https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420829
https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420829
Cahill played a starring role in his side's 4-0 win over QPR on the openin
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"We will need to wait and see what the next few weeks holds before the transfer window closes. It would not be ideal for me to lose Gary, but I have always said, I need to be fair to Gary," Coyle said.
"Any player wants to play at the highest level, to play the best teams, and there is nothing wrong with that."
"I have said to Gary he can improve here with Bolton, and he has improved. In the 18 months I have worked with him, Gary has become an integral part of the England squad because of his performances and has improved no end."
"There is no doubt he has taken his game to another level, but that was always going to happen with his age as well."
"Hopefully with the platform we can give him and encouragement as a staff we can help him on his way to a fantastic career."
Meanwhile, representatives from Tottenham and Manchester City were present at Loftus Road to cast an eye over Cahill's display against QPR, according to the Daily Mail.
It is believed that Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp and City first-team coach Attilio Lombardo were present at the game, sparking rumours that a move for Cahill could be on the horizon.
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https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420773
https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420773
The Dutchman was unhappy at his side’s inability to convert any of their chances in Saturday’s goalless draw with Aston Villa, and indicated after the match that signing a striker before the close of the transfer window is his priority.
"I feel there is more to come from Zamora and Johnson but we played too many long balls to Bobby. I'd like to add a few things going forward," Jol said.
"We saw on Saturday (against Aston Villa) if we swap our No.9 I have to put Clint Dempsey there and I don't want to do that."
"That's why we will try to do something in the transfer window. Does that mean a striker is my priority? Maybe."
If a striker is to arrive, Jol admits the club’s limited financial resources mean any deal would have to be done at a reasonable price.
But if a suitable target cannot be found, the Dutchman insists he is pleased with the squad he has inherited.
"We are not going to be able to compete financially with some of the other teams but the spirit here is great," he said.
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https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420428
https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420428
Flamengo, equal on 34 points with their main title rivals, missed the chance to go clear at the top of the table when Figueirense came from two goals down to earn a 2-2 draw at home.
Vasco da Gama closed the gap on the leaders to four points with a 1-0 home win over Palmeiras, courtesy of an 80th-minute goal to Bernardo.
In other matches, Coritiba thrashed Atletico Mineiro 3-0, Gremio came from behind to beat Fluminense 2-1 and Bahia and Internacional drew 1-1.
Internacional are in seventh spot on 23 points, Fluminense and Coritiba sit mid-table with 21 points, while Gremio and Atletico Mineiro face relegation worries on 18 and 15 points respectively.
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https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420415
https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420415
Dufner, who led by as much as five shots midway through the final round, finished with a par, bogey and birdie in the decider to fall agonisingly close to winning his maiden major and PGA Tour event.
Bradley’s victory, his second on the PGA Tour this year following his win at the Byron Nelson Championship in May, sees him become the first player since Ben Curtis at the 2003 British Open to win on his major debut.
Bradley, 25, is also the youngest PGA Championship winner since Tiger Woods claimed the same major in 1999.
Bradley trailed Dufner by five shots following a triple bogey at the 15th, but showed remarkable resilience to rally with birdies at 16 and 17.
Dufner endured a dramatic collapse after finding water at the par-three 15th to set up the first of three-straight bogeys before salvaging par at the difficult 18th to force a playoff.
Dane Anders Hansen shot a sterling four-under 66 to finish outright second at seven under, while overnight co-leader Brendan Steele’s challenge crumbled early following four bogeys on the front nine that set up a disastrous 77.
Robert Karlsson looked in contention until finishing his round with bogeys at 16, 17, and 18, forcing the Swede into a tie for fourth with Americans David Toms and Scott Verplank at five under.
WGC-Bridgestone winner Adam Scott capped another solid display with a final-round 68 to claim outright seventh at four under, while English duo Luke Donald and Lee Westwood, world number one and two respectively, finished a further shot back.
Americans Kevin Na and D.A. Points rounded out the top ten at two under.
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https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420656
https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420656
England were bundled out of the tournament after a 4-1 drubbing from Germany in the round of 16, with Walcott of the belief that the atmosphere of fear and tension contributed to England’s poor showing in South Africa.
"There was something very stiff and starchy about Mr Capello's regime before the 2010 World Cup," Walcott wrote.
"I found it difficult to be myself. Players split up along club lines."
"There was an Aston Villa group and a Manchester United group and the staff weren't very relaxed. It all felt a bit tense. Everyone was a bit too serious."
"It became obvious straight away that Mr Capello was very strict. It was like being in the presence of a headmaster."
"If you are eating and you look over to where he is and he is looking at you, you look down and eat straight away. You're s*** scared of him, basically."
"He picked players on form and that was it. No sentiment. No friendships. Cold and clinical."
Walcott was not picked in the final 23-man squad for the tournament, but cites an episode from the preliminary training camp in Austria to illustrate his point.
He wrote: "We headed out to a training camp in the Austrian Alps before we left for South Africa. Something happened out there that shook my confidence. It was the second day, and I made a run inside from my position out wide on the right."
"Suddenly Mr Capello started screaming at me at the top of his voice. Training stopped and everyone stared at their feet and looked embarrassed."
"’Theo,’ he was yelling, ‘I will kill you if you come inside like that again!’ Despite Mr Capello's outburst, I never quite knew what was required of me. I was confused."
Despite his criticisms, Walcott believes things have improved between Capello and his players since the tournament.
"Things have gone well since then," he wrote. "I came straight back into the first team after the World Cup and have been selected for Euro 2012 qualifiers when I've been fit."
"The atmosphere with England is much more relaxed now. There are more smiles around the camp these days."
"Mr Capello has changed, lots of things have changed. He is more approachable."
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https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420582
https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420582
His ban does not officially end until September 2 but the Football Association have given City special dispensation to allow the Ivorian to return to training.
Toure is now allowed to train with his teammates as he prepares for his Premier League comeback, with his playing ban to remain in place until the first Friday in September.
The Ivorian is likely to return in City's home match against Wigan Athletic at Etihad Stadium on September 10.
Manchester City begin their 2011/12 English Premier League campaign at home against newly promoted Swansea City on Monday.
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https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420548
https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420548
But that will only last until the end of the fourth Test - which starts on Thursday - when England take over the spot on top of the world rankings.
And after being a part of the England team which was crushed 5-0 by Australia in the 2006/07 Ashes, Pietersen wants to inflict a similar punishment on India.
"When the great Australian and West Indian teams played for years and years they killed opposition," Pietersen said.
"I played against that Australian team in 2006 in Australia; I promise you now, every day's play of those Test matches you weren't looking forward to it - because you knew you were going to get dealt with. That's what I hope we can do to opposition, but it's going to be tough."
"That (clean sweep) is a target - a huge target - because I played against Australia when we did get hammered, and it's a horrible to place to be. If we can inflict a similar defeat on India it would be amazing for us."
The swashbuckling batsman also praised the team structure of the England camp.
"The team department is absolutely amazing, and all we need to do is continue that and not let it get affected by anything that happens or any success that is achieved," he said.
"We've got a real good structure in place and great people in place as well; the management and players - there's a lot of mature players. You look at the number of games people have played, you look at the number of hundreds we've scored, look at the wickets the boys have started to take."
"We actually look like one of the senior teams in world cricket right now - whereas two, three, four, five years ago there were a couple of players who were experienced but we had a lot of inexperience too."
"So I think we've got all departments covered."
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https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420511
https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420511
They host the French in a return match in Dublin on Saturday and face England the following week in their final warm-up match, but Kidney said there is a lot of work to do if they are to be ready for the World Cup in time.
"We can take some comfort from the second half we produced on Saturday, but now we have France again," Kidney said.
"There are easier matches to play - it's not exactly a confidence builder we're looking at."
"We're behind in our preparations in that we've lost two matches, but we've done a lot of damage to ourselves in the first half of both matches."
"Individually we're playing quite well and I can't fault anyone. We'd be in a far worse situation if individuals were playing poorly."
"You can't defend the way we have in the last two matches by showing a lack of attitude, so our attitude has been excellent."
Despite the loss to France, in which they tried in vain to recover from an early 13-0 deficit, Kidney said there was still plenty of optimism among the playing group.
"I'm not really concerned by the impact losing these games will have on confidence," he said.
"We're a bit annoyed but we know what we're about. Had we won the two I'd be asked if we were getting over confident."
"We play these matches to win them. I think too much of the players to accept defeat."
"We need to improve from game to game as you would at any time next year and that's what we must do for next week."
"The players are disappointed themselves. It was a shock to the system coming off pre-season, but we've never made excuses so we won't start now."
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https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420473
https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420473
He joins a field that already includes world number one Luke Donald and the 17th-ranked Ian Poulter as excitement continues to grow for the
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"I have heard many great things about the Melbourne sandbelt and I am really excited about the opportunity to play in Australia,'' Manassero said.
Manassero is ranked 31st in the world and was the youngest winner in European Tour history after winning the Castello Masters in October 2010, aged 17 years and 188 days.
He also won the Malaysian Open as a 17-year-old and became the youngest player to ever make the cut at the US Masters in 2010.
But he will not have it easy in a field that also contains defending champion Stuart Appleby, who was recently announced as playing in the event from December 15-18.
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https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420446
https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420446
The visitors have come under heavy criticism from the media and former players, with key players were unfit or under-prepared heading into the series.
But Srikkanth denied those claims, and said it was purely poor performance which has cost India.
"The batting did not click for us. In the Indian side, if batting clicks everything clicks. We also did not do well in bowling and fielding. England bowling attack is ideally suited for the conditions," Srikkanth said.
"It is a fact that our top five batsmen have not clicked in the series so far. But the same bunch of cricketers have been doing well during the last couple of years."
"The same combination had defeated South Africa in South Africa. It is our bad luck that in this particular tour nothing has clicked for us."
India have played 14 Tests and 29 one-day internationals in the last 12 months, more than any other nation, but Srikkanth refused to use this as an excuse.
"If you see the FTP, all countries are playing cricket 365 days a year whether England or Australia," he said.
"It is not the Indians only. The fact is that cricket is being played the whole year in whatever format - Test, ODI or Twenty20. So I don't think that it is the fatigue factor for the performance in England."
The Board of Control for Cricket in India has also come under fire for failing to prioritise Test cricket over Twenty20.
But Srikkanth said it was more important to focus on the future and work hard to reclaim their numbr one ranking.
"Let us not indulge in the blame game - on the players or the administrators or the BCCI. Nobody is to be blamed and it's not the time for that. It is just that we are going through a bad phase," he said.
"We have to learn from the series in England, look into what went wrong. We also have to identify and support new talent when the time comes."
"We all have to put our heads together and plan for the future."
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https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420444
https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420444
But the American collapsed late as he shot three bogeys in a row from holes 15 to 17, allowing compatriot Keegan Bradley to storm home and force a playoff, in which he was victorious.
"(I'm) just a little disappointed right now," Dufner said.
"Especially 16 and 17. Those are the ones that kind of stick out to me. They're tough holes. Everybody has struggled on them. Unfortunately I had the lead and I struggled on them. It's a little bit disappointing."
"Unfortunately, that was the deciding factor. Keegan made a couple of birdies, and I made a couple of bogeys."
Dufner paid credit to Bradley and remained positive despite his heartbreaking defeat, hoping that his form in Georgia will continue in the coming weeks.
"Hats off to Keegan coming in there in the last three holes, I think, in regulation. (He) played great playoff holes," Dufner said.
"I'm disappointed in the fact that I couldn't close it out. But, on the other hand, I'm excited because I had a great finish in a major. It's going to open a lot of opportunities for me next year. It proves that I'm playing pretty well going into these playoffs that they have got coming up here in two weeks."
"You know, maybe looking back 10, 15 years from now, I'll feel disappointment that I let this one get away if I never get another chance. But, I've got a feeling that I'm going to have some chances to win some majors and some other golf tournaments to close one out."
Dufner's upbeat mood continued, adding that it was a 'dream' just to be playing in majors, let alone competing for the title.
"To be in this position, it's a dream come true. I could never have imagined playing in major championships, playing with Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods; that's a milestone to me itself. I'm not going to let this define my career," he said.
"I have a lot of things ahead of me, I'm young, not as young as Keegan is, but I have a lot of time to play golf and hopefully I'll have more time to win majors and use what happened today as a positive."
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https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2418870
https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2418870
But things did not go to plan in the early stages for the hosts as Spanish striker Nolito opened the scoring for Benfica after seven minutes.
Argentine Javier Saviola doubled the lead on 20 minutes as the crowd at the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos were stunned.
Hugo Vieira kept his side in the match when he pulled a goal back for Gil Vicente after 37 minutes to set up an exciting second half.
Brazilian Laionel hit the back of the net with just 16 minutes to play and despite Benfica's best efforts to get a late winner, they were held to a point.
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https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420366
https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420366
Brazilian Anderson restored parity in the 53rd minute for the home side, shortly before Paraguayan defender Javier Cohene was sent off for the visitors after a second yellow card.
There was plenty of drama late as Silva - a former Everton striker, who played on loan at Uniao de Leiria last season - popped up to score the winner, before both sides had a player sent off deep into injury time.
Ricardo Silva was given his marching orders in the 95th minute for the home side, before Pacos goalkeeper Cassio saw red in the 98th minute.
Elsewhere, Porto began their Liga Sagres defence with a 1-0 away win over Vitoria Guimaraes at Estadio Dom Afonso Henriques.
Striker Hulk scored the game's only goal, netting from the penalty spot on the stroke of half-time.
Feriense held on for a 0-0 draw at home to Nacional, despite playing the last half-hour with 10 men after striker Carlos Fonesca was sent off for the promoted side.
Maritimo and Beira Mar also played out a scoreless encounter at Estadio dos Barreiros.
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https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420378
https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420378
But Laurent Fournier's side fought back, responding with an Alain Traore goal just a minute after the interval, before second-half substitute Roy Contout earned them a valuable point with an 81st-minute goal.
Promoted side Evian TG accounted for Nice 1-0 at the Parc des Sports, with Saber Khelifa scoring the winner on 51 minutes.
Montpellier joined a group of four teams on two wins from as many matches, following a 1-0 away victory over champions Lille at Stadium Nord Lille Metropole.
Oliver Giroud's 70th-minute goal was the difference between the two sides, leaving Rudi Garcia's men with just one point from their opening two encounters.
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https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420442
https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420442
Adam Moffat opened the scoring in style for the hosts at Corbin J. Robertson Stadium in Texas, launching a long-range strike into the top-right corner on 17 minutes.
Brian Ching doubled Houston's lead 10 minutes later, curling a strike past Timbers goalkeeper Troy Perkins and into the side netting.
Jack Jewsbury pulled a goal back for the visitors in the 56th minute, when his deflected shot from on the penalty spot beat Houston shot-topper Tally Hall.
The Timbers remain in seventh spot in the Western Conference, the result putting an end to their three-game unbeaten streak.
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https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420441
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The 25-year-old PGA Tour rookie maintained the belief despite triple-bogeying the 15th, reeling in the gap to Dufner before triumphing by one stroke in the playoff.
"I remember walking off that (15th) green thinking, 'You know, the last four holes are so tough here that somebody could have a five-shot lead. It doesn't matter’," Bradley said.
Three bogeys from Dufner and two birdies from Bradley in the closing stages of the final round saw the pair reach eight-under par through their 72 holes.
Heading into the decider, Bradley said he drew confidence from his maiden PGA Tour win in May when he defeated Ryan Palmer in a playoff at the HP Byron Nelson Championship in Texas.
"I kept thinking about the playoff I won at the Byron Nelson, and the same thing happened to me in that. As soon as I realised I was going into a playoff, I completely calmed down," he said.
Bradely’s triumph was made all the more incredible given that he was playing in his first ever major, a feat last achieved by Ben Curtis at the 2003 British Open.
And the Florida native admitted struggling to come to terms with the scale of his achievement.
"It seems like a dream and I'm afraid I'm going to wake up here in the next five minutes and it's not going to be real," Bradley said.
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https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420440
https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420440
Arizona improved their season win-loss record to 68-53 in the National League West division, while the Mets sit third in the East division with a record of 58-62.
In other National League results, Milwaukee came from behind to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1 in the 10th inning, with Nyjer Morgan's sac fly to right field allowing George Kottaras to cross over and earn the Brewers the thrilling victory.
Justin Sellers' first career home run - a three-run strike to left field - helped the Los Angeles Dodgers crush the Houston Astros 7-0.
Atlanta's Dan Uggla saw his 33-match hitting streak come to an end, as the Chicago Cubs defeated the Braves 6-5.
San Francisco overcame Florida 5-2, with Brandon Belt hitting two solo homers in the Giants' victory, and San Diego beat Cincinnati 7-3.
In the American League, the Toronto Blue Jays launched a thrilling fightback to beat the LA Angels 5-4 in the 10th inning, with Edwin Encarnacion striking the walk-off single to set up a score for team-mate Yunel Escobar.
Baltimore eased to an 8-5 win over Detroit, with the Tigers scoring four consolation runs in the ninth to lessen the damage.
The Chicago White Sox beat Kansas City 6-2, with pitcher John Danks striking out six.
The Texas Rangers beat Oakland Athletics 7-6, courtesy of David Murphy's go-ahead single at the top of the ninth.
Scheduled matches between Washington and Philadelphia, Minnesota and Cleveland, and New York and Tampa Bay were postponed.
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https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420438
https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420438
"History making, of course it’s special,” Djokovic said. “Of course, it’s an honour and privilege to be part of the history of the sport that I love and that I play."
Djokovic admitted to feeling nervous early in the clash, in which he gave Fish five opportunities to break his serve in the first set.
But in typically resilient fashion, the 24-year-old fought off the early onslaught before breaking Fish’s serve twice to win the opener in 38 minutes.
"I think I was more nervous than in the previous matches today. Well, it was the final. There was a lot of tension going on. It was a very close match," Djokovic said.
"He wanted to win that match as much as I did. That's why we were quite intense. It was a mental fight, as well. It was not just physical. But I managed to hold my composure when I needed to."
Fish felt he missed a great opportunity to inflict what would have been Djokovic's second loss of 2011.
"I felt like I had an opportunity today, I really did. I had a lot of chances in that first set, ended up losing 6-2 early.”
“If you try to forget who you’re playing against, you’re just playing another player, maybe you can figure out a way to get a break or two there.”
“I had a lot of shots early in that first set on my racquet that I’d like to have back," the world number eight added.
It was Fish's fourth career loss in a Masters final, two of which have been to Djokovic, and the top-ranked American admitted he was struggling to come to terms with another painful defeat.
"It’s really hard to get to these spots (Masters finals) in the first place, and I've lost four of them all in three sets,” Fish said.
“It’s really hard to take. I mean, just so much energy mentally and physically goes into going that far. I’ve never won one. I want it so badly. It hurts."
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American wildcard Blake broke Baghdatis four times to secure victory and set up a clash with either 14th seed Viktor Troicki or Italian Fabio Fognini.
Del Potro faces a marquee second-round matchup with third seed Roger Federer, after Italy's Seppi retired with an injured foot while trailing 4-1 in the first set.
The big-serving Argentine has won his past two clashes against the world number three Federer - the 2009 US Open final, and in the ATP World Tour finals round-robin stage later that year.
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The Tasmanian said afterwards that his form, and attitude at training, has changed for the better post-captaincy.
"The World Cup didn't go to plan as I would have wanted, (but) the one-day series in Bangladesh that we had when I wasn't captain I felt like I played really well there, and I started this series really well," Ponting said.
"There's no doubt that for me to be able to turn up to training and focus on my batting and fielding only has been nice, I've been able to be that little bit fresher I think and I've felt in control in the two games I've played here so far, so hopefully that continues for the rest of the tour."
The 36-year-old Ponting also quashed any doubts he would not continue playing for Australia having surrendered the captaincy, stating that he intends to play a major part in helping the side maintain the number one ranking in ODIs.
"I thought long and hard about the decision I made obviously, but once I'd come to the conclusion that I wasn't captain of the side anymore, it was up to me to be the best batsman I could be for the side, and another pair of ears for Michael if he wanted them," Ponting said.
"I've never put a finish line on my career at all," he added. "I'm still enjoying the game as much as ever, and the last few series that I've played I've actually started to get back into a bit of touch again with the bat which is nice."
"I'll just enjoy it for what it is now, and as I said, the number three batsman in the side, the most experienced player, it's up to me to do what I can to win games for the team."
Clarke praised his bowling attack for setting up the two victories so far this series.
"I think our fast bowlers have done a really good job, they've executed their plans well, they've used the conditions, they've used reverse swing, they've bowled pretty straight when they've had to at the stumps," he said.
"I still think Sri Lanka have some very good spinners, they probably haven't put enough runs on the board to put us under pressure, or enough pressure."
"It helps when you've got two good opening batters as well that have got us off to pretty good starts. Brad (Haddin) missed out today, but Ricky come in and did a great job."
"I think credit where credit's due, I think our bowlers have done a great job, and we've played pretty well with the bat as well."
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Kadlec had a header blocked, before team-mate Simon Rolfes played the ball back into his path and the Czech made no mistake with his second chance, volleying home off the inside of the post.
Elsewhere, Kaiserslautern have picked up their first point of the season after holding Augsburg to a 1-1 draw.
Striker Sascha Moelders put Augsburg ahead on nine minutes, but the hosts continued to push and Itay Shechter eventually levelled the scores late in the second half.
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Neither club has disclosed the sum involved in the deal, but it is believed Fabregas will cost Barcelona a fee in the region 40 million euros, along with 5 million euros in add-ons.
"We have been clear that we didn't want Cesc to leave and that remains the case," Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger told the club's website.
"However, we understand Cesc's desire to move to his hometown club and have now accepted an offer from Barcelona. We thank Cesc for his contribution at Arsenal and wish him future success."
Barcelona confirmed through their official Twitter account that a deal had been reached.
Fabregas' transfer to the Camp Nou puts an end to an eight-year spell at Arsenal, having joined the club as a 16-year-old from Barcelona's youth set up.
The Spain international, who was named as Arsenal captain in 2008, made 303 appearances for the Gunners, netting 57 times.
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Last season's champions started off brightly, with Young exploiting the left-wing as the former Aston Villa winger looked to get off the mark for his new employers.
But rather than becoming goalscorer, Young became creator just after the 10-minute mark. After being found by fellow England international Wayne Rooney as he broke the West Brom offside trap, Young in turn repaid the compliment to the Manchester United striker, giving him the ball just outside the area before Rooney turned and placed it beyond Ben Foster's outstretched right hand and into the bottom corner.
United should have gone two up as a top-quality passing move involving Danny Welback and Rooney cut open the West Brom defence, before the latter found Nani wide open in the Baggies penalty area, but unfortunately for the Portuguese winger, his shot landed with the home fans behind the goal.
With nine minutes remaining in the first half, young Spaniard de Gea was left with his head in his hands as Shane Long, who was signed from Reading during the week, received the ball on the left before beating United right-back Chris Smalling and hitting a shot towards the back post which crept through the keeper's hands and into the net.
Five minutes after the start of the second half the visitors were forced into a change as United captain Vidic limped from the field, to be replaced by Jonny Evans.
And with just over 15 minutes left the visitors lost Ferdinand with what appeared to be a hamstring injury.
As West Brom continued to attack, de Gea's uncertainty crept back into the game as a free kick from the right wing arrived at the back post and once again the Spanish stopper looked fragile as he failed to stop the ball going out for a corner.
But United finally claimed a winner with less than 10 minutes left as impressive new signing Young raced in from the left wing and his shot deflected off both Gabriel Tamas and then Steven Reid, before finding the bottom of Foster's net.
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https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420406
https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420406
Anderlecht jumped to second spot in the league table on goal difference courtesy of the win, ahead of third-placed Mechelen, who overcame Lierse 2-1 at home.
The hosts at Argos Oil Stadion Achter de Kazerne took the lead on 16 minutes courtesy of Alessandro Cordaro, only to be pegged back just prior to the hour-mark when Peter Kovacs struck for Lierse.
French midfielder Julien Gorius struck the winner in the 83rd minute.
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https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420401
https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420401
Additionally, Thiago Alcantara was given a place in the starting line-up in place of Xavi, while new signing Alexis Sanchez was given a baptism of fire against the Catalans' rivals. Meanwhile, Jose Mourinho opted to use the exact same team that lost 5-0 at Camp Nou last season.
Mourinho's men controlled the tempo early, and their domination of possession would soon pay off. After just 13 minutes, Karim Benzema fed Mesut Ozil, who neatly put the ball low and hard past Victor Valdes to give the hosts a well-earned lead.
As Barca struggled to get out of their own half, Lionel Messi dropped deeper to get his first few touches of the ball, which would soon prove pivotal.
The Argentine delivered a perfectly weighted through-ball for David Villa, who turned inside the penalty area before curling a world-class effort around Iker Casillas to restore parity in the 36th minute.
Some fine play from Ronaldo down the left almost saw the Portuguese luminary score one of his own just prior to the interval, as Real continued to control play, but Barca found the net next through Messi.
In one of the few attacks that saw Barcelona in Real’s final third, Messi shook off three markers before finding himself half a yard to shoot low and hard past Casillas, putting the visitors in the driving seat going into half-time.
The Spanish champions looked the sharper of the two sides after the interval, but it was Real who found the goal.
Ozil whipped in a 54th-minute corner at the front post, and it was Pepe who would tee up Xabi Alonso to strike from the edge of the box.
The result leaves the tie finely-balanced ahead of Wednesday’s second leg in Barcelona.
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https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420388
https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420388
The win sees Djokovic become the first man to win five ATP Masters 1000 titles in the same season, with the Serb having already claimed trophies at Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Rome this year.
It was a sturdy test for Australian Open and Wimbledon champion Djokovic ahead of the US Open later this month, as he had failed to drop a set on his way to the final, before Fish broke him twice in the second set to level the match.
But Djokovic reigned supreme in the decider, giving Fish no chances to make inroads on his serve and creating four break point opportunities himself, one of which he converted in the fifth game of the set.
Djokovic's win-loss record improved to an astounding 53-1 in 2011, with his sole loss coming in the semi-finals of the French Open against Roger Federer.
For Fish, the defeat was his second in as many finals after going down to Latvia's Ernests Gulbis in last week's decider in Los Angeles, but his win-loss record on the Tour since his Wimbledon quarter-final run stands at 11-2.
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https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420285
https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420285
The tournament win was 29-year-old Williams' second since returning from almost a year out of the game because of a foot injury and blood clots in her lungs after also winning at Stanford two weeks ago.
"I'm so excited. I never expected to do this well," Williams said on-court afterwards.
"I'm just so happy to be playing again, let alone winning. It's really cool."
There was little between the pair to start the match in Toronto with neither creating opportunities on the other's serve.
But in the ninth game of the opening set, Williams capitalised on her second break point chance.
After consolidating the break and winning the first set, Williams broke in the opening game of the second as she headed towards a comfortable victory.
The American broke again in the fifth game of the set before rounding out a commanding win, condemning Stosur to a 2-9 win-loss record in WTA finals.
Williams, ranked 80 in the world, is projected to climb into the world's top 40 when the rankings are released on Monday.
The win also marked Williams' second Rogers Cup title and first since 2001.
Williams now has 39 WTA titles, third among active players after Venus Williams (43) and Kim Clijsters (41).
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https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420339
https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420339
"David should have done better. I think
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"He should have been protected more by the referee - he wasn't - and on this occasion he has to withstand it. It's a good experience for him."
"My recollection of goalkeepers coming from Europe is there's a learning process, it's a different game."
"Peter Schmeichel was the same when he came (from Denmark), Wimbledon in his first away game on a Wednesday night and they gave him a torrid time."
"But Peter came on to become the greatest goalkeeper of all time possibly. The boy is 20 years of age, you suspect a learning process to be in operation at the moment and he'll see it through."
When asked how he will help de Gea get over his errors, Ferguson responded: "(I'll) just pat him on the head."
United took the lead through Wayne Rooney before Long's equaliser, but won it late on through a Steven Reid own goal.
It was an Ashley Young run down the left which resulted in the Reid own goal, and Ferguson was full of praise for his 18-million-pound summer signing from Aston Villa.
"Yes, he's got good composure on the ball, not just crossing but his interplay with the rest of the players," Ferguson added.
"He made a goal for Wayne (Rooney) from a good pass and he was a threat all the time."
"He had a few crosses blocked, but when he decided to go the opposite way and go towards the by-line he was an instant threat."
"The first 25 minutes I thought we were superb, moving the ball was great, the interplay, the speed of play was great."
"Then for some reason we started to slow the build-up to a level where we lost the momentum, then we lost a goal."
Ferguson reserved special praise for goalscorer Rooney, who notched his first goal of the season.
"He's looking great, he was fantastic today, he was all over the place," he said.
West Brom manager Hodgson was disappointed that his team did not share the points against the Premier League champions after coming back from a goal behind.
"It's hard for me to swallow my disappointment and frustration after seeing a very good 1-1 turn into a 1-2," Hodgson said.
"They (United) started like a house on fire with three or four corners and the ball whizzing into our box but we pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps, got ourselves back into the game and the second half performance was good."
"Before the (second United) goal, we were looking quite good value. Had the game finished 1-1, I don't think we would have had to make any apologies."
"If we could dismiss that first 15-minute period, after that it was a pretty even game. I can be quite happy that we have done well against the champions of England and, in many peoples' eyes, the future champions of England."
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https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420019
https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420019
World champion Jorge Lorenzo, who is Stoner's closest challenger for the title, lost more ground in the standings after he came in fourth.
Stoner's team-mate Dani Pedrosa, who had enjoyed a successful start to the weekend, gave up his early lead when he crashed on lap three.
Pedrosa had started from pole before losing first place to Lorenzo, only to regain his lead after an error from the Yamaha rider.
Stoner also took advantage of Lorenzo's slide to move into second, giving him the lead when Pedrosa lost his front end and finished in the gravel at turn four.
Spaniard Lorenzo battled hard for a podium spot before being left behind by Dovizioso and Simoncelli, who would go on to finish in the top three for the first time in his MotoGP career, on lap 11.
But the duo barely threatened Stoner who cruised to his sixth win of the season.
Yamaha's Ben Spies held steady behind Lorenzo to finish fifth, ahead of Ducati pair Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden.
Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha), Hiroshi Aoyama (San Carlo Honda Gresini) and Hector Barbera (Mapfre Aspar) rounded out the top 10.
Dovizioso's third-place finish sees him third in the riders' standings, 55 points behind Stoner.
The 12th round of the championship is the Indianapolis MotoGP on August 28.
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https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420123
https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420123
The hosts were again untroubled in their chase as Vusi Sibanda (67) and Tatenda Taibu (61 not out) led the way to help Zimbabwe reach their target with 35 balls to spare.
Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor put Bangladesh in and Vitori made the breakthrough in his first over, removing Tamim Iqbal (three).
Wickets fell at regular intervals from that point on and when Mahmudullah (three) was sent packing by Prosper Utseya (1-42), Bangladesh were reeling at 58-6.
But Nasir Hossain (63) added 53 with Shakib Al Hasan (26) before the latter was removed by Vitori.
Abdur Razzak put together a dashing 35 off 32 balls, but Bangladesh crashed after Hossain was removed.
Bangladesh had hope of defending another sub-par target when Shafiul Islam (1-32) had Taylor (three) caught by Shahriar Nafees in the third over.
But Sibanda, who struck 96 in the first match, was involved in two strong partnerships.
The opener added 83 with Hamilton Masakadza (38) and 59 with Taibu before being dismissed by Mohammad Ashraful (1-26) with the score on 146.
Taibu saw out the chase to give Zimbabwe a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
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https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420315
https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420315
Bradford halfback Marc Herbert had exchanged converted tries with Ben Galea in the first half.
But in six minutes to start the second half, Scott Murrell and Peter Fox crossed to put Kingston Rovers 18-6 up.
There was no further score until the last 10 minutes when Josh Hodgson, Kris Welham and Blake Green all scored in the convincing win.
Elsewhere, Warrington maintained the pressure on first-placed Wigan with a 66-12 demolition of the Wakefield Wildcats.
The Wolves ran in 11 tries to two in a predictably dominant display.
Ryan Atkins crossed for a hat-trick, while Chris Bridge scored 24 points, featuring 10 conversions and a try.
The Wildcats, who are bottom, were never in the game after Warrington ran in four tries in the first half.
Meanwhile, Wigan were also impressive in a 52-18 belting of the Salford City Reds.
Sam Tomkins scored four tries for the Warriors as they romped past the 11th-placed Salford.
Salford looked as though they would head to the break just 10 points adrift, but conceding two tries in the last five minutes of the half - both to Tomkins - effectively ended the contest.
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https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420299
https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420299
Kulhavy (1360 points) took an unassailable lead at the top of the standings ahead of Schurter (1070) and Absalon (810) after six rounds.
In the women's event, Catharine Pendrel closed the gap on overall leader Julie Bresset with her win.
Bresset finished second ahead of Irina Kalentieva in the race, but her lead in the championship standings has been closed to 130 points.
The final race of the season is at Val di Sole, Italy, next weekend.
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https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420248
https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420248
But Villas-Boas said he did not consider taking a point away from Britannia Stadium a bad result.
"You can never really be pleased with a point. Stoke is a difficult ground to play at away from home because of the results they had here last season at this ground," he said.
"I think it was 10 wins and a couple of draws, so it means the quality and the number of points Stoke get at home."
"For our title challenge, I think one point is still not bad. It's not one of the greatest starts to the Premier League of course, but we're happy enough that we raised the level of the game in the second half."
Chelsea had three penalty claims waved away by referee Mark Halsey, none of which were clear-cut.
Meanwhile, Stoke City manager Tony Pulis felt his team performed well and he backed Chelsea to finish in the top three this campaign.
"I think we gave as good as we got in the first half. It was quite an open game, without many clear-cut chances. Second half they got a foothold in the game," he said.
"It was there for everybody to see the quality that they've got and the depth that they've got, when you see (Nicolas) Anelka and (Didier) Drogba coming off the bench, and (Yossi) Benayoun."
"They've got (Branislav) Ivanovic and people like that on the bench. They've got the squad to do well and will be in the top three again this year."
Chelsea host West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, while Stoke City will meet Norwich City after their Europa League playoff clash against Swiss side Thun on Thursday.
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https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420251
https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420251
United boss Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed post-match Ferdinand will be out for more than a month, while defensive partner Vidic is likely to miss a couple of weeks.
"We've had a torrid two or three days because young Rafa (Rafael) did his shoulder in training on Friday (and) he'll be out for 10 weeks because he's going to have an operation," he told Sky Sports.
"Rio will be six weeks. (Vidic) we don't know if it's a nerve or not, we'll have that checked tomorrow, but he could be out for a couple of weeks."
"But Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Jonny Evans - it's a God-send to us. Patrice Evra will be back for next week so I've got options."
Both Ferdinand and Vidic watched the rest of the game from the dugout, rather than heading down the tunnel for immediate treatment.
United's defence for the rest of the match consisted of Smalling, Evans, Jones and Fabio in front of David de Gea in goal.
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https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420124
https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420124
They opened the scoring in the 37th minute after good work from striker Kolbeinn Sigthorsson, who found the net from close range before forward Bas Dost levelled for Heerenveen.
A stunning long-range strike from defender Toby Alderweireld in the dying minutes of the first half made it 2-1 and winger Derk Boerrigter gave his side a two-goal lead shortly after the break.
Serbia international Miralem Sulejmani added his name to the scoresheet with an individual effort before Gregory van der Wiel got a deserved goal in stoppage time.
Elsewhere, Utrecht came from behind to secure a 2-2 draw at home to De Graafschap.
Rydell Poepon and Soufian El Hassnaoui netted to have the visitors 2-0 up after 59 minutes.
But Utrecht kept fighting and Jacob Mulenga pegged one back for the hosts before capping his performance with another goal in the 83rd minute to help the home side to their second draw of the season.
In other games, a hat-trick from Tim Matavz has helped Groningen record their first win of the season, overcoming Ado Den Haag 4-2.
The Slovenia international scored three times in the opening 37 minutes before midfielder Leandro Bacuna also scored just after the break.
Lex Immers and Mike van Duinen pulled two back for Ado Den Haag, but Groningen held on to their comfortable buffer for the remainder of the contest.
Meanwhile, Heracles recovered from a deficit on the way to a 2-1 win over NAC Breda.
Midfielder Willy Overtoom struck a penalty and Everton hit what proved to be the winner after Ghana international Matthew Amoah had opened the scoring.
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https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420175
https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420175
Sri Lanka captain Tillakaratne Dilshan had elected to bat, only to see several of his batsmen fail to go on after making starts.
Player of the match Ponting did, with the support of Shane Watson (43) and captain Michael Clarke (58 not out), as Australia took a 2-0 lead in the five-match ODI series.
The hosts made a decent start with the bat as Dilshan and Upul Tharanga put on 37 for the first wicket.
But Brett Lee (2-50) clean bowled Dilshan (24) when he snuck an in-swinger in between bat and pad.
Tharanga (13) followed him back soon after when the in-form Mitchell Johnson (2-34) had him gloving one behind to Brad Haddin.
Mahela Jayawardene (17) and Dinesh Chandimal (1) then departed, to Xavier Doherty (1-43) and Doug Bollinger (3-35) respectively, to leave Sri Lanka at 77-4.
Wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara looked the most likely to go on and make a century as he combined with Angelo Matthews for a 63-run stand.
But he hit a full toss off part-time spinner David Hussey (1-15) down the throat of Johnson to depart for 52.
Following Sangakkara's dismissal, Sri Lanka lost 68-5 with Matthews (35) and Nuwan Kulasekara (34) the only two of the bottom seven batsmen to reach double figures.
Other than Brad Haddin (7) being superbly caught behind by Sangakkara off Kulasekara (1-38) in the second over, Australia had few troubles in their chase.
Ponting's innings, featuring eight fours and a six, was patient and classy.
The former captain added 94 with Watson before the opener was clean bowled by a Lasith Malinga (1-45) in-swinger.
Clarke came in and produced a fine innings as Australia took a 2-0 series lead ahead of Tuesday's third match.
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https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420151
https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420151
Captain Mark Hudson headed the hosts ahead on 19 minutes before winger Craig Conway, who set up the first goal, hit a 20-yard strike to make it 2-0.
The game was all but over nine minutes before the interval when striker Robert Earnshaw was presented with a tap-in.
Forward Nicky Maynard struck an 82nd-minute consolation goal as Bristol slumped to the bottom after a second straight defeat.
In the day's other game, a brace from Kevin Phillips has helped Blackpool to a 2-1 win over Peterborough United.
Journeyman Phillips struck either side of half-time to put Ian Holloway's men two goals to the good.
Scot George Boyd's goal eight minutes from time made for a nervous finish but they moved into third after holding on for the win.
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https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420134
https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420134
Championship rival Jorge Lorenzo ended up fourth, falling 32 points behind Stoner in the race for the title.
Stoner, who struggled at the beginning of the weekend, said trying harder saw him claim the win.
"This weekend was very, very tough for us. We struggled to get the bike feeling where we wanted it to be and took until the end of qualifying to get somewhere near," he said.
"Then we tried something different in warm-up and it really wasn't the right direction, so I was a little bit worried going into the race about how competitive we're going to be."
"We pretty much took a shot in the dark and tried something for the race. It wasn't a lot better than in qualifying - I just put in a lot more effort than I had done in the rest of the practices."
"I hadn't had a lot of confidence with the bike all weekend and I just decided to lay it on the line and try something I hadn't done before."
Meanwhile, Dovizioso, who started seventh before finishing second, was pleased with his race.
"I'm really happy about the result because we started in seventh position," he said.
"We worked very hard in practice for the race. It was really competitive."
Simoncelli claimed his first podium finish of his MotoGP career when he, along with Dovizioso, broke away from Lorenzo on lap 11.
The Italian was thrilled with his third-place finish and said he was happy to finally capitalise on an opportunity.
"It's fantastic. This year, I did a great step," Simoncelli said.
"I was a lot faster compared to last year but the results unfortunately in the races were very similar until now. I had a lot of opportunities every time, but for some different reason I lose it."
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https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420127
https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420127
It meant he finished the general classification 23 seconds ahead of Belgian Philippe Gilbert to win the race for the second time after his 2009 success.
Brit David Millar (Garmin-Cervelo) finished third in the race for the yellow jersey.
Boasson Hagen, having negotiated the final bend that saw three riders - Jurgen Roelandts, Denis Galimzyanov and Taylor Phinney - crash out, outsprinted his nearest rivals to claim the stage win.
"Everyone went too fast around the corner and they crashed in front of me," the Norwegian said after the stage.
"I luckily came out without crashing. I also won the stage, so I'm really happy with that, even though I'm sorry for the guys who crashed."
Boasson Hagen started the day 12 seconds ahead of Gilbert and the Omega Pharma-Lotto rider never really threatened on the final stage.
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https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420147
https://cms.performgroup.com/cms/editorial/articles.html?action=view&article-id=2420147
Chris Smalling has most recently played at right-back in the Community Shield and against West Bromwich Albion, although his twin brother Fabio and Phil Jones are other options.
The 21-year-old's injury comes as a setback to the Red Devils, with fellow full-back Patrice Evra also missing the opening game of the season due to injury, along with Antonio Valencia and forwards Javier Hernandez and Michael Owen.
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