■ FRANCE
Marseille survive Cup scare
Olympique Marseille survived a scare before knocking out amateurs Besancon on penalties in the French Cup on Sunday. Marseille struggled on a frozen pitch away to opponents playing in the fourth division. The last 64 game finished 1-1 after extra-time, with Marseille winning the penalty shoot-out 5-4. Midfielder Benoit Cheyrou scored the decisive penalty after an effort by Besancon striker Yohann Rangdet was blocked by Marseille keeper Steve Mandanda. The former European champions were 1-0 down with seven minutes left in normal time when Nigeria defender Taye Taiwo put them level from the penalty spot after Besancon defender Yannick Goyon handled the ball in the area. Marseille defender Ronald Zubar had put Besancon in front by putting the ball into his own net under pressure from Rangdet on 67 minutes. Besancon then resisted bravely under sustained pressure during extra-time and did not show signs of nerves until the very end of the shoot-out. Following Sunday’s draw for the round of 32, Lyon will entertain Marseille, providing the seven-times champions win their round of 64 tie against Concarneau, postponed twice because of a frozen pitch. Paris-Saint Germain needed a second-half goal from Stephane Sessegnon to beat fourth division Montlucon 1-0 earlier on Sunday.Monaco had earlier struggled to overcome fifth division Blagnac, needing an own goal from defender Frederic Marquet on 21 minutes to win 1-0.
■PORTUGAL
‘Hulk’ helps Porto go top
Defending champions Porto replaced Benfica at the top of the Portuguese league on Sunday after winning 4-2 at Nacional courtesy of injury-time goals by Lucho Gonzalez and Givanildo “Hulk” Vieira. Benfica suffered their first league defeat of the season, falling 2-0 at lowly Trofense after goals from Nuno “Reguila” Silva and Helder Barbosa. Porto trailed in the 14th minute when midfielder Edson Sitta’s angled shot from outside the area was turned home by Porto defender Bruno Alves as he attempted to clear the ball. The champions of the past three years then struck back through the Hulk in the 51st minute and midfielder Cristian Rodriguez’s bicycle kick in the 72nd minute. Nacional substitute Miguel Fidalgo equalized with a 79th-minute header, only for Gonzalez to convert a last-gasp penalty and Hulk to then score with a solo effort. Benfica struggled to impose themselves on a Trofense side that began the game in last place. Reguila gave Trofense the lead on the stroke of halftime following a swift counterattack by the home team. Benfica’s problems worsened in the 64th minute when midfielder Augustin Binya was dismissed after picking up a second yellow card. Barbosa fired home 18 minutes later to seal Trofense’s win. Elsewhere, a forceful second-half display brought Maritimo a comfortable 4-1 win over visiting Pacos Ferreira and Amadora edged past Naval 1-0 courtesy of Anselmo’s 44th-minute headed goal.
■GREECE
Athens derby ends goalless
Panathinaikos’ hopes of significantly closing the gap on league leaders Olympiakos were dashed after a goalless draw with crosstown rivals AEK on Sunday. Playing before more than 60,000 fans at the Athens Olympic Stadium, Panathinaikos charged forward from the start. But it was AEK who came closest to taking the lead in the 31st minute when a header by Sotiris Kyrgiacos hit the post following a corner kick by Angelos Basinas. Also on Sunday it was Levadiakos 2, Aris 0 and Thrasivoulos 0, Larissa 0. The match between Panserraikos and Iraklis was postponed because of snow.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care