Sparta draws 0-0 with Liverpool in Europa League

PRAGUE (AP): Liverpool is close to reaching the round of 16 of the Europa League after drawing with Sparta Prague 0-0 on Thursday.
The result left Liverpool a clear favourite for the second leg of the round of 32 match at Anfield in a week.
Sparta played its first competitive match since Dec 15 due to the Czech Republic's winter break, and looked more dangerous, especially in the first half.
Liverpool, badly missing its injured star playmaker and captain Steven Gerrard, had to wait for a decent chance until the 70th minute when right back Glen Johnson, one of the team's most active players, fooled a couple of Sparta defenders before his curling shot went just wide.
"It was a difficult game," Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish said. "We rather were more defensive. "As a manager that was fantastic," added Dalglish, who was managing Liverpool in Europe for the first time.
He said the team's performance was influenced by the fact he missed a number of players, including Daniel Agger and Christian Poulsen while Fabio Aurelio had to be replaced by Joe Cole due to an injury in the 37th minute.
Dalglish said it would be "a different game" next week and didn't ruled out Gerard, Agger and Aurelio could be available. As a positive sign, Dalglish hailed Cole's return after a knee problem.
"We have to be patient," he said. "Joe's a valuable asset for us." Unmarked Sparta midfielder Leony Kweuke came close to earning a win for Sparta but his low drive from inside the area was saved by Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina.
"It was not easy for us because we didn't play for more than two months," Sparta coach Josef Chovanec said. "We were trying to do our maximum. "We may have had better chances but it was defense that dominated the game."
Early in the second half, Kweuke's header again went wide. Long-range attempts by Marek Matejovsky and Kamil Vacek then just missed the target.
Sparta's first decent chance came in the 18th with Manuel Pamic breaking into the area after being released by Abena Biholong and his left-footer forced a diving save by Reina. Pamic blasting the ball over the bar in the 35th.
At that stage, Liverpool's only answer came through lone striker David Ngog, who had a shot blocked and a header missing the goal a minute before halftime.
The match was briefly suspended about 15 minutes before the end when Sparta fans let off a smoke bomb.
 

Ajax, Leverkusen claim big wins in Europa League

LONDON (AP): Ajax thrashed Anderlecht 3-0 to put one foot into the Europa League's last 16, while Villarreal drew 0-0 at in-form Napoli in another first-leg match in the first knockout stage on Thursday.

Toby Alderweireld, Christian Eriksen and Mounir El Hamdaoui scored for 1992 competition winner Ajax in a match between two former champions in Brussels.

Serie A topscorer Edinson Cavani had a goal disallowed for offside and was denied twice by Villarreal goalkeeper Diego Lopez as Napoli, the only Italian team left in Europe's second-tier club competition, was held at San Paolo Stadium.

Sidney Sam's double in second-half injury time helped Bayer Leverkusen to a 4-0 rout of Metalist Kharkiv, Benfica rallied to beat Stuttgart 2-1 at home, and Ukrainian giant Dynamo Kiev won 4-1 at Besiktas.

Alderweireld scored the opener against the team from the country of his birth, heading home a corner in the 33rd minute, and then provided the assist for Eriksen's goal in the 60th.

Marcin Wasilewski missed a penalty for Anderlecht, which won the competition in 1983 when it was called the UEFA Cup, before El Hamdaoui wrapped up victory by beating the offside trap and sweeping in a finish in the 69th.

Cavani has 20 goals in the Italian league this season and five in the Europa League, but he was unable to add to his total against Villarreal, which was fourth in the Primera Liga.

Lopez kept out two efforts from the Uruguay forward in the first half and then tipped over a shot by Ezequiel Lavezzi after the break. "We found out the level we need to play in the competition," Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri said. "Considering who we were playing, this isn't a bad result."

Villarreal, which has never won in Italy, wasted its best chance when Borja Valero blasted wide when he had time and space in Napoli's area.

Eren Derdiyok, Gonzalo Castro were the other scorers for Leverkusen, which was second in the Bundesliga behind runaway leader Borussia Dortmund.

Martin Harnik's 21st-minute lob put Stuttgart in front at the Stadium of Light but Oscar Cardozo and Franco Jara scored in the second half to complete Benfica's recovery.

Former AC Milan and Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko was one of Kiev's scorers in its thrashing of Besiktas. Ricardo Quaresma canceled out Kiev's opening goal by Ognjen Vukojevic but Shevchenko, Ayila Yussuf and Oleh Gusev's penalty eased the visitors home.

Late strikes by Luuk de Jong and Peter Wisgerhof earned Dutch champion FC Twente a 2-0 win at Rubin Kazan, Artjoms Rudnevs netted the winner for Polish side Lech Poznan in a 1-0 home victory over Braga, and Peguy Luyindula's last-minute strike salvaged Paris Saint-Germain a 2-2 draw at BATE Borisov.

Two-time winner Sevilla's home match against Iberian rival FC Porto was the standout game of the seven last-16 first-leg fixtures to be played later Thursday.

 

Guarin nets late winner for Porto to beat Sevilla

SEVILLE, Spain (AP): Fredy Guarin's late score gave FC Porto a 2-1 win at Sevilla to put the Portuguese club in control of their Europa League last-32 series on Thursday.
Guarin took advantage of a defensive slip-up to roll in the 85th-minute winner. Sevilla's defence let Cristian Rodriguez race onto a through ball that goalkeeper Andres Palop could only tip wide onto the path of the Colombia midfielder.
Rolando opened for Porto in the 58th as he stabbed James Rodriguez's free kick past Palop in an ill-tempered match at Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium.
Sevilla equalized in the 65th when Frederic Kanoute got high to turn Ivan Rakitic's free kick into the top corner out of the reach of goalie Helton with a well-guided header.
The return leg is at Porto next Wednesday. Luis Fabiano threatened for Sevilla twice inside the first 20 minutes but the Brazil striker saw a chance cleared in the 18th after taking too long to line up his shot then Rolando blocked another try along the goal line.
Palop punched a cross onto the path of Rodriguez in the 24th but recovered to stop the volleyed shot from outside the area. That was one of Porto's few first-half chances while Sevilla settled for long-range chances to the 48th when Kanoute's shot swerved wide.
An ugly spell of tough tackles and hard challenges boiled over in the 53rd with three yellow cards brandished.
Sevilla was bothered by the incidents and the Portuguese club took advantage to score as the Andalucian side's defence was slow to take up positions for Rodriguez's free kick.
The goal spurred Sevilla's attack as Kanoute had a headed chance deflected out just before the Mali striker scored his fifth of the competition.
Porto 'keeper Helton was well-placed in the 67th to deny Luis Fabiano's hard header from inside the box as the hosts pressed. Sevilla has scored nine of its 11 goals in the last half hour.
Palop was equally ready at the other end as the Spanish goalie tipped Hulk's 74th-minute riser over the bar.
But Helton cut down the angle to stop substitute Alvaro Negredo's strike in the 77th, and Kanoute somehow misguided Negredo's headed on ball for Helton to gather with the empty goal beckoning.
 

Treat for EPL fans

PETALING JAYA: Local football fans of the English Premier League (EPL) are in for a fantastic treat in July!
Three of the Big Four of the EPL – Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool – will be in town for a 10-day EPL Festival. However, the exact dates have yet to be confirmed.
The three teams will take on the national side on three different dates in July.
Football fans can look forward to seeing the likes of Frank Lampard, Fernando Torres and David Luiz (Chelsea); Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and Robin van Persie (Arsenal); and Steven Gerrard, Raul Meireles and Luis Suarez (Liverpool) in action.
Manchester United, who make up the Big Four, enjoyed two hugely successful visits here in 2001 and 2009.
This will be the first time that three top English clubs will be in town since the inaugural FAPL Asia Cup in 2003. Then, the teams who came were Birmingham, Newcastle and Chelsea.
Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay had announced last year that they would be in Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok in July for their Chelsea Asia Tour 2011.
Chelsea’s Asia Tour programme in Kuala Lumpur would include a friendly game against the national team at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil, an open training session for the fans and community coaching programmes.
 

FA Cup kicks off with a new format

PETALING JAYA: The 22nd edition of the FA Cup Cup competition kicks off today with a difference – there won’t be a second chance in the first and second round.
Previously, the first and second round matches were played over two legs (home and away).
The two FA Cup opening round fixtures scheduled for today are the Harimau Muda ‘A’ vs SDM Kepala Batas match at the Shah Alam Stadium (8.45pm) and the T-Team Terengganu vs Kelantan match at the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium in Kuala Terengganu (8.45pm).
A total of 26 teams will compete in the FA Cup competition, with defending champions Negri Sembilan, Kedah and Selangor receiving a first-round bye.
The focus today will be in Kuala Terengganu where the two Super League sides will be locking horns at such an early stage.
Kelantan, who won the Malaysia Cup last year, will be hoping to make amends in the FA Cup competition after their second round exit at the hands of Kedah last season.
T-Team, who have signed up three top names from Kelantan – Indra Putra Mahayuddin, Mohd Norfarhan Mohd and Azizi Mat Rose – will be hoping to find their rhythm after a poor start in the Super League campaign with only one point from four matches.
Coach Yunus Alif’s club side are languishing second from bottom in the 14-team league.
Kelantan, on the other hand, are going great guns and are leading the Super League standings with 10 points
from three wins and a draw.
The Red Warriors have a formidable strike force, with the likes of Norsharul Idlan Talaha, Mohd Nizad Ayub and S. Chanturu leading the charge. Their new signings – K. Solihin and Nurul Azwan Roya – have also fitted in well.
 

Roberto Carlos joins Anzhi Makhachkala

MOSCOW: Former Brazil fullback Rberto Carlos has joined Russia’s Anzhi Makhachkala on a 2½ year deal, the club said on Wednesday.

“The Anzhi Makhachkala football club officially announces it has signed a labour agreement with 2002 world champion defender Roberto Carlos,” Anzi said in a statement on their website (
www.fc-anji.ru).

Roberto Carlos, who helped Brazil win the 2002 World Cup and played more than 100 times for his country, ended his contract with Brazilian club Corinthians by mutual agreement on Saturday.

The 37-year-old former Real Madrid defender was targeted by fans during violent protests against the team following their shock early exit from the Libertadores Cup this month

 

Asamoah seals St. Pauli win over Hamburg

BERLIN: Former Germany international Gerald Asaoah headed his sixth goal of the season to give St Pauli a 1-0 win at Hamburg on Wednesday, their first Bundesliga victory over their city rivals since 1977.

In a match postponed this month due to heavy rain, Hamburg had half a dozen good scoring chances in the local derby but it was the visitors who put the ball it into the net.

Asamoah was left unmarked a metre out in the 59th minute to head in a corner for a memorable win that left some 6,000 visiting fans singing as the players hugged and cheered on the pitch.

It was also St Pauli’s third league win in a row.

The 32-year-old Asamoah has revived his career this season at St Pauli following his departure from Schalke after 11 years.

The win lifted St Pauli to 11th spot on 28 points with Hamburg in seventh on 33.