THE PNEINSULA – DOHA

Al Duhail yesterday overtook Al Gharafa in the QNB Stars League points table thanks to a hard-fought win over Umm Salal at the Qatar SC Stadium.

Eduardo Rodriguez scored the only goal of the match in the 12th minute as Al Duhail raised their points tally to 24 as they climbed to the second spot with their eighth win of the season.

Umm Salal remain on 10 points following their sixth defeat.

Going into the match, Umm Salal had not lost their last four games. However, they could not do much against reigning cham-pions Al Duhail, who are in their usual selves of late after initial struggles.

Al Duhail had stormed into the top four by beating Al Khor (6-1) in Week 10 and The Red Knights then beat Al Ahli 5-3 to finish the first leg of the tournament in third position.

Sabri Lamouchi’s side is well on course to retain the title even though they lag behind leaders Al Sadd on points.

Dudu scored the winner in the 12th minute and the stalemate remained right throughout.

Al Duhail dominated the ball with 65 per cent in the first half. Abdullah Al Ahrak set up Almoez Ali in the 39th minute, but the latter could not find the target.

For Umm Salal, Kayke Rod-riguez and Abdennour Belhosini made serious attempts in the first half.

Both teams continued to create chances in the second session, but the deadlock remained.

Meanwhile, Al Gharafa, failed to secure their second spot despite a second-half fightback against Qatar SC as they shared points with Qatar SC following a 2-2 draw at the Qatar SC Stadium yesterday.

Ahmed Fadel (41) and Youcef Belaili (45+2 penalty) were on target for Qatar SC, while Al Gharafa replied through goals from Ahmed Al Janehi (54) and Jonathan Kodjia (59 penalty).

Al Gharafa now stands in the third spot, one point behind Al Duhail, while Qatar SC have 20 in front of their name.

The match kicked off in spec-tacular fashion with Belaili aiming for the goal on the second touch a couple of feet away from the half-line. His long-range shot was not way off the mark as the ball sailed above keeper Yousef Hassan’s head and landed on top of the net.

As the players settled into a groove, Al Gharafa’s Koo Ja-Cheol attempted a long-range shot in the 13th minute, close to the edge of the box, that went wayward.

Belaili’s second serious attempt at goal – this time from close range – was made possible by a long cross from Hamed Ismail. Chased by an Al Gharafa defender, Belaili charged into the box but his header – lacking in speed – was parried away by the goalkeeper in the 18th minute.

Al Gharafa’s influential Algerian midfielder Sofiane Hanni – after a short cross from Homam Elamin – also failed to find the net as he hit the ball straight to keeper Jassim Al Hail despite having time

and space to work on his shot close to the half hour mark.

The long session of hits and misses came to end – via a VAR call in the 43rd minute - when Fadel on an assist by Alejandro Galvez fired into the lower right of the Al Gharafa goal. The referee used the VAR review to check the potential off-side call before allowing the goal to stay.

In injury time, Al Gharafa’s Tameem Al Muhaza brought Belaili down with a rough sliding tackle resulting in a penalty. Qatar SC went 2-0 up as Belaili easily con-verted the spot kick.

Trailing by two goals, Al Gharafa hit back with two quick goals in the second half.

First, Al Janehi jumped high to

tap a cross into the net from close range.

Then, Kodjia converted a penalty kick awarded after he was brought down inside the box and the referee awarded the penalty after a VAR review.

A quarter of an hour later, Kodjia nearly scored a winner from close range on a long cross from Hanni. However, Kodjia’s quick-footed drive was pouched by Qatar SC keeper.

Elsewhere, at Al Arabi Stadium, the hosts beat Al Khor 3-0.

Mehrdad Mohammadi (18), Mehdi Torabi (38) and Abdul-rahman Anad (71) scored the goals as Al Arabi completed a hat-trick of wins. The Dream Team now have four victories and 15 points.

Al Khor’s miseries com-pounded as they crashed to their seventh defeat and stood on seven points, very much in the danger zone, as the tournament entered the second leg.

Al Khor now have their back to the wall as The Knights have only one point more than bottom-placed Al Kharaitiyat.

QATAR BASKETBALL LEAGUE: Al Ahli (Ndoye Seydou 30) beat Qatar SC 72-71; Al Sadd (Konstantinos Vasileiadis 38) beat Al Rayyan 112-95

MONDAY 4 JANUARY 2021

PSG players must show they deserve to wear the shirt, says new coach PochettinoOur main goal is to make sure everyone is heading in the same direction. The idea is for everyone to want to win for the club more than anything else. We want to be a strong club with a strong structure.

Sport | 11

PSwOudirany

PSG Manager Mauricio Roberto

Sport

Toyota's Qatari driver Nasser Al Attiyah and navigator Matthieu Baumel in their Toyota Hilux during yesterday's opening stage of the 2021 Dakar Rally.

REUTERS – JEDDAH

D e f e n d i n g champion Carlos

Sainz took the lead in the Dakar Rally car category after

winning yesterday’s first proper stage in the Saudi Arabian desert ahead

of Mini team mate Stephane Peterhansel.The Spaniard was eight seconds clear of ‘Mr

Dakar’ Peterhansel -- the Frenchman who has won a record 13 times on two wheels and four -- overall after the 277-km timed stage from the port city of Jeddah to Bisha.

Overnight leader Nasser Al Attiyah, who won Saturday’s short prologue for the factory Toyota team, dropped back to 10th and nearly 12 minutes off the lead.

“We decided to win the prologue, and we expected to lose time opening the road today. Tomorrow’s stage is what really matters,” said the Qatari.

Sainz, a triple Dakar winner whose son and namesake is a Ferrari Formula One driver, had

started 28th after a puncture in the prologue but came back aggressively in his X-Raid Mini JCW buggy.

“We had a puncture and a problem with the roadbook made us lose four minutes. Happy with the P1 and with the lead tomorrow,” the 58-year-old said on Twitter.

Peterhansel lost time with a puncture in the last 50km.

Nine-times world rally champion Sebastien Loeb had a difficult day, the Frenchman suffering three punctures and dropping nearly 24 minutes behind for the Bahrain Raid Xtreme team.

In the bikes category, Australian two-times champion Toby Price was 23 seconds clear of Argentina’s Kevin Benavides overall while American 2020 champion Ricky Brabec lost his way and ended up 17 minutes adrift.

“Today quite difficult with the navigation. I got lost a little bit about seven km from the finish,” said KTM rider Price. “I took a little bit of time just trying to get back on track here.” The Dakar, one of motorsport’s most dangerous and gruelling events, is being held entirely in Saudi Arabia for the second time, with competitors in a protective bubble after testing negative for COVID-19.

The rally ends in Jeddah on Jan. 15.

Sainz leads Dakar after first stage; Al Attiyah determined to strike back

QSL: Al Duhail climb to second spot with hard-fought win over Umm Salal

YESTERDAY'S RESULTSUmm Salal 0-1 Al DuhailQatar SC 2-2 Al Gharafa

Al Arabi 3-0 Al Khor

City surge to 3-1 win over Chelsea

AP – LONDON

Manchester City left Chelsea in disarray by sweeping to a 3-1 victory yesterday with a ruthless attacking display that consigned Frank Lampard's team to a fourth loss in its past six Premier League games.

İlkay Gündoğan, Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne scored in a devastating 16-minute first-half spell as City rose to fifth in the standings despite coronavirus cases depleting the squad.

Chelsea are only three points behind City but have played two games more. The absence of any crowd due to coronavirus restrictions spared Lampard from any negativity from his own fans at least.

With Ederson in isolation recovering from COVID-19, goalkeeper Zack Steffen started his first Premier League game. It was a nervy start for the 25-year-old American, earning a booking for han-dling outside the penalty area after five minutes.

But thanks to City’s scintillating forays forward and Chelsea’s attacking deficiencies, Steffen wasn’t tested. Instead it was opposite number Edouard Mendy picking the ball out of his net three times.

In the 18th minute, Foden received a pass from De Bruyne and teed up Gündoğan on the turn to net his third goal in four games. City was in devastating form, orchestrated as so often by De Bruyne with less than three minutes between the opening two goals. An initial cross from the Belgium playmaker was intercepted by Thiago Silva, but he regained the ball to set up Foden for the second. It was a slick final touch from Foden that allowed him to beat Mendy at his near post.

Chelsea were in disarray. The third was started and completed by De Bruyne. He headed to Sterling to launch a breakaway down half the length of the pitch unchallenged before hitting the goal frame with a shot. By that time, De Bruyne had arrived to meet the rebound in the 34th minute. Only Mendy's quick reaction in the Chelsea goal prevented a close-range header from Rodri going into the top corner at the start of the second half.

There was consolation in stoppage time with Callum Hudson-Odoi netting from Kai Havertz's cross.

Manchester City’s Phil Foden celebrates after scoring their second goal against Chelsea yesterday.

Al Duhail's Eduardo Rodriguez vying for the ball with Umm Salal players during their QNB Stars League Round 12 match played at Qatar SC Stadium, yesterday.

11MONDAY 4 JANUARY 2021 SPORT

La Liga: Real see off Celta REUTERS – MADRID

Real Madrid beat an in-form Celta Vigo 2-0 at home on Saturday thanks to a goal and assist apiece from Spanish pair Lucas Vazquez and Marco Asensio, putting the side above city rivals Atletico Madrid in La Liga.

The win took the Spanish champions to 36 points.

Real were smarting from a surprise 1-1 draw at struggling Elche in their last match and were missing captain Sergio Ramos, who was out with a stomach bug.

But they got off to an ideal start thanks to a towering header from Vazquez, who out-jumped two Celta defenders to power home a cross from Asensio.

Vazquez returned the favour early in the second half to tee up Asensio after Madrid had

recovered the ball high in Celta’s half. Zinedine Zidane’s side comfortably saw out the victory, ending Celta’s unbeaten run of six games under new coach Eduardo Coudet.

“We said before the game that after slipping up against Elche we wanted to show our usual aggression and win the ball back high up the pitch,” said Vazquez.

“Right now every game is key, we are on a good run, we didn’t expect to draw the other day but the team is in good shape and if we keep playing like this we’ll be fighting for eve-rything.” Celta had won five of their previous six league games since Argentine Coudet took charge in November after Oscar Garcia was sacked, taking them from the bottom of the standings to within striking distance of the European places.

The trip to Madrid was their

biggest test so far and they almost took the lead when tal-ismanic striker Iago Aspas ran through and knocked the ball past keeper Thibaut Courtois but Real defender Nacho recovered to clear it off the line.

Madrid broke immediately with a long ball to Asensio, whose cross was nodded in by Vazquez. Real nearly doubled their lead when Dani Carvajal tried his luck from outside the box and saw his shot whistle past the post.

Celta had failed to pull off their usual style of intense pressing and they suffered a huge blow when Aspas, La Liga’s joint-top scorer with nine goals, was forced off in visible pain with a suspected muscle injury.

Asensio’s goal moments later delivered a knockout blow and they later also lost forward Nolito to an injury.

REUTERS – PARIS

New Paris St. Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino is relishing the opportunity to take charge of a star-studded squad but has warned the club’s top players that they must prove they deserve to wear the jersey of the French champions.

Former Tottenham Hotspur boss Pochettino was named head coach of PSG on Saturday, with the Argentine replacing Thomas Tuchel, who was sacked on Christmas Eve after a 4-0 victory over Racing Stras-bourg as the side sat in third in the league.

“In this club it’s always been about excellence, the players have to deserve to wear the jersey,” Pochettino, who played for PSG as a defender in the early 2000s and also captained the side, told the club’s website. “I think that it’s a fantastic squad and I think that we can

accomplish what this club and the players want because they are competitors and they want to lift tro-phies.” The 48-year-old, who has signed a deal until June 2022, said his first task would be to ensure eve-ryone at the club worked together.

“Our main goal is to make sure everyone is heading in the same direction. The idea is for everyone to want to win for the club more than anything else. We want to be a strong club with a strong structure,” he added.

Pochettino was to take his first training session later yes-terday ahead of his first game in charge, a trip to St. Etienne on Wednesday when the league resumes following the winter break.

Martinez scores hat-trick as Inter hit six to go top of Serie AREUTERS – MILAN

Lautaro Martinez’s first hat-trick for Inter Milan helped his side crush Crotone 6-2, earning their eighth successive Serie A win yesterday and sending Antonio Conte’s team top of the standings above AC Milan.

With their local rivals in action later yesterday, Inter knew a win would see them go top, if only temporarily, but it was not looking promising as second-bottom Crotone took a shock 12th minute lead through Niccolo Zanellato.

However, Romelu Lukaku sent strike partner Martinez through to level eight minutes later, before an own goal from Luca Marrone put Inter in front. A Vladimir Golemic penalty then levelled things up once again.

With the quality Inter possess up front, it was only a matter of time until they put Crotone to the sword in the second half, with Martinez bril-liantly giving Inter the lead in the 57th minute before Lukaku added another seven minutes later.

Martinez completed his first Inter hat-trick 12 minutes from time, before Achraf Hakimi put the icing on the cake with a late sixth to put Inter top on 36 points, two clear of AC Milan and seven clear of Roma, who also played later yesterday.

Crotone remain 19th with just two league wins all season.

Inter had the opportunity to get a head start in the only early kick off in the first round of Serie A matches after the winter break - the first time in over eight years that all 10 Serie A games will be played on a single Sunday.

But Conte’s side struggled early on, and could have con-ceded more than Zanellato’s opener ahead of Lukaku’s superb assist for Martinez settled the hosts.

Yet, even on this run of suc-cessive wins, Inter have often made life difficult for them-selves, and sure enough a

clumsy tackle from Arturo Vidal saw Inter again pegged back.

The link up pay between Martinez and Lukaku was too much for Crotone in the end, however, as Martinez helped himself to two more and Lukaku scored his 50th Inter goal in all competitions to put the title chasers out of sight.

PL: City’s Mendy latest player to breach virus rulesAP – LONDON

Manchester City expressed disappointment yesterday that defender Benjamin Mendy became the latest partying Premier League player to breach English coro-navirus rules by hosting friends at his house on New Year’s Eve.

Mendy’s rule-breaking took place as City was already dealing with the impact of a coronavirus outbreak at the club that led to the post-ponement of today’s match at Everton and has forced six players into self-isolation, with defender Eric Garcia’s positive test announced yesterday.

Mendy allowed a chef and two friends of his partner to attend his home, a represent-ative for the player was cited as telling “The Sun” news-paper. People from different households are banned from mixing indoors in the northern English area where Mendy lives.

“The club is aware of a New Year’s Eve COVID-19 breach involving Benjamin Mendy and the subsequent media reporting of it,” City said.

“While it is understood that elements of this incident have been misinterpreted in the reports, and that the player has publicly apologised for his error, the club is dis-appointed to learn of the transgression and will be con-ducting an internal investi-gation.” A statement from Mendy’s representative to “The Sun” newspaper expressed regret on behalf of the Frenchman.

“Ben accepts that this is a breach of COVID-19 protocols and is sorry for his actions in this matter,” the statement said.

“Ben has had a COVID test and is liaising with Manchester City about this.” Mendy has tweeted urging people “to take care of you and yours” as mid-night approached on Thursday night.

On Saturday, a social media image was published of Tottenham trio Erik Lamela, Sergio Reguilon and Giovani Lo Celso attending a large house party in London over the Christmas period in clear breach of the regulations.

Tottenham condemned the players, who could now face internal disciplinary action.

West Ham’s Manuel Lanzini was also in attendance at the same party. The player issued an apology on social media for his “bad mistake” while the club said the matter had been dealt with internally.

Meanwhile Fulham, whose match at Burnley on Sunday has been postponed due to positive cases at the club, is investigating pictures that emerged on social media on Friday showing Aleksandar Mitrovic and his fellow Serb Luka Milivojevic of Crystal Palace, along with their two families on Dec. 31.

Arsenal playing with handbrake off: ArtetaREUTERS – LONDON

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was delighted with his team’s 4-0 thrashing of West Bromwich Albion on Saturday and said the players have finally released the handbrake and are playing with much more freedom.

Full back Kieran Tierney got the ball rolling, cutting in from the left flank and firing home his second goal for Arsenal in the 23rd minute before teenage winger Bukayo Saka finished off a superb team effort.

Alexandre Lacazette then struck twice in the second half to seal Arsenal’s third straight Premier League victory and lift them to 11th place in the table on 23 points, six points off qualifying spots for European competition.

“I think previously we lost games that we were really unlucky in and most of them was our own fault, because we made some errors and lacked some discipline,” Arteta told reporters.

“But obviously you need to win football matches and now this brings a different momentum and energy, the players they get the handbrake off and you can see that they are more free to play.” “This is an Arsenal team with the idea that I want.” Arteta also said the imminent return to fitness of Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey, who has missed the last six league games due to injury, would provide a huge boost.

“We’ve been missing him. He brings something different to the team. He’s a player with an enormous talent, but as well someone who can transform the team the way we want,” Arteta added.

“He is feeling good. He needs another two or three good sessions to see if he is 100% available to play. If that is the case, great news for us.” Arsenal face Newcastle United in the FA Cup on Saturday.

Ayed and Al Ruwaili named best referees for December

QNA – DOHA

Abdulhadi Al Ruwaili (match referee) and Khalid Ayed (international assistant referee) have been named as the Best Referee and Assistant Referee for December 2020 by the Referees Department at Qatar Football Association (QFA).

The two aforementioned referees were named the best referee and assistant referee according to the standards of the Referees Department, and after the analysis of refereeing performance followed by the department, which it carries out after each round of the Qatari League (QNB Stars League), and other competi-tions in which the referees participate.

Abdulhadi Al Ruwaili is scheduled to be the for Qatar SC vs Al Gharafa SC match in the 12th round of the QNB Stars League, and Khalid Ayed will be his second assistant.

Real Madrid’s Marco Asensio scoring their second goal on Saturday.

New Paris Saint-Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino waves as he arrives for training yesterday.

Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez scoring their first goal against Crotone yesterday.

PSG players must show they deserve to wear the shirt, says Pochettino

Mikel Arteta

Leeds boss Bielsa defends goalkeeper Meslier after Spurs defeatREUTERS – LONDON

Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa has defended goalkeeper Illan Meslier after the Frenchman suffered a nightmare game in the 3-0 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.

Spurs’ opener came from a wayward pass from Meslier, which was picked off by Harry Winks before Ezgjan Alioski clipped Steven Bergwijn inside the penalty area. Harry Kane converted the spot-kick.

Meslier then fumbled Toby Alderweireld’s header over the line in the second-half fol-lowing a Son Heung-min corner kick.

It was an uncharacteristic performance from the Frenchman, who has been a standout player for the team this season. Bielsa said the 20-year-old should not be judged on the basis of one game.

“What we have to look at is how the goalkeeper performs in all the fixtures, not in one game,” Bielsa told reporters.

“It was an undeniable error but if you look back at all our games you will see how effi-cient Illan is with his feet.” Leeds enjoyed a far larger share of possession and created several goal-scoring opportu-nities, but were made to pay for their profligacy and attempts to play out from the back.

10 MONDAY 4 JANUARY 2021SPORT

Lacazette nets a double as Arsenal thrash West BromREUTERS – LONDON

A rare Kieran Tierney goal, a superb team effort finished by Bukayo Saka and a brace from Alexandre Lacazette gave Arsenal their third Premier League win in a row as they beat West Bromwich Albion 4-0 in snowy conditions on Saturday.

Fullback Hector Bellerin signalled Arsenal’s attacking intent with an early effort that was parried by Sam John-stone before Tierney cut in from the left and curled home his second goal for Arsenal in the 23rd minute.

With his direct running and superb close control, teenage winger Saka tormented West Brom throughout, and he com-bined brilliantly with Lacazette and Emile Smith-Rowe before tapping home a simple second goal for the visitors five minutes later.

West Brom finished the first half strongly and had an early second-half strike ruled out for offside before Arsenal took control of the game again, never to relinquish it.

Saka’s cross on the hour mark was volleyed on to his own post by Semi Ajayi and Smith-Rowe’s follow-up was blocked, but Lacazette blasted home to make it 3-0 as the Baggies’ woeful defence, which with 39 goals conceded is the leakiest in the league, fell apart once again.

Minutes later it was 4-0 as the tireless Tierney crossed for Lacazette to steer the ball home with his shin to com-plete the comprehensive victory.

“The perfect way to start the New Year, we’ve won three in a row so we want to keep building. We’re really happy with the performance,” Saka told the BBC.

“It was so cold but I was getting so many touches in good positions, so I enjoyed the game a lot.”

The win lifts Arsenal to 11th place in the table on 23 points, six points off the European places. West Brom remain second from bottom with eight points after 17 games.

Guardiola might prolong managerial careerREUTERS – LONDON

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said the wealth of experience he has gained from previous coaching stints has better equipped him for the top job at City and he might stay in management longer than he had anticipated.

The 49-year-old Spaniard’s current five-year stay at City is his longest spell in charge of a club since he began his managerial career in 2008.

Guardiola managed Barcelona from 2008-12 and spent three years in charge of Bayern Munich before joining City, who he has guided to two Premier League titles, three League Cups and an FA Cup since his arrival in 2016.

“Of course I am better now, definitely. Expe-rience helps you - especially the way I live my profession,” Guardiola, who signed a new two-year contract in November, told the City website.

“Before I thought I would retire soon, now maybe I am thinking I might retire older. 50 already, it is a nice age!” City are eighth in the Premier League with 26 points, seven adrift of leaders L i v e r p o o l but with t w o games i n hand.

site.Before I thought I ld retire soon, now be I am thinking I

ht retire older. 50 ady, it is a nice ” City are eighth in Premier League26 points, seven

ft of leaders e r p o o l with

w omes

n d.

Leicester move up to third with win at NewcastleREUTERS – NEWCASTLE

Leicester City moved up to third place in the Premier League as second-half goals by James Maddison and Youri Tielemans secured a 2-1 victory away at Newcastle United yesterday.

Substitute Andy Carroll’s strike for the hosts set up a tense finale but Leicester were worthy winners.

They moved above Tot-tenham Hotspur with 32 points from 17 games played, one point behind co-leaders Liverpool and Manchester United, who have played one game less.

Maddison blasted Leicester in front in the 55th minute, and when the outstanding Tielemans produced a great finish to double the lead after 72 minutes it seemed that Leicester’s seventh away win in the league was in the bag.

Carroll’s first Premier League goal for Newcastle for 10 years offered a late twist.

Leicester began well, and Maddison came close to giving them an early lead with a curling effort that fizzed just wide.

Manager Brendan Rodgers was livid when Jamie Vardy and Tielemans were guilty of over-elaborating once they had sliced

open Newcastle shortly after, while Vardy also had a goal from a tight angle disallowed for offside.

Newcastle were well-organised without offering much in attack in a largely forgettable first half, but the hosts started the second half with greater purpose.

They were stopped in their tracks though when Harvey Barnes surged forward and slipped a pass to Vardy who held the ball up before teeing it up for Maddison to lash home.

Leicester’s slick attacking football was evident again for their second goal as Marc Albrighton slid an astute pass inside towards Tielemans, who did not even need a touch before burying the ball past a helpless Karl Darlow.

Newcastle manager Steve Bruce sent on Carroll, and the big striker rewarded him almost immediately with a clinical volley -- his first league goal since returning to the club in 2019.

Suddenly the hosts came alive and Leicester were living dangerously at times until they were relieved to hear the whistle.

Newcastle’s winless run in the league now extends to five games and they stay in 15th spot with 19 points.

QVA Beach Volleyball LeagueAction during the General Beach Volleyball League matches, conducted by the Qatar Volleyball Association. In yesterday's matches, Al Sadd defeated Al Shamal 2-1 while Al Gharafa recorded a 2-0 win over Police.

Qatar Basketball League: Al Ahli, Al Sadd win Qatar SC and Al Ahli players in action during their Qatar Basketball League match played at Al Gharafa Indoor Hall yesterday. Al Ahli won the 72-71 after a keen battle. LEFT: Al Rayyan and Al Sadd players vying for the ball. Konstantinos Vasileiadis scored 38 points as Al Sadd defeated Al Rayyan with a margin of 112-95 at the same venue.

Late Suarez winner sinks Alaves as Atletico go topREUTERS – VITORIA-GASTEIZ, SPAIN

Luis Suarez struck late to snatch a 2-1 victory for Atletico Madrid away to Alaves yesterday and send his side two points clear of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.

Atletico had taken the lead late in the first half when Suarez teed up a deflected goal by Marcos Llorente and the task should have got easier for the visitors when Alaves defender Victor Laguardia was sent off in the second half.

But Alaves had a flurry of late chances and levelled in the 84th minute when Atleti defender Felipe diverted a cross from Joselu into his own net.

Atletico would not be undone, however, and they clinched a vital victory for their title charge when substitute Saul Niguez picked out fellow late addition Joao Felix, who

cut the ball across goal and Suarez pounced from less than a metre out to bundle it into the net.

Atletico went into the match trailing Real Madrid by a point but the last-gasp victory took them on to 38 points, two ahead of their city rivals and with two games in hand.

Alaves are 13th on 18.

“We knew it would be a difficult game as Alaves always make things tough and they proved that by drawing level with one player less but it was so important for us to get the win,” said goalscorer Llorente.

“Our substitutions worked very well and we got the second goal after

a great piece of play and it allows us to keep focusing on our objective.” Atletico had been boosted by the news Kieran Trippier’s 10-week suspension from the English Football Association for violating betting rules had been put on hold by world organ-ising body FIFA, although the right back did not travel to the

match as the squad had been named before the announcement was made.

Sime Vrsaljko started in Trip-pier’s place while record signing Felix began the game on the bench but was introduced after the hour mark and the Portuguese played a decisive role in the win, with his incisive late pass to the feet of Suarez.

Atletico Madrid’s Luis Suarez celebrates after scoring their second goal.

Bayern retain top spot with comeback 5-2 win over MainzREUTERS – MUNICH

Champions Bayern Munich held on to the Bundesliga’s top spot after fighting back from two goals down to beat second-bottom Mainz 5-2 in a rip-roaring contest yesterday as Robert Lewandowski contined his scoring run.

The Polish striker took his tally to 19 league goals with a late brace to seal Bayern’s comeback after they trailed 2-0 at halftime as Jonathan Burkardt and Alexander Hack gave the visitors a shock first-half lead.

Danny Latza missed a gilt-edged chance to add a third for Mainz shortly after the break before Joshua Kimmich pulled one back with a close-range header and Leroy Sane equalised with a scorcher from 20 metres into the bottom right corner.

Halftime substitute Niklas Suele turned the tide when he volleyed home from inside the area before Lewandowski converted a penalty and then bundled in a Thomas Mueller cross from the right as Mainz collapsed in the final 20 minutes.

The result left Bayern on 33 points from 14 games, two more than second-placed RB Leipzig who were 1-0 winners at Vfb Stuttgart on Saturday.

Leicester City’s Youri Tielemans scores their second goal.

LA LIGA RESULTSSATURDAY

Villarreal 2, Levante 1Betis 1, Sevilla 1

Getafe 0, Valladolid 1Madrid 2, Celta Vigo 0

YESTERDAYAthletic Bilbao 1, Elche 0

Alaves 1, Atletico 2FIXTURES

TODAYValencia vs. Cadiz

WEDNESDAYAthletic Bilbao vs. Barcelona

BUNDESLIGA TOP SCORERS1: R. Lewandowski (Bayern München) 17 2: E. Haaland (Borussia Dortmund) 10 3: André Silva (Eintracht Frankfurt) 9 W. Weghorst (Wolfsburg) 4: L. Alario (Bayer Leverkusen), A. Kramari (Hoffenheim), L. Stindl (Borussia Mönchengladbach) 8

REUTERS - WELLINGTON

Paceman Kyle Jamieson took five for 69 as New Zealand overcame some stiff Pakistan resistance to dismiss the tourists for 297 at close of play on the opening day of the second and final Test at Christchurch yesterday.

Already 1-0 up in the series and needing only a draw to rise to the top of the world rankings for the first time, the Black Caps won the toss and elected to field on what looked like a Hagley Oval track tailor-made for their attack.

Pakistan had shown great fight at the end of their 101-run defeat in the first Test, however, and started out as they had fin-ished at Mount Maunganui with some batting of real intent on a day largely uninterrupted by the Christchurch rain.

Azhar Ali led the way with a superb innings of 93 but there were also cameos from Mohammad Rizwan, who was again forced to stand-in as captain for the injured Babar Azam and scored 61, as well as Faheem Ashraf, who hit 48.

Left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar extended the tail with a 62-ball 34 in his first Test innings until he top edged a short delivery from Tim Southee just after New Zealand took the second new ball.

The hosts rattled off the last two wickets in short order to bring up stumps, giving New Zealand’s openers the night to rest up before going out again to bat.

Given the swing and seam in the pitch, New Zealand’s attack would have hoped to have got the job done more quickly and it looked like they would when Jamieson ripped through the Pakistan top order to reduce the tourists to 88-4 at lunch.

Bowling with real venom and bounce, the 26-year-old sent back opener Abid Ali, Haris Sohail and Fawad Alam in three overs, the latter with an unplayable delivery that the batsman could only fend away from his helmet with his glove.

Azhar Ali and Rizwan stalled the New Zealand attack with a partnership of 88 for the fifth wicket during which the stand-in skipper secured his fifth consecutive half century before edging a Jamieson delivery behind.

Seamer Matt Henry, brought in to replace the injured Neil Wagner, finally winkled out Azhar Ali in the final session before Faheem Ashraf departed to give Jamieson his third five-wicket haul in six Tests.

“I knew that the first couple of hours will be tough and obvi-ously when you see this much grass on the pitch you have to focus for a longer time,” Azhar said at the end of the day's play.

“We were positive, espe-cially when the ball is in your

zone you must score off it, on these kind of wickets, because you're going to get one good ball at some stage.

“You have seen the run rate was good so it's a good enough pitch to score runs but obvi-ously in between you need to leave on length, which was the key in my batting.

“If you look at the pitch it's a decent total, especially batting first. It's been tough all day so we feel we have enough runs on the board and we can build on it tomorrow.”

Azhar faced 37 balls from the 6'8" Jamieson, scoring 26 runs including five fours.

“The guy is quite tall and hitting good lines and lengths and swinging the ball both ways, so it was fun and tough as well,” Azhar said of his contest with Jamieson.

“With this height we obvi-ously needed to consolidate as much as we can.

“But when the ball is there to hit and whenever we got the opportunity we did score boundaries as well.

But it was a tough spell to negotiate and at the end of the spell Rizwan got out when he was hitting the ball quite nicely but as far as that partnership was concerned we were very happy, especially the way we scored the runs during that period, it was fantastic.”

09MONDAY 4 JANUARY 2021 SPORT

Jamieson takes 5 wickets as NZ dismiss Pakistan for 297

Pakistan captain

Mohammed Rizwan works one to the leg

side during his innings against

New Zealand on the first day

of the second Test at the

Hagley Oval in Wellington

yesterday. @therealpcb

In this photo posted on Twitter handle @BLACKCAPS, former New Zealand player Grant Elliot signs autographs for fans on the first day of the second Test at the Hagley Oval in Wellington yesterday. Elliott played all formats of the game for Black Caps. Primarily a batting all-rounder, Elliott contributed a man of the match performance to provide entrance to New Zealand’s first ever World Cup final, by beating South Africa in 2015.

Question marks over Sydney Test after boycott threat reportsREUTERS - SYDNEY

The schedule for Australia’s Test series against India was under threat again yesterday after reports the tourists were unhappy at the prospect of re-entering strict quar-antine for the fourth Test in Brisbane.

The third Test in the four-match series is slated to start at Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday after Cricket Australia decided not to move the match in the wake of an outbreak of COVID-19 cases in the city’s northern beaches.

Today, both squads will fly to New South Wales, which reported eight new locally transmitted cases of the virus and ramped up social distancing measures yesterday.

Queensland state has closed its border with New South Wales and although agreement has been reached to allow the players to fly to Brisbane for the fourth test on Jan. 15, they will have to quarantine having been in Sydney.

“No different from anyone else, if they are coming from a declared hotspot they wi l l have to

quarantine,” Queensland’s chief health officer, Doctor Jeannette Young, said yesterday.

“That is a discussion Cricket Australia will need to have with the players.”

Reports in the Australian media, citing sources within the touring party, said India’s players, many of whom have been in some

form of quarantine or other for six months, would refuse to travel if they were going to be subjected to a hard lockdown.

A spokesman for the India team did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reports.

India’s players underwent 14 days of strict quarantine after their arrival in Australia but have since enjoyed more freedom while pre-paring for and playing matches in Adelaide, Canberra, Sydney and Mel-bourne. There are still some restric-tions, however, and five Indian players were placed in isolation on Saturday after a video surfaced showing them eating inside a Mel-bourne restaurant on New Year’s Day.

The Australian and Indian cricket boards are investigating the alleged breach of biosecurity protocols with precedent suggesting the players might be fined for their actions.

Sydney, which at one stage looked like losing the third Test to

Melbourne, would be the most likely ben-eficiary if it was decided to move the fourth match from Brisbane.

The acting Premier of New South Wales state, John Barilaro, told reporters yesterday that the government was focusing on staging the third Test safely in front of a crowd of up to 20,000 fans.

“We’re going to commit to the Test we have,” he said. “If an opportunity arises post that, we’ll take that opportunity then.”

Australia batsman Matthew Wade rejected the idea that there was now uncer-tainty over the schedule. “There’s a lot of talk out there but for us as a group and me position personally, we’ll go Sydney and play the SCG and then we’ll go the Brisbane and play the Gabba,” he told reporters.

“Until the powers that be knock on the door and tell us that that’s going to change, we just roll onto the next game...”

PAKISTAN, 1st inningsS. Masood lbw Southee ...................................0Abid Ali c Southee b Jamieson ......................25Azhar Ali c Taylor b Henry ..............................93H. Sohail c Nicholls b Jamieson ........................1F. Alam c Watling b Jamieson.......................... 2M. Rizwan c watling b Jamieson ................... 61F. Ashraf c Watling by Jamieson .................. 48Z. Gohar c Jamieson b Southee .....................34S. Afridi c Nicholls b Boult ................................4M. Abbas not out ..............................................0N. Shah c Latham b Boult ............................... 12Extras (b2, lb9, w6) ....................................... 17Total (10 wickets; 83.5 overs) ...........297Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Masood), 2-66 (Abid Ali), 3-70 (Sohail), 4-83 (Alam), 5-171 (Rizwan), 6-227 (Azhar Ali), 7-260 (Ashraf), 8-282 (Gohar), 9-285 (Afridi), 10-297 (Shah)Bowling: Southee 23-7-61-2, Boult 20.5-3-82-2, Jamieson 21-8-69-5 (1w), Henry 17-2-68-1 (5w), Mitchell 2-1-6-0New Zealand: Tom Latham, Tom Blundell, Kane Williamson (capt), Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, BJ Watling, Daryl Mitchell, Kyle Jamie-son, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, Trent Boult

SCOREBOARD

AUSTRALIA'S TEST SERIES VS INDIA 2020-21

AUSTRALIA TEST SQUAD: Tim Paine (c), Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, James

Pattinson, Will Pucovski, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner

INDIA TEST SQUAD: Virat Kohli (c) (first Test only), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wk),

Rishabh Pant (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra

Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj

FIRST TEST: Australia won by eight wicketsSECOND TEST: India won by eight wickets

THIRD TEST: January 7-11, SCG, FOURTH TEST: January 15-19, Gabba,

2021 SPORTS CALENDAR - JANUARY 4 TO 20The 2021 sports calendar. (Note: due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, events are likely to be cancelled or rescheduled).

Monday, January 4 Cricket: New Zealand v Pakistan at Christchurch, 2nd Test Cricket: South Africa v SL at Johannesburg, 2nd Test Alpine skiing: men and women's World Cup at Zagreb Motor Racing: Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia

Tuesday, January 5 Cricket: New Zealand v Pakistan at Christchurch, 2nd Test Cricket: South Africa v SL at Johannesburg, 2nd Test Tennis: ATP at Delray Beach and Antalya; WTA at Abu Dhabi Alpine skiing: men and women's World Cup at Zagreb Motor Racing: Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia

Wednesday, January 6 Cricket: New Zealand v Pakistan at Christchurch, 2nd Test; South Africa v Sri Lanka at Johannesburg, 2nd Test Tennis: ATP at Delray Beach and Antalya; WTA at Abu Dhabi Alpine skiing: men and women's World Cup at Zagreb Motor Racing: Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia Ski jumping: Four Hills at Bischofshofen

Thursday, January 7 Cricket: New Zealand v Pakistan at Christchurch, 2nd Test Cricket: South Africa v Sri Lanka at Johannesburg, 2nd Test Cricket: Australia v India at Sydney, 3rd Test Tennis: ATP at Delray Beach and Antalya; WTA at Abu Dhabi Golf: USPGA Tournament of Champions in Hawaii Alpine skiing: women's World Cup at St Anton, Austria Motor Racing: Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia

Friday, January 8 Tennis: ATP at Delray Beach and Antalya; WTA at Abu Dhabi Cricket: Australia v India at Sydney, 3rd Test; United Arab Emirates v Ireland at Abu Dhabi, 1st ODI Golf: USPGA Tournament of Champions in Hawaii Alpine skiing: women's World Cup at St Anton, Austria; men's World Cup at Adelboden, Switzerland Motor Racing: Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia

Saturday, January 9 Tennis: ATP at Delray Beach and Antalya; WTA at Abu Dhabi Cricket: Australia v India at Sydney, 3rd Test Golf: USPGA Tournament of Champions in Hawaii Alpine skiing: women's World Cup at St Anton, Austria; men's World Cup at Adelboden, Switzerland Motor Racing: Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia

Sunday, January 10 Tennis: ATP at Delray Beach and Antalya; WTA at Abu Dhabi Cricket: Australia v India at Sydney, 3rd Test; United Arab Emirates v Ireland at Abu Dhabi, 2nd ODI Golf: USPGA Tournament of Champions in Hawaii Alpine skiing: women's World Cup at St Anton, Austria; men's World Cup at Adelboden, Switzerland Motor Racing: Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia

Monday, January 11 Tennis: ATP at Delray Beach and Antalya; WTA at Abu Dhabi American football: College Football Playoff National Champi-onship at Miami, Florida Cricket: Australia v India at Sydney, 3rd Test Motor Racing: Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia

Tuesday, January 12 Tennis: ATP at Delray Beach and Antalya; WTA at Abu Dhabi Alpine skiing: women's World Cup at Flachau, Austria; men's World Cup at Wengen, Switzerland Cricket: United Arab Emirates v Ireland at Abu Dhabi, 3rd ODI Motor Racing: Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia

Wednesday, January 13 Football: Spanish Super Cup; French Champions Trophy Tennis: ATP at Delray Beach and Antalya; WTA at Abu Dhabi Alpine skiing: men's World Cup at Wengen, Switzerland Motor Racing: Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia

Thursday, January 14 Football: Spanish Super Cup Cricket: Sri Lanka v England at Galle, 1st Test; United Arab Emirates v Ireland at Abu Dhabi, 4th ODI Golf: USPGA Sony Open in Hawaii Alpine skiing: men's World Cup at Wengen, Switzerland Motor Racing: Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia

Friday, January 15 Cricket: Australia v India at Brisbane, 4th Test; Sri Lanka v England at Galle, 1st Test Golf: USPGA Sony Open in Hawaii Alpine skiing: men's World Cup at Wengen, Switzerland Rugby Union: European Cups Round 3 Motor Racing: Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia

Saturday, January 16 Football: African Nations Championship, Cameroon Cricket: Australia v India at Brisbane, 4th Test Cricket: Sri Lanka v England at Galle, 1st Test Golf: USPGA Sony Open in Hawaii Alpine skiing: men's World Cup at Wengen, Switzerland; women's World Cup at Maribor, Slovenia Rugby Union: European Cups Round 3

Sunday, January 17 Football: Spanish Super Cup; African Nations Championship, Cameroon Cricket: Australia v India at Brisbane, 4th Test Cricket: Sri Lanka v England at Galle, 1st Test Golf: USPGA Sony Open in Hawaii Alpine skiing: men's World Cup at Wengen, Switzerland; women's World Cup at Maribor, Slovenia Rugby Union: European Cups Round 3

Monday, January 18 Football: African Nations Championship, Cameroon Cricket: Australia v India at Brisbane, 4th Test; Afghanistan v Ireland at Abu Dhabi, 1st ODI; Sri Lanka v England at Galle, 1st Test

Tuesday, January 19Football: African Nations Championship, CameroonCricket: Australia v India at Brisbane, 4th Test Alpine skiing: men's World Cup at Kitzbuehel, Austria

Wednesday, January 20Football: Italian Super Cup; African Nations Championship, CameroonCricket: Bangladesh v West Indies, Dhaka, 1st ODI; South Africa Women v Pakistan Women at Durban, 1st ODI (day/night)

There’s a lot of talk out there but for us as a group and me position personally, we’ll go Sydney and play the SCG and then we’ll go the Brisbane and play the Gabba. Until the powers that be knock on the door and tell us that that’s going to change, we just roll

onto the next game: Matthew Wade

anyone else, icoming fdeclared howil l ha

AP - NEW ORLEANS

Eric Bledsoe capped a 19-point, 10-assist performance with a go-ahead 3-pointer in the final minute, and the New Orleans Pelicans held on for a 120-116 victory over the Toronto Raptors.

Brandon Ingram added 31 points, capped by four free throws in the last 13 seconds to seal the victory.

Zion Williamson scored 21 points, highlighted by a pair of driving spin moves in the lane to set up left-handed leaners off the glass.

The Pelicans lost a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter, briefly falling behind in the final four minutes, but were able clamp down defensively and limit the Raptors to just one point during the final 2:47.

“The thing I like the best is our resilience,” Pelicans coach Stan Van Gundy said. “It’s not easy to give up a double-digit lead with (8:30) to go and then go behind. A lot of teams sort of fade away at that point.”

Fred VanVleet scored 27 points and Chris Boucher added 24 for Toronto. Pascal Siakam scored 10 points, but fouled out with 8:30 remaining.

“He struggled, there was no doubt about it,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said of Siakam. “He had a few decent plays and a few good drives in there, but again he obviously struggled.”

The Pelicans led 101-89 when Josh Hart made a free throw just after Siakam fouled out.

But Kyle Lowry quickly responded with a 3, igniting a 22-9 run that ended with 3s by OG Anunoby, Powell and Van-Vleet to put Toronto up 111-110 with 3:16 to go.

Ingram’s free throws tied it at 113 with 1:08 left. And after Toronto lost the ball out of bounds, Bledsoe hit his pivotal

left-wing 3 with 41.6 seconds left.

“I was kind of locked in,” Beldsoe said, noting that he expected Toronto to double-team Ingram and leave someone open on the perimeter. “I was just trying to stay ready and when I got the ball I was going to shoot it with confidence.”

VanVleet scored 11 of his 21 first-half points during the last seven minutes of the second period to push Toronto in front late in the half. Lowery added a 3 from 30 feet away to put the Raptors up 60-50 before a 3 by Lonzo Ball and Steven Adams’ putback dunk trimmed it to 60-55 at halftime. Although they’ve lost four of their first five games, the Raptors didn’t sound inclined to start panicking yet.

“Once we start winning some games and get a lot of minutes - good minutes -

together as a team playing solid defense, and getting stops, and running, and things like that, you know, it’ll get back to normal,” Siakam said. “I just think that the game is focusing on little things and continuing to get better as a team and an individual.”

AP - OTTAWA, ONTARIO

The Canadian government, citing “national interest grounds,” gave its approval for the start of NHL training camps.

It issued an exemption to the mandatory 14-day quarantine period for NHL players and team staff to return to the country.

The five provinces with NHL franchises, however, must give their approval for games between Canadian teams during the regular season, which is scheduled to start January 13.

The seven Canadian teams will play in a new North Division.

Alberta became the first province to say the NHL can play games in its arenas.

The provincial government told The Canadian Press on Thursday it approved Edmonton and Calgary following a review of pro-tocols outlined in the league’s return-to-play plan, along with additional enhancements.

The Manitoba government said discussions about hosting games in Winnipeg are proceeding.

All provinces with NHL clubs have provided

written support for the plan. The statement added that all teams must operate within provincial rules for regular-season play.

The Canadian teams will play each other only during the regular season and the first two rounds of the play-offs. They also won’t cross the US-Canada border, which remains closed to nones-sential travel.

08MONDAY 4 JANUARY 2021SportNBA: Bledsoe, Ingram lead Pelicans past Raptors in hard-fought game

New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram (14) loses control of the ball against Toronto Raptors forward OG Anunoby (3) during the fourth quarter of their NBA game at the Smoothie King Centre in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.

NBA RESULTS HOUSTON 102, Sacramento 94

New York 106, INDIANA 102 Oklahoma City 108, ORLANDO 99 PHILADELPHIA 127, Charlotte 112

Cleveland 96, ATLANTA 91 NEW ORLEANS 120, Toronto 116

Canada approve camps, butprovinces must rule on games

No cancellation: NFL season set to end on timeAP - NEW YORK

During the summer, with baseball just returning from its hiatus and the NHL and NBA scrambling to build “bubbles” to complete their interrupted seasons, many scoffed at the prospect of the NFL going through a four-month schedule on time.

Without cancellations or significant delays, too, likely even to the staging of the Super Bowl.

It’s now 2021, and while the league isn’t gloating about getting every regular-season game played in an NFL stadium, maybe it should. When the Eagles host Washington for the season finale, a sense of achievement and relief would be natural.

“It’s been a tremendous accomplishment by our players and clubs, all personnel who have worked on this, and certainly our relationship with the players association,” says Jeff Miller, the league’s executive vice president of communica-tions, public affairs and policy.

“As we are thinking about February 7 and getting to the Super Bowl, we all think about the many weeks it has taken to get here with an appre-ciation and gratitude.”

Miller is understating the timeline. The NFL began formulating its plans and protocols to mit-igate COVID-19 even before the 2020 business year began in March. Virtual reality became, well, virtual reality when such events as free agency, the draft, and all offseason activities went remote. A series of protocols, updated throughout the year, were designed to make team practice facilities and stadiums as safe as possible during the pandemic.

Preseason games were cancelled - a four-game exhibition schedule would seem a thing of the past - and the schedule kicked off on time in September.

Stadiums generally were empty of fans, cre-ating an eerie environment in places such as Lambeau Field and the Linc that usually rock with noise and enthusiasm from the stands.

Eventually, enough places allowed socially dis-tanced fans in some buildings, and the NFL reached 1 million in attendance, something it approaches in one full week of regular-season games under normal circumstances.

The financial hit has been enormous, estimated

at $2bn in revenue losses. No, that doesn’t mean franchises will beg poverty or disappear. Broadcast contracts make up for much of the negative impact. But the lack of ticket sales and spending at games and at the draft that was planned for last April in Las Vegas, plus a scaled-down Super Bowl week, affects everything from the profit line to the salary cap - which could be stagnant for 2021, forcing most every team to scramble. Scrambling became a necessity for the clubs experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks (Baltimore, Tennessee, Denver, New England, Cleveland) and even some of their oppo-nents as games were delayed and moved.

For the first time in the modern era, the NFL played on every day of the week, with a juicy Thanksgiving night matchup between Baltimore and Pittsburgh winding up hitting the field the fol-lowing Wednesday. Denver used a converted wide receiver at quarterback when its entire QB group was barred for a game against New Orleans. Cleveland saw its top four wideouts sidelined for a game, too. Both the Broncos and Browns were beaten in those contests.

“It’s kind of the times that we’re living in right now,” Lions interim head coach Darrell Bevell said when he was forced to sit out a matchup with Tampa Bay.

Along with the Lions’ Matt Patricia, head coaches losing their jobs during the season were Dan Quinn in Atlanta and Bill O’Brien in Houston, where he also was general manager. Fellow GMs Bob Quinn in Detroit, Thomas Dimitroff in Atlanta and Dave Caldwell in Jacksonville were fired.

ALSO GONE: Redskins. The Washington fran-chise, after years of social and racial protests about the nickname, ditched it in a year of social and racial reckoning.

Players and franchises across the pro football landscape launched or took part in initiatives emphasizing equality, education, voter registration, police and prison reform, and economic irregu-larities. They donated time and money - lots of both - to those programs, even during the pandemic.

“I hope that happens for years and years to come because we know how powerful the shield

is and the NFL can be,” Broncos safety Justin Simmons said, “and there could be a lot of good change coming with that support.”

On the field, there was the rise of the Dolphins and Browns, both on the verge of qualifying for the postseason in their finales Sunday. Tampa Bay, with some 43-year-old guy named Tom Brady at quarterback, snapped a 12-season postseason drought. And the demise of the Texans, Jets, Eagles, Vikings and, most notably, the 2019 NFC champion 49ers, and the Brady-less Patriots.

Rookies made their mark, too, including quar-terbacks Justin Herbert of the Chargers and Joe Burrow of the Bengals, whose season was cut short by a knee injury as he was setting first-year QB records that Herbert eventually surpassed. Running backs James Robinson in Jacksonville, Antonio Gibson in Washington, Clyde Edwards-Helaire in Kansas City, Jonathan Taylor in Indianapolis, and J.K. Dobbins in Baltimore were terrific. So were receivers Justin Jefferson in Minnesota, CeeDee Lamb in Dallas, Brandon Aiyuk in San Francisco and Chase Claypool in Pittsburgh. Offensive linemen went high in the draft, and a few came through right away: Tampa Bay’s Tristan Wirfs, the Jets’ Mekhi Becton, Cleveland’s Jedrick Wills, Miami’s Austin Jackson and the Giants’ Andrew Thomas. Defensive rookies making their marks ranged from Chase Young in Washington to Jeremy Chinn in Carolina to Patrick Queen in Baltimore to Raekwon Davis in Miami to Julian Blackmon in Indianapolis.

But for every newcomer who turned heads, there were the injuries that sidelined stars. Denver didn’t have LB Von Miller all season. Dallas lost QB Dak Prescott, the Giants were without RB Saquon Barkley, Cleveland saw WR Odell Beckham Jr. go down, and Carolina barely had 2019 All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey.

Perennial offensive line dominators Tyron Smith of the Cowboys and Mike Pouncey of the Chargers were absent. So were DE Nick Bosa, LB Chandler Jones, and CB Richard Sherman.

All of that on top of the COVID-19 complications.

So here we are, beginning 2021 with a rela-tively bright outlook. No one can say that was totally expected.

In this file photo taken on November 23, 2020, Cooper

Kupp of the Los Angeles Rams

runs the ball during the first quarter in the game against

the Tampa Bey Buccaneers in

Tampa, Florida.

New York Rangers' Henrik Lundqvist in action during a NHL workout in this July 13, 2020, file photo.

Japan team to miss events after Momota tests positiveREUTERS - BANGKOK

World number one Badminton player Kento Momota has tested positive for COVID-19, prompting the withdrawal of all Japan's players from this month's tournaments in Thailand, the Badminton World Federation said yesterday.

Momota, 26, was looking to make his international comeback in Bangkok after almost a year out following a car crash that left him with serious injuries.

The two-time reigning world champion tested pos-itive after undergoing a man-datory COVID-19 test at the Narita Airport ahead of the Japan team's departure for Thailand.

The absence of the Jap-anese contingent further affects the quality of the field at the two Thailand Opens, with Chinese players already skipping the tournaments due to COVID-19 concerns.

The events are the last two qualifying opportunities for the World Tour Finals to be held from January 27-31.

Nortje takes six wickets, Elgar scores 92 to put South Africa in driving seat

REUTERS – JOHANNESBURG

South African seamer Anrich Nortje claimed a career-best six-wicket haul and opener Dean Elgar backed it up with an unbeaten 92 runs as the home team forged an early advantage over Sri Lanka on the opening day of the second Test.

Nortje made full use of seamer-friendly conditions at The Wan-derers Stadium for a return of 6-56 off 14.3 overs as Sri Lanka col-lapsed from 71-1 to be dismissed for 157 before tea yesterday. Elgar then set about consolidating the advantage as he moved tantalis-ingly close to a century at the close of play, steering South Africa to 148 for one wicket in reply - trailing by just nine runs.

Elgar featured in an unbeaten 114-run partnership for the second wicket with Rassie van der Dussen.

Sri Lanka won the toss and

elected to bat, losing captain Dimuth Karunaratne cheaply to a rising ball from Nortje but with Kusal Perera looking to again set about the home bowling.

Perera has had a golden streak of form against South Africa over the last two series between the two countries and despite little foot movement, rushed to a half century off only 54 balls.

But one loose shot too many saw him perish on 60 and precip-itate a procession of batsmen to and from the wicket.

Seamer Wiaan Mulder, brought belatedly into the home attack, took three wickets in 11 balls to see Sri Lanka slump to 80-4, after which Nortje bagged regular victims to complete a second test five-wicket haul. Aiden Markram was the only South African to be dismissed in reply, caught behind for five, as debutant Asitha Fernando bagged a first Test scalp.

SRI LANKA, 1st inningsD. Karunaratne c De Kock b Nortje ........................2K. Perera c Markram b Mulder ............................ 60L. Thirimanne c Du Plessis b Mulder ...................17K. Mendis c Van der Dussen b Mulder .................0M. Bhanuka c Van der Dussen b Nortje ...............5N. Dickwella c De Kock b Nortje .............................7D. Shanaka c De Kock b Nortje ..............................4W. Hasaranga c De Kock b Sipamla ....................29D. Chameera c De Kock b Nortje .........................22V. Fernando not out ..................................................2A Fernando b Nortje .................................................4Extras (lb5) ................................................................5Total (40.3 overs) .................................... 157Fall of wickets: 1-19, 2-71, 3-71, 4-80, 5-84, 6-93, 7-110, 8-149, 9-151Bowling: Ngidi 10-3-44-0, Nortje 14.3-1-56-6, Sipamla 9-3-27-1, Mulder 7-3-25-3South Africa, first inningsD. Elgar not out ........................................................92A. Markram c Mendis b A. Fernando ..................... 5H. van der Dussen not out ................................... 40Extras (b4, lb4, w3) ............................................... 11Total (1 wkt, 37 overs) .............................148Fall of wicket: 1-34 (Markram)Bowling: V. Fernando 10-0-40-0 (1w), A. Fern-ando 10-2-30-1 (1w), Chameera 7-0-34-0, Shana-ka 6-1-13-0 (1w), Hasaranga 4-0-23-0To bat: F. du Plessis, Q. de Kock, T. Bavuma, W. Mulder, K. Maharaj, A. Nortje, L. Sipamla, L. Ngidi

SCOREBOARD