Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez appeared to dare Cristiano Ronaldo to take a decisive penalty at Old Trafford before he danced in front of Man United supporters after Bruno Fernandes missed the decisive spot-kick.
United had a golden opportunity to rescue a point after another below-par performance saw them trail to a late Kortney Hause header as the game ticked into stoppage time.
The usually infallible Fernandes, though, powered his 93rd-minute penalty deep into the Stretford End to cap a miserable afternoon for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.
One man who clearly enjoyed the situation was Villa’s Martinez. As soon as the penalty was awarded against his team, the Argentinian shot-stopper made it clear that he wanted Ronaldo to take the last-minute penalty.
While players gathered around the penalty spot, Martinez was captured on the broadcast pointing to Ronaldo in an apparent request that the two were to face-off in the game’s most crucial moment.
In the end, it seems that Fernandes’ status as United’s penalty taker hasn’t changed since Ronaldo’s return to the club in late August, and the Portugal star blasted his spot-kick over the bar, essentially confirming his team’s defeat.
Martinez’s trolling wasn’t done there. As soon as the ball flew over his bar, the former Arsenal ‘keeper immediately performed a cheeky dance in front of the Red Devils’ support in celebration of the game’s most decisive moment.
Fernandes, usually so assured from the spot, may well see his role as the club’s penalty taker in doubt – particularly given Ronaldo’s superstar status as a deadball specialist.
However, the five time Ballon d’Or winner has also missed his fair share of penalties throughout his career, coming up short with 28 of his 167 spot-kicks.
Solskjaer, who is facing another wave of dissent from Manchester United’s support following their third defeat in four games, said afterwards that he wasn’t keen on what he saw when Villas players – including Martinez – attempted to put pressure on the penalty taker.
“The way they get around the penalty spot, getting around Bruno and all that – that’s not to my liking but I do understand it. But it shouldn’t be that way,” the Norwegian said after the game.
Dominican Republic fighter Lenin Castillo was left unconscious and shaking on the canvas after suffering a brutal second-round KO against Callum Smith in their bout in London.
Fighting on the undercard of the blockbuster heavyweight showdown between home hero Anthony Joshua and Ukrainian star Oleksandr Usyk at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Smith and Castillo contested a light heavyweight bout which ended in brutal fashion in the second round when Smith caught his rival with a big right hand to the temple.
The blow sent Castillo onto the canvas, where his head rested against the ropes while his legs twitched uncontrollably.
The referee immediately waved off the fight as medical staff entered the ring to attend to the floored Castillo.
Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn updated fans by letting them know that Castillo was “responsive” but described the knockout as “brutal”.
Smith picked up a win on his light heavyweight debut in North London, bouncing back from his unanimous decision defeat to Mexican great Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in their WBC super-middleweight title fight in Texas last December – which remains Smith’s only defeat in 28 pro fights.
“That’s never nice to see… especially when it’s you involved in it,” the Liverpudlian told The Sportsman afterwards.
Glad to hear Castillo is conscious and talking, it’s a dangerous sport but nobody ever wants to really hurt someone, also well done Callum on a big statement in light heavyweight division
“It’s a sport at the end of the day and I always just hope that me and my opponent leave the ring safely.
“I’ve heard he’s responsive so, fingers crossed, everything’s OK – but no, it’s never nice to see. Obviously I wanted to win but you never want to win that way.”
Castillo’s worrying loss on Saturday night was his fourth in 26 professional outings, but fans will simply be hopeful that he makes a speedy recovery from his horror KO.
Ukrainian star Oleksandr Usyk is a cruiserweight and three-belt heavyweight champion after boxing clever to dethrone Anthony Joshua in a stunning points win in London, speaking of his pride on his wedding anniversary afterwards.
WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO champion Joshua could not find the answers to outsmart Usky in an epic clash, finding himself troubled throughout by the tricky, unorthodox style of the tenacious visiting fighter.
Usyk put on a classy display, looking unintimidated from the off after Joshua made a traditionally memorable entrance in front of the 60,000 crowd at the home of Premier League club Spurs.
Appearing in front of huge versions of his initials in flames, Joshua looked relaxed as he strolled out to the sound of Robert Tepper’s 1985 hit ‘No Easy Way Out’, a track synonymous with the Rocky film series.
The champion took the center of the ring in the opening act, working off his back foot in a round that Usyk, wearing the colors of his nation’s flag on his white shorts, won with at least two clever shots that penetrated Joshua’s guard and demonstrated his fighting intelligence.
Fitness, Joshua had predicted, could make the difference, and Usyk looked the quicker man in the second, bobbing, weaving and absorbing a right shot before landing a left of his own.
Usyk continued to stay out of range in the third, landing a couple of straight shots early on to a chorus of coos from a noticeably less cacophonous crowd. That appeared to be a patient set-up for a shot that may have wobbled Joshua 15 seconds before the bell.
A cut developed under Usyk’s right eye in the fourth, which was arguably Joshua’s best round to that point, showing impressive composure to recover from a shaky end to the previous stanza. Halfway through the round, he brought out a right to effect for what felt like the first time in the fight, although it landed to minimal discernable impact.
The rounds were becoming tougher to call after Usyk was widely deemed to have taken the first three. Both men landed before Joshua appeared to finish the round more strongly in what was becoming an increasingly intriguing contest rather than the tactical landslide that Usyk had threatened to make it.
The fast starter was circling away rapidly from danger in the sixth, getting clipped clean with a couple of right hands as he tried to distance himself towards the ropes.
Joshua looked confident in the seventh, making it tempting to feel that Usyk’s speed had slowed and, perhaps, some of his snap. He made a mockery of that by rocking Joshua back with a peach of a left shot, which the undeterred recipient responded to by coming forward and applying more pressure ahead of the pair exchanging an adversarial nod as the bell went, signifying the compelling quality of an unpredictable scrap between two accomplished technicians.
With the distance shortening, Usyk was swinging more, firing off a string of shots as Joshua targeted the right hook. Usyk connected with a vicious body shot down the middle as the stadium stood on tenterhooks.
The ninth suited Usyk given the lead he had built, remaining the most quiet of the fight, and the 10th saw the faces of both men bloodied – Usyk’s to the right cheek, Joshua with swelling to his right eye. Despite both tiring, Usyk did not seem drained in the 11th, setting up a final barnstorming round that he had the better of.
The cards justly gave Usyk a 117-112, 116-112, 115-113 win, making London a happy hunting ground for the 34-year-old again following his Olympic gold at the 2012 Games and his points win over Derek Chisora at Wembley Arena last November.
Usyk said that his corner had not pushed him to go for the knockout he looked capable of at times and pursued in the early stages.
“Today, 12 years ago, my wife said yes to me,” he concluded of his feelings after beating his fellow gold medalist. “Today, I’m double happy.”
A potential rematch, he insists, is far from his thoughts – and it may be a distant prospect too for Joshua, who looked like he was nursing a serious eye injury. “I’ve been working so hard since January in preparation for this fight,” replied Usyk when he was asked about the clause that is thought to have existed in the fight contract. “It took me half a year.
“I miss my family, I miss watching my children playing… I’m not thinking about the rematch at the moment.
“You didn’t see the best Usyk. I can be much better.”
Usyk now has a 19-fight perfect career record. Joshua fell to his second defeat following his previous loss, against Andy Ruiz in June 2019.
The eldest son of NBA icon Michael Jordan has been arrested over an alleged assault in hospital after police said he slipped and fell on a table in a bar.
Former university basketball player Jeffrey Jordan, who is the five-time NBA Most Valuable Player’s eldest son and worked his way up to become head of digital innovation for the Jordan brand, tumbled from a table at a Mexican restaurant in Scottsdale, according to local police.
Officers were already at the scene dealing with another incident and are said to have been asked to help security with the “disturbance”, which was adjudged to have been “medical in nature”, Fox 10 Phoenix said.
The 32-year-old was reportedly taken to a local hospital for treatment on his head injury, where he was arrested for alleged aggravated assault on a healthcare professional.
The long-serving innovator for Nike was subsequently released from Scottsdale City jail, accounts say.
Jordan junior received a full athletic scholarship after joining the University of Illinois in 2007.
The hotly-tipped prospect announced he was leaving Illinois in 2009 but later returned to the team.
A stint at the University of Central Florida followed before he left basketball, having earned a major in psychology in 2012.
He is clearly proud of his six-time NBA-winning father’s achievement, enthusiastically advocating the ‘MJMondays’ hashtag on his heavily-followed Instagram account.
Last year, Jordan told Forbes that he had launched the Jordan Avakian Group with friend and business partner Sevan Avakia, explaining that their aim was to support and act as consultants for start-up sports and entertainment companies.
He described himself as “really excited” about his “top-performing” company which monitors crowd movement to help organizers make decisions.
Jordan has founded a philanthropic venture, ‘Heir Jordan’, with Marcus and their sister, socialite Jasmine.
The siblings, he explained, see the investment and marketing company as a way to “create and co-create our own legacy”.
Alexander ‘The Great’ Volkanovski reasserted his dominance in the featherweight division with a thrilling win against Brian Ortega at UFC 266 in a fight which prompted a wave of fanfare from some of the UFC’s biggest names.
Volkanovski has been near flawless in his run to 145lb supremacy, winning 19 straight fights before he took to the cage against Ortega on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
The Australian certainly didn’t have everything his own way but was able to survive a pair of tight submissions in the third round to take a unanimous decision victory after 25 minutes of furious action in what is being hailed as a ‘Fight of the Year’ contender.
For long spells of the fight, Volkanovski appeared in complete control. The former rugby player saw the better of the early exchanges, finding a home for his right hook as Ortega attempted to establish a jab to keep Volkanovski at bay. The pace of the opening exchanges was obvious on both fighters’ bloodied faces as the first round ended.
The second saw Volkanovski up the pace as Ortega struggled to contend with the champion’s power shots and scything leg kicks – but it was the third round of this fight which will live long in the memory.
After dropping Volkanovski with a short left hand, submission specialist Ortega pounced on a guillotine choke which seemed to have the champ in grave danger only for him to gut it out – before being again caught in a tight triangle submission.
Volkanovski, though, has been here before. He gritted his teeth and survived what was the closest he has come to defeat since suffering his sole career loss in 2013 and poured on further damage as the fight entered the championship rounds.
Ortega attempted a late rally but it was Volkanovski who hung tough to score a clear unanimous decision win and underscore his status as the world’s best featherweight in the process.
“I’m a normal human being. Just hard work got me to where I am,” Volkanovski said afterwards. “Sky’s the limit for any of you. All them doubters, I’m going to keep proving you wrong time and time again.
“He’s good,” he added of the his rival Ortega. “I thought I was in his head and then he came back even stronger. I feel like an idiot saying some of the things I did, ’cause he proved himself.
“Keep doubting me! I love it! I’ll be the underdog until the day I die. That’s just going to make me work harder.”
Ortega, too, admitted that the champion was better than he expected. “I thought it was done,” he said about his third round submission attempts.
“That’s what we trained for the whole time. I tried to come for his head but that little b*stard’s f*cking tough. He’s a champ for a reason.”
Holy shit! What an incredible fight. So impressed by @BrianTcity and the heart he showed. Of course the night belonged to @alexvolkanovski He truly is the champion of the world, but both men should take a bow! Congrats fellas!!! Inspired
“Not a bad fight,” former featherweight champion Conor McGregor admitted on Twitter. “Congrats, shartsy.”
“Holy sh*t!” added another former champion, Michael Bisping. “What an incredible fight. So impressed by Brian Ortega and the heart he showed.
“Of course, the night belonged to Alexander Volkanovski. He truly is the champion of the world, but both men should take a bow! Congrats, fellas. Inspired.”
Another UFC fighter with title aspirations of his own, Raphael Assuncao, also paid tribute to the heart and grit displayed by both fighters.
