LONDON — Demba Ba helped injury-hit Newcastle United end a sequence of four successive English Premier League defeats by grabbing two goals in a 3-0 victory over 10-man Wigan Athletic Monday night. The Senegal striker's double blast took his tally to 10 league goals this season, putting him level with joint top scorers Robin van Persie of Manchester United, Luis Suarez of Liverpool and Swansea City's Michu. Ba put Newcastle in front with a crisply-struck penalty into the bottom corner of the net after Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa was sent off for bringing down Papiss Cisse just inside the box in the 12th minute. The home team made it 2-0 nine minutes later when Ba pounced on the rebound to score from close range after goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi could only parry a fierce 25-meter drive from full back Davide Santon. Substitute Gael Bigirimana added a third goal, his first for the club, in the 71st minute when the Zimbabwean beat Al-Habsi with a curling left-foot shot from 20 meters. “It's been a difficult time for the players and staff because we've had so many injuries,” Newcastle manager Alan Pardew told Sky Sports. “It was nice to get an early break tonight. I'm not a lover of that rule,” he said referring to the option referees have of sending a player off for stopping a goal-scoring opportunity, “but I did think it was a penalty”. Newcastle stayed 14th in the table with 17 points from 15 games, three points ahead of Wigan, which is fifth from bottom. At the other end of the table, Manchester United stretched its lead to three points with a 4-3 victory at Reading Saturday and second-placed Manchester City was held to a 1-1 home draw by Everton. Valladolid eyes Europe spot Two early goals gave promoted Valladolid a 2-1 victory at Sevilla that moved it up to seventh in La Liga and the brink of the European places Monday. Miroslav Djukic's side has 21 points from 14 games, one behind Malaga in fifth and Getafe in sixth, which is tied on 22 points. Wildly inconsistent Sevilla, which has beaten third-placed champion Real Madrid and fourth-placed Real Betis at home this season, left the Sanchez Pizjuan to whistles from the crowd and is 11th with 18 points. Valladolid's German winger Patrick Ebert netted on a break away after only two minutes and midfielder Oscar squeezed a shot over Diego Lopez for the second in the 12th. Sevilla struggled to react until visiting striker Manucho headed into his own net just after the re-start, but its fightback was hindered when Gary Medel was sent off. The combative Chile midfielder picked up a second yellow card in the 64th minute and that helped Valladolid weather a tricky final few minutes when they came close to adding a third on the counter. Chelsea signs Wallace Chelsea has agreed terms with Brazil's Fluminense for the transfer of 18-year-old defender Wallace, the Premier League club said Tuesday. Wallace, a Brazil under-20 international, was part of the under-17 team that won the South American championship last year and were fourth at the World Cup at the same level. He made his senior debut at 17 and helped Fluminense win the Brazilian league championship, the Rio State League and the Guanabara Cup. He will officially join Chelsea in the January transfer window but will remain with Fluminense until the end of the season. — Agencies
