Spirited Brighton hold Chelsea

London, January 1

Brighton & Hove Albion forward Alireza Jahanbakhsh scored with a brilliant bicycle kick in the second half to cancel out Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta’s opener in an entertaining 1-1 draw in the Premier League on Wednesday.

The result at the Amex Stadium helped Brighton end a run of nine straight league defeats by Chelsea stretching back to 1983 while Frank Lampard’s side were left to rue the missed chance to seal back-to-back league wins for the first time since November.

Left back Azpilicueta celebrated his 100th start as Chelsea captain with the opening goal, guiding the ball home from close range in the 10th minute after Tammy Abraham’s shot was blocked near the goal line by Brighton’s Aaron Mooy following a corner.

Substitute Jahanbakhsh then produced a goal for the highlight reels with six minutes left on the clock, with a superb overhead kick that flew into the bottom corner giving Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga no chance. — Reuters

Southampton beat Tottenham 1-0

Southampton completed a rejuvenating holiday schedule with a superb Danny Ings goal earning them a 1-0 win over stuttering Tottenham Hotspur at St Mary’s on Wednesday. Ings fooled defender Toby Alderweireld with a great piece of skill to fire the hosts in front in the 17th minute.

Iniesta’s Kobe win Emperors Cup

Tokyo: Vissel Kobe, led by World Cup winners Andres Iniesta and Lukas Podolski, beat Kashima Antlers 2-0 to win the Emperors Cup final on Wednesday, in the first soccer match to be played at Tokyo’s National Stadium, built for this year’s Olympic Games. Reuters