Delhi Capitals register comfortable win

Riding on Mitchell Marsh’s all-round heroics, Delhi Capitals got their act together in the nick of time to upstage Rajasthan Royals by eight wickets and keep their IPL playoffs hopes alive on Wednesday, The Indian Express reported.

After their bowlers restricted RR to 160/6, Marsh’s 62-ball 89 and David Warner’s unbeaten 52 off 41 balls helped the Capitals complete the task with 11 balls to spare for their sixth win of the season that saw the team suffer setbacks both on and off the field, including multiple COVID-19 cases in its camp.

Dazzling De Bruyne propels Man City closer to Premier League title

Manchester City's midfield genius Kevin De Bruyne scored four goals on Wednesday in a 5-1 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers to put his team in a commanding position to retain the Premier League with two games remaining, Reuters reported.

The Belgian put the game to bed with a hat-trick in a devastating 18-minute spell in the first half, before notching a fourth after the break as the away fans alternated between chanting "Kevin De Bruyne" and "Champions of England".

The win leaves Pep Guardiola's side top on 89 points, three ahead of Liverpool whom they also lead on goal difference, with the title now firmly in their sights.

A second consecutive Premier League title would assuage disappointment at their Champions League exit, after City fell in the semis and Liverpool reached the final.

At Molineux, De Bruyne scored the third earliest hat-trick in Premier League history and his first for Manchester City, according to Reuters.

For the first goal, he began the move before running on to Bernardo Silva's return pass for a sumptuously-placed finish in the seventh minute. De Bruyne smashed in a rebound for his second in the 16th minute, before deploying his supposedly weaker left foot for a glorious curler from the edge of the box in the 24th.

"The third goal was my favourite. I think that strike is the cleanest. I hit it really hard in the corner. Out of the three, that was the purest," he said.

"When you score four goals, it's always something special. It should have been five to be honest!" he added, lamenting that a late strike hit the post, Reuters reported.

Liverpool beats Villa 2-1, level on points with City in EPL

Liverpool has ensured the Premier League’s thrilling title race will stretch into the final week of the season, Associated Press reported.

A come-from-behind 2-1 win at Aston Villa, sealed by a 65th-minute header by Sadio Mane, showed Liverpool’s heart for the fight and moved Jürgen Klopp’s team level on points with Manchester City on Tuesday.

“It’s about digging in, keeping going and finding a way to win,” Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson said.

City still leads thanks to its superior goal difference of 3 to Liverpool. The defending champions play their game in hand against Wolverhampton on Wednesday, after which the two title rivals will have only two more league games to play.

The earliest City could now clinch the league is on Tuesday, when Liverpool plays its next league game — at Southampton. Before that, City plays twice, against Wolves then West Ham on Sunday.

“We cannot do more than win,” Klopp said. “A lot of people thought this could be a banana skin, that it could be a struggle for us, and how the boys sorted that was absolutely outstanding.”

The Reds, who drew 1-1 with Tottenham on Saturday, avoided having their title bid further derailed by a Villa team managed by one of their greatest players, according to the Associated Press.

Steven Gerrard, a boyhood Liverpool fan and former star midfielder, insisted his focus was purely on winning the game for Villa and saw midfielder Douglas Luiz — who was once on Man City’s books — give his team the lead in the third minute. The Brazilian forced the ball in from close range after his initial header was only parried out by Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker.

Villa held the lead for less than three minutes, with Joel Matip equalizing by converting into an unguarded empty net after fellow center back Virgil van Dijk had a shot saved by goalkeeper Emi Martinez.

Liverpool lost Fabinho in the 30th minute to a hamstring injury that could potentially rule the holding midfielder out of the FA Cup final against Chelsea on Saturday.

The injury might actually have helped Liverpool. Fabinho had been struggling up to that point — he was lucky to avoid getting a yellow card for repeated fouls — and his replacement, Henderson, used his experience to calm the game down.

Liverpool had regained control by the time Mane twisted his neck to meet a cross from the left from Luis Diaz with a header into the bottom corner, Associated Press reported.

Now playing more as a central striker following Diaz’s arrival, Mane has become a pivotal player in recent months for Klopp, who gave the Senegal international a big hug after the fulltime whistle that came as Liverpool’s away contingent sang the club’s anthem, You’ll Never Walk Alone.

“He’s a machine. A massive player,” Klopp said of Mane. “When everyone has yards in their legs, you can’t see it with him.”

Ahead of the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium, Klopp chose to leave out left back Andrew Robertson from the squad entirely and begin with Mohamed Salah and Thiago Alcantara on the bench.

Liverpool finishes the league campaign with games against Southampton and Wolverhampton next week.

As for City, Pep Guardiola’s team might need to claim seven points from its remaining three games to win a sixth title in 11 years. The last match is against Villa on the final day of the season, so Gerrard can still have a massive say in the title race — but now by helping his old club.

“In terms of commitment, heart and application, the lads gave me all I could ask for,” Gerrard said, according to the Associated Press.

“Against one of the top sides in the league, we’ve been done in moments.”

Chennai skittle out Delhi, win by 91 runs

Chennai Super Kings beat Delhi Capitals by 91 runs in their IPL match on Sunday, The Indian Express reported.

Sent in to bat, CSK posted 208 for 6 with Devon Conway top-scoring with a 49-ball 87 while Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shivam Dube contributed 41 and 32 respectively.

For DC, Anrich Nortje was the most successful bowler with figures of 3/42 while Khaleel Ahmed took two wickets.

In reply, DC were all out for 117 in 17.4 overs with Mitchell Marsh top-scoring with 25 off 20 balls, according to The Indian Express.

For CSK, Moeen Alitook three wickets while Mukesh Choudhary, Simarjeet Singh and Dwayne Bravo got two each.