Atletico dented by defeat at Levante
MADRID: Atletico Madrid squandered a chance to all-but wrap up their first La Liga title since 1996 when they crashed to a surprise 2-0 defeat at Levante on Sunday. Victory for Atletico in Valencia would have meant they needed only a win at home to Malaga next weekend to secure top spot and render their final match at Barcelona the following week irrelevant. However, an own goal from Filipe Luis in the seventh minute and a neat finish from David Barral 21 minutes from time meant Atletico failed to take advantage of Barca’s 2-2 draw at home to Getafe on Saturday. With two games left, Atletico lead on 88 points, three ahead of Barca. Real Madrid, on 82 points, were scheduled to play Valencia late on Sunday, after going to press, and also have a trip to Real Valladolid on Wednesday. (Reuters)
Rodgers looks to bolster Liverpool squad
LONDON: Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is preparing a raid on the transfer market at the end of the season and believes the guarantee of Champions League football and the style of play he has developed at the club will make recruitment easier. The five-time European champions have been the revelation of the Premier League season with their high-tempo attacking game and could still win a first English league title in 24 years over the next week. “We will need to bring in players over the summer and the great plus about being in the Champions League is that it makes it easier to attract the top ones,” Rodgers told the Observer. “We have established a reputation as a creative, attacking team that wants to win games and that should stand us in good stead. Last summer when we were speaking to certain players they said they respected what we were trying to achieve but they wanted to play at the top level. We are at that level now, ahead of schedule, so I suspect this summer will be a totally different proposition.” (Reuters)
Gangjee attains best finish in 7 years
Singapore: Rahil Gangjee birdied his last five holes to produce his best finish since 2007 on the Asian Tour as he ended fourth at The Championship at Laguna National here on Sunday. Meanwhile, at the top, Chile’s Felipe Aguilar blazed home with a birdie-eagle finish to set the clubhouse target of 22-under 266 and it earned him his second European Tour title, six years after he won the first in Indonesia in 2008. In-form Anirban Lahiri carded a bogey-free six-under 66 to finish tied sixth, his sixth successive top-10 finish on Asian Tour. Gangjee (65) totalled 19-under, the best of his career, and Lahiri was 17-under. Another Indian SSP Chowrasia (67) was tied 11th at 14-under at the event jointly sanctioned by the Asian and European Tours. Jeev Milkha Singh (72) and Chiragh Kumar (74) were tied 64th at three-under 285. (PTI)