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MELBOURNE — Double defending champion Roger Federer weathered a stern test from the impressive Dan Evans and paid the British battler the ultimate compliment after prevailing 7-6(5), 7-6(3), 6-3 to reach the third round of the Australian Open on Wednesday.

Having thrashed Denis Istomin in his Melbourne Park opener, third seed Federer faced a different beast in world number 189 Evans, who made a mockery of his ranking and pushed the Swiss hard throughout a high-quality duel at Rod Laver Arena.

“It feels like playing a mirror a little bit and that was my mindset going in,” 20-times Grand Slam champion Federer said of qualifier Evans, who is rebuilding his career after serving a year-long drug ban.

“He has a lot of slice and more serve and volley, my size can help me a bit more.”

Showcasing a sturdy defence and counter-punching gamely, Evans broke Federer for the first time in the tournament, dragging the former World No. 1 into a second tiebreak to cheer British fans after Andy Murray’s first round elimination.

But the Birmingham man lacked the edge in the clutch points while Federer was clinical.

He broke Evans in the fourth game of the third set and served out the match to love, sealing the win with an imperious backhand winner down the line.

“He was feeling it today, I thought,” said Federer, who will play Taylor Fritz for a place in the fourth round.

“He was very sort of cat and mouse a bit. Very interesting. I liked the match. I thought he was playing well. It was enjoyable.”

Evans sparkled in a run to the fourth round at the 2017 tournament but missed last year’s action at Melbourne Park, after testing positive for cocaine at the Barcelona Open.

He entered Rod Laver Arena for his Federer match-up to a soundtrack of Blur’s Britpop anthem “Parklife”.

There was nothing hazy about his game, however, as he attacked the lines with abandon and rushed the net with conviction.

He saved a set point at 6-5 with a punchy backhand volley down the line and had Federer on the ropes in the tiebreak.

But instead of volleying into an open court to prise a set point off the Swiss, he pushed the forehand well wide.

Reprieved, Federer took full advantage and closed out the set when a scrambling Evans missed a desperate backhand passing short.

The Briton was clearly gutted by the lost chance and promptly threw away his next service game in the second set while still in a funk.

Yet, he regathered his wits quickly.

He battled to save two set points at 5-3 down and then broke back to 5-5, outpointing Federer with an elegant one-handed backhand passing shot that the former World No. 1 would have been proud to call his own.

Once again, Federer lifted in the tiebreak, bringing up three set points in a trice and converting the first with an ace.

From there it was a formality for one of the game’s most ruthless front-runners as Federer cruised to victory to keep his bid for a hat-trick of Melbourne titles alive.

Federer has given cold comfort to the next generation of men’s players hoping for Grand Slam glory, saying he, Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal are still deserving favourites to claim the game’s biggest trophies.

The top three seeds at Melbourne Park raffled all four of the majors between them last year, with Federer winning his sixth Australian Open, Nadal claiming his 11th French Open and World No. 1 Djokovic sweeping Wimbledon and the US Open. 

Before the tournament, top seed Djokovic declared the three should be favourites to win the Slams, and Federer agreed when asked after his Evans match.

“Yes, I guess so,” the third seed told reporters.

“I mean, look, I think we know how to win Slams, Novak, Rafa, myself. I mean, Rafa has to be the number one favourite, I don’t care how he feels, before the French.

“Novak is always a favourite on the hard courts, basically any court if he’s feeling 100 per cent, if he plays like last year.

“Maybe just because of my amount of titles I have at Wimbledon and other places, maybe also have to put me in the mix every time, as well.”

The last time a player not named Federer, Djokovic or Nadal won a Grand Slam was at the 2016 US Open where Swiss Stan Wawrinka claimed his third Grand Slam trophy.

Pundits have decried the younger generation’s failure to break into the Grand Slam cartel enjoyed by the old guard, but have some tipped change at the top this year.

“There are other guys, no doubt about it,” said 37-year-old Federer. “I think also with Sascha [Alexander Zverev] holding the World Tour Finals, I think it’s fair to say that even though he has not ripped through those Slams yet, he will go deep this year definitely at one of them.

James Harden scored a season-high 57 points, and the host Houston Rockets survived their first game without centre Clint Capela, pulling away in the second half for a 112-94 victory over the reeling Memphis Grizzlies on Monday.

Harden recorded his 17th consecutive 30-point game, the longest such streak since Wilt Chamberlain had a 20-game run in 1964. Kobe Bryant had a stretch of 16 straight 30-point games in 2003. Harden had 36 points in the first half.

One night after the Rockets lost Capela to a right thumb injury, Harden shot 17 of 33 from the floor, including 6 of 15 on 3-point tries, while converting 17 of 18 free throws. He added nine rebounds and two steals to carry the Rockets for a lengthy stretch, although Houston did not fully extend its margin until several others contributed from deep in the third quarter.

Capela is expected to be sidelined for up to six weeks.

The Rockets shot 9 of 16 from 3-point range in the third, with Harden responsible for only two of those treys. Austin Rivers and Gerald Green combined for three 3-pointers that helped build the lead to 63-55 before PJ Tucker, Gary Clark and Harden added three additional treys to stretch the advantage to 16.

Harden recorded his second and final assist on the Clark 3-pointer, and his pass following dribble penetration put Green in position to assist on the Tucker trey.

Houston’s Danuel House Jr. tallied 15 points, and Green scored 14 points, 12 of them in the second half. Rivers added 11 points as Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni notched his 600th career victory. Houston have alternated wins and losses the past seven games.

Garrett Temple and Mike Conley scored 14 each for the Grizzlies, who have dropped eight of their past nine games.

Already rolling following a 15-point first quarter on 5-of-7 shooting, Harden exploded for 21 points in the second. His three-point play at the 7:19 mark provided the Rockets a 38-36 lead, and on the ensuing possession, Harden scored through another foul. Harden converted that three-point opportunity as well, continuing a stretch of 11 consecutive Houston points and 17 of the team’s final 19 in the first half.

Harden’s 36 points at the break set a franchise record for the first half and was one shy of the 37 points Vernon Maxwell scored in the second half against the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 26, 1991.

Still, despite the heroics from the reigning MVP, the Rockets only led 54-48 at the intermission.

Hornets 108, Spurs 93

Kemba Walker poured in 33 points and Jeremy Lamb added 19 as visiting Charlotte walked past San Antonio to snap a three-game losing streak.

The game was the first in San Antonio as a member of the visiting team for Charlotte guard Tony Parker, who played for the Spurs for 17 years before signing with the Hornets in the offseason as a free agent. Parker scored eight points, all in the second half.

The contest was also a return to San Antonio for Hornets rookie coach James Borrego, who spent the past four seasons as an assistant with the Spurs. LaMarcus Aldridge led the Spurs with 28 points while Derrick White hit for 18.

Pelicans 121, 

Clippers 117

Anthony Davis overcame a slow start and finished with 46 points and 16 rebounds to lead New Orleans to a win at Los Angeles.

Julius Randle scored 27 points and Jrue Holiday had 19 points and eight assists for the Pelicans, who have won four of five. Davis recorded his 14th straight double-double and 31st of the season.

Montrezl Harrell had 26 points and 10 rebounds for Los Angeles, which has lost three in a row, the past two at home against teams with losing records. Danilo Gallinari added 25 points and Tobias Harris had 21 for the Clippers.

Jazz 100, Pistons 94

Donovan Mitchell scored 28 points, and Rudy Gobert contributed 18 points and a career-high-tying 25 rebounds to lead Utah, to a victory over Detroit in Salt Lake City.

Kyle Korver scored 19 points off the bench for Utah while Joe Ingles added 13 points and matched his season high with eight assists. The Jazz earned their fourth win in a row despite committing 17 turnovers.

Blake Griffin scored 19 points while Andre Drummond chipped in 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Pistons, who lost for the eighth time in 10 games. Reggie Bullock added 13 points as Detroit fell to Utah for the second time this month, having dropped a 110-105 decision in Michigan on January 5.

Kings 115, 

Trail Blazers 107

Buddy Hield scored 19 points to pace six Sacramento players in double figures as the Kings earned a victory over visiting Portland.

Bogdan Bogdanovic added 18 points off the bench and De’Aaron Fox contributed 16 points and nine assists for the Kings, who have won four consecutive home games and four of five games overall.

Damian Lillard scored 35 points for the Trail Blazers, who had won two games in a row.

Nets 109, Celtics 102

D’Angelo Russell scored 18 of his 34 points in the third quarter as Brooklyn snapped a 10-game, head-to-head losing streak to Boston by dominating the third quarter in New York.

The Nets pulled away by outscoring Boston 44-21 in the third. During the period, Brooklyn shot 65.4 per cent (17 of 26) and produced its widest point disparity in a third quarter since outscoring Boston by 24 on April 2, 2005.

Rookie Rodion Kurucs added 19 points for the Nets, who won for the 14th time in 19 games. Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with a career-high 34 points while Jaylen Brown added 22. Kyrie Irving (right quad contusion) and Marcus Smart (illness) sat out for the Celtics.

MELBOURNE — Former champion Maria Sharapova gave hapless Harriet Dart a 6-0, 6-0 shellacking to fly into the second round of the Australian Open on Monday and had no words of comfort to offer the British qualifier after leaving her in tears.

In the opening match on Rod Laver Arena, the 30th seeded Russian was all over the 131st-ranked Dart from the first point and wrapped up the match in little more than an hour after a ruthless barrage of power hitting.

The Centre Court humiliation had Dart weeping as she beat a hasty exit and Sharapova had little sympathy for the 22-year-old after her nightmare debut at Melbourne Park.

“I mean, there is no time for that, I’m sorry to say,” the 2008 winner told reporters.

“But when you’re playing the first round of a Grand Slam — I have been in many positions, last year Wimbledon I came out against a qualifier that played really well.

“You know, there is no doubt that my level wasn’t where I wanted it to be, but she was there to take the match.

“So I’m not so much worried about my opponent, but I have to step up when the time is right and when I need to, so that’s my main goal.”

Dart, who made her Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon as a wildcard, briefly fired up the subdued terraces by grabbing a break point off Sharapova at 4-0 in the first set but blew the chance with an unforced error, one of 21 for the match.

She saved two match points in the final game but fell on the third with a clumsy volley that flew wide and neatly summarised her day.

“Tried some things — didn’t work,” the misty-eyed Briton told reporters, barely able to raise her voice above a whisper.

“She doesn’t really give you anything... It’s just unfortunate I didn’t get on the board.”

Dart was right about Sharapova not giving up many free points. The five-times Grand Slam champion landed 35 of her 36 returns, while blasting 20 winners in the rout.

Sharapova, who last tasted Grand Slam success at the 2014 French Open, had no taping on her limbs and moved well less than two weeks after being forced to retire with a thigh injury during her quarter-final clash at the Shenzhen Open.

The tall 31-year-old said she was still troubled by an injury to her right shoulder which forced her to cut her season short after the US Open.

“That’s a good question,” she said, when asked whether her right arm could ever be fixed.

“I have asked Dr Altchek that many times. I saw him beginning of December, and he says it’s a day-by-day pain management situation.”

Meanwhile, Caroline Wozniacki launched her title defence at the Australian Open with a comfortable 6-3, 6-4 win against Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck in the first round on Monday.

The third-seeded Dane broke Van Uytvanck once in each set and kept her unforced errors down to win the baseline battle in an hour and 33 minutes in the first match of the evening session at the Rod Laver Arena.

The 24-year-old Van Uytvanck, ranked 52, troubled Wozniacki with some well-disguised drop shots, but did not have enough to register her maiden win at Melbourne Park in her fifth appearance in both singles and doubles.

Wozniacki, who is battling rheumatoid arthritis, sealed the match with a forehand winner on her third matchpoint and will next meet Sweden’s Johanna Larsson, who progressed after Vera Lapko of Belarus retired while trailing 7-6(5), 3-0.

AMMAN — Jordan plays Palestine on Tuesday as Australia plays Syria in the other Group B match at the 2019 Asian Cup currently under way in the UAE. The Kingdom tops Group B after an unexpected 1-0 win over titleholders Australia in the opening match followed by a 2-0 win over Syria. In other matches, Palestine held Syria 0-0 and Australia beat Palestine 3-0.

Jordan’s coach Vital Borkelmans is expected to enlist bench players, giving others a chance to recover before heading to Round 2. Meanwhile, Jordan’s U-23 men’s team will play Palestine on Wednesday in it second friendly after it won the first 3-2 as its prepare for the Asian Football Confederation U-23 Championship qualifiers, which act as a qualifying tournament for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

AMMAN — The women’s national football team comes head to head with Bahrain on Tuesday in the final match of the 6th West Asian Championship. The match will be vital for both teams: Jordan is now second behind the host Bahrain after it beat the UAE 4-1, Lebanon 3-1, before holding Palestine 0-0.

Bahrain beat Lebanon 3-2 and Palestine 5-0, while Palestine held the UAE 0-0. Jordan has won the championship four times, while the UAE won the title twice. The tournament acts as a qualifier for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Blake Griffin took advantage of the first opportunity to show his former fans what they are missing, scoring 44 points on Saturday afternoon to lead the visiting Detroit Pistons to a 109-104 victory against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Griffin was drafted No. 1 overall by the Clippers in 2009 and spent his first eight seasons with them, helping the team reach the play-off in six straight years from 2012-17. He was traded to Detroit last January.

Detroit centre Andre Drummond added 20 points and 21 rebounds, including nine on the offensive end. Reggie Bullock, another former first-round pick of the Clippers, scored 17 points for the Pistons, who had lost nine of 11.

The starting line-up for the Clippers included two players who came to Los Angeles in the Griffin trade; forward Tobias Harris and guard Avery Bradley. Harris finished with 11 points, 10 below his scoring average, and 10 rebounds. Bradley finished with three points.

Danilo Gallinari led Los Angeles with 23 points, while Lou Williams scored 22 and Montrezl Harrell 21, both coming off the bench.

After trailing by as many as 16 early in the second half, the Clippers opened the fourth quarter with a 10-2 run to pull within two. Williams tied the score 97-97 with a 3-pointer with 4:45 left.

Bullock made two 3-pointers just over a minute apart to extend the lead to 105-99, and Griffin scored inside to make it 107-99 with 2:47 left.

The Clippers had the ball trailing by three in the final minute, but Bruce Brown made a steal from Williams with 21.2 seconds left, was fouled and sank both free throws.

Griffin, who had signed a five-year, $173 million contract six months before he was traded, did not shake the extended hand of Clippers owner Steve Ballmer during warm-ups, then went out and scored 15 points in the first quarter to help the Pistons to a 37-24 lead.

The Pistons maintained a 65-54 advantage at the half, then scored the first five points of the second half to take their biggest lead at 70-54.

Magic 105, Celtics 103

Jayson Tatum’s tying attempt at the buzzer missed, helping Orlando hold on late over visiting Boston and snapping a four-game losing streak.

Aaron Gordon had 11 points in the fourth quarter and led all scorers with 28 points along with 12 rebounds. 

Terrence Ross added 25 points off the bench, and Nikola Vucevic had 16 points and 13 rebounds. 

The Magic were coming off a disappointing road trip in which they went 1-5.

Kyrie Irving had 25 points, six assists and five rebounds, and Marcus Morris added 17 points and eight rebounds for the Celtics. Boston have lost back-to-back games, including to Miami on Thursday to end a four-game winning streak.

Heat 112, Grizzlies 108

Justise Winslow produced a game-high 26 points to go with seven rebounds and four assists as Miami defeated visiting Memphis.

Winslow made 10 of 16 shots, including 4 of 4 3-pointers, as Miami improved to 10-4 in its past 14 games. The score was tied at 108 with 56 seconds left when Miami’s Bam Adebayo made 1 of 2 free throws. The Heat led the rest of the way.

Memphis was led by reserve JaMychal Green, who had a double-double with 24 points and 11 rebounds in just 22 minutes. The Grizzlies lost for the seventh time in eight games.

Timberwolves 110, Pelicans 106

Karl-Anthony Towns had 27 points and 27 rebounds as host Minnesota held off New Orleans.

Andrew Wiggins added 18 points, Josh Okogie scored 17, Dario Saric and Tyus Jones had 14 each and Taj Gibson 10 for the Timberwolves.

Anthony Davis had 30 points and 14 rebounds, Jrue Holiday scored 25 points, Julius Randle added 22 points and 11 rebounds and Elfrid Payton had 10 points to lead the Pelicans, who saw a three-game winning streak end in the opener of a five-game road trip.

Thunder 122, Spurs 112

Dennis Schroder scored all 19 of his points in the second half as Oklahoma City picked up a come-from-behind victory over visiting San Antonio.

Russell Westbrook led the Thunder with 24 points and 10 rebounds, and Paul George finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Marco Belinelli had a season-high 24 points off the bench to lead San Antonio. DeMar DeRozan added 18 while LaMarcus Aldridge, coming off a 56-point performance in Thursday’s 154-147 double-overtime win over the Thunder in San Antonio, scored 17 points.

Suns 102, Nuggets 93

Kelly Oubre Jr. and Richaun Holmes combined for 40 points off the bench as Phoenix’s reserves dominated their Denver counterparts in a home win over the Western Conference’s top team.

The Suns, who have the worst record in the West at 11-33, used a 10-0 flurry late in the first quarter to take a lead they never relinquished en route to their first win over the Nuggets in three tries this season.

Nikola Jokic had 23 points and 10 rebounds for Denver, which at 28-13 retained a half-game lead over Golden State atop the West.

Jazz 110, Bulls 102

Donovan Mitchell scored a game-high 34 points, and Utah rallied for a win over visiting Chicago.

Rudy Gobert flirted with a triple-double for the Jazz with 15 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists. Kyle Korver (16) and Joe Ingles (16) also scored in double digits for Utah, who outscored Chicago 29-20 in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.

Chicago lost their seventh game in a row. Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 21 points, while Lauri Markkanen had 16 and three others had 11.

Kings 104, Hornets 97

Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 22 points, and Buddy Hield and De’Aaron Fox added 21 each as Sacramento fended off visiting Charlotte.

Bogdanovic hit four 3-pointers and Hield five as the Kings went 14 of 37 on treys overall. They also got 12 points and 12 rebounds from Willie Cauley-Stein and 11 points from Marvin Bagley III.

Kemba Walker led the Hornets with 31 points, although he left in the final minute because of an abdominal injury. The Hornets also got 13 points from Nicolas Batum, 11 from Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and 10 from Malik Monk.

Australian teenager Alex de Minaur claimed his first career title in style when he wore down Italian veteran Andreas Seppi 7-5, 7-6(5) to win the Sydney International on Saturday after his second match in five hours.

De Minaur, who earlier beat Frenchman Gilles Simon 6-3, 6-2 in the semifinals, burst onto the tennis scene when he reached the Sydney final a year ago while ranked 167th in the world but lost to Russia’s Daniil Medvedev.

The 19-year-old proved his burgeoning reputation as a fighter is deserved and he never looked in danger of suffering a repeat of last year’s disappointment as he became the first Australian to lift the title since Bernard Tomic in 2013.

“It’s crazy to have this actually happen. I thought it wouldn’t happen,” De Minaur said after collecting the trophy. “You guys don’t know how much it means to win in front of all of you, in front of my home [crowd].”

Seppi hit 27 winners to De Minaur’s 21, but the youngster made eight fewer unforced errors and won 20 points at the net to help seal the victory, showing no signs of fatigue having earlier beaten Simon after rain washed out the match on Friday.

Boundless energy and the determination to chase down lost causes have been the cornerstones of De Minaur’s early success and he was in fine form on Saturday, recovering from losing an early break to win the first set.

There was little to chose between the two in terms of winners in opener, with Seppi edging the Australian by 14 to 13 on that score, but De Minaur’s relentlessness served him well and he committed six fewer unforced errors to take the lead.

Seppi called on all of his experience to stay with the youngster in the second set, finding the lines on both wings and dropping the ball short in a bid to keep De Minaur guessing.

The 34-year-old Italian’s efforts paid off when he broke De Minaur to go 4-3 up, but a poor service game allowed the teenager to break straight back and the set headed into a tiebreak.

Once again, De Minaur had to come from behind but he edged the tiebreak and celebrated his victory by falling flat on his back before kissing the court.

This is likely to be the last Sydney International in its current format — a tournament dating back to 1885 — with the ATP Cup starting next season.

After beating Simon in the semifinal, De Minaur criticised Australian Open organisers after failing to get his opening match at the year’s first Grand Slam pushed back.

He will fly to Melbourne on Sunday ahead of his first-round match against Portugal’s Pedro Sousa on Monday afternoon.

“What’s more annoying is me having to play on Monday at the Australian Open and not getting helped out as a fellow Aussie at your home Slam,” said the 27th seed.

“I think they’re punishing Aussies for playing deep in their home tournaments and... that’s not what they should be doing.”

LOS ANGELES — Manny Pacquiao, the Filipino multiple world champion who turned 40 last month, said on Wednesday that while he is focused on his title defence against Adrien Broner, he has considered life beyond the ring.

The WBA welterweight champion knows he will have his hands full when he battles the hard-hitting Broner in Las Vegas on January 19, and is not lining up fighters down the road. 

"At the age of 40, it's hard to think about future fights," he told Reuters ahead of a workout at Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood. “Just one at a time.”

He dismissed concerns that he has lost the knockout power that made the "PacMan" the sport's only eight-division world champion and among the best pound-for-pound fighters of all time.

After a knockout drought, Pacquiao had a return to form in July when he stunned defending champion Lucas Matthysse with a seventh-round knockout in Kuala Lumpur to claim the title.

"I still have it," said the soft-spoken Pacquiao, who is 60-7-2 with 39 knockouts in his career. 

"God is good," he said with a smile.

Pacquiao knows, though, that Father Time is undefeated and hanging up his gloves would give him a chance to fully embrace his other passion — politics. 

Already a senator in the southeast Asian country, some believe the popular Pacquiao could take over from President Rodrigo Duterte when the election to replace him is held in 2022. 

"Well if God wants me to be, then why not?" he said when asked whether he would like the position. 

"But I'm not thinking about that now."

Pacquiao said he supported the conservative Duterte, who has come under fire for his hard line stance against drug dealers and users.

"He did a lot of good things in the Philippines. Big, big accomplishments," he said.

One place you won't find Pacquiao is in exhibition matches like the one his former rival Floyd Mayweather fought last month against Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa — a one-sided win for the American that was widely panned.

"I won't do that. If I'm Floyd I wouldn't do that," he said.

"Exhibition match where you just knock him out. That's not good for the fans." 

Asked about his legacy, he said he had already proven himself in the ring and was more interested in connecting with the people. 

"My legacy is already there," he said. "I want to be an inspiration to the fans and the people not only inside the ring but also outside the ring." 

LONDON — Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino was critical of video assistant referee (VAR) technology on Tuesday despite the system playing a key role in Harry Kane’s penalty winner in a 1-0 League Cup semifinal, first-leg victory over Chelsea.

Kane’s 26th-minute spot kick means Tottenham take a slender advantage to Stamford Bridge on January 24, but despite VAR proving helpful for his team, Pochettino was left unhappy.

“To be honest I’m not very happy with that system, it’s a system that we need to agree on the way it’s going to be used,” Pochettino, who is seeking a first trophy since taking over at Tottenham in 2014, told reporters.

“We need to develop that system, we need to work with players, coaching staff and referees, it needs to be a tool to improve the game.”

The crucial VAR intervention came just before the midway point of the first half as Kane raced through on goal from Toby Alderweireld’s pass and appeared to be brought down by Chelsea’s Spanish keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Initially referee Michael Oliver did not award a penalty, but instead signalled for VAR while the crowd and players watched and waited in a state of some confusion.

After a lengthy delay, to decide whether Kane had actually been onside in the build-up to the goal and whether there had been contact, Oliver pointed to the spot and Kane drilled home what turned out to be the winner.

“It’s a system that sometimes kills emotions,” Pochettino said. “Of course today it was a little advantage for us and was a good decision for us but I didn’t celebrate because we were waiting five minutes.

“Being clear. I am pro technology because you cannot stop evolution but we are waiting so long, it is not clear what are the rules.”

VAR, which was used at last year’s World Cup and is set to be introduced in the Premier League next season, was also in the spotlight during the weekend’s FA Cup ties.

At one game, Burnley manager Sean Dyche was left bemused when a penalty decision in favour of his side against Barnsley was overturned just as Matej Vydra was in his run-up to take it.

Chelsea’s Italian manager Maurizio Sarri was also left frustrated by the VAR on Tuesday.

“Kane was clearly offside,” he told reporters. “A few minutes ago I watched the video from our camera. It was offside.

“At the moment here referees aren’t ready to use the system in the right way.” 

AL AIN — China's manager Marcello Lippi questioned the attitude of his team after it came from behind to scrape a 2-1 victory over Kyrgyzstan thanks to an own goal and Yu Dabao's late strike in the Asian Cup opener on Monday.

Kyrgyzstan goalkeeper Pavel Matiash pushed the ball into his own net five minutes into the second half to cancel out Akhlidin Israilov's first-half opener before Yu secured the points for China with a calm finish 12 minutes from time.

With South Korea winning 1-0 against a defiant Philippines, which like Kyrgyzstan is tournament debutant, with a goal by Hwang Ui-jo, the east Asian nations are the Group C pacesetters but Lippi was not happy with China's performance.

"I've been in China for two years now and it's not the first time [we've been] in this situation," Lippi said of his side's disjointed display in the opening period.

"There were a few times when the team couldn't play well in the first half and then, after I got angry and I pushed my players, I got the reaction I wanted from the first minute.

"Maybe it's the characteristics of the players from China."

Lippi's side were outplayed in the first half by the Central Asian side and it came as little surprise when Israilov put Kyrgyzstan in front three minutes before the break with a volley from the edge of the area.

Matiash's horrendous mistake, however, gifted the Chinese an equaliser when he palmed a seemingly harmless looping header from Zhang Linpeng into his own goal.

The goal lifted the Chinese and Beijing Guoan's Yu slotted home late on to give Lippi's team a winning start to the continental championship.

Korea tested 

South Korea is attempting to win the title for the first time since 1960, although they were made to work for the three points by Sven-Goran Eriksson's Philippines.

The Azkals defended resolutely but could not stop Hwang's 67th minute strike as the Gamba Osaka forward took one touch to control Hwang Hee-chan's cut-back before smashing the ball into the roof of the net.

Later on Monday, Carlos Queiroz's Iran thrashed Yemen, another tournament debutant, 5-0 in Group D.

Mehdi Taremi scored twice in the first half, either side of a free kick from Ashkan Dejagah, as the three-time champions justified their status among the favourites.

Taremi gave Iran the lead with 12 minutes on the clock when he stole in to convert from close range after goalkeeper Saoud Al Sowadi spilled Sardar Azmoun's long-range attempt.

Dejagah added the second 11 minutes later when his free kick came back off the post and crossed the line via the back of Al Sowadi's head and Taremi made it 3-0 in the 25th with a header.

Azmoun hit Iran's fourth from close range nine minutes into the second half and Saman Ghoddos added the fifth from just outside the penalty area in the 78th.