NETHERLANDS
AZ maintain their lead
AZ Alkmaar maintained their lead in the Dutch league with a 3-0 win over ADO The Hague on Sunday thanks to goals from Brett Holman, Adam Maher and Jozy Altidore. Holman gave AZ the lead in the 11th minute, before Maher and Altidore added goals in the second half to secure the victory. Also on Sunday, second-placed Twente routed De Grafschaap 4-0, while a hat-trick from Jeremain Lens inspired PSV Eindhoven to a 4-1 win over Heracles Almelo. In the most eventful match of the day, Zambia winger Jacob Mulenga created two goals and scored another as Utrecht beat Ajax 6-4. AZ have 31 points from 12 games. Twente and PSV have 25 each, while Ajax have 20. In Utrecht, Ajax took the lead twice in the first half, before the hosts scored four second-half goals in a wild shootout. Russia striker Dmitri Bulykin gave Ajax the lead after eight minutes, but Mulenga set up Ghana forward Nana Asare for an equalizer eight minutes later. Mulenga then played in Edouard Duplan, who scored from close range, before Ajax battled back to level through veteran defender Andre Ooijer’s header in the 32nd minute. Bulykin made it 3-2 for Ajax in the 41st minute, but Utrecht then took charge with goals from Daan Bovenberg, Mulenga and Asare to make it 5-3. Christian Eriksen gave Ajax renewed hope in the 72nd minute, but Anouar Kali netted in stoppage-time to wrap up the win. In other matches it was VVV Venlo 0, Excelsior Rotterdam 0; NAC Breda 1, Vitesse Arnhem 0; RKC Waalkwijk 1, Groningen 1; Roda JC 1, SC Heerenveen 2; and Feyenoord 0, NEC Nijmegen 1.
PORTUGAL
Benfica blow their chance
Benfica drew 1-1 at Braga on Sunday, missing a chance to move top of the Portuguese league standings. Braga went ahead in first-half stoppage-time through Lima’s spot-kick after Benfica defender Emerson had handled in the area. Spanish forward Rodrigo Moreno equalized in the 72nd minute, but Benfica failed to get the winner that would have lifted them two points ahead of defending champions Porto. Midfielder Matias Fernandez scored once in each half to lead Sporting to a 3-1 win over Leiria. Third-placed Sporting are one point behind Porto and Benfica. In other matches it was Beira Mar 2, Feirense 1; Rio Ave 2, Nacional 1; and Setubal 0, Gil Vicente 0.
UNITED STATES
Beckham’s LA make final
David Beckham set up a goal with one of his trademark crosses as the Los Angeles Galaxy advanced to the MLS Cup Final with a 3-1 win over Real Salt Lake on Sunday. The 36-year-old English midfielder is now due to play for his first MLS title in the final game of his five-year contract in Los Angeles. Beckham set up Mike Magee for a goal in the 58th minute. US striker Landon Donovan had earlier scored and Republic of Ireland striker Robbie Keane got the third for the Galaxy, who are set to face the Houston Dynamo for the championship on Nov. 20.
CZECH REPUBLIC
Cech banned from flying
The Czech Republic could suffer a potential blow ahead of their crucial Euro 2012 playoff against Montenegro on Friday after goalkeeper Petr Cech hinted he could be sidelined. Chelsea’s Cech suffered a broken nose in the 1-0 win away to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday and he later announced a flying ban, imposed by doctors, means he would be unable to join up with his national squad as scheduled yesterday. If doctors give the go-ahead, the 29-year-old should be able to travel home tomorrow at the earliest.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
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