■PALESTINE
Palestine draw at home
Palestinians finally got to play international soccer on home soil on Sunday, drawing 1-1 with Jordan in front of packed stands. The Palestinian team, recognized by FIFA a decade ago, played at a new 6,500 seat stadium in the occupied West Bank town of al-Ram, near Jerusalem, in a match attended by FIFA president Sepp Blatter. The stands overflowed with fans and hundreds also watched from rooftops of vehicles and nearby homes as the Palestinians took an early lead, when in the fourth minute Ahmed Kashkash broke through the Jordanian defense. Kashkash rounded advancing keeper Loay Amayrah and slotted the ball home from the edge of the area. Jordan equalized with a goal in the 48th minute, when with the Palestinian defense in disarray, Raed Nawatir had an easy task putting the ball away after sending goalkeeper Mohammed Shobeer in the wrong direction.
■GREECE
Aris down the champions
Spanish striker Javito scored a first-half goal on Sunday to help Aris beat visiting Olympiakos 1-0 in the Greek league. It was the first defeat this season for the defending champions, who still top the league with 16 points. PAOK beat Levadiakos 3-1 on Saturday to be second with 15 points. Aris controlled play throughout, with Javito scoring with a header in the 18th minute. A disorganized Olympiakos had their best chance in the 90th minute, when a blistering shot by Fernando Belluschi from inside the area sailed over the crossbar. Panathinaikos drew 2-2 at home with Iraklis. Panathinaikos is fourth with 11 points, but has a match in hand. Panathinaikos took the lead in the 33rd minute after a header by Vangelis Mantzios. Iraklis leveled in the 62nd minute when Manolis Papasterianos scored with a deflected shot off Panathinaikos defender Loukas Vyntraon after a counterattack. Two minutes later, 25,000 Panathinaikos fans at Athens Olympic Stadium were silenced when Kiko Raton gave Iraklis a 2-1 lead off a pass from Papasterianos. But Dimitris Salpingidis equalized just seconds before the final whistle after a cross by Sotiris Ninis. Also on Sunday, it was Thrasivoulos 3, AEK 3; Xanthi 2, Panserraikos 1; and Ergotelis 2, Panionios 5.
■PORTUGAL
Nacional join Leixoes at top
Nacional Madeira joined Leixoes at the top of the Portuguese Premier League table after a 1-0 win at home over Vitoria Setubal on Sunday. Brazilian striker Nene gave Nacional victory with a penalty after Setubal defender Auri handled after 78 minutes. The two unheralded teams have 13 points from six games. Benfica, who beat Naval 2-1, are a point behind. Champions Porto, who suffered their first Premier League defeat of the season when they were beaten 3-2 at home by neighbors Leixoes on Saturday, dropped to fourth spot two points behind the leaders.
■ARGENTINA
River Plate lose again
River Plate’s miserable run continued on Sunday when they lost 1-0 at Gimnasia-Jujuy in the Argentine championship, their third such defeat in a week. At the other end of the table, leaders San Lorenzo’s run of six wins came to an end in a 2-1 defeat by Racing Club. Beaten 1-0 by arch-rivals Boca Juniors the previous Sunday and then at home by Mexican side Guadalajara in the Copa Sudamericana on Wednesday, champions River remained 19th in the 20-team table. Diego Simeone’s team have won only once in 11 league games and are ahead of bottom-of-the-table Rosario Central on goal difference.
Carlos Alcaraz on Monday powered into the French Open second round with a resounding win to start his title defense, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and three-time defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also progressed at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and is to face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. “The first round is never
TIGHT FINISH: Napoli only needed to do the same as or better than Inter, who won their game against Como 2-0 on the same day, leaving Napoli with a one-point lead The two players who Antonio Conte wanted more than any others secured Napoli their second Serie A title in three years on Friday. Scott McTominay scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick before halftime and Romelu Lukaku doubled the lead with a solo goal after the break in the decisive 2-0 home win over Cagliari. Conte became the first coach to win the Italian championship with three different teams. “Everyone contributed to this — but the coach most of all,” Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo said. “Napoli needed him to get back on top. He’s phenomenal.” Comparing it to his three Serie A titles won
The journey of Taiwan’s badminton mixed doubles duo Ye Hong-wei and Nicole Chan at the Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur came to an end in the semi-finals yesterday after they suffered a 2-0 loss to China’s Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping. Ye, 25, and Chan, 20, teamed up last year and are currently ranked No. 23 in the world. The Taiwanese shuttlers took on China’s second seeds in the mixed doubles event, but proved no match for Feng and Huang, losing the match 10-21, 7-21. In the first half of the first game, the pairings were neck and neck at 6-7 until Ye
SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said
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