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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 Ligue 1 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.