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Ancelotti & Arteta in stands for Everton-Arsenal stalemate


Everton and Arsenal played out a dire goalless draw at Goodison Park as respective new bosses Carlo Ancelotti and Mikel Arteta watched from the stands.

Three-time Champions League winner Ancelotti was confirmed as successor to sacked Marco Silva on a contract until 2024 shortly before kick-off on Saturday, and the Italian was present in the directors' box.

Arteta, who was appointed the Gunners on Friday, was sitting nearby - but there was little to excite either man.

Arsenal, under interim manager Freddie Ljungberg for the last time, came closest to scoring as Gabriel Martinelli shot wide in the first half, before Everton keeper Jordan Pickford saved superbly from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after the break.

The hosts, led by caretaker boss Duncan Ferguson for the fourth and final time, rarely troubled Arsenal, although the Scot once again showed he was not afraid to take bold decisions by substituting a substitute.

This time it was striker Cenk Tosun, who had come on early for the injured Alex Iwobi, and he was clearly unhappy at being replaced by Moise Kean.

No-one can deny this was a dreadful affair, but caretaker manager Ferguson can take credit for the points he has picked up from a run of league games that looked hazardous - and plenty of Everton fans stayed behind at the end to warmly applaud a figure they regard as a hero.

Leipzig top Bundesliga at Christmas


RB Leipzig became the first team from the former East Germany to top the Bundesliga during the winter break after coming from behind to beat Augsburg.

The 10-year-old club are two points clear of Borussia Monchengladbach, who drew 0-0 at Hertha Berlin in the late Saturday game.

Leipzig trailed to Florian Niederlechner's early goal but Konrad Laimer, Patrik Schick and Yussuf Poulsen scored in the final 22 minutes to turn it around.

Bayern Munich, who have won the past seven titles, beat Wolfsburg 2-0 to stay within four points of top spot.

Joshua Zirkzee came off the bench to score a late goal for the second game in a row - the Dutch teenager has scored two Bundesliga goals in a total of eight minutes. Serge Gnabry added a second.

Leipzig are the first team from the old East Germany to win the informal Herbstmeisterschaft - the crown of autumn champions, sometimes known as winter champions.

No side from that region has won the Bundesliga since Germany was reunified in 1990.

Leipzig are in their third season in the top flight, having been promoted four times in their first seven years after being founded by Red Bull.

Dubois wins again with brutal knockout


British heavyweight Daniel Dubois extended his unbeaten record with a stunning knockout win over Kyotaro Fujimoto at London's Copper Box Arena.

Dubois, 22, has been widely tipped to emerge as a contender for a world title and dominated his Japanese opponent, flooring him with a jab in round two.

Fujimoto got back to his feet but a brutal right hand left him in need of medical attention on the canvas.
"I landed a sweet shot and that was goodnight," said Dubois. 
"I just thought after the first couple of shots I had to pace myself and let him come to me. I knew I had the power and was really confident in what I was going to do."
Fujimoto had 21 wins from his 22 previous bouts but in his first contest outside of Japan he was visibly weary of the power carried by the taller home fighter.

He quickly received oxygen in the ring after being floored when Dubois timed a shot perfectly just as his opponent had moved to throw.

Dubois has now stopped 13 of his 14 opponents and his promoter Frank Warren has spoken about him moving towards a mandatory position for a world-title shot late in 2020.
"We are going to do a big show at the O2 Arena in April which will feature Daniel and I hope it will be a big fight for him," said Warren. 
"We have made offers to a lot of top British guys. We have offered Dereck Chisora. He'd have no problem facing a Dillian Whyte or a Joe Joyce."
Joyce was ringside and welcomed the challenge but he must first face Germany's Marco Huck for the European title in Hannover on 11 January.

Russia to appeal against four-year ban


Russia is set to appeal against the decision to ban it from all major sporting events for four years.

Its anti-doping agency, Rusada, says it does not agree with the punishment from the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada).

The bans means Russia's flag and anthem will not be allowed at events such as the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics and football's 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Rusada says a letter to Wada will be prepared on behalf of the president "in the next 10-15 days".
"Then the ball will be in Wada's court and the situation will be developing in the legal field," added Alexander Ivlev, head of Rusada's supervisory board.
Wada's executive committee made the unanimous decision to impose the ban on Russia in a meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, last week.

It comes after Rusada was declared non-compliant for manipulating laboratory data handed over to investigators in January 2019.

It had to hand over data to Wada as a condition of its controversial reinstatement in 2018 after a three-year suspension for its vast state-sponsored doping scandal.

Russian president Vladimir Putin said after the ruling the country had grounds to appeal against the decision.

from Bola Esho's Blog

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