Sports

BOSTON — San Antonio made it eight straight wins with a 109-103 victory at Boston on Saturday, led by 25 points and 10 rebounds from Kawhi Leonard.

The Spurs stayed three games clear atop the Southwest Division and a game behind the overall Western Conference leader Golden State, which moved clear with a comfortable win at an injury-depleted Los Angeles Lakers.

The Warriors leapfrogged the Los Angeles Clippers, who lost at Detroit, while Utah cruised past Atlanta, holding the Hawks to just 68 points.

San Antonio’s Patty Mills scored 19, including a 3-pointer with 45 seconds left after the Celtics made it a one-possession game.

The Spurs improved to 9-0 on the road this season and beat Boston for the 10th straight time.

Isaiah Thomas scored 24 points for the Celtics, who had won their previous three.

Golden State’s Kevin Durant had 29 points as the Warriors won 109-85 at the Lakers, beating them for the second time in three days.

Stephen Curry scored 24 points in the Warriors’ 10th consecutive victory.

Jordan Clarkson scored 20 points for the Lakers, who played without injured starters Julius Randle, Nick Young and D’Angelo Russell.

Detroit continued its sharp home form by beating the Clippers 108-97.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 16 points and a career-high 10 assists for the Pistons, who are 7-2 at home as opposed to 1-7 on the road.

Marcus Morris scored 17 points as the Pistons had six players finish in double figures for points.

J.J. Redick and Blake Griffith each had 24 points for the Clippers, who had won all their previous seven home games.

Utah’s Gordon Hayward scored 24 points in a 95-68 win for the Jazz against Atlanta.

Hayward was unstoppable early and started the game making his first six shots. Utah used a 23-2 run early in the fourth quarter to put the game away as George Hill (23 points) hit a pair 3-pointers and Rudy Gobert converted a three-point play.

Dennis Schroder scored a team-high 16 for the Hawks, who shot just 31.3 per cent from the field.

Houston set an NBA record with 50 3-point attempts in a 117-104 win at Sacramento.

The Rockets sank eight 3s in the first quarter and went 21 of 50 from beyond the arc, coming close to the NBA game record of 23.

James Harden had 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in his fourth triple-double of the season, while Trevor Ariza added 18 points for the Rockets, who have won eight of their past nine against the Kings.

DeMarcus Cousins had 32 points for Sacramento despite being hindered by foul trouble much of the second half.

New York’s Carmelo Anthony scored a season-high 35 points, including the tiebreaking jumper with 3.1 seconds left in overtime, giving the Knicks a 113-11 victory over Charlotte.

Derrick Rose added 16 points and blocked a 3-point attempt that would have won it just before the buzzer, helping New York extend its home winning streak to six games.

Marco Belinelli scored 19 points for the Hornets, who have lost four straight.

Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan scored 26 points as the Raptors beat Milwaukee 105-99.

DeRozan again tormented the Bucks, Kyle Lowry had 19 points and Toronto hit 14 3-pointers to continue its dominance against Milwaukee. The Raptors have won 11 of the last 12 meetings.

With the game on the line, Lowry hit a 3-pointer and DeRozan knocked down a contested jumper with 16 seconds left to seal the victory.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 29 points and added 11 assists for the Bucks.

Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook had 36 points, 18 assists and 12 rebounds for his sixth triple-double as the Thunder won 132-129 in overtime at Denver.

Westbrook scored 24 points in the fourth quarter and overtime to help the Thunder rally from 13 down. His 18 assists were a season high.

Victor Oladipo had 26 points for the Thunder.

Wilson Chandler finished with a season-high 30 points and 11 rebounds for the Nuggets.

Portland’s Damian Lillard scored 27 points as the Trail Blazers won 119-104 to end New Orleans’ four-game winning streak.

Miami’s Tyler Johnson matched his season high with 22 points as the Heat beat Memphis 90-81.

Cleveland led by as much as 45 points in a 128-90 rout of hapless Dallas, led by Kevin Love’s 27 points.

Chicago’s Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade had 26 points apiece to lead the Bulls over Philadelphia 105-89.

Indiana’s Glenn Robinson III scored 20 points as the Pacers beat Brooklyn 118-97.

Washington’s John Wall had 26 points and 10 assists in a 94-91 victory over Orlando.

Minnesota rallied from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to win 98-85 win at Phoenix.

MANCHESTER, England — Failing to top a Champions League group often comes back to bite teams when the competition really gets going in the round of 16.

Maybe not this season.

Bayern Munich and Manchester City are two high-profile teams who are guaranteed to advance as runners up following the latest round of group games in Europe’s top competition on Wednesday.

Bayern surprisingly lost 3-2 at tournament newcomer FC Rostov and will finish in Group D behind Atletico Madrid, which beat PSV Eindhoven 2-0 and is the only team to have won all five of their group games.

City drew 1-1 at Borussia Moenchengladbach and cannot now topple Barcelona, which secured first place in Group C by beating Celtic 2-0 thanks to Lionel Messi’s double.

Arsenal are likely to finish in second place in Group A after drawing with Paris Saint-Germain 2-2.

Real Madrid, the reigning champion, is another top team sitting as runner-up in a group heading into the final round of games, while Juventus and Sevilla are battling for first and second place in Group H.

It remains to be seen whether teams benefit this season from topping the group, which earns a last-16 match against a runner-up.

Here’s how Wednesday’s action unfolded:

Group A

PSG lead Arsenal thanks to a superior head-to-head record after salvaging a draw at Emirates Stadium courtesy of Alex Iwobi’s own goal in the 77th minute.

Edinson Cavani converted a cross from Blaise Matuidi to put the French team ahead, but Arsenal fought back via Olivier Giroud’s penalty and an own goal by Marco Verratti.

Both teams have 11 points but PSG is top, after scoring more away goals in their two meetings. PSG and Arsenal drew 1-1 in Paris in September.

Ludogorets Razgrad and FC Basel drew 0-0, leaving them on two points each and sending their fight for third place to the final round of group matches.

Group B

Qualification could have been determined in this group on Wednesday, but a couple of draws mean three teams are fighting for two spots on Matchday 6.

Napoli could have advanced in record time a month ago, but is still not guaranteed a top-two finish after drawing 0-0 at home to Dynamo Kiev.

Besiktas rallied from an early three-goal deficit to draw with Benfica 3-3, with Vincent Aboubakar scoring an 89th-minute equaliser.

Napoli has eight points along with Benfica, with Besiktas a point adrift. Dynamo was eliminated. In the last round, Benfica host Napoli and Besiktas visits Kiev.

Group C

Messi steered Barcelona to a 13th straight appearance in the knockout stage by moving to nine goals for the competition this season, which is more than 20 of the 32 competing teams have managed.

Messi drove in a 24th-minute opener against Celtic before converting a penalty in the 55th, for his 92nd goal in the Champions League. Five of his nine goals in the group stage have come against Celtic, following his hat trick in a 7-0 win over the Scottish champion at Camp Nou in September.

Barcelona are four points clear of City, which earned the point they needed to qualify against Moenchengladbach when David Silva scored in first-half injury time. That cancelled out Raffael’s goal.

Both teams finished with 10 men, with ‘Gladbach’s Lars Stindl sent off and Fernandinho picking up two yellow cards for City.

Group D

Few would have imagined that FC Rostov’s first-ever victory in the Champions League would come at the expense of Bayern, a five-time winner and one of the favourites this season.

Bayern had already qualified but are guaranteed to finish second in the group.

Rostov replied to Douglas Costa’s opener with goals by Sardar Azmoun and Dmitry Poloz, who scored from the penalty spot. Juan Bernat equalised for Bayern before Christian Noboa curled in a 67th-minute free kick for the winning goal.

Rostov lost 5-0 in the first match between the teams, two months ago.

That meant Atletico needed only a point at home to PSV Eindhoven but the Spanish team got all three, and maintained their 100 per cent record in group play. Kevin Gameiro and Antoine Griezmann were the scorers in the second half.

AMMAN — The national football team dropped five spots and dipped to 109th in the latest FIFA Rankings issued on Thursday.

It’s the lowest ranking in 2016 and the worst since 2009 as Jordan also dropped out of the Asian top 10 trailing Iran (30), South Korea (37), Japan (45), Australia (48), Saudi Arabia (56), Uzbekistan (62), UAE (64), China (83), Qatar (88) and Syria (94). Argentina is still No. 1 ahead of Brazil, Germany Chile, Belgium, Columbia, France, Portugal, Uruguay and Spain. Jordan’s best ranking was 37th in 2004 while the lowest ranking was 152nd in 1996.

At its latest board meeting, the Jordan Football Association (JFA) terminated the contract of coach Abdullah Abu Zam’eh soon after the squad’s latest unimpressive results in three friendlies played in November in which they lost to Uzbekistan 1-0, held Iraq and Lebanon to a goalless draw as part of their training agenda for the 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers.

Earlier this year, Jordan lost to the Moroccan second tier team 2-1, drew 1-1 with Oman, 0-0 with Bahrain, 1-1 with Lebanon and lost to 3-2 to Qatar. The squad’s last tournament was the King’s Cup, an international football tournament organised in Thailand where Jordan beat the UAE 2-1 but lost 2-0 to the hosts in the final.

Observers have been scrutinising the plan and path to the Asian qualifiers as the past year saw four coaches take over in less than a year but Jordan was eliminated from 2018 World Cup qualifiers. The JFA entrusted Abu Zam’eh in the interim period and the coach recalled players from the Olympic squad and shifted focus towards a younger line-up that will compete in the Asian qualifiers kicking off in March 2017.

During 2016, Jordan played 13 matches, including 11 friendlies coming out a winner in three matches, drawing in five and losing five. Jordan scored 18 goals and allowed 16 in. Only two were official matches in which Jordan beat Bangladesh 8-0 but lost to Australia 5-1 in the double qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup and 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

AMMAN  — Jazira head into Week 4 of the Jordan Professional Football League on Friday with the aim of further consolidating their lead after they scored three convincing wins over former champions Faisali, Wihdat and Shabab Urdun.

With leading teams stumbling, the top three positions have been taken over by Jazira, Hussein and newcomers Manshieh, while titleholders Wihdat slipped to 6th, Faisali to 9th and Ramtha to 11th. The traditional leading teams are in disarray and many expect changes in coaching positions with disappointing results so far.

That seemed to have started with Faisali who removed Iraqi coach Tha’er Jassam, just as the club faced another headache with financial settlements and deferred dues. Jassam’s removal comes shortly after Jamal Abu Abed left the post at the start of the season. Many had hoped Abu Abed, who was a successful coach of the Olympic team, would help bring back the league title to his former club after four seasons.

Meanwhile, the Jordan Football Association imposed heavy fines after Ramtha fans caused damage at Amman International Stadium, which was recently fully renovated to host the U-17 Women’s World Cup. Ramtha was fined over JD4,000 while striker Hamza Dardour was suspended for six matches and fined JD1,500 for assaulting a Shabab Urdun player. Wihdat was also fined JD600 for unsportsmanlike conduct of fans following their match against Jazira.

In the upcoming week, Jazira who last beat Wihdat 2-1 and took the lead from Hussein will next play Sarih who are 7th after they held Sahab 2-2.

Hussein, now second on goal difference after they held Baqa’a 1-1, next play Sahab who are 8th after their latest draw.

Manshieh, now third on points after they held Faisali 0-0, next play Shabab Urdun, who are fourth after they beat Ramtha 3-0.

Ahli who kept a relatively steady form beat That Ras 2-0 and moved to fifth and next play Faisali. While Wihdat who are now 6th will play Ramtha.

The season opened with Ahli making history when they beat reigning league champs Wihdat 2-1 to win the 34th Super Cup – the first major competition on the 2016/17 football calendar. Shabab Urdun scored a major 5-1 win over Faisali to win the Jordan Football Association Shield — back on the calendar after four years. It was Shabab Urdun’s second Shield title after they first won in 2007.

Last season, Wihdat retained the title in the final week with Faisali, Ahli, Jazira and Shabab Urdun in top five spots. Sahab and Manshieh were promoted from the First Division. It was Wihdat’s third consecutive and 15th league title since they moved up to the Professional League in 1975. Faisali beat Wihdat to clinch the Super Cup while it was Ahli, who after years in the backstage, beat Shabab Urdun to win their first Jordan Cup final.

GENEVA — The first 12-goal game in 25 Champions League seasons took the spotlight from Real Madrid and Juventus advancing to the Round of 16 on Tuesday.

It ended Borussia Dortmund 8, Legia Warsaw 4 — beating the Champions League’s previous best set by Monaco’s 8-3 win over Deportivo La Coruna in November 2003.

The record-breaking goal in stoppage time was an own goal forced by Germany forward Marco Reus, who scored twice in his comeback match after six months sidelined by injury.

“It was a bit of a surreal game and result,” Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel said.

Monaco lost its place in history but won Group E with a 2-1 victory over Tottenham, which cannot now advance.

English champion Leicester won Group G with a game to spare by beating Brugge 2-1.

Madrid, the defending champion, won 2-1 in Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to Sporting Lisbon but still trails Dortmund in Group F ahead of their showdown match in Spain on December 7.

Juventus trailed early before beating 10-man Sevilla 3-1 to take top spot in Group H.

Here’s how Tuesday’s action unfolded:

Group E

Monaco have made a procession of what looked the most balanced of eight groups.

Tottenham are unbeaten in the Premier League but lost for the third time in this season’s Champions League. The free-scoring French side repeated their 2-1 win from the opening round in London.

Monaco saw Radamel Falcao’s early penalty kick saved by Hugo Lloris, before the game was decided during a five-minute spell early in the second half.

Monaco led through Djibril Sidibe’s header in the 48th, Tottenham levelled with Harry Kane’s penalty, but Thomas Lemar restored Monaco’s lead less than a minute later.

Earlier, Bayer Leverkusen drew 1-1 at CSKA Moscow to secure a runner-up finish. Kevin Volland gave Leverkusen the lead in the 17th and Bibras Natcho scored a penalty in the 76th.

Leverkusen trail four points behind Monaco and lead Tottenham by three with a better head-to-head record.

Group F

Ronaldo, who left Sporting Lisbon as an 18-year-old for Manchester United, unwittingly assisted on Raphael Varane’s 29th-minute opening goal. A miscued attempted volley bounced off his left shin towards the France defender for a sweeping shot.

Sporting had midfielder Joao Pereira sent off before Adrien Silva converted a penalty in the 80th, awarded for handball against his Portugal teammate Fabio Coentrao.

Substitute Karim Benzema’s glancing header in the 87th made it 2-1 to Madrid and eliminated Sporting, which had to win.

Dortmund even trailed to Legia after 10 minutes, but led 3-1 by the 20th when Japan playmaker Shinji Kagawa scored twice and Nuri Sahin benefited from a goalkeeping error.

Reus’ first goal in the 32nd made it 5-2 and set a Champions League record of seven goals before half-time.

The old goals record for a match was tied in the 83rd when Legia’s Nemanja Nikolic reduced the lead to 7-4, and then broken in stoppage time with an own-goal by Legia captain Jakub Rzezniczak.

Still, Dortmund and Legia fell short of the 61-year-old competition’s record. In the 1969-70 European Cup, eventual winner Feyenoord beat KR of Iceland 12-2 in a first round game.

Dortmund are two points clear and need a draw in Madrid to ensure seeded status in the Round of 16 draw.

Group G

The only blot on Leicester’s smooth progress to the knockout stage was the end of a four-game run without conceding a goal, as Claudio Ranieri’s side settled for a 2-1 win over last-place Brugge.

Japan forward Shinji Okazaki struck in the fifth minute, and Riyad Mahrez scored with a spot-kick in the 30th.

Brugge’s Colombia forward Jose Izquierdo broke through Leicester’s defence with a shot that capped a long run in the 52nd.

Ranieri now has three months to focus on his team’s poor domestic form before its next Champions League test.

In its debut season in the competition, Leicester lead by five points from Porto, which drew 0-0 at Copenhagen. Porto are two points clear of the Danish champion, and next host Leicester needing a win to ensure it advances.

Group H

Juventus ended Sevilla’s run of clean sheets, and took top spot with a 3-1 win on a hostile night in Spain.

Sevilla led in the ninth minute through defender Nicolas Pareja, but the match turned in the 36th on a second yellow card for its Italian midfielder Franco Vazquez.

Juventus levelled in first-half stoppage time when Claudio Marchisio converted a penalty awarded for shirt holding on defender Leonardo Bonucci.

By the time Bonucci’s late, long-range shot put the visitors ahead, Sevilla coach Jorge Sampaoli had been sent to the stands for heckling English referee Mark Clattenburg.

Forward Mario Mandzukic added a third in stoppage time, lifting Juventus one point clear in the table.

Lyon trail three points behind Sevilla after Alexandre Lacazette’s late goal sealed a 1-0 win at Dinamo Zaghreb. Lyon host Sevilla on December 7.

On a record night, Juventus finished their game with 16-year-old substitute Moise Kean — the first player born in this millennium to play in the Champions League.

SINGAPORE — After negotiating Singapore’s current Formula One (F1) deal, Bernie Ecclestone said in 2012 the hardest thing was explaining to the authorities that “we don’t race for free”.

Four years on, the F1 boss appears to be frustrated again as he tries to keep one of the most glamorous races on the calendar after the contract expires in 2017, at a time when the city-state is weighing whether the event makes economic sense anymore.

With its tourism industry increasingly diversified, a stronger country brand than when it first hosted the event in 2008 and other major sporting events in the bag, Singapore seems to have the upper hand in the talks with F1.

Moreover, Ecclestone and F1’s new owners, US cable TV mogul John Malone’s Liberty Media, face a new risk: with Malaysia pulling out of a new deal, they could altogether lose their presence in Southeast Asia, one of the world’s fastest-growing regions.

F1’s 86-year-old commercial supremo first told German magazine Auto Motor und Sport that Singapore does not want to host F1 anymore, then clarified he did not want to lose Singapore. His comments suggest talks getting tougher.

“I think Singapore has come in and negotiated hard and has realised they are in a position of strength to do so,” said James Walton, the head of the Sports Business service line at Deloitte Singapore and Southeast Asia.

“This is one of the top ranked Grand Prix (GP)... and one of the markets that the key sponsors of F1 are most interested in.”

Singapore’s government funds 60 per cent of the S$150 million ($105.13 million) it costs to host the race each year. Analysts say the city-state is weighing the costs, and benefits, of staging the event in the future.

Singapore GP, the event’s organiser, said it would not comment on “ongoing commercial negotiations”. A decision is expected before year-end, Ecclestone has said.

The Singapore race is one of the most popular, taking place at night on a street circuit with spectators entertained by music acts such as Beyonce and Justin Bieber, while TV watchers get a bird’s-eye view of the glitzy skyline.

As a top wealth management hub, the city-state is a natural draw for the region’s affluent people, a key target of F1 sponsors such as Hugo Boss and Tag Heuer, a luxury LVMH brand.

But the significance of that is bigger for Ecclestone than for Singapore, which also hosts events such as the WTA Women’s Tennis Finals and the Rugby 7s series that bring over 100,000 visitors each.

While the F1 initially played an important role in boosting the tourism industry, Singapore has diversified its offering, now focusing on the emerging middle classes from China, India and Indonesia.

Tourism is actually a bright spot in a slowing economy. In the first eight months of this year, before this September’s F1 race, the number of visitors was up 10.3 per cent from the same 2015 period, at 11.3 million. Tourism receipts grew 12 per cent to S$11.6 billion ($8.1 billion) in the first half of 2016.

To be sure, Singapore has benefited from hosting F1. Since the 2008 debut race, the event has generated S$150 million in tourism receipts every year on average, except for 2009 at the height of the global financial crisis.

But about 80 per cent of the spending gets recycled into the economy, with local firms hired for circuit set-up, ticketing and security, the Singapore Tourism Board says.

“In these economic times, every order book is important and I believe this is not a small order book,” said Kurt Wee, president of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises.

He added though that “everybody would understand that the event has to be sustainable”.

And that is where Singapore has another argument. Attendance, which topped 100,000 on all three days in the first year, has declined, with this year’s race averaging 73,000 spectators for each day, down from 87,000 in 2015.

With the global economy slowing, the numbers might fall further and a five-year commitment may not be so appealing, although this may be offset in the future by Malaysia pulling out as F1 fans in the region would have only one nearby option.

“If you think of the government as a business, I think they have to manage their funds prudently to get the most bang for their buck,” said ANZ economist Weiwen Ng.

FRANKFURT, Germany — Lionel Messi is back, and that’s the best news Barcelona could have ahead of their Champions League match at Celtic.

Messi practised with the team on Monday, after missing the match against Malaga in the Spanish league because of illness. With Luis Suarez also absent through suspension, Barcelona could not manage more than a 0-0 draw. Both forwards will be in squad to face Celtic on Wednesday.

What Messi means for Barcelona is easy to see just by looking at numbers, even without considering the inspirational things he can do on the field.

Messi had hat tricks against Celtic and Manchester City in earlier Group C matches and has a total of 90 Champions League goals, including seven hat tricks.

Perhaps surprisingly, Barcelona still have not sealed a spot in the last 16, but could do it with one match to spare. With nine points, Barcelona need a win or a draw to advance, depending on other results.

After winning 7-0 at home against Celtic, Barcelona may have the mental edge. But Celtic will have something to prove after their biggest European defeat.

Group A

First place in the group is the prize when Arsenal host Paris Saint-Germain in a meeting between the top two.

Both teams have 10 points and are guaranteed to advance to the knockout stage, but still to be determined is which club finishes at the top — most likely earning an easier game in the last 16.

They drew 1-1 in Paris, so the winner in the return match in London will secure first place based on their head-to-head record.

Ludogorets Razgrad are at home against FC Basel in the group’s other game.

Group B

The group is still wide open and even last-place Dynamo Kiev can advance to the last 16, although they have only one point ahead of visiting Napoli.

Napoli’s campaign has stalled with one point from the last two matches. But the Italian side will advance with a win, provided Benfica also win.

Benfica lead the group with seven points and visit Besiktas, which have six. Benfica go through with a win. Besiktas advance if they win and Napoli does not.

Dynamo can only stay in contention with a win and Besiktas fail to do so. Otherwise, Dynamo cannot finish higher than fourth.

Group C

Yaya Toure inspired City to a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday, but the former Ivory Coast midfielder will be back out of the team against Borussia Moenchengladbach because he is not a member of City’s Champions League squad for the group stage.

Ilkay Gundogan is likely replace Toure in midfield after the Germany international was rested over the weekend, along with John Stones and David Silva.

City only need a draw to progress, provided Celtic does not beat Barcelona. Celtic stay in contention with a win, as long as City fail to take three points. Moenchengladbach need to win to retain a chance of reaching the knockout stage for the first time.

Group D

Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich are through and Atletico will take first place in the group if they beat PSV Eindhoven at home and Bayern draw or loses in Rostov.

Atletico have beaten Bayern and have 12 points, while Bayern have nine.

Bayern slumped to their first Bundesliga defeat at Borussia Dortmund over the weekend and will be without goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who has a calf injury. Sven Ulreich will replace him. Arjen Robben, Arturo Vidal and Javi Martinez are also absent.

Atletico were far from their best, too, going down 3-0 to Real Madrid in a repeat of last season’s Champions League final that Real Madrid won on penalties.

PSV and Rostov are battling for third place in the group.

MADRID — Sevilla want to show they are ready to reach the next level.

After three straight titles in the Europa League, the Spanish club is hoping to thrive among the best football teams on the continent.

And the first step towards that goal may come Tuesday against Juventus, when they can secure a spot in the knockout round of the Champions League for the first time since 2010.

A draw against the Italian champions at Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium will be enough to get the club back in the decisive stages of Europe’s top competition, and a win will guarantee first place in Group H.

Sevilla won five Europa League titles in the last 11 seasons, but they have not succeeded in the Champions League since making it to the round of 16 in the 2009-10 season, when they were eventually eliminated by CSKA Moscow. It also advanced past the group stage in the 2007-08 season, when it later lost to Fenerbahce in the last 16.

Sevilla coach Jorge Sampaoli, hired this season to try to turn the Spanish club into a top contender in Europe, rested some of the team’s regular starters in the 3-2 win at Deportivo La Coruna in the Spanish league on Saturday, when the team scored twice in the last five minutes to erase a 2-0 deficit.

“This win, coming back from two goals against a difficult opponent, gives us a huge boost going into Tuesday’s game,” Sampaoli said.

Group E

Harry Kane’s return from injury might just be the catalyst that revives Tottenham’s Champions League campaign.

The England striker, who was the Premier League’s top scorer last season, has scored three goals in his first two matches back after seven weeks out with an ankle injury, and should lead Tottenham’s attack for what could be a must-win game at Monaco.

Tottenham have only four points from four games so far, and will be eliminated if they fail to win in southern France and Bayer Leverkusen win at CSKA Moscow.

Monaco lead the group by two points. If the French team win, they will be assured of qualifying in first place if Leverkusen does not win in Russia.

Group F

Leicester get a second chance to clinch qualification for the knockout stage in their first Champions League campaign. This time, it comes at home.

The English champions host Club Brugge at King Power Stadium, needing only a draw to advance. Leicester beat the Belgian team 3-0 in their first meeting in the group and are still unbeaten after four games.

The situation could not be more different in the Premier League, with Leicester only two points above the relegation zone after a tough start to its title defence.

“This season I’m watching behind me,” Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri said. “The relegation is very close to us.”

Leicester are three points ahead of FC Porto, who visit third-place FC Copenhagen in the group’s other game.

Group G

Still unbeaten this season, defending champion Real Madrid need a draw at Sporting Lisbon to reach the last 16 of the Champions League for the 20th straight time.

The game marks a return to Lisbon for the first time since winning the 2014 trophy against Atletico Madrid at the Estadio da Luz.

Cristian Ronaldo, again facing the team in which he started his career, will have another chance to become the first player to score 100 goals in European competitions. The Portuguese forward, coming off a hat trick in the Madrid derby in the Spanish league, is two goals short of the milestone.

Borussia Dortmund, boosted by a win over Bayern Munich in the German league, can secure first place when they visits already eliminated Legia Warsow. It will be without goalkeeper Roman Buerki, who broke his hand in the match against Bayern.

Sporting need to defeat Madrid to stay alive.

Group H

A victory at Sevilla will guarantee Juventus a spot in the next round, although they can also advance if Lyon fail to win at Dinamo Zaghreb.

The Italian champion may be without forward Gonzalo Higuain, who received a knock on his left thigh in the win over Pescara this weekend. Defender Medhi Benatia is also a doubt because of a knee injury.

Juventus were held by Sevilla to a 0-0 home draw earlier this season, and a loss to the Spanish club in the group stage a year ago left the Italians second in their group.

Sevilla have won seven of its last nine matches, with the only setbacks coming in a draw at Sporting Gijon and a home loss to Barcelona.

MADRID — In a game that meant so much for Atletico Madrid, it was Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid celebrating when it was all over.

Ronaldo scored a hat trick and Madrid handed rival Atletico a painful 3-0 loss on Saturday in its last Spanish league derby before leaving Vicente Calderon Stadium next season.

The victory also snapped Madrid’s six-game winless streak against the city rival, and gave the club a four-point lead over Barcelona.

Barcelona was unable to overcome the absence of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez in a 0-0 draw at Camp Nou, a result that ended its home scoring streak that started in February 2015.

Madrid’s gap to Atletico increased to nine points, putting the rival’s title chances in jeopardy after only 12 matches.

Diego Simeone’s team, which has lost three of its last four league games, dropped to fifth in the standings.

Sevilla moved to third by scoring three unanswered goals — including two in the final five minutes — in a 3-2 win at Deportivo La Coruna.

Atletico Madrid 0, Real Madrid 3

Atletico played well in the emotionally charged game at the Calderon, and was in control of most everything except the scoreboard.

“It was a tough night,” Atletico midfielder Jorge “Koke” Resurreccion said. “We wanted to win it for our fans.”

Ronaldo opened the scoring in the 23rd from a free kick that deflected off the wall and wrong-footed goalkeeper Jan Oblak. Ronaldo converted a penalty kick in the 71st after he was fouled by Stefan Savic, and closed the scoring in the 77th off a cross by Gareth Bale.

“We played a great game against a complicated opponent in a stadium where it’s difficult to win,” Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said. “Very few teams can win 3-0 here. It’s not easy.”

Madrid had two huge wins against Atletico in Champions League finals, including last season, but it hadn’t beaten the rival in La Liga since 2013, when Jose Mourinho was in charge of Madrid.

Atletico had won four and drawn two of the last six league games between them.

Barcelona 0, Malaga 0

Without the unwell Messi and the suspended Suarez, Barcelona was not able to beat Malaga at home despite playing with an extra player from the 68th minute.

It was held by some poor finishing and a great performance by Malaga goalkeeper Carlos Kameni, who came up with key saves at Camp Nou, including a spectacular one four minutes into injury time on a close-range header by Neymar.

Messi was ruled out just hours before kick-off because he was ill and had vomited, the club said.

“We know these types of games are tough,” Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets said. “We tried but we were unlucky in front of the goal. That’s football. If you do not finish you can’t win.”

Barcelona, trying to win its fifth game in a row, had not been held scoreless in 17 league games. The last time it failed to score at least a goal was in a 1-0 defeat at Real Sociedad in April. At home, it had not failed to score since a 1-0 loss to Malaga in the Spanish league on February 21, 2015.

“We played relatively well, but sometimes the ball just doesn’t want to go in,” said defender Gerard Pique, who played the final part of the game as a striker.

Deportivo La Coruna 2, Sevilla 3

Sevilla scored twice in the end to rally from two goals down at Deportivo La Coruna and stay near the top of the standings.

Deportivo appeared in control after goals by Ryan Babel in the first minute and Florin Andone in the 42nd, but Sevilla got back into the game with Steven N’Zonzi’s strike just before half-time at Riazor Stadium.

Victor “Vitolo” Machin, who came into the match as a half-time substitute, equalised with a right-footed shot from inside the area in the 87th, and defender Gabriel Mercado netted the winner from close range after a corner two minutes into injury time.

Coach Jorge Sampaoli rested some of Sevilla’s regular starters ahead of the Champions League game against Juventus on Tuesday.

Elsewhere, Eibar moved to seventh place by beating visiting Celta Vigo thanks to a ninth-minute goal by Fran Rico.

AMMAN — Olympian Khader Baqlah has continued his superb form by setting two new Jordanian records in the finals of the 10th Asian Swimming Championships in Tokyo, according to the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service.

The 18-year-old qualified to the finals of both the 100-metre and 50-metre freestyle races where he broke his previous records, and became the first Jordanian to swim sub-50 seconds in the 100m. His time of 49.88 was more than half-a-second faster than his previous best and secured sixth behind a world-class field that was led home by former Olympic and Korean World Champion Taehwan Park.

In the 50m, Baqlah shaved just under a quarter-of-a-second off his previous Jordan best time to finish eighth in a time of 23.03 seconds. That race produced joint winners in Japan’s Katsumi Nakamura and China’s Hexin Yu.

Also at the same venue, rising star Mohammad Bedour set a qualifying time for the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires for the 50m butterfly. The 16-year-old also showed that he is improving in the freestyle by clocking a new personal best of 52.34 seconds in the 100m.