TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2016 SPORTS

SOCCER STANDINGS

EPL standings Serie A standings Standings P W D L F APts Juventus 14 11 0 3 29 12 33 Chelsea 13 10 1 2 29 10 31 AS Roma 14 9 2 3 33 16 29 Liverpool 13 9 3 1 32 14 30 AC Milan 14 9 2 3 25 18 29 Man City 13 9 3 1 29 12 30 Lazio 14 8 4 2 27 14 28 Arsenal 13 8 4 1 28 13 28 Atalanta 14 9 1 4 23 14 28 Tottenham 13 6 6 1 19 10 24 Torino 14 7 4 3 31 17 25 Man United 13 5 5 3 18 15 20 Napoli 13 7 3 3 23 14 24 Everton 13 5 4 4 16 15 19 Fiorentina 12 5 5 2 18 11 20 Watford 13 5 3 5 17 21 18 Genoa 13 5 4 4 17 15 19 Bromwich 13 4 5 4 17 16 17 Sampdoria 14 5 4 5 17 20 19 Southampton 13 4 5 4 13 12 17 Cagliari 14 6 1 7 22 31 19 Stoke City 13 4 4 5 14 19 16 Inter Milan 13 5 3 5 18 16 18 Bournemouth 13 4 3 6 15 19 15 Chievo Verona 14 5 3 6 14 16 18 Burnley 13 4 2 7 12 21 14 Leicester City 13 3 4 6 16 22 13 Bologna 14 4 4 6 14 21 16 Middlesbrough 13 2 6 5 12 15 12 Udinese 14 4 3 7 18 23 15 West Ham Utd 13 3 3 7 14 24 12 Sassuolo 13 4 1 8 16 25 13 Crystal Palace 13 3 2 8 21 26 11 Empoli 14 2 4 8 7 21 10 Hull City 13 3 2 8 11 28 11 Pescara 14 1 4 9 11 26 7 Swansea City 13 2 3 8 16 26 9 Crotone 14 1 3 10 11 27 6 Sunderland 13 2 2 9 12 23 8 Palermo 14 1 3 10 10 27 6

Ligue 1 standings standings Nice 14 10 3 1 26 10 33 Real Madrid 13 10 3 0 36 11 33 Monaco 14 10 2 2 43 15 32 Barcelona 13 8 3 2 33 14 27 PSG 14 10 2 2 28 8 32 Sevilla 13 8 3 2 24 18 27 Stade Rennes 14 7 3 4 15 17 24 Atletico Madrid 13 7 3 3 28 11 24 Guingamp 14 6 5 3 19 14 23 13 7 2 4 22 14 23 Bordeaux 14 6 5 3 19 16 23 Villarreal 13 6 4 3 19 10 22 Lyon 14 7 1 6 22 18 22 Eibar 13 6 3 4 20 16 21 St Etienne 14 5 6 3 16 12 21 Athletic Club 12 6 2 4 16 13 20 Toulouse 14 5 4 5 17 13 19 Celta Vigo 13 6 2 5 21 23 20 Angers SCO 14 5 3 6 13 14 18 Malaga 13 5 4 4 21 19 19 Metz 14 5 3 6 16 25 18 Espanyol 13 4 6 3 17 17 18 Marseille 14 4 5 5 13 17 17 Las Palmas 12 4 4 4 21 20 16 Montpellier 14 3 7 4 20 27 16 Alaves 13 4 4 5 13 16 16 13 4 2 7 14 25 14 Dijon FCO 14 3 5 6 18 21 14 SAN SEBASTIAN: Real Sociedad’s defender Carlos Martinez (L) vies with Barcelona’s Brazilian forward Neymar da Silva Santos Junior during the Leganes 13 4 1 8 11 25 13 Caen 14 4 2 8 11 23 14 Spanish league football match Real Sociedad vs FC Barcelona at the stadium in San Sebastian, on Sunday. —AFP Valencia 13 3 2 8 17 24 11 Bastia 14 3 4 7 11 14 13 Deportivo 13 2 4 7 13 23 10 Nantes 14 3 4 7 9 18 13 Sporting Gijon 13 2 3 8 12 27 9 Nancy-Lorraine 14 3 4 7 8 19 13 Osasuna 13 1 4 8 12 26 7 Lille 14 3 2 9 10 19 11 Granada CF 13 0 5 8 11 29 5 FC Lorient 14 2 2 10 12 26 8. Barca stumbles again at PSG beat Lyon to turn up Sociedad with 1-1 draw

pressure on leaders Nice BARCELONA: Barcelona failed to break its soc- stream of chances for the hosts. “You can rarely cer curse at Real Sociedad on Sunday in a 1-1 say this about Barcelona, but very little, actually PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain closed to with- with Aurier and crossing for Cavani to head draw in the Spanish league, its seventh straight nothing, went our way today,” Barcelona defend- Matches on TV in a point of leaders Nice in on in at the back post. visit to without a win. er Gerard Pique said. “It was our attitude. We Sunday as ’s brace secured The Uruguayan now has 13 league goals Lionel Messi’s equalizer could only salvage a won’t win the league playing like this.” (Local Timings) an impressive 2-1 win away to Lyon. this season and 99 goals in total for the point against a less talented but more inspired Sociedad’s David Zurutuza, , Vela Cavani opened the scoring with a penal- club he joined from Napoli in 2013. Sociedad side that left the titleholders six points and Inigo Martinez all threatened to score English League Cup behind leader Real Madrid. before the half-hour mark, and Sociedad gener- ty only for Mathieu Valbuena to equalise, An improving PSG are unbeaten in their Liverpool v Leeds United 22:45 but the Uruguayan headed in the winner last 11 games in all competitions and are Sociedad dominated the match throughout, ated eight corner kicks before Barcelona even going ahead through striker Willian Jose after managed its first. beIN SPORTS 2 HD nine minutes from time for his 18th goal of turning up the pressure on Nice, as are Hull City v Newcastle United 22:45 the season in all competitions. Monaco, who beat Marseille 4-0 on halftime and coming close to getting the win For all the verve Sociedad showed going for- Nice, who were held to a 1-1 draw at Saturday. when Carlos Vela hit the woodwork twice in the ward, Barcelona’s trio of Messi, Neymar and Luis beIN SPORTS 8 HD home by Bastia earlier in the day, finish the Nice were again missing final minutes. Suarez barely received the ball from their rattled weekend where they started it, on top of against Bastia due to a calf injury but they Luis Enrique’s Barcelona must now prepare teammates. French League 1st Div for Madrid’s visit next weekend in a “clasico” The closest Barcelona came to mustering a the table, but they are now only a single went in front at the Allianz Riviera when Lorient v Stade Rennes 21:00 point better off than in-form Monaco and top scorer Alassane Plea headed in his match that the Catalan club must win to keep in shot on goal before halftime was Suarez’s des- touch with its fierce rival. perate long strike that flew wide when a loose beIN SPORTS Paris. “We knew it wasn’t going to be easy eighth of the season early on. Lille v Caen 21:00 here but we ended up winning. I think our However, struggling Bastia-who had not Luis Enrique said that the draw was a “posi- ball fell to him. Neymar finally forced goalkeeper beIN SPORTS experience made the difference,” PSG mid- won any of their previous six league out- tive” result because “we took a point from a Geronimo Rulli into action to parry his free kick fielder told Canal Plus. ings-equalised on the hour as Enzo Crivelli match that it was practically impossible to take a in the 50th. Dijon v Monaco 23:00 PSG had Serge Aurier back in the side followed up to score after goalkeeper Yoan point from.” But that was only a prelude to Willian Jose’s beIN SPORTS 6 HD after he missed the midweek Champions Cardinale had come out and saved from He said Barcelona was inferior in all areas to header that Pique tried to clear from the goal League trip to Arsenal as British authorities Yannick Cahuzac. Nice still could have tak- Sociedad. “Sociedad was infinitely superior to us, line only to send it into the top of the net in the Copa del Rey barred the Ivorian international from enter- en all three points but Malang Sarr headed with the ball, without the ball, in every facet of 53rd. Vela had linked up with Willian Jose to the match,” Luis Enrique said. “This is the first draw a save from Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, lead- Leganes v Valencia 22:00 ing the United Kingdom due to a recent against the post from a Jean Michael Seri beIN SPORTS 3 HD conviction for assaulting a police officer. free-kick and Plea rounded goalkeeper time we were clearly inferior to an opponent this ing to Willian Jose’s header. Alcorcon v Espanyol 23:00 They went in front at the Parc OL on the Jean-Louis Leca only to hit the bar with his season.” Messi leveled the match six minutes later half-hour mark as Cavani netted from the shot three minutes from the end. “We Sociedad, coached by former Barcelona play- with his ninth goal of the campaign after beIN SPORTS penalty spot after Rafael was penalised for didn’t get the breaks that have helped us er and reserve team coach Eusebio Sacristan, Neymar finally broke down the left flank and Sporting Gijon v Eibar 23:00 kicking in the area. Lyon were before when we have not played so well,” continued its excellent start to the season. The squared the ball to the Argentina forward to rifle beIN SPORTS poor in the first half but coach Bruno admitted Nice coach Lucien Favre. “We draw ended its four-round winning streak as it in with his left foot. Genesio sent on Valbuena and Nabil Fekir scored quite early on and then, maybe sub- remained in fifth place. But Sociedad wasn’t shaken and went close down the table with a convincing victory to at the restart and was rewarded with an consciously, we started to relax. No ground- not Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu, several times to getting a second goal. Vela hit return to the top four. equaliser in the 48th minute. “All our matches against teams towards not Atletico Madrid’s Vicente Calderon, not the bar in the 76th- with the ball ricocheting off Goals by Diego Godin, Kevin Gameiro and Rafael cut in from the right and curled a the bottom of the table have been difficult.” Sevilla’s Sanchez Pizjuan- bedevils Barcelona like the goal line- and struck the upright in the 83rd. Yannick Carrasco came after the former paceset- shot off the far post, but the ball fell to Saint-Etienne won 2-1 at Angers earlier in Anoeta Stadium in San Sebastian. It hasn’t won “We deserved more,” Vela said. Barcelona’s ter had stumbled badly with losses to Sociedad France Valbuena, who converted the day to go eighth. There is more action here since 2007, with a record since then of five second draw in a row left it in second place, level and Madrid. for his first Ligue 1 goal in more than a year. in France in midweek, with Monaco at losses and two draws. on points with Sevilla. Catalan television report- However, Paris showed great resolve to go Dijon today before Nice visit Guingamp Barcelona, a team that is synonymous with ed that Neymar was in a minor car accident in OTHER ACTION on and win the game, substitute Thomas and PSG entertain Angers tomorrow control of the ball and precision of pass, was Barcelona before he and the team traveled to Alaves got goals from Ibai Gomez and Victor Meunier breaking forward down the right evening. — AFP unrecognizable. San Sebastian. He started the match and Sociedad’s pressure completely unnerved appeared unaffected by the incident. Camarasa to pull off a surprising 2-0 win at Barcelona, reducing a team of stars that was only Villarreal, which fell into sixth place. Celta Vigo missing the injured Andres Iniesta into a jittery, OSASUNA 0, ATLETICO MADRID 3 striker Iago Aspas opened a 3-1 win that kept error-prone squad that couldn’t stop the steady ’s Atletico stopped its slide last-place Granada winless. — AP Minnows dream as Spain’s beleaguered Cup returns MADRID: Spain’s lesser-known sides are Copa del Rey,” he said last season. the last 16 as they host Cultural Leonesa at the dreaming of their day in the sun, but the return The record 28-time Cup winners begin their Santiago Bernabeu tomorrow boasting a 7-1 of holders Barcelona and 18 other La Liga sides defence at Hercules of the third tier. However, lead from the first leg. to the Copa del Rey this week has a familiar flat with a hugely important league meeting with Zinedine Zidane is expected to reserve all of feel. Unlike England’s FA Cup, Spain’s knockout Madrid to come in La Liga on Saturday, the his star names with the Clasico in mind, but competition is a two-legged affair until the fans in Alicante are unlikely to catch a glimpse Brazilian midfielder Casemiro could come into final and seeded in the early rounds. Whilst of the likes of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez or contention for the clash as he will that secures a glamour tie and some much Neymar. start for the first time in two months after needed cash for those lowest down the pyra- Hercules won on their last visit to the Camp recovering from a broken leg. mid lucky enough to make it to the last 32, Nou, shocking Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering Guijelo will be dressed to impress as they upsets are few and far between. Barca side 2-0 in 2010. seek to shock Atletico Madrid. The municipality “We don’t have competition in the Cup,” La But they have since tumbled down the in the Salamanca province is famous for its Liga president Javier Tebas has argued and league ladder since with two relegations in Iberian ham and Guijelo will don a special shirt admits reforms to the competition will be four years. “It is a great joy, especially for the divided into Atletico’s famous red and white studied after a new three-year television deal fans that have suffered a lot in recent years,” strips and strips of ham. runs out. Barcelona haven’t been eliminated by said Hercules captain Paco Pena. Meanwhile, Sevilla will have to catch a boat anyone other than Real Madrid in six seasons. The financially-stricken Hercules also hope from Ibiza for their clash with Formentera, an DECINES: Paris Saint Germain’s Edinson Roberto Cavani, down, challenges for the Yet, despite that record, even Barca boss Luis to make 600,000 euros ($635,000) through island better known in football circles as a ball with Lyon’s Mapou Yanga Mbiwa, up, during their French League One soccer Enrique is in favour of a change to the rules. “I gate receipts and TV money from the tie. favoured holiday destination for Messi and match in Decines, near Lyon, central France, Sunday. — AP would like a one-off game in all ties of the Real Madrid are already well on their way to Cristiano Ronaldo. — AFP Five things we learned in the English

LONDON: Chelsea stayed top, Manchester Moses turned the game on its head. Chelsea key midfielder Kevin De Bruyne on the bench. Sadio Mane set for Africa Cup of Nations Chelsea after just 13 matches. City registered a gritty win at Burnley, got to grips with Spurs’ high press and with- Burnley took a 14th-minute lead through Dean duty with Senegal in January, manager Manchester United lost more ground following stood the visitors’ physicality in midfield to Marney’s volley, but City hit back to win via a Jurgen Klopp finds himself without Coutinho WALCOTT IS A HAPPY DAD yet another home draw and Liverpool were left reclaim their place at the league summit. They pair of scrappy Sergio Aguero goals either side at a particularly unfortunate juncture. Theo Walcott might be in for a few sleepless sweating on Philippe Coutinho. Here are five visit Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City next of half-time. City showed character to survive nights after the birth of his second child, but things we learned in the Premier League this weekend looking to record an eighth succes- Burnley’s late pressure and record successive MAN UNITED’S SCORING the Arsenal winger produced a welcome deliv- weekend: sive league victory for the first time since 2010. league wins for the first time since September. PROBLEMS ARE CHRONIC ery of his own to put his side on course for a 3- They may boast one of the most star-stud- 1 win over Bournemouth. Walcott’s partner CHELSEA CAN MIX IT TOO MAN CITY HAVE DEPTH LIVERPOOL MUST LEARN TO ded squads in world football, but Manchester Melanie did the hard work in bringing baby Chelsea stormed to the top of the Premier IN RESOURCES AND SPIRIT LIVE WITHOUT COUTINHO United are currently experiencing a damaging Arlo into the world on Friday and the England League with a run of six successive wins in Manchester City’s scruffy 2-1 win over Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Sunderland came goal shortage in the Premier League. Their 1-1 international marked the occasion with the which they generally outclassed their oppo- Burnley on Saturday might have scored low on at the cost of an injury to Brazilian playmaker draw with West Ham United on Sunday was crucial second goal at the Emirates Stadium on nents. But Saturday’s 2-1 comeback victory style points, but for Pep Guardiola, the trip to Philippe Coutinho, who could be out until their fourth home league stalemate in succes- Sunday. Callum Wilson cancelled out Alexis over Tottenham Hotspur showed they are also Turf Moor underlined the importance of his the New Year with suspected ankle ligament sion-something they last experienced in 1980 Sanchez’s opener for Arsenal with a con- capable of going toe-to-toe with teams who squad’s strength in depth. The City manager damage. The 24-year-old has been — and in those games they have scored just tentious penalty, but Walcott produced a rare prove themselves to be on the same level. made five changes to his starting line-up fol- Liverpool’s key attacking player to date this three goals. United showed they know where header from ’s 53rd-minute Christian Eriksen gave Spurs an 11th-minute lowing the mid-week Champions League draw season, supplying five goals and six assists the goal is in Thursday’s 4-0 Europa League win cross-celebrating with a ‘rock the baby’ ges- lead and Mauricio Pochettino’s side were truly against Borussia Moenchengladbach as he and reportedly attracting interest from over Feyenoord, but their profligacy in the ture-to restore the hosts’ lead. Sanchez’s sec- dominant in the first half, but goals either side wanted “fresh legs”. The switches included Barcelona. With fellow schemer Adam league is costing them. They currently stand in ond goal secured victory as Arsenal ended a of half-time by Pedro Rodriguez and Victor leaving out defender John Stones and putting Lallana currently nursing a groin injury and sixth place, a gaping 11 points below leaders run of three straight draws. —AFP