Man United goes 3 points clear by beating Stoke

LONDON (AP): Javier Hernandez and Nani set each other up for goals as Manchester United beat Stoke 2-1 to go three points clear at the top of the Premier League on Tuesday.

A back-flick from Hernandez put United in front and, after Dean Whitehead headed Stoke level, the Mexico forward fed Nani for a well-placed winner.

"Stoke are such a determined bunch of lads - they don't make it easy for anyone, breaking them down," United manager Alex Ferguson said. "Thankfully Nani produced a fantastic goal ... and from then we were solid."

Unbeaten all season, United not only has a three point lead but also a game in hand over Manchester City, which is at third-place Arsenal on Wednesday.

In Tuesday's other matches, Birmingham and Fulham climbed out of the relegation zone with victories.

Birmingham won for the first time away this season came after Scott Dann's 89th minute goal secured a 2-1 victory at Blackpool, while Fulham beat West Bromwich 3-0.

In the title race, United has now collected 19 points from a possible 21 in its last seven matches.

The victory in United's 20th match of the league season was secured without striker Wayne Rooney, who injured his ankle at the weekend, and center back Rio Ferdinand, who was rested ahead of Sunday's FA Cup match against Liverpool.

Hernandez, whose double clinched a 2-1 victory at Stoke in October, was on target again against the team after 27 minutes at Old Trafford.

The offseason recruit nipped in front of former Stoke defender Ryan Shawcross at the near post and reacted quickly as Nani whipped in a low cross.

Letting the ball run behind him, he quickly flicked back his right leg and turned it into a goal that Asmir Begovic thought he had covered.

But Hernandez's eight goal of the season and his second in four days was canceled out five minutes into the second half when Stoke scored for the first time at United since 1980.

Whitehead nipped between Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra to head home Tuncay Sanli's cross unchallenged past Tomasz Kuszczak, who was filling in for Edwin van der Sar in the United goal.

United, though, was back in front in the 62nd when Hernandez found space on the edge of the penalty area to pick out Nani, who turned the ball away from Danny Collins and struck past Begovic.

On the northwest coast, Alexander Hleb pounced on a mistake by Stephen Crainey to put Birmingham ahead in the 24th minute. D.J. Campbell leveled for Blackpool in the 68th by volleying in his fourth goal in four games.

But Birmingham found the target again late on when Dann met Roger Johnson's header across goal and took a touch before dispatching a half-volley past goalkeeper Richard Kingson.

In west London, Fulham eased the pressure on manager Mark Hughes by easily beating West Brom to secure its first home win in six attempts.

Simon Davies put Fulham ahead in first-half stoppage time when his 30-yard (meter) strike went through the raised hands of goalkeeper Scott Carson.

And Davies provided both of the second-half corners that allowed Dempsey and Brede Hangeland to head in goals and condemn West Brom to their fifth straight loss.

  

Arsenal considers sending Vela on loan to Bolton

LONDON (AP): Mexico striker Carlos Vela is set to be sent out on loan by Arsenal until the end of the season, with Bolton emerging as the likely destination.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says that Bolton, which had Gunners midfielder Jack Wilshere on loan for part of last season, is one of "many clubs" interested in Vela.

The 21-year-old Vela has seen his first-team chances at Arsenal limited this season, with Marouane Chamakh, Nicklas Bendtner, Robin van Persie and Theo Walcott all ahead of him in the Arsenal pecking order.

"Bolton is one of the clubs that has shown an interest - we have many clubs that have shown interest and I am not surprised," Wenger said Tuesday. "I want Carlos to play at the top, top level and the club who gives me the biggest guarantee to play will have the chance to sign him. I would expect it to happen in early January because he is keen to play."

Vela has scored three goals in 11 appearances for Arsenal this season. "He has been patient and worked very hard," Wenger said.

"He has matured a lot and changed a lot in a positive way and is a fantastic boy who deserves to play. He is a fantastic talent and I do not want to lose him and I want him now to get experience."

  

Ancelotti says he's lucky not to have been fired

LONDON (AP): Carlo Ancelotti says he is lucky to still be Chelsea manager following the team's poor run.

The Premier League champions have taken just 10 points from their last 10 matches and slipped from top to fifth in two months.

"I am a lucky man," Ancelotti was quoted as telling British media Tuesday. "I understand that a lot of coaches are sacked with results like these."

Ancelotti won the league and FA Cup in May at the end of his first season. But after Chelsea conceded a late equalizer to Aston Villa on Sunday, the team goes to Wolverhampton on Wednesday nine points behind leader Manchester United.

The Italian wants to be judged at the end of the season by owner Roman Abramovich. "When you go to a restaurant, you have to pay the bill when finish your meal," he said. "It's the same here. We have to pay the bill at the end of the season. At the end the club can judge me.

"The best food would be the Champions League. I've tasted it sometimes and it's good ... when the Champions League comes back, we need to have a squad without injuries."

Ancelotti has won the Champions League twice as a coach with AC Milan, and twice as a player with the same club in the European Cup format.

  

Rooney's brother signs with MLS

NEW YORK (AP): Wayne Rooney's younger brother John has signed with Major League Soccer and will be eligible for selection by clubs at next week's draft.

The 20-year-old forward will be at the MLS trials from Jan. 7-11 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. However, MLS spokesman Will Kuhns said Tuesday that Rooney has already signed a contract with the league.

In US football, players' contracts are with the league, rather than the individual club.

Unlike his elder brother of Manchester United and England fame, John Rooney has played for Macclesfield Town in League Two and had trials in 2009 with Championship club Derby County.

He also had trials with MLS's Seattle Sounders last August.

  

FIFA: No decision to move 2022 World Cup to winter

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP): FIFA president Sepp Blatter says the idea of moving the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to the winter months to avoid the desert heat was not being actively considered - but could be discussed in future.

Qatar has promised that stadiums, training venues and other areas used in 2022 will be cooled, as summer temperatures exceed 104 degrees.

Among those to have suggested a switch to January is Mohamed bin Hammam, a Qatari national and FIFA executive committee member.

Blatter, visiting Saudi Arabia, told reporters Tuesday that the idea of a switch had been suggested and could be discussed later.

Blatter also had talks with Prince Sultan bin Fahd, president of the Saudi Youth Welfare and Sport, about cooperation with Saudi Arabia.

  

Panathinaikos beats Xanthi 2-0 in Greek league

ATHENS, Greece (AP): Greek champion Panathinaikos scored in the first and last minutes to beat Xanthi 2-0 away and keep the pressure on title rival Olympiakos on Tuesday.

French striker Djibril Cisse lobbed goalkeeper Sotiris Lymberopoulos seconds after kickoff, for his 14th goal of the season.

Xanthi was pegged back for the rest of the match and fell further behind when Lazaros Christodoulopoulos chipped the ball home in stoppage time.

Panathinaikos now has 34 points from 16 games, two behind leader Olympiakos, which hosts Iraklis on Wednesday. Also Tuesday, Atromitos defeated Larissa 3-0, while Aris beat Kavala 1-0.

  

WADA appeals reduction of Jobson's doping ban

SAO PAULO (AP): The World Anti-Doping Agency says it is appealing the reduction of a doping ban to young Brazilian striker Jobson.

The 22-year-old Jobson was initially banned for two years by Brazil's top sports tribunal after he tested positive for cocaine in two dope tests after Brazilian league matches in late 2009.

However, the tribunal last year reduced the suspension to six months after the player appealed.

WADA told The Associated Press in an e-mail on Tuesday that it "decided to exercise its independent right of appeal" to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. It said the case is pending before CAS.

Jobson, who publicly acknowledged a drug addiction, was playing for Botafogo when he failed the tests. He has been signed by Atletico Mineiro for the 2011 season.

  

Saudi Arabia draws 0-0 with Angola in friendly

DAMMAM, Saudi Arabia (AP): Saudi Arabia drew 0-0 with Angola in an international friendly match Tuesday ahead of the Asian Cup in Qatar, which begins on Friday.

Thousands of fans were disappointed to see the Saudi team produce a very weak performance in the absence of its star striker Yasser Al Qahtani.

The home team improved in the second half but could not find a winner. Nasser Al Shamrani, Muhanad Asiri and Nayef Hazzazi missed the Saudis' best chances.

Angola failed to muster a serious threat on goal in the entire match as it focused on defense.

Saudi Arabia opens its Asian Cup campaign against Syria on Jan. 9, and also faces Japan and Jordan in Group B.

  

N. Korea seek World Cup redemption

DOHA: North Korea go into battle at the Asian Cup this month hoping to banish bitter memories of a humiliating World Cup and emulate the achievements of their all-conquering junior sides.

North Korea, reviled on the world political stage, open their title quest in Qatar against unfancied United Arab Emirates on Jan 11 in Group D, which also includes regional heavyweights Iran and reigning champions Iraq.

Attempting to second-guess anything related to the world’s most secretive country is no easy task.

But football is hugely popular in the communist country, whose Under-16 and Under-19 teams this year won their respective Asian titles, underlining the potential that the regime can churn out despite severe financial constraints.

There were reports the hardline North Korean leadership was furious at the senior side’s capitulation at the World Cup in South Africa, where they impressed in losing only 2-1 to Brazil in their opening game.

But the wheels then came off in spectacular fashion, as Portugal humiliated them 7-0 before they lost 3-0 to Ivory Coast, the North Koreans finishing bottom of the group and going home to an uncertain fate without a single point.

However, they will be more comfortable in Qatar, where the standard will not be as high.

Prolific striker Jong Tae-se – dubbed “Asia’s Wayne Rooney” for his combative style – is expected to again lead North Korea’s frontline. Tae-se averages a goal every other game for a defence-minded North Korea.

German Division Two side VfL Bochum snapped up the Japan-born 26-year-old after he impressed in South Africa, his fast start to life in European football boosting his reputation as one of Asia’s most fearsome predators.

Fellow forward Hong Yong-jo, the North Korean captain who plays in Russia for FC Rostov, is another to look out for.

Despite the decent striking options, North Korea will rely on a tried-and-tested defensive formation that served them well in making their first World Cup since 1966.

  

Lahm: Madness to play in summer

BERLIN: Philipp Lahm, who captained Germany at last year’s World Cup, said he was against playing the 2022 tournament in Qatar during the summer, saying it was madness to play in such high temperatures.

“I’m happy that I won’t have to play there as an active player,” he said in Doha where his club Bayern Munich are holding a mid-season training camp.

“It’s not really much fun in summer at over 40 Celsius, it’s unimaginable,” said Lahm, who played for Germany in a friendly against United Arab Emirates in Dubai in June 2009.

“There, it was 40 Celsius late in the evening and the humidity was very high. It was very, very exhausting and it was madness,” said Lahm.

Qatar, whose successful bid was based on holding the World Cup in the summer, has promised to build air-conditioned stadiums to host games in 2022.

However, a number of leading figures, including UEFA president Michel Platini and FIFA president Sepp Blatter, have said they would be prepared to back a winter World Cup. 

  

Japan eye Asian Cup as World Cup stepping stone

TOKYO: Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni is chasing a record fourth win at this month’s Asian Cup as a crucial stepping stone in the build-up to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

A win in Qatar would guarantee the Blue Samurai a berth at the Confederations Cup, held by the World Cup host nation a year before the four-yearly showpiece and featuring the various continental champions.

The tournament gives teams a crucial taste of conditions ahead of the World Cup.

“The Asian Cup is a tournament for us to win and clinch a berth in the Confederations Cup,” he told his squad at their training camp before flying out on Monday for the continental championship in Qatar, according to press reports.

Borussia Dortmund midfielder Shinji Kagawa told reporters: “The manager told us, ‘Let’s win the Asian Cup and take part in the Confederations Cup.’ If the manager spells out a goal that way, it makes life easier for the players.”

Kagawa, 21, has a good goalscoring record after moving to Dortmund in mid-2010 when he failed to make Japan’s World Cup squad for South Africa.

He scored eight goals in the Bundesliga before the winter break and is expected to lead Japan’s attack along with CSKA Moscow midfielder Keisuke Honda at the Asian Cup, starting on Friday.

Zaccheroni took over from Takeshi Okada as Japan coach after the side reached the last-16 in South Africa in June for their best ever World Cup finish on foreign soil.

In the 2007 edition of the Asian Cup, Japan lost to fellow three-time champions Saudi Arabia 3-2 in the semi-finals. The two Asian giants are grouped together with Jordan and Syria in Group B.

“I have set my sights on the title. That’s all I’m thinking of,” said Gamba Osaka playmaker Yasuhito Endo, who scored a free-kick in Japan’s 3-1 win over Denmark in the World Cup group stage.

“I have realised how difficult it is to become champions,” said the 30-year-old player, who is the oldest in Zaccheroni’s squad and the only one who has experienced the past two Asian Cup editions.

“It is tough to take it upon yourself to win any game in Asia. But I will play with confidence in myself and my team-mates,” Endo said.

  

Defending champs Iraq are now the underdog

DOHA: Iraq stormed to shock Asian Cup glory in 2007 against the backdrop of war, but they will have to spring another major upset if they are to repeat the emotional feat in Qatar.

The Iraqi team made headlines worldwide and were welcomed home as heroes after they defeated Saudi Arabia 1-0 in Jakarta four years ago to momentarily take the spotlight off the violence in their war-ravaged country.

But they face a stiff task to even make it to the knockout stages this time after they were drawn in a highly competitive Group D that also includes arch rivals Iran, World Cup finalists North Korea and United Arab Emirates.

Experienced coach Wolfgang Sidka, who has only been in the job since the summer, has kept the bulk of the squad that brought Iraq its greatest ever football triumph, complemented by a sprinkling of young prospects.

However, it remains to be seen if the former Werder Bremen coach has had enough time to get his footballing philosophy across to his charges and they are not among the favourites in Qatar.

Sidka is making no promises.

“I think we should try to do it (win the tournament) again,” said the German, who has extensive coaching experience in the region.

“But first we have the match with Iran – and thats our neighbours and our rivals – and then our target is to reach the quarter-finals.

“We have a tough group also with North Korea, who played at the World Cup, and also UAE, who played well at the Gulf Cup even though they were missing a lot of players, so lets see.

“We’ll try to reach the quarter-finals and then we will see.”

  

Ronaldo fires brace to help Jose’s men edge Getafe

MADRID: Cristiano Ronaldo netted his 18th and 19th La Liga goals of the season as Real Madrid survived some late pressure to win 3-2 at city rivals Getafe on Monday and trim the gap to leaders Barcelona back to two points.       

Portugal forward Ronaldo struck in each half either side of a Mesut Ozil effort to keep Real hard on the heels of champions Barca, who had stretched their lead to five with Sunday’s 2-1 home win over promoted Levante.       

Real coach Jose Mourinho gave midfielder Kaka a run-out in the final 15 minutes for the Brazil playmaker’s first appearance this season following post-World Cup knee surgery.       

They had taken an 11th-minute lead at the Coliseum when Angel Di Maria went to ground in the penalty area and Ronaldo blasted the spot kick past Getafe keeper Jordi Codina.       

Di Maria played Ozil through for Real’s second in the 19th before Dani Parejo dribbled past Alvaro Arbeloa and Lassana Diarra and lashed a shot past Real’s Iker Casillas 10 minutes later.       

Ronaldo looked to have made the game safe 12 minutes into the second half with a smart finish from Karim Benzema’s pass, which put him two goals clear of Barca forward Lionel Messi on the La Liga scoring charts.       

However, the dismissal of Real defender Arbeloa in the 82nd minute for a second yellow card lifted the home side.       

Substitute Juan Albin hammered home a loose ball in the 85th to give Getafe hope but they were unable to find the equaliser.       

Real have 44 points from 17 matches, behind Barca on 46, while Villarreal stay third on 36 after they beat Almeria 2-0 in the earlier kickoff.       

Mourinho was unusually critical of his players at his post-match news conference, saying they had lacked their usual focus in defence. “Usually we are much more concentrated, much more compact and we gave our opponent a lot of space,” the Portuguese said. “My team need to defend better and I didn’t like them much today.”

In Monday’s earlier kickoffs, Jose Catala and Borja Valero grabbed the goals as Villarreal cemented their grip on third, while Atletico Madrid missed the chance to climb above Espanyol into fifth when they were held 0-0 at home by Racing Santander. 

  

Kaka feeling fine on return from knee injury

MADRID: Real Madrid midfielder Kaka was delighted to return to action on Monday when he played the last quarter of an hour of the La Liga giants’ 3-2 win at Getafe just under five months after a knee operation.

The Brazil playmaker and 2007 World Player of the Year looked fit and hungry, linked well with Mesut Ozil and Cristiano Ronaldo and managed one effort on goal that flew well wide.       

The 28-year-old former AC Milan player had not featured for his club since May and after representing Brazil at the World Cup had surgery on his knee at the start of August.

“I am very happy to finally be back and return to the pitch with my team-mates,” he said in an interview with Spanish TV. “I went through some very difficult moments during this period but at last I think it’s over.

“I didn’t know when I would return, if I would return, and I am very happy. I felt really good.”       

Asked if he was disappointed not to have hit the target with his one chance, he said the victory for the team was more important.       

He dedicated his return to his family: “Above all, to my wife as she knows what I went through.” 

  

Barcelona face daunting atmosphere in Cup clash with Bilbao

MADRID: Barcelona must cope with the daunting atmosphere of Athletic Bilbao’s San Mames stadium if they are to reach the King’s Cup quarter-finals today after a rare off day left them vulnerable to an early exit.

The deafening roars and piercing whistles of the Bilbao fans have often given their team extra impetus in the claustrophobic, 40,000-seater arena known as the Cathedral and the Basques are right in the tie after holding Barcelona to a 0-0 draw in last month’s first leg at the Nou Camp.

“Bilbao are a team that will create problems for us,” Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola said after the league leaders ground out a 2-1 home win over promoted Levante on Sunday.

Barca, who would meet Getafe or Division Two leaders Real Betis in the last eight, won 3-1 in Bilbao in La Liga in September, when midfielder Andres Iniesta was roundly booed after he was involved in the dismissal of Fernando Amorebieta.

Spain midfielder Iniesta has mostly been hailed as a hero by opposing fans for scoring the winning goal in July’s World Cup final but that achievement cuts little ice with the fiercely independent Basques.

“Now we have a life or death match,” Iniesta said after the Levante game.

Barca’s arch-rivals Real Madrid have not won the domestic Cup since 1993 but virtually secured a quarter-final berth with an 8-0 demolition of Levante in the first leg.

Jose Mourinho’s side, who play Levante tomorrow, look likely to go on and face city rivals and 2010 runners-up Atletico, who won their first leg at home to Espanyol 1-0.

In other last 16, second legs, Villarreal host Valencia tomorrow after the pair drew 0-0 at the Mestalla, Malaga are looking to overturn a 5-3 defeat by holders Sevilla and Almeria will attempt to defend a 4-3 lead at Real Mallorca.