■FRANCE
Leaders lose to Rennes
Girondins Bordeaux saw their lead at the top of Ligue 1 cut to three points after going down 4-2 at Stade Rennes on Saturday. A goal after three minutes by Sylvain Marveaux, a penalty by Jimmy Briand and then a fine strike by Ismael Bangoura just after the break gave Rennes a comfortable lead, before Bordeaux fought back with goals from Yoan Gouffran and Brazilian Wendel. A superb goal in the 78th minute by Rennes’ Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan, freshly returned from the Africa Cup of Nations, sealed victory for the Breton side. Earlier in the day, second-placed Montpellier cut the gap at the top with a 2-0 win at second-from-bottom Boulogne-sur-Mer through goals from Souleymane Camara and Victor Montano. Surprise package Montpellier are now looking increasingly confidently toward European competition next year. Bordeaux, still on course for an unprecedented French triple of league and cup triumphs, lead the table with 48 points, ahead of Montpellier on 45 with third-placed Lille, who drew 1-1 at Nice, on 41. Paris Saint-Germain slid to 15th after going down 3-0 to Lorient. Bottom club Grenoble recorded a shock 5-0 win over sixth-placed Auxerre.
■NETHERLANDS
PSV go three points clear
PSV Eindhoven marched three points clear at the top of the Dutch league with a 2-0 home win over third from bottom ADO Den Haag on Saturday. Mexican Francisco Rodriguez opened the scoring after 16 minutes when he nodded in a corner from Balazs Dzsudzsak at the near post and Ola Toivonen netted a rebound after the break to make sure of victory. PSV have 58 points from 22 matches, three ahead of Twente Enschede. Fifth-placed Heracles Almelo fought back from two goals down to beat nine-man Groningen 4-3. Groningen went 3-1 up thanks to two goals from Thomas Enevoldsen and one by Morten Nordstrand, but red cards for Gibril Sankoh and Leandro Bacuna early in the second half gave Heracles hope. Bas Dost grabbed his second goal of the match for the home team in the 72nd minute, before Willy Overtoom leveled and Birger Maertens scored the winner with a minute left. Elsewhere, Heerenveen beat Utrecht 2-0 and Roda JC Kerkrade overcame Sparta Rotterdam 2-1.
■PORTUGAL
Benfica held at Setubal
Benfica moved four points clear of Braga at the top of the Portuguese league after drawing 1-1 at Setubal on Saturday. Ricardo Silva’s early goal for Benfica was equaled by David Luz in the 38th minute. Benfica could have taken three points after being awarded a penalty in stoppage-time, but Oscar Cardozo hit the bar. Braga, with two games in hand, visits Belenenses today. Also on Saturday, fourth-placed Sporting lost 2-1 to 11th-placed Academica.
■GREECE
AEK rally to beat Xanthi
Ismael Blanco scored twice on Saturday to help AEK overcome an early deficit and beat visiting Xanthi 3-1. Leonardo scored AEK’s other goal. Mugurel Buga had given Xanthi the lead. The victory moved AEK into fourth place with 33 points after 21 games, 16 points behind leaders Panathinaikos and 10 behind Olympiakos and PAOK. The game between Aris Thesaloniki and Panthrakikos was suspended at the end of the first half when referee Christos Mitsios decided that heavy rain had made the waterlogged pitch unplayable. Panthrakikos were leading 1-0 after a 42nd-minute goal by Fotis Papoulis. The second half was scheduled to be played yesterday afternoon. Also on Saturday, Kavala beat Giannena 1-0.
The Taoyuan Pauian Pilots on Sunday fell short in their bid for a first East Asia Super League (EASL) title after a 90-81 loss to Japan’s Utsunomiya Brex in Macau. The defeat marked the second straight year the defending P.League+ champions missed out on the EASL crown, but they remain the first team to reach back-to-back championship games in the league’s three-year history. The outcome was largely decided by long-range shooting. The Pilots struggled from beyond the arc, hitting just five of 20 attempts, while the Brex converted 19 three-pointers, shooting 46.3 percent from long range. Seven of the eight Brex players
Taiwanese boxer and Olympic gold medalist Lin Yu-ting has been approved to compete in the Asian Boxing Elite Championships, the Chinese Taipei Boxing Association (CTBA) said yesterday. The championships start on Saturday next week in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Lin became entangled in a gender controversy, despite the International Olympic Committee confirming her eligibility to compete as a female boxer. In August last year, World Boxing mandated a new regulation that required all athletes to undergo a polymerase chain reaction. genetic test to determine their sex at birth and their eligibility. Since the introduction of the test, Lin has missed several
ONE MORE CHANCE: While North Korea denied Taiwan in Australia, Taiwan, who last played in the World Cup in 1991, could still qualify via inter-confederation playoffs Taiwan yesterday lost 4-0 to a dominant North Korea in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup playoffs, closing off an avenue to qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Hong Song-ok scored a hat-trick in the match to determine the last of the confederation’s qualifiers from the tournament for next year’s World Cup in Brazil. With their victory over Taiwan, North Korea has qualified for the first time since a doping saga in 2011 led to their long absence from top-tier international tournaments. Angela Beard and Jaclyn Sawicki scored in a six-minute span to help the Philippines secure a World Cup spot with a
Audi, who are just two races into their Formula One journey, have parted company with team principal Jonathan Wheatley “with immediate effect,” the German team said on Friday. The 58-year-old Briton, who spent almost two decades with Red Bull, joined Sauber in April last year. Sauber were subsequently taken over by Audi. “Due to personal reasons, Jonathan Wheatley will depart the team with immediate effect,” Audi said in a statement. “The team thanks Jonathan for his contribution to the project and wishes him the best for his future endeavors. “Mattia Binotto, head of Audi F1 Project, will continue leading the team while taking over
RSS