■ GREECE
Olympiakos extend lead
Luciano Galletti came off the bench on Sunday to convert an injury-time penalty for Olympiakos as they beat last-place Thrasivoulos 2-1 and extended their lead to six points in the Greek league. Olympiakos’ Sebastian Leto scored in the 20th minute, but a Yiannis Chloros header eight minutes later leveled for Thrasivoulos. Olympiakos squandered a series of chances before Leto gave the hosts the lead. In the 28th minute, Chloros headed in off a free-kick from Manolis Liapakis to silence the sold-out crowd of 35,000 Olympiakos supporters. The second half saw Olympiakos launch a series of attacks, but the Thrasivoulos defense held firm until the first minute of injury-time when the referee awarded a disputed penalty. Galletti, who had replaced Oscar in the 58th minute, made no mistake from the spot. Panathinaikos’ game was marred by clashes between both sets of fans, forcing it to be suspended for 10 minutes in the second half and for police to use tear gas. Panathinaikos captain Yiannis Goumas was treated after inhaling gas, but he was able to continue. Panathinaikos dominated play from the start, hitting the post through Goumas in the 36th minute and Dimitris Salpingidis in the 42nd minute. Antonis Petropoulos opened the scoring with a header off a Giorgos Karagounis cross in the 52nd minute and Salpingidis made it 2-0 four minutes later. Substitute Ante Rukavina scored the third goal in injury-time with a header off a cross by Sotiris Ninis.
■PORTUGAL
Leixoes, Porto slip up
Leixoes and Porto both failed to take over the league leadership after drawing home matches on Sunday. Leixoes finished 1-1 with struggling Amadora, while Porto ended scoreless against Maritimo. Benfica have 25 points, while Leixoes and Porto have 24, one more than Sporting Lisbon. Also on Sunday, it was Pacos Ferreira 2, Setubal 0 and Belenenses 3, Trofense 2. Leixoes took a 58th-minute lead through striker Wesley following Diogo Valente’s corner despite Amadora players arguing that the ball had not crossed the line. The visitors, who began the game without a win in seven matches and with players complaining over late salary payments, equalized 21 minutes later through Celestino’s penalty. Porto’s draw at its Stadium of the Dragon ended a nine-game winning streak in all competitions and was a blow to their hopes of winning the title for a fourth straight time. The champions struggled against Maritimo’s well-organized defense, which has conceded just one away goal this season and is now unbeaten in nine games.
■SCOTLAND
Celtic stay four points clear
Celtic won 3-0 at Falkirk on Sunday to stay four points ahead at the top of the Scottish Premier League. Georgios Samaras, Koki Mizuno and Scott McDonald scored second-half goals at the Falkirk Stadium for a victory that makes sure Rangers can’t catch the Hoops when the Old Firm meet next weekend at Ibrox.
■SPAIN
Real confirm Diarra move
Portsmouth midfielder Lassana Diarra’s move to Real Madrid, which was largely agreed to in midweek, has been officially confirmed, the Spanish club said on Sunday. Portsmouth had said on Wednesday they had accepted a substantial offer from Real to buy the 23-year-old Frenchman, though Spain’s sporting press said wage negotiations had held up the sealing of the deal. Radio Cadena Ser reported Diarra had moved for 20 million euros (US$28 million) on a four-season contract.
Freddie Freeman homered and drove in four runs, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and Roki Sasaki earned his first major league win as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 10-3 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory. The Dodgers have won the first two games of the series to improve to 5-0 against Atlanta this year. Los Angeles’ three-game sweep at home early in the season left the Braves 0-7. Sasaki allowed three runs and six hits over five innings. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up a home run to Ozzie Albies, but received plenty of offensive support in his
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Bayern Munich on Sunday were crowned German champions for the 34th time, giving striker Harry Kane his first major trophy, after second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 2-2 at SC Freiburg. Bayern’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday, when the Bavarians came from two goals down to take the lead before conceding a stoppage-time equalizer, meant defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen needed to win at Freiburg to delay the title party. Leverkusen were two goals down before scoring twice in the final 10 minutes, but Xabi Alonso’s side could not find a third, as Bayern reclaimed the title at the first attempt after
THRILLER: Raphinha gave Barca a 3-2 lead with two minutes remaining of regular time, but Francesco Acerbi equalized the game in the second minute of added time Davide Frattesi on Tuesday fired Inter into the UEFA Champions League final with an extra-time winner that gave the Italians a stunning 4-3 triumph over Barcelona, 7-6 on aggregate. Italy midfielder Frattesi won a tie for the ages under a downpour in Milan when he lashed home in the 99th minute, sending a packed and rocking San Siro wild with joy. Simone Inzaghi’s team will face either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this month in Munich, Germany, where they would feel they have a great chance to be crowned kings of Europe for a fourth time after
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