Maclaren’s scores brace on return to lift Brisbane Roar to 3-1 victory over Sydney FC

GRAHAM Arnold says he learned something from Sydney FC’s embarrassing 3-1 defeat at home to Brisbane Roar - which of his players he can count on after a short turnaround.

The Sky Blues had just three days between games after playing Melbourne City on Tuesday, but that’s something the players are going to have to get used to with their Asian Champions League campaign just around the corner.

There were no excuses from the Sydney coach, just an honest assessment of his players and their performance.

“It was flat from the first minute to the last - we looked flat and we looked heavy-legged,” Arnold said. “Obviously the pitch was soft and heavy on the legs and at the end of the day we got hit by the counter-attack on two occasions in the second half - probably five occasions, but they didn’t score the other three. That’s a lack of legs to get back and recover.

“What I learned is who can back up three days after, with a short turnaround.”

Two goals to Jamie Maclaren and one from Matt McKay inflicted the damage, but they also put a spotlight on some worrying signs from Sydney in both the midfield and at the back, with defensive errors to blame for at least the last two goals.

Arnold, though, praised Roar coach John Aloisi for a well-executed game plan.

“(We showed) a lack of discipline behind the ball when going forward, but those things happen,” he said. Give credit to John and Brisbane - they came down here with a plan and they played a lot of long balls in behind our defense and turned us around. They got us on the break and deserve the three points.”

The mood at Allianz Stadium, in front of a small but frustrated crowd, reflected the miserable Sydney weather as the Sky Blues, at times looking promising, ultimately were outplayed by the visitors.

One player who stood above the rest on the night was Thomas Broich, who answered his critics with a commanding performance. All that was missing from him was a goal, but he hasn’t managed to find that all season.

Broich brought the quality in the first half, particularly with his super ball to set up Maclaren for the opening goal in just the eighth minute. Broich scooped the ball over the defenders from the left and it fell perfectly in the path of Maclaren, who showed what Brisbane had been missing with a cool finish.

The Roar began the game as if they were the home team, but as the first half progressed Sydney grew more into it. Their cause wasn’t helped though by the heavy downfall of rain, with players sliding in.

There was plenty of niggle too. Matt McKay followed through with a challenge on Vedran Janjetovic and the Sky Blues goalkeeper took off after him, before giving the skipper a nudge to the ground.

Sydney had their chances to get a goal back in the second half. Gersbach, back from Olyroos duty, put in a good cross to George Blackwood, whose header went over the woodwork. Then Milos Ninkovic put in a gem of a ball to Andrew Hoole, but Michael Theo quickly closed down his attempt.

The rain lifted in the second half and, thankfully, so did the home side. Sydney should have grabbed an equaliser soon after the break when Gersbach cut the ball back to Hoole, but he fired his shot wide.

Gersbach was busy all game and it was his free kick that Corona deflected into the back of his own net to put Sydney level.

There was a far better tempo to the second half - fortunately for those who still have memories of the last time these two sides met, which ended in the dullest of 0-0 draws.

But there would be none of that this time around. Despite Sydney’s dominance in the second half, they found themselves behind after a lapse in concentration at the back. Dimitri Petratos beat the offside trap down the right and was offered up far too much space to cross the ball into the box. He found an unmarked McKay, who made no mistake with his header to put Brisbane 2-1 up in the 66th minute.

And Sydney got done again barely 10 minutes later, when Petratos and Henrique combined again down the right to set up Maclaren for a tap in.

It was a major blow after Sydney weathered the initial storm, but failed to get on top of it. It’s also their second consecutive defeat as the Sky Blues missed the chance to go second on the table, which is where Brisbane now find themselves - just two points behind Western Sydney.

Phoenix Wellington suffer horrible defeat to Central Coast Mariners

It's almost reaching crisis time at the Wellington Phoenix. The goals have dried up and their winless streak now stretches to eight matches, after a horrible 3-1 defeat to the Central Coast Mariners in Christchurch.

Saturday night's match swung on a three minute spell early in the second half, when a Glen Moss error and a moment of Luis Garcia magic saw the Phoenix net broached twice.

Mitchell Austin added a third in the 85th minute, before the hard working Blake Powell grabbed a deserved consolation in the third minute of injury time.

The Phoenix created plenty of opportunities - before and after the Mariners double strike - but most were half chances, although Central Coast keeper Paul Izzo made two excellent saves.

However, there is no way to sugar coat the recent form of the Phoenix. Remember they lost to Newcastle two weeks ago, when the Australian side were on the verge of setting an A League record for a scoring drought, while Saturday night's defeat was particularly galling.

The Mariners have only won three matches this entire campaign; once on the opening weekend of the season, once against the Phoenix on New Years Eve and tonight. And before this match, the Central Coast side had gone 22 matches on the road without a win - the equivalent of almost two A League seasons.

The Phoenix need something; an injection of confidence (from somewhere), a change in tactics or a new signing. Things can change quickly in football but it's seems a long road back for the Phoenix from here.

Like most of their recent matches, there was no lack of endevour but this is a team that has lost their mojo. The lack of attacking punch has put more pressure on the defence, and that anxiety is bringing costly errors from their most reliable performers. Andrew Durante has made some uncharacteristic mistakes in recent weeks and Moss's mistake was another one.

From a regulation shot, the long time All Whites keeper dropped the ball at the feet of Garcia, with the former Liverpool striker showing his class with an instant back heeled finish. Two minutes later Garcia, who was pivotal in Liverpool's 2005 Champions league run and also played 20 matches for Spain, produced a delightful first time pass for Storm Roux, who chipped the advancing Moss from a tough angle. Austin's goal had a element of doubt - with another player involved in the play from an offside position - while Powell's strike was a classy team goal but way too little, too late.

The Phoenix last won a match on December 5, a 2-0 win over Melbourne Victory at Albany Stadium. They've been unable to score since Roy Krishna departed the scene and have had major problems defensively. Yesterday they were without the suspended Andrew Durante and Vince Lia, as well as the injured Ben Sigmund.

They started brightly, creating several half chances without being able to finish and the Mariners were limited to counter attacks in the first half. The Phoenix could have scored three times in the opening minutes of the second half, before Garcia's timely intervention which started the rot for the Wellington side.

Wellington Phoenix 1 (B Powell)
Central Coast Mariners 3 (L Garcia, S Roux, M Austin)

Australian Open: Kerber stuns Serena Williams to win first major title

Serena Williams' hopes of clinching a record-equalling 22nd grand slam title were dashed as Germany's Angelique Kerber pulled off a stunning victory to win the Australian Open.

Kerber was defending the Open-era best tally of her compatriot Steffi Graf and she did it playing the match of her life, beating Williams 6-4 3-6 6-4 to claim her first major title.

Completing victory after two hours and eight minutes, Kerber lay outstretched in disbelief on Rod Laver Arena, having sealed one of the biggest shocks in tennis history.

Williams was stalking the net from the very first point, sticking away a backhand volley with ease but Kerber was undeterred and responded with a scintillating cross-court winner en route to a break for 2-1.

The shot seemed to give the crowd belief and Kerber too, as the German was firing off winners from the baseline and pushing Williams into careless mistakes.

Williams tried to yell herself into life but her forehand continued to malfunction, as she ballooned one long and then crashed another into the net before screeching in disbelief.

A thundering backhand return gave Williams the break back but parity was temporary as Kerber came again, breaking for 4-3 when her opponent blazed a drive volley long.

It was like the top seed was playing with a frying pan as, to her great dismay, a short forehand flew out, a backhand flashed wide and another volley almost reached the backboards it was so far long.

Kerber just had to keep the ball in court and as the pressure fell on her to serve out at 5-4, the German delivered when a Williams backhand hit the net.

Williams regained some composure at the start of the second set and Kerber gave her the encouragement she needed, as two double faults gifted the American a break and 3-1 lead.

The German was still defending brilliantly, with her latest addition to the highlights reel a forehand pass, unleashed while apparently in mid-air.

Williams, however, though far from perfect, was finding her groove and she served out with relative ease to take the set 6-3 and force a decider.

Many times Williams has stumbled into a third set before motoring to victory but Kerber halted her opponent's momentum immediately with a hold and early break.

The crowning moment came when the American failed to put the ball away and as Kerber drove a half-volley pass into the gap, the crowd rose to their feet and the German pointed her finger up to the sky.

It was the sort of point many matches would turn on but Williams is an exceptional case and she recovered immediately to break back and level at 2-2.

Kerber held and then a mammoth 11-minute game ensued at 3-2 which began with Williams taking a hit on the shoulder as the ball kicked up off the net and ended up even more damaging as the German seized the break.

She played two superb drop-shots to save game points and then converted a fifth break point of her own when a Williams backhand flew long.

Kerber held but so did Williams, leaving it to the German to serve for the title at 5-3. She failed to do so as a backhand drifted out and now it was Williams serving under pressure as she trailed 5-4.

At deuce, Williams put a forehand into the net giving Kerber Championship point and she converted as a backhand flew long, prompting the German to drop to floor in stunned celebration.

Panathinaikos holds off still-winless Darussafaka

Panathinaikos Athens pulled out a hard-fought 82-79 win over visiting Darussafaka Dogus Istanbul on Friday night in Athens. Panathinaikos improved to 2-3 in Group E, while Darussafaka is still winless in its first Top 16 appearance. It was a game in which neither team managed to build a double-digit lead during the entire 40 minutes. Playing without Dimitris Diamantidis, Panathinaikos held a 42-38 halftime lead and went up by 9 early in the third quarter. But Darussafaka rallied behind Jamon Gordon and took the lead twice in the fourth, including 72-74 with two minutes to go after a Gordon triple. But down the stretch, Panathinaikos made more plays, and more free throws, to pull out an important win. Miroslav Raduljica scored 17 points, had 8 rebounds and 3 steals, while Nick Calathes had 14 points and 9 assists to pace the hosts. Vladimir Jankovic bagged 12 points for the Greens. Jamon Gordon finished with a career-high 26 points along with 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals for Darussafaka and Luke Harangody had 18 points, while Semih Erden scored 11 in defeat.

Greeks football players pay migrants tribute

A Greek football match was delayed on Friday when players staged a sit-down protest in a moving tribute to migrants who have lost their lives trying to reach the country's Aegean islands.

The show of solidarity took place before the kickoff of the second-tier Football League match between home side AEL Larissa and Acharnaikos in the Thessalian city of Larissa.

As the crowd waited for the match to start all 22 outfield players - as well as coaches, officials and substitutes - sat down for two minutes in respect of the hundreds of refugees who have died trying to escape conflict or persecution in countries like Syria and Iraq.

Twenty-four people attempting to cross to Europe from Turkey drowned when their boat sank off a Greek island on Thursday.

The gesture came 24 hours after it was announced by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that the flame for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro will pass through a refugee camp in Athens and one refugee will be among the torch bearers.

The torch will be lit in Greece's ancient Olympia on April 21 before leaving for the South American country 12 days later.

"The Olympic flame will pass through this camp here and will be shown to the refugees," IOC head Thomas Bach said during a visit to the Eleonas camp for refugees and migrants in Athens, which houses mostly Afghans and Iranians.

"One of the refugees will be invited to carry the torch."

The IOC has already said top athletes who are refugees with no home country to represent will be allowed to compete at the Rio Games under the Olympic flag.

A group of 18 members of the European Parliament, including 14 Greek politicians, have already called for this year's Nobel Peace prize to go to residents of Greece's Aegean islands for their efforts in handling an influx of migrants and refugees.

Number of Russians visiting Turkey almost halves in last December

The number of Russians visiting Turkey almost halved in December from the same period a year earlier as the crisis in relations over the shooting down of a Russian warplane hit the country's crucial tourism industry.

The Turkish tourism ministry said in its monthly figures late Thursday that 25,485 arrivals were recorded from Russia last month, down 46.9 percent from the comparable figure of 47,954 in December 2014.

The shooting down by Turkey's air force of a Russian warplane on the border with Syria on November 24 has led to the most bitter dispute between the two countries since the Cold War.

It also prompted Moscow to swiftly warn Russians against visiting Turkey and Russian tour operators to stop selling tours to the country.

Russian tourism is key to the sector in Turkey, especially on the Mediterranean coast, although figures had already been in decline due to Russia's economic problems.

Arrivals from Russia for the whole of 2015 dropped to 3.65 million in 2015 from around 4.5 million in the previous year, the tourism ministry said.

A total of 36.2 million foreigners travelled to Turkey last year, down 1.61 percent from a year earlier, it said.

But the industry will be waiting anxiously for the January figures to see how badly tourism in Turkey was hit by the January 12 attack by a suicide bomber linked to Islamic State (IS) jihadists who killed 11 German tourists in Istanbul.

The assault on the historic Sultanahmet Square was the first time in recent memory that extremists had directly targeted tourists in Turkey.

It came just three months after double suicide bombings in Ankara killed 103 people, mostly pro-Kurdish activists in an attack blamed on IS.

Tourism is one of the mainstays in a country which was the world's sixth-most visited in 2014.

Culture and Tourism Minister Mahir Unal said the decline in tourist numbers was "unavoidable" in the face of a "terror problem facing the world."

"We need to prevent any negative factor that damages Turkey's safe and secure country image," he said on Thursday.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, a major European cruise company, announced last week that it would cancel calls in Turkey for the rest of 2016 over security concerns.

Western Sydney Wanderers win seven goal thriller against Melbourne City

Western Sydney Wanderers have held off a fast-finishing Melbourne City to win a pulsating top-of-the-table clash 4-3 at Pirtek Stadium on Friday night.

The Wanderers looked to be cruising as they raced to a 3-0 lead with less than 25 minutes remaining thanks to Mitch Nichols’ opener and a brace to Mark Bridge.

But City weren’t done, scoring twice in two minutes via Harry Novillo and Bruno Fornaroli to set up a frantic finish.

And the drama wasn’t done there. Anthony Caceres was sent off with five minutes left before Brendon Santalab looked to have made the points safe in the final minute.

Again City responded with Erik Paartalu pulling one back deep into stoppage time but the Wanderers held on to extend their lead at the top of the ladder to five points.

What a game!

GOALS

1-0 Nichols (32’) – Bridge got the ball about 30 yards from goal and played a delightful no-look pass for Nichols, who surged into the box and finished brilliantly past Thomas Sorensen.

2-0 Bridge (60’) – A superb counter-attack by the Wanderers had them with a 3-on-2, with Bridge releasing Nichols on the right. Nichols got into the box and weighed up his options, choosing to cut the ball back to Bridge who smashed it into the top corner. A great goal!

3-0 Bridge (66’) – Dario Vidosic lobbed a perfect pass over a City defence caught horribly square, with Nichols chipping it over an advancing Sorensen. Bridge followed through to ensure it went in, sliding through and finishing it high into the net.

3-1 Novillo (76’) – Mooy sent Novillo through on the right with the Frenchman turning Nikolai Topor-Stanley inside out before piercing a shot across Andrew Redmayne into the bottom corner.

3-2 Fornaroli (78’) – Mooy again was involved, finding Fornaroli just outside the box on the left. The Uruguayan then curled a delightful shot into the far top corner, giving Redmayne no chance. Another ripper from the league’s top scorer.

-4-2 Santalab (89’) – Romeo Castelen sprung the offside trap to be one-on-one with Sorensen and unselfishly squared it to Santalab for a simple tap-in.

4-3 Paartalu (90+3’) – Mooy swung in a teasing free-kick from the left, with Paartalu getting a slight touch on it to divert it past Redmayne.

TEAMS:

Westerns Sydney Wanderers: Redmayne (gk), Neville, Alberto, Topor-Stanley (c), Jamieson, Andreu (Baccus 71’), Dimas, Vidosic (Santalab 80’), Nichols, Sotirio (Castelen 74’), Bridge

Melbourne City: Sorensen (gk), Kisnorbo (c) (Clisby 4’), Malik, Melling, Franjic (Retre 69’), Paartalu, Caceres, Zullo (Garuccio 69’), Mooy, Novillo, Fornaroli

Three people dead in light plane crash in Victoria, Australia

At least three people were killed when a small plane crashed into water south of Melbourne in Australia, say police.

The six-seater plane came down off Barwon Heads on Victoria's Bellarine Peninsula, about 25km (15 miles) south of Geelong.

The accident happened just before 12:30 local time (01:30 GMT), said Victoria Police.

The cause of the crash is not yet known, but weather conditions were reported to be poor.

The emergency services were dispatched to the area, including two air ambulances and Coast Guard boats.

Police later said three people had been found dead. It was not immediately clear how many people had been on board.

Barwon Heads is on the south coast of Victoria in one of the southernmost points of mainland Australia.

Olympic Torch Will Bring the World the Message of Refugees, IOC

The torch of the 2016 Summer Olympics will go through a refugee camp in Greece carried by a migrant initiative to expose the problem of refugees, as announced today the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

'We draw the world's attention regarding the problem of refugees', said the IOC President Thomas Bach, during a visit to the shelter Eleonas in this capital, where hundreds of foreigners live.

As part of the Olympic tradition, the torch will be lit in the city of Olympia, the cradle of the Games on 21 April and then tour several towns in Greece, including a migrant camp where a refugee will be invited to carry the flame.

The initiative is aimed to "send a message of hope and confidence to refugees and to draw world attention to the problem of the 60 million refugees in the world," said Bach.

More than a million undocumented immigrants arrived last year to Europe in which immigration is considered the worst crisis since the Second World War (1939-1945), of which over 800,000 came from the coast of Greece.

According to the IOC president it is expected to May 3 the torch arrives in Brazil and begin a journey of 100 days to reach Rio de Janeiro for the opening ceremony planned on August 5.

The Olympics will also have a space for the subject because it will compete for the first time a team of refugees, who during the opening parade under the Olympic flag in the penultimate position, just before representatives of the host country.

Bach said it will be a team of outstanding athletes 'have no national committee, are homeless and do not have to parade the flag'.

Five to 10 athletes will integrate the set will surely attract attention at the ceremony, an opening that 'it will be very symbolic, especially for Greece, "according to Bach.

Phoenix Wellington, Brisbane Roars share points at Westpac

Brisbane Roar have moved to the outright lead on the Hyundai A-League table after playing out a tense stalemate with the Phoenix on Sunday.

A combination of international duty, injury and suspension saw both sides field vastly different starting line-ups at Westpac Stadium in a fixture that has traditionally rained goals.

With Jamie Maclaren and Brandon Borrello both in Olyroos camp, Jean Carlos Solorzano was handed the chance to lead the line for the Roar and he had the best of his side’s chances in the first-half.

A curling effort from the Costa Rican on the edge of the box was cleared by the head of Andrew Durante, while the 28-year-old also fired a point blank shot from a cross into Glenn Moss.

The Phoenix had their own absences to manage, with seven first-team players missing as they tried to arrest a four game winless run.

With striker Roy Krishna set to be sidelined for three months Michael McGlinchey took on more responsibly up front and drew a fine save from Jamie Young shortly before the break.

Phoenix substitute Kwabena Appiah looked the most likely to break the deadlock in the second-half with a lively contribution off the bench.

The 23-year-old nearly nicked all three points in stoppage time when his shot was deflected over the crossbar in a frenetic finish but in the end neither side could find a winner.

TEAMS

Wellington Phoenix: Moss (gk), Gulley (Doyle 70’), Danaskos, Fox, Sarpong (Appiah 66’), McGlinchey, Powell, Reira, Lia, Durante (c), Ridenton (Stevens 82’)

Brisbane Roar: Young (gk), Stefanutto, Corona (Hervas 72’), Henrique (Brady 82’), Solorzano (Lustica 75’), North, Bowles, McKay (c), Hingert, Broich, Petratos

Milos Raonic Stuns Roger Federer in Brisbane international Final

Canadian Milos Raonic stunned an out-of-sorts Roger Federer to win the Brisbane International 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday.

Raonic, 25, broke the 17-time Grand Slam champion once in each set to win the final, only his second win over Federer in 11 meetings.

Federer, who had been improving every round after starting the tournament with a slight illness, was no match for Raonic, who served powerfully and came to the net at every opportunity.

The win gave Raonic his eighth title on the ATP tour and reversed the result of last year's final, won by 34-year-old Federer in three tight sets.

Federer was off his game throughout, serving at only 55 percent and struggling to make any impression on the big-hitting Canadian.

The top seed had to save two break points in the fifth game of the first set and then faced another two in the ninth.

He saved the first but put a forehand into the net on the second to go behind 4-5. Raonic had no trouble serving for the set, wrapping up the opener in 41 minutes.

Raonic took a medical time-out at 2-1 in the second set to have treatment on his right leg. When he returned he served four double faults to give Federer his first break point of the match.

But Federer was unable to take advantage and games remained on serve until the seventh game, when Federer let a 30-0 lead slip to give Raomic a break point, then netted a backhand to give the Canadian the vital break.

Raonic, who only faced the one break point in the match, never looked like faltering and claimed the title when a Federer backhand sailed long.

Wayne Rooney spares United FA Cup

It wasn't a day for FA Cup romantics with Manchester United scrambling past Sheffield United and minor league Eastleigh coming within a whisker of the third round's only genuine shock.

Old Trafford fans endured more than 90 minutes of insipid stalemate before Wayne Rooney's stoppage-time penalty gave 11-times winners Manchester United a 1-0 victory against a third-tier side 48 places below them in England's football pyramid.

None of the 25 matches played on Saturday will enter the folklore of the historic competition but tiny Eastleigh did their best against four-time champions Bolton Wanderers, a club steeped in FA Cup tradition.

On a gluepot of a pitch at their 5000-capacity Ten Acres ground, the part-timers who are nicknamed the Spitfires after the World War II plane that first flew from the local airfield, led through Dorian Dervite's own goal.

However, they had their wings clipped when debt-ridden second tier strugglers Bolton levelled three minutes from time.

Holders Arsenal, bidding to become the trophy's first three-time in succession winners since Blackburn Rovers in the 19th century, came from a goal down to beat Sunderland 3-1.

Manchester City and Everton advanced, Manuel Pellegrini's men winning 3-0 at Norwich City in one of four all top-flight clashes while Roberto Martinez's team ended the hopes of fourth-tier Dagenham and Redbridge with a 2-0 victory at Goodison Park.

Wycombe Wanderers will be in the hat for the fourth round, along with fourth-tier rivals Exeter City, after a 1-1 draw at home to bottom Premier League side Aston Villa who have now gone 16 matches without a win.

Exeter held Liverpool to a 2-2 draw on Friday.

Watford beat Premier League rivals Newcastle United 1-0, Crystal Palace overcame Southampton 2-1 and West Ham United edged past second tier Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 at Upton Park.

Manchester United enjoyed 71 per cent of the ball against Sheffield but managed only two shots on target as they ran out of ideas against hard-working opposition.

Rooney finally broke the deadlock, clinically converting his spot kick after Memphis Depay tumbled theatrically in the area.

"Everybody should give applause to Sheffield United. They were very organised but it is much more difficult to attack than to defend," said Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal.

Staff at Eastleigh, who play in the fifth-tier National League, worked overtime to make their boggy pitch playable.

Their efforts looked like being rewarded as the hosts took the lead after 51 minutes when Dervite nudged a low cross into his own goal.

With Eastleigh fans counting down the remaining minutes, Bolton's Darren Pratley levelled to deny the minor leaguers a place in the fourth round for the first time in their 70-year history.

"We deserved to win," Eastleigh manager Chris Todd said.

"We're the National League team, they are the Championship side, three divisions above us, but I heard shouts from their bench saying 'get it in the corner'."

Premier League leaders Arsenal notched a 13th consecutive FA Cup win with goals from Joel Campbell, Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud after Jeremain Lens put Sunderland ahead.

Sergio Aguero scored a superb individual goal and set one up for Kelechi Iheanacho as Manchester City eased past Norwich.

Arouna Kone and Kevin Mirallas earned Everton victory over Dagenham who are 79 places lower.

No Premier League clubs suffered defeats by lower league opponents but West Bromwich Albion needed James Morrison's late goal to steal a 2-2 draw at home to Bristol City.

Paris St-Germain moved 22 points clear in Ligue 1

Maxwell scored a stunning goal as unbeaten leaders Paris St-Germain moved 22 points clear in Ligue 1 with victory over Bastia at Parc des Princes.

Thiago Motta turned in from Angel di Maria's corner to open the scoring in the first Ligue 1 fixture following the end of the mid-season break.

Maxwell then added a fine second, volleying in from an acute angle after good work by Di Maria in the build-up.

The result secured a 17th win in 20 league games for Laurent Blanc's men.

Having laboured to a 1-0 victory against fourth-tier Wasquehal in the French Cup last weekend, PSG were much improved on their return to league duty.

The hosts deservedly led after 29 minutes when Di Maria's inswinging corner was met by Thiago Silva and Motta applied the finish at the far post.

Argentina international Di Maria's lofted pass into the box set up Maxwell for the second, the Brazilian adjusting well after a Bastia defender got a touch on the ball to lash home powerfully beyond Jean-Louis Leca.

David Luiz almost added a third early in the second half but saw his header come back off the crossbar.

Second-placed Monaco entertain Ajaccio on Saturday.

Dimitris Diamantidis leads Panathinaikos to big home win

In an outstanding back-and-forth battle that literally went down to the final shot, Panathinaikos Athens registered its first win in Top 16 Group E by edging Unicaja Malaga 68-66 in the Greek capital on Friday. Both teams now have 1-1 records in Group E. Dimitris Diamantidis led the winners with 17 points and 7 assists. Sasha Pavlovic added 10 points for Unicaja. Jamar Smith led Unicaja with 22 points while Dani Diez grabbed 10 rebounds for the guests. Diez and Smith helped Unicaja to an early lead, 7-8. Panathinaikos found a go-to guy in Diamantidis, who led the Greens to a 21-17 lead after 10 minutes. A three-pointer by Edwin Jackson tied it at 24-24, but Diamantidis and James Feldeine fueled a 7-0 run to restore a 31-24 Panathinaikos margin. Unicaja recovered and a layup by Diez tied the game at 33-33, but Diamantidis and Nick Calathes put Panathinaikos back ahead, 37-33, at halftime. A three-pointer by Pavlovic gave Panathinaikos its biggest lead, 47-39, but an outstanding Smith brought Unicaja within 58-55 after 30 minutes. Carlos Suarez struck from downtown to complete his team's comeback at 61-62. Unicaja held a 64-66 lead already in the final minute, but a free throw by Gist and a go-ahead triple by Feldeine gave the Greens a 68-66 edge and Smith missed from downtown at the buzzer.

Kyrgios, Gavrilova leads Australia to Hopman final

Nick Kyrgios and Daria Gavrilova will attempt to end Australia's 17-year Hopman Cup title drought when they front up in Saturday's final against Ukraine at Perth Arena.

Australia Green booked their spot in the decider on Friday night in the most thrilling of ways - saving a match point in the mixed doubles to secure a 2-1 tie win over France.

Gavrilova's volley at the net saved match point during the third set match tiebreak, before Kyrgios struck the winner to secure the 6-4 2-6 11-9 (match tiebreak) victory.

Had Australia Green lost the mixed doubles, the Andy Murray-led Great Britain would have reached the final.

Australia's only Hopman Cup title came back in 1999, when Mark Philippoussis and Jelena Dokic took out the crown, beating Swedish pair Jonas Bjorkman and Asa Carlsson in the final.

The last time Australia reached the final was in 2003, when Lleyton Hewitt and Alicia Molik were defeated 3-0 by Serena Williams and James Blake.

Kyrgios and Gavrilova haven't lost a mixed doubles match throughout the tournament, and they're confident they can continue their good form in the final.

"We've just got one more to go. One more good effort," Kyrgios said.

"And if it comes down to the doubles, we'll go out there and do the same thing.

"I definitely thought we had a good chance to win the tournament at the start of the week.

"Dasha's been playing unbelievable tennis through 2015, and I've been playing some pretty good tennis too."

Ukraine's pairing of Elina Svitolina and Alexandr Dolgopolov are yet to win a mixed doubles during the tournament.

But they remain unbeaten in the singles.

Dolgopolov and Kyrgios have never faced off against each other before.

World No.19 Svitolina holds a 1-0 win-loss advantage over Gavrilova.

After Friday night's win over France, Gavrilova said it was important her and Kyrgios did all the right things to prepare for Saturday's final.

"We'll get food, recover ... the hardest part is going to bed. But I'm just going to turn my phone off," she said, before Kyrgios quipped with a smile: "I'm not. I'm just going to watch all the highlights.

"That one was one of my favourite tiebreaks I've ever played."

Barcelona dominate Uefa's 2015 Team

Players from European champions Barcelona made up nearly half of Uefa's Team of the Year which was revealed on Friday, while Cristiano Ronaldo made the line-up for a record 10th time.

Eight players from La Liga were included in the final XI, voted for by 7.2 million Uefa.com users from a 40-strong shortlist.

Lionel Messi, Dani Alves, Gerard Pique, Andres Iniesta and Neymar were the Barcelona players included, while Real Madrid provided Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos and James Rodriguez.

Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich had goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and David Alaba while the only player to make the cut from Italy's Serie A was Juventus's Paul Pogba, one of three players selected for the first time along with Neymar and Rodriguez.

England's Premier League was not represented, despite its enormous financial clout and stellar names such as Manchester City's Sergio Aguero and Yaya Toure, Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez and Chelsea's Eden Hazard and Diego Costa.

FULL TEAM:

Goalkeeper: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich and Germany).

Defenders: David Alaba (Bayern Munich and Austria), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid and Spain), Dani Alves (Barcelona and Brazil), Gerard Pique (Barcelona and Spain).

Midfielders: Andres Iniesta (Barcelona and Spain), Paul Pogba (Juventus and France), James Rodriguez (Real Madrid and Colombia).

Forwards: Lionel Messi (Barcelona and Argentina), Neymar (Barcelona and Brazil) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid and Portugal).

FC Porto sack coach Julen Lopetegui

Porto have sacked their coach Julen Lopetegui after the Spaniard failed to deliver a trophy last season and with no improvement in sight during the current term, the club said on Friday.

Former player and assistant coach Rui Barros will oversee an interim period on the Porto bench, the club said in a brief statement.

Lopetegui joined on a three-year-deal in May 2014 after winning the European under-19's and under 21's championships with Spain in 2011 and 2013 and a spell at the helm of La Liga's Rayo Vallecano.

The 49-year-old coach leaves Porto in third place in the national league, level on points with second placed Benfica and only four points adrift of leaders Sporting Lisbon, to whom Porto lost 2-0 last weekend.

Porto were also eliminated from the Champions League knock out phase in December after a home defeat to Chelsea.

The former goalkeeper also failed to impress the Porto supporters and defeat to Sporting Lisbon in their last league outing was the final straw for the club directors

Western Australia bushfires threaten lives and homes

An out-of-control and fast-moving bushfire ravaging an area south of Perth has spread further, with one man who lost his business in the blaze saying the sky looked like an “atomic bomb has gone off”.

An emergency warning was in place for Waroona, Harvey and surrounding areas including Preston Beach in Western Australia’s Peel and south-west regions.

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services warned that lives and homes were in danger. The fire was reported just before 7.30am on Wednesday and was caused by lightning. More than 11,000ha had been burned.

Drakesbrook Fine Wine owner Bernie Worthington lost his hillside vineyard, olive grove and orchard in Waroona – destroyed in the early hours of Thursday morning after his family escaped their under-threat home.

“It looks like a mushroom ash cloud in the sky, like an atomic bomb has gone off,” he said. “We found out from a neighbour at daylight that it’s all gone.

“It’s the end of the line now. We haven’t got the money or energy to start the business again.”

Authorities told Worthington it would be days before his family would be able to return to the property.

Melissa Young, who lives on a 90ha property about 12km out of Waroona, was forced to evacuate with her dog just before 11.30pm on Wednesday.

“I just jumped in the car and went,” she said. “I watched this amazing, ferocious thing. The speed was insane, it engulfed everything.”

The blaze started in Lane Poole Reserve and was burning on both sides of the South Western Highway, with several roads and recreation sites closed in the area.

The fire department said burning embers could be blown around homes.

An evacuation centre has been established at Murray Leisure Centre in Pinjarra but the one in Harvey had been closed.

Meanwhile, a watch-and-act alert remained for people in the area bounded by Johnston Road, Willowdale Road, Forrest Highway, Riverdale Road and Logue Brook Dam, and Clarke Road to Nanga Road in the shire of Waroona.

Western Power said more than 7,000 customers were without power, including people in Waroona, Dwellingup and Preston Beach, and crews were not able to access the area to assess any damage to the network.

“Affected customers are encouraged to make alternative plans on the basis that power will not be restored today,” the company said.

It warned that if the bushfire had damaged power poles and lines, some customers could be without power until the area was declared safe for the electricity network to be repaired.

The Bureau of Meteorology had forecast temperatures of 38C and gusty winds for Thursday evening.

“The possible development of thunderstorms in the area is another complicating factor, and there is a risk of lightning strikes which may cause new ignition points,” it said.

Waroona had a large bushfire sparked by lightning early last year too, and one home and several sheds, cars and equipment were destroyed in that blaze.