Today's sports news: What you need to know

Manchester United climbed two places up to second in the English Premier League after Marcus Rashford scored deep into stoppage time to give them a 1-0 home win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The result left United on 30 points from 15 games, two behind champions and leaders Liverpool who visit Newcastle United tomorrow, while Wolves stayed 12th on 21 points.

Southampton missed a chance to move into the top four as they were held 0-0 at home by resilient West Ham United.

Southampton remain in ninth position with 26 points while West Ham are in 10th spot, three points worse off.

Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette scored 43 seconds after coming on as a second-half substitute to secure a 1-0 win at Brighton & Hove Albion.

After a rocky run of seven games without a win came to an end against Chelsea on Boxing Day, Arsenal's first back-to-back victories since the opening two games of the season in September moves them up to 13th on 20 points.

Brighton are two points out of the relegation zone.

Strugglers West Bromwich Albion were thumped 5-0 by Leeds United.

Leeds move up to 11th in the table with 23 points, while West Brom remain second-bottom on eight points from 16 games, five shy of safety.

Winless Sheffield United's dreadful season continued as they fell to a 1-0 defeat to Burnley at Turf Moor.

Bottom placed United have just two points from their opening 16 games -- the worst ever start to a top flight season in English football.

-Reuters

John F Reid dies

The former New Zealand cricketer John F Reid has died, he was 64.

Reid was a key player in the success of the '80s NZ team, and a highly-regarded NZC Academy coach & high-performance head.

In the 19 Tests he played, Reid struck six centuries, averaged 46, and played a vital role in the '85 series wins against Pakistan and Australia.

John Fulton Reid, one of New Zealand's finest test batsmen, has died of cancer aged 64.

The left-hander scored 1296 runs at an average of 46.28 from 19 tests between 1979 and 1986, second behind Kane Williamson among compatriots to play more than 20 innings.

His conversion rate of centuries from half-centuries was 75 percent, completing six from eight. That is the best among New Zealanders, and higher than Sir Don Bradman's 69 percent - although The Don reached three figures on 29 occasions out of 42.

The pinnacle of his playing career arguably came in November 1985 during New Zealand's innings-and-41-run victory against Australia at the pacy 'Gabba. Reid and Martin Crowe combined for a then-record 224-run third-wicket stand which helped their side to 553 for seven declared. Sir Richard Hadlee did the rest with 15 wickets for 123.

Reid made 108.

Harris signs on for another two years

The New Zealand cyclist Ella Harris has signed a two-year extension to stay with her German Pro team Canyon-SRAM.

22 year old Harris earned her spot on the Women's WorldTour team after winning last year's Zwift Academy and has proven her strength as one of the top climbers in the world during her first year of top-tier racing.

"It's true Canyon-SRAM is the only team I really know since winning the Zwift Academy, but I'm certain I've started right at the top and would be hard pushed to find somewhere else that could compare," said Harris.

"As soon as I was offered another contract, I didn't hesitate or even contemplate any other options. It was a clear decision for me to continue in an environment that I know will provide me with all the opportunities to improve as a rider and become the best that I can be."

Harris, who broke her leg while training in Italy in August, is currently spending the summer back home in Dunedin.

Canyon-SRAM signed fellow-New Zealander Mikayla Harvey last week.

Double success for Canterbury

The Canterbury women's and men's cricket teams have completed the double over their Otago counterparts in the SuperSmash T20 competition.

In their opening games of the competition the Canterbury side's were too strong for their opponents with the Magicians beating the Sparks by eight wickets in the women's game and the Kings beating the Volts by 61 runs in the men's game.

Lea Tahuhu and Gabby Sullivan took three wickets each as the Sparks were bowled out for 112, while Amy Satterthwaite scored an unbeaten half century in the Magians run chase.

Chad Bowes scored 72 as the Kings made 185 for four and Matt Henry and Ed Nuttall took three wickets each as the Volts were bowled out for 124 in their chase.

Today Central Districts and Northern Districts meet in New Plymouth.

Proteas win first test

South Africa has beaten Sri Lanka by an innings and 45 runs on day four of the first Test at Centurion.

The tourists resumed their second innings on 65 for two on a wicket that provided plenty of assistance for the seam bowlers and when dangerous opener Kusal Perera was out for 64, their hopes of saving the test were realistically over.

The tourists were bowled out for 180 in their second innings with Wiaan Mulder and Lutho Sipamla taking two wickets each.

Sri Lanka had suffered crippling injuries to their bowling attack in the test and were also without middle-order batsman Dhananjaya de Silva for the second innings, a major concern for their home series against England that starts on Jan. 14.

The tourists posted an impressive 396 in their first innings, but allowed South Africa to amass 621 in reply, and will need to find more potency with the ball ahead of the second test that starts in Johannesburg on Jan. 3.

-Reuters

Indian Wells postponed again

The Indian Wells tennis tournament scheduled to be held in California in March has been postponed due to Covid-19 concerns.

It marks the second consecutive year the tournament, which is considered the most prestigious event outside the four Grand Slams, has been impacted by the virus as the 2019 edition was cancelled.

The event, which next year was scheduled to be held March 8-21, attracts the game's top players from both the men's and women's sides.

A statement on the tournament's website said organisers are working with the ATP and WTA Tours as well as title sponsor BNP Paribas to confirm dates later in the year to hold the event.

The start of the 2021 Australian Open, the year's first Grand Slam, has already been delayed for three weeks until Feb. 8 due to the country's strict border rules to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

-Reuters

Sydney keeps third Test

Sydney will remain the venue for Australia's third cricket test against India next month despite the Covid-19 outbreak in the city's northern beach suburbs.

Australia's most populous state of New South Wales reported three new cases on Tuesday but CA decided against changing the venue.

"We have met regularly over the past week to assess the unfolding public health situation in Sydney and gauge its impact on border restrictions around the country," CA's interim chief executive Nick Hockley said in a statement.

"To that end, we have made the decision to keep the New Year's Test at the SCG.

"We are confident that both this match, and the fourth test in Brisbane, will play out in a safe and successful manner."

The Melbourne Cricket Ground was kept on standby to host back-to back matches against India, who won the traditional Boxing Day test at the MCG by eight wickets on Tuesday.

The four-test series is level at 1-1 ahead of the third match in Sydney starting on Jan. 7.

-Reuters

EPL Covid cases on the rise

The English Premier League said that 18 individuals tested positive for Covid-19, the highest number of cases in a week this season, in the latest round of tests conducted between Dec. 21-27 on 1,479 players and staff.

Since the new season kicked off, 131 individuals in the English top flight have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in 17 rounds of testing.

The league did not name the people who tested positive or their clubs but said they will self-isolate for 10 days.

Yesterday, Manchester City reported numerous positive cases in their squad -- days after striker Gabriel Jesus and defender Kyle Walker tested positive -- forcing the league to postpone their match at Everton.

The postponement was the second this season after an outbreak at Newcastle United forced the league to call off their match at Aston Villa earlier this month.

Arsenal also said their Brazilian defender Gabriel had tested positive for Covid-19 and would not be available for their next two matches.

-Reuters

PSG sack coach

French football champions Paris St Germain have sacked coach Thomas Tuchel, with the side sitting third in the league standings.

German Tuchel, who led PSG to the Champions League final in August which they lost to Bayern Munich, was dismissed on Christmas eve following a 4-0 win over Racing Strasbourg.

PSG have 35 points from 17 games, one point behind league leaders Olympique Lyonnais and Lille, and are through to the last 16 of the Champions League, where they face Spanish side Barcelona.

Tuchel, 47, was appointed PSG boss in 2018 and guided them to two Ligue 1 titles along with a domestic quadruple in his second season at the club.

L'Equipe reported that Argentine Mauricio Pochettino, the former manager of English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur, is set to be named Tuchel's successor.