THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014 SPORTS Aguero treble keeps Man City hope alive

MANCHESTER: Sergio Aguero scored a sensa- who raced into the box before being brought tional hat-trick as Manchester City stunned 10- down from behind by the sliding Benatia. man Bayern Munich 3-2 on Tuesday to reignite Referee Pavel Kralovec showed the Morocco their hopes of reaching the Champions international a straight red card and although League last 16. Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer went the Aguero scored from the penalty spot mid- right way, Aguero’s penalty eluded him. way through the first half after Mehdi Benatia had been sent off, only for goals from birthday ALONSO EQUALISES boy Xabi Alonso and Robert Lewandowski to Visiting coach Pep Guardiola was forced put Bayern in front at half-time at the Etihad into an unwelcome reshuffle, with Dante com- Stadium. ing on for Rode, while Lampard almost But a mistake from Alonso enabled Aguero extended City’s advantage by shooting nar- to equalise in the 85th minute and six minutes rowly high and wide from a smart free-kick later the Argentine exploited an error by City routine. But Bayern survived, regrouped, and old boy Jerome Boateng to give Manuel by half-time they were ahead. Alonso Pellegrini’s side a dramatic victory. City will equalised in the 40th minute, crowning his now go into their final game away to Roma 33rd birthday by steering a low free-kick past level on points with the Italian side and CSKA a flat-footed Hart after Mangala had upended Moscow, meaning they will qualify if they win Lewandowski. and the Russian champions fail to win at Five minutes later, Lewandowski stole in Bayern, who were already guaranteed to quali- front of Bacary Sagna to meet Boateng’s right- fy as Group E winners. “I always said before this wing cross and although the ball made more night, Sergio is one of the best players in the contact with shoulder than head, it was world, one of the best strikers,” said City man- enough to send it looping over Hart. Alonso ager Pellegrini. gave City a scare early in the second half by “We now have to do our duty and we’ll see curling wide but the home side began to what happens in the other game.” Aguero told press, with Neuer saving smartly from Navas’s ITV: “I am very happy. It is very important for low shot and James Milner curling over from us. The draw was difficult, but we are happy the left. now because this is a very important result With Pellegrini introducing striker Stevan and the next game we have to win.” Jovetic and right-back Pablo Zabaleta for the With Yaya Toure and Fernandinho suspend- final stages, City continued to venture forward. GERMANY: Schalke’s Felipe Santana (left) and Chelsea’s Diego Costa (right) challenge for the ball during the Champions League Group G soccer ed, City lined up with Fernando, James Milner Neuer produced a flying one-handed save to match. — AP and Frank Lampard in midfield, while injury- thwart Lampard and Vincent Kompany scuffed hit Bayern handed starts to Sebastian Rode wide from a corner, before Alonso’s cross-field and 19-year-old Dane Pierre Hojbjerg. Arjen pass was cut out by Jovetic, allowing Aguero Robben was quickly buzzing around the fringe to scuttle through and equalise. Chelsea smash Schalke of the City area and he created two early The Etihad celebrated with wild abandon, chances. but there was more to come. In the first GERMANY: Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea marched into his shot away. Cesc Fabregas floated in the result- raised to a noisy crescendo when the referee end- The Dutchman’s chipped pass forced Joe minute of injury time, Boateng’s poor touch let Hart to save from Rode and he then teed up Aguero in and he held his nerve to beat Neuer, the Champions League last 16 as Group G winners ing corner from which Chelsea captain John Terry ed a miserable half moments later. Rafinha for a shot that Eliaquim Mangala taking his goal tally for the season to 17 and on Tuesday after their emphatic 5-0 win at Robert rose highest to head home barely challenged. With his side facing eight games in a busy blocked. Short of a couple of crosses from giving City unexpected hope. “I feel sad for the di Matteo’s Schalke 04. Cameroon striker Eric Choupo-Moting gave December period, Mourinho replaced Costa, who Jesus Navas that failed to find a sky blue shirt, players. The points don’t really matter,” said Mourinho’s Premier League leaders brushed Di Schalke brief hope on 13 minutes when his shot has netted 11 goals this season, with veteran for- City had created nothing, but without warning Guardiola, whose side had not been beaten Matteo’s ineffective Royal Blues aside in deflected off Gary Cahill’s boot and looped over ward Didier Drogba after an hour. the game tilted in their favour. since August. “We lost the game. We gave Gelsenkirchen as captain John Terry put them Chelsea goalkeeper Thibault Courtois, but it clat- He scored their fourth when Fabregas put Lampard’s pass over the top freed Aguero, them the game.” — AFP ahead within just two minutes of the kick-off. tered off the bar. through a superb pass to Willian, who squared to Further first-half scores by Willian and an own Chelsea were unpicking the Schalke defence present Drogba with a simple tap in on 76 minutes. goal from defender Jan Kirchhoff were followed by with worryingy ease as they doubled their The visitors’ fifth goal followed just two minutes second-half strikes from Didier Drogba and Brazil lead.Hazard timed his pass to Willian perfectly and later as Drogba crossed for Ramires, who out midfielder Ramires. the Brazilian’s low drive under Faehrmann’s dive on jumped the porous home defence. Only good “I am very happy, it was a very impressive per- 28 minutes to put the visitors 2-0 up. keeping by Faehrmann denied Chelsea replace- formance,” beamed Mourinho. “We weren’t coming Boos and whistles echoed around the Veltins ment Andre Schuerrle, then Hazard, in the final five here to see if a point would be enough to put us Arena by the time defensive midfielder Jan Kirchoff minutes as Chelsea hunted a sixth goal. The home through and we showed that from the first minute. turned the ball into his own net on 44 minutes and side were again booed at the final whistle. — AFP “It was 90 minutes of good football.” The result matched Schalke’s record European home defeat when they were hammered 6-1 by Real Madrid in Shakhtar in knockout stage last season’s round of 16, first leg, in February this year. Chelsea remain unbeaten in all 19 matches KIEV: Shakhtar Donetsk lost a game but current situation in Donbass,” Shakhtar’s this season and are now four points clear in the reached the Champions League knockout Brazilian midfielder Taison said. “The people table ahead of their final match at home to second- stage giving an emotional boost to war-torn live in constant fear of dying. I love Ukraine placed Sporting Lisbon in a fortnight. Di Matteo’s Ukraine, highlighted on Thursday by manager and I love Donetsk so much! I have plenty of unbeaten home record after four wins was ended Mircea Lucescu. friends there. And I pray God for the end of by his former club in brutal fashion. The Ukrainian champions cannot play their this conflict every single day,” he added. “It was already a difficult evening for us and we European home games in Donetsk because of Shakhtar have won the last five national cham- made it even harder by conceding so early,” said Di the conflict between pro-Russian rebels and pionships. But playing away from home all the Matteo, who apologised to Schalke fans for the government forces that has ravaged the time has hit their form. The team are currently performance. “I was surprised by our lack of confi- southeastern city. third in the Ukraine Premiership, five points dence, we weren’t aggressive enough and we gave Shakhtar seemed to be barely functioning behind leaders Dynamo Kiev. them far too much space. “We have to look ahead in their 1-0 defeat to Athletic Bilbao on In Europe, Shakhtar have looked more sol- now and put this behind us as quickly as possible.” Tuesday night but had already qualified before id. They blasted 12 goals past BATE Borisov in Schalke drop to third, having been leap-frogged the game started. Group H leaders FC Porto their two group meetings and their Brazilian by Sporting who won 3-1 at home to Maribor, who beat BATE Borisov of Belarus 3-0 meaning the striker Luiz Adriano leads the Champions they must beat in Slovenia in their final game next Ukrainians had second place. League scorers’ chart with nine goals so far. LONDON: Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero (center) keeps the ball as Bayern’s Robert month to stand any chance of progressing. “I’m upset with our performance but happy “It’s hard to live and play away from our Lewandowski (right) and his teammate Franck Ribery try to stop him during the “It’s hard to find words for this,” said Schalke that we’ve make it into the knockout stage,” home for such a long time,” said Adriano, who Champions League Group E soccer match. — AP captain Benedikt Hoewedes. “I can only apologise Lucescu said. “The performance in the recently made his debut for Brazil. for our performance. “We gave Chelsea too much Champions League is our prestige, our image. “But in the existing situation it’s absolutely space to play. They are so good individually and we And we’re all set to keep up our prestige, our impossible to play football in our home city. Cavani, Zlatan see PSG past Ajax let them score too many goals.” image really high.” We are all seriously worried about our city, our Di Matteo, who is just eight games into the The war in southeast Ukraine forced the base, arena and all the people who have to PARIS: Edinson Cavani scored twice and Zlatan cal and dangerous team was PSG,” said Blanc. Schalke job, remains the only Chelsea manager to team to move to Kiev for training and play stay in Donetsk. Ibrahimovic was also on target as Paris Saint- The Dutch champions, with only one player win the Champions League and Mourinho refused their home matches in Lviv, about 1,000 kilo- “But despite all these troubles our objec- Germain beat Ajax 3-1 at the Parc des Princes in aged over 25 in their starting line-up, played the to even talk about him in the match’s build-up. metres (620 miles) away from Donetsk. tives for the season remain the same: win the Champions League Group F on Tuesday. better football for spells but, having already been The self-styled ‘Special One’, who won the Their base in the Donetsk suburbs has been domestic title and a place in the Champions Cavani’s first-half opener was cancelled out by eliminated before this game, now face a home Champions League with Inter Milan in 2010 and Davy Klaassen midway through the second half match with APOEL in two weeks hoping to secure seriously damaged by shelling. Their once glit- League knockout stage.” as Ajax looked set to leave the French capital with the consolation of a place in the Europa League Porto in 2004, is bidding to win the European tering Donbass Arena, which staged matches Lucescu says that Shakhtar were right to a point, but Ibrahimovic scored his first goal for in the new year. crown at the fifth attempt with Chelsea and his for the 2012 European Championship, has also move to Lviv and praised conditions there. the club in nearly three months to put the hosts And coach Frank de Boer, who lost captain side dominated their hosts in Gelsenkirchen. been hit. The squad, which includes 13 Some rumours have said that the 69-year-old back in front in the 79th minute. Nicolai Boilesen to a serious-looking injury after Chelsea needed less than two minutes to take Brazilians, has taken the war fallout to heart. coach will resign at the end of the season. But And Cavani then made sure of the victory as just 10 minutes, cut a frustrated figure with the the lead at Schalke’s Veltins Arena. Eden Hazard put And there is little chance they will be able to he is determined to take Shakhtar as far as PSG moved a step closer to their objective of way his side defended. “In the first half we com- Diego Costa away and the Spain striker tested return home soon. “I grieve deeply over the possible in the Champions League. — AFP advancing to the last 16 as group winners, the mitted too many fouls and made too many ele- Schalke goalkeeper Ralf Faehrmann, who palmed result allowing them to maintain a one-point lead mentary mistakes,” he said. “In the second half we over Barcelona with a trip to the Camp Nou still to deserved our equaliser when it came but the sec- come next month. ond and third goals (for PSG) were stupid.” Barcelona won 4-0 away to APOEL in Cyprus in the night’s other game, and with both sides ABSENTEES already through to the last 16 before this round It was a PSG side missing Thiago Silva, Thiago of matches, the French champions now know Motta, Marco Verratti and Yohan Cabaye that fired that a draw in Spain next month will see them the first real warning shot in the 24th minute, progress in first place. Ibrahimovic playing Ezequiel Lavezzi through The statistics make for impressive reading for with just the goalkeeper to beat only for the Laurent Blanc’s side, who have now won eight Argentine to be denied by a fine Jasper Cillessen games in a row in all competitions and remain save. Only a superb interception by Gregory van unbeaten this season, a status shared only with der Wiel prevented Arkadiusz Milik from closing Chelsea in Europe’s leading leagues. in on goal at the other end before Paris broke the PSG are also now undefeated in 32 European deadlock just after the half-hour mark, outings at the Parc des Princes, a record that Ibrahimovic lofting a pass over the Ajax defence stretches back over eight years, although Ajax for Lavezzi, who squared the ball to Cavani and could count themselves a little unlucky to return allowed the Uruguayan to finish into an empty to Amsterdam with nothing to show for their net. That should have given the hosts a platform efforts. “I think we came up against a team that from which to build but instead they appeared played better football than us but were not that content to try and see the game out, and were dangerous at the end of the day. The more clini- duly punished in the second half. —AFP

LISBON: Sporting’s Mauricio Nascimento (centre) tries to beat Maribor’s goalkeeper Jasmin Handanovic (left) to the ball during a Champions League Group G soccer match. — AP Sporting win over Maribor

LISBON: Winger Nani scored a superb solo goal in a row after taking only one point from their The Portuguese visit Chelsea in their last to help Sporting beat Maribor 3-1 on Tuesday as opening three matches, while an own goal by game where a point will be enough to finish sec- the Portuguese side gave a big boost to their Jefferson kept the Slovenians in the hunt until ond thanks to their better head-to-head record chances of qualifying for the Champions League the last 20 minutes. with Schalke who travel to Maribor. last 16. Sporting are second in Group G with seven Maribor, bottom with three points, have been PARIS: PSG’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic (right) kicks the ball as Ajax’s Davy Klaassen looks Carlos Mane and Islam Slimani were also on points from five matches, two ahead of Schalke eliminated while Chelsea (11 points) top the on during the Champions League Group F soccer match. — AP target for Sporting, who won their second game who were thrashed 5-0 at home by Chelsea. group. — Reuters