Tottenham clambered out of the Premier League relegation zone after an early Roman Pavlyuchenko strike sealed a 1-0 win against Blackburn at White Hart Lane. Aaron Lennon was the undoubted man of the match after running Blackburn, and in particular Martin Olsson, ragged all afternoon.

The diminutive winger caught Olsson napping before laying the ball off for Pavlyuchenko’s ninth-minute winner, which Blackburn never looked like cancelling out. Harry Redknapp caused much furore by deploying the strike partnership of Pavlyuchenko and Darren Bent - a combination which former coach Gus Poyet insisted could not function effectively - and the pair repaid his faith in abundance.

Lennon compounded Paul Ince’s side’s woes as he repeatedly skipped past Olsson before the full-back was finally dismissed by referee Howard Webb for two bookable offences. David Bentley also got in on the act from the left, curling a delightful delivery on to the head of the Russian striker, whose attempt struck Paul Robinson’s near post. Read the rest of this entry »

Spain won the Davis Cup with a match to spare against Argentina as Fernando Verdasco beat Jose Acasuso 6-3 6-7 4-6 6-3 6-1 in the fourth rubber in Mar del Plata. Verdasco was on top in the first set as Acasuso produced a string of unforced errors to go down 6-3. The second set went to a tiebreak as Verdasco’s equally fragile confidence let him down, Acasuso triumphing 7-3.

With the Argentine fans behind him, the home player then took the lead in the third as the break-strewn match continued to be plagued by errors. The fourth set proved a more straightforward affair, going with serve until Verdasco, ranked 16 in the world to Acasuso’s 48, broke for 4-2 and closed it out to level. Read the rest of this entry »

Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari said he would “open the door” for Cristiano Ronaldo to join the London club if he decided to leave Manchester United. Ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash between the teams, the former Portugal manager was quoted in British newspapers saying he has a father-son relationship with Ronaldo.

“When I was with Portugal, I had to choose three players every year for the World Player of the Year award,” he was quoted as saying in Saturday’s Daily Mail.

“One year I chose Didier Drogba, another year I wrote John Terry and another year I voted for Frank Lampard.

“Now these three players are with me, it’s good for me - maybe next season Cristiano is with me. Tell him, if he wants to change I’ll open the door for him.” Read the rest of this entry »

Spaniard David Arroyo outpowered Vasili Kiryienka of Belarus to win the 19th stage of the Vuelta a Espana while compatriot Alberto Contador retained the overall lead. The Caisse d’Epargne rider dropped Kiryienka 100 metres from the line on the uphill finish in Segovia to secure his team’s second stage win in two days. Belgian Nick Nuyens was third.

With just two days left before the finish in Madrid, Contador has an overall lead of one minute and 17 seconds over American Levi Leipheimer with Carlos Sastre of Spain in third place, three minutes and 41 seconds behind.

Already the winner of the Tour de France and the Tour of Italy, overall victory in Spain would make Contador the first rider to take a hat-trick of major Tours since France’s Bernard Hinault. Read the rest of this entry »

Everton have completed the signing of Louis Saha from Manchester United, but prospective loan signing Victor Obinna has been denied a work permit. The 30-year-old, who scored 42 goals in 124 appearances for United, has agreed on a two-year contract with the option of a third year for an undisclosed fee.

Everton will pay nothing up front for the injury-prone Saha, with the fee entirely dependent on appearances.

Saha, who has 18 international caps, becomes Everton’s third major signing of the summer following the arrivals of Denmark defender Lars Jacobsen and Ecuador midfielder Segundo Castillo. Read the rest of this entry »