BEB Weekend Sports: News!

Arteta exposes City as Arsenal booked their place in the FA Cup final


Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta outmanoeuvred his mentor Pep Guardiola as the Gunners reached the FA Cup final with victory at Wembley.

Arteta, who left his job as Manchester City assistant manager to succeed Unai Emery at Arsenal in December, now has a chance to mark his first season in charge with major silverware when they face Chelsea or Manchester United in the final on 1 August.

The match-winner was Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the world-class striker Arsenal are desperate to secure on a new long-term contract, as he ruthlessly exposed City's defensive deficiencies.

Aubameyang had already shot straight at Ederson with one clear chance but there was no escape for City after 19 minutes when he showed great technique to steer home Nicolas Pepe's cross with the outside of his foot at the far post.

City dominated possession after the break but squandered their opportunities and Aubameyang made them pay once more in the 71st minute when he raced away on the angle to slide a composed finish under the keeper.

The win completes a superb week for Arsenal after the victory over Premier League champions Liverpool at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.

Leeds promoted to Premier League 


Leeds United have been promoted to the Premier League after 16 years away.

Their place in the top flight for next season was confirmed by West Brom's 2-1 defeat at Huddersfield Town on Friday.

Argentine Marcelo Bielsa has led the Yorkshire side to promotion in his second season in charge after finishing third in the Championship in 2018-19.

Even allowing for the enforced break because of the coronavirus pandemic, it has been a campaign where Leeds have never really looked like repeating mistakes of previous seasons and they have not been outside the top two since November.

They had seemed set to win promotion last season only for back-to-back defeats by Wigan and Brentford to leave them third behind Yorkshire rivals Sheffield United, before a dramatic 4-3 play-off semi-final defeat by Derby.

After that setback, fans could have been forgiven for fearing the worst about the future of Bielsa and the talented group of players he had assembled.

But he opted to remain with the club and together they have reaped the rewards.

It has been a long and often painful journey back to the Premier League for Leeds and their fans, who had seen their team reach the semi-final of the Champions League in 2001. The club’s dreadful financial position eventually led to their relegation to the Championship in 2004.

Woods extends record at Memorial Tournament 


Tiger Woods' record of never missing the cut at the Memorial Tournament was extended on Friday despite shooting a four-over-par 76 to drop to three over.

However, he is 12 shots behind joint leaders Ryan Palmer (68) and Tony Finau (69), who improved to nine under par.

Spain's Jon Rahm had just one bogey in a 67 and is third on eight under.

Woods, playing in his first professional event in five months, had complained about back problems before his round.

The record five-time winner of the event held each year at Muirfield Village dropped six shots in eight holes and was looking set to definitely miss the cut when he also bogeyed the sixth to leave him five over with three to play. He responded with a birdie on the par-five seventh and rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt on the eighth to get to three over.

However, a wild drive on the par-four ninth meant he was unable to reach the green in two and he holed a seven-foot par putt which would ultimately see him into the weekend.
"Not very good," was Woods' assessment of his round. 
"I three-putted two holes early and, whatever kind of momentum I was going to create, I stifled that early and fought it the rest of the day."

Kvitova says some players will not go to the US Open under current coronavirus restrictions


Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova says some players will not go to the US Open if current coronavirus restrictions continue.

The US Open is due to be played without fans in New York from 31 August.

The country is still reporting tens of thousands of new coronavirus cases daily and possible quarantine rules for players are unclear.

The world WTA number 12, who is one of several top players competing in front of fans at the Bett1 Aces exhibition tournament in Berlin, said "I know a few players will definitely not go if the restrictions are like they are now,"

The 30-year-old Czech added:
"I'm still thinking of what everything will look like, what the restrictions will be, how many people we can take and if they quarantine us."
World number one Novak Djokovic has previously said he is "not sure" whether he will play, while defending men's champion Rafael Nadal has also expressed reservations.

from Bola Esho's Blog

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