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Coventry shock United

Coventry stunned an inexperienced Manchester United side to send the Premier League champions crashing out of the Carling Cup at Old Trafford.

Roared on by more than 11,000 travelling fans, Iain Dowie's side were impressive throughout against hosts including Anderson, Nani, John O'Shea and Tomasz Kuszczak.

When Jonny Evans failed to clear the danger, Michael Doyle sent the ball into the area for Michael Mifsud to give Coventry a first-half lead in the 27th minute.

The Sky Blues deserved their advantage - and while United sought a leveller in the second half, Mifsud doubled the lead with 20 minutes left to play.

Fernando Torres struck a hat-trick in a surprise start for Liverpool

Fernando Torres struck a hat-trick in a surprise start for Liverpool as they edged an entertaining Carling Cup third-round clash at Reading 4-2.

While Manchester City and Arsenal both came through with narrow victories in tough encounters.

There are also two games in extra-time - follow the latest LIVE by clicking the link below the picture.

Yossi Benayoun broke his Liverpool duck with a goal of the highest quality to give the Reds the lead at Reading, scoring past Adam Federici from distance in the 23rd minute.

Bobby Convey levelled four minutes but Torres made the most of his run-out by firing Liverpool back in front early in the second half.

John Halls equalised in the 64th minute but Torres put Liverpool in front for a third time with another fabulous finish in the 71st minute, before converting a one-on-one for his hat-trick.

Owen to undergo scan

Michael Owen is set to undergo a second scan on his problematic groin after having limped off the pitch during Newcastle's 3-1 win over West Ham on Sunday.

The England striker asked to be replaced just six minutes into the second half of the clash at St James' Park, and now requires another scan on Monday to reveal the extent of the damage.

The news comes at a bad time for England boss Steve McClaren with next month's crucial Euro 2008 qualifiers against Estonia and Russia fast approaching.

Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce said: "We will know better on Monday. It is still a groin problem which we will have to look into a little deeper because it has become persistent.

"We will make a decision from there. We will probably scan it again, have another specialist opinion and then see where we go from there. But he is definitely out for Tuesday.

"I am worried that he asked to come off today because he felt it, whereas it was me who took him off against Derby, so since then, even though the scan was clear, there's a persistent area which is causing him a problem.

"We need to look deeper into that."

United down troubled Chelsea

Life after Jose Mourinho started in disappointing fashion for Chelsea, who lost 2-0 to Manchester United at Old Trafford and had John Obi Mikel sent off.

Carlos Tevez headed his first goal for United with virtually the final act of the first half, while Louis Saha converted a late penalty.

New manager Avram Grant could not have wished for a tougher opening fixture - although Mourinho and Claudio Ranieri also played United in their first game in charge.

Sir Alex Ferguson's side have struggled recently - despite a recent run of 1-0 wins - and chose the perfect time to score two or more goals for the first time this season, producing an impressive display.

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech made a string of top saves, while his opposite number Edwin van der Sar hardly had an important contribution to make.

Inevitably, Grant lined Chelsea up with Roman Abramovich's favourite Andriy Shevchenko as the focal point of his attack.

He also played Mikel, Claude Makelele and Michael Essien in a sturdy three-man midfield.

Wayne Rooney and Tevez started up front for United, the former making his first Premier League appearance since the opening day of the season.

He nearly made it a spectacular return as early as the second minute, when he turned Tal Ben Haim and curled a 25-yard shot towards the top-right corner, only to see Cech claw the ball acrobatically away.

Seconds later there were concerning moments for the home side as Rio Ferdinand went down after a challenge with Shevchenko, appearing to have suffered a groin injury.

But the England defender shrugged the stretcher-bearers aside and played the full 90 minutes alongside the superb Nemanja Vidic, who combined sterling defensive work with an ever-present aerial threat in the Chelsea box, testing Cech with a firm first-half header.

Tevez then went close with a powerful effort that Cech did well to hold, before Ryan Giggs volleyed over at the far post when a header seemed the better option.

On 32 minutes the game changed when Mikel went in hard on Patrice Evra with his foot up. It was a rash tackle but hardly deserved the straight red card referee Mike Dean showed him.

Chelsea skipper John Terry attempted to snatch the card from Dean's hand as he held it aloft - had it been anyone other than the England captain this indiscretion might have received a punishment.

The visitors stayed strong until the third minute of injury time, when Giggs collected the ball on the right and crossed exquisitely with the outside of his left foot, finding the diving Tevez's forehead a couple of yards from goal. For once, Cech had no chance.

The second half began slowly, with both sides seemingly happy with the status quo.

Although United had the bulk of the possession and territory, they created few genuine chances.

Giggs volleyed over again following a magnificent lofted through ball from Michael Carrick, while Rooney tested Cech's alertness with a long shot.

Shevchenko rarely saw 90 minutes' action under Mourinho and nothing changed in Grant's first game, as he was withdrawn for Salomon Kalou before the hour mark.

The game livened up as heavy tackles began to fly in. Joe Cole upended Cristiano Ronaldo and Rooney could have seen a second yellow for a shoulder barge on Ashley Cole.

Wes Brown and Terry were also carded before Ben Haim tugged back substitute Saha in the box on 89 minutes.

The Frenchman exaggerated the contact but the foul was clumsy, and Saha just found the net, cracking his shot low down the centre.

United go second behind Arsenal while Chelsea are just sixth - sporting goal difference of minus one - and could drop another three places if West Ham, Aston Villa and Blackburn win their games in hand.

Champions League - Arsenal too strong for Sevilla

Cesc Fabregas scored one and set up two more as Arsenal overwhelmed UEFA Cup holders Sevilla 3-0 as they opened their Champions League Group H campaign with an impressive victory at the Emirates Stadium.

After Fabregas' deflected 27th minute effort, Robin van Persie made it 2-0 in the 59th before substitute Eduardo da Silva slid home the third in stoppage time just minutes after coming on.

Fabregas's long-range strike appeared to be going wide until it took an emphatic deflection off Julien Escude and went in.

Van Persie then scored from close range after Bacary Sagna flicked on a Fabregas free-kick before the Spanish schemer gave Croat striker Eduardo the simplest of tap-ins after Federico Fazio gifted away possession.

It was Sevilla's first match at this level since they played in the old European Cup some 50 years ago and despite playing their usual high tempo game, they rarely troubled the home side.

Indeed they almost went behind after 13 minutes when Andres Palop spilled Mathieu Flamini's fizzing drive but the keeper just got to the rebound ahead of Emmanuel Adebayor.

And although Fabregas' goal had a large slice of fortune, Arsene Wenger's men could easily have extended the lead before the break.

Tomas Rosicky's corner found Kolo Toure eight yards out but Escude did just enough to force the Ivorian to push his header past the post.

Terrific play from Adebayor followed as he outwitted Federico Fazio on the left flank but his final effort screwed off the outside of his boot.

Former Tottenham man Frederic Kanoute stung Manuel Almunia's palms with a fizzing shot and came close to latching onto Christian Poulsen's chip just before the interval but the Spanish side slipped further behind after some poor defending.

Fabregas' delivery was spot on and when the ball reached van Persie unmarked six yards out, he slashed the ball into the net.

Sevilla's best chance came five minutes later as Philippe Senderos only managed to deflect a cross from the right into Jose Luis Marti's path but the midfielder couldn't untangle his feet and failed get a shot on goal from six yards.

A rampaging run from the impresive Sagna resulted in Adebayor's flicked header landing just inches away from the far corner but after Kanoute spurned another decent chance, Wenger's men sealed the game with Eduardo's strike.

Platini's plans come under fire

Uefa president Michel Platini's plans to shake up the Champions League could damage Scottish football, according to the Scottish Premier League chairman.

Platini has proposed that countries reserve one of their Champions League places for the winners of their national cup competition.

But SPL chairman Lex Gold says the nation's best players could miss out on vital Champions League experience.

"He is damaging our prospects," Gold told BBC ONE's Inside Sport.

"The higher the level players play at, the greater their experience, and the greater their experience, (the more it) benefits our nation and helps our country.

"We are a country of five million people and we want to see our players get the highest level of experience."

Asked whether the proposal would make the national team suffer, Gold replied: "Yes, quite clearly that's what is going to happen.

"Our top clubs have got very good experience in Europe and that is feeding through to our national game."

Gold's fears are echoed by Celtic manager Gordon Strachan who thinks the competition should be represented by the best teams the country has to offer.

"I really don't see the benefit of teams who win an FA Cup or Scottish Cup (entering the Champions League)," he said.

"It could have been Gretna a couple of years ago. No disrespect, but I don't think that's Scottish football at its best.

"You can fluke a couple of results to get to a final. If you play in the Championship and you are second or first you deserve to be there and they deserve to be shown as the best of Scottish or English."

Report: Spurs boss gets six-match ultimatum

LONDON: Tottenham manager Martin Jol has been given an ultimatum of six games to save his job after his side fell to a 3-1 loss at home to Arsenal at the weekend, according to press reports here yesterday.

Jol’s position has come under scrutiny as his side sit fourth from bottom with just one win from six games with speculation rife of a swoop for Sevilla’s Juande Ramos.

While Daniel Levy has apparently ruled out an immediate parting of the ways, even a revival from Spurs in the next month may not be enough to save Jol.

The Dutchman is adamant he is the man to help break into the 'big four’ and hit out at those who continue to undermine his position in the wake of the defeat by Arsenal on Saturday.

He said: “I’m not hurting inside. I will try to get the results and as long as the players show me the commitment they showed me again, there is no problem.

“People said in 2005 I was going to be out of a job but I am still here.

“So I think I will be here in six weeks. I feel there are two worlds here in London.

“There are you guys (journalists) and then there are the supporters who read your papers. It’s amazing, no?

“Although they read your papers, they’re still backing me. That’s a great feeling.

“I don’t think the board is a problem. I tell them all the time what’s wrong. We speak about players and talk about the team.” – AFP

Riise and Sissoko out of Reds’ opener

LONDON:Liverpool left back John Arne Riise has been ruled out of his side’s Champions League opener in Porto today because of a groin injury.

The Norwegian injured himself on international duty last week and will not travel to Portugal, the club’s website said yesterday. Midfielder Mohamed Sissoko will also miss the trip.

Better news for last year’s runners-up is the return to fitness of Fabio Aurelio, who will be in Rafael Benitez’s squad for the Group A clash.

Brazilian Aurelio has been out since April after rupturing his Achilles tendon against PSV Eindhoven in last season's Champions League quarter-final.

“Fabio is back, which is good news for us,” manager Rafael Benitez said. “He has worked hard to recover from his injury and could be a useful asset for us.” – Reuters

Should MLS be Protecting Beckham?

I have an interesting article from the Toronto Star I want you to read. It’s about the Beckham injury, and particularly about what it means to MLS in the long run.

The main point seems to be that if Beckham keeps getting injured, he’s going to pack up his Goldenballs and retire, and this does not benefit MLS. What particularly interests me is the call for a “Beckham rule” unofficially calling for harsher punishment for anybody who harms Becks.

First interesting quote is here. Agree or disagree?

Since arriving, the half-speed star has been a punching bag out on the pitch, kicked to bits by every rough-houser he’s faced.

What do you think about this? Aside from the Steve Sidwell challenge from Chelsea (not an MLS side, in case nobody’s noticed, and the tackle wasn’t a foul if I’m remembering correctly) and the Jesse Marsch brawl-sparking nasty tackle in the Chivas game, have there been a lot of ugly ones? Refresh my memory, because I’m not remembering a lot out of the ordinary.

But here’s the really interesting part.

Perhaps the initial plan really was to play for five years. But Beckham will never be as hot as he is right now, particularly if he spends significant chunks of the next few years in emergency rooms. Watching someone writhe around on a soccer pitch doesn’t signal manly man to the American moviegoer Beckham is not-so-secretly courting.

If he’s wise, Beckham is planning his early retirement right now. If it is wise, the league is trying to figure out how to keep him. To that end, it’s time to institute a second “Beckham Rule” in MLS, one that has nothing to do with salary caps.

This one follows on the heels of the “Gretzky Rule.” In essence, it constructs an invisible shield around Beckham. The understanding should be that heedless or malicious tackles on Beckham will result in immediate expulsion and hefty disciplinary action. This can’t be an overt rule, obviously, merely an understood one.

Right now, right or wrong, Beckham is MLS to many casual fans. If the MLS can’t protect him, it might find its grand strategy following him out the door when he quits on it.

I’d really like to know what you think about this.

As you’re reading this, I’m probably in the air and headed to Paris. What’s that you say? My beloved France National Team will be playing while I’m there? Golly, that had completely escaped my notice. (And the ticket in my purse is not causing me to do the the happy dance. That you can see.) I’m not back till the 17th and am not taking my laptop, so anything for the next ten or so days will be hit or miss depending on my ability to find internet cafe-type places.

As always, please leave comments if anything interesting comes up.

Uganda: Uganda Soccer Stars Living the Dream Lifestyle

Ibrahim Sekagya

The Cranes captain is a jack-of-all-trades and equally shrewd both on and off the pitch. At his new club Red Bulls Salzburg in Austria where he will earn approximately Shs20m a week, Sekagya has learnt to spend the money.

In Austria, he resides in a flat, cruises an Audi A6 and rides on Yachts with teammates, just for fun. The defence kingpin also has an acute business mind despite spending most of his earnings on his extensive family.

Rumour has it that he owns a watches shop in Nairobi where he spends some time when on holiday and has built an ultra-modern mansion in Ntinda estimated at Shs300m.

He has bought other assets from Real Estate dealers through one of his blockers and friend Hakeem. He pays hefty amounts of tuition for his relatives including his sister at Makerere University and brother Sula Ssebuza who plays for Simba SC and is a student at MUBS, Nakawa.

When in Kampala, he is a common figure in Ange Noir, discotheque where he prefers to cool down. With the new deal at Salzburg, the 26-year old will have the world at his feet one day.

Posnet Omony

He may not be playing for Cranes anymore, but Omwony enjoys a happy life both on and off the field. He is the number one at his South African club - Bloemfontein Celtics and reportedly earns a cool $3,500 (Shs6.5m) a month. While on holiday, he drives a Suzuki whereas his other car - a Toyota Carib is used for special hire at the Kireka - Banda stage. His mega mansion and apartments in Kyaliwajala - Namugongo, estimated at Shs300m are still under construction. The burly shot stopper loves to hang out a lot. Pado Pado Bar and Restaurant in Kireka, Resort Beach, Entebbe and Ange - Noir are his favourite hang out joints.

Hakim Magumba

The midfield dynamo, well known as 'boda-boda' is not your usual soccer player as far as financial matters are concerned. He is not the kind of guy you'll easily find in a bar or nightclub. He has made good use of his earnings from football.

Even before he left for Rwanda, Magumba was doing well.

Even without any earnings from soccer, he was doing well with a business mind to die for, despite the little formal education he attained. Though he no longer plays for the national team, Magumba is a happy and settled man. He has amassed enough wealth that can sustain his family for some good years.

He owns a mansion in Kasubi where his wife and kid stay. He also owns a commercial building in his hometown Iganga and is currently constructing another mansion in Buziga.

Magumba drives a short Chassis Pajero, which he leaves with the wife while away in Rwanda. On top of his unknown sources of income, Magumba's quick skillful feet earn him an additional 200,000 RWF (approximately Shs605, 000) a month at Rwanda's Atraco F.C

Dennis Onyango

The 21-year old star never stops to shine. A natural striker, Onyango tried out his goalkeeping skills while at SC Villa in 2005 and has never looked back. He took over from his mentor Posnet Omwony and seniors Ibrahim Mugisha and Hannington Kalyesubula as the number one Cranes custodian. Onyango is only one year old at Supersport United of South Africa but his awesome game reading saw him take the number one spot at the club from Rowen Fernandez. Little is unknown about his wealth but at least he has been seen driving a car of the Escudo make and word is rife that he is constructing a house in Ndejje.

Geoffrey Sserunkuma

The 23-year old goal poacher is an orphan who is determined to make a living from his most passionate sport. A senior four dropout of Malcolm X Secondary School in Nsambya, Sserunkuma doesn't have a lot of money to splash around lavishly.

His deal from Police to KCC, helped him to a personal sign on fee of Shs3m. He topped up with some of his personal savings to buy a 3-bedroomed house in Bweyogerere. His eight siblings look up to him for the basic necessities and despite earning US$1,500 (Shs2.5m) per month at St. George F.C in Ethiopia, Sserunkuma has been able to solely cater for his family.

Lazy and laid back as he is, Sserunkuma has good plans for all his earnings. Recently, he is said to have refurbished his Jjaaja's house in Katwe and his parents' home in Matugga.

Leaders Bayern share the spoils with Schalke

BERLIN: Bayern Munich had to settle for a 1-1 draw at home to Schalke 04 on Saturday, a result that cut their lead in the Bundesliga to a single point.

Ivan Rakitic beat Oliver Kahn with a low shot in the 36th minute to stun the 66,000 crowd at the Allianz Arena.

Bayern equalised with a Miroslav Klose header nine minutes after the break.

After five games, Bayern lead with 11 points, one ahead of Arminia Bielefeld and Eintracht Frankfurt.

Bielefeld won 4-2 at home to Hansa Rostock while Frankfurt enjoyed a 2-1 thriller at home to Hamburg SV.

Champions VfB Stuttgart joined Schalke on seven points with a 3-0 win at home to Energie Cottbus.

With Luca Toni back and fit, Bayern looked capable of winning handsomely.

Toni, however, wasted his first chance in the seventh minute, dragging a shot wide after being put clean through on goal.

Klose then missed two perfect opportunities to play in his strike partner after neat build-up play and Christian Lell fluffed a good opening at the far post.

Schalke were struggling to hold on when from nowhere they took the lead.

Rakitic, fresh from his first two international games for Croatia, controlled the ball 25 metres out and swept in low at Kahn's right-hand post for a brilliant opener.

Kahn kept Bayern in the game by saving from Rakitic when the 19-year-old raced through on goal a minute before the break.

Bayern pressed hard and got the equaliser from a Franck Ribery free kick on the right. Toni's header forced a fine one-handed save from Schalke keeper Manuel Neuer and Klose pounced on the rebound for his fourth goal of the season.

Bayern had lots of possession but created few clear chances and Schalke might easily have claimed victory as two Christian Pander free kicks created confusion in the Bayern area.

“The first half was good,” Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld told reporters. “We didn't take our chances, though, and after that we didn't do enough. I think both sides deserved their point.” – Reuters

Roma claim top spot, Juventus suffer shock defeat at Udinese

ROME: Roma went to the top of the Serie A yesterday when they extended their perfect start to the season to three out of three with a 2-0 win over Reggina.

Juventus went into the weekend's action in the lead on goal difference but slipped to fourth when suffering a shock 1-0 loss, their first defeat of the new campaign, to Udinese in Turin.

Inter Milan climbed four places to second with their 2-0 win, the second of the season, over San Siro visitors Catania.

On paper Juventus rather than Roma looked to have the better chance of maintaining their unblemished record for 2007/08 with the Romans mustering only one win from their last four visits to Calabria.

But they boosted that record after Brazilian Juan marked his topflight debut in the best possible way, putting Roma in front in the 50th minute with Francesco Totti adding the second six minutes from time.

Roma's cause had not been helped when goalkeeper Alexander Doni failed to come back for the second half after suffering an injury, the gloves being taken by Under-21 international Gianluca Curci.

The result was a timely confidence booster ahead of Roma's opening Champions League group tie against Dinamo Kiev.

In Turin, Juventus had a frustrating afternoon with Alessandro del Piero hitting the post three times against a Udinese side that had proved capable of holding Inter to a 1-1 draw at the start of the campaign, only to crash 5-0 to Napoli.

There was to be no such repeat of that lopsided loss here with Udinese taking the lead in the opening seconds of the second half in a three player move started by Giuseppe Dossena and completed by the unmarked Antonio Di Natale's header.

Di Natale's heroics came after his two goals for Italy in their 2-1 Euro 2008 qualifier win over Ukraine last week.

Udinese went close to doubling their advantage in the 62nd minute only for Gyan Asamoah's half-volley to ricochet off the upright.

Napoli's 2-0 win over Sampdoria lifted them up five places into third between Inter and Juve.

On Saturday, fifth-placed AC Milan were held to their second successive 1-1 draw with only Alessandro Nesta's late late equaliser avoided an embarrassing slip up at struggling Siena.

The Tuscany club were heading for a valuable maximum points until Nesta popped up in the 91st minute to level from a volley after a move started by a freekick awarded when Leandro Grimi felled Clarence Seedorf.

Also on Saturday Lazio were held to a goalless draw by second from bottom Empoli. – AFP

England lacking talent, say bosses

LONDON: The English game is being hurt by a lack of over-priced talent and a flood of cheaper foreigners, according to Blackburn chairman John Williams.

On the first weekend of the Premier League season, only 37% of players that started Premier League matches were English. That was 81 players, a drop from 184 15 years ago.

And Williams sees that as bad for the English game. “There is a shortage of English talent and you have to pay premium prices for those out there,” said Williams.

“I’m afraid that we have to shop where the market is right, where the players are right and where the price is right. We want to support the England national team but the price of English players can be very off-putting.”

West Ham chairman Eggert Magnusson, however, insists it is understandable that domestic talent costs more – but claims it still makes sense to buy British.

“You buy players who may have had a lot of success in the Dutch League or French League for example but doesn’t mean they are going to be successful in the Premier League. There is a bit of a gamble to take,” he said.

“You have to pay a little bit more for players who have a proven track record in the Premier League and that’s fully understandable – and that goes whether you are talking about foreign players who have proved themselves in the Premier League or English players.”

Magnusson does think it is important for clubs to have a strong base of domestic talent, however.

He added: “Sir Trevor (Brooking) can have no problem with West Ham because we want to have a strong England team and we believe it is important to support that and have English players at the club.”

Meanwhile, Williams predicts wages will soar this year to reflect the record spending on transfers.

Sports consultants Deloitte believe there will not be such a dramatic rise in players’ salaries compared to transfer fees, but Williams disagrees.

Deloitte’s report shows transfer spending by English clubs this summer has exceeded £500mil, smashing the previous summer’s £300mil.

Williams added: “I have read the predictions that wages will not rise dramatically but my feeling is that wages will grow very considerably this year.

“The market is buoyant because of the TV money, there is an ability to pay and a willingness to invest.” – AFP

Loew: Ballack baffled by Chelsea’s decision

COLOGNE: Michael Ballack does not understand his club Chelsea’s decision to axe him from their Champions League squad for the group stages, Germany’s head coach Joachim Loew revealed yesterday.

Ballack, 30, is hoping to return soon from April’s ankle surgery, but misses Germany’s Euro 2008 qualifier against Wales on Saturday, the friendly with Romania next Wednesday and has now been left out of Chelsea’s plans.

Having this week been axed from Chelsea’s Champions League squad for the autumn’s group stages, Germany’s captain is baffled, according to Loew, adding to rumours in the British press Ballack could be on the way out of Stamford Bridge.

“I discussed it with Michael and he could not fully explain Chelsea’s decision to me,” said Loew in a press conference yesterday ahead of Saturday’s Group D Euro 2008 qualifier.

“Chelsea’s doctors estimate he will not be able to play for two to three more months, but Michael is much more optimistic and expects to play sooner.

“For us, Chelsea’s decision isn’t justifiable,” added Loew who plans to recall Ballack for October’s Euro 2008 internationals with the Czech Republic and the Republic of Ireland. – AFP