■ BRAZIL
Sao Paulo take the title
Sao Paulo won their third straight Brazilian league title on Sunday after beating Goias 1-0 with a goal from striker Borges. Borges’ 22nd-minute goal secured victory for a team that needed only a draw to win the championship. Gremio, who beat Atletico Mineiro 2-0, were the only team capable of denying the champions a sixth title, but that had depended on Sao Paulo losing. Sao Paulo also won the Brazilian league in 1977, 1986 and 1991. Sao Paulo trailed Gremio by 11 points just after the midway point of the competition, but steadily moved up the standings. They could have clinched the title a week ago by beating Fluminense, but could only draw 1-1 in front of nearly 70,000 fans at Morumbi Stadium. Besides Sao Paulo and second-place Gremio, Palmeiras and Cruzeiro also won the right to play in next year’s Copa Libertadores. Four-time champions Vasco da Gama were relegated to the second division after losing 2-0 to Vitoria. Also going down were Figueirense, Portuguesa and Ipatinga.
■ARGENTINA
Wins set up thrilling finale
San Lorenzo and Tigre won on Sunday to go level on points at the top of the Argentine championship with Boca Juniors and set up a thrilling finale to the title race. Boca, who had started the weekend with a two-point lead, were held 0-0 at Gimnasia-La Plata. Unfashionable Tigre came from two goals behind to win 3-2 at Rosario Central and San Lorenzo thumped floundering Independiente 4-1. The trio each have 36 points from 18 games with one match to play. Lanus, two points behind in fourth place after a 2-0 win at Velez Sarsfield, also have an outside chance. Goal difference is not used to decide the title, so a playoff will be held if two teams are still level after next Sunday’s final games and a three-way tournament will take place if all three sides finish on the same number of points. The biggest drama involved Tigre, who were 2-0 down after only 11 minutes at Rosario Central following goals by Milton Caraglio and Ezequiel Gonzalez. But Carlos Luna struck twice to pull Tigre level by halftime and substitute Leandro Lazarro grabbed the winner in the 81st minute, scoring from near the penalty spot after Leonel Altobelli pulled the ball back.
■MEXICO
Toluca, Cruz Azul make final
Toluca beat champions Santos Laguna 2-1 on Sunday to reach the final of the Mexican championship despite conceding a goal for the first time in nine games. The Red Devils will face Cruz Azul in the two-leg final after their win at home in the semi-final second-leg followed a goalless draw in the first match last week. Edgar Castillo put the Santos ahead in the 26th minute after exchanging passes with Daniel Luduena, the first goal conceded by goalkeeper Hernan Cristante in 772 minutes of play. Toluca quickly recovered from the blow and leveled a minute later with a goal by Edgar Duenas. Chilean forward Hector Mancilla scored the winner four minutes before halftime after a one-two with Antonio Naelson.
■PORTUGAL
Benfica hit six to go top
Benfica routed a 10-man Maritimo 6-0 on Sunday to move top of the Portuguese league for the first time in more than three years. Nuno Gomes and David Suazo scored two goals each, while defender Luisao added another in the 65th minute. Jose Antonio Reyes had opened the scoring at the Barreiros Stadium with a 20th-minute penalty. Maritimo’s Marcos Oliveira was red-carded after 16 minutes to give Benfica the advantage.
Jobe Bellingham on Tuesday admitted to having “anxieties” on following in brother Jude’s footsteps after joining Borussia Dortmund in the summer. Jobe Bellingham, 19, is two years younger than Jude Bellingham, who joined Real Madrid in 2023 after three years at Dortmund. A centerpiece of the England national team, Jude Bellingham has emerged as one of the best players in the world in recent seasons. The younger Jobe Bellingham joined Dortmund in June from Sunderland after their promotion to the English Premier League. He admitted he understood what the perception would be ahead of the move to Germany. “It’s something you do think about.
Before Tuesday’s 7-2 win at the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy suggested “most people couldn’t tell you five players on our team.” A look at the standings would indicate more Brewers players soon will be recognized by more fans. After all, it is difficult to overlook a team that not only continues to extend their lead in the National League Central, but also boasts the best record in the majors. “What we’re doing in here right now is special,” right-handed pitcher Freddy Peralta said after allowing only four hits and one run in five innings, while setting a career high with
Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday fought through a second-set slump to post a roller-coaster 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Damir Dzumhur in his opening match at the Cincinnati Open. The Spaniard, playing his first tournament since losing to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final, raced through the first set, but completely lost his way in the second, dropping his serve twice against the 33-year-old Bosnian. Alcaraz regained his intensity and cut down his errors in the third set as a seventh ace took him to a match point that was converted when Dzumhur fired wide. “It was just a roller coaster,” said the second
NEXT ROUND: World No. 1s Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka opened their title defenses with straight-sets wins, while Iga Swiatek and Taylor Fritz also advanced Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka got their title defenses off to smooth starts as they powered into the third round of the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open on Saturday. The men’s and women’s top seeds, each ranked No. 1 in the world, were both competing for the first time since Wimbledon, where Sinner lifted the title and Sabalenka bowed out in the women’s semi-finals. Sinner crushed Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan 6-1, 6-1 in steamy afternoon weather, while Sabalenka beat 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 7-5, 6-1 under the lights of the night session. Sabalenka needed 54 minutes and a service break in the final game
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