01/12/2025

SPORTS MONDAY | DEC 1, 2025

28 Dani at the double Olmo brace sends Barca top as Atletico move up to third C HAMPIONS Barcelona moved provi sionally top of La Liga yesterday with a 3-1 win over Alaves, with midfielder Dani Olmo netting a brace. were able to win a fourth consecutive league game. “They caught us a bit by surprise in the first minute, but the team came back well from that situation, keeping our idea (of how to play),” Olmo told DAZN . each before Olmo found the third goal in stoppage time, beating Sivera after the effervescent Yamal set him up. “(Flick) feels that the team isn’t playing at its best, and I agree,” said Raphinha.

three points. Sorloth opened the scoring from close range after 16 minutes and blasted home his second 10 minutes later, with both goals laid on by David Hancko. “Whether it’s for 15, 20, 60 or 90 minutes, (Sorloth) is an extremely important player for us because he has characteristics that no other player on the team possesses,” Simeone told DAZN . “We need him to perform in this way, that’s the forward the team needs and I imagine he will also be happy with his performance and the goals.” After an inconsistent start to the campaign, Simeone’s side have found their groove. “I think now we’re doing well, not just defensively but also offensively,” goalkeeper Jan Oblak told DAZN . “The truth is, we’ve been playing well, but we have to keep it up because the past doesn’t matter. What matters is the future.” – AFP Diaz late show lifts Bayern back up LUIS DIAZ scored in stoppage time to help Bayern Munich bounce back from last week’s Champions League loss to Arsenal in a 3-1 comeback victory at home to St Pauli yesterday. RB Leipzig’s scoreless draw at Borussia Moenchengladbach on Saturday meant that Bayern finished the weekend eight points clear at the top of the table. Diaz, who was suspended for the Arsenal defeat headed in a Harry Kane cross in the third minute of injury time to give Bayern the lead for the first time in the match. Nicolas Jackson then scored four min utes later to add gloss to the victory as Bayern avoided dropping points for just the second time this season in the Bundesliga. Earlier, Diaz created Bayern’s first-half equaliser for Raphael Guerreiro after Andreas Hountondji had given lowly Pauli a surprise lead six minutes in. Veteran Bayern goalkeeper and cap tain Manuel Neuer credited his side’s “belief”. “We kept going after we went behind and were unlucky to hit the post three times. The late goals were a relief,” Neuer said. Borussia Dortmund won 2-1 at Leverkusen to leapfrog their opponents into third in the table, thanks to goals from A. Anselmino and Karim Adeyemi. Leverkusen looked leggy after their shock 2-0 win at Manchester City in the Champions League last Wednesday, allowing Dortmund to take the lead just before half-time in simple fashion. Despite the attentions of two Leverkusen defenders, Chelsea loanee Anselmino rose high to head a Daniel Svensson cross in off the post. Dortmund doubled up after 65 min utes when former Wolves striker Fabio Silva, on as a substitute, found Adeyemi in the box with a pinpoint cross which the Germany forward headed in. Leverkusen gave their fans late hope when Christian Kofane scored with seven minutes left, but Dortmund held on. The two sides will meet each other again, this time in Dortmund, on Tuesday in the last 16 of the German Cup. “It was an important match against a good competitor, but it was only one of two,” Dortmund midfielder Julian Brandt told Sky Germany . “Playing at home will of course be dif ferent,” Brandt said of Dortmund’s 82,000-strong Westfalenstadion. – AFP

After Pablo Ibanez fired the visitors into a surprise lead in the first minute, Barca hit back through teenage star Lamine Yamal, set up by the returning Raphinha. Olmo gave Barca the advantage midway through the first half and then netted late on to seal their victory in the second match back at their partially rebuilt Nau Camp home. Barca lead Real Madrid, second, by two points before Xabi Alonso’s side visit Girona overnight. Atletico Madrid rose to third, a point behind Los Blancos , with a 2-0 win over Real Oviedo in a later match, thanks to Alexander Sorloth’s double. After a 3-0 Champions League thrashing by Chelsea in midweek, Barca’s 126th anniversary celebrations were a little subdued, but they

“We have to improve a lot, but even so, I think the most important thing today was to come away with the win.” Flick thought his team gave the ball away too much but was pleased with the result and, above all, with the return of key players Raphinha and Pedri Gonzalez before Barca host Atletico on Wednesday. “I’m really happy that they are back... I’m happy we won the three points, this is the most important thing for today,” said Flick. Sorloth’s first-half strikes helped Atletico to an easy win against bottom-of-the-table Oviedo at the Metropolitano stadium. Diego Simeone’s side are unbeaten in 13 league matches after an opening day defeat by Espanyol, and trail leaders Barcelona by just

Flick started Brazilian winger Raphinha for the first time after injury and also brought Marc Bernal back into midfield for his first Barca start since August 2024 following a long-term lay-off after knee surgery. The visitors took the lead inside the first minute, with Ibanez firing home after Marc Casado failed to clear a corner. Flick’s side responded quickly with Yamal blasting into the roof of the net when Raphinha found him with a low cross. Barca goalkeeper Joan Garcia made a superb save to deny Calebe a few minutes before the hosts took the lead. Raphinha cut the ball back for Olmo to drill home inside the near post. Both sides had a couple of good chances

PSG beaten by Monaco as Marseille blow chance PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN suffered a shock 1-0 defeat at the hands of Monaco yesterday but retained top spot in Ligue 1 after nearest rivals Marseille were held to a 2-2 draw by Toulouse. Japan’s Takumi Minamino scored the only goal of the game for Monaco in the principality – the former Liverpool player’s second-half strike inflicting a second domestic defeat of the campaign on PSG. Monaco held on through the closing stages, including seven minutes of stoppage time, after having former Paris defender Thilo Kehrer sent off in the 80th minute. It was a surprise result with Monaco ending a run of three consecutive Ligue 1 losses which had seen them lose ground on PSG and the other sides at the top of the table. PSG remain top of the standings for now with 30 points from 14 games, one point ahead of Marseille after Roberto De Zerbi’s team were denied by Santiago Hidalgo’s late equaliser for Toulouse at the Velodrome. It is now over to Lens, who are two points behind the leaders in third but will go top if they beat Angers away on Sunday. “Usually I prefer to watch matches again and analyse them, but today it is easier. We were not precise enough and we made too many individual and collective mistakes,” said PSG coach Luis Enrique, whose side was again far from full strength. “Neither team played at a very high level, but they played better than us. It was without any doubt our worst match of the season.” Marseille were expected to get all three points at home to Toulouse but produced a sluggish first-half performance following a rousing Champions League win over Newcastle United in midweek. “Of course we are sad but the league is not over tonight. There are still many months to go,” De Zerbi said after seeing his side squander a golden opportunity to take first place. – AFP

AC survive scrappy Lazio clash

FROM LEFT: AC Milan’s S. Pavlovic, Fikayo Tomori and Matteo Gabbia celebrate after the match. – REUTERSPIC

AC MILAN moved top of Serie A yesterday after surviving a late penalty controversy to beat Lazio 1-0 and take a one-point lead over Roma ahead of the capital club’s headline clash overnight with Napoli. Rafael Leao forced home the only goal of a scrappy game at the San Siro in the 51st minute, with the Portugal attacker meeting Fikayo Tomori’s powerful low cross to score his sixth goal of the season. But the result hinged on referee Giuseppe Collu’s decision to deny Lazio a penalty for a Strahinja Pavlovic handball deep in stoppage time. Leao’s goal had been the highlight of a largely tepid encounter until Collu was called to the pitchside monitors to make his decision – something he could not do for minutes due to the protests of Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri and chaos in both teams’ dugouts. Allegri was sent off for dissent before Collu even looked at the images, while Lazio were enraged at being denied a spot-kick, not because the referee decided that Pavlovic did not handle the ball, but because he claimed that the Serbia defender was fouled by Adam Marusic. That decision led to Lazio refusing to talk to media after the match, while Allegri immediately switched to a more diplomatic tone. “It wasn’t easy for the referee to make that

decision after being called over by VAR,” said Allegri to Sky Sport , insisting that he did not insult Collu. Goalkeeper Mike Maignan again proved his worth after a match-winning performance in the previous weekend’s Milan derby, keeping out Mario Gila’s well-directed header moments after kick-off. The France goalkeeper’s contract expires at the end of the season but ahead of kickoff Milan’s sporting director Igli Tare hinted that an extension would be agreed. Lazio stay eighth on 18 points after a fifth defeat of the season which left them five points behind seventh-placed Juventus, who beat Cagliari 2-1 earlier on Saturday. Kenan Yildiz gave Luciano Spalletti his first home win as Juve coach with a crucial brace – the Turkey forward saving his team’s blushes in stoppage time at the end of the first half with a typically stylish finish. That was Yildiz’s fifth goal of the season for Juve and came after he levelled the scores in the 27th minute, seconds after Sebastiano Esposito gave Cagliari a shock lead. “Yildiz has the qualities of a great player – he gave us the win out of nothing,” said Spalletti. “I’m trying to give him as much freedom as possible and liberate him from tactical concerns. He’s really great in tight spaces.” – AFP