Simon Whitlock began his bid to win a second Dutch Darts Masters title by wearing glasses on stage for the first time as he defeated Mike De Decker in Fridays first round in Venray. Australian ace Whitlock, who won the PDC European Tour event in the Netherlands in 2012, has responded to a slump in form which has seen him drop out of the worlds top 16 by trialling glasses. The 46-year-old wore the glasses in competition for the first time in last weekends Coral UK Open Qualifiers in Wigan - reaching one semi-final - before taking to the stage in Venray, where he sealed a 6-2 defeat of De Decker with a 102 checkout.Whitlock now takes on Ian White in Saturdays second round, and described his decision to start wearing glasses as potentially career changing.The whole game has changed now and I can see the board so clearly - its going to take a little time to adjust but this is a positive start, said Whitlock. Its amazing - a very big change.I needed them two years ago, maybe three years ago, but Ive broken the ice now. Im using them, I might look a bit weird but theyre working. Its very hard changing something as big as this, very difficult to make that transition.Another former European Tour winner, Mervyn King, overcame old rival Ronnie Baxter 6-3 to set up a clash with World Champion Gary Anderson in a tasty second round fixture.2013 Gibraltar Darts Trophy runner-up Jamie Lewis impressed with a clinical 6-0 whitewash of Germanys Andree Welge, taking out a 146 checkout and averaging 98 as he set up a second round tie with Justin Pipe.Stephen Bunting also enjoyed a whitewash win as he took out a 167 finish on his way past Greeces John Michael, with the former Lakeside Champion now set to meet Peter Wright.Dutch Darts Masters - First Round results:Zoran Lerchbacher 5-6 James RichardsonRitchie Edhouse 6-4 Martin SchindlerPaul Milford 5-6 Remco van EijdenAndree Welge 0-6 Jamie LewisKevin Thomas 6-3 Jan DekkerDimitri Van den Bergh 5-6 John HendersonMike De Decker 2-6 Simon WhitlockRobbie Green 4-6 Rowby-John RodriguezKevin Painter 6-5 Jamie CavenJyhan Artut 5-6 Daryl GurneyRyan Harrington 6-4 David PallettJohn Michael 0-6 Stephen BuntingDirk van Duijvenbode 3-6 Gerwyn PriceMervyn King 6-3 Ronnie BaxterMark Webster 6-2 Jermaine WattimenaRicky Evans 5-6 Devon Petersen Also See: Sky Bets darts odds On Sky TV Schedule/Results Features Get Sky Sports Jesus Sanchez Jersey . While hell be dialed in to that tournament on a course he loves, you can forgive him if his eyes glance down the calendar just a bit, towards April. Edgar Renteria Jersey . PAUL, Minn. https://www.cheapmarlinsjerseys.us/ . The 29-year-old Baines has established himself as one of the top attacking full backs in the country and was the subject of two bids from United during the last off-season. Everton manager Roberto Martinez says that keeping Baines at the club is a "massive boost and exciting for the future" because he brings "maturity and football knowledge in a very specialized position on the pitch" and an "infectious and positive influence to the rest of the squad. Austin Dean Jersey .S. -- Nikolaj Ehlers registered a hat trick for the third straight game and Jonathan Drouin had a goal and five assists as the Halifax Mooseheads hammered the host Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 10-1 on Tuesday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Dennis Cook Jersey . -- Matt Kuchar and Harris English ran away with the Franklin Templeton Shootout, shooting a 14-under 58 on Sunday in the final-round scramble to break the tournament course record. MANCHESTER, England -- Used sparingly by Chelsea during its long run of victories, Cesc Fabregas is providing significant reminders of his enduring value to the English Premier League leaders.Two weeks ago, it was Fabregas raking pass to set up Diego Costas goal that sparked Chelseas come-from-behind win at Manchester City.On Wednesday, it was the Spain midfielders classy goal -- a one-two with Willian before a composed finish from the edge of the area -- that earned Chelsea a 1-0 win at Sunderland, a 10th straight victory in the league and six-point lead over Liverpool and Arsenal in the Premier League.In football today, people forget very, very, very quickly who you are, and what you can do, Fabregas said. Hopefully now I can get a run of games in the team.Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has been mostly selecting Nemanja Matic alongside the tireless NGolo Kante in central midfield, an axis in a 3-4-3 formation that has driven the team to maximum points since Oct. 1.The 29-year-old Fabregas covers less ground than Matic but offers something different: More vision, more creativity and a stronger goal threat. Its not a bad selection headache for Conte to have.Some games you need players more physical and some games with more technical, Conte said. It is important that Cesc had a good game.In the early stages of Chelseas winning run, the team was scoring freely -- five goals against Everton, four goals against Manchester United -- but it has been eking out victories in recent weeks.This was Chelseas third 1-0 win in its last five matches. In its 10 straight wins, Chelsea has only conceded two goals and this latest clean sheet was preserved by a stunning save by Thibaut Courtois off Patrick van Aanholt late in the game.You have seen many times that teams win titles with 1-0 wins, Fabregas said. Hopefully we can keep it up.It was a night when all of Chelseas potential title rivals -- Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham and Manchester United -- won.Heres a look at what else happened in the 16th round of games:---MIDDLESBROUGH 0, LIVERPOOL 3Adam Lallana scored two goals and set up another to inspire Liverpool to victory as goalkeepper Simon Mignolet marked his return to the team with a clean sheet.ddddddddddddMignolet regained his starting spot in place of Loris Karius, who was dropped after making errors in the last two matches, but had little to do.Lallana headed home Nathaniel Clynes cross to put Liverpool ahead in the 29th minute, provided a low cross that was swept in by Divock Origi in the 60th, and wrapped up the win in the 68th with his sixth goal of the season.Liverpool climbed into second place, above Arsenal on goals scored.---MANCHESTER CITY 2, WATFORD 0City lost midfielder Ilkay Gundogan to a serious knee injury in a win that brought mixed emotions for manager Pep Guardiola.Gundogan appeared to be in tears as he was helped off the field late in the first half, and Guardiola said after the match that the Germany international would be out for a long time with damaged ligaments.The injury marred a welcome victory for Guardiola, with goals by Pablo Zabaleta and David Silva ensuring City bounced back from consecutive losses, to Chelsea and Leicester. Those defeats had sparked criticism by many pundits of Guardiolas methods and philosophy.City is fourth, seven points behind Chelsea.---CRYSTAL PALACE 1, MANCHESTER UNITED 2Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored an 88th-minute winner for United, which has collected consecutive victories in the league for the first time since August.It was the Swedish strikers 13th goal in his first season in English football, keeping United three points behind fifth-place Tottenham.Paul Pogba slotted United in front on the stroke of halftime, before James McArthur equalized at Selhurst Park.---OTHER RESULTSChristian Eriksen scored twice and had a hand in the other goal as Tottenham beat Hull 3-0, and Salomon Rondon scored a hat trick of headers to guide seventh-place West Bromwich Albion to a 3-1 win over Swansea.Mark Nobles penalty earned West Ham a 1-0 win over Burnley, while Stoke drew 0-0 against Southampton after surviving with 10 men for more than hour following Marko Arnautovics sending-off. ' ' '