■ FRANCE
Monaco held to 0-0 draw
Monaco are the only club in France’s top division yet to score this season after they were held to a 0-0 draw by Montpellier in a delayed match on Tuesday. Visitors Montpellier, who beat Girondins de Bordeaux 1-0 in their opening game of the season, began positively, but Monaco threatened first when Thomas Mangani’s well-struck free-kick prompted a smart stop by Geoffrey Jourdren. Guy Lacombe’s side went even closer in the 27th minute, with striker Park Chu-young getting ahead of his marker to glance a header against the outside of the post with Jourdren beaten. Park had a penalty appeal turned down 13 minutes into the second half after appearing to be impeded by Benjamin Stambouli and Montpellier striker Olivier Giroud almost put his side in front moments later, only for Stephane Ruffier to brilliantly repel his bicycle-kick. The match had been scheduled to take place on Saturday, but fell victim to fierce thunderstorms.
■FRANCE
Lemoine faces long layoff
Stade Rennais midfielder Fabien Lemoine is facing six months on the sidelines following a heavy blow to the side at the weekend that split one of his kidneys. The injury, sustained in a collision with an opposing player during Renne’s 3-0 win at Nancy on Saturday, saw Lemoine’s kidney split into three parts and there were initial fears for his long-term health. “This kind of injury in football is very rare and is more common in car crashes,” Rennes club doctor Karl Chaory said. He added that there were two possibilities for the treatment of the injury. “The first is that we can hope that the kidney heals by itself, but that would take time — at least six months, almost certainly longer. The second would involve an operation to remove the kidney. That would take less time, but of course we would give priority to the player’s overall health, rather than to sporting considerations.” A final decision on how to proceed will be taken in the next 10 days, with Lemoine expected to be released from hospital at the end of this week.
■ CHINA
Jiao fined, sent to reserves
Shandong Luneng sent former captain Jiao Zhe to the reserve team, suspended his salary and fined him 30,000 yuan (US$4,400) for beating up a teammate after a Chinese Super League game last weekend. The 29-year-old former China international was punished for swearing at and then hitting substitute defender Zhang Chi in the locker room after a 2-1 victory in Chongqing, local media reported yesterday. “It is not as simple as kicking him out now and calling him back later. We must give him a warning, a lesson to learn,” manager Han Gongzheng told the Beijing Youth Daily newspaper. The rightback swore at Zhang for his poor performance during the match, Chinese news portal Sohu.com said, and he considered Zhang’s silence a sign of disrespect. Jiao was stripped of the captaincy last year for insulting fans and at the beginning of this season he was dropped for questioning the coach and injuring other players in training, Sohu.com said.
■ CAMEROON
Clemente to manage Lions
Former Spain coach Javier Clemente was named as the new manager of the Cameroon national team on Tuesday following a disastrous World Cup for the Indomitable Lions under Paul Le Guen. The Cameroon Football Federation announced that Clemente had agreed a two-year contract to replace Le Guen — who resigned in June. A statement said Clemente would sign his contract no later than Sept. 28.
Barcelona’s Ferran Torres scored twice on Sunday to help secure a late 4-2 comeback win at Atletico Madrid in a pulsating La Liga clash that took the Catalan side back to the top of the table. Barca have 60 points and a game in hand after last week’s postponement of their home game with CA Osasuna. They are level on points with Real Madrid, who won 2-1 at Villarreal on Saturday. “I am happy and proud of this team,” Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick told a news conference. “They never give up... It’s a great three points and we are happy to
Paolo Banchero on Sunday scored 24 points as the Orlando Magic overturned a 13-point deficit to end the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 16-game unbeaten streak with a gutsy 108-103 road victory. Cleveland, the runaway Eastern Conference leaders, had looked poised to extend their franchise-record winning run after surging clear of Orlando early in the third quarter, but after a season where they have staged hefty winning comebacks of their own, the tables turned on Cleveland in the face of a furious burst of Orlando scoring. The Magic outscored Cleveland 35-23 in the third quarter, with Franz Wagner leading the charge with nine points and
Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday held their nerve to beat Liverpool 4-1 on penalties and reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals after their tie finished one-apiece on aggregate, while Bayern Munich saw off Bayer 04 Leverkusen to complete a 5-0 win over both legs. Lamine Yamal and Raphinha fired Barcelona into the next round as the Catalans bested SL Benfica 3-1, and Inter booked a last-eight meeting with Bayern by seeing off Feyenoord 2-1. At Anfield, Ousmane Dembele netted the only goal of the night as PSG bounced back from Liverpool’s late winner last week to force the tie to extra-time and penalties. Maligned
Taiwan’s Lin Chun-yi on Wednesday inflicted a first-round defeat on former badminton world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen at the All England Open. Lin came out of top after a back-and-forth first game before Axelsen dominated the second, but the Dane was not able to keep that form in the decider as Lin reeled off six points in a row on the way to a 21-19, 13-21, 21-11 victory. “If I don’t play my best, everyone can win against me,” said Axelsen, the world No. 4. “Today’s opponent played a fantastic game; it was disappointing, but that is how it is.” “I just tried
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