Reading (1) 1
Paterson 12
Sent off: L Shaw (30)

João 44

Wycombe (0)0Stoke (0) 1
Powell 72

Europa League (selected): Group J LASK v
Tottenham Hotspur (5.55); Royal Antwerp v
Ludogorets (5.55). Group B Arsenal v Rapid
Vienna (8.0); Molde v Dundalk (8.0). Group D
Benfica v Lech Poznan (8.0); Rangers v Stan-
dard Liège (8.0). Group G AEK Athens v
Sporting Braga (5.55); Zorya v Leicester City
(5.55). Group H Lille v Sparta Prague (5.55);
AC Milan v Celtic (5.55).

an immediate mark: when Diego
Carlos’s pass was picked off by Jorginho,
he rerouted the ball to Mount, whose
scuffed volley was well saved low down
by Pastor.
But Chelsea’s third goal wasn’t long in
coming. Kanté escaped down the right
and clipped in a pinpoint cross for
Giroud, who got between the two
Seville centre backs and flicked a
brilliant header past Pastor. When
Gómez, who struggled all evening,
brought down Giroud minutes later,
there was no doubt who would take the
penalty — and no doubt of the outcome.

Seville (4-2-3-1): A Pastor 6 — J Navas 6 (J Koundé
59min, 6), S Gómez 4, D Carlos 4, K Rekik 5 —
N Gudelj 5, I Rakitic 5 — F Vázquez 5 (M El
Haddadi 66, 5), O Rodriguez 5 (J Jordán 60, 5),
O Idrissi 5 (L Ocampos 60, 6) — Y En-Nesyri 6.
Booked Gudelj, Idrissi, Gómez, Jordán.
Chelsea (4-3-3): E Mendy 7 — C Azpilicueta 7,
A Christensen 7, A Rüdiger 7, E Palmieri 8 —
K Havertz 8 (N Kanté 68, 7), Jorginho 7
(B Gilmour 85), M Kovacic 7 (H Ziyech 67, 6) —
C Hudson-Odoi 8, O Giroud 10 (T Werner 84),
C Pulisic 8 (M Mount 67, 6). Booked Kovacic,
Pulisic, Mount, Ziyech.
Referee A Soares Dias (Por).

Champions League
James Gheerbrant


Unplayable Giroud scores four to


make irresistible case for lead role


Seville


Chelsea
Giroud 8, 54, 74, 83 (pen)

0


4


One thousand Luton Town supporters
went home happy as Norwich City’s
ten-match unbeaten run deservedly
came to an end.
Injury-hit Norwich remain on top of
the Championship table however, as
Watford, Reading and Swansea City
were unable to conjure up a result to
overtake them, with Bournemouth
having passed up a similar opportunity
on Tuesday.
It was unquestionably Luton’s night
though. Not since the last day of Febru-
ary had Kenilworth Road opened its
doors to fans, who were chosen for this
one from a pool of those with at least
ten years of season ticket stubs.
They sat quietly in their social
bubbles before launching into song 15
minutes before kick-off. Since football
resumed without them in June, Luton
had piped fake noise on to the pitch but
this was confirmation that there is no
substitute for the real thing.
It was also the first time that Nathan
Jones had faced the fans since return-
ing to the club for a second spell as
manager and masterminding last
season’s escape from relegation. His
name was chanted afterwards. “It was a
lovely moment,” he said “I thank the
fans for that. Hopefully bridges have
been built. I know I broke that bond but
I want to build it stronger than ever.”
The contest burst into life after a
quarter of an hour with three goal in the
space of seven minutes.
George Moncur curled a shot in off a
post to put Luton ahead but James
Shea, the home goalkeeper, upended
Przemyslaw Placheta at the other end
and Emiliano Buendía slotted home
the spot kick. From another Luton free
kick, Matty Pearson, the centre back,
rose the highest to head beyond Mich-
ael McGovern, in goal for the injured
Tim Krul.
Luton extended their lead two min-
utes into the second half after Grant
Hanley lost his footing and handled,
and James Collins converted the
penalty.

Luton give


returning


fans reason


to celebrate


Sky Bet Championship
Jon West

Luton Town
Moncur 15, Pearson 22, Collins 47 (pen)

Norwich City
Buendía 19 (pen)

3


1


MARCELO DEL POZO/REUTERS

Giroud opens the scoring for Chelsea on a night when the French striker, below, took the spotlight, scoring all four goals

How they stand in group E


P W D L GF GA GD Pts
Chelsea 5 4 1 0 13 1 12 13
Seville 53116 7-110
Krasnodar5113510-54
Rennes 5014 2 8-6 1
Fixtures: Dec 8 Chelsea v Krasnodar
(8.0); Rennes v Seville (8.0).

Does Frank Lampard have a problem?
If he does, it is one that most managers
would term, in the argot of the trade, a
nice problem to have. What started out
as a nagging selection headache has
become a full-blown migraine. Olivier
Giroud didn’t appear to have much of a
future at Chelsea at the start of this
season, with the club having used the
transfer market to assemble an all-star
cast of young attackers.
But the 33-year-old Frenchman is
making an increasingly irresistible case
to play the central role. Tammy Abra-
ham already has five goals this season,
Timo Werner is Germany’s first-choice
centre forward, Kai Havertz played
much of his best football last season as
a false nine. But Giroud, an old-
fashioned centre forward, has been
sensational in recent matches, and here
he was simply unplayable, giving
Seville, an illustrious team who won
last year’s Europa League, a thorough
working over. Four goals he plundered,
including a perfect hat-trick — left
foot, right foot, head — which was
as consummate an example of the
triptych as you could wish for.
“It was an amazing performance,”
Lampard said. “To score four goals
against a really good opponent, the
individual quality of the goals, I’m
delighted for him. As soon as I came in,
I could feel the positivity off him. He’s
started a few games for us now and he’s
been impactful. The competition [for
places] has started to be really positive
within the group.”
In a stadium that has shipwrecked
many English sides, Chelsea sailed
serenely into the Champions League
last 16 as group winners. This assured
victory is likely to give them an easier
last-16 tie, avoiding
the likes of Bayern
Munich, who blew
them away at that
stage last season.
There was a drama-
tic change to the line-
ups just before kick-off,
when Seville’s dependable Czech
goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik injured


himself during the warm-up, and had to
be replaced in the XI by 20-year-old
Alfonso Pastor, playing his first senior
game.
That felt auspicious for Chelsea, an
impression not dispelled in the opening
minutes, which Lampard’s side domi-
nated. They were able to penetrate
Seville’s penalty area with ease, and
with five minutes gone, Cesar Azpili-
cueta threaded a lovely diagonal pass
to Christian Pulisic, who pulled an
instinctive shot just wide from 12 yards.
From their next chance, Chelsea led.
Havertz made an imperious striding
run through the centre of Seville’s
defence and slipped a pass to Giroud.
The Frenchman nudged the ball
inside Diego Carlos and lofted a
superb finish over
Pastor and into the
side of the net.
Chelsea had to
weather a period of
Seville pressure either
side of half-time. Édou-
ard Mendy was caught well off his
line when Jorginho was robbed by

Results


S
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