MADRID: Cristiano Ronaldo scored a fortunate first goal of the season with his deflected 75th minute free-kick proving the winner in a 2-1 win at promoted Real Sociedad as Real Madrid moved to the top of La Liga for the first time under Jose Mourinho.Ronaldo saw his free-kick take a huge

BUENOS AIRES: Football legend Diego Maradona met with ex-Argentine president Nestor Kirchner on Friday, his first public appearance after bitter words exchanged over his dismissal as the country`s national team coach.Maradona, 49, has been largely out of the media spotlight since his

DALLAS: French star Thierry Henry has apologized for an incident during a play stoppage in an Major League Soccer game that injured the goalkeeper for FC Dallas.New York Red Bulls player Henry apologized for injuring Kevin Hartman`s knee by taking an extra kick at the ball in the Dallas`

DUBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has launched an investigation into Friday`s one-day international between England and Pakistan, the sport`s governing body said on Saturday.The decision was taken after the ICC received information from a British newspaper on a scoring

DURBAN: Michael Klinger hit his third successive half-century as the South Australia Redbacks became the first team to qualify for the Champions League Twenty semi-finals with an eight-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore at Kingsmead on Friday.Redbacks captain Klinger hit 69 not

LONDON: Umar Gul produced a devastating spell of swing bowling taking six for 42 as Pakistan won the third one-day international against England here at The Oval by 23 runs on Friday.Set 242 to win, England were in control as Eoin Morgan (61) and Luke Wright (48 not out) put on 98 for the

LOS ANGELES: Corey Pavin knows Tiger Woods will want to play the maximum number of matches at the Ryder Cup, but the US captain will sit the superstar down if he thinks it`s in the best interest of the team.Pavin, discussing his final preparations for the biennial match play showdown

LONDON: Coach Waqar Younis has urged his Pakistan side to go on and win the current one-day series against England after their stunning display at The Oval on Friday.Their 23-run victory, built on Umar Gul`s brilliant show of reverse swing bowling, left the series 2-1 in England`s favour

BERLIN: Bundesliga leaders Mainz 05 beat Cologne 2-0 on Tuesday to stay top, while Bayern Munich fan anxious wait to hear the extent of Franck Ribery`s injury from their late 2-1 win at Hoffenheim.Having been stunned by a goal after just 36 seconds, Bayern hit back as Ribery`s fierce

LONDON: Third tier Brentford knocked Premier League Everton out of the English Football League Cup on penalties in the shock result of the third round on Tuesday.The Bees, 19th in League One, came from a goal behind against the Merseysiders, 19th in the top flight, to come back to 1-1 at

MADRID: Real Madrid moved to the La Liga summit with a flattering 3-0 home win over Espanyol at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday with Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema netting their first goals of the season after Cristiano Ronaldo had opened the scoring.The win means Real maintain their

LONDON: Ian Bell believes fellow England batsman Jonathan Trott`s clash with Pakistan`s Wahab Riaz will help forge the kind of spirit the team will need to sustain them on their upcoming tour of Australia.Newspaper reports said Trott and Riaz had an altercation minutes before the fourth

PARIS: The French Football Federation (FFF) on Tuesday denied having unfairly targeted Patrice Evra, after the player said he was still awaiting an explanation for his five-match international ban."We`re not against him, we`re treating him as we`d treat anyone," the FFF`s legal director,

WELLINGTON: Australian fast bowler Brett Lee is poised to play domestic Twenty20 cricket in New Zealand as he seeks a career swansong at next year`s World Cup, a report said Wednesday.Lee retired from Test cricket earlier this year after a string of injuries but is desperate to cap his

JOHANNESBURG: The skill and experience of Anil Kumble and the precocious talent of Virat Kohli took the Royal Challengers Bangalore to the semi-finals of the Champions League Twenty20 tournament with a six-wicket win over the Highveld Lions on Tuesday night.Bangalore restricted the Lions

MADRID: Jose Mourinho said Friday he would like to accept an invitation to take charge of Portugal`s national team for their next two Euro 2012 qualifiers but it depends on Real Madrid giving their blessing."I don`t say no but I am the coach of Real Madrid and I have a contract for the

KARACHI: Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif, who previously blew the whistle on match-fixing in the country`s national team, Friday suggested a delay in the live broadcast of matches to curb spot-fixing."I guarantee that even a delay of 30 seconds in live telecast of matches will put an

LONDON: A police file detailing evidence on claims that Pakistan cricketers accepted cash bribes to take part in spot-fixing during a match against England has been handed over to prosecutors.Scotland Yard said evidence that there was a conspiracy to defraud bookmakers will be considered

WELLINGTON: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has rebuked New Zealand umpire Tony Hill for publicly airing his belief that Pakistan players deliberately bowled no-balls, a report said Friday.Hill and compatriot Billy Bowden officiated in Pakistan`s Test against England at Lord`s

LONDON: Andrew Flintoff predicted England would have no trouble winning the Ashes in Australia "quite convincingly" without him, soon after announcing his retirement from all cricket.The 32-year-old all-rounder finally admitted defeat in his longstanding battle against a knee injury that