CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Chelsea, Inter and Barcelona won to stay on course for the knockout stages though 2005 winners Liverpool only drew at Atletico Madrid in a subdued night of Champions League action on Wednesday.
Following Tuesday’s 36-goal spree, only Barcelona’s 5-0 thrashing of Basel was notable in the goal-scoring stakes.
Chelsea’s 1-0 home victory over AS Roma kept them well on course at the top of Group A, while Inter thanked Brazilian Adriano for their 1-0 win over Cypriots Anorthosis Famagusta leaving them as pacesetters in Group B. Barcelona top Group C.
Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari believed his side were in good form before the return match against AS Roma next month.
“Roma need to pressure us to try to win more than they did today, maybe there we will have more space to play,” Scolari said. “We only have one more Champions League game at home so this was a very important victory.”
England skipper John Terry, who got the 77th minute goal, added: “They made it very difficult for us the whole game but thankfully we got the goal and picked up three points.”
Teen sensation Bojan Krkic scored twice as Barcelona cruised past Basel to keep their 100 percent record.
Goals from star Argentinian striker Lionel Messi, Sergi Busquets, two from Krkic and a fifth from Xavi Hernandez brought Barcelona up to an impressive 10 goals from their three victories.
Italian champions Inter were made to battle all the way by a spirited Anorthosis at the San Siro.
Adriano scored the winner late on in the first half to put Inter in control of the group with seven points from three games.
The Cypriots are still in a position to qualify for the knock-out stages after Panathinaikos and Werder Bremen drew 2-2 in Greece.
Liverpool’s Robbie Keane, yet to score in the Premiership, had put the visitors ahead in the 14th minute for his second Champions League goal at Atletico’s Vicente Calderon stadium.
An 83rd minute goal by Simao was a blow for Liverpool although both they and Atletico have seven points at the top of Group D.
Marseille coach Eric Gerets suffered a nightmare return to former club PSV Eindhoven as the Dutch beat the French club 2-0 to keep their slim Champions League hopes alive.
A double from Danny Koevermans kept Gerets’s side at the bottom of the pool all but ending Marseille’s chances of progressing any further.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
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