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FOOTBALL

Sweden’s Elmander piles pressure on Keane

Sweden striker Johan Elmander claimed an opportunist's double as Bolton humiliated Sunderland 4-1 in front of their own supporters and piled the pressure on to Black Cats boss Roy Keane.

Sweden's Elmander piles pressure on Keane

An afternoon that started with Djibril Cisse firing the home side into the lead ended with them dropping into the relegation zone after goals for Matt Taylor and Gary Cahill were followed by Elmander’s strikes either side of half-time.

Both the Swede’s goals were the result of defensive blunders with Danny Collins and Dean Whitehead the culprits respectively and he should have completed a first hat-trick in English football when Kevin Davies sent him clear with quarter of an hour left.

On that occasion, the Swede pulled his shot fractionally wide but Sunderland were well beaten by that stage and had to endure a cacophony of jeers from the home support at the final whistle.

It was Sunderland’s fifth home defeat of the season but Keane must have thought a better afternoon was in prospect when Cisse latched on to compatriot Steed Malbranque’s fine pass to give his side the lead with an assured finish.

But Bolton were in front within nine minutes of the opener.

Gretar Steinsson’s cross enabled Taylor to equalise with a looping heade that went in off the underside of the bar.

Three minutes later, Andy O’Brien’s free-kick was headed down by Davies before Cahill struck a low drive past Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon, returning from a two-month injury lay-off.

Sunderland thought they were level on the half-hour when Cisse blasted the ball home after fellow striker Kenwyne Jones saw a header come back off the bar.

But referee Chris Foy ruled that Trinidad and Tobago international Jones had fouled Jlloyd Samuel as he leapt to meet the cross.

Elmander got clear and went round Gordon but failed to find the net from a tight angle before he finally got on the scoresheet six minutes before the break.

Collins made a mess of a long punt out of the visitors’ box and Elmander was left with the easiest of opportunities to score for a second consecutive match.

Then, nine minutes after the break, the home side pressed the self-destruct button once more, Whitehead losing the ball to Kevin Nolan who was able to tee up Elmander for his second.

RACISM

VIDEO: Spain’s La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

Spain's La Liga on Monday said it was reviewing a video of a child making racist insults towards Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during the 2-2 draw with Valencia at the weekend.

VIDEO: Spain's La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

“We’re in the process of studying and analysing the facts from a legal standpoint to see what we can and should do,” La Liga sources said.

In a video published by a journalist for ESPN Brasil, and picked up by Spanish media, a boy sitting in a woman’s lap can be heard calling Vinicius a “monkey”.

https://twitter.com/GravesenFumado/status/1764242481984491822

The Brazilian scored twice for Madrid as his team recovered from two goals down at Mestalla on Saturday.

Vinicius raised his fist in a “Black Power” salute after the first of his two goals at a ground where he was racially abused last season. Valencia subsequently banned three people from the stadium for life.

The 23-year-old has become a symbol of the fight against discrimination in Spanish football after suffering racist abuse on many occasions, and he was jeered repeatedly by home supporters on Saturday.

Jude Bellingham was sent off after the final whistle against Valencia for protesting after the referee blew the final whistle right before the England midfielder headed home what he thought was the winning goal.

READ ALSO: Football star Vinicius highlights racist behaviour from Spanish fans

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