Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/890548
maltatoday SUNDAY 22 OCTOBER 2017 53 FOOTBALL SAILING - ROLEX MIDDLE SEA RACE Sports Huddersfield stun Manchester United SERGIO Aguero equalled Man- chester City's all-time scoring re- cord to set Pep Guardiola's side on their way to a 3-0 win over Burn- ley. With Manchester United suf- fering a surprise 2-1 defeat at Huddersfield, the Blues extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to five points. Aguero scored a controversial penalty on the half hour to join Eric Brook on 177 goals for the club, with Burnley furious that goalkeeper Nick Pope was ad- judged to have brought down Ber- nardo Silva. It took until the 73rd minute for Nicolas Otamendi's goal to make the game safe, with Leroy Sane converting a superb pass from Kevin De Bruyne two minutes later. Manchester United only had themselves to blame for their first loss to Huddersfield since 1952, with Juan Mata giving the ball away on the halfway line after 28 minutes and Aaron Mooy slot- ting home the rebound after Tom Ince's shot was saved. Worse was to come five minutes later when substitute Victor Lin- delof failed to connect with a long clearance and Laurent Depoitre was left to collect the ball and round David de Gea to score. Marcus Rashford pulled a goal back for Jose Mourinho's side but the Terriers defied some sustained late pressure for a famous win. Bournemouth and Leicester fared better on their travels with 2-1 wins at Stoke and Swansea respectively, with Bournemouth 2-0 up after 18 minutes thanks to a superb finish from Andrew Surman and a penalty by Junior Stanislas. Mame Biram Diouf pulled one back after 63 minutes but Stoke were unable to find an equaliser. It was a similar story at the Lib- erty Stadium where an own goal from Federico Fernandez and a tap-in by Shinji Okazaki gave Leicester a two-goal lead in their first game since sacking manager Craig Shakespeare. Alfie Mawson's tidy finish from a corner gave the home fans hope but the Foxes held on to claim all three points. Those results were bad news for Crystal Palace who are now five points adrift at the foot of the table, Roy Hodgson's side go- ing down to an 86th-minute goal from Mikel Merino in a 1-0 defeat at Newcastle. A stunning solo goal from Sofi- ane Boufal secured a 1-0 victory for Southampton at home to West Brom in the last Premier League game of Saturday's action. The substitute ran fully 70 yards from inside his own half and left three defenders on their backsides - two of whom had collided with each other - before sliding the ball home for a truly memorable strike. In the day's early kick-off, Michy Batshuayi came off the bench to score twice as Chelsea fought back from behind to win 4-2 in a six-goal thriller against Watford. Pedro's superb strike had put the home side in front after they were wrongly awarded a corner in the 12th minute, but Abdoulaye Dou- coure and Roberto Pereyra scored either side of half time for the visi- tors. However, Batshuayi levelled on 71 minutes and Cesar Azpilicueta put Antonio Conte's side back in front before Batshuayi added his second in stoppage time. Huddersfield Town's Jonas Lossl, Laurent Depoitre, Steve Mounie, Christopher Schindler and Mathias Jorgensen celebrate in front of the fans at the end of the match The odyssey begins 104 yachts from 30 different nations have started the 38th edition of the Rolex Mid- dle Sea Race. Watched by thousands of well-wishers lining the historic Grand Harbour and thousands more via a live link, the 606-mile Mediterranean classic offshore race got off on time, at 11.00CEST this morning. Over a thousand sailors are taking part in the Rolex Middle Sea Race, sailing in a huge variety of yachts. For the custom-built ocean-going maxis, such as Rambler 88, Leopard 3 and CQS, a 48-hour race is pos- sible, threatening the race record that has stood for ten years. For the Corinthian sail- ors, just finishing the race is the first goal and, looking at the feisty weather forecast later in the race, there will be many stories to tell. Since the first edition in 1968, this race has always been full of surprises. The overall winner will be decided by IRC time correction (handicap rating) and, this year, the field appears wide open with changes of fortune expected throughout the fleet. The start of the Rolex Middle Sea Race is nothing short of spectacular. Flash, smoke and noise from the 32-pounder artillery pieces at the Saluting Battery, herald each start and the ancient bastions of Valletta resonate with the power. Grand Harbour is transformed into a gladiatorial arena and there is action right from the off as yachts jostle for position. Several boats were caught out, misjudged their timing in the rush to get underway and were forced to restart. "All in all, it was a good start." comment- ed Principal Race Officer, Peter Dimech. "Ten knots of breeze, just south of east. It is always satisfying to see the fleet get off so well and it looks like the sailors will settle into the race on the reach to Capo Passero. The Royal Malta Yacht Club race management team will be monitoring the teams, day and night, until the last boat is accounted for." Four hours after the start the fleet was well on its way to Capo Passero, the most southeastern point of Sicily, about 55 miles from Malta. Rambler 88 was leading and expected to make the Sicilian Coast, just six hours after the start. The majority of the fleet are expected to follow around dusk. For the first night, fickle winds and tricky currents will form the first complex conun- drum of the course, the situation compli- cated by Mount Etna, the first volcano of the course, which has its own weather sys- tem. The goal in this period of the race is to make good speed to the Messina Strait, the fabled two-mile channel separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. For more information about the 38th Edi- tion of the Rolex Middle Sea Race please visit: Official website: http://www.rolexmid- dlesearace.com/ Facebook: @RolexMiddleSeaRace Twitter: @rolexmiddlesea Instagram: RolexMiddleSeaRace Yacht Tracker: www.rolexmiddlesearace. com/tracker/#pt PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROLEX/KURT ARRIGO