BELGIUM
Mechelen drop to sixth
Taiwan international Javier Chen’s KV Mechelen fell to sixth in the Belgian Jupiler League on Sunday, three points behind leaders KAA Gent, after a 2-1 home defeat to Club Bruges. Mechelen went behind to a Carl Hoefkens goal after just three minutes. Joseph Akpala doubled Bruges’ lead after 53 minutes, before Bruges defender Tom Hogli’s own-goal with six minutes remaining gave the hosts a glimmer of hope. Chen played the full 90 minutes.
NETHERLANDS
PSV slump to fifth
Wilfred Bouma’s equalizer in the 76th minute salvaged a 3-3 draw for PSV Eindhoven in a thrilling match at VVV Venlo in the Dutch league on Sunday. PSV dominated the first half and goals from Ola Toivonen and Dries Mertens, his seventh this season, gave them a comfortable lead at the interval, but three goals in six minutes from VVV turned the match on its head. Ferry de Regt headed home from close range, before Uche Nwofor’s long drive leveled the scores. Japan international Maya Yoshida put VVV ahead with an overhead-kick, but Venlo finished with 10 men following a late red card for Marcel Meeuwis. PSV slumped to fifth with 10 points, three behind their next opponents Ajax, who moved top after beating Heracles Almelo 3-2 on Saturday.
PORTUGAL
Braga down Gil Vicente
Nuno Gomez scored a brace to lead Braga to a 3-1 win over 10-man Gil Vicente on Sunday in the Portuguese league. Gomez came off the bench in the second half and slotted home a rebound for Braga’s 62nd-minute opener. A minute later, Gil Vicente defender Eder was sent off for a foul on Braga striker Lima and Helder Barbosa capitalized on the advantage 10 minutes later to extend the hosts’ lead. Gomez capped Braga’s third win of the season in stoppage-time. Undefeated Braga are level on points with second-placed Benfica, two points behind defending champions Porto.
RUSSIA
Anzhi’s Eto’o strikes again
Cameroonian striker Samuel Eto’o extended his goal-scoring streak in the Russian Premier League with a goal in Anzhi Makhachkala’s 2-1 home win over Volga Nizhny Novgorod on Sunday. Former four-time African footballer of the year Eto’o scored on his debut against Rostov the previous weekend and his second consecutive strike helped his new club to fourth spot in the table, six points behind leaders CSKA Moscow. Volga got off to a flying start by taking a fourth-minute lead through Romanian midfielder Mihaita Plesan, before Eto’o leveled in the 17th minute when he beat the offside trap to latch on to Mbark Boussoufa’s cross. The hosts continued to dominate after the interval and Anzhi were soon celebrating when Volga midfielder Alexander Shulein turned the ball into his own net in the 60th minute.
SOUTH KOREA
Blatter a ‘little brat:’ Chung
Former FIFA vice president Chung Mong-joon has called FIFA president Sepp Blatter a “little brat” who dictatorially rules world soccer’s governing body. Chung made the criticism in a memoir published last week titled My Challenge, My Enthusiasm. Chung had been regarded as a leading candidate to succeed Blatter before being defeated in an Asian election for the FIFA vice presidency early this year. “President Blatter is fluent in five languages, has a good way with words and is intelligent ... but I think he is not an international gentleman and he is like a little brat,” Chung said in the book.
SEESAW CONTEST: The Pistons remain top of the Eastern Conference after battling to a win over the Hawks in a game that saw the lead change 27 times The Phoenix Suns on Monday shrugged off an injury to Devin Booker to end the Los Angeles Lakers’ seven-game winning streak with an emphatic 125-108 victory on the road. Booker exited in the first quarter, but the loss of the star point guard did little to halt the flow of Phoenix points over the remainder of the game. Dillon Brooks led the Phoenix scoring with 33 points, while Collin Gillespie added 28 — including eight three-pointers — as the Suns romped to victory. The Lakers were left ruing a colossal 22 turnovers — at a cost of 32 Suns points — on a
Kylian Mbappe on Wednesday scored twice and had an assist as Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 to end a three-match winless streak in La Liga. Eduardo Camavinga also found the net for Madrid as they moved back within one point of Barcelona, who beat Atletico Madrid 3-1 on Tuesday. Both 19th-round matches were moved forward because Real Madrid, Barcelona, Athletic Club and Atletico Madrid are to play in the Supercopa de Espana semi-finals in Saudi Arabia next month. Real Madrid were coming off league draws against Girona, Elche and Rayo Vallecano. It was their second win in their past six matches in
IN-HOUSE BUSINESS: LA Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said that the reason for the team’s poor form was not due to Paul, but the player was not a good fit for them Chris Paul’s return stint with the Los Angeles Clippers has come to an abrupt and stunning end, with the franchise parting ways with one of its greatest players in a late-night meeting on Wednesday that adds another layer of drama to the team’s terrible start this season. The news was delivered in a meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, that ended at about 2am, Clippers basketball operations president Lawrence Frank said. Frank said he made the decision to sever ties with Paul on Sunday then told the franchise’s career assist leader that he needed to see him on Tuesday in Atlanta. Frank did not confirm
New Zealand yesterday reached 231-9 at stumps on a first day of the first Test against the West Indies shortened by rain after Justin Greaves triggered a middle-order collapse with the wicket of Kane Williamson. New Zealand tumbled from 94-1 to 148-6 on a bowler-friendly wicket after Williamson was dismissed for 52, his 38th Test half-century. Michael Bracewell and Nathan Smith arrested the slide with a 52-run stand for the seventh wicket. Smith eventually fell for 23 and Bracewell for 47. After Matt Henry went for 8, Zak Foulkes and Jacob Duffy were both on 4 when bad light stopped play after 70
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