■BRAZIL
Flamengo win title
Goalkeeper Bruno saved a penalty in regulation and two more in a shootout against Botafogo to give Flamengo their third straight Rio de Janeiro state title on Sunday. In Sao Paulo, Ronaldo’s Corinthians clinched that state’s title unbeaten after a 1-1 draw against Santos. After a 2-2 draw in regulation time at the packed Maracana stadium, Bruno stopped shots by defenders Juninho and Leandro Guerreiro, giving Brazil’s most popular club a 4-2 win and a 31st state title. Bruno had stopped a penalty shot by Victor Simoes in the second half. Led by three-time FIFA player of the year Ronaldo, Corinthians held Santos to a 1-1 draw to become the first unbeaten Sao Paulo state champion in 37 years. Corinthians had won the first leg 3-1 last week at Vila Belmiro in Santos and could have clinched the title even if they had lost Sunday’s match by a difference of two goals. In Belo Horizonte, Cruzeiro won the Minas Gerais state title with a 1-1 draw against Atletico Mineiro. Cruzeiro had won the first leg 5-0. In Curitiba, Atletico Paranaense secured the Parana state title with a 2-0 win over Cianorte.
■NETHERLANDS
Twente earn crucial win
Goals from Kenneth Perez, Peter Wisgerhof and Eljero Elia earned Steve McClaren’s FC Twente a 3-0 victory over AZ Alkmaar on Sunday and a place in next season’s Champions League. Perez and Wisgerhof gave Twente a 2-0 lead by the hour mark and the match slipped further from AZ’s grasp three minutes later when they were reduced to 10 men, following a red card for Gill Swerts. Elia added Twente’s third goal in the 78th minute. With AZ Alkmaar already having won the Dutch league, Twente is now certain to finish second as they have a four-point lead over third-place Ajax. Ajax will now play in next season’s Europa League, joining PSV Eindhoven. PSV finished up drawing 1-1 with NEC Nijmegen on Sunday after taking the lead before having two men sent off and then conceding an equalizer in stoppage time.
■PORTUGAL
Porto extend lead
Porto extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to six points with a 3-0 win at Maritimo on Sunday after second-placed Sporting were held to a scoreless draw at Academica. Porto lead on 63 points from 27 matches and can clinch their fourth successive title if they beat Nacional at home on May 11. Sporting have 57 points and Benfica are five points further adrift. The champions started strongly against Marititimo with defender Bruno Alves hitting the post in the second minute. Moments later Raul Meireles opened the scoring with a low drive which Maritimo keeper Marcos should have saved. Defender Rolando doubled the lead in the 64th minute, heading in from a Cristian Rodriguez free kick from just outside the area and Tomas Costa added a third on 83 minutes following a counter-attacking move.
■ENGLAND
Blues back in big time
Birmingham City sealed their return to the Premier League after a 2-1 win over Reading ensured them automatic promotion from the Championship. “I’m really delighted for everyone at the club,” Birmingham manager Alex McLeish said. “Last week we wondered if our chance had gone and there were some tired legs out there today. Before the match we just asked the lads to play the best game they’ve played all season. Now it is not the time to start talking about what we are going to do in the Premier League. We just need to savor this moment.”
Soccer officials yesterday offered “full support and assistance” to the Iranian team in Australia for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup after the US and Israel launched massive attacks on their homeland. Iran’s 26-strong squad arrived on the Gold Coast days before the strikes on Saturday killed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as Washington and Tel Aviv seek to topple the Islamic republic. They are due to open their tournament today against South Korea. The AFC in a statement said it “continues to closely monitor the recent developments in the Middle East during this challenging period.” “The AFC’s foremost priority remains the welfare, safety and
EVERY DAY A VICTORY: Players on the women’s team faced pressure from society just getting out onto the field as they prepare for their first Women’s Asian Cup game today Bangladesh’s national soccer team face daunting odds at their first-ever Women’s Asian Cup, but have already scored a major victory by qualifying. In the South Asian nation of 170 million, social stigma, family expectations, poverty and religious hardliners have long relegated women and girls to sports sidelines. The first women’s soccer league matches took place in 2011 and the squad, known to fans as the Red and Green, have kept pressing forward despite deeply embedded prejudices. “Many more girls would have joined us if the community had been even slightly supportive,” captain Afeida Khandaker told AFP ahead of her side’s March 3
ROAD RASH: Marc Marquez retired after a crash, marking the first time after 88 consecutive races stretching back to 2021 that a Ducati bike failed to make the podium Marco Bezzecchi yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening grand prix in Thailand from pole position as defending world champion Marc Marquez retired late with a buckled wheel. Aprilia’s Bezzecchi led from start to finish to top the podium in Buriram, with KTM’s Pedro Acosta second and Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez third. Ducati’s Marquez is chasing a record-equaling eighth world title this season, but he exited the race in dramatic fashion while in fourth place with five laps to go. The Spaniard, who started from second on the grid, took a corner wide, with the jolt to his bike dislodging the rear tire, badly damaging his
Liverpool on Tuesday suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers as Andre’s stoppage-time strike sealed a dramatic victory for the English Premier League’s bottom club. Arne Slot’s side fell behind to Rodrigo Gomes’ strike in the closing stages at Molineux. Mohamed Salah hauled Liverpool level with his first goal in 11 top-flight games dating back to November last year. However, Andre’s first goal for Wolves inflicted the latest humbling loss in a chastening season for Liverpool. It was the first time the Premier League’s bottom club had beaten the reigning champions since Crystal Palace defeated Chelsea in 2017. Liverpool
RSS