MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2016 SPORTS

Aduriz scores 2 as Valencia lose again in Spanish league

MADRID: Aritz Aduriz scored two first-half goals into the top corner. “When you go down a goal Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid to win the league its second consecutive game and reach eight yesterday to give Athletic Bilbao a 2-1 come-from- against a team like Valencia, it’s difficult to come title. It lifted the trophy in 2004. points. behind win over Valencia, the only team to have back and we were able to do it,” Aduriz said. “These Later Sunday, Real Madrid plays at Espanyol with lost all four games to start the season. are difficult matches and we deserve a lot of credit a chance to win its fourth in a row and remain three OSASUNA 0, CELTA VIGO 0 Celta Vigo was held to a 0-0 draw at promoted for this victory.” points ahead atop the standings. Madrid can match Celta Vigo and Osasuna remained winless in the Osasuna and also remained winless. Valencia went Valencia’s next chance to rebound is Thursday at the record of 16 consecutive wins in the Spanish Spanish league, and in trouble. ahead with a close-range, left-footed shot by mid- home against Alaves. “We have to keep working league achieved by Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona in the The result left Celta, which secured a Europa fielder Alvaro Medran just two minutes into the hard and the victories will come, we haven’t been 2010-11 season. League spot with its sixth-place finish last season, is match at San Mames Stadium. playing badly,” Valencia defender Martin Montoya Defending champion Barcelona won 5-1 at second-to-last after four matches, following three Veteran striker Aduriz equalized with a header said. “We know that our team is capable of improv- Leganes on Saturday to reach nine points along straight losses to start the season. off a free-kick cross in the 24th and scored the win- ing and getting the results that we deserve.” with Las Palmas, which defeated Malaga 1- Osasuna, which had lost two in a row, is in 18th ner with a right-footed shot from inside the area Valencia is the last team other than Barcelona, 0.Atletico Madrid routed Sporting Gijon 5-0 to win place with two points. —AP Townsend and Palace deepen Stoke gloom

winning one. With eight minutes gone, Townsend floated a free-kick towards the Crystal Palace 4 far post and Tomkins crept in behind Jonathan Walters to toe the ball past Shay Given from close range. Once renowned for the rigour with Stoke 1 which they defended set-pieces, Stoke conceded another goal from a dead-ball situation just three minutes later. LONDON: scored one Jason Puncheon drove a right-sided goal and made another as Crystal Palace corner towards the penalty spot and Dann inflicted a crushing 4-1 defeat upon win- got above Ryan Shawcross to sent a head- less Stoke City in the yes- er bulleting into the bottom-left corner. terday. Stoke’s response, such as it was, was Townsend set up the opening goal for tame, with Wilfried Bony meekly curling James Tomkins at and com- wide. pleted the scoring with his first Palace goal Tomkins limped off at half-time and was after and James McArthur had replaced by Delaney, but it did not affect also got on the score-sheet. the hosts’ rhythm. It gave Alan Pardew’s side consecutive After Dann and had seen league wins for the first time since last efforts blocked at close range, McArthur December and saw the south London club added a third goal in the 72nd minute, climb to eighth place in the table. beating Given with the aid of a deflection Mark Hughes’s Stoke, who replied off Geoff Cameron. through Marko Arnautovic, were left bot- Townsend saved the best for last, drift- tom of the pile after registering four suc- ing infield from the left, beating Joe Allen cessive league defeats for the first time with a neat chop and then bending a low since February 2012. shot into the bottom-right corner. Palace manager Pardew made just one Arnautovic curled in a goal for Stoke change from his side’s 2-1 win at from the edge of the box in injury time, Middlesbrough, Tomkins replacing Damien but by then the damage had been Delaney at centre-back, and it proved a done. — AFP

MONTPELLIER: Montpellier’s French defender Jerome Roussillon (L) vies with Nice’s French defender Arnaud Souquet (R) during the French L1 football match between Montpellier and Nice, yesterday at the La Mosson Stadium in Montpellier, southern France. — AFP Nice second after Montpellier point

MONTPELLIER: Newly-recruited playmaker Nice can thank a fine performance from 22- and followed a slick 2-1 triumph over Tottenham Younes Belhanda grabbed a point for Nice in a 1- year-old goalkeeper Yoan Cardinale for several in the Champions League in midweek. “The 1 draw at Montpellier with a determined late fine saves that kept them in the game until his favourite to win the title, which will be a long strike yesterday meaning his side climb above left back Malang Sarr gave away a penalty on 67 haul, is Paris,” warned Monaco coach Leonardo champions Paris Saint Germain into second minutes, duly converted by Ryad Boudebouz. Jardim. place in . Then Belhanda, one of the stars of Montpellier’s “Nice, Lyon and Marseille have also invested Having come fourth last season, Nice lost staggering Ligue 1 title winning charge of 2012, in their teams, but we are a better side this sea- their coach to Southampton while crowned a solid performance with a tap-in on 85 son, more experienced and organised,” said the Hatem Ben Arfa moved on to PSG. But with minutes after the ‘keeper fumbled the ball. Portuguese coach whose side came third last highly-regarded Swiss coach Lucien Favre now A towering Radamel Falcao header helped year. On Friday, Uruguayan striker Edinson in charge, Nice are unbeaten in Ligue 1 so far send Monaco top on Saturday while 20-year-old Cavani banged four goals past Caen in a 6-0 win and have brought in Belhanda on loan from Thomas Lemar also scored twice at the end of for PSG. Lucas Moura and Jean-Kevin Augustin Dynamo Kiev while snapping up Italian striker the game. Falcao’s career has hit the buffers added the other two goals after the break as Mario Balotelli. The former Liverpool, Man City since quitting Atletico Madrid but on Saturday, PSG ended a run of three games without a win and AC Milan striker sat out this encounter hav- the 30-year-old Colombian leapt high at the in all competitions. ing played twice in four days, but will be back for back post and powered in a header in the 42nd Saint Etienne host Bastia but the big game of LONDON: Stoke City’s Wilfriend Bony, left, and Crystal Palace’s James McArthur bat- Wednesday’s top of the table clash with paceset- minute to score his first goal for Monaco since the weekend takes place at Marseille’s wonderful tle for the ball during their English Premier League soccer match at Selhurst Park, ters Monaco, who have 13 points to Nice’s 11 August 2014 — 755 days ago. Velodrome stadium as the struggling giants London, yesterday. — AP and PSG’s 10. This was Monaco’s seventh consecutive win await the visit of Lyon. — AFP

Austin on target as Puel Ranieri impressed by Mahrez, breaks Premier League duck Slimani deadly double act LEICESTER: Claudio Ranieri believes Burnley. Algerian duo and Riyad MOMENTUM yards out before Austin himself hit the crossbar. League since his debut winner against Mahrez can form a deadly double act for “I didn’t want to make many changes, But Austin rewarded Southampton’s pres- Manchester United in January. Leicester after the Algerian duo inspired a just the keeper and right back because I Southampton 1 sure just after the hour when he chested the “I should have had three (goals),” Austin 3-0 win over Burnley. wanted to keep our momentum,” Ranieri ball down and struck a rising shot. Swansea’s told the BBC. “I’m frustrated, of course, (to be Slimani scored twice on his Premier said. Gylfi Sigurdsson had a late chance saved but on the bench) as I scored twice in midweek League debut for the champions on “It was important for us to win and 3-0 is the Saints clung on to victory. but if the manager wants to rotate then he is Saturday, while fellow international good - now we are in the top half of the Swansea 0 Austin’s goal was his first in the Premier the boss.” — AFP Mahrez displayed the form that saw him table and our focus is in EFL Cup against voted player of the year last season. Chelsea. “I’ll make changes because have The pair linked up impressively with very good players they show me they are SOUTHAMPTON: Charlie Austin came off the Leicester striker Jamie Vardy and Foxes strong. bench to give Southampton their first Premier manager Ranieri believes they will relish “I’m very pleased, it was important to League win of the season by scoring in a 1-0 joining forces at club level. win after the Champions League victory win over Swansea at St Mary’s yesterday. “It’s good for Slimani and good for against a good, well organised team. It was the south coast club’s first Premier everyone,” Ranieri said. “It was a very good “We tried to find a solution to score but League success under manager Claude Puel performance from him, as well as his team- they closed all the space. “Then when we and their second victory in a week under the mates. “He linked very well with Vardy and went wide and crossed they suffered a little Frenchman after the team’s Europa League win the others and he pressed so hard during more and we scored at end of first half and over Sparta Prague. all the match. We bought him for these beginning of second. Southampton were almost gifted an early characteristics. “It was great for us because after that lead when Swansea goalkeeper Lukasz “Riyad made two fantastic performanc- we controlled the ball much better.” Burnley Fabianski spilt a shot from Shane Long. es, in Brugge in the Champions League and acquitted themselves well for much of the But Saints duo Steven Davis and Dusan Tadic here and I’m very pleased when he plays in first half but were put to the sword after got in each other’s way as they tried to follow this tactical way because he was very clever Slimani scored his first goal in English foot- up and the ball went behind, although an off- he’s very clever when to attack, defend, and ball in first-half stoppage time. side flag lessened any embarrassment the pair play in between the lines. “Unfortunately it was four minutes of mad- might have felt. “Of course he’s happy with Slimani ness two minutes before and two minutes Nathan Redmond then opted to shoot being here - but he’s happy with every- after half-time,” Burnley manager Sean rather than square the ball across goal to the body.” Dyche said. unmarked Long and blazed his shot high and Ranieri’s men followed their 3-0 “The idea was to keep the ball better wide of the target. Champions League win at Club Brugge in and kind of slow Leicester’s tempo down. Redmond squandered an even better midweek with the same scoreline against “We didn’t penetrate as much as I would chance when, from Tadic’s low cross, he beat Burnley. like but it’s difficult at this level because Jordi Amat only to shoot over the top from Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel missed they are a good side. eight yards out. out with concussion and Danny Simpson “Then two minutes of madness just Austin scored twice against the Czech club returned from injury but Ranieri otherwise before half-time culminated in giving a soft in a 3-0 win on Thursday but the striker found named an unchanged team. free-kick away and they got a goal. himself back on the bench yesterday. The Italian is planning changes for “The second half one was a little bit Tuesday’s English Football League Cup unfortunate that it hit someone on the Southampton had chances to take the lead SOUTHAMPTON: Southampton’s Charlie Austin, third left, scores his side’s first goal of the clash with Chelsea but he believes consis- knee, someone on the heel and someone before Austin scored the only goal of the game game, during the English Premier League soccer match between Southampton FC and tency was important from Brugge to on the head and it goes in. — AFP in the 64th minute. Redmond missed from 12 Swansea City, at St Mary’s, in Southampton, England, yesterday. — AP