BRAZIL
Fluminense win derby
Brazil international striker Fred scored with an early volley to give Fluminense a 1-0 win over Flamengo and put them six points clear at the top of the Brazilian championship on Sunday. Fred struck in the 18th minute of the “Fla-Flu” derby at the Engenhao from a cross by former Barcelona, Chelsea and Portugal midfielder Deco and then withstood the attacks of opponents who enjoyed more possession and chances on goal. Fluminense, who have won 17 of their 27 matches, lead on 59 points with 11 matches to go after their closest challengers Atletico Mineiro were held 1-1 away by lowly Portuguesa on Saturday. Fred’s team needed some strong goalkeeping from Diego Cavalieri to keep the three points, including a penalty save from Argentine substitute midfielder Dario Bottinelli three minutes from time. Flamengo had fullback Ramon sent off in stoppage-time for a second booking after a foul on Marcos Junior. “We had good chances to equalize and even turn the game around, but sadly we didn’t score in the first half and conceded one. Flamengo deserved at least a draw, that would have been fair,” striker Wagner Love told reporters.
NETHERLANDS
PSV hit VVV-Venlo for six
Debutant Juergen Locadia and Dries Mertens both scored hat-tricks to inspire PSV Eindhoven to a 6-0 win against 10-man VVV-Venlo on Sunday to close in on leaders Twente. Belgian international Mertens opened the scoring midway through the first half with a well-placed drive from distance and doubled the lead 10 minutes before the break with a superb volley. The hosts’ Uche Nwofor was sent off after 65 minutes for a second booking after which PSV scored four more, with Mertens grabbing his third and 18-year-old Locadia scoring three times in 11 minutes on his league debut for PSV. PSV climbed to third with 15 points, three behind Twente, who suffered a 1-0 defeat at Ajax on Saturday. US international Jozy Altidore scored his eighth league goal of the season for midtable AZ in an enthralling 3-3 draw against RKC Waalwijk. Waalwijk came from behind twice and took the lead through Henrico Drost early in the second half, before Adam Maher salvaged a point for AZ with four minutes remaining. Michael de Leeuw scored a hat-trick for Groningen in a 3-2 win over Roda JC Kerkrade, while struggling PEC Zwolle, who began the day bottom of the table, beat Willem II Tilburg 1-0 to clinch their first win of the season.
GREECE
Olympiakos set the pace
Olympiakos Pireaus continue to set the pace in the Greek Super League after securing a hard-earned 1-0 win at Atromitos, as Panathinaikos’ struggles continued with a 0-0 draw and AEK parted company with coach Vangelis Vlachos. Leonardo Jardim’s Olympiakos made it five wins from five courtesy of Spanish midfielder David Fuster’s first-half goal on Saturday, keeping them three points ahead of Panionios, who defeated AEK 1-0 on Sunday thanks to a 16th-minute strike by Leonidas Kabantais. That result spelled the end of Vlachos’ tenure at AEK.
PORTUGAL
Academica claim first win
Academica won 2-0 at CS Maritimo on Sunday for their first league win of the season after four straight draws. Striker Wilson Eduardo opened for Academica 11 minutes in with an individual effort to beat Maritimo goalkeeper Romain Salin. Mario “Marinho” Correia then doubled the advantage two minutes before halftime when he dribbled through the defense and fired home.
A seven-year-old horse had to be euthanized on Friday after breaking its back on the final fence of a Grand National steeplechase race that it won despite sustaining the serious injury. It follows the death of four horses at the Cheltenham Festival last month — including one after the prestigious Gold Cup. Gold Dancer was competing in the Mildmay Novices’ Chase during Ladies Day at Aintree’s Grand National Festival. The horse managed to cross the finish line approximately four lengths ahead of runner-up Regent’s Stroll. “The winner of our second race of the day, Gold Dancer, was pulled up after
Taiwanese gymnast Tang Chia-hung on Sunday topped the men’s horizontal bar event at the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) World Cup in Osijek, Croatia, scoring 15.233 to take his third title this season. Tang delivered an outstanding performance in the final, earning a difficulty score of 6.500 and an execution score of 8.633 with a 0.1 stick bonus. His closest competitor was Milad Karimi of Kazakhstan, who finished second with 14.933 points. It was Tang’s third gold medal in the FIG World Cup series this year, following his horizontal bar wins in Azerbaijan on March 8, and in Turkey on March
The Daredevils yesterday took eight catches in the final as they eked out a victory in the Taiwan Cricket Triangular Tournament against PCCT at Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District. PCCT’s batting lineup collapsed after they asked the Daredevils to bowl in the T20 decider of the weekend tournament that also involved the Formosa Cricket Club. PCCT were bundled out for 76 in 16.2 overs against a disciplined Daredevils attack. Ninad Malwade was the top scorer in the innings with 21, but he was among those who offered chances to the fielders. Shane Ferreira and Jason Cameron took three wickets each, with
This year’s Taiwan Athletics Open, which offers Taiwanese athletes an opportunity to compete against their international peers, would be held under a new name after its organizers had earlier announced the event’s cancelation. In a statement issued yesterday, the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association said the competition would still take place on June 6-7 at Banciao Stadium, but under the name “New Taipei City Athletics Open 2026.” The event was given a new name to emphasize its local identity and conform with the international practice of naming World Athletics Tour events after cities, the association said. It said it would soon
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