Sport: Five things we learned from the weekend

It was another whirlwind of sporting action with plenty of talking points and drama for fans to enjoy on Saturday and Sunday.  

Here is a round-up of five things we learned from the weekend…

Norwich down, Villa and Bournemouth fight on

Norwich City became the first Premier League casualty of the season on Saturday lunchtime. Their place in the Championship next season was confirmed following a 4-0 thumping by West Ham.

Three points for David Moyes’ side and victory for Watford against Newcastle meant Aston Villa and Bournemouth needed a positive result to retain any hope of survival on Sunday.

Villa beat Crystal Palace 2-0 before Bournemouth produced one of the shocks of the season by thrashing top-four chasing Leicester 4-1 thanks to a brace from Dominic Solanke.

With three games to go, the battle to stay up could go to the wire with West Ham playing Watford next, Villa visiting Everton and Bournemouth taking on Manchester City.

Sterling treble for five-star City

City bounced back from defeat at Southampton in resounding fashion as they hit five past Brighton at the AMEX Stadium on Saturday night to consolidate second place in the table.

Raheem Sterling took the plaudits with his third hat-trick of the season with goals from Gabriel Jesus and Bernardo Silva completing the rout.

And Pep Guardiola’s men were further buoyed by the news that City will play in the Champions League next season after having their two-year European ban overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport following an appeal.

Hamilton dominates Styrian Grand Prix

A driving masterclass from Lewis Hamilton saw him lead from the front to take the Styrian Grand Prix ahead of teammate Valtteri Bottas and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

This was Hamilton’s first victory of the season, and leaves him only six wins from Michael Schumacher’s record of 91.

Meanwhile, it was a day to forget for Ferrari as both of their drivers collided on the opening lap. Charles Le Clerc made contact with Sebastian Vettel, who had to retire immediately from the race with Le Clerc completing a disastrous double DNF a few laps later.

It’s been a strong start to the season for Mercedes as they lead both the Driver’s and Constructors’ Standings heading into Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix

Sheffield United, Wolves & Spurs given Europa boost

The race for European football took another twist this weekend as Chelsea fell to a heavy 3-0 defeat at Sheffield United.

The Blades moved to within a point of sixth-placed Wolves who dismantled a below-par Everton at Molineux, before Spurs came from behind to beat Arsenal in the North London Derby.

Leicester could also find themselves outside the top four before they play next. Manchester United could leapfrog both Leicester and Chelsea into third with victory against Southampton on Monday night.

West Indies win the First test

England fell to a four-wicket defeat to the West Indies at the Ageas Bowl as the tourists took the advantage in the three-test series.

West Indies required 200 runs to win in their second innings and were on the ropes at 27-3. But it was an impressive knock from Jermaine Blackwood which steered the Windies to victory with a well crafted 95 from 154 balls.

Jofra Archer was the pick of the England bowlers with figures of 3-45 as England were made to rue the decision to omit Stuart Broad for the opening test.

Shannon Gabriel took the Man of the Match award for his nine-wicket contribution for Jason Holder’s side to cap a spirited display by the West Indies.

Both the second and third test will be played at Old Trafford in Manchester and England look to bounce back from a disappointing defeat in Southampton. The second Test begins on Thursday.

All odds and markets correct as of date of publication.