Arsenal extend lead, Newcastle up to second on Premier League's return
The Hindu
Newcastle's charge towards a return to the Champions League was also not halted by the break as the Magpies scored twice in the first seven minutes at Leicester
Arsenal opened up a seven-point lead with a 3-1 win over West Ham as the Premier League returned on Monday, while Newcastle climbed up to second thanks to an impressive 3-0 victory at Leicester.
Liverpool also made a winning return from the World Cup break by beating Aston Villa 3-1 and Harry Kane bounced back from his heartbreak in Qatar by scoring in Tottenham's 2-2 draw at Brentford.
Arsenal's momentum towards a first league title since 2004 could have been disturbed by the six-week mid-season break.
But Mikel Arteta's men passed another test of their resolve after going in 1-0 behind at half-time to Said Benrahma's penalty.
Two goals in five minutes from Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli turned the game on its head at a jubilant Emirates before Eddie Nketiah stepped up in the absence of the injured Gabriel Jesus to seal the points.
"I'm delighted with the result and performance," said Arteta.
"We scored at the perfect time and the crowd was incredible, also in the moment we conceded the goal. They kept on believing. When we scored it got loud and we generated the momentum we needed."
Asian Games champion Avinash Sable opened his season in the 3000m steeple chase with a silver in the Portland Track Festival, a World Athletics Continental Tour bronze event, in Oregon on Saturday. He clocked 8:21.85s. Asian champion Parul Chaudhary took the bronze in the women’s 3000m steeple chase in a season-best 9:31.38s. Former Asian bronze medallist Sanjivani Jadhav struck gold in the women’s 10,000m in 32:22.77s, a time which was a second off her personal best, while Seema was sixth in 32:55.91s.