RUGBY UNION
Leinster eye Cup quarters
Three-time former champions Leinster need just one point from their final Pool 1 game at home to Ospreys to ensure themselves a place in the Heineken Cup quarter-finals after a thrilling 29-22 victory over Castres on Sunday. The Irish province sit atop Pool 1 with 17 points, four points ahead of Northampton, who ran out 29-17 victors over Ospreys in Swansea. It means Northampton’s only chance of qualifying for the knock-out phase is a bonus-point victory at home over Castres on Friday, with Leinster — who have a far superior points differential — losing at Ospreys. In Wales, Northampton ground out an at-times dour win over Ospreys, with Stephen Myler kicking four first-half penalties to one from Dan Biggar. Toulouse beat Saracens 21-11 in the late game to book their place as at least one of the two best runners-up. Saracens can still secure their last eight ticket too in the final Pool 3 action next week against Connacht, when Toulouse face Italian whipping boys Zebre.
SOCCER
L’OM rally to first Evian win
Olympique de Marseille are now unbeaten in five domestic games under Jose Anigo, after coming from behind to beat Evian Thonon Gaillard 2-1 in Annecy, France, on Sunday. On-loan winger Pape Amodou Sougou put the home side in front against his parent club, but Benoit Cheyrou equalized for l’OM and Andre-Pierre Gignac netted what turned out to be the winner before the interval. It was Marseille’s first-ever win away to Evian and the three points lifted them back up to fifth place in the Ligue 1 table. However, they remain eight points adrift of the Champions League qualification places. Elsewhere on Sunday, third-placed LOSC Lille Metropole missed the chance to move second as they slipped to a 2-1 home loss against Stade de Reims. Right-winger Odair Fortes scored with a fortuitous deflected shot in the 73rd minute and midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak made it 2-0 three minutes later when he headed in at the back post. Lille caught a break in the 89th when center-half Anthony Weber headed into his own net. Lille’s defeat and AS Monaco’s 1-1 draw at Montpellier Herault on Friday night played into the hands of French leaders PSG, which now lead Monaco by five points and Lille by seven. Earlier, Nantes beat local rivals Lorient 1-0 at the Stade de la Beaujoire, with Ismael Bangoura firing home his first goal for the club since May 2012 to seal the points with just one minute remaining.
SOCCER
Benfica win honors Eusebio
SL Benfica won a league match against archrivals Porto for the first time in more than four years on Sunday, beating them 2-0 on an emotional afternoon marked by tributes to late forward Eusebio. Goals in each half from Rodrigo and Ezequiel Garay took Benfica top of the Primeira Liga with 36 points, two ahead of Sporting, with champions Porto a further point behind in third. Benfica’s players all wore Eusebio’s name rather than their own on the back of their shirts and synchronized placards produced a huge image in the stands of the player nicknamed the “Black Panther,” who died on Jan. 5 aged 71. There was also a minute’s silence before the game for the Mozambique-born player who was the top-scorer at the 1966 World Cup with nine goals that helped Portugal reach the semi-finals and inspired Benfica to 11 domestic titles.
The Philadelphia 76ers, fueled by 36 points from Tyrese Maxey and a triple-double from Joel Embiid, on Thursday beat the Houston Rockets 128-122 in an NBA overtime thriller. Cameroonian big man Embiid scored 32 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and handed out 10 assists, posting the ninth triple-double of his career to help the Sixers end the Rockets’ three-game winning streak. Rockets star Kevin Durant scored 36 points and Amen Thompson added 17, but Thompson was scoreless in the fourth quarter. Even so, the Rockets led by nine midway through the final frame, Maxey tying it at 115-115 with 40.1 seconds left. Durant missed a
MARRED FINAL: As most of Senegalese players walked off the pitch after a controversial decision, some supporters threw objects and attempted to get onto the pitch Senegal on Sunday won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as Pape Gueye’s extra-time winner sunk hosts Morocco 1-0 after a chaotic final that saw the eventual champions storm off the pitch late in the game. Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco with a controversial spot-kick in the 24th minute of added time at the end of normal time as ugly scenes broke out in the stands. However, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted “Panenka” chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay that followed the penalty award.
Qatar’s Nasser al-Attiyah on Saturday secured his sixth Dakar Rally car title in Saudi Arabia with Luciano Benavides scraping home by two seconds to claim the motorbike title. “We’ve worked very hard since last year. I might not be showing much emotion yet, but it’s there, deep down. We are so happy to win,” al-Attiyah said at the finish. Al-Attiyah, at the wheel of a Dacia, only had to avoid a final day slip-up to top the podium after bringing his career tally of stage wins to 50 on Friday. The 55-year-old, who took clay pigeon shooting bronze at the
Tobias Harris on Monday scored 25 points as the Detroit Pistons held off the Boston Celtics to score a 104-103 victory in their top-of-the-table Eastern Conference showdown. Harris was one of four Detroit players to finish in double figures, with Jalen Duren adding 18 points and point guard Cade Cunningham scoring 16 points with 14 assists. The win sees Detroit extend their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference to 31-10, 5.5 games ahead of second-placed Boston, who fell to 26-16 with the defeat. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics scoring with 32 points and almost snatched victory in the
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