Football - Valencia eliminate
Levante from Copa del Rey
Valencia advanced to a meeting with Barcelona in the Copa del Rey semi-finals after beating Levante 3-0 thanks to Pablo Piatti’s double on Thursday night for a 7-1 aggregate score. Argentine forward Piatti provided a constant threat for the visitors at Ciutat de Valencia Stadium and drew various fouls from Levante’s frustrated defence. Piatti saw his bouncing shot go wide moments before laying off for Aritz Aduriz to net the 25th-minute opener. Five minutes later Piatti ran onto youth player Juan Bernat’s throughball and slotted home Valencia’s second goal to put the series against their crosstown rivals beyond doubt before halftime. Levante played from the 72nd with 10 men after recent signing Oscar Serrano received his second booking for fouling Piatti, who then capped the victory in the 86th by drilling in a rebound of a chance he had created for Aduriz.
Football - AC Milan sign striker Maxi Lopez from Catania
AC Milan signed Argentine striker Maxi Lopez on loan from Catania yesterday, signalling that the club has given up on signing Carlos Tevez — at least until the end of the season. Milan said in a statement that they have the option to gain Lopez’s full rights at the end of the season, and that the forward has signed a contract through 2015. Milan had been hoping to sign Tevez from Manchester City. Milan vice president Adriano Galliani had several meetings with Tevez in the past month and had reportedly reached an agreement with Tevez, but a deal couldn’t be reached with City. Galliani said he came close to signing Tevez earlier yesterday.
Football - Olympiakos sign
goalie Roy Carroll for 18 months
Greek champions Olympiakos have signed former Manchester United goalkeeper Roy Carroll in an 18-month deal. The 34-year-old Carroll transferred for an undisclosed sum from Greek club OFI, where he quickly emerged as a standout player. Olympiakos have fallen five points behind main rivals Panathinaikos in the title race and face Rubin Kazan in the round of 32 in the Europa League on 14 February.
Football - Forward Moussa Sow to join Turkish club Fenerbahce
Fenerbahce have signed Senegal forward Moussa Sow from Lille. Fenerbahce said the 26-year-old Sow has agreed to play for the Istanbul side until the end of the 2015-16 season. They gave no further detail on the terms of the transfer. Private NTV television said Fenerbahce will pay Sow and his former club Lille about €20 million. The Turkish club is embroiled in a match-fixing scandal that allegedly involved 19 league games last season. Sow arrived in Istanbul after Senegal were eliminated from the African Cup of Nations on Wednesday.
Athletics - Abshero, Mergia
win Dubai Marathon
Ayele Abshero of Ethiopia won the Dubai Marathon yesterday, setting a course record of 2 hours, 4 minutes, 23 seconds in his first marathon, giving his country a morale-boosting victory over rivals Kenya in an Olympic year. Abshero surged to the front of a pack at the 34 kilometre mark and then pulled away from his compatriot Dino Sefir Kemal at 39 kilometres to win the race by 27 seconds over Kemal. Markos Geneti was third, completing a clean sweep of the placings for Ethiopia. In the women’s race, defending champion Aselefech Mergia made it an Ethiopian double as she held off Lucy Kabuu of Kenya by just three seconds, winning in 2 hours 19 minutes and 31 seconds. Kabuu, running her first marathon after being a force at 10,000 metres, briefly held the lead in the closing stages but Mergia passed her and held on for the victory. Ethiopia’s Mare Dibaba was third, 21 seconds behind compatriot Mergia.
Football - Brazil defender Alex joins PSG from Chelsea
Paris Saint-Germain completed the signing of Brazil defender Alex from Chelsea on a 2½-year deal yesterday. The 29-year-old centre back has played only three English Premier League games for Chelsea this season. He fell out of favour with coach Andre Villas-Boas and has not played since a League Cup quarter-final defeat against Liverpool two months ago. PSG coach Carlo Ancelotti knows Alex well from his time at Chelsea. The rugged defender was part of the team that won the Premier League and FA Cup double under Ancelotti two seasons ago.
Football - Lazio defender Dias banned for three Cup matches
Lazio defender Andre Dias has been banned for three Italian Cup matches for taking a swipe at the head of AC Milan midfielder Mark van Bommel. The referee missed the incident during the second half of Milan’s 3-1 quarter-final win on Thursday, even though Van Bommel ended up on the ground. The league judge also banned Inter coach Claudio Ranieri for one match for insulting the referee during a 2-0 defeat to Napoli on Wednesday. Since Lazio and Inter have already been eliminated, Dias and Ranieri will serve out their bans next season.
Football - Kalou hamstring injury not serious
Ivory Coast saidSalomon Kalou’s left hamstring injury is not serious, although the Chelsea striker sat out yesterday’s training at the African Cup of Nations. Team spokesman Eric Kakou said Kalou was undergoing further tests but would be available for Ivory Coast’s final Group B game against Angola. Tournament favourites Ivory Coast have already qualified for the quarter-finals. Kalou pulled up with the hamstring problem with around 25 minutes to go of Thursday’s 2-0 win over Burkina Faso after scoring the opening goal.