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Haaland Stars in Win over Palace to Fire Man City Title Charge

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland (R) celebrates scoring against Crystal Palace © Glyn KIRK / AFP
Manchester City striker Erling Haaland (R) celebrates scoring against Crystal Palace © Glyn KIRK / AFP
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Haaland Stars in Win over Palace to Fire Man City Title Charge

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland (R) celebrates scoring against Crystal Palace © Glyn KIRK / AFP
Manchester City striker Erling Haaland (R) celebrates scoring against Crystal Palace © Glyn KIRK / AFP

Manchester City closed the gap on Premier League leaders Arsenal as Erling Haaland's double inspired a 3-0 win against Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Pep Guardiola's second-placed side moved within two points of Arsenal after a hard-fought success at Selhurst Park.

Norway striker Haaland opened the scoring late in the first half and England forward Phil Foden netted after the break.

Haaland bagged his 23rd goal in all competitions this season to complete City's fifth successive win in all competitions, AFP reported.

Arsenal's dramatic late win over bottom of the table Wolves on Saturday had put pressure on City to respond and Guardiola's men were up to the task, overcoming a spluttering display in large part because of the quality of their finishing.

After coming from behind to win 2-1 at Real Madrid in their glamour Champions League clash in midweek, a trip to freezing south London to face their FA Cup tormentors was a testing trip for far different reasons.

City were facing Palace for the first time since their shock FA Cup final defeat against the Eagles at Wembley in May.

Glasner out-witted Guardiola with a tactical masterclass in the final.

But City avenged that loss to keep the title race bubbling ahead of the hectic Christmas period.

The astute Glasner spotted another flaw in City's game-plan this season, noting their defence is vulnerable to pace and passes played in behind them

Yeremy Pino should have exploited City's defensive frailty when Adam Wharton's sublime pass sent him sprinting clear of the visitors' creaky offside trap, but his shot smashed off the crossbar with just Gianluigi Donnarumma to beat.

With Palace set up to neutralise City's attacks, Guardiola's men struggled to find any rhythm for long periods and Pino threatened again with a low shot that forced Donnarumma into action.

It took City half an hour to muster their first shot on target as Foden's free-kick was parried by Dean Henderson.

Haaland had barely had a kick before he put City ahead in typically predatory fashion in the 41st minute.

Matheus Nunes curled a pin-point cross towards the far post and Haaland peeled away from Chris Richards to thump a superb header past Henderson from six yards.

Donnarumma preserved City's lead, diving at Jean-Philippe Mateta's feet and then saving the France striker's close-range effort.

Palace had won four of their previous six league games, losing only once, and they were inches away from a second half equaliser when Wharton robbed Nico Gonzalez and lashed against the post from the edge of the area.

Without Belgian winger Jeremy Doku due to a leg injury, City were nowhere near the best and Guardiola's frustration boiled over as he argued with Glasner on the touchline.

But Foden eased Guardiola's angst with his sixth league goal in his last four games in the 69th minute.

Rayan Cherki sparked the goal with a dynamic run towards the Palace area before Foden arrowed a low drive past Henderson from 18 yards.

Haaland wrapped up City's gritty win in the 89th minute, calmly sending Henderson the wrong way from the penalty spot after the Palace keeper had fouled Savinho.

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Sabalenka Fires Australian Open Warning with Brisbane Domination

11 January 2026, Australia, Brisbane: Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka poses for photographs after winning the Women's Singles final tennis match against Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk at the Brisbane International tennis tournament at Pat Rafter Arena. Photo: Dave Hunt/AAP/dpa
11 January 2026, Australia, Brisbane: Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka poses for photographs after winning the Women's Singles final tennis match against Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk at the Brisbane International tennis tournament at Pat Rafter Arena. Photo: Dave Hunt/AAP/dpa
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Sabalenka Fires Australian Open Warning with Brisbane Domination

11 January 2026, Australia, Brisbane: Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka poses for photographs after winning the Women's Singles final tennis match against Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk at the Brisbane International tennis tournament at Pat Rafter Arena. Photo: Dave Hunt/AAP/dpa
11 January 2026, Australia, Brisbane: Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka poses for photographs after winning the Women's Singles final tennis match against Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk at the Brisbane International tennis tournament at Pat Rafter Arena. Photo: Dave Hunt/AAP/dpa

World number one Aryna Sabalenka warmed up for a tilt at a third Australian open title in four years in ominous fashion by winning her second successive Brisbane International crown on Sunday.

Sabalenka scored a dominant 6-4, 6-3 win over Marta Kostyuk in just 78 minutes.

"Every day you go out there and prove your level, and I think this week I did it really well," said Sabalenka after a tournament in which she powered to the title without dropping a set.

Looking ahead to the Australian Open, which begins next Sunday, Sabalenka said: "The only thing I know is that I'll be there, I'll be fighting."

Salablenka lost in the Melbourne Park final last year to Madison Keys, having been Australian Open champion in 2023 and 2024.

"I'll do my best to go as far as possible," AFP quoted Sabalenka as saying. "And do a little bit better than last year. That's my focus."

Kostyuk, the world number 26, had enjoyed a spectacular week, beating three top 10 players on the way to the final.

But she had no answer to the power of Sabalenka and the Ukrainian's serve, so reliable in the early rounds, also went off the boil.

Sabalenka was rarely troubled on her own delivery and faced only three break points.

The 27-year-old Belarusian said she had tried to introduce new elements to her game so she wasn't relying just on power, and that had paid off this week.

"I finally found the touch game," she said.

"I figured something and I kind of changed my game style -- now I'm not only the aggressive player, I can play at the net, I can be in defense, I can use my slice, I have a good touch.

"I'm super happy to see that things are clicking together."

There has been animosity between the two players in the past.

Like many Ukraine players, Kostyuk refuses to shake hands with Russians or Belarusians because of the war in her homeland.

There was no handshake at the end of the Brisbane final and in her speech at the trophy presentation, Kostyuk brought up the situation in Ukraine.

"I play every day with a pain in my heart and there are thousands of people who are without light and warm water right now," she said.

"It's minus 20 degrees outside and it's very painful to live this reality every day."

Sabalenka said she wasn't concerned by Kostyuk's attitude towards her.

"It's their position, what can I do?," she asked.

"When I go out there, I think about my tennis and the things I have to do to get the win.

"It doesn't matter if it's Marta Kostyuk or Jessica Pegula there. I have nothing to prove. I go there and I just compete as an athlete."

Kostyuk told reporters she was determined to keep what is happening in Ukraine in the public eye.

"I think it's important for me to use my platform in the right way, and my platform is Ukraine, because I represent Ukraine," she said.

Sports

Svitolina downs Wang in Auckland to clinch 19th WTA title

Elina Svitolina of Ukraine hits a return against Iva Jovic of the US during their women's singles semi-final match at the WTA Auckland Classic tennis tournament in Auckland on January 10, 2026. (Photo by Michael Bradley / AFP)
Elina Svitolina of Ukraine hits a return against Iva Jovic of the US during their women's singles semi-final match at the WTA Auckland Classic tennis tournament in Auckland on January 10, 2026. (Photo by Michael Bradley / AFP)
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Svitolina downs Wang in Auckland to clinch 19th WTA title

Elina Svitolina of Ukraine hits a return against Iva Jovic of the US during their women's singles semi-final match at the WTA Auckland Classic tennis tournament in Auckland on January 10, 2026. (Photo by Michael Bradley / AFP)
Elina Svitolina of Ukraine hits a return against Iva Jovic of the US during their women's singles semi-final match at the WTA Auckland Classic tennis tournament in Auckland on January 10, 2026. (Photo by Michael Bradley / AFP)

Elina Svitolina was tested by China's Wang Xinyu in the Auckland Open final on Sunday but came through 6-3 7-6(6) to kick off her new season with her 19th WTA title.

The 31-year-old baseliner was not quite firing on all cylinders as she continued her preparations for the Australian Open after a lengthy break, but had enough quality and experience to get past her aggressive 24-year-old opponent, Reuters reported.

"It feels amazing to win another title especially ⁠after a not great end to last season," said Ukrainian Svitolina, three times a quarter-finalist at Melbourne Park.

"It was nice to get tough matches here this week and win the final, hopefully we can build on that for the rest of the ⁠season."

Wang, playing her second WTA final but still seeking her first title, troubled Svitolina early on with some deep groundstrokes and well-executed drop shots but too often allowed the world number 13 off the hook with some simple errors.

Watched from the sidelines by husband Gael Monfils, Svitolina broke for 4-2 on the back of a Wang error and served out with an ace to seal ⁠the opening set three games later.

World number 57 Wang had three break points in the fourth game of the second stanza but top seed Svitolina found her first serve when it mattered to get out of trouble.

Breaking Wang again proved a tougher task and the match was decided in a tiebreaker, Svitolina digging deep to rally from 3-0 down and make some amends for losing to Coco Gauff in the 2024 final.

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Gauff Beats Swiatek in US-Poland Semifinal at United Cup

Coco Gauff of USA in action during her USA vs Poland semi-finals match against Iga Swiatek of Poland in the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney, Australia, 10 January 2026. EPA/DAN HIMBRECHTS
Coco Gauff of USA in action during her USA vs Poland semi-finals match against Iga Swiatek of Poland in the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney, Australia, 10 January 2026. EPA/DAN HIMBRECHTS
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Gauff Beats Swiatek in US-Poland Semifinal at United Cup

Coco Gauff of USA in action during her USA vs Poland semi-finals match against Iga Swiatek of Poland in the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney, Australia, 10 January 2026. EPA/DAN HIMBRECHTS
Coco Gauff of USA in action during her USA vs Poland semi-finals match against Iga Swiatek of Poland in the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney, Australia, 10 January 2026. EPA/DAN HIMBRECHTS

Coco Gauff beat No. 2-ranked Iga Świątek 6-4, 6-2 to force a mixed-doubles match to decide the United Cup semifinal between the United States and Poland on Saturday.

Fourth-ranked Gauff, the French Open champion, evened the matchup at 1-1 at the team event after Hubert Hurkacz beat Taylor Fritz 7-6 (1), 7-6 (2) in the singles opener at Ken Rosewall Arena. It was Gauff's fourth straight victory over Świątek, the Wimbledon champion.

Gauff and teammate Christian Harrison will face Świątek and Hurkacz in mixed doubles. The winning team will face Switzerland in Sunday’s final.

The Swiss advanced when Belinda Bencic combined with Jakub Paul in the deciding mixed doubles to defeat Belgium’s Elise Mertens and Zizou Bergs 6-3, 0-6, 10-5.

Bencic has won all four of her singles matches and four in mixed doubles this week in the team event. Paul, who won just six tour-level doubles matches last year, hit several down-the-line winners at crucial moments to lead Switzerland into the final.

“He’s so brave it’s unbelievable,” Bencic said of Paul. “I tell him to go (for it) and he actually goes. It’s crazy."

Earlier, Bencic extended her undefeated season-opening singles streak when she beat Mertens 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (0) to put Switzerland ahead 1-0. But Stan Wawrinka, who will retire at the end of this season, was beaten 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3 by Bergs to send the match to a mixed doubles decider at Ken Rosewall Arena.

The turning point in the Wawrinka-Bergs match came in the eighth game of the third set when Bergs broke Wawrinka’s serve to go up 5-3, then held serve to win the match.

Tournament organizers started play 30 minutes earlier than scheduled with searing temperatures of up to 43 Celsius (109 Fahrenheit) in the forecast for Sydney, The Associated Press reported.

Bencic had won all six sets in her first three matches at the United Cup. She was two games away from another two-set win before Mertens pushed the match the distance.

Then Mertens came from 3-1 down in the third set, saved a pair of break points that would have given Bencic a 4-1 lead, and was two points away from the set win with Bencic serving at 30-30, down 6-5.

But Bencic won the last nine points of the match following a decision to change her racket to a freshly-strung one, taking the match in 2 hours, 37 minutes.

“It feels like 170 kilos fell off my shoulders — I was so stressed; I really wanted to do well, and today I felt so much pressure to not let my team down,” Bencic said.

On the racket change, she said: “My brain turned off and let my instincts take over. I think it was just a feeling."