Manchester City took the penultimate step to what would be their first top-flight title in 44 years with a hard-fought 2-0 win at Newcastle.

Yaya Toure struck twice in the second half to leave City knowing victory at home to Queens Park Rangers on Sunday will in all probability do the job.

Manchester United stayed level on points with their rivals thanks to a 2-0 win at home to Swansea, but their goal difference is eight worse than City’s.

Arsenal stayed third, despite being held to a 3-3 draw at home to Norwich, because Tottenham could only draw 1-1 at Aston Villa and Newcastle lost to City.

QPR boosted their survival hopes with a 1-0 defeat of Stoke while Bolton were held 2-2 by West Brom. Relegated Wolves drew 0-0 with Everton and Fulham beat Sunderland 2-1.

In Saturday’s FA Cup final Chelsea defeated Liverpool 2-1 at Wembley. Ramires gave the Blues an early lead which Didier Drogba doubled in the second half. Andy Carroll pulled one back just after the hour but it was not enough.

In Rugby Union, Harlequins will play Northampton and Leicester will face Saracens in the Premiership semi-finals on Saturday.

The line-up was decided by the final round of regular season games when Newcastle were relegated despite beating Wasps 14-10.

Quins came top of the table with a 24-10 win at Sale and Leicester secured second by beating Bath 28-3.

Sarries saw off Exeter 40-22 and Northampton sealed the last semi-final berth with a 42-14 victory over Worcester. London Irish thrashed Gloucester 52-18.

In Rugby League’s Super League Wigan went top with a 36-22 win over Hull KR while previous leaders Huddersfield, who also have 20 points, lost 27-20 at Catalan Dragons.

Warrington were one point behind after a 24-20 defeat of Salford. Hull FC beat Leeds 34-20, St Helens saw off Wakefield 38-12 and Bradford were 29-22 winners over London.

In Cricket, Warwickshire stayed top in Division One of the County Championship with a nine-wicket win over Durham.

Second-placed Nottinghamshire thrashed Lancashire by 185 runs and Middlesex beat Worcestershire by 132 runs.

In Division Two Yorkshire saw off Leicestershire by an innings and 22 runs, Northamptonshire surprised Hampshire by 117 runs and Derbyshire drew with Gloucestershire.

Surrey began their Clydesdale Bank 40 defence with two wins from two. There were also victories in that competition for Kent, Derbyshire, Warwickshire, Lancashire and the Netherlands.

(By Rob Barnett)

Manchester City and Manchester United, level on points at the top of the Premier League, suffered shock defeats to Sunderland and Blackburn respectively over New Year’s weekend.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s 70^th birthday was spoiled as Rovers moved off the foot of the table with a 3-2 win at Old Trafford. Yakubu gave the visitors a surprise 2-0 lead, the first from the spot, but Dimitar Berbatov’s brace levelled proceedings midway through the second half. However, Grant Hanley headed a late winner.

Leaders City failed to take advantage on their rival’s slip-up the previous day as Ji Dong-won’s injury-time goal sealed a 1-0 victory at the Stadium of Light.

Third-placed Tottenham could not fully capitalise as they were held 1-1 at Swansea. Arsenal moved up to fourth with a 1-0 win at home to QPR while Cheslsea lost 3-1 at home to Aston Villa. Liverpool were level on points with Chelsea following a 3-1 defeat of Newcastle.

Everton won 1-0 at West Brom and the other games were drawn: Bottom side Bolton 1-1 with Wolves, Norwich 1-1 with Fulham and Stoke 2-2 with Wigan.

Harlequins extended their lead at the top of Rugby Union’s Premiership as they won 11-9 at Exeter and second-placed Saracens were held 15-15 at home to Gloucester.

Third-placed Northampton and Leicester were level on points following Saints’ 32-14 win at bottom side Newcastle and Tigers’ thrilling 28-23 victory at home to Sale. Bath thrashed London Irish 30-3 and Worcester won 6-0 at Wasps.

Manchester United moved level on points with Manchester City at the top of the Premier League thanks mainly to Dimitar Berbatov’s hat-trick in a 5-0 Boxing Day win at home to 10-man Wigan while the leaders could only manage a goalless draw at West Brom.

In the other Boxing Day games Fulham held Chelsea, who remained fourth, to a 1-1 draw and sixth-placed Liverpool were limited to the same scoreline by bottom side Blackburn.

Seventh-placed Newcastle moved a point behind Liverpool with a 2-0 win over Bolton, Stoke and Aston Villa drew 0-0 while Sunderland and Everton finished 1-1.

In the two Premiership Rugby Union fixtures on Boxing Day Sale went third in the table with a 27-19 victory over bottom side Newcastle and six-try Gloucester thrashed Wasps 39-10.

In Rugby League’s traditional Boxing Day friendlies Leeds beat Wakefield 26-10, Castleford saw off Bradford 28-18 and Warrington defeated Widnes 32-18.

In Racing Kauto Star sealed a historic fifth King George VI Chase victory at Kempton Park.

Manchester City regained their two-point lead at the top of the Premier League after rivals Manchester United briefly led the table on Sunday afternoon.

United won 2-0 at QPR in the lunchtime game but City restored their advantage with a 1-0 victory at home to fifth-placed Arsenal, David Silva netting a close-range effort.

Tottenham returned to third with a 1-0 defeat of Sunderland after Chelsea, who dropped to fourth, were held to a 1-1 draw at Wigan.

Sixth-placed Liverpool won 2-0 at Aston Villa, Newcastle drew 0-0 with visiting Swansea, Stoke were 2-1 winners at Wolves and Norwich took a 1-1 draw from their trip to Everton.

Fulham beat basement side Bolton 2-0 and second-from-bottom Blackburn lost 2-1 at home to West Brom.

In Rugby Union, Saracens remained the only English side to lead their European Cup group although Leicester and Harlequins boosted their quarter-final prospects with wins.

Visiting Saracens held off Ospreys 16-13, Leicester beat Clermont Auvergne 29-13 at home but the performance of the weekend came from Quins who won a stunning game at Toulouse 31-24.

In the same group Gloucester saw off Connacht 23-19 but will still struggle to progress, as will Bath who lost 52-27 at defending champions Leinster. Northampton thrashed Castres 45-0 but remained a long shot for the last eight.

In the Challenge Cup Exeter and Wasps led their groups after beating Bayonne and Newport-Gwent Dragons respectively. Worcester and Sale were second in their pools following wins, as were Newcastle who lost to a Toulon side featuring former player Jonny Wilkinson who last week retired from internationals.

In Golf there were wins for two Englishmen: Lee Westwood took the Thailand Open by seven shots and Ian Poulter the Australian Masters by three.

England’s Luke Donald became the first man to top Golf’s US and European money lists by finishing third in the Dubai World Championship.

Having sealed the American prize in October, Donald needed to finish in the top nine in Dubai to secure the European equivalent. He did so with a final-round 66 to end 16 under par, three shots behind the winner Alvaro Quiros of Spain.

Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy was the only player who could deny Donald the European title, if he won in Dubai and the Englishman finished outside the top nine. McIlroy’s challenge faded and he ended 10 shots adrift of Quiros.

An Englishman also held off a Northern Irishman in Snooker as Judd Trump beat Mark Allen 10-8 to win the UK Championship title in York.

Allen led 3-1 but Trump took the next seven frames. Allen won five of the next six but Trump, who took his first ranking title in China earlier this year, held on.

In Football’s Premier League, Manchester United closed the gap on leaders Manchester City to two points although it could be temporary with City playing at Chelsea on Monday evening.

United saw off Wolves 4-1 thanks to braces from Nani and Wayne Rooney. Third-placed Tottenham lost ground with a 2-1 defeat to Stoke, former Spurs winger Matthew Etherington scoring both City goals.

Arsenal broke into the top four, again possibly temporarily with Chelsea is action on Monday, thanks to a 1-0 win over Everton. Liverpool went sixth with a 1-0 victory against QPR and Newcastle losing 4-2 to Norwich.

Wigan moved off the bottom with a 2-1 defeat of West Brom and Bolton taking their place courtesy of a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa. Sunderland beat struggling Blackburn 2-1 in new boss Martin O’Neill’s first game in charge. Swansea saw off Fulham 2-0.

In Rugby Union’s European Cup Saracens beat Ospreys 31-26 at Wembley to stay top of their group, the only English side in such a position.

London Irish defeated Racing Metro 34-14, Northampton lost 41-22 to Castres, Bath were beaten 18-13 by Leinster and Leicester lost 30-12 to Clermont Auvergne. Gloucester and Harlequins, who are in the same group, respectively beat Connacht 14-10 and lost to Toulouse 21-10.

In the Challenge Cup there were wins for Worcester, Exeter, Sale and Newcastle but not Wasps.

Manchester City kept up their five-point lead in the Premier League table with a 5-1 thrashing of Norwich City thanks to five different scorers.

Manchester United stayed second courtesy of a 1-0 win at Aston Villa, defender Phil Jones getting the first goal of his senior career. Tottenham remained third via a 3-0 victory over Bolton.

Chelsea moved up to fourth by beating Newcastle, who dropped two places to sixth, 3-0 and Arsenal went fifth with a 4-0 triumph at Wigan, who went bottom. Blackburn moved off the foot of the table as Yakubu scored all four in a 4-2 defeat of Swansea.

Stoke beat Everton 1-0, Wolves defeated Sunderland, who named Martin O’Neill as Steve Bruce’s successor, 2-1 and Queens Park Rangers drew 1-1 with West Brom.

The draw for the third round of the FA Cup was made with Man City versus Man Utd the tie of the round to be played on January 7 and 8.

England Rugby Union hooker Steve Thompson has been forced to retire due to a neck injury. The 2003 World Cup winner did likewise in 2007 but returned to playing and featured in this year’s World Cup.

Shane Williams, as expected, played his last game for Wales and scored a try in the final move but could not prevent a 24-18 defeat to Australia in Cardiff.

In the English Premiership Harlequins kept up their 100% record courtesy of a 22-16 win at Wasps. Second-placed Saracens saw off London Irish 15-11.

Exeter went third with a 15-9 win over Worcester, Sale moved to fourth thanks to a 16-13 victory at Bath, Leicester beat Northampton 30-25 and bottom side Newcastle defeated Gloucester 26-25.

In Golf Rory McIlroy won the Hong Kong Open to keep alive the Race to Dubai contest with Luke Donald. The US Open champion shot a closing round of 65 to finish on 12 under par, two shots ahead of Gregory Havret.

England’s Lee Westwood defended his Nedbank Golf Challenge title at the Sun City resort in South Africa, finishing two shots clear of Robert Karlsson while world number one Donald was 10 shots behind.

Football was mourning Gary Speed after the Wales manager was found dead at his home in Chester. The 42-year-old former midfielder won 85 international caps and had been national team boss for 10 games.

Speed helped Leeds United win the 1992 First Division title, the season before the Premier League was formed, and went on to play for Everton, Newcastle, Bolton and Sheffield United.

With Speed’s death putting the weekend’s action into stark perspective, Manchester City remained five points clear at the top of the Premier League as they and second-placed Manchester United were held to 1-1 draws by Liverpool and Newcastle respectively.

Vincent Kompany put the leaders ahead midway through the first half at Anfield but Joleon Lescott scored an own goal two minutes later. In the second half City striker Mario Balotelli was sent off for two bookings. United could not see off 10-man Newcastle, who stayed fourth, at Old Trafford as Demba Ba converted a controversial penalty after Javier Hernandez put the hosts in front.

Tottenham, who have a game in hand, closed the gap on United to two points with 3-1 win at West Brom. Chelsea remained fifth with a 3-0 defeat of Wolves. Arsenal, a place behind Liverpool in seventh, were held 1-1 by Fulham.

Aston Villa played out a goalless draw with Swansea, Everton beat Bolton 2-0, Norwich saw off QPR 2-1, Stoke defeated bottom side Blackburn 3-1 and Sunderland lost 2-1 to Wigan.

In Formula One’s last race of the season, the Brazilian Grand Prix, Mark Webber took his first chequered flag of the year.
World champion Sebastian Vettel led but suffered gearbox problems, having to settle for second. Jenson Button held off Fernando Alonso to clinch third.

Roger Federer won Tennis’ last event of the year, the ATP World Tour finals in London, beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3, 6-7, (6-8), 6-3 at the O2 Arena.

In Rugby Union, Harlequins made it nine Premiership wins from nine by thrashing Newcastle 39-8. They lead second-placed Saracens, who lost 30-8 to fourth-placed Northampton, by nine points. London Irish, in third, beat Wasps 21-17, Leicester saw off Gloucester 19-14, Exeter defeated Sale 30-23 and Worcester beat Bath 16-7.

In international action, Australia thumped the Barbarians 60-11 at Twickenham although Rugby League star Sam Tomkins scored a late try for the Baa-Baas.

Chelsea lost further ground on league-leaders Manchester City as Liverpool inflicted their third league defeat in four games. Glen Johnson’s 87^th minute winner won it for the visitors after Daniel Sturridge had cancelled out Maxi Rodriguez’s first-half opener.

The result further dented the London club’s title ambitions as they trail Manchester City by 12 points after the league-leaders kept up their unbeaten start to the season with a 3-1 home win over Newcastle United.

Manchester United and Arsenal both took three points from promoted clubs Swansea and Norwich respectively.

Southampton maintained a five-point lead at the top of the Championship table with a 3-0 victory over South Coast rivals Brighton. West Ham kept up the pressure on the leaders, though, producing a second-half fightback away at Coventry to register a 2-1 win.

David Beckham celebrated the end of his five-year stint with LA Galaxy as his side overcame Houston Dynamos to lift the MLS Cup. Beckham, who is strongly linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain when his contract in Los Angleles expires next month, combined with another Premier League export Robbie Keane to create the only goal of the game for Landon Donovan.

After a tight first half, Australia’s superiority told as they ran out 30-8 winners over England in the rugby league Four Nations final at Elland Road. Kangaroos captain Darren Lockyer ended his career in style as he scored his side’s final try in the dying seconds of the match.

Defending champion Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal won the opening matches of the ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena last night, both requiring three sets to battle past Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Mardy Fish respectively.

There was a mixed set of results for English sides in the rugby union’s Heineken Cup this weekend. Bath beat Montpellier 16-13 at The Rec while Leicester won 20-9 at home to Ulster but Saracens went down 15-10 away at Biarritz. Leinster trounced Glasgow 38-18 and Ospreys drew 26-26 at Treviso.

In cricket, former England all-rounder Basil D’Oliveira has died aged 80. South African-born D’Oliveira was barred from first-class cricket for being “coloured” under his country’s apartheid regime and emigrated to the UK before playing for England.

In 1968 he was set to return to his homeland to play for England against South Africa but was refused entry to the country and England called off the tour, marking the beginning of South Africa’s sporting isolation in the apartheid era.

England’s Footballers were boosted in their preparations for next summer’s European Championship with a 1-0 friendly victory over defending champions and World Cup holders Spain at Wembley. Spain dominated but could not break through and stand-in captain Frank Lampard’s 49th-minute header from close range proved decisive.

Wales also had a good result, beating Norway 4-1 in Cardiff thanks to Sam Vokes’ brace plus goals from Gareth Bale and Craig Bellamy. Scotland won 2-1 in Cyprus courtesy of great finishes from Kenny Miller and Jamie Mackie.

The Republic of Ireland are almost certain to join England at Euro 2012 after winning the first leg of their qualifying play-off 4-0 in Estonia. The second leg is on Tuesday.

Keith Andrews headed the Republic into the lead and the visitors took advantage of Andrei Stepanov’s red card as Jonathan Walters nodded in and Robbie Keane grabbed a brace either side of Raio Piiroja being sent off.

Lewis Hamilton won Formula One’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after world champion Sebastian Vettel was forced to retire on the first lap. Hamilton started second behind Vettel, who suffered a puncture at the second corner. Fernando Alonso pushed Hamilton hard but to no avail and Jenson Button finished third.

England qualified for Rugby League’s Four Nations final thanks to an impressive 28-6 win over world champions New Zealand in Hull. Tries from Tom Briscoe and Ryan Hall put the hosts ahead and, although Jason Nightingale pulled one back, further touchdowns for James Graham and Sam Tomkins secured victory.

In Saturday’s showpiece at Elland Road England will play Australia, who had already qualified and came from 8-0 down to thrash Wales 56-14 in Wrexham.

Rugby Union’s European Cup began with wins for Harlequins, Cardiff Blues, Leicester, Edinburgh, Munster, Ospreys, Scarlets, Ulster, Glasgow, Saracens and Toulouse. Montpellier and Leinster drew 16-16.

In Cricket, former Somerset captain Peter Roebuck died aged 55. The player turned journalist took his life in a Cape Town hotel, local police announced. The opening batsman played for Somerset in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, a period when they won five trophies in as many years.

Manchester City stayed five points clear of second-placed Manchester United in Football’s Premier League table thanks to a 3-2 win at Queens Park Rangers. Jay Bothroyd’s header put QPR ahead but Edin Dzeko levelled just before half-time. Heidar Helguson equalised David Silva’s goal but Yaya Toure headed the winner 16 minutes from time.

United marked the 25th anniversary of Sir Alex Ferguson’s appointment as manager by beating Sunderland 1-0. Old Trafford’s North Stand was renamed after Ferguson.

Unbeaten Newcastle remained third with a 2-1 win over Everton, Chelsea stayed fourth by beating Blackburn 1-0 and Tottenham fifth courtesy of a 3-1 defeat of Fulham.

Bolton thrashed Stoke 5-0, a reverse of last season’s FA semi-final between the sides, Wolves beat bottom side Wigan 3-1, Arsenal saw off West Brom 3-0 and Aston Villa edged out Norwich 3-2. Liverpool were held to a goalless draw by Swansea.

Australia made it two wins from two in Rugby League’s Four Nations with a 36-20 defeat of England at Wembley.
Ryan Hall touched down either side of Australian duo Luke Lewis and Tony Williams to make it 12-8 to the visitors at the break. Greg Inglis and Paul Gallen extended the lead and, despite tries from Jack Reed ad Chris Heighington, scores from Darius Boyd and Chris Lawrence sealed a comfortable win.

Defending champions New Zealand earlier beat Wales 36-0 at the same venue.

Harlequins kept up their 100% record in Rugby Union’s Premiership with a 26-13 win at Bath. Saracens stayed second thanks to a 23-10 victory over Sale. Leicester drew 24-24 with London Irish and Newcastle also finished level with Worcester at 16 apiece. Northampton saw off Wasps 24-13 Gloucester beat Exeter 24-19.