LONDON:Captain Cesc Fabregas produced an outstanding individual performance as Arsenal opened their Champions League campaign with a a stylish 6-0 rout of Braga on Wednesday.The Spain midfielder, who had been blocked from moving to Barcelona in the summer, scored two goals himself.Russia

ZILINA: Nicolas Anelka scored twice for Chelsea to help the English champions breeze past MSK Zilina with a 4-1 win on Wednesday in their Champions League opener.Michael Essien opened the scoring in the 13th minute with a low shot after an Anelka pass from the left wing.In the 24th

MADRID: Real Madrid`s bid to win a 10th European Cup began with a 2-0 win over Ajax at the Santiago Bernabeu in the Group G opener on Wednesday.Coach Jose Mourinho won the Champions League with Inter Milan at the Bernabeu in May and his European bow with Real was a success with an own

WELLINGTON: New Zealand umpire Tony Hill suspected Pakistan bowlers were deliberately sending down no-balls against England last month but did not link the tactic to corruption, a report said Thursday.Hill and compatriot Billy Bowden officiated in the Test at Lord`s, which is at the

NEW DELHI: Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ijaz Butt on Wednesday travelled to India for meetings with the head of the International Cricket Council (ICC) over the spot-fixing scandal, reports said.Butt was due to meet ICC president Sharad Pawar on Thursday, a source was quoted as saying

KARACHI: Afghanistan`s new cricket coach, Rashid Latif, vowed Wednesday to guide the national team to Test status within two years, a day after leaving his Pakistan job over spot-fixing comments.The 41-year-old former Pakistan cricket captain agreed to take on the head coach role after

LONDON: Fast bowler Wahab Riaz has become the latest Pakistan cricketer to be questioned by police as a result of the `spot-fixing` row engulfing the team`s tour of England.A brief statement issued by Scotland Yard here on Tuesday said: "We can confirm that today, Tuesday, September 14,

CAPE TOWN: International cricket chiefs on Tuesday recommended that the World Cup, a gruelling six-week marathon, be slashed from 14 to 10 teams.They also backed a Test championship to be introduced by 2013.The meeting of the International Cricket Council`s Chief Executives` Committee

HONG KONG: Former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday called for the 18-year-old star at the centre of cricket`s spot-fixing scandal to be shown compassion as the player is from a poor family.Pakistan`s tour of England has been overshadowed by newspaper allegations of a

LONDON: Pakistan`s Mohammad Aamer, Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt have written to the International Cricket Council (ICC) indicating their intention to defend themselves in respect of the disciplinary action brought against them, their lawyers confirmed Tuesday.Pakistan`s tour has been

DURBAN: South Australian Redbacks took a pounding from the Mumbai Indians batsmen, but still clinched a five-wicket win against the highly-rated IPL team in the Champions League Twenty20 on Tuesday.In a frantic match of sixes and missed chances, Mumbai hammered 180 for seven in their 20

BARCELONA: Barcelona put their weekend humiliation at the hands of Hercules behind them with two-goal Lionel Messi inspiring a 5-1 Champions League rout of Panathinaikos on Tuesday in their Group D opener.Barcelona fell behind to a Sidney Govou goal on 20 minutes but responded with three

MANCHESTER: Manchester United winger Antonio Valencia suffered a suspected dislocated and fractured ankle during the 0-0 Champions League draw with Rangers, manager Sir Alex Ferguson said.Valencia was stretchered off following a sliding challenge from Kirk Broadfoot in the second half at

PARIS: Holders Inter Milan drew 2-2 at competition debutants FC Twente as the Champions League group phase began on Tuesday, while Manchester United were held by Rangers and Barcelona thrashed Panathinaikos.Theo Janssen was the star for Twente, Dutch champions for the first time in their

PARIS: Roberto Mancini`s first European campaign as Manchester City coach begins in earnest on Thursday, when they visit Red Bull Salzburg in their opening Europa League group phase fixture. Having failed to qualify for a place among the Champions League heavyweights last season, City

SYDNEY: Jamaican sprint superstar Usain Bolt hopes to lower his 100 metres world record from 9.58 to 9.4 seconds, a mark he believes would never be beaten, a report said on Wednesday.However Bolt, in Sydney for 10-year anniversary celebrations of the 2000 Olympics, said bettering the time

MADRID: World number one tennis ace Rafael Nadal Wednesday downplayed his achievement in completing a career Grand Slam, describing it as merely "a step forward" in his career."I`m not the best sportsman, it`s quite obvious that I`m not," the Spaniard told a news conference on his arrival

HONG KONG: Former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday called for the 18-year-old star at the centre of cricket`s spot-fixing scandal to be shown compassion as the player is from a poor family.Pakistan`s tour of England has been overshadowed by newspaper allegations of a

KARACHI: The International Cricket Council will convene a preliminary hearing into allegations of spot fixing against three Pakistani players in 40 days time, the legal adviser to the country`s cricket board said on Tuesday.Tafazzul Rizvi told Reuters that the players, Salman Butt,

LONDON: Robert Huth scored with virtually the last kick of the match to earn Stoke City their first Premier League points of the season with a 2-1 win over Aston Villa on Monday.New Villa manager Gerard Houllier was not in the ground and Stoke boss Tony Pulis also missed the first half