SPORTS SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2013

Spanish League Roundup German League Roundup Barcelona crush Granada

MADRID: Barcelona made light work of Lionel responsibility to slot the spot-kick low into the corner Messi’s absence to move six points clear at the top of of the net. with a routine 4-0 home win over Granada Granada came close to an equaliser four minutes yesterday. First-half penalties from Andres Iniesta later with their best effort of the game as Piti drilled a and Cesc Fabregas put the Catalans in command at shot from 25 yards off the crossbar. However, it didn’t the break. Granada were then left to play the final take long for Barca to double their advantage as Fran quarter of the game with 10 men as Manuel Iturra Rico clipped Iniesta’s heels just inside the area and was shown a second yellow card. Alexis Sanchez this time Fabregas stepped up to rifle the ball into added a third soon after from ’s pass before the roof of the net. It should have been three for Pedro Rodriguez rounded off the scoring a minute Barca moments later when Pedro somehow blazed from time. over when presented with an open goal after With Victor Valdes, Hernandez, Roberto had flapped at Martin Montoya’s cross. and also out injured, Barca boss Gerardo The visitors’ task became even tougher 23 minutes Martino was forced into making seven changes from from time when Iturra saw his second yellow card for the side that started their last outing against Real upending Pedro. Sanchez made it 3-0 when he lifted Betis two weeks ago. However, Martino reiterated his the ball over the advancing Roberto from Neymar’s belief that Barca have an ample enough squad to well-weighted through ball five minutes later. With cope with such a number of key absentees. “Some of the game won 17-year-old Adama Traore replaced the best players, like Leo or Victor, are missing, but all Neymar to make his Barca debut and he nearly the players are very good. Those that can play just sealed it with a memorable goal as he weaved past DORTMUND: Dortmund’s Polish Jakub Blaszczykowski (right), Bayern Munich’s goalkeeper (left) and Bayern Munich’s Brazilian defender Dante (center) vie for the ball during the now are very good so I don’t see it as a different three Granada defenders before Roberto smothered match between and Bayern Munich yesterday. — AFP match. It was a game in which we had some difficul- his low effort. ties but there was no motive for us not to play a And Pedro put the shine on another comfortable good game. afternoon for the Spanish champions when he “We have to work out how to win every game we turned home Fabregas’ cross. Real Sociedad moved Goetze strikes as Bayern are faced with and the best thing we can do is wait up to sixth thanks to four goals from Mexican striker for Leo, Victor, Jordi, Dani, Xavi whilst winning so that Carlos Vela as they came from 3-1 down to beat 10- the team gains confidence and so they don’t have to man Celta Vigo 4-3 at Anoeta. Two goals from on- run riot at Dortmund come back in a week or a month with the extra pres- loan Barcelona midfielder Rafinha Alcantara had put sure of begin the saviors of the team. “The thing that the visitors in charge, but Vela scored twice in three BERLIN: Bayern Munich’s Germany star Mario Goetze behind David Moyes’ side. Sixth- I will never do is make excuses.” The opener arrived minutes after Andreu Fontas had been sent-off to came off the bench to score the opening goal in the placed Schalke, who are away to Steau Bucharest in after 20 minutes when Dimitri Foulquier brought complete a remarkable return to form having not European champions’ 3-0 win at his ex-club Borussia the Champions League on Tuesday and second in down Fabregas and captain for the day Iniesta took previously scored in La Liga since August.— AFP Dortmund yesterday. Goetze, who joined Bayern for Group E behind Chelsea, drew 3-3 at Eintracht 37 million euros (US$50m) in July after 12 years at Frankfurt. The Royal Blues flew into a 2-0 lead after Dortmund, gave the perfect reply to the chorus of only 18 minutes away from home, but leaked three boos at Borussia’s Westfalenstadion. The 21-year-old goals in 12 disastrous second-half minutes. Eintracht, smashed home a Thomas Mueller pass on 66 minutes, who are just above the relegation places, hit the back before the flood gates opened and and of the Schalke net four times in those 12 minutes, but Mueller added late goals in the final five minutes. one of their efforts was ruled offside. This was a commanding performance and was the Frankfurt’s Spanish midfielder Joselu scored twice first time Bayern have beaten Dortmund in six with the ex-Real Madrid player adding to his earlier attempts, dating back to February 2010, header when he slammed home a long-range shot on as Munich again ran out winners in a replay of May’s 68 minutes. Germany defender Benedikt Hoewedes Champions League final. Dortmund had been forced saved Schalke’s blushes when he hit the top-right to patch together their back four after both centre- hand corner to equalize with just four minutes left. back and left-back Marcel Schmelzer Wolfsburg’s four-match winning streak, which has returned from international duty with injury.But there seen them climb to fifth in the league, was ended can be no excuses as Bayern extended their record when they were held to a 1-1 draw at second-from- unbeaten run in the Bundesliga to 38 matches to bottom Nuremberg. The host team’s striker Daniel open a seven-point lead over Dortmund, who drop to Ginczek equalized after 19-year-old Maximilian third. Arnold had converted Brazilian play-maker Diego’s Earlier, Bayer Leverkusen warmed up for final pass for Wolves just before the break. Wednesday’s Champions League clash at home to Freiburg stay in the relegation places despite their Manchester United by going second with a 1-0 win at 1-0 win at bottom side Eintracht Braunschweig, while Hertha Berlin. Striker Stefan Kiessling, who has been Augsburg are up to tenth after their 2-0 win at repeatedly overlooked by Germany coach Joachim Hoffenheim. Today, Hamburg host Hanover without Loew since 2010, hit Leverkusen’s first-half winner for Dutch captain Rafael van der Vaart, who is expected his eighth goal in 13 league games. The win came at a to miss the next four weeks with an ankle injury. On cost as Germany winger Sidney Sam is doubtful after Friday, Borussia Moenchengladbach stayed fourth BARCELONA: Barcelona’s Chilean forward Alexis Sanchez (top) vies with Granada’s Romanian midfield- suffering a suspected torn thigh just four minutes with a 2-0 win at VfB Stuttgart, their fourth straight er Gabriel Torje during the Spanish league football match FC Barcelona vs CF Granada at the Camp into the game and will undergo a scan on Sunday. win, with goals by Brazil’s Raffael and Sweden’s Oscar Nou stadium yesterday. — AFP Leverkusen are second in Group A, just one point Wendt. — AFP

PSG move 7 clear in French League CSKA boost title hopes PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain kept their unbeaten start to the season intact with a dominant 3-0 win at Reims which extended their lead at the top of to seven : Reigning champions CSKA Akinfeev and Brazilian defender Mario points yesterday. PSG who suffered their last league Moscow earned a hard-fought 1-0 win Fernandes. defeat at Reims last season when they lost 1-0 in the in their Russian Premier League derby One goal proved enough, champagne region, gained a slice of revenge in a con- against Spartak Moscow yesterday although Japanese midfielder Keisuke trolled, professional performance away from home. with Ivory Coast striker Seydou Honda, Serbian winger Zoran Tosic, Lucas Moura and Jeremy Menez shared goals either Doumbia scoring the game’s only Sweden’s Pontus Wernbloom and side of half-time and Zlatan Ibrahimovic added a late goal. The result allowed CSKA to gain Doumbia all squandered opportuni- insurance marker while Reims missed a late penalty as revenge for a 3-0 defeat when they ties to increase the lead. Spartak head Laurent Blanc’s men rumbled to their 10th victory in 14 last met Spartak, and the two teams coach Valery Karpin was upset with outings. Second-placed Lille host lower table Toulouse are now level with Lokomotiv Moscow his team’s performance, saying: “We on Sunday while Cote d’Azur big spenders also on 33 points, three points behind have nobody to blame for the defeat face a must win situation at Nantes in a bid to keep pace leaders Zenit St Petersburg. Zenit suf- except ourselves. “We allowed CSKA with the runaway leaders. “We turned in a really concrete fered a surprise 2-0 home defeat to to score an early goal because of a performance today, created chances and took our goals,” Rostov on Friday, while Lokomotiv serious mistake and after that they PSG ‘keeper told Canal Plus tv. entertain Dinamo Moscow in another were able to play on the break, which “We’re really happy with the win because it’s difficult capital derby today. “We played well is their favored style.” to win here and we lost last season so we took a lesson and were deserved winners,” CSKA Meanwhile, Amkar Perm battled from that,” continued the Italian custodian. “We’re still manager Leonid Slutsky said. from a goal down to earn a 3-1 home continuing to progress and evolve but this is a good win “We scored early and controlled win over Kuban Krasnodar and move for us,” he continued. The defending champions took a the game in the first half. After the into fifth place in the table. Spanish deserved lead on 24 minutes when Sirigu found Lucas break, we had chances to increase our defender Angel Dealbert put the visi- with a clearance who in turn played a neat one-two with lead while Spartak did not create so tors in front in the 27th minute, but Swedish teammate Ibrahimovic which broke the much. We were the better side today.” the hosts hit back with three late goals Brazilian behind the home defense. CSKA took the lead against the nine- from Moldovan forward Igor A composed touch allowed the 21-year-old to tee up time champions in the eighth minute Pikusceak, defender Igor Cherenchikov a right foot shot that flew into the left hand corner of the when Doumbia scored following an and Bulgarian midfielder Georgi Peev. goal with Reims’ Togolese ‘keeper Kossi Agassa cleanly error by Spartak goalkeeper Artem In yesterday’s other match, two-time beaten. Menez made sure Laurent Blanc’s men head to Rebrov. Spartak replied positively, former champions Rubin Kazan won 1- Benfica for their Champions League tie on Wednesday in pinning the Red Army side back, but 0 away to a 10-man Tomsk side with fine fettle, after another explosive finish with 30 minutes they could not find a way through a Belarus international midfielder Sergei remaining. made a penetrating run CSKA defense that was superbly mar- Kislyak netting the game’s only goal into the Reims penalty area before finding shaled by Russia goalkeeper Igor late on. — AFP who then found Menez at close range to set up the strike for Menez. Verratti’s clumsy challenge at the other end minutes later appeared to hand Reims a life-line with a penalty but Grzegorz Krychowiak’s spot-kick mirrored Roberto Italian Roundup Baggio’s spectacular miss in the 1994 World Cup final shootout when he blazed his shot wildly over the bar. Ibrahimovic, who finished last season as top scorer with Chievo defeat Hellas 30 goals, moved joint top of this campaign’s charts with his ninth goal in the dying minutes. A pathetic clearance from Agassa was gratefully scooped up by the Swede Verona in rare derby outside the box and he rifled the ball into the back of the goal to equal Radamel Falcao and teammate ROME: Last-place Chievo Verona beat coach. The victory moved Chievo pro- . Hellas Verona 1-0 with a last-minute visionally level with Sampdoria and Reims were suffering only their third league defeat of goal yesterday in a derby that Catania at the bottom of the table. the season and remain sixth, although their position hadn’t been played in 11 years. Left Promoted Hellas remained sixth. Later, may come under threat later with Lyon, Guingamp, unmarked inside the area, Slovenian struggling AC Milan hosted Genoa Saint-Etienne and Bastia just one point back and Rennes, midfielder Dejan Lazarevic scored and third-place Napoli faced Parma at Bordeaux and Nice, two adrift. Marseille moved up to with a powerful shot in the second the San Paolo stadium. Two-time fourth spot on Friday with their second straight win at Ajaccio, a 3-1 triumph in Corsica, although Nantes can minute of added time for his first Serie defending champion Juventus visits A goal. It was Chievo’s first match Livorno today and league-leader reclaim the Europa League spot if they can pick up at REIMS: Reims’ defender Aissa Mandi (left) vies with Paris Saint-Germain’s Italian least a point at home to Monaco in the weekend’s final midfielder Marco Verratti during the French Football match Reims vs Paris Saint- since Eugenio Corini was rehired as Roma hosts Cagliari tomorrow. — AP match on Sunday. — AFP Germain yesterday. — AFP