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Football Extras: Newcastle win at Leicester; 'Anfield Iron' dead

April 13, 2019 10:13 IST

IMAGE: Ayoze Perez scores the only goal of the Premier League match as Newcastle United beat Leicester City at King Power Stadium, Leicester. Photograph: Carl Recine/Reuters

Newcastle United recovered from two consecutive defeats to beat Leicester City 1-0 with an Ayoze Perez header on Friday and moved 10 points clear of the Premier League relegation zone.

 

The Spaniard glanced the ball into the top right corner of the net from Matt Ritchie's cross to put Newcastle ahead after 32 minutes despite Leicester having dominated possession.

"It was a good game against a good team," said Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez. "We did very well. Our players worked so hard. This relationship between the players and fans means a lot to us. The players and fans tried to do their best."

Leicester, looking to secure a European spot next season under new coach Brendan Rodgers, had striker Jamie Vardy back.

Vardy had scored six goals in the club's five matches under Rodgers, who joined from Celtic, but apart from an early chance that was saved he had little impact on the game.

Salomon Rondon almost put the visitors ahead when he hit the bar with a free-kick from 30 metres but they did not have to wait long for Perez to strike and they held on for the win.

Leicester remain seventh on 47 points, while Newcastle moved up to 13th on 38 with their first away win since December.

"It's difficult to break down a team like that," said Rodgers. "It's an area we will get better at. There wasn't a lot in the game, our final pass just wasn't there but we gave everything. We couldn't break down their defence."

Liverpool's 'Anfield Iron' Tommy Smith dies aged 74

Tommy Smith

IMAGE: Former Liverpool captain Tommy Smith was one of the game's toughest tacklers. Photograph: Action Images/File Photo/Reuters

Former Liverpool captain Tommy Smith, who led the Merseysiders to domestic and European success and gained a reputation as one of the game's toughest tacklers, has died aged 74, the club said on Friday.

Smith, known by supporters as the 'Anfield Iron', played 638 games for Liverpool, winning four league titles, a European Cup, two FA Cups and two UEFA Cups in his time at the club.

He captained the Reds for three years and scored 48 goals between 1962 and 1978 including one in the 1977 European Cup final, when Liverpool beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 3-1 to lift the trophy for the first time.

Having joined the club as a schoolboy, he was fast-tracked into the first team by former manager Bill Shankly and swiftly gained a reputation as one of football's most fearsome competitors.

Shankly once famously said of Smith -- a true hard man in an era when tough tackling was encouraged and admired -- that he "was not born, he was quarried".

Liverpool said in a statement on their website that they were "deeply saddened" by the news.

Smith was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2014 after caring for his wife Susanne who died after suffering from the same condition.

Lyon's Champions League spot under threat

Olympique Lyonnais's Champions League qualifying hopes were hit as they were beaten 2-1 at Nantes in Ligue 1 on Friday.

Third-placed Lyon, who hold the final Champions League qualifying spot, were undone by Anthony Limbombe's late free kick after Martin Terrier had cancelled out Kalifa Coulibaly's opener for Nantes.

Lyon are on 56 points with six games left, six ahead of fourth-placed St Etienne, who play their game in hand at home against Girondins de Bordeaux on Sunday.

It was Lyon's third straight defeat in all competitions after they were knocked out of the French Cup semi-finals by Stade Rennes and lost at home to lowly Dijon in the league last weekend.

The result leaves an even bigger question mark over coach Bruno Genesio's future, with the club set to make a decision on whether to extend his contract at the end of the season.

With Nabil Fekir, Memphis Depay and Marcelo on the bench, Lyon got off to a bad start.

Coulibaly opened the scoring in the 11th minute after collecting a though ball from Majeed Waris.

Lyon were shaken by the hosts but weathered the storm and equalised one minute before the interval when Terrier curled a fine shot into the back of the net to finish off a counter attack.

Limbombe earned Nantes victory seven minutes from fulltime with an inch-perfect free kick, lifting the Canaries up to 15th in the table on 34 points.

Dijon vs Amiens interrupted after alleged racist abuse

Dijon's Ligue 1 game against visiting Amiens was interrupted for five minutes on Friday when the teams stopped playing after French defender Prince Gouano was subjected to alleged racist abuse.

"We are in the 21st century, what happened is unacceptable," Amiens' Gouano said on beIN Sports. "I wanted to make a point when I asked to stop play. We are all equal."

The French League (LFP) said in a statement that Dijon had identified a man who abused Gouano and that he had been arrested.

The LFP added that its disciplinary commission would look into the case on Wednesday.

The game at the Stade Gaston Gerard was stopped in the 78th minute when Gouano said he heard racist abuse coming from the Dijon stands.

The match was eventually finished and ended in a 0-0 draw. Dijon are third from bottom, six points from the safety zone, while Amiens are seven points above them in 15th place.

"Full support to our captain Prince Gouano. Racism has no place in a football stadium," Amiens said on Twitter.

Source: REUTERS
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