Fortunebets

Burnley have completed the signing of striker Michael Obafemi on loan from Swansea with an option to make the move permanent in the summer.

The 22-year-old has scored 15 goals in 52 appearances for the Swans since joining from Southampton 18 months ago, and should boost Burnley’s promotion charge as Vincent Kompany’s side sit top of the Sky Bet Championship.

Burnley have been linked with the Republic of Ireland international for several months and finally have their man – announcing the move a day after Kompany all but confirmed it was done in his post-match press conference following their goalless draw at Ipswich in the FA Cup.

Obafemi becomes Burnley’s fourth signing of the January window following the arrivals of Ameen Al-Dakhil, Hjalmar Ekdal and fellow forward Lyle Foster.

“I’m glad to be here,” Obafemi said. “It’s been a busy few days, but I am just glad that it’s finally done now.

“When I first heard of Burnley’s interest in the summer I was adamant to come here, obviously it didn’t happen then but now I’m here and I just can’t wait to play in the Claret and Blue.”

National League leaders Wrexham were denied another FA Cup giant-killing as 10-man Championship high-flyers Sheffield United snatched a stoppage-time equaliser in an absorbing 3-3 draw.

The famous old Racecourse ground has witnessed its fair share of shocks – with a picture of Mickey Thomas’ famous free-kick goal against Arsenal in the FA Cup in 1992 hanging on the wall of the Turf Hotel adjoining the stadium – and this was almost one for a new era at the club.

Watched by one half of their Hollywood ownership duo in Ryan Reynolds, Paul Mullin’s 27th goal of the season four minutes from time looked like giving them a victory which was no more than they deserved after going behind after just 64 seconds

Blades striker Daniel Jebbison’s senseless sending-off with 20 minutes to go undoubtedly helped their cause, although they were already in the ascendancy before then, and they duly capitalised.

But just as they were contemplating a place in the fifth round, John Egan popped up with an equaliser to take the tie back to Bramall Lane.

It was a cruel blow for the side 70 places below their visitors, second in the Championship, but the performance was a ringing endorsement of the huge steps being made under the leadership of Reynolds and fellow actor Rob McElhenney.

The club, backed by their celebrity owners, have Premier League ambitions but their opponents have already trodden that path – as recently as 2021 – and are seemingly well on their way to returning.

On a chilly night in north Wales it was difficult to tell which side was which and it was only the visitors’ dogged determination and experience which earned them a second bite of cherry.

United made five changes, leaving midfielder Sander Berge out of the squad entirely amid interest from Fulham, and, after taking an early grip on the game, would probably have expected to have an easier time of it than they did as they came under a bombardment both in the air – from Ben Tozer’s long throws – and on the ground from Mullin’s energy.

In only the second minute Oli McBurnie slipped his marker Jordan Tunnicliffe to head Tommy Doyle’s corner past Luke Young guarding the near post.

In a further blow for the hosts, Tunnicliffe was forced off after getting injured trying to stop the striker and, by the 10th minute, Wrexham had been forced into another change with the second member of their back five, Aaron Hayden, also departing with a calf problem.

Mark Howard saved well in the opening quarter from Jebbison and Doyle but, having weathered the early storm, the home side finished the half strongly and, with a touch more composure, could have got more from their efforts.

The National League side were dragged back into the game by Mullin, who did everything but score in the first half.

Early on he went down claiming a penalty for a foul after racing into Anthony Forde’s ball over the top and, while the forward had got the first touch, there was no contact by goalkeeper Adam Davies.

In seven minutes of added time Mullin skipped past Jaden Bogel after Howard’s quick release from a Sheffield United corner and his rasping drive was batted away by Davies.

With the last chance of the half he latched onto Chris Basham’s attempted clearance under pressure from Ollie Palmer only to be brought down on the edge of the area by Egan, with the Wrexham striker blasting his free-kick into the wall.

Just five minutes into the second half, Davies could only parry Young’s long-range shot, creating a scramble from which the visitors hacked out of play.

Another Tozer long throw caused chaos in the box with the ball dropping to James Jones, on as an early replacement for Hayden, off the shoulder of McBurnie and he hooked home a clever close-range finish.

In the 61st minute Tozer followed in his own throw to earn a corner with a deflected shot and Young’s inswinging corner hit substitute Billy Sharp in the chest, with Tom O’Connor reacting quickest to lash home.

Celebrations were cut short as four minutes minutes later Oliver Norwood fired home a low effort after the ball had bounced around the Wrexham area.

The visitors shot themselves in the foot when Jebbison was sent off for an off-the-ball clash with Tozer on the halfway line after referee Dean Whitestone took advice from fourth official Scott Oldham.

Palmer crashed a shot against the underside of the crossbar which bounced down inches from the line before Mullin sparked wild scenes when, found in space 10 yards out, he slotted through the legs of the goalkeeper to maintain his record of scoring in every round of the competition, including qualifiers.

But Egan’s far-post equaliser from a set-piece spared the Blades’ blushes.

Harry Kane was on target on his return to Premier League action as Tottenham came from two goals down to snatch a 2-2 draw with Brentford.

Just 16 days after his penalty miss in the World Cup quarter-final against France, England skipper Kane scored with a towering header to drag Spurs back from the brink of defeat.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg then grabbed an equaliser as Tottenham cancelled out goals from Vitaly Janelt and Ivan Toney.

Their second-half display was a far cry from a lethargic first 45 minutes, with Kane’s only opportunity coming from an early free-kick which clipped the wall.

Brentford went ahead in the 15th minute when Toney flicked the ball on to Bryan Mbeumo, who swept it diagonally to Mathias Jensen in the penalty area.

Fraser Forster, making his first Premier League appearance for Spurs as deputy for World Cup finalist Hugo Lloris, kept out Jensen’s first-time shot but the ball fell at the feet of Janelt for a tap-in.

It was a familiarly slow start from the visitors, the sixth game in a row in which they had slipped behind.

Toney was back in action for the first time since it emerged he had been charged by the Football Association for alleged breaches of betting rules.

The striker, who missed out on a place in England’s World Cup squad despite his hot form, had the ball in the net after rounding Forster but an offside flag belatedly ruled out the goal.

Toney was not to be denied after the interval, however, as he showed the Bees what they will be missing if he is hit with a ban by the FA.

Mbeumo swung in a near-post corner, Christian Norgaard flicked the ball on and the 26-year-old struck at the far post for his 12th goal of the season.

Kane hauled Spurs back into the match just after the hour when he met a sweeping Clement Lenglet cross with a superb header back across goal.

It was the striker’s 10th Boxing Day goal for Spurs, a Premier League record.

Mbeumo had a chance to restore Brentford’s two-goal lead but he blazed over and moments later Tottenham were level.

The dangerous Dejan Kulusevski pulled the ball back from the byline into the path of Hojbjerg, who lashed it home from 12 yards.

Back came the Bees and Mbeumo was booked for a blatant dive as he looked for a penalty after Forster came racing out of his goal.

Toney had a chance to win it for Brentford but hooked his effort over the crossbar before David Raya’s late save denied Son Heung-Min a stoppage-time winner.

Novak Djokovic equalled the record of former coach Andre Agassi with a 26th consecutive victory at the Australian Open to reach the semi-finals.

The nine-time champion was again in superb form, painting the lines consistently in a 6-1 6-2 6-4 victory over fifth seed Andrey Rublev on Rod Laver Arena to set up a clash with unseeded American Tommy Paul.

Djokovic has not been beaten at Melbourne Park since 2018 – part of a 39-match winning run in Australia – and has now matched the sequence of victories of Agassi between 2000 and 2004.

Djokovic said: “I cannot be happier with my tennis. I’ve been playing very solid. I love playing in these conditions, on this court. Overall I think the scoreline in the first two sets doesn’t speak the truth of the match.

“Andrey is a great player. All the important moments and the important shots, I found my best tennis, so that’s what I’m most pleased about tonight.”

The fifth seed at times did again appear bothered by his left hamstring but it did not affect his ability to hare around the court repelling everything big-hitting Russian Rublev threw at him.

He was more affected by a heckler who called out “Come on Andrey, send him home” during the first set, drawing loud boos from the largely pro-Djokovic crowd and prompting the Serbian to complain to British umpire James Keothavong.

It was Rublev’s turn to appeal to Keothavong in the second set when he felt Djokovic should have received a time violation but the Russian, bidding to reach his first slam semi-final at the seventh attempt, was mostly frustrated by the man down the other end of the court.

Djokovic, who has never lost once he has reached the semi-finals at Melbourne Park, was virtually flawless in the big moments, saving all five break points he faced and wrapping up victory in two hours and three minutes.

Earlier, Paul got the better of fellow American Ben Shelton to reach his first grand slam semi-final.
The run of 20-year-old Shelton, in just his second grand slam and on his first trip outside the USA, has been one of the stories of the tournament but Paul used his greater experience to secure a 7-6 (6) 6-3 5-7 6-4 victory.

Speaking before the conclusion of the second quarter-final, the 25-year-old said: “I’m really excited. It wasn’t the prettiest match ever today but it was how I needed to play the match. He’s a great server. I had to just put in as many returns as I could.

“But I’m really excited, man. It’s really cool. I think it’s even cooler if I do play (Djokovic). I probably have a better chance of winning if it’s Rublev, but to play Novak here in Australia would be awesome.”

Paul, who will break into the top 20 for the first time after the tournament, becomes the first American man to reach the semi-finals here since Andy Roddick in 2009.

With Sebastian Korda also in the last eight, this was the best display by American men at a grand slam for nearly 20 years and appears to herald an exciting era for the country, which has been searching for a successor to Roddick for the last decade.

There is a lot of excitement about Shelton, who has not yet left college, and he might turn out to be the best of the lot, but this was Paul’s day.

The American was cheered on by his mother, who hopped on a plane after his fourth-round win and arrived in Melbourne on Wednesday morning.

“It was awesome,” he said. “I was actually, when I first heard, pretty nervous because we’ve had a good thing going here and I didn’t really want to change anything.

“After a little bit of thinking, I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m in the quarter-finals of a slam. She’s sacrificed a ton to get me here. She deserves to be here and deserves to see me win big matches’. I was really excited to see her and have her here.”

Novak Djokovic swept to a 10th Australian Open title and 22nd grand slam to equal Rafael Nadal at the top of the men’s all-time standings.

A year after seeing Nadal pull ahead while he tried to process the fall-out from his deportation, Djokovic has been determined to show that Rod Laver Arena is his stage.

He dropped just one set all tournament despite saying he feared a left hamstring problem might force him to withdraw and finished with a 6-3 7-6 (4) 7-6 (5) victory over first-time Australian Open finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Djokovic also reclaims the world number one ranking from Carlos Alcaraz, and it would be very difficult to argue that he does not justify that position having once again put the younger generations in their place.

His status in Australia, meanwhile, is unmatched, with the 35-year-old winning a 28th consecutive Australian Open match and a 41st in a row in the country as a whole.

There are large Greek and Serbian communities in Melbourne, and the atmosphere was reminiscent of a football match, with fans decked in their country’s colours and umpire Louise Azemar Engzell constantly appealing for quiet during points.

Both men received raucous welcomes, but the reception for Djokovic was just a little bit louder, and his fans soon had plenty to cheer.

For the first time all tournament, there was no heavy strapping on his left thigh, although a couple of strips of tape were a reminder that Djokovic had cruised through to the final while not 100 per cent fit.

If the 35-year-old has been vulnerable in slam finals over the past couple of years, it has tended to be early on, with Djokovic losing the first set on four consecutive occasions, including against Tsitsipas in the Greek’s only previous final at the French Open in 2021.

There Djokovic went two sets down but still came back to win. He was in no mood for a repeat here, though, looking supremely sharp from the start, forcing Tsitsipas to save two break points in his opening service game and then breaking to lead 3-1.

The 24-year-old barely landed a glove on his opponent during Djokovic’s service games, with the first set whizzing by, but Tsitsipas, who has carried himself with an air of great confidence all fortnight, got a foothold in the match early in the second set.

He was serving with more authority and finding greater depth and penetration on his groundstrokes, although he was still reluctant to venture to the net.

Djokovic no longer looked quite so sure of himself, gesticulating frequently to his box, which was again without father Srdjan, who opted to stay away from Melbourne Park for another match after being filmed with pro-Russia activists last week – inadvertently, the family insisted.

The Serbian took a heavy tumble in the seventh game, and at 4-5 he missed a routine backhand to give Tsitsipas a set point.

The Greek was unable to seize his opportunity, though, and soon he was two sets down after an error-strewn tie-break.

Chances will always be at a premium against Djokovic and taking them is paramount but Tsitsipas was again too charitable at the start of the third set, finally breaking serve only to hand the advantage straight back.

He was at least able to repel Djokovic’s pressure to force a second tie-break only to find himself 5-0 down. He battled back with some of his best tennis of the match but a forehand that just caught the line was enough for Djokovic to clinch his second match point.

Liverpool suffered another horror show on the south coast as Kaoru Mitoma’s stunning stoppage-time goal saw the holders dumped out of the FA Cup 2-1 at Brighton.

The Reds, back at the scene of the 3-0 thumping a fortnight ago which Jurgen Klopp described as the worst of his managerial career, looked destined for at least a replay after Lewis Dunk’s lucky strike cancelled out Harvey Elliott’s opener.

But Japan star Mitoma produced a fabulous piece of improvisation to control the ball and then volley a dramatic winner to leave Klopp wincing again.

Brighton, as expected, were without wantaway midfielder Moises Caicedo, who went public with his desire to leave after Arsenal had a £60million bid turned down

They shrugged off his absence in style, although there was certainly a Caicedo-shaped hole in Brighton’s midfield as Liverpool carved through it early on.

Naby Keita sent Mohamed Salah racing clear down the right and after his initial shot was saved by goalkeeper Jason Steele, Adam Webster cleared the rebound off the line.

Ten minutes later Brighton also had an effort blocked on the line when Solly March’s low cross was met by Evan Ferguson six yards out, with Trent Alexander-Arnold on hand to clear from under the crossbar.

Then Salah was put through again, this time by Elliott’s cute pass, but he dragged his shot across goal and wide.

However, the roles were reversed to greater effect moments later when Salah played in Elliott, who swept the ball past Steele and into the net.

Brighton equalised in the 39th minute when Tariq Lamptey’s fierce drive was diverted past the wrong-footed Alisson by the boot of Dunk.

The Seagulls captain wheeled away in celebration as if he had known exactly what he was doing, but his sheepish grin told a different story.

Dunk’s next piece of skill was deliberate, though, an audacious Cristiano Ronaldo-style free-kick which floated just wide with Alisson scampering back nervously.

Brighton were desperately unlucky not to go ahead with 20 minutes remaining after Mitoma bent in an inviting low cross with the outside of his right boot.

It was met in front of goal by March, whose prod forward hit Alisson, rebounded back off the winger and spun narrowly wide.

Instead, two minutes into stoppage time, Mitoma struck at the far post, bamboozling Joe Gomez as he controlled Pervis Estupinan’s cross before rifling in the winner.

Stevenage’s FA Cup run came to an end as they were defeated 3-1 by Stoke in an entertaining tie.

The in-form League Two side, buoyed on by 3,291 travelling supporters, were eyeing passage to the fifth round of the competition for the first time since 2012.

However, their return to the midlands – where they came from behind to upset Unai Emery’s Aston Villa in the previous round – was an unhappy one.

The Potters took an early lead inside two minutes through Jacob Brown and assumed control.

Stevenage levelled in the second half through Villa Park hero Jamie Reid, but their reprieve was short-lived thanks to Josh Laurent’s magnificent effort and then Lewis Baker added a late third from the penalty spot.

With new recruit Bersant Celina registered just in time for the fixture, the on-loan Dijon playmaker was handed an immediate debut in a new 4-3-3 system.

And despite the tactical tweak, the hosts snatched an early lead with the Kosovo international taking no time at all to adapt to his new surroundings.

An inviting Celina corner was flicked on by Ben Wilmot into the path of Brown, who composed himself before burying the opener inside 100 seconds.

After securing their first Championship points of 2023 with a 4-0 thrashing of Reading last weekend, the Potters looked to continue where they left off.

Although the travelling supporters’ spirits were not dampened by the early setback, they were indebted to an inspired Taye Ashby-Hammond for keeping the game tight.

The Stevenage stopper was busy in the opening period and produced a string of impressive saves to keep the tie within reach.

A lively Celina went close when he looked to add the finishing touch to a swift Stoke counter, but a brilliant fingertip save diverted the effort wide.

Ashby-Hammond had to be rescued himself when Max Clark was in the right place to clear Wilmot’s goal-bound header off the line.

But normal service was resumed when Stevenage’s number one thwarted Will Smallbone from a dangerous position.

Steve Evans attempted to rouse a comeback with all substitutes made before the hour mark, and the fresh Stevenage legs eventually paid dividends.

After Celina struck the woodwork and Ashby-Hammond denied both Tyrese Campbell and Baker, the visitors found a leveller.

Reid – scorer of the stoppage time winner at Villa in the third round – prodded over an onrushing Jack Bonham with Wilmot failing to clear.

However, the celebrations of a packed away end were fleeting, with Laurent notching his first Stoke goal in spectacular fashion from long range.

And, after Brown was felled by Jonathan Tomkinson, Baker converted from 12 yards late on to secure the hosts’ victory and complete a positive January.

Referees at next month’s Club World Cup will communicate decisions taken after VAR reviews to the crowd as part of a new trial.

One of the great frustrations around VAR, particularly among match-going fans, has been the lack of communication around how a decision has been reached.

The game’s lawmaking body the International Football Association Board approved a trial at its annual business meeting on Wednesday that seeks to tackle the issue.

If the initial trial is a success, it could be rolled out to other FIFA competitions later in the year including the Women’s World Cup.

IFAB board member Mark Bullingham, the chief executive of the Football Association, said: “We think it’s important in terms of transparency, predominantly to the crowd in the stadium, who at the moment don’t get enough information as to what’s happening with a decision.”

Bullingham said conversations between the on-field referees and the VAR would remain private, but that the conclusion of that debate would be relayed to the crowds at the event in Morocco.

A decision has yet to be made over which language the updates at the Club World Cup will be given in, and over how they can be translated in real time into different languages.

The IFAB ruled out a trial of a countdown clock to maximise playing time and reduce time-wasting in matches, but said the approach taken by referees at the World Cup in Qatar last year to accurately calculate the time taken up by treatment of injuries, substitutions and goal celebrations would be rolled out as guidance to competitions around the world.

Bullingham was asked whether he felt in the long term this would lead to matches consistently lasting well over 100 minutes but said: “If players know that the time that they’re down will be added there’s less incentive for them to go down.”

Irish Football Association chief executive Patrick Nelson, who is also on the IFAB, said: “What was successful in the World Cup was a stricter calculation of the time that had gone missing during the game. So no need to change the laws of the game, just to remind people where the edges are.”

The IFAB also discussed the use of semi-automated offside technology at the tournament in Qatar, which was deemed to have been successful.

However, Bullingham said the next step now was for decisions to be made more quickly, for the illustrations to be generated more quickly and to increase the degree of automation in the years to come.

Willy Gnonto and Patrick Bamford both struck twice as Leeds thumped Cardiff 5-2 in their FA Cup third-round replay at Elland Road.

Gnonto gave Leeds a flying start with a stunning volley inside the opening minute and fired home his second after Rodrigo had struck his 11th goal of the season to put his side 3-0 up before the interval.

Substitute Patrick Bamford then bagged a second-half double before Callum Robinson scored two late consolations for Cardiff, the second a penalty, as Leeds reached the fourth round of the competition for the first time in six years.

Leeds scored five goals for the first time since beating West Brom 5-0 in December 2020 and now face an away tie at Accrington or Boreham Wood.

A stoppage-time equaliser from Leeds teenager Sonny Perkins salvaged a replay at the Cardiff City Stadium 10 days ago, but the managerless Sky Bet Championship strugglers were put to the sword before half-time.

Cardiff sacked Mark Hudson after Saturday’s 1-1 home draw against Wigan extended their winless run to nine games in all competitions, but it was a night to forget for interim boss Dean Whitehead in his first game in charge.

Rodrigo clipped an inch-perfect ball into the penalty area, which cleared Cardiff defender Tom Sang, and Gnonto scissor-kicked his volley into the roof of the net after just 28 seconds.

Gnonto was denied by Cardiff goalkeeper Jak Alnwick’s superb save, but Leeds effectively killed the tie with two goals in as many minutes to move 3-0 up before half-time.

Rodrigo cut inside after latching on to Jack Harrison’s fine pass to curl home a low finish for his 11th goal of the season in the 34th minute and Gnonto drove home his second of the night following an incisive counter-attack.

Cardiff thought they had pulled one back before the break when skipper Curtis Nelson headed home Sheyi Ojo’s corner.

But after a VAR intervention, referee Thomas Bramall ruled it out as Andy Rinomhota had been offside.

Leeds picked up where they left off after the restart and Gnonto fired into the side-netting as he went in pursuit of a hat-trick.

Alnwick kept out substitute Joe Gelhardt’s stinging drive, but two more half-time replacements combined to put Leeds 4-0 ahead in the 71st minute as Bamford ran on to Luke Ayling’s pass and applied a neat finish.

Bamford notched his second to make it 5-0 five minutes later, nonchalantly finishing with the outside of his left boot after being set up by Gelhardt.

Cardiff substitute Robinson took some of the gloss off Leeds’ night by heading home Ojo’s cross and converting a stoppage-time penalty after VAR deemed Marc Roca to have handled.

Manchester United’s nine-match winning run came to a halt after Michael Olise’s stunning stoppage-time free-kick earned Crystal Palace a 1-1 draw at Selhurst Park.

Erik ten Hag’s side were on course to go second in the Premier League table after Bruno Fernandes’ first-half opener.

But Olise’s late strike means they now head to leaders Arsenal on Sunday eight points adrift and missing key midfielder Casemiro, who will be suspended after picking up a fifth booking of the season late on.

United debutant Wout Weghorst nearly opened his account for his new side, directing a first-half header over the crossbar, while a brilliant stop by David De Gea denied the hosts from taking a first half lead.

Fernandes handed the visitors the lead just before half-time, and United seemed poised to make it 10 wins in a row in all competitions before Olise levelled.

United dominated possession early on but failed to create clear-cut chances, with the in-form Marcus Rashford – who had scored in all seven games since returning from the World Cup prior – being kept quiet by the home defence.

Marc Guehi did well to stop the England forward from converting a dangerous run into an opener and by the 10-minute mark the visitors had managed just a single shot from Fernandes, dangerously spilled by Vicente Guaita before his defenders cleared.

Luke Shaw nearly opened the scoring but directed his powerful strike just wide of Guaita’s right post, while United survived a scare when Lisandro Martinez appeared to be caught by an elbow and lay on the pitch while he was attended to by medical staff.

He was deemed fit to continue and returned to action wearing a band over his head.

Weghorst nearly opened his account for United when he rose to meet Luke Shaw’s cross from the left, but the Dutch striker nodded just over the crossbar.

United went close again when Rashford directed a 39th-minute free-kick wide.

The Eagles were inches away from taking the lead when Olise found Odsonne Edouard, who directed a strike towards the top left corner but was denied by a brilliant leaping save from De Gea, who got his fingertips on the ball before it touched the crossbar.

And soon after the visitors broke the deadlock, when Christian Eriksen picked out Fernandes, who took a touch before firing past Guaita to finish a well-worked move in the 44th minute.

Patrick Vieira made his first change in the 56th minute and, as Eberechi Eze came on for Jean-Philippe Mateta, a pitch invader took advantage of the pause and somehow made it as far as midfield, where he appeared to take a selfie with Casemiro before belatedly being escorted off.

United wanted a penalty when Chris Richards broke up Scott McTominay’s run, but a VAR check left the hosts unscathed.

Palace then went on the attack, with Guehi’s low header blocked by De Gea.

The hosts kept pushing for an equaliser as Olise flicked a pass to Nathaniel Clyne, whose cross into the six-yard box evaded all his team-mates.

Casemiro had avoided a booking until he was punished for a challenge on Wilfried Zaha in the 80th minute.

That seemed to be the extent of the hosts’ woes until Olise brilliantly curled his free-kick into the top corner.

Both sides had chances for a late winner, with Casemiro almost getting on the end of a corner at one end before Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s superb challenge denied Zaha at the other.