FRANCE
Lille beat Nantes
Nolan Roux scored as Lille beat Nantes 1-0 on Friday to pull within a point of leader Paris Saint-Germain in the French league. Roux slid home a low cross from Ronny Rodelin in the 41st minute, although replays showed the Lille striker was just offside. Lille kept a sixth straight clean sheet to provisionally climb to second place, one point clear of Monaco. The result ended Nantes’ four-match winning streak. The promoted side provisionally remained in fourth place, five points off the pace.
GERMANY
Stuttgart still unbeaten
VfB Stuttgart continued their unbeaten run under new coach Thomas Schneider on Friday, climbing to sixth with a 1-1 home draw against Nuremberg, who are still looking for their first Bundesliga win of the season. Bosnia international Vedad Ibisevic converted a third-minute penalty before Nuremberg leveled three minutes later through Josip Drmic following a fine through ball from Timothy Chandler. Stuttgart, who have gone seven games without defeat since Schneider took over from Bruno Labbadia, were the better side. They hit the post through Ibrahima Traore, while Austrian Martin Harnik also missed two golden chances for the hosts in the first half. Nuremberg, with Dutch coach Gertjan Verbeek in charge for the first time, came agonizingly close when Daniel Ginczek fired wide from close range. Stuttgart have 13 points from 10 games, 10 behind leaders Bayern Munich, while third-from-bottom Nuremberg are on seven points.
SPAIN
Valladolid cruise to victory
Valladolid cruised to a 3-0 victory at Rayo Vallecano on Friday for their second win of the season through 10 rounds of the Spanish league. Valladolid’s pressure frustrated Rayo’s normally energetic attack, while their forwards took full advantage of the their few scoring opportunities. Patrick Ebert opened in the 31st minute with an inspired effort. The German midfielder controlled a lobbed pass, cut back to shed two defenders and unleashed a long left-foot strike into the far corner of the net. Striker Javi Guerra added a second goal in the 39th when Valladolid beat Rayo’s offside trap on the break. Daniel Larsson replaced Ebert at halftime and sealed the win three minutes later when he scored.
UNITED KINGDOM
Fergie could return: Wenger
Alex Ferguson could return to a job in soccer management despite his retirement at the end of last season, according to his old adversary Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. “In six months we will know more about that. You cannot rule it completely out,” Wenger was quoted as saying about the former Manchester United manager by British media on Friday. “It is difficult to take a drug for 30 years and suddenly get rid of it.” Earlier this week, Ferguson published his autobiography, which included a chapter about his French rival called “Competing with Wenger.” “We have gone through some years that were a bit more difficult, but honestly, in our job, it is quite simple just to think about tomorrow or the next game, and that is it,” said Wenger, who celebrated his 64th birthday on Tuesday. Wenger, now the longest-serving manager still working in the Premier League, having joined the north London club in September 1996, had not yet read the autobiography, but added: “It looks like Ferguson had prepared his book while he was managing. I suspect he had written some of it at home at night, remembering things and thinking: ‘That goes into my book!’
‘AWFUL PERFORMANCE’: Golden State were always chasing the game after failing to threaten from long range, making just eight of 33 three-point attempts Aaron Gordon on Monday scored 38 points as the Denver Nuggets shrugged off the absence of Nikola Jokic to halt the Golden State Warriors’ seven-game winning streak with a 114-105 victory over their Western Conference rivals. A dazzling display from Gordon inspired what was ultimately a comfortable win for Denver, who were missing regular starters Jokic and Jamal Murray from their lineup. The absentees were barely felt by Denver, who startled the Warriors early at San Francisco’s Chase Center and led for most of the game. The Warriors threatened to stage a late rally after slashing the Nuggets’ fourth-quarter lead from 15 points
The US’ bid for a fourth consecutive CONCACAF Nations League title came to a stunning end as they fell 1-0 to Panama after a stoppage-time goal from Cecilio Waterman on Thursday in Inglewood, California. Despite dominating possession, the US struggled to break down a resilient Panama side for long periods. Panama spent the bulk of the match defending, but pounced on a giveaway by the US before substitute forward Waterman sent a shot from the right side of the area to the bottom left corner late in stoppage time. Up next for Panama in tomorrow’s final is to be Mexico, who beat
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
Armand Duplantis will be among the reigning Olympic champions adding star power to the world indoor championships this weekend when the Chinese city of Nanjing hosts the first major global athletics meet since the Paris Games last year. The three-day event was originally slated for 2020 and faced multiple postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Nanjing’s Sports Training Center would finally welcome more than 570 athletes for the start of the showpiece today. One of the main attractions would be pole vaulter “Mondo” Duplantis, who soared 6.27m to break the world record for a staggering 11th time in Clermont-Ferrand last
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