■ BRAZIL
Ref changed for big match
The referee for yesterday’s decisive Brazilian championship match between Goias and Sao Paulo was changed after the country’s soccer federation (CBF) said it had been told of a plot to try and fix the result. The CBF said it trusted Wagner Tardelli, the official originally selected to take charge of the match on the last day of the season, but had decided to appoint a new official as a precaution. It did not give any details as to who might have been behind the attempted bribery or how the situation came to light. “On Saturday morning, the CBF received an alert that an attempt was being made to manipulate the result of the Sao Paulo-Goias game,” the CBF said on its Web site. “A new draw was made for the match in question, despite recognizing the honesty and good character of referee Wagner Tardelli, who in 20 years of refereeing has always demonstrated the most correct behavior and conduct.”
■JAMAICA
Cuba through to semis
Cuba beat Antigua and Barbuda 3-0 to become the first team to reach the Caribbean championship semi-finals at Trelawny Stadium on Saturday. Meanwhile, Guadeloupe beat Haiti 3-2 to put the champions’ title defense at risk. Yenier Marquez (7th minute), Roberto Linares (20th minute) and Jaine Colome with a 35th minute penalty led Cuba’s first-half dominance. Antigua, handed six yellow cards, finished with 10 men when Ranja Christian was sent off 10 minutes from time. Cuba, who had beaten Guadeloupe in their opening game, had a maximum six points in Group B, followed by Guadeloupe on three, and Antigua and Barbuda and Haiti with one each.
■NETHERLANDS
Victorious Alkmaar stay top
Ari and Mounir El Hamdaoui scored for AZ Alkmaar to beat Heracles Almelo 2-0 and remain top of the Dutch league on Saturday. Australia midfielder Brett Holman set up Ari for the opening goal in the 19th minute and El Hamdaoui increased the lead in the 85th minute with his 14th league goal. Substitute Otman Bakkal scored twice to help defending champions PSV Eindhoven to a 4-2 comeback win over FC Groningen. Marcus Berg and Goran Lovre scored to give Groningen a 2-0 lead, before Bakkal pulled one back. Captain Timmy Simons fed Bakkal for the equalizer in the 57th minute and Danko Lazovic added goals in the 60th and 69th minutes. Steven McClaren’s Twente followed their midweek UEFA Cup win over Schalke with a 6-2 routing of Sparta Rotterdam. Twente’s Blaise N’Kufo scored in the 30th and 38th minutes after teammate Kenneth Perez found the net in the 22nd minute. Sparta’s Donovan Slijngard scored an own-goal in the 43rd minute. Marko Arnautovic and Youssouf Hersi also scored for Twente, while Rydell Poepon and Arne Slot replied for Sparta.
■PORTUGAL
Porto win to keep in touch
FC Porto beat Setubal 3-0 to get back in touch with the Portuguese league leaders on Saturday. Three second-half goals allowed the three-time defending champions to collect their third straight win and improve to 20 points with a game in hand. Leixoes lead with 23 points. Bruno Alves opened the scoring two minutes before Freddy Guarin scored in the 68th minute, while Lucho Gonzalez capped the scoring in the 80th minute. Nene scored twice as Nacional joined Porto on 20 points following a 4-2 victory over Belenenses. Nene has seven goals and only trails Pacos Ferreira striker William, who scored in a 2-1 loss to Academica, who snapped a seven-match winless run.
Arminia Bielefeld on Tuesday pulled off a major upset in the DFB-Pokal by defeating defending champions Bayer 04 Leverkusen 2-1 in their semi-final. The third-division team came from behind after Jonathan Tah gave the visitors a 17th-minute lead. Marius Worl replied three minutes later and Maximilian Groser scored Bielefeld’s second goal just before the break. The home team looked more likely to add to that tally as the Leverkusen players looked jaded. “I’m just proud of this team,” Bielefeld coach Mitch Kniat said as most of the fans the small stadium sang around him. “No one will sleep in the city tonight.” Patrik Schick went
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) have shown the team do not need star power to win trophies and with the French Ligue 1 title won with six games to spare, the French champions would look to finish the season without losing, manager Luis Enrique said on Saturday. A 1-0 victory over Angers SCO at the Parc des Princes helped PSG win their fourth straight Ligue 1 title and a record-extending 13th overall. PSG can still break Nantes’ 30-year-old record of 32 games unbeaten. Although Nantes lost one game en route to the title, no French club has ever gone an entire league
THREES KINGS: The Celtics claimed a piece of league history by setting a new record for the number of threes in a season, ending their game with 1,370 Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun on Friday combined for 65 points as the Houston Rockets halted Oklahoma City’s 11-game winning streak with a statement 125-111 victory. In a potential Western Conference finals preview, the Rockets produced a dominant all-round performance to jolt the top-seeded Thunder’s all-conquering preparations for the post-season. Green finished with 34 points from 11-of-24 shooting, while Turkish big man Sengun made 31 points as second-placed Houston improved to 51-27. Oklahoma City grabbed the lead in the opening minutes of the first quarter, but Houston soon knocked the Thunder out of their stride with a physical approach to move into the
RECORD WINNERS: The Catalan club, who are still in contention for a historic quadruple this season, are to face rivals Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final Barcelona are to face rivals Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final after Ferran Torres secured them a 1-0 win at Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, progressing 5-4 on aggregate from the semi-final tie. Record 31-time winners Barca had the better of the clash at the Metropolitano after the wild 4-4 first-leg draw. The defeat leaves Diego Simeone’s Atletico with little to play for in the rest of the season. By contrast, the Catalans are on the hunt for a potential quadruple and are unbeaten this year, stretching their run to 21 games without defeat. Atletico were the last team to triumph
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