FRANCE
Marseille join Lyon at top
Andre-Pierre Gignac’s superb winner gave Olympique de Marseille a 1-0 victory over nine-man Toulouse on Saturday that took them level on points with Olympique Lyonnais at the top of Ligue 1. Nice climbed to fourth on 29 points after 16-year-old Neal Maupay’s stoppage-time goal secured a 3-2 home victory over Evian Thonon Gaillard. Marseille have 35 points from 18 matches, but Lyon were top on goal difference before they played their game in hand at third-placed Paris Saint-Germain (32 points) yesterday. Elsewhere, Marco Estrada’s spectacular 35m volley in the 14th minute set champions Montpellier Herault on the path to a 4-0 home drubbing of SC Bastia. Montpellier’s fourth win in five games took them up to ninth on 26 points, level with LOSC Lille Metropole, who drew 1-1 at Stade de Reims.
GERMANY
Leverkusen beat Hamburg
Stefan Kiessling scored twice to lead Bayer 04 Leverkusen to a 3-0 win over Hamburg SV that cut Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga lead on Saturday, while troubled Schalke 04 slumped to a 3-1 home defeat to Freiburg. Kiessling’s brace made the unsung striker the Bundesliga top scorer with 12 goals. Andre Schuerrle was also on target as second-placed Leverkusen cut Bayern’s lead at the top to nine points at the Bundesliga’s halfway mark. Eintracht Frankfurt went third with a 2-0 win against VfL Wolfsburg. Greuther Fuerth and Augsburg both finished with 10 men as they drew 1-1 in a meeting of the bottom two, leaving them level on nine points from 17 games. Two goals from Nicolai Mueller helped FSV Mainz 05 to a 3-1 win over VfB Stuttgart and Fortuna Duesseldorf beat Hannover 96 2-1.
ITALY
Lazio beat Inter 1-0
SS Lazio moved to within five points of Serie A leaders Juventus after Miroslav Klose fired them to a late 1-0 win over title rivals Inter on Saturday. The Germany international’s 82nd-minute winner, his 10th goal of the season, lifted Lazio into fourth place on 33 points, level with Napoli. In Saturday’s other game, Antonio Di Natale rescued a point for 10-man Udinese when he scored an 89th-minute equalizer against US Citta di Palermo, leaving the Sicilians a point above the relegation zone.
SPAIN
Malaga conquer Sevilla
Malaga strengthened their hold on La Liga’s fourth place with a 2-0 win at Sevilla on Saturday. Martin Demichelis and Eliseu, with a penalty, earned Malaga the points as they were helped by a red card for Sevilla defender Federico Fazio in the 69th minute. Malaga, who have qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League, moved on to 28 points from 16 games, four behind third-placed Real Madrid. Athletic Bilbao were 1-0 winners at Real Mallorca, Getafe drew 1-1 at home to CA Osasuna, and Granada drew 0-0 at home to Real Sociedad.
ENGLAND
Police question Kolarov
Manchester City’s Serbian defender Aleksandar Kolarov was reported to have been questioned by police on Saturday after a complaint of racist abuse during a Premier League match at Newcastle United. Media reports said two fans were understood to have been waving an Albanian flag as Kolarov, who came on as a substitute in the game, warmed up on the side of the pitch in the first half. Police said in a statement, without naming any player, that they had received “a report of racist language having been used” at the stadium during the match.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two