Nick Kyrgios into US Open second round

Nick Kyrgios let his racquet do the talking to storm into the second round of the US Open, a day after pointing out tennis players are allowed to smoke marijuana on tour in a Q&A with his Twitter followers.

Kyrgios overcame a troublesome hip and an early confrontation with the chair umpire to blast past Britain’s Aljaz Bedene 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in less than two hours on Tuesday night.

The 14th seed’s routine win came after officials said he would not be sanctioned for his latest headline-grabbing moment on the eve of the season’s final grand slam event. Kyrgios offered up a simple “yep” when asked by one of his Twitter followers: “are you allowed to smoke weed on tour?”

And he is correct, with a Wada spokesman confirming that while marijuana “is a prohibited substance for in-competition testing, it has never been prohibited out-of-competition”. In effect, that means players are OK to smoke marijuana while not competing at tournaments.

During the same snap, two-minute Q&A, Kyrgios also teased that he would walk away from tennis – at just 21 – if he won the US Open on Sunday week. “If I won the US open now u [sic] would never see me again,” he replied to a fan ahead of his opener against British No3 Bedene.

After sitting out the Rio Olympics following his running battle with Australia’s chef de mission Kitty Chiller, Kyrgios also seemed to have a laugh at the Australian team boss.

Asked who inspired him the most over the Olympics, he replied: “kitty”. But, as his wont, the two-time grand slam quarter-finalist backed up his pre-tournament banter with an impressive opening to his campaign.

Kyrgios fired down 14 aces and thumped 43 winners in booking a second-round date on Thursday with Argentine Horacio Zeballos.

His victory wasn’t completely incident-free, though, with Kyrgios receiving a code violation in the first game of the match for aggressively hitting a ball, after a rally that the umpire deemed came dangerously close to a linesman.

“You’re giving me a code violation for hitting the ball too hard. I’ve heard it all now,” Kyrgios said.

Kyrgios’ match with Bedene was the fourth of the day on the old Grandstand court – all of which featured Australians.

Sam Stosur joined Kyrgios in victory after she won through to the second round for an eighth time at Flushing Meadows following a tough workout against Camila Giorgi.

Australia’s 2011 champion overcame three service breaks and some relentless pressure to emerge with a 7-5, 6-7 (4-7), 6-1 victory over the free-hitting Italian. Stosur, the 16th seed this year, next plays Zhang Shuai, who crushed Australian wildcard Ellen Perez 6-1, 6-1 in her opening match.

Group fixtures set for UEFA Europa League

The group stage will kick off on 15 September with Feyenoord hosting Manchester United and Ajax replaying a European Cup final against Panathinaikos after the fixtures were confirmed.

• Opening day
Thursday 15 September, 19:00 & 21:05CET
Group A: Feyenoord v Manchester United, Zorya Luhansk v Fenerbahçe 
Group B: Young Boys v Olympiacos, APOEL v Astana
Group C: Mainz v St-Étienne, Anderlecht v Qäbälä 
Group D: AZ Alkmaar v Dundalk, Maccabi Tel-Aviv v Zenit
Group E: Viktoria Plzeň v Roma, Astra Giurgiu v Austria Wien
Group F: Rapid Wien v Genk, Sassuolo v Athletic Club
Group G: Standard Liège v Celta Vigo, Panathinaikos v Ajax
Group H: Konyaspor v Shakhtar Donetsk, Braga v Gent
Group I: Salzburg v Krasnodar, Nice v Schalke
Group J: Qarabağ v Slovan Liberec, PAOK v Fiorentina
Group K: Internazionale Milano v Hapoel Beer-Sheva, Southampton v Sparta Praha
Group L: Osmanlıspor v Steaua Bucureşti, Villarreal v Zürich

• Other highlights
Thursday 29 September: Ajax v Standard, Olympiacos v APOEL
Thursday 20 October: Inter v Southampton, Dundalk v Zenit
Thursday 3 November: Fenerbahçe v Man. United, Nice v Salzburg
Thursday 24 November: Zürich v Villarreal, St-Étienne v Mainz
Thursday 8 December: Astra v Roma, Qarabağ v Fiorentima

West Ham knocked out of UEFA Europa League

English Premier League club West Ham suffered a shock defeat by Romanian side Astra Giurgiu on Thursday that saw them knocked out of the Europa League in a mirror image of last season’s campaign.

Slaven Bilic’s side had left the tie in the balance after a disappointing 1-1 away draw a week ago and that result came back to haunt them as Astra took the lead on the stroke of half-time through Filipe Teixeira.

West Ham were guilty of slack defending as Daniel Niculae found Teixeira free in the box with the striker rolling the ball past Darren Randolph.

That was enough to hand the Romanians a 2-1 victory on aggregate, mirroring Astra’s 4-3 win over the Hammers at the same stage of Europe’s second-tier club competition last season, a hammerblow for West Ham fans hoping to see more European football at the club’s new Olympic Stadium base.

in other results, French side Saint-Etienne endured a torrid final 45 minutes at stade Geoffroy-Guichard after goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier was sent off on the stroke of half time for punching Beitar Jerusalem striker Itay Shechter.

The Israeli striker had collided with the French ‘keeper with his studs showing in a seemingly genuine attempt to play the ball and Les Verts’ Ruffier was appropriately sent off for his reaction.

Despite the red carding, Christophe Galtier’s side were never really under threat and saw out a 0-0 draw to progress to the group stages of the Europa League after winning 2-1 in Israel.

Italian side Sassuolo, who finished sixth in Serie A last year, qualified for the first time in their history for a European competition after a lacklustre 1-1 draw against Serbia’s Crvena Zvezda. The Italians had done the bulk of the work last week, winning 3-0 at home.

Belgian side Anderlecht were another high profile team to progress to the next round after they despatched Salvia Prague 3-0 to complete a 6-0 aggregate win.

Greek side Panathinaikos also advanced to the competitions group stage after a 1-1 draw against Danish side Brondby. The Greeks had won the 1st leg 3-0 giving them an overall win of 4-1 on aggregate. Olympiakos at extra time beat Arouca 2-1 to complete aggerate 3-1. Also PAOK beat 2-0 FC Dinamo Tbilisi and advanced to Europa League's stage with tottal win 5-0.

Turkish side Fenerbahce logically advanced to the group stages after outclassing Swiss outfit Grasshoppers. The Turks scored two second half goals through Fernandao and Miloslav Stoch to guarantee qualification.

Rio Olympics 2016: Eliud Kipchoge wins men’s marathon

Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge stormed to a runaway gold medal in a wet men's marathon in Rio.

The Kenyan broke away at the 35km mark and romped home to win in a time of two hours, eight minutes, 44 seconds - well over a minute quicker than Ethiopia's Feyisa Lilesa, who took silver. American Galen Rupp claimed bronze in 2:10:05.

In the shadow of the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue, poking through the rain clouds from high above the city, Kipchoge produced a virtuoso performance as he added gold to the 5,000m silver he won in Beijing in 2008 and his bronze from Athens 2004."It feels great," he said after winning Kenya's sixth gold medal of the Games, all of them in athletics.

"I felt I had a little bit in the tank and it was comfortable, it was very comfortable. This is the best win of my life."

It was a seventh victory in eight marathons for the 31-year-old phenomenon, who won the London Marathon for the second year running in April, coming within eight seconds of Dennis Kimetto's world record of 2:02:57.

RIO 2016: Brazil beat Germany on penalties for men's soccer gold

Tearful Neymar scores the winning penalty to break Brazil's hoodoo and partly end the pain of 2014. An excellent encounter had finished 1-1 after extra time with unlucky Germany often finding the crossbar.

Hosts Brazil beat Germany 5-4 on penalties to win the Olympic men's soccer gold medal for the first time after a highly engaging 1-1 draw in a feverish Maracana.

Brazil star Neymar netted the decisive spotkick and broke into tears after Germany substitute Nils Petersen had been the only man to miss following a quality encounter, which proved once and for all that Olympic football really does matter.

Olympic gold was the only major honor Brazil's men had previously failed to capture.

Neymar, handed another chance of home glory after the disappointment of the 2014 World Cup, gave the hosts the lead in the 26th minute when his powerful dipping freekick went in off the underside of the bar.

Germany captain Max Meyer also netted his fourth of the tournament when he hit back just before the hour mark, sweeping home following a fine move.

Much was made before kickoff of the last time Germany faced Brazil, when the would-be world champions thumped the World Cup hosts 7-1 in the 2014 semi-final.

But in truth, not a single player on the field in the Olympic final had been in that semi, with Neymar having been injured and Germany´s Matthias Ginter an unused substitute two years ago.

Talk of revenge was cheap although there was perhaps extra pressure on the German men after thewomen's team took gold on the same iconic Maracana pitch on Friday.

In any case, the Germans started the game better at the packed Rio stadium and struck the woodwork three times in the first half amid an electric atmosphere.

Julian Brandt hit the bar from distance with a curling effort after 10 minutes. Meyer's freekick was then deflected onto the woodwork while Sven Bender's near-post flicks also struck the crossbar.

Brazil had other opportunities too with Luan's shot being blocked while in the second half Gabriel Jesus prodded wide.

Neymar, one of the three overage players in the Brazil squad and the biggest name in the under-23 Olympic tournament, later drifted a decent effort just past the post as the hosts pushed harder for a winner in normal time.

In extra time Brazil were again in the ascendancy with the silky skills of Luan almost creating an early opening although Brandt also went close for Germany with a spectacular volley. Felipe Anderson should have done better when put through as time ticked down to penalties with Neymar also firing over.

In the end the lottery of penalties decided the clash and it was written in the stars that Neymar would be the man to seal victory for the Brazilians and spark an all-night Rio party.

The Games have been somewhat underwhelming for the hosts but Olympic gold in men's football gives the masses the result they desired the most.

With the Rio extravaganza slowly drawing to a close, many neutrals would say it is the perfect way to end an otherwise controversial Olympics.

Burnley stun Liverpool, Man City stroll past Stoke

Liverpool crashed to an embarrassing 2-0 defeat at Burnley on Saturday, while Manchester City crushed Stoke City 4-1 to extend Pep Guardiola’s perfect start in the Premier League.

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool enjoyed the most eye-catching result of the Premier League’s opening weekend when they won 4-3 at Arsenal.

But the Reds suffered a nightmare in their second match as Welsh forward Sam Vokes scored his first top-flight goal in the second minute after Andre Gray pounced on a woeful pass by Reds right-back Nathaniel Clyne.

Earlier, City striker Sergio Aguero netted twice in the first half at the Bet365 Stadium to take his goal tally to six in three games and send Guardiola’s side to the top of the table with their second successive win.

The Argentine opened the scoring with a 27th-minute penalty, awarded for a Ryan Shawcross tug on Nicolas Otamendi, and bagged his second in the 36th minute with a header from Kevin De Bruyne’s free-kick.

Stoke got one back in the 49th minute when Raheem Sterling was penalised for a slight push on Shawcross and Bojan Krkic stepped up to convert the spot-kick.

But the visitors held firm and Spain forward Nolito scored with a pair of close-range efforts in the 86th and 90th minutes to give City manager Guardiola a third consecutive victory in all competitions.

Ominously for City’s title rivals, Guardiola believes his stars still have room for improvement.

City’s stroll in the Potteries took them above arch-rivals Manchester United on goal difference.

Jose Mourinho’s United had maintained their 100 percent start with a 2-0 win over Southampton on Friday.

Diego Costa fired Chelsea to another late victory as the Spain striker secured a 2-1 win at Watford just days after his last-gasp heroics saw off West Ham United.

Gareth Barry’s first goal for over two years gave Everton a 2-1 victory at West Bromwich Albion.

Albion were purchased earlier this month by a Chinese consortium and they gave their new owners an early goal when Gareth McAuley headed home from a Craig Gardner corner at the Hawthorns.

But Everton manager Ronald Koeman responded by sending on Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku before half-time and the early switch revived his team.

They equalised through Kevin Mirallas after a flowing move in first-half stoppage time and former England midfielder Barry headed the visitors into a 60th-minute lead with his first goal since January 2014.

Troubled Hull City continued to make light of their difficult pre-season with a 2-0 win at Swansea City.

Rocked by manager Steve Bruce’s pre-season resignation and a lack of new signings, last season’s Championship play-off winners nevertheless defeated champions Leicester City last week and they are up to third after Shaun Maloney netted in the 79th minute and Abel Hernandez struck in stoppage time.

Stefanidi wins pole vault gold for Greece

Greece's Ekaterini Stefanidi won the Olympic pole vault on Friday and her country's first athletics gold since the 2004 Athens Games, then defended its integrity after barred Russian Yelena Isinbayeva blasted the event as sub-par without her in the field.

Stefanidi cleared 4.85 meters to beat American Sandi Morris, who took silver.

"Every single athlete in there would have wanted her to be there and have a chance to beat her," Stefanidi said of the two-time Olympic champion, who was excluded from the Rio Games as part of a mass ban on Russian athletes over a doping scandal.

"Things are how they are and we had nothing to do with it."

The competition took place hours after Isinbayeva announced her retirement and said that whoever won would not have earned "a proper gold medal" due to her absence.

Stefanidi, a 26-year-old who lives in the United States, shouted in ecstasy as she cleared the bar at 4.85m and celebrated before she even landed.

"I can't believe what's happened. It's amazing, the crowd were amazing, my parents are here," Stefanidi told reporters. "I'm glad to make my country proud."

Morris, 24, also cleared 4.85 but took silver because of more failed attempts earlier in the competition.

In a show of sportsmanship, she could be seen clapping along with the crowd as Stefanidi prepared for her final, ultimately failed, attempt.

The American also fired back at Isinbayeva's criticism.

"Her comments can be disrespectful and hurtful to the people who were out there tonight," Morris said. "She is someone that I looked up to my entire life and it's kind of disappointing to hear things like that."

New Zealand's Eliza McCartney, 19, cleared 4.80m to tie her national record and take bronze.

American Jennifer Suhr, 34, who won gold in London in 2012 and silver in Beijing in 2008, competed despite fighting illness since arriving in Rio.

She successfully completed only one vault, at 4.60m, after her husband and coach Rick Suhr reported on Twitter on Friday morning that she had woken up "coughing up blood".

As she fought back tears, Suhr said: "After warm-ups, everything just shut down. My muscles, I've never had them shake. I don't know what happened.

"It is such a crappy feeling to know you have worked for years for this and this to happen. It's embarrassing."

Rio nudists stage 'naked Olympics' in tribute to ancient Greeks

On a stunning beach in Rio de Janeiro a group of brave souls have stripped the Olympic Games right back to basics as they pay tribute to the ancient Greeks by staging their own games - in the nude.

The dedicated naturists are competing every weekend in a series of high-spirited and energetic contests that toss all inhibitions out of the window.

The organisers of the Abrico Beach 'Olympic Games' say anyone can take part - as long as they are prepared to strip off.

They advise all competitors: 'There is no point worrying about 'what you look like when you bend over to pick up the ball, getting embarrassed when you fall over with your legs up in the air or bothering about your bits jiggling as you sprint for the finishing line.'

Naked Olympic 'events' include football, beach volleyball, swimming, sprinting and race walking. There are also a few non-Olympic sports such as the tug of war, surfing, which is due to debut at the 2020 Olympic games in Tokyo, and Peteca, a traditional game in Brazil which is played with a hand shuttlecock.

The stark-naked games on the dedicated naturist Abrico beach in Grumari, in the west zone of Rio, are a far cry from the rigorous and heavily contested competitions taking place just nine miles away in the Olympic city in Barra da Tijuca.

Naturist Elisangela Santiago, who runs Rio's Abrico Beach Naturist Association, said: 'We decided we wanted to enjoy the Olympics in a novel and liberating way that paid tribute to the origins of the sport.

'We have lined up a few fun games for people to get involved in. It doesn't matter if you haven't got an athletic bone in your body, the whole idea is to push out the boundaries and have plenty of legitimate fun while you happen to be naked.

'Our games are all about encouraging people to feel good about themselves and promote a healthy and positive way of living freely and be at one with nature,' she added. 

Elisangela said: 'We are giving out medals for all those who are good sports and who participate. The only thing is that you will have to stand on a rock to receive your medal because we don't have a podium. And we make do with deck chairs for goalposts when we play football.' 

It's winter in Brazil and temperatures have dropped from the summer highs of 45 degrees and hover around the 25 to 29-degree mark, and with a slight wind chill in the air, no one was brave enough to bear the cold South Atlantic waters without a stitch on. Even so the beach was packed with naked bodies.

'That doesn't mean you can't compete and show off your skills in the sea. It's just that many of us prefer to do it when it's warm,' explained Elisangela, a 35-year-old nurse.

Abrico beach is located in a remote area of Rio in a steep mountainous region with breathtaking scenic views. It is not easily reached without a car. The beach is sheltered by soaring mountains that line the sandy coast. This makes it an ideal location for practicing naturism.

And even though the area is right beside another beach where everyone wears bikinis or swimming trunks, the nudism section is partitioned off by huge towering boulders that block the entrance to the naturists stretch.

This means no one can gawp, ogle or take sneaky pictures at a distance.

Businessman, Luis Carlos, 37, is second in charge of running the naturist reserve.

He said: 'We have over 1,000 members from all walks of life that include lawyers, teachers, police officers, scientists and so on, who regularly come here to relax and get a tan all over.'

Luis has been a naturist for the past six years and said he 'absolutely adores' the area.

He said: 'This is a really different and beautiful beach which complements our love of being naked and in contact with nature.'

Elisangela adds that nudism on the beach does not mean that people 'should expect to come looking for sex'.

She said: 'This is a family beach and we pride ourselves in keeping it secure and free of robberies and violence. We have security patrolling the area all the time, so people feel safe and their possessions are kept safe.

'There has never been any of the sort of problems that are associated with other beaches in Rio such as gangs of violent youths trawling and robbing sunbathers,' she added.

The area has been used as a skinny-dipping and nude sun-worshippers spot for over 20 years. But it was through the efforts of die-hard members that Abrico beach was officially designated a clothes-free zone by the Rio government in 2014. The 250 square metre rustic stretch of shoreline is Rio's first and only nudist beach.

'Many people are surprised that Rio only has one naturist area,' revealed Elisangela. 

Ibrahimovic takes centre stage as Manchester United ease past Southampton

Zlatan Ibrahimovic refused to share his Old Trafford spotlight with Paul Pogba, scoring in each half as Manchester United brushed aside Southampton 2-0 in the first of the Premier League's new Friday night attractions.

Pogba, the most expensive man in football with an £89million price tag around his neck, was handed his second United debut after missing the season opener through suspension but Ibrahimovic is not a man to be outdone easily.

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Pogba is United's future, and he turned in a midfield performance brimming with athleticism, energy and skill, but Ibrahimovic is the man of the moment, taking his tally to four goals in his first three matches with a precision header and a neat penalty.

The return of the prodigal child certainly caused a pre-match stir, with Pogba's image glaring broodingly from the matchday programme and the home fans reserving their loudest roar for his name.

After such a build-up it was almost inevitable that his first touch would be a disappointment and he duly miscontrolled the ball off his instep before giving it away with a sloppy retrieval attempt.

But the fans were audibly energised, a stark contrast to the flatness of the Louis van Gaal era, and Ibrahimovic, Pogba and Juan Mata were soon probing away with a series of neat touches and flicks in the final third.

Ibrahimovic's cutback gave Pogba an early chance at goal in the 13th minute, but his curling effort was never likely to beat visiting goalkeeper Fraser Forster.

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Southampton relied on counter-attacks and might have taken the lead when Nathan Redmond peeled away from Eric Bailly and into the box.

Dusan Tadic was lurking at the far post but Redmond put too much on his cross and the chance disappeared.

An opening goal never seemed far away, be it Shane Long missing by a yard after United failed to clear a free-kick or Wayne Rooney warming Forster's hands with a low drive.

Ibrahimovic also attempted a trademark bicycle kick after Pogba's cute chip and Mata's flick on, but he could not control the attempt.

United eventually broke the deadlock in the 36th minute when Rooney hunted down Antonio Valencia's pass at the corner flag. He took a moment to assess his options and hung a bending cross to the leaping Ibrahimovic.

He outjumped Jose Fonte, hung in the air and guided his header past the diving goalkeeper.

The game was effectively settled inside in the first seven minutes of the second half.

Southampton came tantalisingly close to parity when Tadic beat David de Gea with his head, only for the referee to chalk it off for a push.

Within seconds United were attacking at the other end, Luke Shaw had burrowed into the box and Jordy Clasie was penalised for felling him.

Ibrahimovic stepped up, buried the penalty and the points were all but safe.

United were eager to entertain though, and Pogba might have put the perfect end to matters when he rose to meet a 63rd-minute corner. He was not the only one to react with shock as his header landed in the crowd rather than the net.

Ibrahimovic was also hunting his hat-trick, but made a rare error in timing when Mata picked him out at the far post.

Pogba had one last late chance to pen his dream finale but after making great ground on the overlap he shot wide.

Refugees arriving on Greek islands hits three-month high

THE average number of refugees arriving each day in Greece is at the highest level since May, with thousands of children at risk in congested camps, according to Save the Children.

Arrivals during the first two weeks of August were up 144% compared to the first 14 days in July, bringing the total number of refugees and migrants to more than 10,300.

More than 3,800 children are among those stranded on the islands.

While the numbers are much lower than last year, closed camps on the islands mean that families are unable to leave. Limited movement to the Greek mainland is also putting added pressure on the congested camps on the islands of Lesbos, Chios and Samos.

Children and women are having to live in demoralising and unsafe conditions, according to the charity, which has been helping refugees across Greece since August 2015.

Katie Dimmer, Save the Children’s director of operations in Greece, said that the situation was almost “back to square one”.

“As the number of arrivals creeps up again, we’re starting to see scenes reminiscent of last summer, except this time most asylum seekers are unable to continue their journeys and are trapped on the islands, in overcrowded facilities, and under the blazing sun.

“Mothers with small babies are being forced to sleep on the ground in makeshift tents, children and breastfeeding women are suffering from dehydration due to water shortages in some camps, and tensions are increasing as basic services, such as toilets and showers, are stretched.

“Families who have fled violence and death in their homeland continue to live in fear and do not feel safe. They have told Save the Children staff that they are too scared to let their children out of their sight due to the frequent protests and a lack of security in the camps.”

Save the Children is calling on the EU to provide more resources to Greece so that facilities can be improved.

Dimmer said: “It’s absolutely disgraceful that refugees and migrants have been living in dirty, unsafe conditions for more than four months with no end in sight.

“The EU must immediately provide more resources to Greece to improve accommodation facilities, and speed up the processing of asylum claims and the relocation and family reunification programmes.”

Chelsea legend playing for Chelsea again after being released by Panathinaikos

Michael Essien is playing for Chelsea again after being released by Panathinaikos earlier this summer.

The 33-year-old midfielder played his last first-team match for the Blues back in 2014 but he featured for a Chelsea XI which beat Brentford B 2-1 in a friendly on Wednesday.

However, according to The Sun, free agent Essien is only training with Antonio Conte’s side until he finds a new club – don’t get too excited Chelsea supporters!

The former Ghana international, who made 256 appearances for the London outfit across eight seasons, is widely regarded as one of the club’s greatest ever players.

Since leaving the Premier League giants two years back, Essien also played for Serie A side AC Milan before moving to Panathinaikos.

Diego Costa's late strike gets Chelsea over the line against West Ham

Diego Costa thrust himself back into the headlines with an 89th-minute winner as Chelsea edged West Ham United 2-1 in Antonio Conte's first Premier League game as manager on Monday.

Eden Hazard, symbol of Chelsea's slump from champions to a 10th-place finish last season, opened the scoring at Stamford Bridge with a penalty early in the second half, before James Collins equalised in the 77th minute.

Costa arguably should have been shown a second yellow card after catching West Ham goalkeeper Adrian with a late challenge, but he stayed on to steer a dramatic winner into the bottom-left corner from 20 yards.

"I think the team played a good game with a great intensity and spirit," Conte told Sky Sports.

"It is important to find the right spirit and intensity. We know we can improve and we must improve a lot, but today I am pleased for my players."

Asked about Costa's challenge on Adrian, Conte replied: "I did not see it."

The bruising Costa's goal made it a positive opening night for Conte, who handed a full debut to former Leicester City man N'Golo Kante and saw another debutant, substitute Michy Batshuayi, set up the winning strike.

But it was a bitter defeat for West Ham manager Slaven Bilic, who lost debutant Andre Ayew to a thigh injury in the 34th minute.

On Costa's challenge, Bilic said: "We are not happy with that. I don't think it was reckless, definitely not.

"It was not deliberate. But it was very late. Nine times out of 10, when you see that kind of challenge on a goalkeeper, it's a booking. Unfortunately this was the 10th time."

He added: "We were so close against a top side. But they deserved it."

Antonio storms off

With both managers spending the entire match on the edge of their technical areas, suited and gesturing animatedly, the game was characterised by hasty, imprecise football and full-blooded tackling.

Kante started at the base of midfield in the only change to the Chelsea team that started last season's opening game — a 2-2 draw with Swansea City that gave the first hints of the rot that was about to set in.

Bilic fielded two debutants in Ayew and left-back Arthur Masuaku, but the former was forced into a premature exit after injuring himself chasing after the elusive Hazard.

The hosts' high defensive line prevented West Ham bringing lone striker Andy Carroll into the game and the first-half chances were all Chelsea's.

Branislav Ivanovic drew a save from Adrian at his near post, Hazard curled a shot a foot wide following a probing run and Willian obliged Adrian to palm a dipping free-kick over the bar.

West Ham's resistance was broken two minutes into the second half after Cesar Azpilicueta charged down an attempted clearance by Michail Antonio on the edge of the visitors' box.

In seeking to atone for his error, Antonio succeeded only in blundering into Azpilicueta from behind, obliging referee Anthony Taylor to point to the spot.

Hazard thundered the penalty into the roof of the net and within four minutes Antonio had been replaced by Sam Byram, the former Nottingham Forest player storming past Bilic and straight down the tunnel.

With West Ham offering next to no attacking threat, Chelsea continued to attack, Willian working Adrian with a crisp shot and John Terry heading over.

But the hosts should have been reduced to 10 men when Costa, booked in the first half for dissent, caught Adrian with an ugly, high challenge as the West Ham goalkeeper dallied over a clearance.

West Ham looked to have pulled off a smash-and-grab with 13 minutes remaining when Chelsea failed to clear a corner and Wales international Collins lashed a left-foot half-volley past Thibaut Courtois.

But with full-time looming, former Marseille striker Batshuayi flicked on a long ball to Costa, who steadied himself before guiding a shot between Collins's legs and beyond Adrian's despairing drive.

Rio 2016: Petrounias flexes his muscles to win rings gold

Greek muscle man Eleftherios Petrounias showed off his superior power in the strongman's event as he edged out local favourite and 2012 champion Arthur Zanetti to win the rings gold medal at the Olympics on Monday.

Petrounias added the Rio Games title to the world and European crowns he holds with a score of 16.000.

Zanetti lost out on the top prize by 0.234 of a point while Russia's Denis Abliazin had to settle for bronze.

Petrounias, showing off his bulging biceps and the Olympic rings tattooed on his upper back, delivered a routine that combined moments of perfect stillness with a rapid series of somersaults, his body unfurling like a ribbon.

There was not a wobble in sight as he held on to the Maltese cross - where a gymnast holds the rings with his body lined up horizontally - for what seemed an eternity before flowing into a number of handstands.

His face quivered with the effort, and every vein and sinew stood out in his arms as he held himself in the cross position.

Uncoiling for the final time, he launched himself into his dismount and on nailing it he saluted the crowd with a raised fist, confident he would become the first Greek since Dimosthenis Tampakos in 2004 to win the rings.

It was Greece's second gold in Rio.

THE DETAILS

"We worked very much in the details and to be stable and keep my face without expression, so this is a big deal to not move and hold the positions a little bit more than normal," Petrounias told reporters.

"And if you have a good landing, as I had, I think I might have been the only one who stuck it, that's how the 16 came. That was my goal from the beginning, my 16."

Six more competitors followed but none came close to breaching the 16-point barrier, despite Zanetti being roared on to the rings with chants of "Brazil-Brazil-Brazil".

China's You Hao, silver medallist behind Petrounias at last year's world championships, was expected to push him all the way with a routine that had the highest 7.000 difficulty score.

However, when he almost stumbled off the mat from his double twisting-double layout somersault dismount, his medal hopes were dashed and he finished sixth out of the eight finalists.

You's performance highlighted a dismal showing by the Chinese. The nation that won seven out of eight men's golds in Beijing eight years ago have captured one team bronze in Rio.

Unless You or Deng Shudi claim gold in the parallel bars on Tuesday, it will be the first time since 1980 that they would have left an Olympics without a gold medal in gymnastics.

Yuri van Gelder, the 2005 world champion, had qualified for the final but was a no show after he was expelled from the Olympics for violating Dutch team rules on alcohol consumption following the qualifying competition last weekend.