IN BRIEF (Page 24)
Soccer
Real stay top, Barcelona destroy Atletico
MADRID: Real Madrid held on to the leadership of the Primera Liga by the skin of their teeth after a last-gasp 3-2 win over Recreativo Huelva on Sunday.
Real looked as though they might lose top spot after Recre fought back from 2-0 down to level at 2-2 with five minutes to go, but Brazilian fullback Roberto Carlos snatched a vital win when he dinked home in injury time.
Barcelona, who relinquished top spot after last weekend's 1-1 draw at home to Real Betis, bounced back with a 6-0 destruction of Atletico Madrid, to inflict a heaviest ever home defeat on the rojiblancos.
Porto retain Portuguese league title
LISBON: Porto won their second successive Portuguese Premier League title when they beat Desportivo Aves 4-1 at home in the final round of the season on Sunday.
Argentine striker Lisando Lopez scored twice for Porto, who led the standings from the first round and ended with 69 points from 30 matches for their 22nd league crown.
Sporting, who beat Belenenses 4-0 at home, grabbed second spot one point behind to secure an automatic place in the Champions League.
Third-placed Benfica defeated Academica 2-0 at home and will play in the third qualifying round of the Champions League.
Rostock and Duisburg promoted to Bundesliga
BERLIN: Hansa Rostock and MSV Duisburg secured promotion to the Bundesliga after both won their final second division matches of the season on Sunday.
They join Karlsruhe SC, who had already clinched a spot in top flight. Rostock beat SpVgg Unterhaching at home 3-1, while Duisburg hosted Rot-Weiss Essen, winning 3-0.
Karlsruhe, who won 3-1 away to Greuther Fuerth, finished top of the division with 70 points, followed by Rostock on 62 and Duisburg on 60.
Bundesliga clubs Mainz, Alemannia Aachen and Borussia Moenchengladbach have been relegated to the second division.
River fans furious after home defeat
BUENOS AIRES: River Plate fans vented their fury at coach Daniel Passarella and his players and fought with each other after watching their team lose 1-0 at home to Estudiantes on Sunday.
Midfielder Ezequiel Maggiolo headed the only goal in injury time to effectively end River's hopes of winning the Clausura championship.
The goal, which kept defending champions Estudiantes in the title hunt, came after a dramatic finale in which River defender Danilo Gerlo missed a gilt-edged chance and his team mate Marco Ruben had a goal disallowed for offside.
River played nearly the entire second half with 10 men after Ariel Ortega was sent off for a second bookable offence.
During the match, River fans fought with each other in a section of the stadium occupied by the hardcore supporters.
Tennis
Germany make perfect start at World Team Cup
BERLIN: Hosts Germany made a perfect start at the World Team Cup in Duesseldorf on Sunday, posting a 3-0 win over Belgium in their opening Blue Group match.
Philipp Kohlschreiber beat Olivier Rochus 6-3 1-6 6-1 and the Germans completed victory without losing another set, as Florian Mayer saw off Kristof Vliegen 6-3 6-4 and Michael Kohlmann and Alexander Waske teamed up to beat Rochus and Steve Darcis 7-6 7-5.
"I had a slump in the middle of the match but I was playing really well by the end," said Kohlschreiber, who was also part of the of the German Davis Cup team that beat Belgium in this year's quarter-finals.
(China Daily 05/22/2007 page24)
