No horse had a better record in the Clarence House Chase than Un De Sceaux, with Willie Mullins’ warrior winning the Ascot Grade One three times.
Known as a tearaway in his early days, he was eventually tamed by Ruby Walsh and, upon his retirement, then ridden just as masterfully by Paul Townend.
He arrived from France having won two AQPS bumpers in 2012 by an aggregate of 27 lengths and quickly became a fan favourite due to his front-running exploits.
By the time he retired due to injury in 2020, he had won 23 of his 34 races under rules, 10 at Grade One level – and he is now happily living his best life back in France, with plenty of zest still on display.
He was owned by the late Edward O’Connell, whose son Colm said: “We’re in contact quite a bit with the family who have him.
“He’s put on a lot of weight, like everyone who retires! But he’s in great condition – he’s got some constitution, there’s never anything wrong with him, he’s never sick and he’s a zero-maintenance type of a horse, he’s incredible.
“The last I heard, they had a filly that was in the field with him and she was quite headstrong as well. I think Un De Sceaux was trying to teach her his ways, as they were literally bolting around the field together, so when people ask has he calmed down, the answer is no!
“I said to myself ‘if he’s teaching her how to race, she could be very interesting in a couple of years’. He has his own routine and no matter who goes and sees him, he’s still wild.
“It’s a good retirement for him. Racing needs stories like his, there’s enough bad news in racing but for 99.9 per cent of the time, this is what happens when racing is over, and rightly so.
“For him to go back to where he was born and grew up, it’s a fairytale. My family have been over to see him and they absolutely love him over in France, I think they like the fact that they’ve got him back.”
While the growing trend these days seems to be for the biggest names in National Hunt racing to have as easy a time as possible before the spring festivals, that could never be levelled at Un De Sceaux.
So much so that O’Connell believes he could have added to his two Cheltenham wins in the Arkle and Ryanair had he not regularly taken in the Clarence House en route – but he would not have had it any other way.
“We loved our visits to Ascot – and to Sandown and Cheltenham as well, but especially Ascot, because it just seemed to suit him there,” said O’Connell.
“Ironically, though, his win in the Clarence House that impressed me most was 2017, when it was run at Cheltenham because of frost.
“That was because he travelled over to Ascot on the Thursday from Willie’s, he left Saturday night, arrived back Sunday morning and left for Cheltenham the following Wednesday; he ran, won, and then came home. If you’d done that yourself, you’d think it was a pain.
“I went to Cheltenham that day but I thought it would be very hard to win, given all his travelling, but it didn’t knock him a bit and he beat Alan King’s horse Uxizandre by five lengths.
“What I thought though, the two years he won the Clarence House at Ascot (20016 and 2018), he then got beaten at Cheltenham and I think that was because he gave absolutely everything at Ascot.
“The first time, Sprinter Sacre beat him on good ground, no disgrace in that, and then Balko Des Flos beat him the other year.
“He won three Clarence Houses and was second in another, his final ever race when Defi Du Seuil beat him, who was five years younger than him. He’d also beaten us in the Tingle Creek.
“I would have loved to have won four because I don’t think any horse will ever win four. No one might win three again, it takes an awful lot of work. I certainly don’t think another horse trained in Ireland will ever win three Clarence Houses again.
“Maybe Ascot will name a race after him, who knows. It would be fitting.”
As well as three Clarence Houses and his Cheltenham wins, he won Punchestown’s Champion Chase twice, a Tingle Creek and the Prix La Barka at Auteuil – and had the misfortune of straddling the eras of Sprinter Sacre and Altior.
“He was such a warrior, and when you think of the horses he came up against, it was a golden era. He raced against Sprinter Sacre, Altior, Sire De Grugy, Douvan, Min. Some very good two-milers,” said O’Connell.
“When Sprinter Sacre beat us in the Queen Mother (2016), we put it down to tactics – and going to Sandown afterwards, we thought we’d change it up a bit and were quietly confident, but we got it handed to us that day. He was a phenomenal horse, Sprinter Sacre.
“I remember in one of his Clarence House wins, he ran against Speredek, who must have been 20 lengths clear at one stage, but Paul Townend just sat and sat and gradually reeled him in. It was bad ground and he seemed to effortlessly plough through it.
“He went to Cheltenham after that and just wasn’t quite at his best, I think that Ascot race left a mark, but at that time of year, he was unbeatable.
“The Clarence House is such a great race. It takes some going to get up that hill from Swinley Bottom, and Ascot is such a great place. You have the Ascot factor.”
All eyes will again be on the Ascot race this weekend, and O’Connell will be a keen onlooker.
“This year’s race looks a cracker,” he said.
“We all know what Jonbon is, we just don’t know what El Fabiolo is. We’re still rating him on what he could be. I’d say it’s a genuine 50-50 call because Jonbon has come out and won an open Grade One already. I think I’d back whichever was the bigger price!”
Eddie Howe has backed record signing Alexander Isak to join Alan Shearer in the Newcastle pantheon after watching him enhance his credentials in a heart-breaking defeat by Manchester City.
The 24-year-old Sweden international capped a fine individual display with a stunning first-half equaliser, yet still ended up on the losing side after the club world champions snatched a 3-2 victory at St James’ Park as a mouthwatering spectacle came to a dramatic conclusion.
Asked afterwards if Isak, a £63million signing from Real Sociedad during the summer of 2022, could go on to enjoy the same elevated status as the club’s record goalscorer Shearer, head coach Howe said: “The goal was very reminiscent of Alan, really, the finish that he delivered.
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“He can go on, I think, to achieve incredible things in his career. He’s got so much more to offer.
“He’s probably getting back to 100 per cent fit – I wouldn’t say he’s totally there yet. He’s had his own injury troubles this season, but the last two performances and the goals that he’s scored offers a glimpse, really, of his capabilities.
“He is really the all-round striker, in my opinion.”
Isak dragged Newcastle back into a thrilling encounter 10 minutes before the break when, with Bernardo Silva having put the visitors ahead with an impudent flick, he collected Bruno Guimaraes’ looping ball over the top, cut inside Kyle Walker and curled a delicious effort past substitute keeper Stefan Ortega.
When Anthony Gordon matched his feat two minutes later, the Magpies were flying, but a compelling contest was ultimately decided by a tale of two benches, one riven by injury and suspension and the other which included Kevin de Bruyne and the precocious talent of Oscar Bobb.
Howe’s men were coping well with City’s incessant onslaught until De Bruyne making his first league appearance since the opening weekend of the season following a hamstring injury, was introduced as a 69th-minute substitute.
Within five minutes, he had levelled with a pinpoint finish and as Newcastle tired, it was he who picked out Bobb’s stoppage-time run into the box and then looked on as the 20-year-old collected the ball expertly before dispatching it past Martin Dubravka to clinch victory.
In the process, he sent City into second place in the table and condemned the Magpies to a fourth successive league defeat and their first back-to-back failures at home since Amanda Staveley’s successful takeover.
Howe was understandably disappointed by the outcome, but happy with a performance which suggested his team is returning to its best after a bruising run with 14-goal Isak, who has also scored against Aston Villa, Paris St Germain and Liverpool this season, a particular focus.
He said: “Alex is an outstanding individual. His goal was of the highest level, and I thought his energy and his overall performance was outstanding. I thought he was a constant menace.
“He showed his ability to run, he showed his ability to link play and he showed his ability to finish. I’m just disappointed that we couldn’t get him into more dangerous situations in that second half because he could have made the difference for us.”
Monday’s meeting at Hereford and Tuesday’s fixture at Plumpton are both subject to morning inspections as racecourses across Britain brace themselves for freezing temperatures this week.
While racing over the weekend was unaffected, a forecast for snow and ice in the coming days looks set to have a significant impact on the National Hunt programme.
An 8am precautionary inspection has been called ahead of Hereford’s Monday jumps card, but clerk of the course John Holliday is “optimistic” racing will go ahead.
He said: “We’re due to get down to minus 2C tonight, so it’s not going to be too drastic I don’t think, so I’m pretty optimistic.
“We’ve called the precautionary inspection to be on the safe side. Our biggest problem is it’s not going to get very warm – it’s only due to get up to 3C at about 1pm on Monday and then it starts getting cold again.
“If it’s frozen in the morning I should think we’re in trouble, but I’m fairly confident. We haven’t had a frost yet, so it’s not like we’ve had two or three on the bounce, which is always worse.
“We’ve covered vulnerable areas and most of the hurdles track as well.”
Tuesday’s meeting at Plumpton is subject to an 8.30am inspection on raceday morning.
The course has been frost free since Friday, but the mercury is forecast to dip below freezing on Monday morning and temperatures could get as low as minus 3C on Monday night.
Jodie Burrage was left frustrated by a lengthy toilet break taken by opponent Tamara Korpatsch and her own inability to prevent a collapse on her Australian Open debut.
The British number two admitted it was “panic stations” as the first-round match slipped away from her at Melbourne Park.
Burrage dominated the first set against her German opponent but Korpatsch, who was beaten by Emma Raducanu in the first round here 12 months ago, turned things around after heading to the bathroom and eventually ran away with a 2-6 6-3 6-0 defeat.
The tactical use of toilet breaks has been a hot topic in recent seasons, and players now only have three minutes, but that does not count the time walking to and from the court.
“I’m not sure why it was so long,” said Burrage. “I did ask (the umpire), and he said, ‘Yes, she’s used her three minutes, she’s just on her way back’. But then that took another few minutes. I get that it’s a big park, though, so maybe it just took a long time for her to get there.
“You’ve just got to keep playing matches and get used to how you want to deal with when your opponent is changing up the rhythm of it and trying to disrupt your rhythm, which is what she did in the second and third (sets) because it seemed like every change it was something different, whether it was her shoe or her rackets or towel.”
Burrage earned her spot in the main draw here for the first time after breaking into the top 100 last season and she played with confidence and purpose to take the opening set as the year’s first grand slam made its maiden Sunday start.
But, as Korpatsch steadied and the wind picked up, Burrage’s unforced error count began to rise.
She had her chances in the second set but could not take them and the third quickly ran away from her in a slew of mistakes.
Burrage was left with plenty to mull over, principally how to feel like she belongs at the top level and how to make her game more robust.
“I found it tough to serve in that wind and just my game in general,” said the 24-year-old, who lost twice to Korpatsch last season.
“I tried to adjust as much as possible but, when you hit a bigger ball I guess and don’t grind it out, when it gets windy, it’s not as easy to play, but that’s just what I need to learn to do. I need to learn to have a bit of a plan B because there was no plan B there today.
“When someone just stops missing and puts balls in court, it’s not easy to have the confidence to hit through them. I need to learn how to back myself on the court because at the moment I don’t in those situations.
“You could see it today. It was just absolutely panic stations at some point. So that’s what all of these experiences and being at this level and hitting with these types of players, you just get more experiences like that.
“I can play at a high level. It’s just getting it for two hours instead of 45 minutes.”
Matteo Berrettini pulled out of the Australian Open without playing a match as his injury woes continued.
The former Wimbledon finalist had been due to face Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round on Rod Laver Arena on Monday in one of the plum ties of the first round.
But on Sunday afternoon the tournament announced he had withdrawn with a right foot injury, making it the fourth time in the last eight grand slam tournaments where he has not been able to play a match.
The popular Italian, a semi-finalist in Melbourne in 2022, has been off the tour since suffering an ankle injury during his second-round match against Arthur Rinderknech at the US Open.
He had previously missed the French Open because of an abdominal injury, while in 2022 he also sat out Roland Garros following hand surgery and then tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of Wimbledon.
Once ranked as high as world number six, the 27-year-old, beaten by Djokovic in the Wimbledon final in 2021, is now down at 125.
He has been replaced in the draw by Belgian lucky loser Zizou Bergs, who will take on Tsitsipas on Monday.
Fourth seed Jannik Sinner, one of the favourites for the title following his stellar end to 2023, began his campaign with a straight-sets win over Botic Van De Zandschulp.
Sinner, who beat Djokovic twice in a matter of days at the ATP Finals and Davis Cup in November, was a 6-4 7-5 6-3 winner on Rod Laver Arena.
The Italian did not play a warm-up tournament after his late finish to last season, and he said: “I feel like I started off actually really well for the first match.
“Then after, I had some moments where I made a couple of wrong choices, but this can happen. Even if you made maybe some matches, this can happen. Maybe you are a little bit tired sometimes.
“It was important today for me because I was looking forward to stepping on the court.”
Former finalist Marin Cilic played his first grand slam match since the US Open in 2022 following knee surgery but was beaten in four sets by Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan.
Former Olympic road race champion Nicole Cooke retired from cycling with immediate effect on this day in 2013.
Cooke was a trailblazer for cycling in Britain and in 2008 became the first rider, male or female, to win Olympic and world road race gold in the same year.
Announcing the decision to call time on her 13-year career, the 10-time British champion said: “My time in the sport is finished. I am very happy with my career.
“I have many, many happy memories over what has been my life’s work since I was 12. I have won every race and more that I dreamed I could win.”
Her speech did not shy away from the dark side of cycling, however, addressing at length the doping scandals prevalent in the sport as well as the barriers to female riders.
Cooke, who retired at the age of 29, was a four-time world junior champion.
After turning professional, she won gold at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, before becoming the youngest rider to win the Giro d’Italia – aged 21 – in 2004 following on from triumph at the 2003 World Cup.
Cooke won Britain’s maiden gold of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing in heavy rain by the Great Wall of China – the first claimed by a Welsh athlete since 1972 – and backed that up with World Championship gold later that year in Italy.
Four years on, she was part of the team as Lizzie Armitstead won road race silver for Britain’s first medal of London 2012.
Cooke had thought she could put an indifferent four years behind her and mount a defence of her title, but finished only 31st.
Following her retirement, British Cycling president Brian Cookson said: “There is no doubt that Nicole has been a pioneering force in women’s cycling.”
Jayson Tatum had 27 points and eight rebounds before he was ejected and the Boston Celtics remained unbeaten at home with a 145-113 victory over former coach Ime Udoka and the Houston Rockets on Saturday.
Jaylen Brown scored 32 points and Payton Pritchard added 19 to help the Celtics improve to 19-0 at home this season with their 26th straight regular-season home win.
Cam Whitmore scored 22 points and Alperen Sengun had 19 with 10 rebounds for Houston, which dropped to .500 with their third loss in four games.
Udoka was coaching in Boston for the first time since he was suspended, and then fired, on the eve of the 2022-23 season for inappropriate workplace behaviour.
Surging Jazz defeat Lakers
Lauri Markkanen tallied 29 points, nine rebounds and five assists to help the Utah Jazz stay hot with a 132-123 win over the slumping Los Angeles Lakers.
Collin Sexton scored 27 points and Jordan Clarkson added 21 as the Jazz won their fifth straight overall and eighth in a row art home.
With LeBron James out with a left ankle injury, D’Angelo Russell picked up the slack with a season-high 39 points and eight assists. Anthony Davis had a triple-double with 15 points, 15 boards and 10 assists but shot 5 of 21 from the field as the Lakers dropped their sixth in eight games.
Win gives Thunder share of West lead
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander poured in 37 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the short-handed Orlando Magic, 112-100 for tie for the Western Conference lead.
Jalen Williams scored 16 points and Chet Holmgren had 15 to help the Thunder win their fourth straight and match Minnesota with a 27-11 record.
Paolo Banchero had 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, but the Magic dropped their third in a row. They played without Franz Wagner, Wendell Carter Jr., Markelle Fultz, Gary Harris and Joe Ingles.
The Kansas City Chiefs outlasted the Miami Dolphins in freezing conditions to take a step towards a fourth Super Bowl appearance in five years.
With the temperature at a near-NFL-record low of minus 20C, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was instrumental in leading his side to a dominant 26-7 victory.
Mahomes threw for 262 yards and a touchdown without turning the ball over on a night where rushing was the focal point of Kansas City’s offence.
The strategy paid off as the Chiefs opened the scoring in the first few minutes and stayed in front from there.
An injury-depleted Miami was far from their high-scoring best, finishing with just 264 total yards as the Dolphins remain without a play off victory since 2000.
The cold weather wreaked havoc across the first day of the super wild card round, with the matchup between the Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers in Buffalo being rescheduled to Monday due to a potentially dangerous snowstorm.
Elsewhere, CJ Stroud threw for three touchdowns as the Houston Texans demolished the Cleveland Browns 45-14.
Stroud racked up 274 yards in the air without a turnover, while Browns quarterback Joe Flacco was picked off twice in the heavy loss.
Evan Bouchard scored on a power play 2:01 into overtime to lift the Edmonton Oilers to their franchise-record 10th straight victory, 2-1 over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.
Leon Draisaitl had the other goal and Stuart Skinner stopped 23 shots as the Oilers improved to 18-3-0 in their last 21 games.
Connor McDavid assisted on the winning goal, giving him a 10-game point streak with five goals and 11 assists.
Draisaitl has seven goals and four assists during the win streak and Skinner has won seven straight starts with a .951 save percentage.
Cole Caufield scored and Sam Montembault made 39 saves for the Canadiens, who lost for the seventh time in nine games.
Kraken rally for 9th straight victory
Jared McCann scored two goals and set up another and the Seattle Kraken rallied for a 7-4 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets, their ninth in a row.
Oliver Bjorkstrand had a goal and two assists and Brian Dumoulin added a goal and an assist for the Kraken, who have the longest win streak in the franchise’s three-year history. Seattle is 11-0-2 in its past 13 games, a stretch that directly followed an eight-game losing streak.
Joey Daccord made 30 saves to win his eighth consecutive start, posting a 1.49 goals-against average in that span.
Devils snap Panthers’ 9-game winning streak
Nico Daws turned aside 35 shots and Alexander Holtz and Jesper Bratt scored first-period goals as the New Jersey Devils stopped the Florida Panthers’ 9-game winning streak, 4-1.
Erik Haula and John Marino had the other goals for the Devils, who improved to 6-2-1 in their last nine games.
Sam Reinhart tallied his 31st goal as Florida tasted defeat for the first time since Dec. 21. He has 13 goals in his last 10 games and has scored in each of the last six.
Matthew Tkachuk assisted on the goal to extend his point streak to eight games (seven goals, 10 assists).
Jodie Burrage was unable to build on a good start as her Australian Open debut ended with a first-round loss to German Tamara Korpatsch.
Burrage earned her spot in the main draw for the first time with a strong year in 2023 and she played with confidence and purpose to take the opening set as the year’s first grand slam made its maiden Sunday start.
But, as Korpatsch steadied, Burrage’s unforced error count began to rise and it was the German who came through 2-6 6-3 6-0.
The pair had met twice in the closing months of last season, with Korpatsch winning both, but Burrage knew she had the power advantage and she used it well in the first set.
The 24-year-old served strongly and seized on her opponent’s weaker delivery to break twice.
She was in the ascendancy again to start the second set but Korpatsch hung on and the momentum began to swing as the German, who had looked uncomfortable and unsettled, asked Burrage more questions.
The British number two had chances to get back on serve at the end of the second but could not take them and the decider quickly ran away from her in a slew of errors.
Seko Fofana and Jean-Philippe Krasso lifted tournament hosts Ivory Coast to a 2-0 victory over Guinea-Bissau in front of an elated Abidjan crowd to kick off the Africa Cup of Nations.
Fofana fired the Elephants in front inside four minutes at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium, punishing their Group A rivals for a lapse at the back, and came inches away from adding another before the break.
Krasso doubled the lead with a volleyed effort to buy his side a bit of breathing room in the 58th minute as former Chelsea and Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba looked on from the stands.
The visitors came closest when Mama Balde put Franculino Dju through on goal late in the second half, but they never looked like staging a serious comeback.
Fofana’s opener was the result of a defensive lapse by the visitors, who gave the ball away in a dangerous position allowing the Manchester City academy graduate to latch onto Franck Kessie’s low pass and whip the ball past Guinea-Bissau goalkeeper Ouparine Djoco into the top corner.
Fofana nearly doubled his side’s advantage when he forced Djoco into a brilliant fingertip save, the keeper getting enough contact to push against the crossbar and out of danger.
Despite a decent start from Guinea-Bissau, who did have their chances and made it perhaps a closer contest than some expected for a side 54 places above them in FIFA’s world rankings, the home nation continued to control proceedings after the break.
Another Guinea-Bissau error led to Krasso’s alert effort as he patiently controlled the ball on a bounce inside the area before volleying low into the right corner to seal the result.
Erik ten Hag says Manchester United will only succeed with “hungry players” after letting Jadon Sancho leave little more than a year after Cristiano Ronaldo’s high-profile departure.
The Dutch coach was brought in 19 months ago to change things on and off the pitch at Old Trafford, where he has had to deal with a fair share of distractions.
Unhappy star Ronaldo’s second spell at United ended in acrimonious fashion in November 2022 and another big name has left midway through a Ten Hag season in charge of the Premier League giants.
Sancho has been banished from the first-team since September, when he claimed on social media that he had been made a “scapegoat” after the Dutchman said he omitted him from a matchday squad due to his training levels.
The 23-year-old this week returned to former club Borussia Dortmund on loan for the rest of the season and, while he wished the winger luck, the United boss underlined the need for the right mentality at the club.
“If you want to perform, you need hungry players,” Ten Hag said.
“I already said, we need personalities and players who are very hungry to fight for the badge, so fight for this club, and to do this in the team.”
Discipline is a key pillar of Ten Hag’s approach and was backed during the Ronaldo situation by the Glazers, while new incoming minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has not stood in the way of Sancho’s exit.
“I think it is not about discipline, it is about normal behaviour,” the Dutchman said. “It is about that, so what you can expect from a top professional.”
United are preparing for Sunday’s home clash with Tottenham – their only Premier League match this month.
The Red Devils need a win having lost nine of their 20 top-flight matches in an injury-hit season, with results and performances increasing the pressure on Ten Hag.
But the United boss trusts a process he believes will improve as absentees return, including Casemiro and Lisandro Martinez.
Ten Hag said: “If you ask me the question ‘is it difficult for you (to deal with things)?’, no, it is not difficult for me.
“Because I could expect from the start of the season when this happened the process could go negative, then, as a manager, you have to stay positive and get the process in the right direction.
“In the meantime, you have to be pragmatic, get as much points as possible and wait until the players are fit.
“In the meantime, work on your team, work on individuals that they go to higher levels, that you set conditions that the team is performing better, that the results will rise again.”
Hakan Calhanoglu and Lautaro Martinez both scored twice as Inter Milan won 5-1 at Monza to extend their lead at the top of Serie A.
Marcus Thuram was also on target as Simone Inzaghi’s side moved five points clear of Juventus, who host Sassuolo on Tuesday night.
Inter had started brightly, with Federico Dimarco flashing an early chance across the face of goal with an angled drive from the edge of the area.
The visitors were awarded a penalty in the 12th minute for handball by Roberto Gagliardini as he jumped to block a header from Martinez. The decision was given after a review by the referee on the pitchside monitor.
Calhanoglu confidently dispatched the spot-kick low into the bottom right corner.
Before Monza could recover, they fell further behind in the 14th minute.
Dimarco got away down the left following a swift counter attack and played the ball across the six-yard box where Martinez swept it in from close range.
Inter showed little sign of sitting back, with Thuram volleying wide after another dangerous ball from Dimarco.
Monza thought they had reduced the deficit in the 28th minute when Matteo Pessina nodded in from a free-kick when the ball dropped through to the back post – only for the goal to be ruled out following a lengthy VAR review for offside.
There was a stoppage before half-time when Monza forward Dany Mota and Inter defender Benjamin Pavard both needed to be bandaged up following a clash of heads.
Thuram blasted wide of the right-hand post from 20 yards after another swift counter attack.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan sent a half-volley from the edge of the box flying just wide as Inter looked to further extend their lead in the second half.
Calhanoglu picked up a caution in the 59th minute, which will see him suspended for the next Serie A game against Fiorentina following the Italian Super Cup in Saudi Arabia.
The Turkey midfielder showed no signs of letting that concern him as he slotted in Inter’s third goal following another breakaway.
After clearing from a Monza corner, Mkhitaryan darted down the left and cut the ball back for Thuram who unselfishly laid it off for Calhanoglu to net his second of the night.
Pavard’s towering header was clawed away by Monza keeper Alessandro Sorrentino, before the hosts were awarded a penalty with 20 minutes left following a foul by Matteo Darmian on Mota.
Monza captain Pessina rolled the spot-kick into the bottom left corner, sending Yann Sommer the wrong way.
Inter were awarded their second penalty of the night in the 84th minute when Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro went through the back of substitute Davide Frattesi. Martinez confidently converted for his 18th Serie A goal of the season.
Four minutes later, Thuram cut inside from the left to fire in a low drive after yet another surging run from Mkhitaryan to complete the rout.
Pep Guardiola is relieved to have “special player” Kevin De Bruyne back after he inspired Manchester City to victory at Newcastle on his return to Premier League action.
The 32-year-old Belgium international, who had not made a league appearance since August because of injury, endured a disappointing start to his evening on Tyneside when he drilled a free-kick harmlessly into the defensive wall with his first touch.
But he drew City level within five minutes of his introduction and then set up fellow substitute Oscar Bobb to snatch a 3-2 victory in stoppage time.
Asked about his contribution, Guardiola said with a smile: “I am so disappointed in him and upset and grumpy because the free-kick, he didn’t score a goal.
“Apart from that, I had the feeling he was not ready for 90 minutes after five months. We cannot forget – people say, ‘OK he’s ready, he can play after five months 90 minutes’.
“It’s not the case, so that is why he was in that situation. But we had control of the game and his impact in the last 35 minutes, the goal, the assist and how many times he arrived at the byline for the crosses…
“He is a special player. He is a legend, he is beloved by our people and he is fresh in his mind because five months is a lot of time. Hopefully in the second part of the season, he can help us be there until the end.”
City looked to be on their way when Bernardo Silva cheekily back-heeled Kyle Walker’s cross past Martin Dubravka, but superb finishes from Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon inside two minutes put the Magpies ahead.
They retained their advantage until 16 minutes from time when De Bruyne, who had been introduced as a replacement for Silva five minutes earlier, levelled with an astute finish before setting up fellow substitute Bobb to win it in stoppage time.
Assessing a win which took City back into second place behind Liverpool to enhance their title hopes, Guardiola said: “Why should we not try it again?
“We have won (the title) three times in a row, five in the last six, so why not? It’s really important because Liverpool are flying over the last month and we have to go to Anfield, so it’s better to be close to them.”
For Magpies boss Eddie Howe, there was pride in a fine display, but one which ended in disappointment to join a series of near misses this season against the likes of Liverpool and Paris St Germain.
“There was so much promise and so many good things, so to be sat here with nothing is very, very painful,” Howe said.
“The lads have given so much physically in that game. The first half was everything that we want to be. We wanted to be aggressive and front foot. When you do that, you take risks, but those risks were worth it.
“You could see that it paid off at the other end. We still wanted to do that in the second half, we still wanted to play the same way, but we just couldn’t deliver that in the second half.”
On De Bruyne’s contribution, Howe added: “You just hope he’s rusty and not up to full speed yet, but then he comes on and delivers that and you think, ‘Well, there’s no rustiness there’.”
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