TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2016 SPORTS African strikers on form in Europe PARIS: Rudy Gestede was on the mark awarded a penalty when his shot was for Aston Villa in England, while blocked by the sliding Aly Cissokho’s Floyd Ayite (Bastia) FRANCE Cheikhou Kouyate had an outstanding raised arm. Despite missing from the Togo international Ayite scored three match for West Ham. In France there spot earlier this month Mahrez took the minutes after half-time to earn Bastia a 1- were match-winning goals from Floyd penalty himself, but his casual strike 0 win at home to Montpellier. The winger Ayite at Bastia and Cheick Diabate at down the middle was too close to Mark headed home Florian Marange’s cross for Bordeaux, and in Italy Jerry Mbakogu Bunn and the Villa goalkeeper made the his fourth goal of the season. scored the winner for Carpi from the save. penalty spot. Cheick Diabate (Bordeaux) Yaya Toure (Manchester City) Mali striker Diabate struck the winner Rudy Gestede (Aston Villa) ENGLAND The Ivory Coast star suffered the for Bordeaux for the second time in as The Benin striker scored an equalizer indignity of being dropped to the bench many games as they beat Lille 1-0. The 15 minutes from time for Aston Villa in but made his mark when he came on in 27-year-old headed home a cross from their 1-1 draw with high-flying Leicester the second half with a neat piece of play Tunisian international Wahbi Khazri six when, after coming on minutes earlier as as City’s best move of the match led to a minutes into the second half. a substitute, he got away with the ball third goal, and Sergio Aguero’s second of bouncing off his arm and then benefit- the match, in a 4-0 rout of Crystal Palace. Mohamed Salah (Roma) ITALY ted from a Robert Huth clearance that hit Coach Luciano Spalletti was back in him in the groin before his deflected Cheikhou Kouyate (West Ham) charge of Roma after the sacking of Rudi shot found its way into the net for his A forceful and aggressive display Garcia and Salah’s performance reflected first goal since September. Unfortunately meant the Senegal star was the pick of the general malaise being felt at the for Villa, the point gained was not West Ham’s midfield in their 2-1 loss Serie A club. The Egyptian winger was far enough to take them off the bottom of away to Newcastle. The London club may from his best and, after Radja the table. still have come away with a point if his Nainggolan had given Roma a 1-0 lead, late header had not been saved by spurned the chance to double the hosts’ Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City) Newcastle keeper Rob Elliot. advantage when he hit a wasted shot Jerry Mbakogu He has been having a brilliant season instead of offering up to Edin Dzeko, who as a key member of Leicester’s unexpect- Arthur Boka (Malaga) SPAIN was in a better position. It finished tied at but the league minnows were given a Lorenzo Lollo’s opener for the hosts, and ed push for the Premier League title but Ivorian full-back Boka was sent-off for 1-1. huge boost with a fourth win of the cam- after a foul in the area Nigerian Mbakogu last weekend was one to forget for the two bookable offences as Malaga’s sev- paign thanks to Mbakogu’s second-half stepped up to beat Emiliano Viviano in Algeria winger. Minutes after the Foxes en-game unbeaten run in La Liga came Jerry Mbakogu (Carpi) penalty. Sampdoria’s Joaquin Correa the visiting goal to put Carpi ahead on had gone 1-0 up at Villa Park, they were to an end in a 2-1 defeat at Sevilla. Carpi are in a battle against relegation pulled the match level six minutes after 55 minutes.—AFP Record-setting Higuain fires Napoli title charge MILAN: Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri hailed Gonzalo Higuain as “the top striker in the world” but says the Argentinean can do more on his record-setting run towards Serie A’s top scorer’s award. “If he was a little more aggres- sive when going to the net, he’d score a lot more,” Sarri said after Napoli moved two points clear of Juventus and four ahead of Inter Milan at the top of Serie A thanks to a 3-1 win against Sassuolo on Saturday. “But he’s still the top striker in the world right now.” Higuain, who joined Napoli in time for the 2013 season after six seasons at Real Madrid, TOULOUSE: Toulouse’s Brazilian midfielder Somalia (right) vies with Paris Saint- finished the previous two Serie A seasons with Germain’s Brazilian midfielder Lucas Moura during the French L1 football match a tally of 18 goals (2015) and 17 (2014). Yet, in Toulouse vs Paris Saint-Germain at the Municipal stadium in Toulouse. —AFP his first game of the second half of the season on Saturday, ‘Pipito’ hit his fifth brace from his last seven games to take his goals tally to 20 FRENCH CUP PREVIEW from 20 league games. There are still 18 games to play, so if he continues like this, the French- born Argentina international could rewrite the Toulouse out to claim Serie A history books. The last two Capocannoniere (top scorer) awards were won PSG scalp in French Cup with a total of 22 goals, Ciro Immobile finishing top in 2014 and Mauro Icardi and Luca Toni sharing last year’s prize with the same tally. PARIS: Toulouse will aim to thwart Paris key players amid a congested fixture list Only the feats of Toni, who at 38 years old is Saint-Germain in their quest for a second which includes another meeting with NAPLES: Napoli’s Gonzalo Higuain celebrates after scoring his second goal during a Serie A playing possibly his last season with basement soccer match between Napoli and Sassuolo, at the San Paolo stadium in Naples, Italy. — AP straight domestic treble when the two Toulouse on January 27 in the semi-finals side Verona, can be used as any kind of yard- sides meet for the second time in four days of the League Cup. PSG are set to embark stick. It took Toni 21 matches to hit 20 goals in the last 32 of the French Cup today. PSG on a run of seven matches in little over during the 2005-2006 campaign, when the left Toulouse with a narrow 1-0 win in Ligue three weeks before hosting Chelsea in the then Fiorentina striker’s 31-goal tally secured 1 on Saturday courtesy of Zlatan first leg of their Champions League last-16 S African star Cele killed the top scorer’s prize, earned him a call-up to Ibrahimovic’s second-half strike, but tie on February 16, and they would play his maiden World Cup and, after the final’s Dominique Arribage’s side were buoyed by another game before facing the Premier penalty shootout against France, a World Cup as car plunges into river their display against the runaway league League champions should they advance on winners’ medal. Higuain has been on fire this leaders. “It won’t be the same story tomor- Tuesday. There are three other all-Ligue 1 JOHANNESBURG: South African Premier thrilling second half by scoring a second goal row (Tuesday),” Arribage said at Monday’s ties, with record 10-time winners Marseille season, as opposition coaches have noticed. League footballer Mondli Cele died Sunday for the Buccaneers early in the second half. press conference. “It’s up to us to rise to the hosting Montpellier, 2014 champions “For 41 minutes my defenders made sure he after the car he was a passenger in plunged Rattled Maritzburg clung to the lead until occasion. We have plenty of hope because Guingamp visiting Gazelec Ajaccio and didn’t get a touch. Then on his first touch of the into a river near eastern city Pietermaritzburg. 10 minutes from time when Kermit Erasmus they know we could hang with them and Angers at home to 2013 winners Bordeaux, ball he showed all his class,” said Sassuolo The tragedy occurred a few hours after the equalized, and the visitors looked the likelier beat them. as a record 17 top-flight sides remain in the coach Eusebio Di Francesco said Saturday. “You 27-year-old scored for Maritzburg United in a winners in frenetic climax of a memorable “We have to go to the Parc des Princes competition at this stage. Lyon will look to don’t need me to explain how good he is.” 3-3 Premiership thriller against famed Soweto match. Maritzburg remain bottom, one point full of ambition. We’re setting ourselves up recover from Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to bitter Higuain’s incentives this season are twofold. club Orlando Pirates. Cele and another pas- below Pretoria University, while 2015 CAF for a good performance, we’re not going rivals Saint-Etienne when they travel to He is keen to cement his place in Argentina’s senger died when the driver lost control of Confederation Cup runners-up Pirates lie 11th there to concede five (goals) but that could third-tier Chambly tomorrow, while squad having fallen out of favor after missing the car, a provincial transport department after a disastrous one-win-in-seven start to happen.” Laurent Blanc is likely to rest some Monaco go to second-tier Evian.— AFP his penalty in the shootout of the Copa spokesman said.