SPORTS

Mabingwa watetezi wa taji la ligi kuu soka nchini England Manchester City,wameendelea kuwa na matumaini ya kutetea taji lao baada ya kuondoka na ushindi wa mabao 2-1 dhidi ya watani zao wa jadi Manchester United kwenye uwanja wao wa nyumbani wa Old Traford.

City ndio walikuwa wa kwanza kupata bao lao kupitia kwa James Milner kwa shuti la wastani baada ya makosa ya Ryan Gigs ambaye aliupoteza mpira ulio zaa bao hilo kunako dakika ya 51 ya mchezo.
Haikuwachukua muda mrefu United,kwani kunako dakika ya 59,United ilisawazisha bao hilo kupitia kwa Phil Jones kwa kichwa baada ya mpira wa adhabu ndogo iliyopigwa na Robin Van Persie na mpira huo kumgusa mgongoni nahodha wa Manchester City,Vincent Kompany.
Mechi hiyo iliyopigwa kwenye uwanja wa Old Traford,nyumbani kwa Manchester United,Ilishuhudia United wakionekana kuelemewa kimbinu na Man City ambao baada ya mabadiliko waliyoyafanya kwa kumtoa Samir Nasri na kumuingiza Sergio Aguero,Yalizaa matunda baada ya Muanjentina Sergio Aguero kuifungia timu yake bao la pili na la ushindi kwenye dakika ya 78,bao lililodumu hadi mwisho wa mchezo huo.
Manchester City inakuwa timu ya pili kuifunga Manchester United nyumbani kwenye mechi za ligi kuu msimu huu baada ya Tottenham Hotspurs kufanya hivyo mwezi Desemba mwaka jana.
Licha ya kufungwa,United itaendelea kuongoza ligi kuu ya England ikiwa na tofauti ya point 12 na Manchester City ambao wanakamata nafasi ya pili.
Mechi ijayo Manchester United itacheza na Stoke City siku ya jumamosi wakati Manchester City itasafiri hadi jijini London kucheza na Chelsea kwenye mchezo wa nusu fainali ya Michuano ya kombe la FA.

Tomic Snr claims self-defense for Droue

Thomas Drouet wears a neck brace and protection for his broken nose following Saturday's incident in Madrid.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Lawyer representing John Tomic says tennis player's father attacked Drouet in self-defense
• Drouet of Monaco is the training partner of Bernard Tomic, Australia's top male tennis player
• Tomic's burgeoning career has already been blighted by several off-court incidents

(CNN) -- A lawyer representing the father of Australia's top-rated tennis player Bernard Tomic says John Tomic was acting in self-defense when he headbutted his son's training partner Thomas Drouet on Saturday.

On Monday, John Tomic, who is also his 20-year-old son's coach, denied a charge of assault in a Madrid court which ruled that a judge will decide his guilt or innocence at a hearing on May 14.

The incident -- which resulted in a broken nose for the Monegasque Drouet -- took place on Saturday afternoon outside the hotel in the Spanish capital where players were staying for the Madrid Masters.

Bernard was in town to contest the tournament only to suffer a first round at the hands of Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic.

"I don't feel guilty. I did not do anything wrong," Tomic Senior told reporters of the fight.

His lawyer Carmen Dieguez said the reason that Tomic Snr used his head, rather than his arms, to attack Drouet was because the tennis player, 29, was holding the coach's arms at the time.

On the court with 'Baby Federer'

Navratilova: Collins paves way for others

Little girl takes on tennis giants

Ivan Lendl: There are plenty of champs

In a statement, Tennis Australia said they were awaiting further details before discussing the incident.

"Obviously media reports regarding a recent incident are very concerning," the country's governing tennis body said. "We are working closely with ATP officials who are investigating the incident and are unable to comment further until the full facts are known."

The incident continues the mixed career of Bernard Tomic, ranked 53rd in the world, and who was dropped from his Davis Cup side earlier in the year for what Australia captain Pat Cash called a lack of professionalism.

The youngster, who broke into the limelight when reaching the quarterfinals of Wimbledon as an 18-year-old, is no stranger to controversy involving his father, with the duo having been involved in several incidents.

Croatian-born John, who moved with his family to Australia when Bernard was three, has been coaching his son since he was 13, even though a man who used to drive taxis for a living had no previous tennis experience.

In 2009, John was forced to publicly apologize after telling his son to walk off court in the middle of a match against fellow Australian Marinko Matosevic in Perth as he was unhappy with the officiating.

Despite the incident resulting in a one-month ban from the International Tennis Federation, John was up to old his tricks a year later -- railing at Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley so vehemently about the scheduling of one of his son's matches that security was ultimately placed around the official.

Last year, Tomic Junior was booed off court at Wimbledon, picking up a code violation after smashing his racket, as he made a first round exit before then requesting that his father should be ejected from the stands at the Miami Masters later in the year.

"I know he's my father but he's annoying me," Bernard, who was ranked as high as world no. 27 last year, stated to the match referee.

Tomic Senior has often clashed with Tennis Australia, having previously threatened to switch his son's allegiance to Croatia unless his demands are met.

Matters seemed to be improving as Bernard won his maiden ATP title in January but this latest incident appears to be yet another setback in a stop-start career for a player with a fine record at junior level.

SHARE THIS

• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  

• Print
• Email
• More sharing

Man City victorious, Wigan crestfallen: Mixed fortunes for FA Cup finalists

Wigan's players stand dejected after conceding against Swansea in a game they lost 3-2

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• FA Cup finalists Manchester City and Wigan suffer mixed fortunes in Premier League
• City beat West Bromwich Albion 1-0 but Wigan lose crucial match with Swansea
• Wigan's hopes of avoiding relegation now look slim ahead of Saturday's FA Cup final
• Chievo Verona score a 90th minute winner against AS Roma in Serie A

(CNN) -- The biggest occasion in their 81-year history is approaching for minnows Wigan but the FA Cup final might prove an unwelcome distraction in their battle to retain English Premier League status.

A crushing 3-2 home defeat to Swansea on Tuesday left the plucky club from the north west staring at relegation to England's second tier after eight years of defying the odds.

Roberto Martinez's side, famous for miraculous escapes in previous years, now find themselves three points adrift of safety with just two games remaining.

It means their clash with Manchester City in England's premier domestic cup competition at Wembley on Saturday could be their last slice of the limelight for some time.

Read: Mourinho pulling no punches at Real Madrid

Webb: Racism sanctions will send message

CNN Football Club: Bayern dominate Barca

Hargreaves: Scholes is the best

Do Bayern Munich need Pep Guardiola?

CNN FC: Do Bayern Munich need Guardiola?

Conversely, City warmed up for the showpiece final with a 1-0 win over West Bromwich Albion, that edged them towards a second place finish behind champions Manchester United.

Wigan had taken the lead over Swansea, nestled safely in mid table, thanks to a volley from Roger Espinoza but shortly after halftime Angel Rangel equalized with an equally smart volley.

James McCarthy restored Wigan's lead finishing off a fine move but then Wigan shot themselves in the foot with some sloppy defending which has blighted their season.

First a poor pass from Gary Caldwell allowed Itey Shechter to level things at 2-2 before a mix up in the six-yard box allowed Dwight Tiendalli to scramble home the winning goal.

With a trip to Arsenal and a home clash with Aston Villa left, Wigan now have a mountain to climb, but Martinez tried to remain positive.

"Today the number of injuries we have had at the back shows and there are key moments that affected us," Martinez told Sky Sports.

"We conceded sloppy goals with bad decisions and that's very unfortunate because you could see the effort of the players and the desire to want to win the game.

"Emotionally today was such a difficult game for us and when you concede such goals in a soft manner then it is hard to recover.

"It's a missed opportunity. We've got incredible character and we're determined to fight for every single point there is left."

City rested several players ahead of the cup final and their winner came from Bosnian striker Edin Dzeko. It moved them seven points clear of third placed Chelsea.

Roberto Mancini told reporters: "It was a difficult game because we changed a lot of players but it was important for us to win the game.

"After 10 minutes we started to play better and we missed five incredible chances to score which made it difficult for us in the second half."

In Italy, Roma missed the chance to draw level on points with fifth-placed Fiorentina in Serie A after they lost to Chievo Verona.

Cyril Thereau scored the only goal of the game in the final minute of the match to move Chievo Verona into 12th position.