■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 New Taipei Kings claimed the inaugural Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL) championship on Sunday, defeating the Kaohsiung FamilyMart Aquas 108-89 in the final. Playing at home, the Kings pulled ahead with Jeremy Lin’s (林書豪) clutch three-pointers, securing their victory over the Aquas in the TPBL final. The Kings came out strong in the first quarter, dominating to build a 35-18 lead. By halftime, they had stretched their advantage to 61-38. In the third quarter, the Aquas narrowed the deficit to 12 points, but Lin stepped up, sinking several tough three- pointers to extend the lead. In the final quarter, the Kings pushed the
In an unlikely Ethiopian outpost of one the most French of pastimes, four men are leaning over their petanque balls, arguing over who is winning. Petanque, the bowling game also known as boules, is more readily associated with French village squares where locals launch metal balls at a jack while enjoying an afternoon drink, but for decades, it has also been a beloved pastime for members of a club near the iconic Meskel Square in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. It was founded in the early 20th century to cater to French railway workers, who built a line connecting Addis Ababa
Taiwanese women’s doubles star Hsieh Su-wei and Australian teenager Maya Joint on Tuesday eased into the Eastbourne Open quarter-finals in England as Hsieh prepares for the Wimbledon Championships next week. Four-time Wimbledon women’s doubles champion Hsieh and 19-year-old Joint fired two aces and converted five of eight break points to defeat Japan’s Shuko Aoyama and Poland’s Katarzyna Piter 6-3, 6-3 in 58 minutes on the grass court. Hsieh and Joint are today to face fourth seeds Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, who advanced on Monday with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Quinn Gleason of the US and
BEAT THE HEAT: A brutal heat wave in the US has made cooling breaks standard. Dortmund’s coach said the weather could shape the destiny of the tournament Chelsea on Tuesday beat Esperance of Tunisia 3-0 to set up a FIFA Club World Cup last-16 tie against SL Benfica, who earlier defeated Bayern Munich 1-0, as furnace-link heat and the threat of thunder and lightning wreak havoc at the tournament. Elsewhere, minnows Auckland City claimed a memorable draw against Boca Juniors, while Los Angeles bowed out of the tournament with a stalemate against Flamengo. In Charlotte, Andreas Schjelderup scored the only goal for Benfica in their Group C clash with Bayern in front of 33,287 fans, finishing first-time from a cutback by his fellow Norwegian Fredrik Aursnes in the 13th
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