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European football: Eriksen nets winner in fiery Milan derby, Man City crush West Brom to go top
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Christian Eriksen (C) of Inter Milan celebrates after scoring a goal during the Coppa Italia match between Inter Milan and AC Milan in Milan, Italy, January 26, 2021. /CFP

Christian Eriksen (C) of Inter Milan celebrates after scoring a goal during the Coppa Italia match between Inter Milan and AC Milan in Milan, Italy, January 26, 2021. /CFP

Christian Eriksen scored a last-gasp winner as Inter Milan advanced to the Italian Cup semi-finals on Tuesday with a 2-1 victory over 10-man AC Milan in a fiery derby clash.

The match at the San Siro was overshadowed by a clash between star strikers Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Romelu Lukaku, who both scored on the night, with the Swede later sent off in the second half.

Ibrahimovic broke through on the half-hour after connecting with Soualiho Meite's headed cross, firing in low from the right with the ball bouncing in off the far post.

But former Manchester United teammates Ibrahimovic and Lukaku angrily clashed before the half-time whistle.

Ibrahimovic taunted Lukaku and infuriated the Belgian by laughing in his face with the pair going head-to-head.

The duo traded insults heading towards the tunnel with a furious Lukaku being restrained by his teammates.

Both players were booked over the incident.

Romelu Lukaku (L) of Inter Milan argues with Zlatan Ibrahimovic of AC Milan during their Coppa Italia match in Milan, Italy, January 26, 2021. /CFP

Romelu Lukaku (L) of Inter Milan argues with Zlatan Ibrahimovic of AC Milan during their Coppa Italia match in Milan, Italy, January 26, 2021. /CFP

Ibrahimovic got his marching orders after picking up a second yellow card 15 minutes after the break after for bringing down Aleksandar Kolarov.

Rafael Leao's foul on Nicolo Barella gave Inter a penalty after 71 minutes, with Lukaku stepping up to fire in via the underside of the crossbar.

Eriksen came off the bench with two minutes to go and the out-of-favor Danish midfielder scored the winner deep into stoppage time with a sensational free-kick after a change in referee because of injury.

AC Milan coach Stefano Pioli said Zlatan Ibrahimovic had apologized after he was sent off.

"He (Ibrahimovic) apologized like the great champion he is," Pioli said. "He got a bit caught up in the desire to help the team.

"It wasn't easy to stay in the game a man down. The pressure from Inter was strong."

"We paid for the effort in the last half hour and we couldn't bring home a positive result," Pioli added. "It shouldn't have happened, but that's how it went.

"We are very sorry because we had prepared for the game well."

Manchester City players celebrate their victory over West Bromwich Albion during their Premier League match in West Bromwich, England, January 26, 2021. /CFP

Manchester City players celebrate their victory over West Bromwich Albion during their Premier League match in West Bromwich, England, January 26, 2021. /CFP

Manchester City returned to the top of the Premier League table in emphatic fashion on Tuesday by crushing West Bromwich Albion 5-0 at the Hawthorns.

City, who scored three goals in the opening half hour, have 41 points, and the win was Pep Guardiola's team's 11th straight victory in all competitions.

Ilkay Gundogan put City ahead in the sixth minute, showing great control as he collected a pass from Joao Cancelo and curled a shot into the far corner.

Cancelo then made it 2-0 with another fine strike into the same corner, although West Brom were unhappy that the assistant's flag had been raised before his shot.

The impressive Gundogan added his second and City's third on the half-hour, when he robbed Romaine Sawyers on the edge of the box, danced past Dara O'Shea and fired home.

On the stroke of halftime, Riyad Mahrez made it 4-0 with a trademark strike, cutting in from the right and blasting a left-foot shot into the far top corner past the helpless Sam Johnstone.

Mahrez turned provider after the interval, with his low ball across the face of the penalty area tapped in from close range by Raheem Sterling in the 57th minute.

Arsenal's Hector Bellerin (R) positions himself on the floor behind the defensive wall while others jump to try and defend a free kick from Southampton's James Ward-Prowse during their Premier League match in Southampton, England, January 26, 2021. /CFP

Arsenal's Hector Bellerin (R) positions himself on the floor behind the defensive wall while others jump to try and defend a free kick from Southampton's James Ward-Prowse during their Premier League match in Southampton, England, January 26, 2021. /CFP

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta praised his side after a 3-1 win at Southampton in chilly conditions on Tuesday lifted them into the top half of the Premier League table, but the Spaniard said there was still a lot of work to be done.

"It is tough to win here, they are strong and have been in form. It showed a lot of intelligence and resilience from the team in the way they managed the game," Arteta said.

"We have still a lot to do. We have to improve, be humble and train good for the next game," he added.

Unfazed by Stuart Armstrong's early strike for the hosts, Arsenal were ahead by half-time thanks to goals from Nicolas Pepe and Bukayo Saka, avenging their English Football Association (FA) Cup exit against Southampton.

Tomas Soucek (L) of West Ham United scores a goal against Crystal Palace during their Premier League match in London, England, January 26, 2021. /CFP

Tomas Soucek (L) of West Ham United scores a goal against Crystal Palace during their Premier League match in London, England, January 26, 2021. /CFP

Also on Tuesday, West Ham United became the latest club to challenge the Premier League hierarchy after Tomas Soucek's double helped secure a well-deserved 3-2 win at London rivals Crystal Palace and took them up to fourth spot.

Palace had made a perfect start when Wilfried Zaha struck after two minutes at a drizzly Selhurst Park but a West Ham side brimming with confidence hit back to claim a fourth straight league victory.

Leeds United's Brazilian winger Raphinha (R) scores a goal against Newcastle United during their Premier League match in Newcastle, England, January 26, 2021. /CFP

Leeds United's Brazilian winger Raphinha (R) scores a goal against Newcastle United during their Premier League match in Newcastle, England, January 26, 2021. /CFP

Meanwhile, Leeds United wingers Raphinha and Jack Harrison secured a 2-1 win at Newcastle United on Tuesday, piling more pressure on Magpies manager Steve Bruce after the northeast club's poor Premier League run stretched to nine games without a win.

"The manager talks about having personality and character and we went into this game with a lot of fire," said Harrison.

"We knew it was going to be a challenge. We'd been preparing all week for this and we had to come out strong which we did. We'll keep our heads down and keep working hard game-by-game," Harrison added.

(With input from agencies)

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