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MANCHESTER, United Kingdom — Pep Guardiola has said he would back his players if they ever found themselves compelled to walk off during a game in protest against racist abuse.

The Manchester City manager was talking following the scenes that marred Chelsea’s 2-0 win away to Tottenham Hotspur in the London derby on Sunday.

Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger reported he was subjected to racist abuse by home supporters which resulted in the Premier League’s anti-racist protocol being initiated for the first time.

Those measures could have seen players leaving the field — a stance Guardiola insisted Monday he would support should it happen in a game involving reigning English champions City.

“Of course. I support my players, I support the initiative,” Guardiola told a news conference.

‘Day-by-day battle’

“What happened, you have to battle day by day. It’s not about one club or one person or anything specific that happened. I said many times, in the football world it is more in vision because every game, every week, every day, a lot of actions happen.”

The Catalan added: “It is a battle we have to fight it every day, in schools especially, in the families at home to try to make a better society in the future for the next generation. 

“It is a battle day-by-day. Of course, all the initiatives, it happened for the players and the federation, we are going to support.”

Guardiola has been an outspoken anti-racism advocate in his time in the English game but believes the issue extends far beyond football and may never be fully defeated.

“I don’t think it will be completely eradicated. We have to fight but we will need a lot of time to eradicate it,” he said.

“It was a problem that’s happened for decades, centuries. Now you can visualise it more because the media is closer and more up front about the problem. 

“It has happened for a long time. We have to fight, again and again, especially for the little kids, in the schools. Of course, if it happens be strict to avoid these kinds of persons to avoid it happening.”

Kompany endorsement

Meanwhile, Guardiola who expects to be without Sergio Aguero, David Silva and John Stones for Friday’s visit to Wolves, also responded to comments from former club captain Vincent Kompany who urged City to sign his old boss to a long-term contract.

“If I was in a deciding position at City now, I would do everything I can to keep Pep for as long as I can. He is truly the best,” said Kompany. 

“To say anyone will ever come near, it is speculating in a ludicrous way.”

Guardiola is under contract until after the end of the 2020/21 season and has repeatedly insisted he will see out his current deal, despite reports that he has a “break” clause which would allow him to leave City following the conclusion of the current campaign.

“This season is the fourth season and one more, next season will be five because I’m trying to stay here next season too,” he said. 

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager added: “That’s a long time. I’m incredibly good here. 

“To sign a contract you have to see how it works and if I deserve it,” explained Guardiola, whose side are 11 points behind runaway Premier League leaders Liverpool. 

“We’ve increased our levels a lot and the expectations are higher. We’ll see if we can handle it. It’s not just my desire. Now we have a little break with the family over Christmas and we have time to think about the future.”

LONDON — Frank Lampard out-witted Jose Mourinho as Chelsea powered to a 2-0 win at Tottenham on Sunday that featured a double from Willian, a red card for Son Heung-min and allegations of racist abuse.

Billed as a showdown between Mourinho and Lampard, an explosive London derby showed the student is more than a match for the man who served as his mentor during their time together at Chelsea.

Blues boss Lampard pulled a tactical masterstroke as he cleverly changed his team’s formation, leaving Tottenham manager Mourinho unable to respond as Willian opened the scoring with a blistering strike and increased Chelsea’s lead with a penalty before half-time.

Tottenham’s South Korean star Son was sent off for a needless kick at Antonio Rudiger in the second half as Chelsea swept to a sweet victory over their former manager.

With top four rivals Manchester United losing at Watford earlier in the day, it will be a happy festive period for Lampard’s fourth placed side, who sit six points clear of seventh placed Tottenham after ending a run of four defeats from their last five Premier League games.

There was little Christmas cheer for Tottenham, who may have to answer for the behaviour of their fans amid claims Rudiger was racially abused and an object was thrown at Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.

A fan was seen directing a “monkey gesture” at Rudiger and three announcements over the tannoy that “racist behaviour from spectators is interfering with the game” painted a bleak picture of the latest racist incident to scar European football this term.

Lampard had already beaten Mourinho last season when his Derby met the Portuguese coach’s Manchester United in the League Cup and once again he proved too smart for his old boss.

After a hug and handshake between Lampard and Mourinho, there was a poignant minute’s applause for Tottenham and England World Cup winner Martin Peters, who died aged 76 on Saturday.

Those shows of respect marked the end of the civilities as Tottenham fans booed Marcos Alonso vociferously and chanted about his involvement in a fatal car crash in Spain several years ago.

Tactical tweak

Chelsea had the perfect response to the cruel taunts as they completely dominated possession in the early stages and took the lead in the 12th minute.

With Tottenham too slow to mark up, Willian took a short corner to Mateo Kovacic and when the Brazilian received the return pass, he adroitly side-stepped Serge Aurier before curling a superb finish into the far corner of Paulo Gazzaniga’s net.

There was an extra edge about Willian’s celebrations given the abuse of Alonso as he sprinted to pose in front of the Tottenham fans.

Aware of Chelsea’s frailties at the back, Lampard had switched to a five-man defence and dropped Jorginho in a move that allowed N’Golo Kante to return to his preferred deep-lying midfield role.

The tactical tweak worked a treat and Tottenham’s only decent chance of the entire match was wasted by Harry Kane, who fired over from Moussa Sissoko’s cross.

With the supply lines to Kane shut down, Lampard’s team deservedly doubled their lead in first half stoppage-time.

To the chagrin of Tottenham’s fans, Alonso was the catalyst as he chased a long ball into the penalty area and was clattered by Gazzaniga’s desperate rush off his line.

After a VAR review, the spot-kick was awarded, with Willian calmly slotting past Gazzaniga for his fifth goal of an exceptional campaign for the winger.

That made it an alarming 14 goals conceded in all competitions by Tottenham since Mourinho replaced Mauricio Pochettino.

Any hopes of a Tottenham comeback were quashed in the 62nd minute by Son’s needless clash with Rudiger.

Falling to the turf after a collision with the Chelsea defender, Son responded by kicking both feet at Rudiger.

A lengthy VAR review led to Son’s dismissal for violent conduct, sparking an ugly end to the clash as Tottenham fans appeared to tarnish their club with sick racist taunts at Rudiger. 

DOHA — Liverpool have made winning trophies a habit in 2019 and Jurgen Klopp’s side return to England and to their push for the Premier League title galvanised after being crowned world champions in Qatar on Saturday.

It is an honour the Anfield side had never before claimed, but which is now theirs after Roberto Firmino’s extra-time goal secured a 1-0 victory over Flamengo in a hard-fought Club World Cup final in Doha.

The latest piece of silverware is Liverpool’s third in little over six months, after they won the Champions League in June and began this season by winning the UEFA Supercup on penalties against Chelsea.

“The year 2019 for the club has been outstanding,” said defender Virgil van Dijk. 

“But we shouldn’t be satisfied with it. We should keep going, keep striving for more, and keep wanting more trophies.”

Van Dijk returned against Flamengo after illness kept him out of the 2-1 semifinal victory against Monterrey and that determination to be back playing summed up Liverpool’s attitude towards the competition.

The Club World Cup is not held in the highest regard in Europe, coming in the middle of a busy club season.

That is in contrast to South America, with Flamengo’s huge support in Doha showing just how much Saturday’s game meant to them.

“It might have been different had we got beat, then maybe some people would have said we were wasting our time or whatever,” acknowledged Andy Robertson.

“But for us even if we did lose it was all worthwhile because we had a chance to win a trophy that the club had never won before.”

He added that “2019 has been incredible, we have won three trophies and hopefully in 2020 there is a couple more for us”.

Liverpool will continue their defence of the Champions League with a last-16 tie against Atletico Madrid in February, and host local rivals Everton in the FA Cup third round on January 5.

However, the Premier League is the one they really have in their sights as they seek a first English title since 1990.

Leicester beaten

As well as the trophies in 2019, Klopp’s team have not lost a league game since their very first outing of the year, at Manchester City. They have won 25 and drawn one of their last 26 in the Premier League.

There was more good news for them on Saturday as nearest rivals Leicester City lost 3-1 at Manchester City, leaving Liverpool 10 points clear at the top with a game in hand.

Klopp’s squad have little time for celebrations, however, as they return to England to prepare to visit Leicester on Thursday.

But while a week in Qatar might have seemed like an unwanted distraction for some in a busy schedule, Klopp was keen to point out that his team have still played the same number of games as their challengers.

“If we hadn’t played here tonight we would have played at West Ham, so the same number of games, the same situation, and the difference is the climate, even if it was not as warm as probably Europeans would have expected at the moment,” said the German.

“It is still something we have to adapt to. But that is the only thing that is special, so it’s all good, and we need to make sure that we come home safely, and recover in the plane already, and then prepare the Leicester game.”

With several players already out, however, the downside was seeing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain go off hurt in the second half against Flamengo, and the midfielder may be set for another spell on the sidelines.

“When he was landing he got a kick and rolled over. It is far away from being perfect, but we will see if the ligament is only stretched, or ruptured partly,” Klopp said.

“It’s a big shadow again but that’s how it is in contact sport.”

AMMAN — The national U-23 Olympic football team left for Malaysia on Sunday for a final training camp ahead of the 4th Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Championship, a qualifying tournament for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

At the championship finals starting January 8 in Thailand, Jordan will play in Group D alongside Vietnam, North Korea and the UAE. During the past training agenda, the national team played many local friendlies and last finished third at the Dubai International Tourney.

“We have been steadily improving and aim to fight for a qualifying spot to the 2020 Olympics,” coach Ahmad Abdul Qader underlined during the training agenda.

In 2018, the U-23 team was knocked out of Round 1 of the 3rd AFC U-23 Championship. In 2016, it reached the quarter-finals and in 2014 it finished third. 

Looking back at 2019 and other national teams, Jordan was eliminated in Group A qualifiers and failed to qualify to the U-16 AFC Championship. Held once every two years, the competition serves as a qualifier for the FIFA U-17 World Cup. Last year, Jordan bowed out of the Round 1 of the 2018 AFC U-16 Championship. 

The U-16 women’s squad was also eliminated from Group A qualifiers for the AFC U-16 Women’s Championship. Similarly, the women’s U-19 team was eliminated from Round 1 qualifiers for the AFC Championship. 

The U-19 men’s team suffered an early exit in Group E AFC qualifiers where the Kingdom finished second in its group, but failed to move on to the championship. The qualifiers included 46 teams playing in 11 groups with the top team from each group and top four second placed teams advancing to the championship.

Team officials had hoped to continue the positive results Jordan had in past editions of the U-19 events. Previously Jordan played at the AFC U-19 Championship five times with the best performance when it finished fourth in 2006 and advanced to the FIFA Youth World Cup in Canada in 2007. Jordan exited the first round in 2008 and 2010 and 2018 and reached the quarters in 2012. This was the third time Jordan failed to qualify after 2014 and 2016.

WASHINGTON — NBA Eastern Conference contenders Boston, Toronto, Miami and Indiana moved closer to pace-setting Milwaukee with triumphs on Friday while injury-hit Dallas, powered by Kristaps Porzingis, routed the Philadelphia 76ers.

Latvian forward Porzingis scored 22 points and grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds while Tim Hardaway Jr. added 27 points, 19 in the first quarter, as a Mavericks squad — lacking injured Slovenian star guard Luka Doncic — ripped host Philadelphia 117-98.

Doncic, sidelined by a sprained ankle, was also absent when the Mavs won on Monday at Milwaukee.

Dallas, coming off a home loss to Boston on Wednesday, improved to 19-9 by delivering the 76ers a second consecutive home defeat.

“We do a pretty good job of bouncing back after a loss,” Porzingis said. “Playing well on the road, that’s a very important part of having a great record at the end of the season.”

Despite 33 points and 17 rebounds by Cameroonian centre Joel Embiid, the 76ers slid to 20-10 with a second consecutive home loss after 14 straight wins.

It was the seventh consecutive road victory for the Mavericks, who are 11-2 overall away from Dallas.

“If you’re going to win in this building against this kind of team and these kind of athletes, you got to come in and fight for it, and our guys did,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said.

The other East teams gained ground on idle Milwaukee, the Bucks (25-4) coming off a victory over the Western Conference-leading Los Angeles Lakers.

Indiana blasted visiting Sacramento 119-105 as T.J. Warren scored 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting to lead seven double-figure scorers for the Pacers (20-9), who collected their fifth consecutive victory.

Bam Adebayo led seven Miami double-digit scorers while Duncan Robinson and Slovenian reserve Goran Dragic each added 18 to power the Heat (21-8) over visiting New York 129-114. Bobby Portis had 30 points off the bench for the Knicks.

Kyle Lowry scored 26 points and passed out nine assists to lead defending champion Toronto over visiting Washington 122-118.

Serge Ibaka added 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Raptors (20-8) while Fred VanVleet contributed 18 points and eight assists for a Toronto team that has lost top scorer and rebounder Pascal Siakam and Spanish big man Marc Gasol to injury.

Bradley Beal had 37 points for the Wizards in a losing cause.

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown each scored 26 points to spark host Boston over Detroit 114-93. Turkish centre Enes Kanter grabbed 18 rebounds for the Celtics (19-7).

Trail Blazers roll

Damian Lillard scored 36 points and C.J. McCollum added 31 to power the Portland Trail Blazers over visiting Orlando 118-103, giving the hosts their season-high third win in a row.

Cleveland reserve Jordan Clarkson scored 33 points while Kevin Love added 21 points and 13 rebounds as the host Cavaliers beat Memphis 114-107 for their eighth win in 29 games.

Canadian guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a career-high 32 points to lead the host Oklahoma City Thunder over Phoenix 126-108.

Nikola Jokic had a triple double with 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists while Jamal Murray had a game-high 28 points to power the Denver Nuggets over visiting Minnesota 109-100.

D’Angelo Russell scored 25 points to power the NBA-worst Golden State Warriors over visiting New Orleans 106-102. Jrue Holiday and Brandon Ingram each scored 25 points for the Pelicans.

Russell, who scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, hit his last basket with 32 seconds remaining to put the Warriors ahead to stay.

LONDON — Mikel Arteta has warned Arsenal’s underachieving stars that he will be “ruthless” as the new boss looks to restore a winning mentality to his troubled club.

Arteta, who had been working as an assistant to Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, was hired by Arsenal on Friday after agreeing a three-and-a-half-year contract to replace the sacked Unai Emery.

The former Arsenal midfielder arrives at the Emirates Stadium to find a team in crisis following a wretched run that cost Emery his job and reaffirmed the sense the Gunners have lost their way since the final years of Arsene Wenger’s reign.

Languishing in 10th place in the Premier League after a run of one win in 12 games in all competitions, Arsenal hope Arteta can steady the ship and eventually turn the north Londoners into contenders for a top four berth.

And Arteta, speaking at his official unveiling at the Emirates on Friday, made it clear he will take a hardline to ensure the malaise doesn’t continue any longer.

“I have to engage the players, when I was here with Man City [last week] everyone was a bit down,” Arteta told reporters.

“We have to have the right culture here, if we don’t then the tree will shake.

“After that we can talk about other things. We need an immediate impact and need to raise the level of the performances to start winning games and engage with the fans.

“The ambition of this football club is very clear. You have to fight for trophies and be in Europe. The rest is not good enough.”

Arteta has earned praise from Guardiola for the work he did with City’s players during their title-winning campaigns.

The Gunners boss is ready to put the lessons he learned from Guardiola into action, starting with a single-minded approach to installing his own philosophy at a club desperately lacking purpose and unity in recent years.

“What I have learned mostly is you have to be ruthless, consistent and fit the culture of the club to sustain a winning mentality,” Arteta said.

“Every act is important. Pep’s work-rate is incredible. The staff have to be able to transmit it and when the players buy into that, you can be strong.

“I want to do things my way by convincing them it is the right way for everybody to live better.

“Everybody has to be responsible and I do not want them hiding, I want people who deliver passion and energy.

“Anyone who does not buy into this, has a negative effect, is not good enough for this environment and culture.”

The 37-year-old won the FA Cup twice in a five-year playing career with Arsenal, then joined City to work with Guardiola after retiring in 2016.

He revealed he came very close to taking the Arsenal job following Wenger’s departure in 2018, but conceded it was not the right time for him then, whereas now he has the knowledge to make a success of a difficult situation.

Given the huge problems lurking in Arsenal’s unbalanced and inconsistent squad, many fans wanted a more experienced boss to replace Emery.

Arteta is adamant he won’t be fazed by his first managerial role, saying: “I will give every drop of blood for this football club to make it better.

“I feel back home. I am extremely happy and proud to have been given the honour of being manager of this football club,” he said.

“I have prepared for the challenge and am ready. If I didn’t feel that, I would not be siting in this chair.”

Arsenal haven’t won the Premier League since 2004 and appear light years behind champions City and current leaders Liverpool.

One of the main issues facing Arteta is how to deal with German midfielder Mesut Ozil, who has endured testing times of late with Arsenal and is the subject of speculation over a January move.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Arsenal’s leading scorer, is also said to be unsettled by the team’s struggles and Arteta wants to get to know those two and the rest of the squad as soon as possible.

“I want to understand how they are feeling and what they need,” he said.

“Then I can take the excuses out of them and focus on the things which are relevant on and off the pitch. It is my job to get the best out of him [Ozil].”

BARCELONA — Barcelona and Real Madrid could not be separated on Wednesday in a Clasico that was overshadowed by violent clashes between Catalan independence protestors and police outside Camp Nou.

After being postponed in October, there were renewed fears of unrest around Spain’s most famous fixture and while the match was only briefly interrupted by yellow beach balls thrown onto the pitch, outside the stadium, chaos ensued.

Masked protesters had set bins on fire and thrown rocks and glass bottles at police, who responded by firing foam bullets.

Forty-six people were lightly injured in the clashes, including eight who needed to be taken to a medical centre for extra care, local emergency services said. 

Five people were arrested, according to a police spokesman.

The protesters, many of them carrying Catalan separatist flags, began setting up barricades in the middle of the street which they then burned, after police arrived in dozens of police vans.

Inside the stadium, the match passed largely undisturbed, save for a brief pause early in the second half as dozens of yellow beach balls had to be removed by stewards.

“There was tension in the game and I noticed when some yellow balls fell down,” said Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde. 

“Everyone wanted to see a good football ,match,” said Real coach Zinedine Zidane. “In that sense I think we can be happy.”

The game was less eventful than expected, with neither Barcelona nor Real ever really at their best and both, perhaps in the end, happier not to win than to lose. 

A goalless draw means Barcelona stay top of La Liga, ahead of Real on goal difference while the historic score in league meetings between the two rivals remains 72 victories apiece. 

“More than a Clasico”, read the frontpage of Barcelona daily Mundo Deportivo on Wednesday morning ahead of a fixture that while always politically charged, had assumed even greater significance than usual. 

Early in the second half, yellow beachballs were thrown onto the field while blue banners bearing the slogan of Democratic Tsunami: “Spain, sit and talk”, were held up. 

Four hours before kick-off, thousands had gathered at all four corners of the stadium to hold the same blue banners and wave Catalan flags, while some blocked traffic too. 

But the demonstrations were peaceful, in stark contrast to the ugly scenes that would come a few hours later.

Both teams had departed from the same hotel and aside from whistles and insults directed at the Madrid team bus, each arrived without incident. Club President Florentino Perez gave a thumbs up as he walked in. 

Gareth Bale was last to get off, by which time he might have known he was starting for the first time in four matches. Ramos played in his 43rd Clasico, a record for any player in history. 

Real were the better side in the opening half an hour although Luis Suarez might have scored early had he controlled Jordi Alba’s cross at the back post. 

There was a goalline clearance at both ends as Casemiro’s header bounced up and had to be hooked away by Gerard Pique before Thibaut Courtois punched out to Messi but his shot was blocked by Ramos. 

Barcelona twice should have scored, only for Lionel Messi and Suarez both to fluff finishes in quick succession. 

Bale scored with 15 minutes left but his provider Ferland Mendy was a fraction offside. Neither team wanted to go for broke in the latter stages. 

BERLIN — Patrik Schick snatched a draw for RB Leipzig in a pulsating 3-3 draw at title rivals Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday that moved them three points clear at the top of the Bundesliga.

Timo Werner also struck twice as Leipzig twice came from behind twice in the second half in a fiery encounter played out in torrential rain at Signal Iduna Park.

The draw means third-placed Dortmund missed the chance to move second ahead of Borussia Moechengladbach.

“The game opened up after the break and we played with more courage and emotion,” said Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann.

“In the future, we need to make sure that we play like that from the beginning of big games like this.

“It was a lucky point for us. Dortmund could have defeated us, but they didn’t.”

While Dortmund at times showed a level of skill and quality to worry their upcoming Champions League opponent Paris Saint-Germain, at other times they showed clear signs of the mental frailty and defensive softness that has come to define their season.

Dortmund dominated the opening period, with Leipzig lucky to be behind by only two at the break.

Julian Weigl opened the scoring in the 23rd minute with a screamer from outside the box that completely bamboozled Leipzig keeper Peter Gulacsi with its power and flight.

Julian Brandt added Dortmund’s second 11 minutes later, showing superb skill to turn past two Leipzig defenders and smash home his finish.

Leipzig only needed seven minutes after half-time to bring the score back to 2-2, with Timo Werner gifted two goals through unforgivable errors from keeper Roman Burki and Brandt respectively.

The two goals were Werner’s 17th and 18th of the season and were two of the easiest the German striker will ever score.

Dortmund were back ahead just two minutes later when Marco Reus found Jadon Sancho unmarked in the penalty box, and the England international shoved his shot past Gulacsi.

However, Schick pounced 12 minutes before the end, capitalising on Burki rushing out of his goal to hammer the ball home from close range and ensure the draw.

Quaison treble 

sinks Werder

Robin Quaison’s first half hat-trick saw dominant Mainz increase Werder Bremen’s relegation fears in 5-0 thumping on Tuesday evening.

Bremen, who were hammered 6-1 at Bayern Munich on Saturday, are just two points away from the drop zone after being blown away in the opening period by a Mainz team who started the match just one place above them.

“It’s my first hat-trick in top level football so I’m very proud of myself,” said Quaison. “It was a perfect evening for us.”

The home side were 3-0 behind after just 19 minutes, with the visitors showing a relentless energy that has escaped them for much of this campaign.

Quaison struck twice either side of an own goal from Bremen keeper Jiri Pavlenka, who was unlucky to concede after a clearance struck the woodwork and hit him on the back.

He completed his treble in the 38th minute, converting lose ball from a corner to make it 4-0 at the break.

Claudio Pizarro thought he had got one back for Bremen in the second half, however his goal — which would have meant his 22nd consecutive Bundesliga season with at least one goal — was ruled out for handball.

Jean-Philippe Mateta added a fifth in the 81st minute to compound Bremen coach Florian Kohfeldt’s woes.

Elsewhere, Augsburg put three past a struggling Fortuna Duesseldorf at home, to leave the visitors entrenched in the relegation play-off spot.

Philipp Max scored in 32nd and 72nd minutes before Tin Jedvaj ended the discussion just after the hour mark.

Hoffenheim won 2-0 at Union Berlin through second half goals from Ihlas Bebou and Christoph Baumgartner.

MADRID — Karim Benzema is finally filling the void left by Cristiano Ronaldo and on Wednesday his task will be to trump Lionel Messi. 

It will be the fifth Clasico since Ronaldo departed Real Madrid in 2018 and Spain’s most prestigious fixture has not been quite the same without him, a duel lost between the world’s two greatest players. 

But Benzema’s surge means Madrid have rediscovered their punch up front while Barcelona know their opponents now possess a player who may not be able to rival Messi but, like him, could win this match on his own. 

When Ronaldo was sold to Juventus, the theory was Benzema would have to be more prolific and Gareth Bale more prominent, a chance for the Welshman to finally to revel in the limelight. 

In truth, only one of them has fulfilled those hopes even if Bale’s trajectory has again been flattened by fitness issues and Benzema’s only began to turn upwards after Madrid’s disastrous start to last season, which saw two coaches sacked in five months. 

Yet, few could argue he has been Real Madrid’s best player for the majority of 2019, ahead of Eden Hazard, signed for 100 million euros last summer, and Luka Modric, last year’s winner of the Ballon d’Or. 

He has been more consistent than Sergio Ramos and more straight-forward than Bale, despite the possibility of a criminal trial still hanging over him for his alleged role in the blackmail case involving Mathieu Valbuena in 2015. 

That controversy still denies Benzema a place in the French national team and while Didier Deschamps’ blackout has been vindicated by France’s World Cup triumph last year, they continue to miss out on one the world’s most lethal centre forwards. 

“I work for Madrid,” Benzema said on Sunday after he scored Madrid’s 95th-minute equaliser against Valencia. “What is said over there I don’t listen to.”

Perhaps that has been to Madrid’s advantage and the test now for this resurgent Benzema is to define the biggest games in the way Messi has done his whole career. 

This season, Benzema has 16 goals in 21 matches — more than Messi’s 14 in 16 — and he has nine in his last eight. 

Since Zidane returned in March, Benzema has 24 goals in 30. 

There is no doubt his performances have improved since Zidane came back. For many years Benzema was the foil to Ronaldo but he has become the complete package on his own — a provider, chaser and scorer. 

“What has changed is the number of goals,” Benzema said. “I have a lot of confidence in myself.”

Zidane has been asked many times about Benzema’s contributions and often he says what he likes most is the 31-year-old’s focus on the team. 

“We always talk about goals, but it’s what he does for the others that I hold onto most,”  he said.

For Messi, the emphasis appears reversed as Barcelona increasingly spend matches trying to find ways to unleash their magic number 10. 

Invariably, Messi delivers, not just in the routine fixtures, but when it matters most. In 41 meetings with Real Madrid, he has 26 goals. In 35, Benzema has nine.

Fresh from winning a record sixth Ballon d’Or earlier this month, not to mention scoring eight goals and two hat-tricks in his last six games, Messi is in scintillating form.

But Benzema is in the form of his life too and, at this moment, it could be him who owns this first Clasico of the season, that will decide who goes top of La Liga. 

Real Madrid are counting on it.

WASHINGTON — Seth Curry and Kristaps Porzingis each scored 26 points and the Dallas Mavericks snapped Milwaukee’s 18-game NBA win streak on Monday 120-116 despite 48 points and 14 rebounds by Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The Mavericks, lacking Slovenian star big man Luka Doncic due to an ankle sprain, held off the host Bucks, who made a furious rally with a late 17-6 run that fell just short.

Latvia’s Porzingis, who scored 11 in the first quarter, shot 9-of-19 from the floor and 4-of-8 from 3-point range as well as grabbing 12 rebounds while Curry, brother of injured Golden State star Stephen Curry, came off the bench to spark the Mavs.

Bucks reserve Kyle Korver had 17 points, hitting 5-of-7 3-point shots.

Porzingis said the Mavericks are playing better as they adjust to playing without Doncic for a while.

“Without Luka, we got used to him. It threw us off a little bit not having him out there,” Porzingis said. “Tonight we looked a little better. We want to keep getting better and we want him to get better and come back as soon as possible.”

Milwaukee settled for the second-longest win streak in team history, two shy of the club’s record run from the 1970-71 NBA championship campaign.

Greek playmaker Antetokounmpo sank his final points with 5.2 seconds remaining to pull Milwaukee within 119-116, then missed a free throw hoping the Bucks could get a rebound.

Milwaukee did get the ball but Porzingis blocked Sterling Brown, and the Mavericks added a free throw for the final margin.

The Bucks, who fell to 24-4, lead the NBA in points, rebounds and shooting accuracy but fell behind by as many as 16 points in the first half and could not overcome Dallas (18-8).

Antetokounmpo averaged 32.1 points, 12.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists a game during the streak, in which only two teams came within eight points of Milwaukee.

The Bucks will play host to LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers (24-3) on Thursday in a matchup of conference leaders that could be a preview of the NBA Finals.

Houston’s Russell Westbrook scored 31 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, the last on the final play to secure a win, as the Rockets made the greatest rally in club history to beat San Antonio 109-107.

The Spurs, ahead 72-53 at half-time, led by as many as 25 points before the Rockets made that the largest point total they had ever trailed by in a victory. Houston outscored the Spurs 56-35 in the second half, aided by 18 San Antonio turnovers.

“Just heart,” Westbrook said. “Sometimes you have to just take basketball out of it and just play. We put our heart into it and came out with the win.”

James Harden had 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Rockets, who also got 15 points and 15 rebounds from Clint Capela.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 19 points and 13 rebounds to lead San Antonio.

Cameroonian forward Pascal Siakam scored 33 points, Norman Powell added 26 and Kyle Lowry had 20 points and 11 assists to spark defending NBA Champion Toronto over visiting Cleveland 133-113.

Chris Paul scored 30 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and added eight assists to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder a 109-106 home victory over Chicago.

Zach LaVine scored 39 points in a losing cause for the Bulls.

Lithuanian centre Jonas Valanciunas scored 21 points and pulled down 10 rebounds while Ja Morant added 20 points and 10 assists to power host Memphis over Miami 118-111. Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 25 points.

C.J. McCollum scored 30 points and Damian Lillard added 27 for Portland as the Trail Blazers edged host Phoenix 111-110.

Kelly Oubre Jr. led Phoenix with 24 points, while Spanish guard Ricky Rubio had 10 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists for the Suns.

Lillard’s free throw on a 3-point play with 26 seconds remaining produced the margin of victory. Rubio missed a last-second 3-point try for Phoenix.

Bradley Beal scored 35 points and passed off 10 assists while Isaiah Thomas added 23 points to power Washington over host Detroit 133-119.