SOCCER
Bale Welsh player of year
Real Madrid star Gareth Bale was voted Welsh Player of the Year for a record fifth time on Monday. Bale won the award after being involved in eight of Wales’ nine goals in their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, scoring six times and providing two assists. The former Tottenham Hotspur forward’s efforts have left Wales on the brink of qualifying for their first major tournament in 58 years. Chris Coleman’s side need one point from their final two qualifiers against Bosnia-Herzegovina away and Andorra at home to make it to the finals in France next year. Bale was also named Players’ Player of the Year and Fans’ Player of the /year at a Cardiff ceremony.
SOCCER
Carvajal out of Euro qualifiers
Real Madrid fullback Dani Carvajal was one of three players to withdraw from Spain’s Euro 2016 qualifiers later this week due to an ankle injury. Real Sociedad centerback Inigo Martinez and Villarreal midfielder Bruno Soriano have also had to pull out, the Spain camp said. “He has been diagnosed with an injury to the peroneal tendons in his right ankle,” Real said of Carvajal’s injury. Carvajal, 23, was forced off during Real’s 1-1 draw at city rivals Atletico Madrid on Sunday and Spanish media reports claim he will be out for two to three weeks. Martinez, 24, has a muscular injury, while Soriano, 31, is suffering from “post-traumatic arthritis” in his knee, according to the Spain management. Group C leaders Spain host Luxembourg on Friday before traveling to Ukraine on Monday next week — a win in the first or draw in the second will be enough to secure their passage to next year’s Euro 2016 finals in France. Viallarreal’s Mario Gaspar was called up to replace Carvajal, while Athletic Bilbao’s Xabier Etxeita and Mikel San Jose come in for Martinez and Soriano respectively.
SOCCER
Deschamps backs Lacazette
France coach Didier Deschamps is backing striker Alexandre Lacazette to make his mark, despite a poor start to the season. Deschamps called up Lacazette to the France squad for international friendlies against Armenia and Denmark after Stade Rennais striker Paul-Georges Ntep had to pull out with a hamstring injury picked up against AS Monaco on Sunday. Lacazette, who has scored once in eight appearances for his country, was voted French Player of the Year last season after topping the Ligue 1 scoring charts with 27 goals for Olympique Lyonnais. However, he has struggled to hit the back of the net this term, missing a penalty against Stade de Reims on Saturday before finally notching his first goal from open play this season — and only the second in total — as Lyon won 1-0. “He’s improving. He had a very unstable summer for various reasons,” Deschamps said. “But Alex hasn’t lost his qualities and his last match put the smile back on his face. It [his selection] is also to show him he’s not been kicked out of the group. He’s on the right track.”
BASKETBALL
Fenerbahce beats Nets
The Brooklyn Nets lost their pre-season opener on Monday night to Turkey’s Fenerbahce Ulker, who got 18 points from former NBA lottery pick Jan Vesely in a 101-96 victory. Brook Lopez scored 18 points for the Nets and Wayne Ellington added 16. With a big crowd of fans cheering them on, the Istanbul team improved to 2-2 all-time against NBA clubs. Bogdan Bogdanovic, a Phoenix Suns draft pick last year, added 17 points, and another former NBA player, Gigi Datome, had 16.
US national team star Folarin Balogun was among the scorers as AS Monaco on Friday won 3-1 at Paris Saint-Germain, dealing a blow to the side from the French capital before they face Chelsea in a crunch UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie. Maghnes Akliouche gave Monaco a first-half lead at the Parc des Princes, and Aleksandr Golovin doubled their advantage early in the second half of the French Ligue 1 clash. Bradley Barcola pulled one back for the reigning European champions, but Balogun struck shortly after with a fifth goal in his last five games as Monaco claimed a precious
Teenage star Lamine Yamal’s superbly-taken goal on Saturday earned Barcelona a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in Spanish La Liga. The champions restored their four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who had on Friday temporarily closed the gap by beating Celta Vigo. Atletico Madrid tightened their grip on third with an entertaining 3-2 win over Real Sociedad. Yamal, 18, curled into the top corner after 68 minutes to split the sides at Athletic’s San Mames stadium. “We’re already seeing what Lamine can do — he puts it right in the top corner, and there’s nothing the keeper can do,” Barca
Liverpool on Tuesday suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers as Andre’s stoppage-time strike sealed a dramatic victory for the English Premier League’s bottom club. Arne Slot’s side fell behind to Rodrigo Gomes’ strike in the closing stages at Molineux. Mohamed Salah hauled Liverpool level with his first goal in 11 top-flight games dating back to November last year. However, Andre’s first goal for Wolves inflicted the latest humbling loss in a chastening season for Liverpool. It was the first time the Premier League’s bottom club had beaten the reigning champions since Crystal Palace defeated Chelsea in 2017. Liverpool
CHANCE TO QUALIFY: Both teams now have three points from two games, and Taiwan sit ahead of Vietnam and behind Japan, who last night beat India 11-0 Taiwan yesterday defeated Vietnam 1-0 to move into second place in Group C at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup with one match remaining. Su Yu-hsuan scored the decisive goal in the 26th minute after Taiwan midfielder Saki Matsunaga’s shot hit the crossbar, leaving Su to nod the rebound into an empty net for the team which won the last of their three Asian Cup titles in 1981. It was a deserved victory for Taiwan, 2-0 losers to Japan on Wednesday, who created several chances to extend their lead. Vietnam, the 2022 quarter-finalist, beat India in their opener, but struggled to
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