KATHMANDU: After defeating Iran 3-0, Nepal has secured its position into the Final of Women’s Football Hero Gold Cup 2019 .

Nepal will now face Myanmar for the title. This will be the second time that Nepal is facing Myanmar in the tournament. In its first match, Nepal lost to Myanmar 0-3 but made a very good comeback to register back-to-back wins to book a place in the final.

Myanmar defeated host India 2-0 in the last match of the league on Wednesday evening, entering the finals to face Nepal. The final is taking place at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubhaneswar on February 15.

KATHMANDU: Nepal has won the match against host nation India  2-1 in the Hero Women’s Gold Cup in Bhubaneshwar, India. In the match, Nepal’s Sabitra Bhandari  has netted the post in the opening seven minutes. She scored both goals in the 5th and 7th minute of the first half.

India has tried and attempted to recover, but succeeded only in the 83rd minute but the score was not enough and finally Nepal won the match.  Nepal will now play Iran to decide for a place in the final to be held on February 15. Of the four teams in the competition, two will qualify for the final.

India and Nepal both have 3 points each while Myanmar was already through to the final with 6 points after two consecutive wins.

In the other match, Myanmar defeated Iran 2-0. Iran is yet to secure a point after losing to India in the first match by 1-0. Myanmar will now face the host in the last league match.

LONDON: Manchester City has crushed Chelsea 6-0 to be atop the Premier League points table on Sunday, after all Sergio Aguero scored a hat-trick. City were ahead 4-0 just 25 minutes into the first half. Only six minutes later, Aguero span to knock the ball past Kepa Arrizabalaga to make it 3-0.

In the 25th minute, Chelsea were 4-0 through Ilkay Gundogan’s low shot from the edge of the box after Sterling’s pass to Aguero had been poorly cleared by Antonio Rudiger. Aguero completed his 15th hat-trick for City in the 56th minute, when he coolly rolled home a penalty earned by Sterling after he had been tackled by Cesar Azpilicueta.

It was also Aguero’s 11th Premier League hat-trick, level with former Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer in pole position. Sterling sealed the victory by scoring his second from the close range in the 80th minute, handing Chelsea their biggest loss since they were defeated 7-0 by Nottingham Forest in 1991. (Agencies) 

LONDON: Chelsea playmaker Eden Hazard is convinced that he can form a great partnership with the club’s new striker Gonzalo Higuain after playing two matches together.

Chelsea signed Higuain on loan from Juventus last month and the Argentina striker scored twice in last week’s 5-0 thumping of the Premier League’s bottom club Huddersfield Town.

“Chelsea is not about Higuain and Hazard, it is about 25 players. But Higuain is a fantastic striker.”

Hazard, who also scored two goals in that game at Stamford Bridge, said he was already enjoying playing alongside the former Real Madrid and Napoli striker.

“I’ve only played two games with Higuain and I know we can do something great together, not only with him but also with the other strikers, the other winger,” Hazard told The Times ahead of Sunday’s league meeting with Manchester City.

“Chelsea is not about Higuain and Hazard, it is about 25 players. But Higuain is a fantastic striker.”

Victory over Huddersfield followed league defeats by Arsenal and Bournemouth where midfielder Jorginho was man-marked to nullify the Italy international’s influence.

“If one guy is marking him all the time, we need to adapt also. Jorginho is always trying to be free to take the ball to create something. He’s a fantastic player,” Hazard said.

Manager Maurizio Sarri has also faced questions about his insistence on playing N’Golo Kante on the right side of midfield instead of in his natural holding role, but Hazard believes the Frenchman has to adapt.

“N’Golo’s a clever guy, one of the best in his position, maybe the best in the world. N’Golo now plays six months in a different position. He needs to adapt,” Hazard said.

“When we win, everyone will say, ‘yes, he plays in his (best) position, and if we lose everyone will say, ‘no, he needs to go a bit behind’. Depends only on the result.”

Hazard said Chelsea still need time to adapt to Sarri’s possession-based style of play, which contrasts to the counter-attacking football of previous managers Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho.

“Sometimes we keep possession, and I understand the fans want us to go forward (more directly), but it is part of the football,” Hazard said.

“We are still learning about his concept. We are doing well. I like this kind of football.”

Reuters

BARCELONA: Messi, who suffered a thigh injury at the weekend against Valencia, appeared for the final half hour against Real Madrid but could not help champions Barcelona find a late winner. Brazilian Malcom, who started in place of Lionel Messi, curled home in the 58th minute to pull Barcelona level after Lucas Vazquez had fired Real Madrid ahead early on.

Winger Malcom’s second half strike secured Barcelona a 1-1 draw with Real Madrid to leave the Copa del Rey semi-final evenly poised on Wednesday after the first leg. Vazquez struck after just six minutes to silence the Nou Camp at the end of a slick team move, with Santiago Solari’s side impressing in the opening stages.

However, Ivan Rakitic clipped the crossbar with a header as Barcelona fought for an equaliser and Malcom eventually found it when Luis Suarez’s shot rebounded to him off the post. Vazquez struck after just six minutes to silence the Nou Camp at the end of a slick team move, with Santiago Solari’s side impressing in the opening stages. However, Ivan Rakitic clipped the crossbar with a header as Barcelona fought for an equaliser and Malcom eventually found it when Luis Suarez’s shot rebounded to him off the post.

Messi, who suffered a thigh injury at the weekend against Valencia, appeared for the final half hour but could not help champions Barcelona find a late winner. “Speaking generally, the draw was fair,” said Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets. “It was very even, everything will be decided in the second leg. There were chances for both sides to win the game. It’s 50-50, even though they’re at home.

“The goal will give (Malcom) a lot in terms of confidence, we hope that everyone in the squad can help us.” Malcom has struggled for game time since joining from Bordeaux last July as he is behind Messi, Suarez, Ousmane Dembele and Philippe Coutinho in the pecking order. However, Messi’s injury gave him the chance to impress and the 21-year-old was Barcelona’s liveliest player, always probing at Madrid’s defence.

Wednesday’s result would also have gone some way towards healing Real’s wounded pride as their last visit to the Nou Camp ended in a 5-1 La Liga thrashing last October in what turned out to be Julen Lopetegui’s final game in charge. “Both sides have the chance to go through,” said Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas, who made good saves from Suarez and Malcom. “It was a good game. Everyone on the team worked hard when we needed to and we played well too.” (Reuters)

LONDON: Liverpool has played draw against West Ham on Monday. With points dropped for the second consecutive game and a title challenge getting jittery. After all, Liverpool is still top of the English Premier League by three points despite being held 1-1 by West Ham on Monday after also drawing with Leicester in the previous game.
“It’s not about pressure,” Klopp said. “It’s about enjoying the situation you are in it. We have 62 points. We lost one game in the (league) season so far, which is very positive.”
There is, however, a noticeable downturn in the club’s fortunes in the league. Michail Antonio canceling out Sadio Mane’s opener for Liverpool meant Klopp’s squad has now dropped seven potential points in its last five games. The northwest club only dropped six points in the opening 20 fixtures by drawing three games.
Now Manchester City can overhaul Liverpool for top spot by beating Everton on Wednesday, albeit only on goal difference and by having played a game more than Liverpool. Reuters

PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain’s 20-game unbeaten run in the French league this season ended with a 2-1 defeat at Lyon on Sunday. PSG has lost three times this season, including away to Liverpool in the Champions League and at home to Guingamp in the League Cup, but this was its first Ligue 1 loss since a 2-0 home defeat to Rennes in the penultimate game of last season.

Despite the setback, PSG leads second-placed Lille by 10 points, having played two games less. Yet it was a huge boost for Lyon in the quest to finish second and qualify automatically for next season’s Champions League. Lyon is three points behind Lille, with 15 matches remaining.

Both goalkeepers stood out in a great advert for the French league. Rarely tested in the top tier in France, PSG’s defense ultimately fell short under the watchful eye of Manchester United coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who was present at the game.

A resurgent United side hosts PSG in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 game on Feb. 12. Solskjaer will have noticed glaring deficiencies at the back, which meant PSG goalkeeper Alphonse Areola had to make six saves in a pulsating first half.

France forward Nabil Fekir won it for Lyon when he coolly slotted in a 49th-minute penalty, after center half Thiago Silva impeded striker Moussa Dembele as he burst into the area. Dembele’s towering header from a pinpoint Leo Dubois cross drew Lyon level in the 33rd after Angel Di Maria silenced the home crowd with an opening goal after seven minutes.

Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar clumsily lost possession dribbling out of his own half, and Julian Draxler took the ball off him before feeding Di Maria inside the left of the penalty area. The Argentina winger advanced and finished with a low strike across the body of Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes, before provocatively dancing in front of home fans.

PSG then weathered a barrage of Lyon pressure. Preferred to Gianluigi Buffon for this game, in an ongoing goalkeeper rotation by coach Thomas Tuchel, Areola was inspired.

Midway through the first half, he made a double stop to first thwart Bertrand Traore and then surged off the ground to palm away Memphis Depay’s follow-up effort from close range.

But then Areola stumbled coming out to meet a cross from Dubois, and Dembele rose superbly to level at 1-1. The action, at both ends, was unrelenting. Di Maria almost grabbed his second goal late in the first half, only for center half Jason Denayer to deny him with a spectacular diving header near his line.

Silva was adjudged to have obstructed Dembele as PSG conceded its 11th penalty this season _ a statistic Solskjaer will doubtless know. But he will also have seen that PSG has immense firepower, and Lopes needed to be at his best on Sunday.

He made three saves in quick succession, including a stunning finger-tip save with his left hand to keep out a stinging drive from Kylian Mbappe _ who was again denied by Lopes with 20 minutes left.

“It’s difficult to say, we had chances as well,” PSG’s Draxler said when asked if Lyon deserved to win. “But they played very well in the first half. We knew beforehand that Lyon is a classy team.”

Lyon faces Barcelona in the last-16 of the Champions League, having beaten Manchester City away and drawn with City at home during the group stage.

DELORT EARNS DRAW

Striker Andy Delort’s well-taken goal earned Montpellier a 1-1 draw at southern rival Nimes and moved the team up to fifth place. Nimes and Montpellier are roughly one hour apart by car and they have a fierce rivalry. Nimes opened the scoring after two minutes when defender Loick Landre headed in from a corner.

Delort latched onto strike partner Gaetan Laborde’s pass in the 73rd minute, and coolly lobbed the goalkeeper. Montpellier is one point behind fourth-placed Saint-Etienne, while promoted Nimes is in 11th place. AP

LONDON: The wreckage of the aircraft that disappeared over the English Channel last month carrying Premier League soccer player Emiliano Sala and his pilot has been located, the marine scientist directing the search said on Sunday. The 28-year-old Argentina-born forward had been en route from Nantes in western France with pilot David Ibbotson to make his debut for Welsh team Cardiff City when the plane is believed to have crashed into the sea on Jan. 21.

A privately funded underwater search had begun on Sunday, several days after investigators said they found two seat cushions on the French coast that likely belonged to the aircraft. “Wreckage of the plane carrying Emiliano Sala and piloted by David Ibbotson was located early this morning,” marine scientist David Mearns, who directed the search, said on Twitter.

Mearns said Britain’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) had moved its vessel over the position his team had located to visually identify the plane using a remote-operated vehicle. “The families of Emiliano Sala and David Ibbotson have been notified by police. The AAIB will be making a statement tomorrow. Tonight our sole thoughts are with the families and friends of Emiliano and David,” Mearns said. Reuters

ABU DHABI: Qatar stunned four-time champion Japan 3-1 to win the AFC Asian Cup for the first time as striker Almoez Ali scored his record-breaking ninth goal in the tournament here on Friday. Qatar were crowned the Asian champion with a seven-game winning streak, scoring 19 goals and just conceded one.

Almoez Ali, the top scorer of the tournament, opened the scoring after 12 minutes with an acrobatic volley assisted by Akram Hassan Afif, who delivered his ninth assist in the tournament. Ali broke Iranian legend Ali Daei’s record of 8 goals in a single Asian Cup.

The 22-year-old striker almost had a brace one minute later, but his shot inside the box was deflected for a corner by Japan captain Maya Yoshida.

Japan, who had never lost in the Asian Cup final, pushed for the equalizer but things got worse after 27 minutes as Abdelaziz Hatim doubled Qatar’s lead by curling an unstoppable shot from distance into the far corner.

Qatar nearly made it 3-0 10 minutes before the break as captain Hassan Al Haydos hit the post from range. With the halftime approaching, Japan failed to turn their dominance of possession into clear chances.

The Samurai Blue looked much sharper after the break, Takumi Minamino pulled one back in the 69th minute with a clinical finish after being well set-up by Yuya Osako.

However, Qatar’s nerves were settled minutes later when Abdelkarim Hassan’s header from a corner hit Maya Yoshida’s hand. The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) offered to referee a chance to review it and, after a brief period, Afif converted the penalty to seal the win.

Maya Yoshida had an opportunity to make up for the handball but sent his header over the bar with two minutes remaining.

(Agencies)

Gareth Bale needed just two minutes to mark his return from injury with a goal as 10-man Real Madrid held on for a 4-2 victory over Espanyol on Sunday. Bale had been out since January 3 with a calf strain but made an instant impact off the bench at the RCDE Stadium, where Karim Benzema continued his own rich vein of form by scoring twice. Sergio Ramos was also on target with a brilliant header before Leo Baptistao kept Espanyol in sight.

Bale and Benzema seemed to have wrapped things up but Raphael Varane was sent off with 18 minutes left and substitute Roberto Rosales drove in to set up a nervy finish. Madrid, however, survived for their fifth win in sixth matches, even if it was only enough to restore the 10-point difference behind Barcelona, who had earlier seen off Girona 2-0, with Lionel Messi scoring a sublime chip.

They may not be closing the gap on the league leaders but Madrid is gaining momentum, with the resumption of the Champions League just around the corner. Benzema now has 15 goals this season and his first was a simple finish in the third minute, as he pounced on a rebound from Luka Modric’s shot. Ramos is their second top scorer with 10, his excellent header looping into the far corner before Baptistao gave Espanyol a lifeline with an emphatic shot from the edge of the area.

But Benzema added a third on the stroke of half-time and when Bale, after replacing Vinicius Junior, made it four, it looked like the game was up. Instead, Varane was sent off for bringing down Pablo Piatti as the last man and Rosales set Madrid’s nerves jangling by chesting and volleying past Thibaut Courtois with nine minutes left.

Madrid held on and while Benzema’s surge, and Bale’s fitness could yet prove key to their second half of the season, particularly in the Champions League, in La Liga it is Messi and Barca who lead the way. Messi’s brilliant chip, his ninth goal in as many games, came after Nelson Semedo had given them an early lead before Bernardo Espinosa’s red card consigned Girona to 39 minutes with 10 men.

The home fans were left incensed by that decision, as well as Messi’s reaction they believed caused it, but the Argentinian’s goal offered the perfect riposte. “We struggled in the first half a bit but after the red card we had to dominate the game,” Barca coach Ernesto Valverde said.

“It was a tough match, they pushed us a lot.” Outside the stadium before kick-off, propped up on a railing, was a sign with an ironic message scrawled: “Miami, here we come”. La Liga had hoped to drag this game across the Atlantic to promote Spanish football and the two clubs had supported the idea, with various perks dangled in front of fans, including free flights and tickets, not to mention the chance to be part of something “historic”.

The setting probably would have made little difference to the result – just the integrity of the competition – given Girona, now 14th, are without a win in 10 matches while Barca has managed eight league victories in a row. Girona hustled and harried their opponents in the opening minutes but Semedo’s goal was soft as they failed to clear three times before he swept the ball home with his left foot.

Barca could have made it two, only for Philippe Coutinho to hit the goalkeeper. It was one of a handful of underwhelming moments from Coutinho, whose tepid display will have done little to assuage his doubters. Girona grew into the game but any momentum was checked shortly after half-time as Espinosa caught Suarez from behind and, after protests from Messi, was shown a second yellow card.

Messi was jeered and for a while, the fury spurred Girona on. But he had the final say as Luis Suarez threaded through Jordi Alba, who squared to him. Out rushed Yassine Bounou but Messi’s scoop was so good, even the diving Porro was powerless to keep it out. Some of Girona’s fans, previously enraged, now stood up to applaud.