Ronaldo's 3 goals gives Madrid win over Villarreal

MADRID (AP) - Cristiano Ronaldo hit a hat trick and Kaka scored his first goal since April as Real Madrid twice came from behind to win 4-2 against Villarreal on Sunday, keeping the team within two points of Spanish league leader Barcelona.

The Portugal forward made it 1-1 by side-footing home Mesut Oezil's pass in the ninth minute, two minutes after Villarreal midfielder Cani had flicked the ball over goalkeeper Iker Casillas to open the scoring.

Villarreal's slick passing game troubled Madrid, and Bruno Soriano's exquisite 18th-minute pass put Ruben Castro through alone on goal to lob Casillas for a 2-1 lead.

However, Ronaldo headed in Xabi Alonso's swerving free kick inside the crowded Villarreal area just before the break to equalize.

Ronaldo scrambled to recover a loose ball in the 79th right after blowing an excellent chance in front of goal. He then swiveled before tucking a low shot past goalkeeper Diego Lopez inside the near post for a league-leading 22nd goal.

Villarreal coach Juan Carlos Garrido was sent off by the referee for protesting against the goal, believing the referee missed two offside calls in the buildup.

Second-half substitute Kaka redirected Ronaldo's pass past Lopez for his first goal of the season three minutes later, causing his pumped-up coach Jose Mourinho to urge the Santiago Bernabeu stadium crowd on from the sidelines.

It was Madrid's fifth straight win and the team also has a perfect home record from nine games.

"A very tough game for us," Kaka said. "But in the end we managed another win that is very important for us."

On Saturday, defending champion Barcelona beat Deportivo La Coruna 4-0 to move to 49 points from 18 games.

Villarreal was the better side early on and Cani's deserved opener came after a well-played combination.

Soon after, Ronaldo capped a smart exchange between Oezil and Karim Benzema, who held four defenders close before passing to an unmarked Oezil and the Germany midfielder found Ronaldo alone at the far post for an easy goal.

Madrid began to find its rhythm after Ronaldo again equalized, the hosts imposing themselves after the restart.

Lopez saved from Benzema in the 58th before Ronaldo blew a one-on-one chance against Lopez in the 64th. While Madrid winger Angel Di Maria lost control moments later after running through the defense.

Mourinho brought on Kaka for defender Raul Albiol in the 70th to add an extra attacker, well aware that Madrid needed to win with Barcelona on a run of 12 straight victories.

"I took a chance and brought Kaka on for Albiol," Mourinho said. "You can't wait to take a chance in a championship where the leader has lost only five points and second place seven. You have to go all out."

That chance paid off with Ronaldo coming to the rescue.

He initially faltered after Lopez had spilled a cross right into his path, but he recovered to score his 30th goal in all competitions and 12th in six games.

Kaka's goal was his first in nine months. The Brazil playmaker recently returned from an injury that had sidelined him since the World Cup.

"To score a goal makes this a very nice night for me," the Brazil playmaker said. "It's special because it's been a long time since I scored a goal."

Mourinho had a water bottle thrown at him after celebrating Kaka's goal right in front of the Villarreal area, causing the visitors' bench to empty with players and officials swarming on the sideline.

"I swear I went to celebrate with my son who was sitting behind the bench, and they thought I was trying to be provocative," Mourinho said.

Juanma Mata made up for missing a penalty and for hitting the crossbar from a free kick by scoring an 83rd-minute winner in Valencia's 1-0 victory at crosstown rival Levante.

Valencia is fourth, two behind third-place Villarreal and four in front of fifth-place Espanyol.

Earlier, Espanyol snapped a three-game losing run and dropped Zaragoza into last place with a 4-0 win.

Pablo Osvaldo, Luis Garcia and Alvaro Vazquez scored first-half goals and Sergio Garcia scored near the close to drop Zaragoza behind Almeria and Sporting Gijon on goal difference, with all three teams tied on 13 points in the relegation places.

Diego Castro scored during injury time for Sporting, which drew 1-1 at Racing Santander to extend its winless run to 11 games.

"I have the feeling I'm going to continue with the team," under-fire Sporting coach Manolo Preciado said.

Osasuna and Getafe drew 0-0 while Mallorca made up for its midweek Copa del Rey exit to Almeria with a 4-1 victory over the same opponent.

Getafe joined Atletico Madrid in sixth place, while Osasuna hasn't won in six rounds.

Valencia and Levante met in a city derby later Sunday, while Atletico Madrid is at Hercules on Monday.

Also Saturday, Sevilla rallied to beat Real Sociedad 3-2 and Athletic Bilbao drew 1-1 at Malaga.

  

Marseille upset 3-1 by Evian in French Cup

PARIS (AP) - Second-division leader Evian upset Marseille 3-1 in the round of 64 of the French Cup on Sunday.

Evian led 2-0 early on the waterlogged pitch after midfielder Cedric Barbosa struck in the 12th minute and striker Yannick Sagbo sent goalkeeper Elinton Andrade the wrong way four minutes later.

Marseille pulled one back when Evian defender Cedric Cambon scored an own-goal in the 59th minute, but Kevin Berigaud restored the two-goal margin with a close-range header in the 89th.

Marseille, which has won the French Cup a record 10 times but the last came in 1989, is the 10th topflight team to be knocked out at the weekend.

Last year's finalist Monaco lost 3-2 in a penalty shootout to fifth-division club Chambery on Saturday.

  

Napoli beats Juventus 3-0 from Cavani's hat trick

ROME (AP) - Edinson Cavani scored a hat trick in Napoli's 3-0 win over Juventus in Serie A on Sunday, a memorable performance that could propel the southern club toward a spot in next season's Champions League.

A member of the Uruguay team that finished fourth in the World Cup, Cavani converted headers in the 20th, 26th and 53rd minutes to tie Udinese's Antonio Di Natale for the league scoring lead with 13 goals apiece.

After his last goal, Cavani tucked the ball under his jersey to celebrate the coming birth of his child, then walked off to a standing ovation from a soldout San Paolo stadium when he was substituted in the 85th.

After the final whistle, virtually all of the 60,000 fans stuck around to sing and celebrate.

"Seeing this stadium like this and the people full of joy really motivates us," Cavani said. "It really gives you goose bumps."

The victory moved Napoli within four points of Serie A leader AC Milan, which labored to a 4-4 draw with Udinese earlier.

Milan leads with 40 points, Napoli has 36, Lazio 34, AS Roma 32 and Juventus and Palermo 31 each.

The top three teams at the end of the season qualify directly for the Champions League.

"We've still got to improve a lot," Cavani said. "We won a great game but we still made a lot of errors. We have to become more solid in every game."

Juventus has conceded seven goals in two matches after being beaten 4-1 by Parma on Thursday. Making his Juventus debut, newly signed Luca Toni had an equalizer disallowed in the 23rd for a foul from the 1.94-meter (6-foot-4) striker.

"We're working on a long-term plan," said Juventus coach Luigi Del Neri. "These losses hurt, of course, but we've got to accept them as part of the overall project."

Earlier, Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored an injury-time equalizer for Milan in a wild match at the San Siro.

Milan fell behind 3-1 following two goals from Udinese's Antonio Di Natale, who raised his league-leading total to 13, but an own goal from Mehdi Benatia and Alexandre Pato's second goal in the 82nd minute drew Milan level at 3-3.

Argentine forward German Denis put Udinese back in front in the 84th, and Ibrahimovic equalized in the third minute of added time after collecting a pass inside the area from Antonio Cassano, who has now set up two goals in his first two matches with Milan.

"We're not taking advantage of the chances to pull away," said Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso. "We've got to do more. If Inter wins the two games it has to make up they'll be back within five points, and that's what worries me."

Five-time defending champion Inter Milan also struggled before winning 2-1 at Catania.

Alejandro Gomez gave the Sicilian club the lead in the 71st before Esteban Cambiasso hit back in the 75th and 79th minutes to hand new Inter coach Leonardo his second consecutive win since replacing Rafa Benitez.

On a day in which all of the traditional powers looked in trouble at some point, Lazio lost 2-1 at home to Lecce and Brazil defender Juan made two costly errors as Sampdoria rallied to beat 10-man AS Roma 2-1.

Lazio goalkeeper Fernando Muslera scored an own goal in the 39th, Stefano Mauri equalized for the hosts in the 47th but Carlos Grossmuller put Lecce back ahead in the 72nd.

Inter, which has two games to make up, is seventh with 29 points.

"It's difficult to read the standings now," Leonardo said. "We've just got to keep moving forward on our own road little by little, game by game, like today."

Also, it was: Bari 0, Bologna 2; Cesena 0, Genoa 0; Chievo Verona 0, Palermo 0; Fiorentina 3, Brescia 2; and Parma 1, Cagliari 2.

In the new lunchtime fixture, Mirko Vucinic put Roma ahead in the 18th after taking advantage of a stagnant defense. But in the 55th, Juan gifted the ball to Angelo Palombo and Roma goalkeeper Julio Sergio tripped the Sampdoria captain, receiving a red card and giving away a penalty that was converted by Nicola Pozzi.

Stefano Guberti then scored the winner in the 83rd when Juan was unable to clear. "They were two errors, but two errors from a great champion and that can happen over the course of a career," said Roma coach Claudio Ranieri.

Sampdoria ended the match with nine men after Stefano Lucchini and Daniele Guastaldello picked up their second yellow cards in the final five minutes.

Having joined on a six-month loan from Manchester United, Federico Macheda made his Sampdoria debut in the final 13 minutes and wasted an excellent scoring chance by heading wide a minute before Guberti's winner.

  

Syria beats Saudi Arabia 2-1 at Asian Cup

DOHA, Qatar (AP) - Abdukarazak al-Hussein scored twice Sunday to lead Syria to a shock 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia in its opening group match at the Asian Cup, the team's first appearance in the tournament in 15 years.

Al-Hussein found the net in the 37th minute against the three-time Asian Cup winners at Al Rayyan Stadium, before Saudi Arabia substitute Taiseer al-Jassem equalized in the 60th.

Al-Hussein restored Syria's lead with a goal in the 62nd minute.

Syria leads Group B with three points, one more than Japan and Jordan, which drew 1-1 earlier Sunday at Qatar Sports Club Stadium.

"Frankly, I did not expect to win," Syria coach Valeriu Tita said. "The game was great and the players performance was very good."

The match was tight throughout, with Saudi Arabia's Nasser al-Shamrani having made the first real chance in the 28th minute. The striker collected a pass from Abdo Ateef but, with only goalkeeper Musab Balhous to beat, missed the target by a few yards.

Saudi Arabia equalized when Manaf Aboshgair's corner was headed in by al-Jassim. However, the Syrians launched a counterattack three minutes later that ended with al-Hussein's winning goal.

Saudi Arabia's official news agency said Jose Peseiro was fired as national team coach after the loss, with former coach Naser al-Johar appointed as his replacement.

Peseiro had defended his team's performance after the match and said the result was unjust.

"We did not deserve to lose, but we did and we are disappointed," said Peseiro, who took over the team in 2009. "I am disappointed with the result and, although our performance was not very good, it was also not very bad.

"They put their maximum into the match, they gave it their spirit and played with their hearts and not their heads sometimes."

Saudi Arabia last won the Asia Cup in 1996 but was runner-up in 2000 and in 2007. Tita said the shock win over Saudi Arabia has raised expectations as to how far the 107th-ranked Syrians can go.

"This is just a start," Tita said. "There are two difficult matches coming and we have to prepare ourselves."

Lineups

Saudi Arabia: Waleed Abdullah, Abdullah Shuhail, Osama Hawsawi, Osama al-Harbi, Mishal al-Saeedi, Ahmed Ateef, Manaf Aboshagair (Nawaf al-Abid, 66), Saud Kariri, Abdoh Autef (Taiseeral-Jassam, 45), Nassir al-Shamrani (Naif Hazazi, 55), Yasser al-Qahtani.

Syria: Mosab Balhous, Belal Abduldaim, Ali Dyab, Feras Ismail, Nadim Sabag, Abdulkader Deka, Jehad al-Hussein (Qussai Habib, 76), Abdulrazak al-Hussein, Wael Ayan (Samer Aouad, 83), Mohammed al-Zino, Sanharib Maliki (Adel Abdullah, 65).

  

Saudi Arabia fires coach after loss to Syria

DOHA, Qatar (AP) - Saudi Arabia's official news agency says Jose Peseiro has been fired as national team coach after the shock 2-1 loss to Syria at the Asian Cup.

The Saudi Press Agency says Peseiro was dismissed by the country's football federation after Sunday's loss at Al Rayyan Stadium.

Naser al-Johar, a former Saudi Arabia defender and coach, is Peseiro's replacement.

Peseiro, who took over the Saudi team in 2009, had argued his team didn't play badly in the loss, saying "we did not deserve to lose, but we did and we are disappointed."

The Portuguese coach was under pressure to perform well at the continental tournament following Saudi Arabia's failure to qualify for the 2010 World Cup and the loss of the Gulf Cup title to Kuwait.

  

Pachuca wins 2-0 at America in Mexico

MEXICO CITY (AP) - Goals from Yulian Anchico and Edgar Benitez gave Pachuca a 2-0 win at America in the opening round of the Mexican Clausura championship on Sunday.

Guadalajara drew 1-1 at Puebla and Toluca was held 1-1 by UNAM Pumas in the day's other games.

At America's Azteca stadium, Anchico's goal came courtesy of a defensive mistake by defender Juan Carlos Valenzuela in the 25th minute. Valenzuela lost track of the ball after a free kick and it bounced off his back, allowing Anchico to fire it into the roof of the net.

Benitez hit the second goal in the 67th minute to seal the win.

Earlier, Omar Esparza gave Chivas of Guadalajara an early lead with a deflected cross that looped into the net in the ninth minute. Felix Borja equalized the score when he burst through the middle of the Chivas defense and clipped the ball past goalkeeper Luis Michel in the 55th.

At Nemesio Diez stadium, Toluca's Nestor Calderon received the ball on the edge of the box and swiveled to hit a shot into the top right corner of the net in the 38th minute against Pumas.

Juan Cacho leveled the score with a shot on the half-turn after Toluca's defenders failed to clear a corner in the 81st.

In Friday and Saturday results, it was: Necaxa 0, Chiapas 1; Cruz Azul 4, Tecos Estudiantes 1; Monterrey 0, San Luis 2; Queretaro 2, UANL Tigres 2; Santos 2, Atlante 1; Atlas 5, Morelia 0.

The Mexican league season is split into two tournaments with playoffs to determine the champion.

  

Benfica defeats Leiria 3-0 in Portuguese league

LISBON, Portugal (AP) - Benfica downed Leiria 3-0 on Sunday to stay within eight points of Portuguese leader FC Porto.

Javier Saviola opened the scoring for Benfica in the 27th minute before setting up Nicolas Gaitan in the 81st-minute for a 2-0 lead at Magalhaes Pessoa stadium. Oscar Cardozo was well placed in the 90th minute to score the last.

Benfica maintained its five-point advantage over third-place Sporting Lisbon Porto finished the first half of the season unbeaten following Saturday's 4-1 win over Maritimo.

Leiria remained fourth in the standings.

  

Man United beat Liverpool 1-0 in Dalglish return

MANCHESTER, England (AP) - Liverpool began Kenny Dalglish's second stint in charge of the club with defeat as Ryan Giggs' second-minute penalty earned Manchester United a 1-0 FA Cup third-round victory at Old Trafford on Sunday.

On a miserable day for Dalglish, Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard was sent off in the 32nd minute for a challenge on England teammate Michael Carrick.

Liverpool had hoped Dalglish's return would revive its season following a string of poor results which resulted in Roy Hodgson sacking on Saturday morning after just six months in charge.

Dalglish received a hero's reception from the 9,000 traveling Liverpool fans, but little went right for his team once the game started with Giggs converting a penalty after Daniel Agger was adjudged to have fouled United striker Dimitar Berbatov after just 29 seconds.

Berbatov went down easily, but Howard Webb pointed toward the spot despite furious protests from the Liverpool players, and Giggs calmly slotted past Pepe Reina into the right side of the net.

The visitors chances then seemed to evaporate after Gerrard made a two-footed lunge on Carrick and was shown a straight red card.

"The two decisions were the important factors in this game," Dalglish said. "I don't think it was a penalty kick. It wasn't a penalty kick. We've lost a game of football, but we have to look at the circumstances of that."

Still, there were reasons for Dalglish - who led the team to three league titles and two FA Cup trophies during his first spell in charge - to be cautiously optimistic.

Despite being a man down, Liverpool put up a spirited challenge but rarely threatened an equalizer. Fabio Aurelio came closest with a curling 25-yard free kick that Tomasz Kuszczak had to stretch to keep out with both hands in the 65th.

"Other than the result I'm happy because I couldn't have asked anything more in terms of effort and commitment," Dalglish said. United manager Alex Ferguson had no complaints when it came to Gerrard's red card.

"It was two-footed and he (Gerrard) was off the ground. It was a reckless challenge," Ferguson said. "He's not that type of player, but he didn't leave the referee with an option."

Before Gerrard's sending off, Liverpool had dominated possession for long periods without managing to create any dangerous chances. Maxi Rodriguez forced Tomasaz Kuszczak into his first serious save in the 19th minute before Gerrard also brought a stop from United's Polish keeper in the 30th.

United had several chances to increase the lead but Reina tipped Patrice Evra's 69th-minute effort over the bar after the hosts had been denied what looked like a genuine penalty when Giggs was tripped by substitute Jonjo Shelvey.

Police later said 15 arrests were made for either minor public order offences or criminal damage.

  

Asian Cup: Japan escape defeat

DOHA: A 91st minute goal by Maya Yoshida saved three-time champions Japan from a shock defeat at the hands of underdogs Jordan as the two sides drew 1-1 in their opening Asian Cup Group B match yesterday.

Hasan Abdel Fattah opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time for Jordan before VVV Venlo defender Yoshida headed home the equaliser as the clock ticked into stoppage time.

Japan, who are looking for a record fourth continental title after losing to Saudi Arabia in the 2007 semi-finals, controlled the game early on but could not penatrate Jordan’s determined defence.

In front of half-filled stands at the 12,500-seat Qatar Sports Club Stadium, they had the best of the chances with an angled shot from Borussia Dortmund rookie Shinji Kagawa punched away by Jordan keeper Amer Shafi in the 23rd minute.

Three minutes later, Yoshida found the net on the rebound off a Makoto Hasebe shot but it was ruled offside.

Jordan slowly geared themselves into the offensive and almost drew first blood on the half-hour when Fatth trapped the ball in front of the net but his shot went straight into Eiji Kawashima’s hands.

Then on 38 minutes defender Basem Fathi’s header from a corner swerved off the far post.

Kagawa, who has scored eight Bundesliga goals this season after moving to Germany when he failed to make the World Cup squad, squandered another chance two minutes later when he failed to beat Shafi one-on-one at the goalmouth.

CSKA Moscow star Keisuke Honda, who scored two goals in South Africa, was clipped down by Jordan captain Hatem Aqel in the 43rd minute but his 30m free kick went too wide.

It was Jordan who opening their scoring, with Fattah’s strike coming in the 45th minute when he picked up a cross from the left by fellow midfielder Amer Deeb just outside the box, cleverly dodged a defender and shot.

The ball ricocheted off Yoshida’s left foot and Kawashima could not respond in time.

Jordan almost doubled the score three minutes after the interval when striker Odai Al Saify’s header on a Deeb cross went wide.

The Blue Samurai fought back but Honda missed two more free kicks before the hour mark as his left foot packed power but lacked precision.

In the 62nd minute, Japan captain and Wolfsburg midfielder Makoto Hasebe latched onto a cross from Shinji Okazaki with a dive but his sharp right-foot shot could not find the back of the net.

Honda, desperate to pull one back for Japan, cut in from the left corner of the box and beat a Jordan defender in the 79th minute but his right-foot shot went straight into Shafi’s arms.

Japan kept pressing and as the clocked ticked down and all seemed lost, they finally equalised when Yoshida headed in a lob from Hasebe to the clear relief of coach Alberto Zaccheroni.

  

Indian revolution begins with Socceroos test

INDIA and Australia, whose main sporting rivalry is on the cricket pitch, switch codes to soccer at the Asian Cup today with Australia the overwhelming favourites to hand out the equivalent of an innings victory.

Australia are also among the favourites to lift the Asian Cup while India, appearing in the tournament for the first time in 27 years, are just hoping to escape the kind of beating Australia have just suffered in the Ashes series against England.

Everyone involved in the India squad, from coach Bob Houghton downwards, however, knows that some decent performances against three of Asia’s top sides, Australia, South Korea and Bahrain in their Group C matches, could have a big impact on soccer in the sub-continent.

For well-documented historical, cultural, social and organisational reasons going back to the beginning of organised sport in India, soccer has never been the country’s top sport, giving way to hockey and cricket.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter said again this week that India, with a population of over one billion, remains the last great frontier for soccer to conquer.

“If we have to identify new territories where football could be better, definitely it is the sub-continent,” he told journalists at the Asian Cup.

“There are 1.2 billion people in India and this is a double market, not only for football but for the economy. India is a real power.”

Although there are whispers that FIFA would welcome a World Cup in India some time in the next 20 or 30 years, the far more immediate ambition is to end decades of under-achievement, something that coach Houghton knows won’t happen overnight.

The much-travelled Englishman has been in charge of the side for over four years and has seen some improvement such as winning the Asian Challenge Cup in 2008 which secured India’s place at these Finals for the first time since 1984.

He knows some of the reasons for India’s failure to make an impact but remains optimistic things can change for the better.

“Those who aren’t Indian are probably wondering how a country of over a billion people has only got 90 eligible boys playing in its national league every week and that is a question I have been asking for four and a half years and it’s not easy to get it resolved.

“We hope we can do something about it in the near future. We have a new president and he seems quite keen to build some stadia, and change the league, make it more competitive and make sure there are some development programmes.

“I coached Uzbekistan before I came here and watched Uzbekistan play Qatar the other night. Uzbekistan is a small country but there are three huge differences between them and India.

“There is no soccer infrastructure in India, that’s why we spent a lot of the time outside India trying to prepare for this tournament. There are no training grounds, there are no match facilities, there’s some good players, but there is no coaching educational programmes.

“So if you haven’t got the facilities, the development programmes or the coaches then you have a long way to go.

“Overall there is a lot to be done, but we hope that India’s appearance here on the big stage will lift the profile.”