SPORTS Sunday, May 6, 2018 21 Stoke-on-Trent toke City were relegated from the Premier League as they crashed to a 2-1 loss to SCrystal Palace at the bet365 Stadium. Stoke entered into the contest, their penultimate game of the season, desperate to Stoke City crash out boost their survival hopes with what would have been a first victory in 13 matches. A pair of second-half goals doomed Stoke City to the second tier for the first time But after they took the lead through Xherdan Shaqiri’s 43rd-minute free kick, things turned around in the second half, in more than a decade with a 2-1 home loss to Crystal Palace with James McArthur equalising in the 68th minute and Patrick van Aanholt netting the winner in the 86th. Stoke fans had their head in their hands at the final whistle as it was confirmed the club’s 10-year stay in the division was coming to an end, Paul Lambert having failed to rescue them after replacing the sacked Mark Hughes as manager in January. They are three points behind 17th-place Swansea City with one game remaining, but game between Swansea and Southampton on Tuesday means Stoke cannot escape the drop zone. Palace, meanwhile, are now safe to complete the considerable upturn in their fortunes after Roy Hodgson succeeded Frank De Boer early in the campaign. After the game got under way with Stoke SCORES: being roared on by a thunderous rendition of “Delilah” from their supporters, they looked PREMIER LEAGUE: nervy in the early stages. AFC Bournemouth 1 Swansea City 0 Palace made a couple of attempts on goal, Leicester City 0 West Ham 2 with shots from Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Watford 2 Newcastle 1 Wilfried Zaha going wide, and Stoke did not West Brom 1 Tottenham 0 have their first real chance until the 22nd minute, when Mame Diouf headed off-target GERMAN BUNDESLIGA: from Shaqiri’s cross. The visitors applied Borussia Dortmund 1 Mainz 2 more pressure before being forced into a Eintracht Frankfurt 3 Hamburg SV 0 change with five minutes left in the half, Joel Crystal Palace Ward having to be replaced by Martin Kelly. players FC Augsburg 1 Schalke 04 2 Hannover 96 3 Hertha Berlin 1 Three minutes later, Stoke’s fans were sent celebrate into delirium as Shaqiri’s free kick, via a victory touch off Loftus-Cheek, sailed past Wayne Hennessey to go in front. (PA Sport) Bayern see off Cologne Real won’t give Barca Munich goals in as many minutes in sealed when they conceded undesliga champions the second half to make it six a last-minute winner against guard of honour Bayern Munich bounced league wins on the spin. Freiburg last week, continued London Champions League. Bback from their Champions Thomas Muller assisted to pose a threat. eal Madrid will not give La “It’s not up to me to decide League disappointment with a both strikes, teeing up James Terodde headed over when Liga champions Barcelona about the guard of honour 3-1 win at relegated Cologne. Rodriguez after 59 minutes unmarked and Simon Zoller aR guard of honour when the but they didn’t do it. We, with Having missed out on a place and then squaring for Robert fired wide after 11 minutes. sides meet in El Clasico, coach respect, won’t do it for them in the Champions League final Lewandowski in the 61st Marcel Risse blazed over after Zinedine Zidane said yesterday. because they didn’t. after drawing 2-2 with Real minute, with Corentin Tolisso some lapse Bayern defending, Barcelona wrapped up the “We respect what Barca Madrid in midweek, Bayern adding a late third. but Cologne went ahead when title last weekend and face have done in winning the looked like suffering further Simon Terodde tried his Sule turned a cross from the European champions Real on league, which for me is the disappointment when Niklas luck early on for Cologne, right into his own net. Sunday. most difficult and nicest thing Sule put through his own net but his powerful effort from Muller shot straight at Timo “After the Club World Cup you can do. But these things after 36 minutes to give the distance was comfortably saved Horn and the Cologne keeper they didn’t want to do it for us,” happen; if they’d have given us hosts a surprise half-time lead. by Sven Ulreich. At the other had to be alert to pull off a Zidane told a news conference. one, we weren’t going to break However, the visitors end Javi Martinez headed a fine save to deny Lewandowski “They might have said the tradition of doing so.” fought back at the Rodriguez corner over the bar, as Bayern sought an equaliser they didn’t do it because they The incident Zidane was RheinEnergieStadion with two but Cologne, whose fate was before the break. weren’t in the competition, but referring to happened before The visitors finally levelled that’s not true. You’ve got to the Clasico on Dec. 23 when, just before the hour mark, Zinedine Zidane (file pic) win the Champions League to having returned from the Muller heading the ball back play in it and we’re both in the United Arab Emirates. (Reuters) across goal for Rodriguez to convert at the back post. Muller was again the architect as he set up Lewandowski and Reds are ready for anything: Klopp the Poland striker rifled a low London went back out to celebrate with “That gave them a real shot past horn two minutes iverpool manager Jurgen fans being held back long after boost. Before that they were later. Klopp is confident his the semi-final second leg, have exhausted. Done. Happy, yes, Tolisso completed the scoring playersL can cope with the to raise themselves again for but Chelsea on Sunday.” (PA when he headed home Colombia emotional effects of qualifying a crucial trip to face Chelsea Sport) forward Rodriguez’s cross with for the Champions League in the Premier League at 12 minutes remaining. The final. Stamford Bridge. 39-year-old Cologne substitute The 7-6 aggregate win over “I have not a little bit of Bayern Munich’s Claudio Pizarro twice went Roma in midweek, after a doubt about the mindset of my Robert Lewandowski close to scoring a consolation chaotic 4-2 defeat in the Stadio boys,” he said. fights for the ball against his former club in Olimpico, booked their place “It was a really nice thing to (Pic courtesy: stoppage time, but was off in Kiev to face Real Madrid on go to the final. The crowd were fcbayern) target after a mazy run and May 26. still in the stadium and the Jurgen Klopp (file pic) then denied by Ulreich. (Espn) Now Klopp’s players, who boys went there.