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Nice win battle of French Champions League hopefuls Paris (AFP) – Kasper Dolberg scored one goal and set up another as Nice won 2-1 away at Rennes on Sunday in a clash between two Ligue 1 clubs with Champions League ambitions. Rennes, who are owned by one of France’s richest men, Francois Pinault, are looking to return to the Champions League after appearing in the group stage for the first time last season. They came into the weekend in second place, four points clear of Nice, themselves owned by Ineos, the petrochemicals group chaired by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe. Nice, managed by Christophe Galtier, the man who led Lille to last season’s title, started the campaign strongly before stumbling in recent weeks but they went ahead in Brittany when Dolberg converted a 19th-minute penalty awarded for a foul on Dante. Danish international striker Dolberg then teed up Youcef Atal to score the second in the 51st minute with a superb effort from a tight angle. Benjamin Bourigeaud soon pulled one back for Rennes but Nice held on to close to within a point of Rennes in the table. The defeat for Rennes means runaway leaders Paris Saint-Germain, currently 11 points clear, can go even further ahead with a win at home to Monaco later on Sunday. Meanwhile, Marseille have the chance to retake second place by beating Strasbourg away in Sunday’s other late match. Earlier, reigning champions Lille, fresh from qualifying for the last 16 of the Champions League, were held to a 0-0 draw at home by Lyon, a result which leaves the two clubs still adrift in mid-table. Lyon last week had a point deducted as a punishment for the trouble that led to November’s game against Marseille being abandoned after Dimitri Payet was hit on the head by a bottle. Also on Sunday, there were wins for struggling trio Bordeaux, Clermont and Metz. Metz hammered Lorient 4-1 to climb above their opponents and out of the bottom two. Saint-Etienne, who sacked manager Claude Puel last weekend, remain rooted to the foot of the table after losing 2-0 at Reims on Saturday.

Paris (AFP) – Kasper Dolberg scored one goal and set up another as Nice won 2-1 away at Rennes on Sunday in a clash between two Ligue 1 clubs with Champions League ambitions. Rennes, who are owned by one of France’s richest men, Francois Pinault, are looking to return to the Champions League after appearing in the group stage for the first time last season. They came into the weekend in second place, four points clear of Nice, themselves owned by Ineos, the petrochemicals group chaired by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe. Nice, managed by Christophe Galtier, the man who led Lille to last season’s title, started the campaign strongly before stumbling in recent weeks but they went ahead in Brittany when Dolberg converted a 19th-minute penalty awarded for a foul on Dante. Danish international striker Dolberg then teed up Youcef Atal to score the second in the 51st minute with a superb effort from a tight angle. Benjamin Bourigeaud soon pulled one back for Rennes but Nice held on to

Atalanta two points from Serie A summit with Verona win Verona (Italy) (AFP) – Atalanta closed in on Serie A leaders AC Milan after coming from behind to win 2-1 at Verona on Sunday and move to within two points of top spot. Gian Piero Gasperini’s side sit third in Italy’s top flight thanks to goals in either half from Aleksey Miranchuk and Teun Koopmeiners which ensured they took advantage of Milan drawing at Udinese on Saturday. They are level on 37 points with second-placed Inter Milan, who will finish the weekend in first place if they beat Cagliari in Sunday’s late match, after moving above Napoli ahead of their home clash with Empoli in the early evening. Defeat for Verona was their first at home since Igor Tudor took charge in mid-September and leaves them 11th on 23 points, one ahead of Torino who beat Bologna 2-1 in Sunday’s early match. Giovanni Simeone gave the hosts a 22nd-minute lead with his 13th goal of a superb season for the Argentine, forcing a shot past Juan Musso from a narrow angle. However with eight minutes until the break and after Mario Pasalic had thwacked the post, Miranchuk levelled by dancing into a shooting position and rolling come a calm finish. And Atalanta were ahead just after the hour mark through Koopmeiners, who was lucky to see his distance effort take a massive deflection off Adrien Tameze and fly past a stranded Lorenzo Montipo in the Verona goal. The hard-fought win will be a boost for Atalanta after they missed out on the last 16 of the Champions League following Thursday’s home defeat at the hands of Villarreal. They will be in Monday’s draw for the Europa League play-off round after finishing third in Group F behind La Liga outfit Villarreal and Manchester United.

Verona (Italy) (AFP) – Atalanta closed in on Serie A leaders AC Milan after coming from behind to win 2-1 at Verona on Sunday and move to within two points of top spot. Gian Piero Gasperini’s side sit third in Italy’s top flight thanks to goals in either half from Aleksey Miranchuk and Teun Koopmeiners which ensured they took advantage of Milan drawing at Udinese on Saturday. They are level on 37 points with second-placed Inter Milan, who will finish the weekend in first place if they beat Cagliari in Sunday’s late match, after moving above Napoli ahead of their home clash with Empoli in the early evening. Defeat for Verona was their first at home since Igor Tudor took charge in mid-September and leaves them 11th on 23 points, one ahead of Torino who beat Bologna 2-1 in Sunday’s early match. Giovanni Simeone gave the hosts a 22nd-minute lead with his 13th goal of a superb season for the Argentine, forcing a shot past Juan Musso from a narrow angle. However with eight minutes unti

Leicester thrash sorry Newcastle, West Ham held by Burnley London (AFP) – Leicester left Newcastle still rooted in the Premier League relegation zone with a 4-0 thrashing of the Magpies on Sunday, while West Ham’s Champions League ambitions were dented by a 0-0 draw at Burnley. Despite being hit by a coronavirus outbreak that left Brendan Rodgers without seven players, the Foxes gave Eddie Howe another reminder of the task he faces to keep Newcastle in the top flight as Youri Tielemans struck twice at the King Power. Howe will be able to call on the resources of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund in the January transfer window and results elsewhere this weekend mean they remain just three points adrift of safety. But Newcastle face Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United in their next three games and, on this form, will be lucky to escape that run without another severe hit to their goal difference. Leicester had won just two of their previous nine games in all competitions and were dumped out of the Europa League by Napoli on Thursday. However, they got the break they needed to edge in front before half-time when James Maddison engineered contact with Javier Manquillo to win a penalty. With Jamie Vardy watching on from the bench, Tielemans took responsibility from the spot to open the scoring seven minutes before half-time. Patson Daka’s form has seen him earn his spot ahead of Vardy in recent weeks in the Premier League and Zambian had the easiest of tasks to roll in his seventh goal of the season from Harvey Barnes’ unselfish pass to double Leicester’s lead. Tielemans rounded off a fine team move for his second of the afternoon before Maddison’s fine finish compounded Newcastle’s pain five minutes from time. Victory lifts Leicester to eighth and back in the fight for a place in the top four while West Ham wasted the chance to extend their advantage over the chasing pack. The Hammers have won just one of their last five league games as Nick Pope frustrated David Moyes’ men with a string of saves at Turf Moor. West Ham edged one point ahead of fifth-placed Manchester United, but Tottenham, who are not in action this weekend due to their own Covid outbreak, are just two points back with two games in hand. A point also does little to aid Burnley’s hopes of survival as they remain in 18th, but are now just two points adrift of safety.

London (AFP) – Leicester left Newcastle still rooted in the Premier League relegation zone with a 4-0 thrashing of the Magpies on Sunday, while West Ham’s Champions League ambitions were dented by a 0-0 draw at Burnley. Despite being hit by a coronavirus outbreak that left Brendan Rodgers without seven players, the Foxes gave Eddie Howe another reminder of the task he faces to keep Newcastle in the top flight as Youri Tielemans struck twice at the King Power. Howe will be able to call on the resources of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund in the January transfer window and results elsewhere this weekend mean they remain just three points adrift of safety. But Newcastle face Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United in their next three games and, on this form, will be lucky to escape that run without another severe hit to their goal difference. Leicester had won just two of their previous nine games in all competitions and were dumped out of the Europa League by Napoli on Thurs

Rangers brush aside title rivals Hearts Glasgow (AFP) – Alfredo Morelos and Joe Aribo fired Rangers to a 2-0 win at Hearts on Sunday as the Scottish Premiership leaders extended their strong start under new boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Van Bronckhorst has won four successive league games since replacing Steven Gerrard after his predecessor’s move to Aston Villa. Morelos and Aribo scored in the early stages at Tynecastle, giving Rangers six consecutive league victories encompassing the end of Gerrard’s reign. Hearts had Josh Ginnelly sent off late on as they squandered a chance to close the gap on the champions. Rangers are 12 points clear of third placed Hearts and seven ahead of second placed Celtic, who host Motherwell later on Sunday. Van Bronckhorst made six changes to the Rangers side that began Thursday’s 1-1 draw at Lyon in the Europa League. Liam Boyce had a great chance to open the scoring for Hearts in the third minute when he ran on to John Souttar’s clipped ball over the top, but the Northern Ireland striker saw his lob tipped over by Allan McGregor. It was Rangers who scored with their first chance of the match after nine minutes when Ryan Kent’s cross reached Fashion Sakala and the Zambian cut the ball back to Morelos, who fired home from six yards out. Sakala shot just wide from close range moments later before Morelos headed wide from James Tavernier’s corner. Rangers’ second goal came in the 13th minute when Aribo ran on to a brilliant long diagonal from Connor Goldson and fired an angled low shot beyond the exposed Craig Gordon. Gary Mackay-Steven saw his angled shot pushed behind by McGregor early in the second half. Rangers had a let-off in the 53rd minute when Calvin Bassey knocked a Ginnelly cross off the underside of his own crossbar. Rangers remained a threat, however, and Scott Arfield and Sakala were both denied by saves from Gordon. Boyce fired over from close range after being set up by Mackay-Steven before Stephen Kingsley cracked a free kick off the bar from 30 yards out. In the 80th minute, Ginnelly was sent off after being shown a second yellow card for squaring up to Borna Barisic.

Glasgow (AFP) – Alfredo Morelos and Joe Aribo fired Rangers to a 2-0 win at Hearts on Sunday as the Scottish Premiership leaders extended their strong start under new boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Van Bronckhorst has won four successive league games since replacing Steven Gerrard after his predecessor’s move to Aston Villa. Morelos and Aribo scored in the early stages at Tynecastle, giving Rangers six consecutive league victories encompassing the end of Gerrard’s reign. Hearts had Josh Ginnelly sent off late on as they squandered a chance to close the gap on the champions. Rangers are 12 points clear of third placed Hearts and seven ahead of second placed Celtic, who host Motherwell later on Sunday. Van Bronckhorst made six changes to the Rangers side that began Thursday’s 1-1 draw at Lyon in the Europa League. Liam Boyce had a great chance to open the scoring for Hearts in the third minute when he ran on to John Souttar’s clipped ball over the top, but the Northern Ireland stri

De Gea reveals fears over Lindelof’s breathing scare London (AFP) – Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea said Victor Lindelof’s breathing scare during the 1-0 win over Norwich provoked unsettling memories of incidents involving Christian Eriksen and Sergio Aguero. Lindelof had to be replaced in the second half at Carrow Road on Saturday after the United defender received treatment on the pitch when he suddenly clutched his chest. United interim manager Ralf Rangnick revealed the Swedish international centre-back was fine after the match, but De Gea conceded seeing his team-mate having difficulties reminded him of Eriksen’s shocking cardiac arrest while playing for Denmark in the European championships in June. Like Eriksen, Barcelona striker Aguero is also currently sidelined after collapsing with heart issues in October. “As soon as it was like difficult breathing and feeling strange, the game doesn’t matter or football. First of all is life,” De Gea told Sky Sports. “We saw some players who are feeling a bit, I don’t know what was going on, but Victor was feeling his breathing. “We saw already Eriksen, Aguero… so it is sometimes a bit difficult to see your player acting like this so it was better to change. I hope he is completely fine.” Despite the anxiety over Lindelof’s health, Rangnick raised the prospect of the 27-year-old being fit to face Brentford on Tuesday. “Victor can’t even remember himself how it happened. I think he had a collision with another player and had problems to breathe,” Lindelof said. “For more than 10 mins his heart rate was higher than normal and he was a little shocked by this, so we had to replace him. “The doctor has checked him after the match and it seems everything is OK now, but we still have to see how he is doing tomorrow. Hopefully he will fit for the Brentford game.”

London (AFP) – Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea said Victor Lindelof’s breathing scare during the 1-0 win over Norwich provoked unsettling memories of incidents involving Christian Eriksen and Sergio Aguero. Lindelof had to be replaced in the second half at Carrow Road on Saturday after the United defender received treatment on the pitch when he suddenly clutched his chest. United interim manager Ralf Rangnick revealed the Swedish international centre-back was fine after the match, but De Gea conceded seeing his team-mate having difficulties reminded him of Eriksen’s shocking cardiac arrest while playing for Denmark in the European championships in June. Like Eriksen, Barcelona striker Aguero is also currently sidelined after collapsing with heart issues in October. “As soon as it was like difficult breathing and feeling strange, the game doesn’t matter or football. First of all is life,” De Gea told Sky Sports. “We saw some players who are feeling a bit, I don’t know wh

Football: English Championship table London (AFP) – English Championship table after Saturday’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Fulham 22 13 6 3 51 18 45 Bournemouth 22 12 7 3 37 19 43 West Brom 22 11 7 4 30 17 40 Blackburn 22 11 6 5 37 27 39 QPR 21 10 5 6 33 27 35 Stoke 22 10 5 7 26 21 35 Coventry 22 9 7 6 29 26 34 Nottm Forest 22 8 7 7 30 24 31 Middlesbrough 22 8 6 8 24 23 30 Huddersfield 22 8 6 8 25 25 30 Millwall 22 7 9 6 24 24 30 Luton 22 7 8 7 31 27 29 Sheff Utd 21 8 5 8 28 28 29 Preston 22 7 7 8 24 28 28 Birmingham 22 7 6 9 22 26 27 Swansea 22 7 6 9 26 31 27 Blackpool 22 7 6 9 20 26 27 Bristol City 22 7 6 9 24 32 27 Hull 22 6 5 11 19 26 23 Cardiff 22 6 4 12 25 39 22 Reading 22 8 3 11 27 34 21 Peterborough 22 5 4 13 19 41 19 Barnsley 22 2 7 13 15 34 13 Derby 22 5 10 7 18 21 4 Note: Reading deducted 6 points for breaching financial rules Derby deducted 12 points for entering administration and deducted 9 points for breaching financial rules

London (AFP) – English Championship table after Saturday’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Fulham 22 13 6 3 51 18 45 Bournemouth 22 12 7 3 37 19 43 West Brom 22 11 7 4 30 17 40 Blackburn 22 11 6 5 37 27 39 QPR 21 10 5 6 33 27 35 Stoke 22 10 5 7 26 21 35 Coventry 22 9 7 6 29 26 34 Nottm Forest 22 8 7 7 30 24 31 Middlesbrough 22 8 6 8 24 23 30 Huddersfield 22 8 6 8 25 25 30 Millwall 22 7 9 6 24 24 30 Luton 22 7 8 7 31 27 29 Sheff Utd 21 8 5 8 28 28 29 Preston 22 7 7 8 24 28 28 Birmingham 22 7 6 9 22 26 27 Swansea 22 7 6 9 26 31 27 Blackpool 22 7 6 9 20 26 27 Bristol City 22 7 6 9 24 32 27 Hull 22 6 5 11 19 26 23 Cardiff 22 6 4 12 25 39 22 Reading 22 8 3 11 27 34 21 Peterborough 22 5 4 13 19 41 19 Barnsley 22 2 7 13 15 34 13 Derby 22 5 10 7 18 21 4 Note: Reading deducted 6 points for breaching financial rules Derby deducted 12 points for entering administration and deducted 9 points for breaching financia