SPORTS THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2013

Champions League standings

PARIS: Champions League standings after yesterday’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points):

Group A United 5 3 2 0 11 3 11 Shakhtar Donetsk 5 2 2 1 7 5 8 Bayer Leverkusen 5 2 1 2 8 10 7 Real Sociedad 5 0 1 4 1 9 1

Group B Real Madrid 5 4 1 0 18 5 13 Juventus 5 1 3 1 9 8 6 Galatasaray 5 1 1 3 7 14 4 FC Copenhagen 5 1 1 3 4 11 4

Group C PSG 5 4 1 0 15 3 13 Olympiakos 5 2 1 2 7 7 7 Benfica 5 2 1 2 6 7 7 Anderlecht 5 0 1 4 3 14 1

Group D Bayern Munich 5 5 0 0 15 2 15 Manchester City 5 4 0 1 15 8 12 CSKA Moscow 5 1 0 4 7 15 3 Viktoria Plzen 5 0 0 5 4 16 0

Group E Chelsea 5 3 0 2 11 3 9 Basel 5 2 2 1 5 4 8 Schalke 04 5 2 1 2 4 6 7 Steaua Bucharest 5 0 3 2 2 9 3 MANCHESTER: FC Viktoria Plzen’s Czech forward Stanislav Tecl (right) scores his team’s second goal during the UEFA Champions League group D football match between Group F Manchester City and Viktoria Plzen at The Etihad stadium in Manchester yesterday. — AFP Arsenal 5 4 0 1 8 3 12 Dortmund 5 3 0 2 9 5 9 Napoli 5 3 0 2 8 9 9 Negredo keeps City in hunt for top spot Marseille 5 0 0 5 4 12 0

Group G MANCHESTER: Alvaro Negredo came off the bench to rassing blunder which sent City crashing to defeat at alarming ease. City finally took the lead in the 33rd minute Atletico Madrid 5 4 1 0 13 3 13 spare Manchester City’s blushes as the Spanish striker’s late Chelsea. The 26-year-old languished on the bench for the when Rajtoral raised his arm to block a cross from Aguero. Zenit St. Petersburg 5 1 3 1 4 5 6 goal inspired a 4-2 win over Viktoria Plzen in the next five matches as Costel Pantilimon performed well in Turkish referee Firat Aydinus pointed to the spot and FC Porto 5 1 2 2 4 5 5 Champions League yesterday. Manuel Pellegrini’s team his place, with only a solitary appearance for England in Aguero stepped up to stroke home the penalty for his 16th Austria Vienna 5 0 2 3 1 9 2 were in danger of blowing their slender chance of finishing their friendly defeat against Germany to sustain him. On goal of the season. But Pellegrini, perhaps vexed by City’s top of Group D after twice surrendering the lead against his return here, Hart made two fine saves to keep City in sloppy defending, still looked less than happy on the Group H the Czech minnows at Eastlands. Sergio Aguero had put the game and couldn’t be faulted for either of Plzen’s goals. bench. Pellegrini’s fears were confirmed in the 43rd minute Barcelona 5 3 1 1 10 4 10 City ahead with a first-half penalty, but Tomas Horava City had hit 18 goals in their last three matches on home as City’s back four crumbled, this time backing off en AC Milan 5 2 2 1 8 5 8 equalised before half-time. Samir Nasri restored the hosts’ turf, with Tottenham the latest victims in a 6-0 demolition masse before Horava drove a superb strike from the edge Ajax 521258 7 advantage, only for Plzen to hit back again through on Sunday. of the area past Hart. Aguero came off at half-time, but Celtic 5 1 0 4 2 8 3 Stanislav Tecl. But this was far less convincing stuff from Pellegrini’s Toure was sent on in the second half and the Ivorian mid- Substitute Negredo finally tipped the balance in City’s team, who were alarmingly careless at the back. With City fielder was instrumental when City regained the lead in favor with 12 minutes left and Edin Dzeko sealed the already through to the knock-out stages, Pellegrini made the 65th minute. points in the final moments. City’s victory means they seven changes, but still sent out a strong side featuring the Jesus Navas took Toure’s pass and whipped over a pin- Juventus oust remain three points behind group leaders Bayern Munich likes of Aguero and Nasri, as well as the returning Hart. point cross which was volleyed home by Nasri. Hart then and could finish top if they beat the holders at least 3-0 in Nasri almost opened the scoring when he exchanged pass- made a brilliant one-handed save from Daniel Kolar’s pow- the Allianz Arena on December 10. With star midfielder es with Fernandinho before slamming a fierce 25-yard shot erful strike. He was beaten again in the 69th minute when Copenhagen Yaya Toure now suspended for the trip to Germany, that against the crossbar. Plzen were already out of the race for more soft City defending allowed Kolar to feed Tecl for a outcome is unlikely, so the more significant aspect of this a last 16 place, but they caused City plenty of problems clinical finish. But, with City’s hopes of top spot fading, TURIN: Arturo Vidal scored a hat-trick, including two from match for City’s long-term prospects will be the return of and should have taken the lead when Frantisek Rajtoral Negredo came to the rescue with a tap-in from Navas’s the penalty spot, as Juventus relaunched their hopes of England goalkeeper Joe Hart from his spell in exile. surged into the penalty area, only to miscue his cross-shot. perfect cross in the 78th minute. Even then City still rode qualifying for the last 16 of the Champions League with a Hart had been dropped by Pellegrini after a series of Moments later Michal Duris dragged a low effort wide their luck and it took a good save from Hart to deny rousing 3-1 win over Copenhagen yesterday. With Real error-prone performances hit a new low with an embar- from 12 yards as City’s defence was carved open with Rajtoral and preserve the win. — AFP Madrid securing first place in Group B after a 4-1 win at home to Galatasaray, Juventus replaced the Turks in second place on six points and now hold a two-point lead on both Galatasaray and Copenhagen. PSG sink Sitting bottom of the group with no wins from four games, Juventus’s backs were firmly against the wall. Antonio Conte’s side ideally required a win against the Olympiakos Danes to relaunch what has been an uninspiring campaign, and after being frustrated on their way to a 1-1 draw in Copenhagen the Italian champions did not disappoint. PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain qualified for the last 16 of the Juventus dominated Stale Solbakken’s men from the outset, Champions League as winners of Group C after beating pinning Copenhagen back in their own half for most of the Olympiakos 2-1 at the Parc des Princes yesterday. PSG only opening period. needed a draw to secure top spot in the section and Zlatan And after half-chances by Paul Pogba and Carlos Tevez Ibrahimovic gave them a dream start, opening the scoring went begging, Juve’s nerves were settled when Swedish inside seven minutes. The sending-off of Marco Verratti referee Jonas Eriksoon pointed to the spot for a blatant early in the second half left the hosts down to 10 men, and handball by Copenhagen captain Lars Jacobsen just before Olympiakos profited from their man advantage to draw the half hour as Pogba looked to collect Pirlo’s flighted level through Kostas Manolas with nine minutes remain- cross. Vidal made no mistake from the spot, beating Johan ing. Wiland to the keeper’s right hand side. Juve looked danger- However, Edinson Cavani’s 90th-minute strike handed ous for the remainder of the half but Pirlo failed to threaten adidas and FIFA extend PSG the win as they progress while Olympiakos are left to with two free kicks from distance and when Kwadwo fight it out with Benfica for the second qualifying berth in Asamoah collected deep on the left and laid off for Pogba, the last round of games next month after the Portuguese the Frenchman could only hit the side-netting. partnership until 2030 outfit won 3-2 away to Anderlecht. This was a meeting of Juve were in panic two minutes after the restart when a two in-form teams, with PSG defending a record of 34 loose ball ricocheted close to goal before being cleared. games unbeaten stretching back nearly nine months and Copenhagen had evidently emerged with more purpose KUWAIT: One of the longest and most successful part- Both partners will continue to provide FIFA Goal Olympiakos having lost only once this season. However, nerships in modern sports marketing history will con- balls for this program as part of the extended partner- and were soon level but before then the Asamoah-Llorente- that defeat was a 4-1 reverse at the hands of PSG when the tinue. Yesterday, FIFA and adidas formally announced ship. At the same time, adidas will continue to support Tevez trident threatened again before the Argentinian fired clubs last met in Piraeus in September, so the Greek cham- an extension of their long-term partnership agreement FIFA in its Football for Hope adidas Exchange Program over. An Asamoah shot from the left was then tipped on by pions knew the size of the task before them at the Parc des granting adidas the Official Partner, Supplier and by organizing workshops and coaching seminars Llorente into path of Vidal, but the Chilean could not get Princes. Licensee rights for the FIFA World Cup(tm) and all FIFA specifically targeted to the needs of selected communi- purchase and his effort crawled over the bar. The encounter also brought together several of the events until 2030. The announcement was made dur- ty-based organizations. Both programs are key initia- A minute later, Copenhagen caught the Italian champi- most exciting talents in the European game just now, from ing a ceremony in Moscow/Russia - host of the 2018 tives within FIFA’s social responsibility strategy, which ons unawares after a throw-in from the right, Olaf Mellberg- Ibrahimovic and Cavani in the home ranks to Greek hot- FIFA World Cup - by Thierry Weil, FIFA Marketing aims to promote the use of football as a tool for social formerly of Aston Villa and Juventus slammed a loose ball shot , scorer of 23 goals in 22 games this Director, and Herbert Hainer, adidas Group CEO. development. past after Giorgio Chiellini and Llorente season. But in an encounter in which both sides were in a FIFA and adidas have been partners since 1970. This “Over the last 40 years, adidas and FIFA have worked had blundered while rising for the ball. Fears of an upset position to seal qualification, it was Ibrahimovic and PSG strategic commitment to the FIFA World Cup ensures closely together to develop football worldwide. who struck first just seven minutes in. were allayed barely five minutes later when Llorente won a extensive adidas presence at the world’s most watched Therefore, it was a natural step for us to extend one of It was a textbook PSG goal, with Gregory Van der Wiel penalty, holding up the ball and being fouled by Mellberg. sports event until 2030. The contract offers adidas the most successful partnerships in the history of surging forward down the right and crossing low for Vidal stepped up to beat Wiland for the second time to broad licensing and event rights around the FIFA World sports marketing,” said Herbert Hainer, CEO of the adi- Ibrahimovic to score his 18th goal in his last 12 games for restore Juve’s advantage. Juventus virtually ended all hopes Cup. adidas will continue to supply the Official Match das Group. “We are happy and proud that our close of a fightback by the Danes only two minutes later when Ball of the FIFA World Cup and provide unique uniforms relationship with FIFA will continue. This unique part- club and country from close range. The combination of Van Vidal timed his jump perfectly to meet Pogba’s floated cross for thousands of volunteers. In addition, a wide range nership and our extensive presence at all FIFA World der Wiel and Ibrahimovic has been one of PSG’s most from the left to head past Wiland at the keeper’s far post. of adidas/FIFA World Cup licensed products will be on Cups will help us to expand adidas’ position as the potent sources of goals this season, and Olympiakos coach Minutes later, however, Youssef Toutouh forced Buffon sale worldwide. leading football brand worldwide.” Michel had actually started with two left-backs on the field down low to block at his near post with an angled strike adidas also secured similar rights to all other FIFA “Without the support of long-term partners such as in an attempt to stop the danger coming from the and then another penalty box mix-up caused panic among tournaments during this time period, including the adidas, it would simply not be possible for FIFA to host Dutchman. Juve’s defence before second-half substitute Claudio FIFA Women’s World Cup and the FIFA U-20 World Cup. global spectacles such as the FIFA World Cup and to Forced to open up after the concession of that goal, Marchisio cleared. Juventus, however, dominated the Another key component of the partnership includes continue our work to develop football worldwide,” said Olympiakos were rather enterprising, and Mitroglou nearly remainder of the game with Pogba spurning a chance at the close collaboration on a wide variety of develop- FIFA Marketing Director Thierry Weil. “adidas is an inte- equalized within five minutes, Salvatore Sirigu turning his the death to get his name on the scoresheet after skewing ment programs and grassroots events around the gral part of the FIFA World Cup story, quite literally fea- first-time shot from Joel Campbell’s cross around the post. Pirlo’s delivery wide from 20 metres. — AFP world, such as FIFA Goal and the FIFA Football for Hope turing at the heart of the action at every tournament Mitroglou tested Sirigu on two more occasions in the first adidas Exchange Program. Through FIFA Goal, adidas since the 1970 FIFA World Cup. We are delighted that half, but Cavani gave a glimpse of his menace too with a and FIFA have made more than 150,000 FIFA Goal balls this long-term strategic partnership will continue until strike that required Roberto in the Olympiakos goal to available to football federations since 2008, striving to at least 2030 and we are looking forward to writing make a firm-handed save. The Ligue 1 leaders were in con- Rodrigo lifts develop football in their countries. new chapters of football history together.” trol at the interval, but they were dealt a serious blow less than 30 seconds after the restart. Many spectators had not yet retaken their seats when Benfica 3-2 Scottish referee Craig Thomson sent off Verratti, the young Italian - who had been cautioned for handball in the first BRUSSELS: Substitute Rodrigo scored a 90th-minute half - picking up a second yellow for pulling back David winner yesterday as Benfica beat Anderlecht 3-2 in a Shakhtar hammer Sociedad Fuster on the halfway line. PSG coach Laurent Blanc react- Champions League thriller. Anderlecht defender ed to that by taking off a forward in Ezequiel Lavezzi and Chancel Mbemba scored a goal and an own goal as the DONETSK: Shakhtar Donetsk boosted their chances of chance for an equaliser by firing narrowly over the bar reinforcing his midfield with Adrien Rabiot, and the substi- tute’s first involvement was to win a free-kick which Belgian champion’s European campaign ended. The qualifying for the Champions League knockout stage as two minutes from halftime and things got even worse result meant Anderlecht remained anchored to the bot- Ibrahimovic struck fiercely from 35 yards, forcing Roberto their Brazilian flare helped them outclass an eliminated for the Sociedad midfielder after the break. tom of Group C and Benfica went level on points with into action again. Olympiakos which lost 2-1 at Paris Saint-Germain. Real Sociedad 4-0 in Group A yesterday. The hosts Shakhtar doubled their lead three minutes after the The Spanish goalkeeper then denied Rabiot himself, tip- Mbemba opened the scoring and then deflected a shot moved up to second spot with eight points from five restart following a blunder by Martinez, whose clumsy ping a crisp left-footed drive from the teenager around the by Nicolas Gaitan into his own goal in the 52nd minute games, one point clear of Bayer Leverkusen heading clearance set up Alex Teixeira to rifle straight into the post, and Olympiakos went on to equalize in controversial to give Benfica the lead after Nemjana Matic had equal- into the final group game at leaders Manchester United, top corner. Douglas Costa rifled a spectacular shot into fashion. Manolas turned the ball in after Sirigu had denied ized in the 34th. Massimo Bruno leveled again in the who qualified by battering the Germans 5-0 away. the top corner from the edge of the area to make it 3-0 substitute Alejandro Dominguez at a corner, but 77th minute when he turned and fired in a low shot that Brazilian striker Luiz Adriano latched onto an incisive and ended the rout with a header three minutes from Dominguez was in an offside position when he connected beat Artur at his near post. Rodrigo sealed the points for pass from compatriot Douglas Costa and flicked the ball time. The Ukrainian champions will top the group if with the initial knockdown by Manolas, and PSG will feel Benfica on a late break. — AP into the net from a very sharp angle via the near post they win at United on Dec 10. Spain’s Sociedad, with justice was done after Cavani burst through to make it 2-1 after 37 minutes. Inigo Martinez squandered a clear one point, are now out of Europe altogether. — Reuters at the death. — AFP