Serie A: Hot-shot Keisuke Honda Fires AC Milan up to Fourth

AC Milan are now only five points behind leaders Juventus, held 1-1 at Sassuolo on Saturday, while Roma put three unanswered goals past Chievo to reinforce their grip on second spot and reduce their deficit to a point.

Milan: Japan international Keisuke Honda struck a brace in a 3-1 win at Verona to go top of the Serie A scoring charts on Sunday as AC Milan moved up to fourth.

Milan travelled to the Bentegodi stadium looking for their second successive win having accounted for another Verona-based side, Chievo, two weeks ago.

The visitors were missing injured French forward Jeremy Menez, but Honda was in scintillating form.

"He's the consummate professional and a great player, I already said that back in August," Milan coach Filippo Inzaghi told Sky Sport Italia.

"He rarely misses a scoring chance and deserves all the credit he gets."

Inzaghi added: "We're happy, these were three really important points, but we still have 

improvements to make especially in defence."

Milan were given a helping hand in the 21st minute when Brazilian Rafael Marques, one half of a centre-back pairing which also included Mexican international Rafa Marquez, skewed a volley into his own net from Ignazio Abate's cross from the right.

"It can happen to anyone," said Verona coach Andrea Mandorlini.

Milan were 2-0 up six minutes later when Stephan El Shaarawy, given a rare start on the left of a three-man forward line spearheaded by Spaniard Fernando Torres, found Honda in space on the right with a long ball from midfield.

Honda had time to run unmarked towards goal before curling a first-time shot past Verona 'keeper Rafael.

Verona striker Luca Toni came close to reducing the arrears with an acrobatic effort minutes later but Christian Abbiati pulled off a remarkable save to parry at his near post.

Abbiati was at full stretch again just after the half hour to push away Bosko Jankovic's header.

If Verona's defence had been conspicuously absent at Honda's first goal, they were even more so 10 minutes after the restart when the Japan international was left in acres of space.

French defender Adil Rami fired a low pass from just over the halfway line and Honda ran in practically unhindered to dink another left-footed shot over Rafael.

Verona grabbed a late consolation when Nico Lopez powered past Sulley Muntari before cutting in to beat Abbiati.

Milan are now only five points behind leaders Juventus, held 1-1 at Sassuolo on Saturday, while Roma put three unanswered goals past Chievo to reinforce their grip on second spot and reduce their deficit to a point.

Sampdoria are three points behind Roma in third after they drew 2-2 at Cagliari despite Manolo 

Gabbiadini and Spanish midfielder Pedro Obiang giving them a 2-0 interval lead.

"We didn't draw, we lost," Samp coach Sinisa Mihajlovic told Sky. "We can't afford to give away points like we did today.

"The only positive is that we're still in third place and still unbeaten."

Cagliari were given hope 13 minutes into the second half when Fabrizio Cacciatore saw red for a second bookable offence and defender Danilo Avelar stepped up to slam the resulting spot-kick into the top right-hand corner of Emiliano Viviano's net.

The pressure on Cagliari coach Zdenek Zeman eased somewhat when Marco Sau fired a late leveller after superbly controlling Avelar's quickfire pass into the area.

"It wasn't easy to claw back two goals from Sampdoria," said Sau, who now has three goals in seven games.

Elswhere, Palermo moved off bottom spot after Giancarlo Gonzalez's precision header secured a 2-1 home win for the Sicilians against Cesena.

Fabio Quagliarella's 62nd-minute strike was enough to secure a 1-0 home win for Torino against Udinese, while in Bergamo Yiadom Boakye bundled home a 90th-minute winner to secure a 1-0 win for Atalanta against Parma.

Parma now sit bottom of Serie A with six defeats and just one win in seven games.

Earlier, Serbian international Filip Djordjevic scored his fifth goal in three games as Lazio won 2-0 away to misfiring Fiorentina.

Lazio sit sixth, seven points off top spot, with Fiorentina in ninth place, 10 points off the pace.

Fernando Alonso Leaving Ferrari, Says Outgoing Team Chief

Fernando Alonso was said to have lost faith in Ferrari's inability to produce a winning car. With three races of the championship remaining, he sits third in the drivers' championship standings.

    

Spaniard Fernando Alonso is leaving Ferrari because he "can't wait much longer" if he wants to win another world title, outgoing Ferarri chief Luca de Montezemolo confirmed on Thursday.

Former two-time world champion Alonso was widely rumoured to be leaving the Italian giants at the end of the current season, two years before his contract ends.

De Montezemolo, who recently quit his post as president of the company, confirmed to Italian television Rai that the Spaniard was leaving "for two reasons".

"He's leaving for two reasons. One is he want to test himself in another environment, and two because he's at an age where he can't wait much longer if he wants to triumph again."

Alonso was said to have lost faith in Ferrari's inability to produce a winning car. With three races of the championship remaining, he sits third in the drivers' championship standings.

"It hurt him that he didn't win this year and he needs fresh motivation," added De Montezelomo.
Alonso's contract with Ferrari was set to expire at the end of 2016, meaning he would leave two years short of its expiry.

While speculation over the Spaniard's future destination continues, four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull is rumoured to be heading to Ferrari.

Vettel announced last week he was quitting Red Bull.

Saeed Ajmal-Less Pakistan Seek to End 20-Year Australia Drought

Saeed Ajmal, who has been suspended due to an illegal bowling action, has single-handedly ruled the dry and slow tracks of Pakistan's neutral venues in the United Arab Emirates, especially at Dubai where he has 37 wickets in six Tests, three of which Pakistan won.

Pakistan hope to end a 20-year drought against Australia when they meet in the first of two Tests in Dubai from Wednesday but they are hobbled by the absence of spin king Saeed Ajmal.

Ajmal, who has been suspended due to an illegal bowling action, has single-handedly ruled the dry and slow tracks of Pakistan's neutral venues in the United Arab Emirates, especially at Dubai where he has 37 wickets in six Tests, three of which Pakistan won. 

That includes 24 wickets in a 3-0 rout of England in 2012.

Pakistan have also lost frontline seamers Junaid Khan and Wahab Riaz -- both through knee injuries -- and have to rely on uncapped leg-spinner Yasir Shah and two-Test left-armer Zulfiqar Babar, both of whom are likely to play.

Captain Misbah-ul Haq, under pressure to score runs after managing nought and 15 in the preceding 3-0 one-day series defeat, admitted Ajmal's absence is significant.

"Ajmal has left a big hole," said Misbah, who skippers a team whose last Test series win over Australia was back in 1994.

"But we have youngsters who should grab the chance and I am confident they can."

The return of veteran batsman Younis Khan and Azhar Ali will boost Pakistan's fragile batting as they seek to remain unbeaten in a Test series in the UAE since they were forced to decamp in 2009 due to security fears in their country.

Australia will also look to include both spinners in Nathan Lyon and Steve O'Keefe despite their unimpressive record of losing five of the last six Tests (one draw) in which they played with two spinners.

But they have dominated Pakistan, winning 13 out of the last 14 Tests against them.

Australia will hope skipper Michael Clarke, top Test run getter in 2013 with 1,093, anchors the batting after recovering from a hamstring injury sustained two months ago.

Clarke failed to get much-needed practice in the 153-run defeat in the four-day tour game against Pakistan 'A' on Sunday, managing just ten and five.

Clarke admitted Ajmal will be missed by Pakistan.

"I think there is no doubt that Ajmal is an amazing bowler. I think obviously Pakistan wish they had him available for selection," said Clarke.

"I have always said that Pakistan have always had a lot of talent in any form of the game and I am sure the Test eleven that they put on the field is very talented and know these conditions."

Australia will hope all-rounder Mitchell Marsh, who has recovered from a hamstring injury, will be able to fill in for the more experienced Shane Watson who is out of the tour due to a calf injury.

Australia's pace attack will be led by Mitchell Johnson who bowled with venom in the two one-dayers he played -- taking six wickets -- and supported by the hard-working Peter Siddle.

A 2-0 cleansweep would return Australia to the top of the Test rankings.

The second Test will be played in Abu Dhabi from October 30.

Teams (from):

Pakistan: Misbah-ul Haq (capt), Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Taufeeq Umar, Shan Masood, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Talha, Rahat Ali, Imran Khan, Ehsan Adil, Sarfraz Ahmed, Zulfiqar Babar, Yasir Shah.

Australia: Michael Clarke (capt), David Warner, Chris Rogers, Alex Doolan, Steven Smith, Ben Hilfenhaus, Phillip Hughes, Brad Haddin, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, Mitchell Johnson, Steve O'Keefe, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, James Faulkner, Nathan Lyon.

Umpires: Richard Kettleborough (ENG) and Marais Erasmus (RSA)

TV umpire: Nigel Llong (ENG)

Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)             

La Liga: Atletico Madrid Beat Espanyol 2-0, Move Within Five Points of Barcelona

Atletico Madrid had been beaten by an early three-goal blitz at Valencia last time out and they set out to make amends early on against Espanyol on Sunday.

Atletico Madrid's Portuguese midfielder Tiago (R) celebrates with Atletico Madrid's Turkish midfielder Arda Turan (C) after scoring during the Spanish league football match Club Atletico de Madrid vs RCD Espanyol at the Vicente Calderon stadium in Madrid on October 19, 2014.

© AFP

Madrid: Atletico Madrid moved back to within five points of La Liga leaders Barcelona with a 2-0 win over Espanyol on Sunday thanks to goals from Tiago and Mario Suarez.

Tiago opened the scoring with a wonderful looping header into the far corner from Gabi's cross two minutes before half-time to settle the hosts' nerves.

The Portuguese midfielder then limped off early in the second half, making him a doubt for Atletico's Champions League game against Malmo in midweek.

However, his replacement Suarez had the easy task of tapping home the second from Jose Gimenez's header 20 minutes from time.

"The team played the way they had to," said Atletico boss Diego Simeone.

"We played with a good tempo and with patience until the first goal arrived. Then, in the second half, we controlled the game."

Simeone's men had been beaten by an early three-goal blitz at Valencia last time out and they set out to make amends early on as Kiko Casilla denied Arda Turan from point-blank range before the Turkish midfielder had a goal ruled out for offside.

Casilla also turned behind a fierce drive from Koke, but Atletico were thankful to their own 'keeper Miguel Angel Moya moments later as he smothered Lucas Vazquez's effort at the back post.

The home side continued to enjoy the majority of the play, though, and made the breakthrough just before half-time when Gabi's cross to the far post was looped back across goal and over the helpless Casilla from Tiago.

Sergio Garcia could have punished some slack defending by Atletico with the last kick of the half as he blasted over from a narrow angle.

And the champions were dealt a blow at the start of the second period as Tiago hobbled off to be replaced by Suarez.

Espanyol had claims for a penalty waved away 25 minutes from time when Christian Stuani tumbled under pressure from Gimenez in the box, but within 60 seconds it was Casilla who was forced into action once more as he repelled Mario Mandzukic's low drive.

Atletico made the game safe on 70 minutes as Espanyol struggled to defend a corner and Gimenez's header across goal was tapped home by Suarez for his first goal in two years.

22 Injured as Flight From Singapore to Mumbai Hit Turbulence

Singapore:  Twenty-two passengers and crew were injured when an Airbus A380 plane operated by Singapore Airlines (SIA) and travelling from the city-state to Mumbai hit sudden turbulence during descent, the carrier said Sunday.

There were 408 passengers and 25 crew on board.

The extent of the injuries during the turbulence aboard Flight SQ 424 on Saturday evening were not given, but SIA said all the injured were attended to by medical personnel on arrival at the Mumbai airport.

Eight passengers and 14 crew were hurt, the airline said in a statement.

All eight passengers were also taken to hospital and six have been discharged, the airline added.

SIA said the plane "experienced sudden turbulence during descent".

Ten of the injured crew members required hospitalisation but all have been discharged, SIA said.

Japan Industry Minister Resigns over Make-Up Scandal: Reports

Tokyo:  Japan's industry minister resigned on Monday over claims she spent political donations on make-up and other items unconnected to politics, reports said, in a blow to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Yuko Obuchi, who had been tipped to potentially become the country's first female prime minister, handed Abe her letter of resignation during a 30-minute meeting with the premier, public broadcaster NHK and Jiji Press news agency said.

Abe accepted her resignation, according Jiji.

Obuchi said she would hold a news conference soon. She would be the first minister to resign since Abe took power in December 2012.

Obuchi was a star minister when Abe reshuffled his cabinet in September, becoming the country's first woman in charge of economy, trade and industry -- a powerful portfolio that includes oversight of the energy sector.

The clean-cut 40-year-old was the most prominent of a new wave of women promoted to leading Cabinet positions.

But she is now facing claims that, over the five years to 2012, her political funding body spent more than 10 million yen ($95,000) on things unconnected to politics, including cosmetics and accessories at a department store.

Her political group has also invited residents in her electoral district in central Japan on bus tours to see theatre performances in Tokyo at fees below actual costs -- a move opposition lawmakers have called "vote-buying".

Story First Published: October 20, 2014 07:13 IST    

Boxing Legend Muhammad Ali Critically Ill

Rumours about legendary boxer Muhammad Ali's poor health started circulating when he did not attend a Hollywood premiere of a new movie about his life, 'I am Ali', last week.

Reported by: NDTVSports

Muhammad Ali, who has been suffering from Parkinson's disease for almost 30 years now, maybe counting his last days if sources in the boxing legend's family are to be believed. The 72-year-old American is critically ill.

Rumours about Ali's poor health started circulating when he did not attend a Hollywood premiere of a new movie about his life, 'I am Ali', last week.

Interestingly, news of Ali struggling for life comes at the same time when two of his strongest rivals, Britain's Joe Bugner, 64 and Leon Spinks, 61, struggle with serious heart and stomach ailments. Spinks has undergone multiple surgeries recently.

Joe Frazier, one of Ali's rivals during his boxing days, had once said, "The trouble with him is that he doesn't know how to die," at the time Ali refused to retire.

The good part about Ali's story, however, is that he has managed to outlive most of the 53 opponents he has faced during his career. In fact, many of Ali's opponents died a brutal death. While Sonny Liston died from a drugs overdose, Argentinian Oscar Bonavena was shot dead outside a brothel in the US state of Nevada.

Ali's daughter Hana is optimistic that the legendary boxer is going to live.

"I call him in the mornings, every morning, he speaks the best in the mornings. You could actually hear his soft sweet voice," Hana had recently told the Telegraph.

"He jokes, he kids around about making a comeback even now today. So he would want the world to know that he enjoys being Muhammad Ali."