The Sport Matrix: Monday 05 January 2014

It’s Shiffrin the Snow Queen in Zagreb slalom

The World and Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin continued her impressive return to form with a dominant victory in the Snow Queen Trophy World Cup slalom in Zagreb yesterday.

Winner of the last race of 2014 in the Austrian resort of Kuehtai, the 19-year-old American left her rivals gasping for air as she took her second win in a row in an aggregate time of 1min 56.66 sec.

Kathrin Zettel of Austria finished 1.68sec behind, while Norway’s Nina Loeseth was 2.79sec adrift for the third podium place.

Shiffrin has won her last four runs, but still trails Sweden’s Frida Hansdotter by one point in the slalom World Cup.

Liverpool must plan post-Gerrard

The looming departure of Steven Gerrard must force the club to address the scandal of their transfer committee, whose decisions, taken with Brendan Rodgers and CEO Ian Ayre, have allowed Liverpool to fall so far from competing for the title, one season after they came so close. The club need a technical director to match Rodgers’ football intelligence, not a committee.

Murray and Watson tackle Perth heat

Andy Murray and Heather Watson begin their Hopman Cup campaign today in the fierce Perth heat. The British pair tackle France’s Benoît Paire and Alizé Cornet. “I’m excited, but nervous as well,” Watson said. “Andy’s a great doubles player. He has great hands.”

QPR shocked by League One Blades

QPR were dumped out of the FA Cup in the third round, losing 3-0 at home to League One Sheffield United. Joint Premier League leaders Chelsea and Manchester City enjoyed home wins over Championship sides Watford and Sheffield Wednesday respectively, as Aston Villa and Sunderland had 1-0 victories at home to Blackpool and Leeds. Southampton were held 1-1 by Ipswich.

Moyes beats Barça as Real run ends

David Moyes’ Real Sociedad surprised Barcelona 1-0 last night to prevent the Catalan side from moving to the top of La Liga. Jordi Alba put through his own net at the Anoeta Stadium to extend Barcelona’s winless run at Sociedad to eight years. Real Madrid earlier had their winning streak ended at Valencia, losing 2-1. Cristiano Ronaldo scored a penalty but Real suffered a first loss after 22 consecutive wins.