MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014 SPORTS Ronaldo salvages Real point from derby

MADRID: and Gabi. within a point of Los Blancos should left incensed seven minutes later equalised eight minutes from time as Another turned down penalty they beat Almeria later yesterday. when Costa was tripped inside the Real Madrid remained on top of La appeal for a foul on Costa led Atletico ’s men came into area by Ramos, but referee Carlos Liga thanks to a pulsating 2-2 draw assistant boss Mono Burgos to be the game full of confidence after Delgado Ferreiro waved away claims against Atletico Madrid at the Vicente sent to the stand as he tried to con- thrashing Schalke 6-1 on their return for a penalty. Calderon. front the referee midway through the to Champions League action in mid- Some of the Atletico players took Karim Benzema had fired Real into second-half. week and took just three minutes to their protests too far, though, as Arda a third minute lead when he convert- And Atletico were left to feel hard open the scoring. Turan appeared to push Ferreiro and ed Angel di Maria’s cross. However, done when Ronaldo spun on the A short corner from the right was was lucky to only receive a yellow despite being denied a clear penalty edge of the box to drill home a late worked back to Angel di Maria and card. when tripped Diego equaliser. A point for both sides his in-swinging cross was slotted That decision added fire to an Costa, Atletico were in front by half- means Real remain three points clear home at the back post by Benzema. already intense atmosphere inside time thanks to fine strikes by Koke of Atletico, but Barcelona can move to The home fans and players were the Calderon and the home support inspired Atletico as they went on to dominate the majority of the first- half. GERMANY: Hoffenheim’s Roberto Firmino (center) challenges with However, Atletico were thankful Wolfsburg’s Luiz Gustavo (left) and Naldo (right) during the German to for preventing soccer match. —AP the visitors from doubling their lead twice in quick succession as he saved from Benzema and a near post back- Hoffenheim drub Wolfsburg heel from Ronaldo. Atletico were lev- el on 27 minutes when fine work : VfL Wolfsburg’s hopes of breaking into Wednesday’s Champions League clash. from Turan teed up Koke inside the the Bundesliga’s top four suffered a setback yes- Bayern extended their record unbeaten area and he smashed a low right- terday after being drubbed 6-2 at mid-table league run to 48 matches, dating back to footed drive into the far corner. Hoffenheim. October 2012, and earned their 15th straight Diego Lopez then had to be quick Wolfsburg finished the match with 10 men as league victory. off his line to prevent Costa from a German international Christian Traesch was sent Bayern raced into a 4-0 lead inside half-an- narrow angle moments later. But the off. Dieter Hecking’s Wolves had hoped for three hour as left-back David Alaba netted a free-kick, hosts did go in front in spectacular points in Hoffenheim to take fourth spot from then Robben scored either side of Mario fashion in stoppage time at the end Schalke 04, who were routed at runaway league Mandzukic’s header. of the half when Gabi collected a leaders Bayern Munich on Saturday. Schalke were gifted a goal when Jefferson short free-kick and fired high into Dutch striker Bas Dost had equalised for Farfan’s corner was turned into his own net by Lopez’s top right-hand corner from Wolves with 15 minutes gone after Roberto Munich right-back Rafinha, in for captain Philipp 35 yards. Firmino’s fourth-minute strike gave Hoffenheim Lahm, with 25 minutes left. Costa had a great chance to make the lead, but the hosts responded with three To compound Schalke’s misery, Greece centre- it 3-1 seven minutes after the restart goals. back Kyriakos Papadopoulos was shown a as he raced past Pepe to a long ball Hoffenheim led 4-1 at the break as defender straight red for bringing down Mandzukic in the over the Real defence, but his weak Niklas Suele netted before French striker Anthony area. shot squirmed wide of the target. Modeste scored two goals in four minutes. His foul allowed Robben to wrap up his hat- At the other end Benzema was Croatia forward Ivan Perisic pulled a goal back for trick with a 77th-minute penalty. Coach Pep inches away from his second of the Wolves with 15 minutes left. Guardiola flippantly told reporters “don’t ask me MADRID: Real’s Angel Di Maria (left) in action with Atletico’s Koke (right) during a Spanish La afternoon when he volleyed Modric’s But the visitors had right-back Traesch sent off about the title” in broken German on Friday, but Liga soccer match at the Vicente Calderon stadium. —AP cross wide. for a foul in the area and Hoffenheim’s Sejad with 11 league games left, Bayern can wrap up More controversy was to ensure, Salihovic netted the penalty before Modeste’s their 24th German league title by the end of though, as Costa appeared to bun- replacement Sven Schipplock hit their sixth. March. Spanish League results/standings dled over inside the area, this time by Wolfsburg’s result leaves them fifth. It means Dortmund went second after their comfort- Alvaro Arbeloa, but again Ferreiro all three teams immediately behind leaders able win over Nuremberg as Germany defender didn’t point to the spot and instead Bayern Munich and second-placed Borussia Mats Hummels netted on his return after four Villarreal 1 (Bruno 70-pen) 1 (Ruben Castro 84); Atletico Madrid 2 (Koke 27, Gabi 45) Real Madrid 2 (Benzema 3, booked Costa for diving. Dortmund, who beat Nuremberg 3-0 on weeks out with a foot injury. Ronaldo 82). That led to Burgos having to be Saturday, suffered defeats over the weekend. Poland star Robert Lewandowski scored his visibly restrained from confronting VfB Stuttgart are fourth from bottom after 15th league goal of the season before Henrikh Playing later the referee by Atletico players and losing 2-1 at Eintracht Frankfurt in what was a Mkhitaryan netted their third seven minutes from Sevilla v Real Sociedad, v Valencia, Barcelona v Almeria. officials as he was sent to the stands club record eighth straight defeat and heaped time. for protesting. further pressure on coach Thomas Schneider. Bayer Leverkusen’s dreadful form continued Spanish table after yesterday’s two early matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): The drama continued as seconds Stuttgart striker Martin Harnik’s first-half goal with their fourth straight home defeat as they lost Real Madrid 26 20 4 2 73 26 64 Elche 26 7 8 11 23 37 32 later Courtois had to be alert to parry was cancelled out by Eintracht midfielder Jan 1-0 at home to Mainz, who moved up to sixth Atletico Madrid 26 19 4 3 61 21 61 Celta Vigo 26 8 6 12 32 37 30 Gareth Bale’s flicked header. Ronaldo Rosenthal ten minutes from time before captain with their fifth win in eight games. Barcelona 25 19 3 3 70 20 60 Osasuna 26 8 5 13 24 39 29 should have levelled 16 minutes Alexander Meier hit the 89th-minute winner. Cameroon striker Eric Choupo-Moting 26 15 5 6 49 30 50 Granada 26 8 3 15 22 36 27 from time when he headed wide slammed home the winner past goalkeeper Villarreal 26 13 5 8 47 31 44 Getafe 26 7 6 13 23 40 27 when unmarked from Dani Carvajal’s RECORD RUN Bernd Leno on 37 minutes as Leverkusen suffered Real Sociedad 25 12 7 6 46 35 43 Malaga 26 6 8 12 24 35 26 cross. On Saturday, an hat-trick saw their eighth defeat in ten games to drop to third. Levante 26 9 9 8 26 31 36 Almeria 25 7 5 13 24 42 26 However, the Portuguese made Bayern open a 20-point lead at the top of the Curiously, both goalkeepers scored own goals Sevilla 25 9 8 8 43 41 35 Valladolid 26 4 11 11 28 44 23 amends eight minutes later when he table with a 5-1 win over ten-man Schalke 04. as Borussia Moenchengladbach, who are winless Valencia 25 10 5 10 38 36 35 Rayo Vallecano 25 6 2 17 25 59 20 fired home a loose ball from the edge The Royal Blues suffered a second drubbing in in their last eight games, were held to a 1-1 draw Espanyol 26 9 6 11 29 32 33 Real Betis 26 3 6 18 21 56 15 of the area to give Real a share of the four days after losing 6-1 to Real Madrid in at bottom side Eintracht Braunschweig. —AFP spoils. —AFP German League results/standings Parma edge closer to Europa zone Hoffenheim 6 (Roberto Firmino 4, Suele 37, Modeste 39, 43, Salihovic 82-pen, Schipplock 86) VfL Wolfsburg 2 (Dost 15, Perisic 76); Eintracht Frankfurt 2 (Rosenthal 80, Meier 89) VfB Stuttgart 1 (Harnik 31). : Marco Parolo’s first-minute spot, but with a game in hand-after a advantage to 11 points with victory share of the points from a scoreless opener sealed the points away at 10- recent away fixture at Roma was away at Milan in Sunday’s late game. draw at Roma on Saturday, however German Bundesliga table after yesterday’s match (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals man Sassuolo to move Parma within rained off Tommaso Ghirardi’s side Napoli, who are seven points dropping two points has also given a against, points): sight of a Europa League place, as will fancy a late run at seizing a place behind Roma in third, are away at boost to fellow teams chasing a Bayern Munich 23 21 2 0 66 10 65 Hoffenheim 23 7 8 8 52 48 29 fellow chasers Verona stumbled in a in Europe. Livorno while fourth-placed Europa League place. 23 14 3 6 54 27 45 Hanover 23 7 4 12 30 42 25 scoreless draw at home to Bologna. Juventus remain top of the pile Fiorentina host Lazio later in a bid to Parma, helped by Sassuolo striker Bayer Leverkusen 23 14 1 8 39 26 43 Frankfurt 23 6 7 10 26 39 25 Parma’s steady climb back up the with an eight-point lead on Roma pull further clear of Inter, in fifth. Domenico Berardi’s red on 72 min- Schalke 23 12 5 6 42 35 41 Werder Bremen 23 6 7 10 26 46 25 Serie A table has left them in sixth but have the chance to increase their Inter did well to come away with a utes for a foul on Cristian Molinaro, Wolfsburg 23 12 3 8 40 32 39 Nuremberg 23 4 11 8 27 40 23 are now on 40 points, only one Mainz 23 11 4 8 32 35 37 VfB Stuttgart 23 5 4 14 36 49 19 behind Inter, and sit one place ahead Moenchengladbach 23 10 6 7 40 29 36 Hamburg 23 5 4 14 38 52 19 of Verona, who suffered a setback Hertha Berlin 23 10 5 8 34 27 35 Freiburg 23 4 7 12 22 44 19 after being held to a scoreless draw Augsburg 23 10 5 8 35 33 35 Braunschweig 23 4 4 15 17 42 16 by relegation-haunted Bologna, who were reduced to 10 men when Jonathan Cristaldo saw red on 82 minutes. Most of Sunday afternoon’s games featured teams with faint hopes of a Europa League place and others battling to stave off the threat of relegation. Atalanta claimed a 2-1 home win over Chievo with Luca Cigarini scor- ing an 85th minute winner after Dario Dainelli had levelled Carlos Carmona’s first-half opener for the hosts in the 72nd minute. Chievo were reduced to 10 men on 68 minutes when Bostjan Cesar, who had already been cautioned, saw red for a foul on German Denis. Luca Antonelli and Stefano Sturaro scored in either half to secure a 2-0 home win for Genoa against relegation-haunted Catania, who were reduced to 10 men before the interval after Giuseppe Bellusci saw red for a second bookable offence. CORSICA: Lille’s Ivorian forward Salomon Kalou vies with Ajaccio’s Gian Piero Gasperini’s men are Venezuelan defender Grenddy Perozo during the French League football now 11th and being chased by match. —AFP ITALY: Sassuolo’s Davide Biondini (left) vies for the ball with Parma’s Walter Gargano of Uruguay, Sampdoria, who continued their during their Serie A soccer match at Reggio Emilia’s Mapei stadium. —AP resurgence under coach Sinisa Mihajlovic with a precious 2-0 away Kalou hat-trick fires win at Torino to pull themselves up Italian League results/standings to 12th. Stefano Okaka made the Lille back into third most of a rare start to score a sev- Cagliari 3 (Ibarbo 18, Vecino 81, Ibraimi 89) Udinese 0; Atalanta 2 (Carmona 21, Cigarini 85) Chievo 1 (Dainelli 72); Genoa 2 (Antonelli enth-minute opener as confusion PARIS: Lille’s Ivory Coast international “It’s really a miracle that we won 14, Sturaro 85) Catania 0; Verona 0 Bologna 0; Sassuolo 0 Parma 1 (Parolo 1); Torino 0 Sampdoria 2 (Okaka 7, Gabbiadini 79). reigned in the Torino box, with Salomon Kalou fired a hat-trick to lift the tonight,” said Girard. “We had a very bad Manolo Gabbiadini sealing the northern French club past Ajaccio 3-2 in match and were never in it and were sur- Playing later points on 79 minutes. Corsica and back into third spot in prised by this Ajaccio team who had the Livorno v Napoli, Fiorentina v Lazio, Milan v Juventus. Earlier, Udinese got reacquainted yesterday. courage to go for it and cause us serious with defeat in a 3-0 reverse at The former Chelsea striker cancelled out problems,” he continued. Italian Serie A table yesterday (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Cagliari which dropped Francesco compatriot ’s shock first minute “It was crucial to get third place back. Guidolin’s side back towards the opener to level the match from the penalty Saint-Etienne have come back strong the Juventus 25 21 3 1 60 19 66 Genoa 26 9 8 9 30 32 35 drop zone. A series of missed spot on 25 minutes before scoring again last five matches and we have been bat- Roma 25 17 7 1 49 11 58 Sampdoria 26 8 7 11 29 37 31 chances, notably by veteran striker seven minutes before half-time to put the tling for results for some time. Napoli 25 15 6 4 50 28 51 Atalanta 26 9 4 13 27 38 31 Antonio Di Natale, before and after visitors ahead. “The only thing positive from this match Fiorentina 25 13 6 6 45 28 45 Cagliari 26 6 10 10 26 35 28 Victor Ibarbo’s 18th minute opener, Tallo levelled the match for the base- is the three points and we’re going to have 26 10 11 5 43 29 41 Udinese 26 8 4 14 29 39 28 proved costly. ment dwellers, who have won just two to show a lot more in the coming weeks to Parma 25 10 10 5 39 29 40 Bologna 26 4 10 12 22 41 22 Matias Vecino and Agim Ibraimi games all season, just before half-time keep our position.” Verona 26 12 4 10 43 42 40 Chievo 26 5 6 15 20 37 21 added further goals in the space of before Kalou completed his hat-trick, again Lille now have 49 points, one ahead of Torino 26 9 9 8 39 34 36 Livorno 25 5 5 15 26 45 20 seven second-half minutes to pull from the penalty spot, 16 minutes from Saint-Etienne who upset Monaco 2-0 on AC Milan 25 9 8 8 39 35 35 Catania 26 4 7 15 19 45 19 Cagliari eight points clear of the dan- time to give Rene Girard’s side three crucial Saturday, in the race for third place and the Lazio 25 9 8 8 33 34 35 Sassuolo 26 4 5 17 25 55 17 ger zone. —AFP points. final Champions League spot. —AFP