Four-goal Ibrahimovic

International Friendlies

It was 'Zlatan Ibrahimovic 4 England 2' as Sweden opened up Stockholm's Friends Arena with an international friendly win over an experimental England side.

After opening the scoring on 20 minutes and going down as the first man to score a goal at the 54,329-seater stadium in the Swedish capital, Paris Saint-Germain striker Ibrahimovic wrote more history in the second half after goals from Danny Welbeck and debutant Steven Caulker in a three-minute spell put England ahead at the interval.

A quality chested-down volley restored parity 13 minutes from time before a driven low free-kick on 84 and an unreal 25-yard overhead kick in stoppag ... Read more »

Olympic downhill champion

Lindsey Vonn was released

from hospital,

in Colorado on Thursday where she had been undergoing treatment for "severe intestinal pain.

Murray overcomes Berdych

 to make winning start

Andy Murray dropped the first set to Tomas Berdych before recovering to complete a 3-6 6-3 6-4 win over the world number six in his ATP World Tour finals opener at London's 02.

Murray is now level at 4-4 with Berdych in career meetings, but it was perhaps of minimal surprise that the US Open champion, seeded third here, could not find the formula to break his Czech opponent in the opening set of the Group A match as seven break points came and went with Berdych escaping courtesy of some poignant serve-and-volley tactics.

Berdych was not so profligate as he backed up Murray wi ... Read more »

Bute bites back

 to win NABF title

Lucian Bute rebounded from his first defeat by thumping out a unanimous win over Russian Denis Grachev to take the minor NABF light heavyweight title.

The result should set up a rematch with the 35-year-old British fighter in 2013.

The Bell Centre crowd of 10,122 watched a war of attrition for the majority of the bout as Bute stayed cautious for 11 rounds and avoided direct contact from the heavy-hitting Grachev.

The 30-year-old Russian was the slightly more imposing of the two as he repeatedly backed his opponent up against the ropes and fired shots to his head and body.

But Bute never looked out of control, and queries ... Read more »

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

 - Raikkonen wins

Kimi Raikkonen won an Abu Dhabi Grand Prix thriller for Lotus while Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel defended his championship lead by fighting sensationally through the field from last place to third.

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso finished runner-up, just 0.8 seconds behind the Finn after reeling him in with a string of fastest laps, to close the gap with Vettel to 10 points with two races remaining.

On an evening with a huge crash, two safety car interludes and a string of retirements including McLaren's Lewis Hamilton while leading from pole position, the floodlit Yas Marina circuit hosted one of the sport's great races and kept the ... Read more »

Guardiola wants

 Chelsea job

Pep Guardiola is ready to return to football management - and he wants to take over at Chelsea.

The Daily Mail reports that the former Barcelona boss - who is currently enjoying a sabbatical year in New York with his family - has told his family and friends that he "sees his future at Stamford Bridge".

Guardiola, who won three league titles and two Champions League crowns with Barca, reportedly rejected the job at the end of last season after leaving the Catalan giants, and Roberto di Matteo was installed as permanent boss on a t ... Read more »

Roger Federer wants more blood testing done in tennis to help keep the sport clear of doping, the 17-times Grand Slam champion said on the eve of the ATP World Tour Finals.

Ferrer to lead Spain

in Davis final

with Nadal injured

Fourth-ranked Rafa Nadal is still sidelined with a knee injury so Ferrer, winner of Sunday's Paris Masters, will spearhead a team that includes Nicolas Almagro, Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez.

"Ferrer's leadership has been important in Nadal's absence despite him saying at the start of the year he was not planning to play," captain Alex Corretja told a news conference on Monday.

"He has accepted the challenge and now we are in the final."

Ferr ... Read more »

Messi to return

forBarcelona

after son's birth

Barcelona's Lionel Messi should be available for the leaders' game at home to Celta Vigo on Saturday after the birth of his first child.

Liga top-scorer Messi missed training on Friday to accompany his pregnant girlfriend Antonella Racuzzo to the Instituto Universitario USP Dexeus, a hospital in central Barcelona.

She later gave birth to baby boy Thiago.

"Leo Messi is a father," his club Barcelona said. "This Friday afternoon Antonella Rocuzzo, the Argentine star's girlfriend, gave birth to Thiago Messi, the couple's first son."

Messi, 25, added on his Facebo ... Read more »