SOCCER
Alvarez scores hat-trick
Julian Alvarez on Wednesday scored a late winner to complete a hat-trick and lead Atletico Madrid to a 3-2 victory over Rayo Vallecano La Liga. It was only the second league win this season for Atletico, who entered the match enduring one of their worst starts since coach Diego Simeone took over in late 2011. Alvarez scored the winning goal in the 88th minute with a left-foot shot from outside the area that hit the top corner. “He is extraordinary, our best player,” Simeone said. “We need him at his best.” The Argentina international had put the hosts ahead in the 15th minute and added the second in the 80th minute. “We needed to win to gain some confidence,” Alvarez said. “We had been playing well, but the results weren’t coming because of details. We need to keep working to try to keep winning.” Elsewhere, Real Sociedad beat RCD Mallorca 1-0, while Getafe and Deportivo Alaves drew 1-1.
Photo: AFP
TENNIS
Townsend pulls out
Taylor Townsend has pulled out of the China Open in Beijing “due to a change of schedule,” the WTA told reporters yesterday, days after the women’s doubles world No. 2 made comments about Chinese food. Townsend came under fire for calling buffet food “crazy” while competing at the Billie Jean King Cup in Shenzhen, which ended on Sunday. “What the hell ... turtle and bullfrog is WILD,” she wrote on Instagram. “These people are literally killing frogs, bullfrogs. Aren’t those the ones that give you warts and boils and stuff?” she added. The 29-year-old Townsend had been due to be top seed with Czech partner Katerina Siniakova in the women’s doubles in Beijing. The pair were beaten finalists at the US Open earlier this month. Townsend “withdrew from the doubles field before the draw was made due to a change of schedule,” a WTA communications official said.
AUSSIE RULES
Rapper ‘in love’ with game
American rapper Snoop Dogg yesterday said that he was “in love” with Australian Rules football, ahead of a performance at the sport’s grand final. The 53-year-old is to take to the stage at the Melbourne Cricket Ground tomorrow, which is expected to have up to 100,000 fans watching as the Geelong Cats face the Brisbane Lions. “I’ve been coming to this country for years and I understand what this game is and what it means,” he told Australian media. “I know that it’s not just a sport, it’s a way of life. I just fell in love with the sport. I always would watch it, but never really understood it,” he said. “It reminded me of American football, rugby [union] and a couple of other things, but now that I understand it, I like it and want to know more about it before the grand finale.” AFL, which is similar to Ireland’s Gaelic football, traces its roots back to 1858 and is Australia’s most popular spectator sport.
SSC Napoli on Monday maintained their lead at the top of Serie A with a 3-2 win over promoted Pisa SC, which continued the champions’ perfect start to their domestic campaign. Lorenzo Lucca’s first goal for his new club, thumped home in the 82nd minute, ended up being the winning goal in a narrow win for Napoli, who have 12 points from four league matches. That put Napoli two points ahead of second-placed Juventus following their great rivals’ draw at Hellas Verona on Saturday, and three ahead of AS Roma and AC Milan who complete the top four. Napoli head to the San
DOUBLE: Harry Kane has now netted 12 goals in six games, scoring his second hat-trick this season after Bayern’s opening Bundesliga match against Leipzig last month That man again. Harry Kane scored his second hat-trick of the season on Saturday to steer Bayern Munich to a 4-1 win at Hoffenheim for the best Bundesliga start any team has made after four rounds. The England captain scored before the break and converted two penalties after it to take his club tally to 12 goals in six games across all competitions — 13 goals in seven games including the German Supercup. Kane’s other hat-trick was in the Bundesliga-opening 6-0 rout of Leipzig. Bayern’s record of 12 points with a goal difference of 15-plus is the best after four rounds of the Bundesliga
STAR PLAYER: France international Kylian Mbappe has nine goals in seven games across all competitions, helping Real Madrid start the campaign in ideal fashion Real Madrid on Tuesday extended their winning start to Spanish La Liga with a comfortable 4-1 triumph at Levante UD. Kylian Mbappe scored twice to reach seven league goals in six matches as Xabi Alonso’s side maintained their 100 percent record. Vinicius Junior opened the scoring with a superb finish and Franco Mastantuono was also on target for the league leaders. Second-placed Barcelona are to face Real Oviedo today, with the Spanish champions trailing Madrid by five points. “It was a very good game, from the start, we were really committed in defense and the first goal was fundamental, to
An early goal by defender Nayef Aguerd on Monday gave Olympique de Marseille a 1-0 win over reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain, a rare success against their great rivals in a game delayed 24 hours by storms in southern France. Morocco defender Aguerd, signed just before the transfer deadline from West Ham United, scored his second goal in as many Ligue 1 appearances for his new club with five minutes gone at the Stade Velodrome. PSG goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier came for a deflected Mason Greenwood cross, but got nothing on the ball, allowing Aguerd to head into the unguarded net and score the
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