■ 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.
BUMRAH WATCH: Captain Jasprit Bumrah left the SCG for scans for back spasms and although he returned to the ground, there was no word on if he would play Rishabh Pant’s blistering counterattack yesterday capped a chaotic second day of the fifth and final Test between Australia and India, with 15 wickets falling and the star bowler of the series leaving the Sydney Cricket Ground with an ambulance escort. Yet the Border-Gavaskar trophy still remains very much in the balance as India reached 141-6, holding a 145-run lead over Australia with three days remaining. “Low-scoring games like this, it just heightens the pressure within it, so long way still to go,” Australia coach Andrew McDonald said. “There’s gonna be plenty of cricket, so we’ll see what happens.” Australia were bowled out for
Elena Rybakina’s Kazakhstan yesterday dumped defending champions Germany out of the United Cup with world No. 2 Alexander Zverev sidelined by an arm injury barely a week away from the Australian Open. The upset in Perth sent the Kazakhs into the semi-finals of the 18-nation tournament. In Sydney, women’s world No. 2 Iga Swiatek led Poland into the last eight by winning a rematch of her 2023 French Open final against Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic. Britain also progressed to the quarter-finals with Katie Boulter’s dominant 6-2, 6-1 victory over Australia’s Olivia Gadecki enough to guarantee they won their group. The US and
Five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek yesterday beat Elena Rybakina in straight sets to take Poland into the final of the mixed-teams United Cup with victory over Kazakhstan. Last year’s runners-up face the US today for the title in Sydney after they beat the Czech Republic in the other semi-final. “This win makes me really proud,” Swiatek said after seeing off Rybakina 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 to give Poland an unassailable 2-0 lead in the tie. It was a statement of intent from the world number two with the first major of the year to start on Jan. 12. “It is perfect preparation for the
Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien and Jiang Xinyu of China yesterday won the women’s doubles title at the ASB Classic in Auckland, while Naomi Osaka retired from the women’s singles final with an abdominal injury. Second seeds Wu and Jiang defeated Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic and Sabrina Santamaria of the US 6-3, 6-4 on ASB Tennis Centre’s Stadium Court in 1 hour, 5 minutes. The WTA 250 victory was 25-year-old Wu’s second WTA Tour title, after winning the 2023 Hua Hin Championships in Thailand with Taiwanese partner Chan Hao-ching. Later that year, Wu and Taiwan’s Hsu Yu-hsiou won the mixed doubles gold at the World
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