NETHERLANDS
PSV edge Feyenoord
Zakaria Labyad scored the winning goal in the 85th minute to help PSV Eindhoven beat Feyenoord 3-2 on Sunday and maintain their lead of the Dutch league. Ola Toivonen put PSV ahead in the 44th minute after combining with Dries Mertens. Belgium forward Mertens then drilled an unstoppable shot to increase PSV’s lead in the 66th minute, but Guyon Fernandez’s two goals inside seven minutes gave Feyenoord hope, before Labyad’s late winner. Luuk de Jong’s 44th-minute goal secured a 1-0 win for Steve McClaren’s Twente against Utrecht. PSV lead with 48 points, while AZ Alkmaar are second with 46 after drawing 3-3 with SC Heerenveen. Twente, who have a game in hand, are third with 45 points. Also on Sunday, Siem de Jong grabbed a pair of goals to lead Ajax to a 4-1 win over Excelsior Rotterdam as the Amsterdam side moved fifth in the standings. In other games on Sunday, it was RKC Waalwijk 1, Vitesse Arnhem 0; NAC Breda 4, ADO The Hague 0; VVV-Venlo 3, Heracles Almelo 1; Roda JC 0, De Graafschap 2; and NEC Nijmegen 4, Groningen 0.
PORTUGAL
Porto go top of the table
Porto moved atop the Portuguese league standings with a 2-0 home win over Feirense on Sunday. The defending champions’ 15th win of the season lifted them level with Benfica on points, with the two rivals set to meet on Friday. Defender Luciano left Feirense with 10 men in the 57th minute when he was shown a red card for fouling Marc Janko in the area. Hulk missed the resulting penalty, but centerback Maicon gave Porto the lead with a header in the 68th minute and substitute James Rodriguez sealed the win in the 72nd. Also on Sunday, it was Pacos Ferreira 0, Nacional 2; Beira Mar 2, Setubal 3; Olhanense 0, Gil Vicente 0; and Sporting 1, Rio Ave 0.
ITALY
Prandelli drops Balotelli
Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli was dropped from the Italy squad for tomorrow’s friendly international against the US in Genoa for breaking coach Cesare Prandelli’s ethical code. Balotelli scored in City’s 3-0 win over Blackburn Rovers on Saturday, but he had previously been suspended for four matches after a stamp on Tottenham Hotspur’s Scott Parker last month. “I don’t want players who commit reaction fouls and get sent off,” Prandelli had already warned on Saturday. “He seems a little agitated to me. When I say we have to reach the European Championship prepared, I mean I don’t want to see players who, at the first sign of difficulty, commit reaction fouls and get sent off, leaving their teammates to struggle with 10 men.” Balotelli has been replaced in the squad by AS Roma’s 20-year-old striker Fabio Borini.
ENGLAND
Rooney, Cleverley ruled out
Caretaker manager Stuart Pearce’s selection headache ahead of his first match in charge of England against the Netherlands deepened on Sunday when both Wayne Rooney and Manchester United teammate Tom Cleverley were ruled out. United manager Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed Rooney would not be available for tomorrow’s match due to a throat infection, while also ruling out young midfielder Cleverley. “They’ll be out,” he told Sky Sports News. “Wayne has still not recovered from his throat infection, so hopefully we’ll get him ready for next Sunday, when we have a big game at White Hart Lane.” Pearce had already lost striker Darren Bent, who injured an ankle in Aston Villa’s 0-0 draw with Wigan Athletic on Saturday.
GOLF
Huh wins first tournament
US rookie John Huh won his first PGA Tour title in only his fifth start by beating Australian Robert Allenby in a marathon playoff at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico on Sunday. Huh, who had never competed on the US circuit until this year, sealed victory at the eighth extra hole to deny the 40-year-old Allenby a first PGA Tour win since the 2001 Pennsylvania Classic. The two players had finished the regulation 72 holes level at 13-under 271, Huh closing with a flawless eight-under 63 and Allenby double-bogeying the last for a 65 on the El Camaleon course. “It’s amazing, I can’t believe it happened right now,” Huh, 21, told reporters. “It was my dream to play on the PGA Tour and now, finally winning a tournament. It’s awesome.” Huh came from seven shots off the lead going into the final round.
FIELD HOCKEY
India’s men make Olympics
Eight-time champions India secured their place in the men’s field hockey event at this year’s London Olympics after routing France 8-1 in the final of a qualifying tournament in New Delhi on Sunday. Drag-flicker Sandeep Singh continued his goal-scoring spree, slotting five more in the final as India, who won the last of their eight gold medals in 1980, returned to the Olympics after missing Beijing in 2008. South Africa qualified for the women’s event, having beaten hosts India 3-1 in Saturday’s final at the same Dhyan Chand National Stadium. India opened their account with Birender Lakra’s 17th minute strike, but France did well to restrict them to 3-1 at halftime. Singh, having scored from two penalty corners in the first half, returned to convert three more to enhance his reputation as a leading drag-flick expert and finish with 16 goals from six matches. Simon Martin-Brisac scored the lone goal for the French side while S.V. Sunil and V.R.Raghunath were India’s other goal-getters.
CRICKET
Suspicious man questioned
A Pakistani has been questioned by police over his suspected involvement in spot-fixing during the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) Twenty20 tournament, a Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) official said on Sunday. Karachi resident Sajid Khan arrived in Dhaka on Feb. 10 and BCB security chief Mesbahuddin Serniabat said they had been watching him since the BPL’s Chittagong phase from Feb. 18 to Wednesday last week. “His movement was very suspicious and we followed him from Chittagong,” Serniabat said. “We immediately took him to the visiting ICC Anti-Corruption and Security Unit official before handing him over to police.” Sajid made a call to Pakistan every time a six was struck while watching the game from a VIP area on top of a dressing room, Serniabat said. He also attempted to enter the players’ zone on several occasions. Former Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza alleged three weeks ago that he was approached by a former cricketer over spot-fixing.
CYCLING
Manx Missile wins classic
World champion Mark Cavendish produced a blazing sprint finish to win the Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne spring classic in Belgium ahead of Yauheni Huratovich and Kenny van Hummel. Cavendish was perfectly led by his Sky teammates to the finishing straight and the Manx Missile proved again why he is in a class all his own when it comes to the final burst of speed. No one got close. Huratovich of Belarus was the runner up for the second straight year, edging Dutchman Van Hummel.
Badminton world No. 3 Anders Antonsen clinched his first Indonesia Open title yesterday after beating Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen, while South Korea’s An Se-young won her second championship in Jakarta. The 28-year-old Dane sank world No. 7 Chou at the Indonesian capital’s Istora Senayan arena, winning 22-20, 21-14 in a 60-minute match to secure the prestigious Super 1000 event. Antonsen came out on top in a tightly contested first game before cruising to victory in the second. In a more closely fought women’s singles final, South Korean ace and world No. 1 An fought back from one game down to beat China’s
Spain starlets Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams dazzled on Thursday as La Roja beat France 5-4 in a thriller in Stuttgart, Germany, to set up a UEFA Nations League final with Portugal. Yamal bagged a brace, while Williams scored and provided an assist as the two wingers cut France’s makeshift defense to ribbons. Mikel Merino and Pedri were also on the score sheet for the UEFA Euro 2024 champions. Kylian Mbappe netted a second-half penalty, but Spain were 5-1 up and cruising, before Les Bleus suddenly woke up as their opponents took their foot off the pedal. France’s three late goals — a
Italy crashed to a 3-0 loss away to Norway, as the four-time FIFA World Cup champions made a disastrous start to their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign on Friday, while Belgium had to settle for a draw in North Macedonia. Alexander Sorloth, Antonio Nusa and Erling Haaland all scored in the first half in pouring rain in Oslo as Norway made it a night to forget for Italy, who missed out on the past two World Cups. “I have no explanation. Our supporters don’t deserve this kind of match. We need to do some soul-searching. It’s unacceptable,” Italy captain and goalkeeper Gianluigi
The Crusaders yesterday produced a clinical performance in difficult conditions to beat the Queensland Reds 32-12 and claim home advantage in next week’s Super Rugby semi-finals. Lock Scott Barrett and prop Tamaiti Williams scored first-half tries to reward an outstanding performance from the Crusaders’ forwards in wet, slippery conditions and bitterly cold temperatures. Scrumhalf Noah Hotham defied the conditions in the second half to score a superb solo try and, after kicking a conversion and penalty to make the score 22-0 at the hour mark, flyhalf Rivez Reihana scored a try which took the game beyond the Reds. “Typical Christchurch weather, cold, wet
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