Ibrahimovic in dock, Leicester wins again

LONDON — Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is likely to face disciplinary action after appearing to elbow Bournemouth's Tyrone Mings during Saturday's fiery 1-1 draw in the Premier League. Mings appeared to stamp on Ibrahimovic's head with his left foot as he jumped over him late in the first half and the Swedish striker seemed to elbow him in retaliation moments later. Ibrahimovic, who also squandered a penalty, told BBC Sport: "You have the TV, you can see the images. I jump up and jump high and he (Mings) jumps into my elbow. It is not my intention to hurt someone." Elsewhere, champion Leicester City continued its smooth adaptation to life after Claudio Ranieri by winning 3-1 at home to fellow struggler Hull City. Marcos Rojo put United ahead in the 23rd minute at Old Trafford, but Joshua King leveled from the spot five minutes before half-time following a foul on Marc Pugh by Phil Jones. Adam Smith's handball gave Ibrahimovic a chance to restore United's lead from the penalty spot, but his spotkick was brilliantly palmed away by Bournemouth goalkeeper Artur Boruc. Victory would have taken United into the Champions League places, but it remains sixth, a position it has occupied since November. Jose Mourinho's side could lose ground in the race for Champions League qualification later Saturday when fifth-place Liverpool welcome fourth-place Arsenal to Anfield. Ibrahimovic was already on a booking when he tangled with Mings, but both players avoided punishment, raising the prospect of violent conduct charges from the Football Association. The standard punishment for violent conduct in the Premier League is a three-game ban. Referee Kevin Friend also sent off Bournemouth's Andy Surman for two bookable offenses, although he had to be reminded by United left back Luke Shaw that the midfielder had already been booked. Leicester's resurgence continued as it beat Hull 3-1 to pull five points clear of the relegation zone. The champion beat Liverpool 3-1 last Monday in its first game since the sacking of popular manager Ranieri and caretaker coach Craig Shakespeare saw it record back-to-back wins for the first time since last April. Sam Clucas gave Hull a 14th-minute lead, but Leicester stormed back to win through strikes from Christian Fuchs and Riyad Mahrez and a Tom Huddlestone own goal. Hull is now four points from safety and it was joined in the bottom three by Middlesbrough, which fell to two Marko Arnautovic goals in a 2-0 defeat at Stoke City. Swansea City also pulled five points clear of the bottom three after Fernando Llorente's 92nd-minute header gave Paul Clement's improving side a precious 3-2 win at home to Burnley. Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend struck in the second half as Sam Allardyce's Crystal Palace moved three points clear of danger with a 2-0 success at West Bromwich Albion. Meanwhile, Manolo Gabbiadini scored his sixth goal in four games as Southampton bounced back from last weekend's League Cup final loss to United by winning 4-3 in an entertaining game at Watford. — AFP