TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2015 SPORTS

Porto go top as beaten Sporting miss out on record

LISBON: Sporting Lisbon missed out on and Jorge Jesus’ side equalled a record was a header, while their goalkeeper league run to seven games when they the 81st minute with a header and Raul a club record eighth straight Primeira set by Domingos Paciencia’s 2011 team saved three certain goals.” saw off Rio Ave 3-1 to remain third on 31 Jimenez added a third. Sixth-placed Rio League win when they lost 1-0 at Uniao when they beat Moreirense 3-1 last Goals from Danilo Pereira and Vincent points, five off the pace. Ave fell behind Vitoria de Setubal, who da Madeira on Sunday. weekend. Aboubakar, and Hector Herrera’s stylish Jonas’ fourth-minute opener was can- moved up to fifth with a 3-1 victory at The defeat, their first in the league Madeira struck the only goal of the back-heeled effort, gave Julen celled out by Renan Bressan’s superb bottom club Tondela, while Moreirense this season, cost them top spot to Porto game when Danilo Dias headed past Rui Lopetegui’s Porto a 3-0 lead before Rui long-range free kick for visiting Rio Ave beat Nacional 2-0. who defeated Academica de Coimbra 3- Patricio at the far post. Pedro replied late on for visiting nine minutes later. On Saturday, Arouca defeated 1. Sporting had won 11 and drawn two “Uniao had one shot on goal,” said Academica. Benfica’s superiority eventually told Maritimo 4-1 and Vitoria de Guimaraes of their opening 13 matches this season coach Jesus, “and it wasn’t even a shot, it Benfica extended their unbeaten when Jonas bagged his second goal in won 1-0 at Estoril. —Reuters Mahrez, Ighalo on the mark in Premier League

PARIS: Algerian striker Riyad Mahrez pro- SALOMON KALOU (Hertha Berlin) duced a brace of penalties for leaders The Ivory Coast striker claimed his ninth Leicester City and Nigeria’s Odion Ighalo goal of the season as Hertha Berlin beat helped Watford despatch Liverpool in the Mainz 2-0 in the capital on Sunday to finish Premier League at the weekend: 2015 third in the Bundesliga table. Kalou grabbed Hertha’s second when a superb ENGLAND diagonal pass from Vedad Ibisevic put him RIYAD MAHREZ (Leicester City) into space and the Ivory Coast striker held off Mahrez confirmed his current status as the his marker to fire home on 54 minutes. Premier League’s pre-eminent attacking play- er with a brace of penalties as Leicester won FRANCE 3-2 at Everton to guarantee they will top the GIOVANNI SIO (Rennes) table on Christmas Day. He opened the scor- Ivory Coast international striker Sio set up ing in the 27th minute at a rain-soaked the opening goal for Ousmane Dembele on Goodison Park, tucking the ball into the bot- 63 minutes with a sublime pass as Rennes tom-left corner after Ramiro Funes Mori had won 2-0 at Guingamp on Saturday. Dembele dragged Shinji Okazaki down, and restored then returned the favour with 13 minutes left the visitors’ lead in the 65th minute, following to put Sio through one-on-one with goal- Romelu Lukaku’s equaliser, by finding the keeper Jonas Lossl. It was Sio’s fifth goal this opposite bottom corner after Tim Howard season, four of which have come away from had upended Jamie Vardy. The Algeria inter- home. national has now scored 13 goals in the league this season. FLOYD AYITE (Bastia) Winger Ayite set the Corsicans on the road ODION IGHALO (Watford) to a 2-0 victory over Reims that lifted them The in-form Ighalo took his tally for the three points clear of the relegation zone at campaign to 12 goals with a brace as Watford the halfway mark of the season. The pulled off a tremendous 3-0 home win over Togo international took a pass from Seko Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool. The Nigeria striker Fofana on 21 minutes before slotting his third scored Watford’s second goal in the 15th goal of the season into the bottom corner. minute, running onto strike partner Troy YOKOHAMA: Barcelona forward Lionel Messi (L) smiles beside forward Luis Suarez (R) on the podium during the awarding ceremony after win- Deeney’s lobbed pass and drilling home, MOHAMED LABRI (Gazelec Ajaccio) ning the Club World Cup football final against River Plate in Yokohama on Sunday. — AFP before heading in a right-wing cross from As the tiny Corsican side Gazelec Ajaccio feel their way into their first top flight season, Valon Behrami with five minutes remaining. Tunisian midfielder Labri scored a decisive brace in Sunday’s 2-1 victory over faltering River count their losses, JORDAN AYEW (Aston Villa) Lyon. His first on 32 minutes came from sheer Ghana international Ayew scored a sensa- opportunism while his second on 67 minutes tional 61st-minute equaliser to earn bottom finished off a rapier counter-attack as David club Villa a 1-1 draw at Newcastle United. With Ducourtioux played him in on Lyon goalkeep- Barca count their titles Villa trailing to Fabricio Coloccini’s first-half er Anthony Lopes. The goals took Labri’s total opener, Ayew gathered a deep cross from to six goals this season. Jordan Veretout on the left side of the area, YOKOHAMA: While Barcelona pondered how to bound for Mexico’s Monterrey. were involved in this year, the only failure being jam yet more silverware into their trophy cabi- “Apart from the sadness and the bitterness the Spanish Supercup loss to Athletic Bilbao. threw Daryl Janymaat with a dummy back-heel SPAIN net, River Plate were counting their losses after for having lost this match, I want to thank the While most countries do not look beyond and curled a glorious shot in off the right-hand NORDIN AMRABAT, CARLOS KAMENI Sunday’s Club World Cup final defeat, which players for their great efforts this year,” Gallardo domestic league and cup competitions and post. It was his fourth goal of the campaign. (Malaga) emphasised the difference between club foot- told reporters. European campaigns, Spain adds one-off match- Moroccan forward Amrabat set up the ball in Europe and the rest of the world. “The match was almost the end of an era, es to the tally. NDRE AYEW (Swansea City) winning goal for Charles while Cameroonian Success for a big European club tends to because there are players who are leaving. It was Spanish sports daily As concluded Barcelona Ayew was unable to follow his younger goalkeeper Kameni kept his fifth clean sheet breed more success as they cash in on prize the cherry on the cake and we deserved to get had won 26 trophies in the last decade: four brother’s lead as managerless Swansea were of the season as Malaga eased their relega- money and television rights. Success for a South here, but we weren’t at our best in football terms Champions Leagues, three world clubs, three held to a 0-0 draw by West Ham United that tion fears with a 1-0 win over La Liga pace- American side, however, usually sparks a player and that makes me a little upset.” European Supercups, seven La Liga titles, three kept them in the relegation zone. The 26- setters Atletico Madrid on Sunday. exodus to bigger, richer clubs and the breakup According to a report by the Swiss-based Spanish Cups and six Spanish Supercups. year-old went close twice in the first half at of a team. CIES Football Observatory in October, 929 AS also said that goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, the Liberty Stadium, heading over and plac- ITALY Coach Marcelo Gallardo, who has trans- Argentines currently play professional football who was in Chile’s Copa America-winning team, ing a shot narrowly wide with his weaker UMAR SADIQ (Roma) formed River since taking over 18 months ago, abroad, more than any other country apart from had won six titles in 2015, which it said was an right foot, but his influence faded as the It may be crisis time at Roma, but the joys was already contemplating the departure of Brazil. Barcelona fielded six South Americans, all unique achievement. match went on. of the beautiful game were written large on Carlos Sanchez and Matias Kranevitter, two of his of them accomplished internationals, on Sunday, Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta featured in all the face of 18-year-old Nigerian Sadiq when most influential players, after Sunday’s 3-0 including Javier Mascherano, who began his 26 of the titles. “I hope we can win more of GERMANY he headed Roma’s second goal in a 2-0 win defeat. Kranevitter was playing his last game for career at River. them,” Messi told reporters. “We are very happy ERIC CHOUPO-MOTING (Schalke 04) over Genoa at the Stadio Olimpico on the club before the 23-year-old moves to The stellar cast helped Barcelona to yet to be in such a big club. We have many dreams The Cameroon striker claimed only his Sunday. Umar replaced Egyptian internation- Atletico Madrid, while Uruguayan Sanchez, the another title on Sunday, by coach Luis Enrique’s and we want to battle for everything, as in every third league goal of the season in unorthodox al Mohamed Salah with only eight minutes only regular international in River’s team, is count their fifth in the six competitions they other year.” — Reuters fashion on Friday to help Schalke seal a 1-0 remaining and the score at 1-0 as Roma win over Hoffenheim to go fifth in the league sought to end a four-game winless streak. But table. The 26-year-old scored the winner in the towering teenager kept his composure in the 28th minute when his shot deflected off the final minute to meet a cross from deep on the boot of Hoffenheim’s Czech defender the left and power a header past Mattia Perin Angers lose as PSG maintain 19-pt lead Pavel Kaderabek and flew into the back of the for his maiden Serie A goal. — AFP visitors’ net. PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain will finish 2015 with a 19-point lead at the top of Ligue 1 after Angers lost 1-0 at Saint-Etienne on Madrid’s perfect 10 can’t Sunday. Benjamin Corgnet scored the only goal of the game on 62 minutes, denying prevent Benitez boos Angers the chance of going back above Monaco into second place. PSG won 3-0 at MADRID: Real Madrid’s under fire coach ted errors no one wants to see, but we fourth-placed Caen on Saturday to set a Rafael Benitez admitted a section of the solved the problems and knew how to new record of 51 points at the halfway club’s support can’t be contented despite react to the situation presented to us,” stage of the season after an unbeaten first his side hitting a historic 10 goals to said Benitez. 19 matches during the current campaign. sweep aside nine-man Rayo Vallecano 10- The former Liverpool and Chelsea boss PSG also set a club-record 28-match 2 on Sunday. has been publicly backed by president unbeaten league run after expensive stars Gareth Bale scored four for the first Florentino Perez despite rumours that he Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Angel di Maria time in his Madrid career, whilst Karim could be one defeat away from the sack both hit the target in Caen. Monaco are Benzema struck his second hat-trick in after losing 1-0 at Villarreal last weekend. second after a 0-0 draw at winless and rock three games as Real became the first side And, after his most prolific day in his bottom Troyes on Saturday took them a to score 10 in a La Liga match in 55 years. three-year Madrid career, Bale also point clear of Angers. However, as in recent matches at the offered his support to Benitez. St Etienne, who have struggled for form Santiago Bernabeu, Benitez’s name was “We get on well and we continue to this season, moved up to sixth, just three whistled before the start of the game and work and train hard,” said the Welshman. points behind Monaco in the congested the calls for him to go grew when Real “We need to improve in every area, but race for the European places. “I’m not briefly trailed 2-1 early in the first-half we will get better as the season goes on.” looking at the top of the table because before two Rayo red cards in the opening Madrid captain Sergio Ramos is one of we’re also rather too close for comfort to half hour swung the game in Madrid’s a number of key figures in the dressing the relegation zone,” Saints coach favour. room to have already clashed with Christophe Galtier admitted after the “The fans weren’t happy at certain Benitez, but he admitted the players have game. moments of the game when we commit- to accept whatever Perez decides. “Today’s win was a key result, we really “If the president says Benitez is the needed those three points,” he added. solution, that is what he will be,” said Hubert Fournier may have overseen his Madrid captain Sergio Ramos. last game at Lyon, who were last year’s sur- “We are pawns, he (Perez) is the king.” prise package but who have flopped this also scored twice to season as they prepare to move into their take his tally this season to 23, but could new stadium in the new year sitting in be seen asking the fans to get off the mid-table and having been knocked out of team’s back when they fell behind. all European competition. The coach and And Ramos defended the World Player his club President Jean Michel Aulas were of the Year’s right to tell the club’s fans stone faced after watching Lyon lose 2-1 at what he thinks. “The fans are free to cheer tiny Gazelec Ajaccio, where Mohamed or boo, but so are the players to express Larbi scored twice before Clement Grenier their views,” he added. “Cristiano is used pulled a goal back late on. Aulas refused to saying what he thinks. Today we were to say if the coach would survive the win- booed when the team most needed sup- ter break: “It wouldn’t be fair to speak port. It wasn’t there, but we have to about that now. We’ll take our time to remember the good thing which is the make any announcements,” he said. MUNICH: Picture taken on June 24, 2013 team knew how to react. “It’s not only Hubert Fournier’s fault. The shows Bayern Munich’s Spanish head “It is a complicated situation because players know this and are trying to rally to coach Pep Guardiola (L) posing next to we aren’t where we want to be. The fans the cause.” In Sunday’s late game, 2009 the club’s CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge are very demanding and they always during a press conference in Munich, champions Bordeaux and Marseille, who CAEN: Paris Saint-Germain’s Argentinian forward Angel Di Maria (L) vies for the ball with Caen’s southern Germany, to introduce want the team to win and play well. “We succeeded them to the title in an era French midfielder Vincent Bessat (R) during the French L1 football match between Caen (SMC) Guardiola as Bayern Munich’s new have to stay calm, united and get the before Qatari money helped PSG sweep all and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on Sunday at the Michel d’Ornano stadium in Caen, northwestern coach. — AFP results to achieve our objectives.” — AFP before them, drew 1-1. —AFP France. — AFP