CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Chelsea, Inter and Barcelona won to stay on course for the knockout stages though 2005 winners Liverpool only drew at Atletico Madrid in a subdued night of Champions League action on Wednesday.
Following Tuesday’s 36-goal spree, only Barcelona’s 5-0 thrashing of Basel was notable in the goal-scoring stakes.
Chelsea’s 1-0 home victory over AS Roma kept them well on course at the top of Group A, while Inter thanked Brazilian Adriano for their 1-0 win over Cypriots Anorthosis Famagusta leaving them as pacesetters in Group B. Barcelona top Group C.
Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari believed his side were in good form before the return match against AS Roma next month.
“Roma need to pressure us to try to win more than they did today, maybe there we will have more space to play,” Scolari said. “We only have one more Champions League game at home so this was a very important victory.”
England skipper John Terry, who got the 77th minute goal, added: “They made it very difficult for us the whole game but thankfully we got the goal and picked up three points.”
Teen sensation Bojan Krkic scored twice as Barcelona cruised past Basel to keep their 100 percent record.
Goals from star Argentinian striker Lionel Messi, Sergi Busquets, two from Krkic and a fifth from Xavi Hernandez brought Barcelona up to an impressive 10 goals from their three victories.
Italian champions Inter were made to battle all the way by a spirited Anorthosis at the San Siro.
Adriano scored the winner late on in the first half to put Inter in control of the group with seven points from three games.
The Cypriots are still in a position to qualify for the knock-out stages after Panathinaikos and Werder Bremen drew 2-2 in Greece.
Liverpool’s Robbie Keane, yet to score in the Premiership, had put the visitors ahead in the 14th minute for his second Champions League goal at Atletico’s Vicente Calderon stadium.
An 83rd minute goal by Simao was a blow for Liverpool although both they and Atletico have seven points at the top of Group D.
Marseille coach Eric Gerets suffered a nightmare return to former club PSV Eindhoven as the Dutch beat the French club 2-0 to keep their slim Champions League hopes alive.
A double from Danny Koevermans kept Gerets’s side at the bottom of the pool all but ending Marseille’s chances of progressing any further.
France’s Kevin Aymoz snatched the men’s title at Skate America on Saturday, winning his first grand prix title with a battling free skate, while short program leader Kazuki Tomono faltered. It was an emotional triumph for Aymoz, who made his grand prix level debut in 2017, with seven prior podium finishes, but no gold. He had struggled with a painful foot injury since a disappointing 10th-place finish at Skate Canada last month. “It was so difficult,” the 28-year-old said. “After Skate Canada I wanted to give up so much and today I’m here and it’s so beautiful to be with my friends competing
A start-up’s entry into prediction market trading is raising fresh questions about the involvement of NBA owners in sports betting. The start-up, Mojo Interactive Inc, was cofounded by Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore, the owners of the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves and the WNBA’s Lynx. Mojo has started trading on the outcome of sports games on the prediction market exchange Kalshi, an arrangement that is now being reviewed by the NBA. Mojo began trading event contracts tied to sports during the NFL season this fall, according to Mojo CEO Vinit Bharara. Mojo has yet to trade on any NBA games, Bharara said in
Nigeria’s soccer coach has accused the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) of practicing “voodoo” after his squad’s hopes of qualifying for next year’s FIFA World Cup ended in a penalty shoot-out loss in the African playoff final. DR Congo and Nigeria drew 1-1 after extra-time in the tie in Rabat, Morocco, on Sunday and the central Africans won 4-3 on penalties to book a place in inter-confederation playoffs in Mexico in March next year. In his post-match remarks to journalists, coach Eric Chelle said a member of the DR Congo team “did some voodoo, every time, every time, every time.” “That
ALMOST THERE: In Group G, the Netherlands inched closer to the World Cup after a 1-1 draw with Poland, leaving them at the top of the table with one match left Croatia secured a place at next year’s FIFA World Cup with a 3-1 win that ended tiny Faroe Islands’ dream on Friday, while the Netherlands moved closer to qualification by drawing in Poland. Croatia knew before kickoff that avoiding defeat in Rijeka, Croatia, would guarantee qualification, but it was caught cold in the 16th minute when Geza David Turi scored with a deflected shot. The 2018 World Cup runner-up quickly recovered as Josko Gvardiol leveled in the 23rd minute. Making his return to the national team after two years away, Petar Musa put Croatia ahead 2-1 after half time from Josip Stanisic’s
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