■ FRANCE
Rennes stay in sixth place
Goals from Carlos Bocanegra and Jimmy Briand earned Rennes a 2-0 victory over Auxerre in Ligue 1 on Sunday to keep them firmly in the race for a European spot. Bocanegra headed in a cross from Mickael Pagis in the ninth minute and Briand tucked home another cross from Pagis in the 36th minute to keep Rennes in sixth place. Araujo Ilan struck twice to lead St Etienne to a 2-1 comeback victory over Nantes. The Brazilian striker converted a penalty in the 11th minute after Guillaume Moullec handled the ball and then picked his spot from 27m to fire into the top corner in the 30th minute. Croatia forward Ivan Klasnic had given Nantes a sixth minute lead, nodding in a free-kick from Frederic Da Rocha and teammate Yohann Poulard nearly equalized for Nantes in the 80th minute with a header that struck the crossbar. St Etienne moved out of the relegation zone with the win. Last-place Le Havre came back from a goal down to beat fellow relegation battlers Sochaux 2-1.
■ PORTUGAL
Benfica stay behind Porto
Pablo Aimar and Costas Katsouranis scored on Sunday to help Benfica beat Naval 2-1 and hold on to second place. Aimar set Benfica on the way to their first away win for three months by firing home in the third minute after the Naval defense failed to clear a free-kick by Jose Antonio Reyes. Naval equalized in the 53rd minute through substitute Marcelinho’s angled shot, only for Katsouranis to head home following another Reyes free-kick in the 74th minute. Benfica, aiming to win the title for the first time since 2005, trail defending champions Porto by two points. Also on Sunday it was Amadora 2, Braga 2; Academica 1, Trofense 0; and Guimaraes 3, Belenenses 1.
■ GREECE
Violence overshadows draw
League leaders Olympiakos played out a goalless draw at PAOK Thessaloniki on Sunday in a match that was overshadowed by violent clashes between fans and police. Seven riot police and five PAOK fans were injured in clashes that flared outside the stadium both before and after the game. Supporters threw rocks, bottles and firebombs at police, who responded with tear gas. PAOK fans had been angered by what they claimed was bad refereeing in a Greek Cup game between the two sides last Wednesday. Also on Sunday, it was Thrasivoulos 1, Ergotelis 3; OFI 0, Levadiakos 2; Panserraikos 1, AEK 5; and Xanthi 1, Panthrakikos 0.
■ BRAZIL
Ronaldo grabs equalizer
Brazilian striker Ronaldo scored his first goal for Corinthians on Sunday having played for the first time in more than a year last week following a serious knee injury. The 32-year-old World Cup winner and three-time FIFA World Player of the Year came on after an hour in the 1-1 draw against Sao Paulo. Ronaldo headed home in the second minute of injury-time for the equalizer to send the supporters into frenzied celebrations.
■ RUSSIA
CSKA edge Rubin Kazan
CSKA Moscow edged Rubin Kazan 2-1 in extra-time to lift the Russian Super Cup on Sunday, Tomas Necid’s late volley securing victory in the traditional curtain-raiser for the league season. Lithuanian defender Deividas Semberas slotted home a rebound to give CSKA the lead in the 43rd minute at the Luzhniki Stadium, before Roman Sharanov equalized for the league champions after an hour. The teams remained locked in a stalemate until second-half substitute Necid scored the winning goal in the 113th minute.
DOMINATION: McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris took the first two spots as Mercedes’ George Russell and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen followed them Australian Oscar Piastri yesterday roared back from season-opening disappointment in his home race by winning the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix from pole position in a McLaren one-two with championship-leading teammate Lando Norris. George Russell finished third for Mercedes, ahead of Red Bull’s reigning champion Max Verstappen with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Saturday’s sprint winner Lewis Hamilton fifth and sixth respectively. Piastri’s win denied Norris a third victory in a row, including last year’s Abu Dhabi season-ender, but left champions McLaren unbeaten in two races so far this year. “Mega job guys. The car was very, very lovely,” Piastri said
TO FINAL FOUR: France had 22 chances and scored two goals, while Croatia could not manage a single shot on target in 120 minutes. Les Bleus won 5-4 on penalties France on Sunday overturned a two-goal deficit to qualify for the UEFA Nations League Final Four by eliminating Croatia 5-4 on penalties after a 2-0 victory in their quarter-final second leg at the Stade de France. Dayot Upamecano scored the winning spot kick in a nail-biting shootout in which France keeper Mike Maignan made two saves, sending Les Bleus into the semi-finals against Spain. Michael Olise opened the scoring and Ousmane Dembele doubled their lead 10 minutes from time to send the tie into extra time after their 2-0 loss in Split, Croatia, on Thursday. France had a total of
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
BRING THE NOISE: Brazil’s Fonseca attracted a boisterous crowd that brought such dominant soccer-style energy the referee switched to Portuguese to ask for quiet Australia’s Alex de Minaur on Monday put an end to Brazilian talent Joao Fonseca’s challenge at the Miami Open, outlasting the 18-year-old 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 in an enthralling contest. Attendance on stadium court had been sparse throughout the day, but the Hard Rock Stadium turned into a mini-Maracana Stadium for Fonseca’s match, complete with Brazilian flags and soccer-style chanting. Fonseca brought his energetic brand of ultra-attacking tennis, but De Minaur was up to the challenge, coping with blistering forehands and a partisan crowd. Such was the dominance of Fonseca’s raucous support that the referee switched to Portuguese for his appeals for quiet. However, De
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