Sports
Zambia Brings Ghana Down To Earth, Ivory Coast Draws: World Cup Qualifiers
African champions, Zambia put a torrid week of off-field tension behind them to beat Ghana 1-0 in a 2014 World Cup Group D qualifier on Saturday.
Captain Chris Katongo scored with a deflected shot after 15 minutes to ensure home success after a week of snipping between officials and the team coach in the wake of their defeat in Sudan last weekend.
In Marrakech, Morocco substitute Hamza Abdourazzouk scored a dramatic equaliser one minute from time to earn a 2-2 draw with top-ranked Ivory Coast in Group C.
GROUP A
South Africa’s first game after the firing of coach Pitso Mosimane began promisingly when defender Morgan Gould headed them into the lead in the 14th minute against Botswana .
But Ofentse Nato netted the equaliser seven minutes before half-time.
The 2010 World Cup hosts, who have begun qualifying with two draws, have now gone eight matches without a win.
South Africa caretaker coach Steve Komphela was hoping that Bafana Bafana would put a difficult week behind them against the Zebras.
Komphela was assistant coach this time a week ago but was elevated to his current role after Pitso Mosimane left his job in the wake of the 1-1 home draw at home to Ethiopia previously.
GROUP B
Tunisia struggled to get past Cape Verde in Praia after Odair Fortes had brought the home side level following Saber Khalifa’s early opener.
Isaam Jemaa scored a minute into the second half to give the Tunisians a second straight win and control of the group.
Although Jemaa again proved Tunisia’s talisman, he was guilty of squandering several late chances against the Cape Verdians.
Cape Verde, who lost 2-1 in Sierra Leone last weekend, made life difficult for Tunisia, who conceded an early goal before recovering to defeat Equatorial Guinea 3-1 in their first game.
The Carthage Eagles are the only side in the group to have ever contested a World Cup finals, becoming the first African team to win a game at the tournament in 1978.
Meanwhile, Sierra Leone and Equatorial Guinea shared the spoils after an eventful 2-2 draw in Malabo.
The Leone Stars goals both arrived in the first half from Samuel Barley and Ibrahim Bangura.
Spain-based Juvenal was the hero for the home side, scoring both goals.
Sierra Leone Stars had arrived in Malabo after a tortuous journey that took them via Liberia, The Gambia, Ghana and Togo.
GROUP C
In Marrakech, Ivory Coast looked like posting a second win from as many matches after goals by Salomon Kalou and Kolo Toure.
But Morocco ‘s Hamza Abourazzouk scored in the 89th to earn his team a second draw.
Kalou chipped the Ivorians into an eighth-minute lead, outsprinting the defence to get on the end of a fine through ball from Siaka Tiene.
Captain Houcine Kharja equalised for Morocco from the penalty spot but Toure put the visitors back in front with a close-range header on the hour.
It was the Manchester City defender’s fourth goal for his country on his 98th appearance for the Elephants.
Talismanic captain Didier Drogba, who scored last week when the Ivorians launched their campaign with a 2-0 home win over Tanzania, was a towering presence in attack before being taken off with six minutes left.
Abdourazzouk then grabbed the equaliser with a powerful header, much to the relief of Morocco’s Belgian coach Eric Gerets.
The Elephants still lead Group C.
GROUP D
Zambia beat Ghana with a goal from captain Christopher Katongo in the 15th for a morale-boosting win in Ndola.
Katongo’s goal marked a successful opening of the new 40,000-capacity Chinese-built stadium on Zambia’s copperbelt and will go a long way to easing tensions.
Zambia’s flamboyant French coach Herve Renard criticised sports ministry officials for botching travel arrangements to Sudan, which he blamed for the defeat.
He also revealed that he had not been paid for the last six months since Zambia won the Nations Cup in February.
He has a contract with government rather than the football association and was told to temper his criticism by irritated officials.
The Chipolopolo lost their first competitive match since winning this year’s Africa Cup of Nations final when going down 2-0 in Sudan.
Ghana had gone into the game with their confidence sky-high after beating Lesotho 7-0 in their opening qualifier.
GROUP E
Congo Brazzaville made full use of home advantage to record a 1-0 victory over Niger in Point Noire on Saturday.
Francis Malonga’s goal in the closing stages of the match was the difference between the two sides and propelled the Red Devils to the top of the group.
Niger’s preparations for the game were thrown into disarray in midweek when French coach Rolland Courbis walked away from his post.
Courbis, who took charge of Niger one match into their Africa Cup of Nations campaign, said he would not be returning to the side.
Gabon , meanwhile, gave their fans something to smile about when they beat Burkina Faso 1-0 in Libreville.
Remy Ebanega’s 56th minute effort settled the tie between the West African rivals.
Gabon co-hosted this year’s Africa Cup of Nations and reached the quarter-finals before losing against Mali.
Saturday’s match saw coach Paulo Duarte, who led Burkina Faso at this year’s Nations Cup, guiding his new side Gabon against the Stallions.
Sports
La Liga: Atletico Bring Real Back To Earth

Atletico Madrid scored five goals against city rivals Real for the first time in nearly 75 years when they fought back from behind in a pulsating derby.
It was only the fourth time Atletico had scored at least five in a Madrid derby, the last occasion being a 6-3 victory in November 1950.
Real lost for the first time this season, having won all six of their opening La Liga matches as well as their first Champions League tie, a 2-1 victory over Marseille.
The last time Real conceded as many in La Liga was a 5-1 defeat by Barcelona in October 2018.
Robin le Normand’s header had given Diego Simeone’s side an early lead that was overturned by superb goals from Kylian Mbappe and Arda Guler.
But Alexander Sorloth levelled the game at 2-2 in stoppage time at the end of the first half.
And the hosts took charge after the break when Julian Alvarez, who had hit the post in the first half, converted from the penalty spot before curling home a brilliant free-kick.
Atletico went into their shell, but held their cross-city rivals at bay until Antoine Griezmann grabbed their fifth goal deep into stoppage time.
The result maintained an impressive record against Real in La Liga for Simeone’s side, who have not lost in their past six league encounters with Los Blancos.
PSG Regain Top Position In France (7)
Paris St-Germain returned to the top of Ligue 1 with a comfortable victory over Auxerre at the weekend.
Illia Zabarnyi scored his first goal for the club since his summer move from Bournemouth when he volleyed in at the back post from Vitihna’s cross at the Parc des Princes in Paris.
The home side doubled their lead when Lucas Beraldo headed home from Senny Mayulu’s cross.
PSG moved above Marseille, who beat them on Monday, as they made it five wins from their opening six league matches.
Auxerre had their chances, with a fierce shot from Kevin Danois striking the woodwork and Sekou Mara having a header cleared off the line.
There were further opportunities for Luis Enrique’s side but Achraf Hakimi’s dink was ruled out for offside and Bradley Barcola sent a header over the bar.
Auxerre are 13th in the table with four defeats from six matches.
PSG travel to Barcelona on Wednesday in their second Champions League group stage match.
Before the PSG match, Marseille scored two late goals to move level on points with hosts Strasbourg and go top of Ligue 1 on goal difference.
Strasbourg looked on track to move four points clear at the top until the 78th minute as Abdoul Ouattara’s goal had them ahead.
But former Arsenal and Chelsea striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang grabbed the equaliser, and Amir Murillo completed the turnaround as the clock ticked into added time.
Aubameyang was first to the rebound following his own shot to level the score after goalkeeper Mike Penders spilled the initial shot.
Penders, on loan from Chelsea, seemed to have done better in stoppage time when he tipped substitute Robinio Vaz’s header onto the crossbar, but the rebound landed with Murillo.
Marseille were top with five teams all on 12 points, including Strasbourg who were in fifth place.
Kane Sets Elite Scoring Record With Bayern (5)
Harry Kane scored twice in Bayern Munich’s win over Werder Bremen last Friday to become the fastest player this century to reach 100 goals for a club playing in one of Europe’s top five leagues.
The England captain won and converted a penalty on the stroke of half-time, before firing home from close range in the 65th minute to reach the century mark in just 104 games.
The previous record of 105 games was set by Cristiano Ronaldo while playing for Real Madrid in 2011, and matched by Manchester City striker Erling Haaland last year.
Former Liverpool winger Luis Diaz had opened the scoring when he deflected in a Jonathan Tah flick from a corner, while Konrad Laimer slipped home a late fourth as leaders Bayern preserved their unbeaten start to the season.
Kane broke two other records in his side’s 4-1 victory against Hoffenheim last weekend, during which he scored a hat-trick.
He reached 70 Bundesliga goals in just his 67th game in the competition, faster than anyone else in the league’s history.
Previously, the 32-year-old broke the record for the most goals scored in 50 Bundesliga games (54 goals), and the fewest number of games needed to reach 50 goals in the competition (43 matches).
On Friday, Kane also became the first player in Bundesliga history to convert their first 18 penalties, as well as score 18 consecutive spot-kicks.
Kane was the first player in Bundesliga history to finish top scorer in both his first two seasons, and the only player to score 25 or more goals in their first two campaigns in the competition.
He has started this campaign with 15 in eight games in all competitions – including two hat-tricks in five Bundesliga games, with Vincent Kompany’s side top of the league table with a 100% record.
Kane is the highest scoring Englishman in Champions League history (42 goals), and scored against all 20 teams he has faced in the Bundesliga.
Only Miroslav Klose has played against more sides, while scoring against all of them (28).
Kane joined Bayern from Tottenham Hotspur in a £100m transfer in 2023, having scored 280 goals in 435 games in all competitions for the Premier League club.
He has two years remaining on the four-year contract he signed with the Munich outfit, although he has recently been linked with former club Spurs and Manchester United.
But when asked on Friday if he was thinking of a Premier League return, Kane said: “No, not at the moment. I’m really happy here. I have two years left on my contract.
“I’m enjoying every moment. That is not in my thought process. I’m enjoying it with the team, with the coach, and hopefully we continue to be successful.”
Sports
Forest Still Looking For Winning Formula

Ange Postecoglou’s difficult start to life as Nottingham Forest head coach continued as Omar Alderete’s first-half goal gave Sunderland victory at the City Ground.
The former Spurs boss, appointed on 9 September, has now lost three and drawn two of his first five games in charge, with Saturday’s loss coming in his first home game with Forest.
But the hosts will feel aggrieved by the manner of Sunderland’s winner, with the visitors awarded a free-kick when Nicolas Dominguez was penalised for simulation when he clashed with Trai Hume while attempting to clear.
Grant Xhaka sent the ball in from the set-piece and Alderete was there to direct it into the net.
Dan Ndoye came close to equalising just before the break with a deflected effort before Chris Wood headed over.
Elliot Anderson curled a shot just over the bar as Forest pushed for the leveller in the second half, while Robin Roefs, who has been excellent for Sunderland so far this season – saved well from Omari Hutchinson, Wood and a long-range Anderson effort.
But despite the pressure, Forest could not find a goal as promoted Sunderland’s third win of the season moved them up to third in the table.
Forest, meanwhile, are 16th with just one win from their first six Premier League games.
Sports
Man Utd Lose, Again

Manchester United skipper Bruno Fernandes had a second-half penalty saved as Ruben Amorim’s side slipped to a Premier League defeat at Brentford at the weekend.
United were trying to fight their way back after Igor Thiago capitalised on some shambolic United defending inside the first 20 minutes to give the home side a two-goal cushion.
Benjamin Sesko pulled one back with his first goal since making a £74m summer move from RB Leipzig.
Fernandes was given the chance to level when Bees captain Nathan Collins dragged former Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo back inside the area.
After a delay of almost five minutes, which included a video assistant referee red card check against Collins and Brentford making two substitutions, Fernandes’ low effort was turned away by Caoimhin Kelleher.
Brentford wrapped it up deep in stoppage time when Mathias Jensen drove a high shot past United goalkeeper Altay Bayindir from the edge of the area.
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