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.
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