MONDAY, APRIL 21, 2014 SPORTS Ramsey and Podolski shine in Arsenal stroll

Hull 0

Arsenal 3

LONDON: scored twice as Arsenal claimed an important 3-0 victory at Hull City yesterday in his side’s quest for a top-four finish and FA Cup success. In a preview of next month’s FA Cup final at Wembley, Arsenal scored an important psycho- logical edge over Steve Bruce’s team after Aaron Ramsey shot them in front. German forward Podolski then added two goals in the space of eight minutes, either side of half-time. Following on from his two-goal dis- play against West Ham United in mid-week, it meant that in the space of five days, he has dou- bled his tally of league goals for the season to eight. Ramsey, playing his fourth game in two weeks after a three-month lay-off with a thigh injury, made a telling impact with a goal and an assist as Arsenal scored twice in the final 15 min- utes of the opening half to take a strong grip on LONDON: Arsenal’s Lukas Podolski celebrates scoring his side’s third goal during their English the game. soccer match against Hull City at The KC Stadium. —AP The second goal was spectacular, if con- tentious, as Hull claimed that they should have Harper called upon to keep out Podolski’s 18- Szczesny. Any lingering uncertainty about the been awarded a free-kick deep in Arsenal territo- yard strike a few minutes earlier, although Hull destiny of the three points was removed after 54 ry after Nikica Jelavic went down under pressure had enjoyed more possession until that point. minutes when Podolski claimed his second goal, from Mikel Arteta. Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was and Arsenal’s third. Referee Jon Moss disagreed, however, and forced to show good handling in the 14th Once again the build-up was intricate, culmi- allowed the Gunners to launch a devastating minute, diving smartly to keep out a first-time nating in Cazorla picking out Ramsey from the counter-attack. It ended with loft- strike from Jelavic. left-hand byline. The Welsh international’s 15- ing over a cross that Ramsey chested into the A goal behind, Hull had their best chance yet yard shot was well saved by the outstretched GERMANY: Nuremberg’s Josip Drmic (right) and Leverkusen’s Oemer Toprak vie for path of Podolski, who buried a superb left-foot when David Meyler set up Jake Livermore for an boot of goalkeeper Harper, but the rebound fell the ball during the German soccer match. —AP volley in the back of the Hull goal from 15 yards. 18-yard strike that beat Szczesny but rebounded kindly for Podolski to convert from close range. The opening goal, after 31 minutes, had been to safety via the foot of the goalkeeper’s right- Arsenal should have scored a bizarre fourth Leverkusen fourth in battle almost as impressive and featured a characteris- hand post. goal after 64 minutes when Harper misjudged a tic flowing move from Arsene Wenger’s side. Just before the second Arsenal goal, Shane back-pass, gifting the ball to Giroud, who struck for Champions League spot The move started on the halfway line and saw Long should have done better with a mistimed the underside of the bar from practically on the Ramsey spray the ball wide to Mesut Ozil; anoth- header from a Liam Rosenior cross that Szczesny byline. BERLIN: Bayer Leverkusen regained fourth Borussia enjoyed a 4-2 victory at home er Arsenal player who is fit again after injury. saved with ease. Arsenal centre-back headed place in the Bundesliga yesterday with a 4- to ten-man Mainz 05 as coach Jurgen His pass to Santi Cazorla was helped on to Hull substitute Matty Fryatt, on for the injured over from a Cazorla free-kick in the 76th minute, 1 romp at Nuremberg in their battle to Klopp faced his former side having Ramsey, who steered his ninth league goal of Long, had an early opportunity soon after the while Ramsey, Huddlestone and Fryatt all saw retain their Champions League place for coached them from 2001-08. the season past Steve Harper in the Hull goal. restart, but Tom Huddlestone’s pass took an late efforts well handled by their respective next season. took the lead after just six The opening goal had been coming, with unkind bounce as he aimed to head past opposition goalkeepers.—AFP Goals by Bosnia centre-back Emir Spahic minutes through a curious goal when Milos and Poland left-back Sebastian Boenisch Jojic’s strike went in off the upper arm of for Leverkusen cancelled out Marvin Borussia’s Oliver Kirch, but despite furious Plattenhardt’s equaliser in the first-half protests the goal stood. Berbatov inspires Monaco win from a direct free-kick which left the visi- Japan striker Shinji Okazaki scored twice tors 2-1 up soon after the break. for Mainz to make it 2-2, his second after PARIS: ’s delightful lob was the only goal of the Cote the principality club means they are through the second half when Danijel Leverkusen’s South Korea star Son pouncing on a terrible back pass from goal gave Monaco a 1-0 win against d’Azur derby at the Stade Louis II and now certain to finish in the top three Subasic saved well from substitute Heung-Min made sure of the victory when Dortmund’s Nuri Sahin. The Japanese inter- Nice yesterday to leave Paris Saint- the victory got Claudio Ranieri’s side and qualify for next season’s Dario Cvitanich and Mathieu Bodmer’s he sprinted clear on a counter-attack and national scoring either side of Bayern- Germain’s title celebrations on ice while back on track after their shock exit from Champions League. header from the resulting corner was drew the defence for Spahic to tap home bound ’s strike for Ajaccio’s relegation was confirmed with the French Cup to Guingamp at the They are nine points clear of third- blocked by Subasic and then cleared his second with ten minutes left. Dortmund. defeat at Bastia. semi-final stage on Wednesday. placed Lille, who go to Marseille later, by Mounir Obbadi right on the line. Ex-Germany international Roberto Dortmund made sure of the three Berbatov’s nonchalant fifth-minute A third successive league win for and seven behind leaders PSG, who do The Nice players appealed for a Hilbert grabbed Leverkusen’s fourth seven points, which confirmed their Champions not host Evian until Wednesday having goal to be given, but the officials minutes later having come off the bench. League direct qualification, with goals by beaten Lyon 2-1 in the League Cup waved play on and Claude Puel’s side Leverkusen lead Wolfsburg by a point defender Lukasz Piszczek and Germany final on Saturday night. are without a win in five matches. with just three games left to decide winger Marco Reus, who converted a Even if PSG win that game, they will Ajaccio made the trip across Germany’s fourth Champions League place penalty 12 minutes from time after Mainz not secure a second consecutive Lige 1 Corsica for the derby against Bastia after Wolves had spent 24 hours in fourth had centre-back Niko Bungert sent off for a championship until next weekend at knowing they had to win to stand any after Saturday’s 3-1 win at Hamburg. Bayer handball. the earliest. For all the money spent last chance of further postponing their enjoyed their second straight win since ex- Ten-man VfL Wolfsburg romped to a 3-1 summer, finishing second would be an inevitable relegation. Liverpool captain Sami Hyypia was sacked win at Hamburg as goals by Ivan Perisic, excellent achievement for Monaco, But a 2-1 loss left them 15 points as coach, while Nuremberg suffered their Kevin de Bruyne and Ivica Olic gave Wolves who were in Ligue 2 a year ago, but from safety with only 12 points left to fourth straight defeat which leaves them a 3-0 lead just after the break before coach Ranieri’s future has been the play for. “We’ve known for a long time second from bottom. VfB Stuttgart took a Hamburg’s Ivo Ilicevic scored a consolation subject of much speculation recently. that we would go down so this big step towards survival with a 3-1 win at for the hosts who remain third from bot- However, the 62-year-old Italian changes nothing,” Ajaccio coach home to third-placed Schalke 04 which tom. Wolves were reduced to ten men revealed that Vadim Vasilyev, the club Christian Bracconi said. leaves them four points from the relegation when Brazil Luiz Gustavo was vice-president, had reassured him “We were condemned on places. sent off for a second yellow card on 90 min- over his position after the match. November 14 - now it’s done! We’ve Austria striker Martin Harnik netted utes. Hamburg are facing an historic first “You know what he said to me? been living with the idea for weeks. twice while Germany forward also relegation from Germany’s top flight. That I will be here next season.” This We wanted to delay it but I’m more scored as Stuttgart raced into a 3-0 lead Freiburg are virtually assured of their sur- win will come as a relief to him, bitter about this loss today than being before Hungary’s Adam Szalai pulled one vival as their 4-2 win at home to ten-man although it will be best remembered relegated.” back for the visitors with 20 minutes left. Borussia Moenchengladbach left them for Berbatov’s outrageous early goal. Their descent to Ligue 2 after three On Saturday, champions Bayern Munich eight points above the relegation places The Bulgarian controlled a pass for- seasons in the topflight caused pre- ended a run of three Bundesliga games with three games left. ward from Joao Moutinho on the left dictable delight amongst the fans of without victory with an unimpressive 2-0 Likewise, Werder are set to stay of the penalty area near the byline, their island rivals Bastia. win at bottom club in the Bundesliga as their 3-1 win at home looked up and nonchalantly lobbed While second-from bottom ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League to Hoffenheim lifted them up to 11th and the ball over Nice ‘keeper David Valenciennes moved closer to the semi-final, first-leg at Real Madrid. nine points from danger while mid-table Ospina and into the net at the far post drop after a 6-2 drubbing by Nantes, veteran , 35, and Hertha Berlin and Augsburg shared the for his sixth goal in French football Sochaux’s hopes of surviving the drop Croatian striker Mario Mandzukic were on points in a goalless draw.—AFP since arriving from Fulham in January. received a huge boost with a 1-0 win target with late goals in what was only “That was top class. I think he did it at Reims. That left the club managed Bayern’s third win in their last seven games deliberately,” purred Ranieri.Monaco since January by Herve Renard, who in all competitions. Matches on TV had chances to increase their advan- led Zambia to 2013 Africa Cup of Bayern were without Manchester tage in the first half, with Valere Nations glory, on 33 points, two United-target and Rafinha, who (Local Timings) Germain striking the post before behind French Cup finalists were both suspended, while left-back Ospina was forced into a good save Guingamp, trounced 5-1 by Bordeaux David Alaba was missing with a cold. English Premier League from a free-kick by his compatriot with Cheik Diabate bagging a first half Germany goalkeeper sat James Rodriguez. hat-trick. In an afternoon when goals out the trip to Braunschweig as he recovers Man City v West Bromwich 22:00 FRANCE: Nice’s French forward Eric Bautheac (left) challenges However they couldn’t get a sec- came thick and fast Lorient and from a calf injury with reserve shot-stopper beIN SPORTS 9 HD Monaco’s French midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia during the French ond goal and they were fortunate not Montpellier shared the spoils in a 4-4 Lukas Raeder stepping in for the third time. League football match. —AFP to concede an equaliser midway draw.—AFP HISTORIC RELEGATION Spanish League The victory leaves Bayern on 81 points and 17 points clear of second-placed Malaga v Villarreal 23:00 Barca defends Messi, offers better contract Dortmund who picked up their fifth beIN SPORTS 10 HD straight win. BARCELONA: Barcelona’s president and manag- player in the world, and we believe in him.” better or worse, but since it is (Messi) everything er defended on Saturday from criti- Bartomeu said the club will offer Messi a is overblown. His future must be in Barcelona cism for his erratic play during the team’s recent “modification” of his contract that ties him to the until he stops playing.” German League results/standings collapse, and made sure to stamp out any talk of Catalan club until 2018. “We want to improve it Martino is approaching the end of a tumul- Nuremberg 1 (Plattenhardt 26) Bayer Leverkusen 4 (Spahic 16, 80, Boenisch 48, Hilbert 87); VfB the club’s all-time leading scorer leaving Camp because he deserves it and to adapt it to foot- tuous first year of a two-year contract. It is wide- Stuttgart 3 (Harnik 23, 59, Cacau 54) Schalke 04 1 (Szalai 69). Nou. ball’s current circumstance,” Bartomeu said. He ly expected he will be fired this summer, unless Played Saturday Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu said the added that he and his board would complete Barcelona can pull off an unlikely recovery to 4 (Kirch 6, Lewandowski 18, Piszczek 57, Reus 79-pen) Mainz 05 2 (Okazaki 14, 54); club would offer to improve Messi’s contract so the remaining two years of their mandate. overtake league leader Atletico and Madrid. Werder Bremen 3 (Bargfrede 18, Garcia 78, Petersen 90+2) Hoffenheim 1 (Volland 3); Freiburg 4 he “will lead the future” of the team, while coach However, the squad looks set to undergo an Martino accepted his responsibility for the (Mehmedi 51, 87, Sorg 71, Darida 72, Moenchengladbach 1 (Herrmann 9); Augsburg 0 Hertha Berlin 0; Gerardo Martino diverted the blame for their overhaul, if Barcelona can find a way to get FIFA team’s sudden decline, which will likely leave it Eintracht Braunschweig 0 Bayern Munich 2 (Pizarro 76, Mandzukic 87); Hamburg 1 (Ilicevic 58) VfL struggles to his own coaching performance. to remove its one-year ban on signing new play- without a major trophy for the first time since Wolfsburg 3 (Perisic 2, de Bruyne 42, Olic 49). In the past two weeks, Barcelona has been ers it handed out for violations in its signing of the 2007-08 season. eliminated from the Champions League by youth players. Bartomeu said sports director “I am not satisfied with my job done,” the German League table after yesterday’s late match (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Atletico Madrid, lost the Copa del Rey final to Andoni Zubizarreta would lead a project to carry Argentine said. “When you don’t get results, you Real Madrid, and fallen behind in third place in out a “profound remodeling” of the team. can’t be satisfied. This team is accustomed to Bayern Munich 31 26 3 2 84 20 81 Freiburg 31 9 8 14 39 54 35 — champions Hanover 31 10 5 16 41 57 35 the Spanish league. Bartomeu avoided comment on the future of winning and, leaving aside the Spanish Super Dortmund 31 20 4 7 71 34 64 VfB Stuttgart 30 8 7 16 48 59 31 Messi has been hammered in the media for Martino beyond the five remaining Spanish Cup, to have no chances in two competitions Schalke 30 17 7 7 57 41 58 Hamburg 31 7 6 18 47 65 27 his lackluster showings in each loss, when he league games. and almost none in the third means I can take Bayer 30 17 3 11 54 38 54 Nuremberg 30 5 11 15 36 62 26 appeared to give little effort to help his side for At a news conference following team train- nothing positive from my performance.” Wolfsburg 31 16 5 10 56 46 53 Braunschweig 31 6 7 18 28 54 25 long periods. ing, Martino dismissed speculation that Messi’s Barcelona hosts Athletic Bilbao on Sunday need- M’hengladbach 31 14 7 10 54 39 49 Note: Top three qualify directly for the “We are being unfair to Leo,” Bartomeu told mini-dip in form might lead to his departure at ing to win to stay within four points of Atletico Mainz 31 14 5 12 46 49 47 Champions League, fourth goes into the play- Esport3 television channel. “Our club members the end of the season. as the season nears its end. It will be without the Augsburg 31 12 7 12 41 45 43 offs, fifth, sixth and seventh into Europa League. need to understand that we must take care of “That people are talking about Messi’s future injured Neymar, Jordi Alba, Gerard Pique and Hoffenheim 31 10 10 11 67 66 40 The bottom two sides are relegated and the team Messi. He has made such an important contribu- surprises us, I don’t take those comments seri- Victor Valdes, while Sergio Busquets is suspend- Hertha Berlin 31 10 8 13 38 42 38 finishing 16th has a two-legged play-off against Werder Bremen 31 9 9 13 37 59 36 the side which finishes third in the second divi- tion to this club and he will continue to do so. ously,” Martino said. “A football player, when he ed. Bilbao manager Ernesto Valverde has been Eintracht 31 9 8 14 39 53 35 sion. That’s why we have no doubt that he will lead finds himself in these types of circumstances, rumored to be a possible replacement for the future of the club. He is young, he is the best focuses on the game. Sometimes they can play Martino if he is let go.—AP