MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2016 SPORTS

Soccer League results/standings

Arsenal 2, Leicester City 1; Aston Villa 0, Liverpool 6; Italy Serie A results/standings AFC Bournemouth 1, Stoke City 3; Chelsea 5, AC Milan 2, Genoa 1; Palermo 1, Torino 3; Sampdoria Newcastle United 1; Crystal Palace 1, Watford 2; 0, Atalanta Bergamo 0; Udinese 0, Bologna 1; Chievo Everton 0, West Bromwich Albion 1; Norwich City 2, Verona 1 Sassuolo 1; Empoli 1 Frosinone 2; Juventus West Ham United 2; Sunderland 2, Manchester 1 Napoli 0. United 1; Swansea City 0, Southampton 1. Juventus 25 18 3 4 46 15 57 P W D L F A Pts Napoli 25 17 5 3 53 20 56 Leicester City 26 15 8 3 48 29 53 AS Roma 25 13 8 4 47 27 47 Arsenal 26 15 6 5 41 23 51 Fiorentina 24 14 4 6 42 23 46 Tottenham Hotspur 25 13 9 3 45 19 48 24 13 6 5 30 20 45 Manchester City 25 14 5 6 47 26 47 AC Milan 25 12 7 6 37 27 43 Manchester United 26 11 8 7 33 24 41 Lazio 25 10 6 9 34 34 36 Southampton 26 11 7 8 34 24 40 Sassuolo 25 8 11 6 29 29 35 West Ham United 26 10 10 6 40 31 40 Empoli 25 9 7 9 30 34 34 Liverpool 26 10 8 8 38 36 38 Bologna 25 10 3 12 29 31 33 Watford 26 10 6 10 29 28 36 Chievo Verona 25 8 7 10 30 33 31 Stoke City 26 10 6 10 27 32 36 Torino 25 8 7 10 33 33 31 Everton 26 8 11 7 46 35 35 Atalanta Bergamo 25 7 8 10 23 27 29 Chelsea 26 8 9 9 38 36 33 Udinese 25 7 6 12 21 38 27 Crystal Palace 26 9 5 12 27 32 32 Palermo 25 7 5 13 27 42 26 West Bromwich 26 8 8 10 24 32 32 Genoa 25 6 7 12 25 30 25 AFC Bournemouth 26 7 7 12 30 44 28 Sampdoria 25 6 7 12 36 43 25 Swansea City 26 6 9 11 24 34 27 Frosinone 25 6 4 15 26 51 22 Norwich City 26 6 6 14 30 50 24 Carpi 25 4 7 14 23 43 19 Newcastle United 26 6 6 14 27 49 24 Verona 25 1 12 12 21 42 15 Sunderland 26 6 5 15 32 50 23 Aston Villa 26 3 7 16 20 46 16 French results/standings Olympique Lyon 4, Caen 1; En Avant 2, Spanish La Liga results/standings Girondins Bordeaux 4; Nantes 2, FC Lorient 1; GFC Real Sociedad 3, Granada CF 0; Sevilla 2, Las Palmas Ajaccio 2, ES Troyes AC 3; Montpellier HSC 2, 0; Deportivo Coruna 2, Real Betis 2; Real Madrid 4, Toulouse 0; Paris St Germain 0, Lille 0; Stade de Athletic Club 2; Valencia 2, Espanyol 1; Villarreal 1, Reims 0, Bastia 1. Malaga 0. Paris St Germain 26 22 4 0 63 12 70 HAMBURG: Hamburg’s Matthias Ostrzolek, left, and Moenchengladbach’s Ibrahima Traore compete for the ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Hamburger SV and Borussia Moenchengladbach in Hamburg, Germany, yesterday. Hamburg won by 3-2. — AP Barcelona 22 17 3 2 56 17 54 Monaco 25 12 9 4 36 28 45 Real Madrid 24 16 5 3 70 23 53 Olympique Lyon 26 11 6 9 38 28 39 Atletico Madrid 23 16 3 4 34 11 51 Nice 25 11 6 8 38 29 39 Villarreal 24 14 6 4 30 18 48 Hamburg shock Glad to St Etienne 25 12 3 10 30 28 39 Sevilla 24 11 7 6 34 24 40 Nantes 26 10 9 7 26 24 39 Athletic Club 24 10 5 9 35 34 35 Stade Rennes 26 9 11 6 34 31 38 Celta Vigo 23 10 5 8 34 36 35 Angers SCO 26 10 7 9 25 24 37 break winless streak Eibar 23 9 6 8 36 31 33 Girondins Bordeaux 26 9 9 8 36 39 36 Deportivo Coruna 24 6 14 4 33 30 32 Caen 26 11 3 12 27 35 36 BERLIN: Hamburg pulled clear of the Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s second-half goal sealed Leverkusen drew level when Darmstadt Real Sociedad 24 8 6 10 34 34 30 Olympique Marseille25 8 10 7 35 26 34 Bundesliga’s relegation battle yesterday with a Borussia Dortmund’s 1-0 win over Hanover 96 defender Aytac Sulu headed into his own net on Malaga 24 8 6 10 21 21 30 shock 3-2 comeback win at home to Borussia on Saturday to trim the champions’ lead to five 62 minutes before Julian Brandt started the Bastia 26 10 4 12 25 29 34 Valencia 24 6 10 8 28 25 28 Moenchengladbach to end their six-game win- points. move he finished by tapping in the winner on Lille 26 6 13 7 20 20 31 Getafe 23 7 5 11 26 35 26 less streak. Bruno Labbadia’s Hamburg won for Dortmund were without injured star striker 77 minutes. FC Lorient 26 7 10 9 35 38 31 the first time since the end of November to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who missed his VfB Stuttgart’s impressive form continued as Real Betis 24 6 8 10 18 33 26 26 8 7 11 28 34 31 climb from 13th to 11th, but more importantly, first league match of the season after netting 20 they picked up their fifth straight league win to Rayo Vallecano 24 6 6 12 32 49 24 are now six points above the relegation zone. goals in as many Bundesliga games. go 10th with a 2-0 win at home to Hertha Berlin. Montpellier HSC 26 8 5 13 30 31 29 Sporting Gijon 23 6 5 12 26 38 23 Gladbach took the lead through US interna- Wolfsburg warmed up for Wednesday’s A long-range strike from Ivory Coast defensive Espanyol 24 6 4 14 21 48 22 26 7 8 11 27 34 29 tional Fabian Johnson on 14 minutes, but hosts Champions League, last 16, first leg at Gent with midfielder Serey Die and a second-half goal Las Palmas 24 5 6 13 23 38 21 GFC Ajaccio 26 6 9 11 27 37 27 Hamburg bludgeoned their way back. Lewis a 2-0 win at home to Ingolstadt. It was their first from left winger Filip Kostic sealed the hosts’ Holtby squandered a golden chance on 18 min- victory since knocking Manchester United out win. Hertha suffered their first defeat in nine Granada CF 24 5 5 14 25 49 20 Toulouse 26 4 9 13 25 44 21 utes when the Hamburg midfielder opted to of the Champions League in December. games since losing 2-0 at Bayern in November ES Troyes AC 26 2 8 16 19 53 14 Levante 23 4 5 14 21 43 17 pass with the goal at his mercy. Then Gladbach Dieter Hecking’s Wolfsburg won for the first to drop to fourth. defender Martin Hinteregger stabbed the ball time in six games but stay eighth after first-half The youngest manager in Bundesliga history into his own net from a corner on 38 minutes to goals by Germany midfielder Julian Draxler and made his debut when Julian Nagelsmann, 28, put Hamburg 1-0 up. And just three minutes defender Robin Knoche. was on Hoffenheim’s bench for their 1-1 draw at Lloyd’s late goal gives later, Artjoms Rudnevs landed another blow by Bayer Leverkusen moved up from seventh to Werder Bremen in a basement battle. gathering Rene Adler’s long-ball from the third as they bounced back from their shock Nagelsmann took over after predecessor Huub Hamburg goal and beating Oscar Wendt to German Cup exit at the hands of Werder Stevens resigned on Wednesday due to heart US 1-0 win over Mexico make it 2-1 at the break. Bremen in mid-week with a 2-1 comeback win problems. The result leaves both teams in the FRISCO: Carli Lloyd scored off a last summer’s World Cup in Canada. Midfielder Ivo Ilicevic extended Hamburg’s at Darmstadt. bottom three. Eintracht Frankfurt remain just lead when he headed home from a corner with On a heavy pitch, Sandro Wagner stabbed above the relegation places after their 3-1 rebound of her own penalty kick in They have won three straight Olympic ten minutes to go. But Gladbach’s Brazilian strik- the ball home to give Darmstadt an early lead, defeat at Cologne. the 86th minute and the United States titles and four of the five in women’s er Raffael gave his side brief hope by netting a despite Leverkusen goalkeeper Bernd Leno Midfielder Yannick Gerhardt, defender beat Mexico 1-0 on Saturday to clinch soccer. late goal to make it 3-2 on 88 minutes. catching him around the throat with his fore- Dominique Heintz and striker Anthony Modeste a spot in the CONCACAF Olympic This US roster features only 13 of With Bayern Munich at Augsburg on Sunday, arm. scored the hosts’ goals. —AFP qualifying semifinals. the 20 players who were on the World Lloyd’s penalty shot, following a Cup team. Christie Rampone and Mexico hand ball in the penalty area, Megan Rapinoe are injured, and Amy went to the middle of the goal and Rodriguez and Sydney Leroux are Honda fires up Milan in 2-1 Genoa win was blocked by Cecilia Santiago. Lloyd pregnant and will miss the Olympics. buried the rebound, with Santiago The Americans dominated posses- MILAN: Japan midfielder Keisuke Honda hit a From the resulting corner the ball was kept replaced Niang. Genoa striker Alessio Cerci, still on the ground for her 84th career sion during the scoreless first half, tak- late winner in an inspirational performance for in play and it was Honda’s cross, flicked on by who moved to the club from Milan in the goal. ing all five shots and all five corner AC Milan yesterday as the fallen Serie A giants M’Baye Niang, that found Carlos Bacca January transfer window, prompted even The winners of the semifinals - set kicks against a Mexican side that kept continued their resurgence with a 2-1 win unmarked at the back post to slam the ball more jeers from the largely partisan crowd for Houston on Feb. 19 - will qualify five players across its back line. Their over Genoa. past Mattia Perin after just five minutes. when he hit a late consolation for the visitors. for the Rio Olympics. The Americans best scoring chance came in the 16th Milan are bidding to secure a Champions It was Bacca’s 13th league goal of the cam- Milan remain in sixth place but are now will conclude group play Monday minute when a corner by Morgan League spot for the first time in three seasons paign and took the Colombian joint second in only four points behind Roma in the first night against Puerto Rico. The other Brian made it in to goalkeeper Cecelia and welcomed Genoa to the San Siro on the the league scoring charts alongside Juve for- Champions League qualifying place. match Monday between Mexico and Santiago, who couldn’t maintain con- back of a run of six games without defeat. ward Paulo Dybala, who is 11 strikes behind Juventus went top of the table with a 1-0 Costa Rica will determine Group A’s trol. Julie Johnston tried to score on Honda has enjoyed something of an indi- runaway leader Gonzalo Higuain of Napoli. home win over Napoli, who are second at other semifinalist. Costa Rica won the the rebound but shot wide. vidual resurgence of late and the attacking Honda doubled Milan’s lead just after the one point behind and nine points ahead of opener Saturday at Toyota Stadium, Lloyd had a free kick from about 35 midfielder stung Mattia Perin’s gloves with a hour with a superb strike from 20 yards, short- Roma. Fiorentina or Inter Milan can jump up beating Puerto Rico 9-0. yards out in the 44th minute and shot rasping shot that the ‘keeper palmed out of ly after which Frenchman Jeremy Menez made to third place with a win in their late fixture The United States remained just wide of the near post. The United the top corner on four minutes. his long-awaited return from injury when he yesterday. — AFP unbeaten CONCACAF qualifying play States had two second-half opportu- at 15-0-1, having scored 81 goals and nities strike the post - Christen Press allowing four. Mexico nearly tied it a in the 52nd minute and Lindsey Horan minute after Lloyd goal when Monica in the 76th minute. Ocampo’s left-footed shot from out- Alex Morgan had two scoring side the 18-yard box was batted over chances from close range that went the crossbar by Hope Solo to preserve over the crossbar midway through the her 93rd career shutout. second half with a left-footed shot in The tournament is the Americans’ the 67th minute and a header two first competitive play since winning minutes. —AP

Neville seeks momentum from first Valencia win

MADRID: Valencia boss Gary Neville is league games since he took over early in hopeful his first win in 10 La Liga games the second-half to Oscar Duarte’s header. in charge of Los Che will be the confi- “The most incredible bit was the fans dence boost his young side needed to stayed with us, every single player stayed turn their season around. The hosts with me,” he added. came from behind to beat Espanyol 2-1 “It’s not down to tactics, it’s not down on Saturday thanks to goals in the final to the coach, it’s down to the fans and 20 minutes from Alvaro Negredo and the way they responded after the goal. Denis Cheryshev to ease Valencia’s fears “We’ve had to come back so many times of being dragged into a relegation battle in league games: Getafe, Rayo and the pressure on Neville’s job. (Vallecano), (Real) Madrid, Deportivo (la “Hopefully we’ll push on from this. Coruna). “It’s not new for them to come That is what I want, what I hope for,” said back. They’ve showed spirit many times Neville. “It’s not a night for any celebra- and tonight they showed it again.” tion whatsover, not a night to get carried Neville also announced that former away. We need to gain some confidence Liverpool assistant manager Pako from the result. “There is a good feeling Ayestaran will join his coaching staff in the dressing room and we need to from next week. And despite the relief of take that forward.” a first league win, Neville acknowledged Neville has been severely criticised by he still has a long way to go to prove he some quarters of the Spanish media with is worthy of staying on at the Mestalla many suggesting his friendship with beyond the end of the season. Valencia’s Singaporean owner Peter Lim “The media and fans are well within as the only reason he hadn’t been sacked their rights to say what they want, I’d be before this weekend. However, he saying them as a journalist or as a fan. thanked the club’s famously demanding “I’m not expecting to be shielded or pro- AJACCIO: Ajaccio’s Tunisian midfielder Mohamed Larbi (L) vies for the ball with Troyes’ French midfielder duringhe t French L1 fans for sticking with the side after they tected, I thrive on it. From my point of football match between Gazelec Ajaccio (GFCA) and Troyes (ESTAC) Sunday, at the Ange Casanova stadium in Ajaccio, on the French fell behind for the 10th time in as many view I know I’m in a fight” — AFP Mediterranean island of Corsica. — AFP