Sports

AMMAN — The 2022 football season comes to a close on Sunday when Wihdat play Aqaba in the Jordan Cup final – the fourth of the season’s competitions.

In the semis — Wihdat ousted Ramtha 1-0, while Aqaba was impressive int their 3-0 win over Amman FC. On their way to the final stages of the event, the quarters saw Wihdat eliminate titleholders Faisali 6-5 on penalties; Aqaba ousted Hussein 1-0; Amman FC beat Mugheer Sarhan 2-1 and Ramtha beat Jazira 4-1.

Since the Cup started in 1980, there have been 39 past editions with Faisali a record 21-time champions. Wihdat won 10 times, Jazira, Ramtha and Shabab Urdun twice, while Arabi, That Ras and Ahli won once each. In 2020, the Jordan Cup was scrapped from the agenda for the first time since the competition kicked off in 1980.

In three of the 2022 competitions, Faisali were crowned league champs this week, one point ahead of Wihdat and Hussein who tied in overall points and finished second and third respectively. Faisali also won the season opening 35th Jordan Football Association (JFA) Shield title when they beat Ramtha who in turn upset Jordan Cup holders Faisali to win the 39th Jordan Super Cup. 

In the 2021 season, Ramtha won the League title for the third time in their history after playing 39 years without a league title. Faisali beat Salt to win the Jordan Cup; relatively unknown newcomers to the Pro League, Jalil, overcame Wihdat to win the 34th Jordan Football Association (JFA) Shield; and Wihdat beat one-time winners Jazira in the 38th Jordan Super Cup.

The 70th edition of the  newly concluded Pro League saw a close-fought contest at both ends of the standings with veteran Jazira, a three-time league champ, relegated alongside Sarih, while Ahli and Jalil were promoted from the first Division.

Wihdat were looking for their 18th  league title however Faisal’s 4-0 win over Jazira secured them their title leaving Wihdat and  Hussein trailing. They were followed by Shabab Urdun, Aqaba Ramtha, Ma;an, Salt , Sahab, Mugheer Sarhan, Sarih and Jazira 

Jazira will be the notable absentee next season. They won the league three times in their history, the last being in 1956. They also won the Super Cup in 1985, the Jordan Cup in 2017,  and the Shield twice.  Their relegation will be the fourth – 1977, 1992, 2003, 2022. The club was a frontrunner in the past five years and played in the AFC West Asia Zone final in 2018 and 2019.

Since the league kicked off in 1944 with only Faisali, Ahli, Urdun and Homenetmen competing, Faisali are now 35-time record league champs while Wihdat were champs 17 times since they joined in 1980. Although Faisali are the all-time record holders, Wihdat’s record is quite impressive. After four years in the Pro League, they won their first title in 1980 and have gone on to win the majority of titles since then. Ahli won eight times, Ramtha and Jazira three times, Shabab Urdun twice, Amman and Urdun clubs once.

Premier League record
(competition was not held in 1948, 1953, 1957, 1958, 1967, 1968, 1969 &  1998)

Faisali (35 times): 1944, 45, 59, 60-66, 70-74, 76, 77, 83, 85, 86, 88, 89, 90-93, 99, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2011, 2016/17, 2018/19, 2022

Wihdat (17 times): 1980, 87, 91, 94, 95, 96, 97, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017/18, 2020

Ahli (8 times): 1947, 49, 50, 51, 54, 75, 78, 79

Ramtha (3 times): 1981, 82, 2021

Jazira (3 times): 1952, 55, 56

Shabab Urdun (twice): 2005, 2012

Amman: 1984

Urdun: 1946

Jordan Cup champions record (Runner- up in parenthesis)

1980 Faisali (Baqa’a)

1981 Faisali (Ramtha)

1982 Wihdat (Ahli)

1983 Faisali (Ramtha)

1984 Jazira (Ahli)

1985 Wihdat (Faisali)

1986 Arabi (Jazira)

1987 Faisali (Hussein)

1988 Wihdat (Faisali)

1989 Faisali (Ramtha)

1990 Ramtha (Hussein)

1991 Ramtha (Wihdat)

1992 Faisali  (Wihdat)

1993 Faisali (Ramtha)

1994 Faisali (Ramtha)

1995 Faisali (Ramtha)

1996 Wihdat (Ramtha)

1997 Wihdat (Ramtha)

1998 Faisali (Wihdat)

1999 Faisali (Wihdat)

2000 Wihdat (Faisali)

2001 Faisali (Hussein)

2002 Faisali (Hussein)

2003  Faisali (Hussein)

2004  Faisali (Sh. Hussein)

2005  Shabab Urdun (Faisali)

2006  Shabab Urdun (Faisali)

2007 Faisali (Shabab Urdun)

2008  Wihdat (Shabab Urdun)

2009 Wihdat (Arabi)

2010 Wihdat (Manshieh)

2011 Faisali (Manshieh)

2012 That Ras (Ramtha)

2013 Wihdat (Baqa’a)

2014 Faisali (That Ras)

2015 Ahli (Shabab Urdun)

2016 Faisali (Jazira)

2017 Jazira (Shabab Urdun)

2018 Faisali (Ramtha)

2019/20 not held

2021 Faisali (Salt)

LOS ANGELES — Golden State star Stephen Curry's latest dazzling fourth-quarter display lifted the NBA champion Warriors to a morale-boosting 106-101 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday.

Curry, coming off a 47-point performance that saw the Warriors snap a five-game losing streak on Monday, scored 40 to keep the Warriors in the win column.

Curry scored 10 points in the final 78 seconds, his three-pointer with 1:18 remaining knotting the score at 98-98 before his layup put the Warriors ahead for good.

He drove in the dagger with a straightaway three-pointer with 35 seconds remaining, the Warriors keeping the Cavs at bay despite some uncharacteristic missed free throws in the final seconds.

Curry scored 18 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter. The league's all-time leader in three-pointers made six of 11 from beyond the arc — his 200th consecutive regular-season game with at least one trey.

Curry's heroics helped the Warriors withstand a near-triple-double from Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell, who finished with 29 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists but was clearly in pain after rolling his right ankle in the waning seconds.

After treatment on the bench, Mitchell was able to make two free throws with 14.4 seconds remaining, but those were the Cavs' last points.

It was a third straight setback for Cleveland on the heels of their eight-game winning streak.

Down the California coast in Los Angeles, the Lakers felt the absence of injured superstar LeBron James in a 120-114 loss to the Sacramento Kings.

The Lakers' fifth straight defeat dropped them to 2-10 — tied with the Houston Rockets for worst record in the league.

Even with James sidelined by a groin injury and Anthony Davis ailing, the Lakers had their chances.

Davis scored 24 points and pulled down 14 rebounds and Russell Westbrook added 21 points and 11 assists, but the Lakers — who led by 13 points in the first half and were clinging to a one-point lead entering the fourth — couldn't stop De'Aaron Fox down the stretch.

Fox's 32 points included back-to-back baskets that gave the Kings a 118-114 lead and the Lakers couldn't respond.

Celtics win fifth straight 

In Boston, Jayson Tatum scored 34 points and Jaylen Brown added 25 as the Celtics cruised to a fifth straight victory, 131-112, over Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets.

Boston's star duo paced a ruthlessly efficient Celtics offense that ended Denver's four-game winning streak, the victory leaving Boston just one game behind Eastern Conference leaders Milwaukee, who fell 111-93 to the San Antonio Spurs.

Tatum connected on 11 of 21 from the floor for his seventh game this season of 30 or more points, and the Celtics received key contributions from Al Horford, Grant Williams and reserve Payton Pritchard in the victory.

"We're trusting each other, we're moving the ball," Tatum said of the Celtics' vibrant offence. "You pass and you trust that you're going to get it back. We just continue to keep moving, find the open man and make the right play."

Jokic paced the Nuggets with 29 points, but again found himself frustrated by early foul trouble in a sometimes testy encounter.

In San Antonio, the Spurs snapped a five-game skid against the league-leading but injury-depleted Bucks.

The young Spurs squad took full advantage of the absence of Milwaukee's two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday.

Keldon Johnson scored 29 points for the Spurs, who took the lead in the first quarter and rolled from there.

Antetokounmpo missed a second straight game with a sore left knee and Holiday missed his second with a sprained ankle.

The Bucks, who are still awaiting the season debut of 2021 championship contributor Khris Middleton, were also without Pat Connaughton and Joe Ingles, and lost Grayson Allen to illness shortly before the game.

Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said it was good for the team that opened the season 9-0 to face some adversity, and he liked the way his players responded.

Jevon Carter scored 21 points for Milwaukee and Brook Lopez added 19, but the Spurs out-scored the Bucks 50-32 in the paint and 21-0 on the fast-break.

In Orlando, the Magic notched a second straight victory for the first time this season as they downed the short-handed Phoenix Suns 114-97.

LOS ANGELES — Kevin Durant extended his 25-point scoring streak with a triple double as the Brooklyn Nets launched Jacque Vaughn's reign as head coach with a 112-85 rout of the New York Knicks on Wednesday.

Durant gave Brooklyn's fans some respite from recent off-court drama with a superb performance, scoring 29 points with 12 rebounds and 12 assists in a wire-to-wire victory at the Barclays Centre.

The 34-year-old has now scored at least 25 points in each of Brooklyn's 12 games since the start of the season — the longest streak since Michael Jordan opened the 1988-1989 campaign with 16 games scoring 25 points or more per game.

More significantly, Durant's latest dominant performance ensured a smooth start to Vaughn's tenure as head coach.

Vaughn took over as interim coach last week after the sacking of Steve Nash, but was only confirmed as the permanent replacement earlier on Wednesday.

"I just liked how we were all on the same page," Durant told ESPN after the win.

"I'm only as good as my teammates so them setting me up, helping me out on defence, helping me rebound — it's a team effort helping to get me going."

Durant was also happy to have helped deliver a win for Vaughn that saw the Nets improve to 5-7.

"He's been around this group for a while, been around this organisation for a while, so he understands us," Durant said.

In other games on Wednesday, the Los Angeles Lakers' miserable season continued with a 114-101 defeat to city rivals the Clippers that saw LeBron James hobble off with an apparent injury.

James, who finished with 30 points, eight rebounds and five assists, left the court with just over five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

The defeat leaves the Lakers just one place off the bottom of the Western Conference with a dismal 2-9 record. Only the Houston Rockets (2-10) have a worse record.

Utah's blistering start to the season continued with a 125-119 win over the Atlanta Hawks in Georgia.

The Hawks had gone into the game on a high after ending Milwaukee's unbeaten start to the season in their previous game.

But Jazz star Lauri Markkanen put on a shooting clinic with 32 points while Jordan Clarkson added 23 as Utah improved to 10-3 to maintain their lead at the top of the Western Conference standings.

Markkanen's exhibition of shooting included six buckets from three-point range and a perfect eight-from-eight from the free-throw line.

Dejounte Murray led the Atlanta scorers with 26 points while the returning Trae Young had 22 points.

The Phoenix Suns remain in hot pursuit of Utah at the top of the Western Conference after romping to a 129-117 road win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Devin Booker's 32-point haul and 31 from Mikal Bridges set up victory for Phoenix, who improved to 8-3 to remain second in the standings.

The Portland Trail Blazers are also on 8-3 in the West after sending the Charlotte Hornets to a sixth straight loss with a 105-95 win on the road on Wednesday.

Damian Lillard led the Blazers scoring with 26 points, six assists with seven rebounds.

The Denver Nuggets are level with Phoenix and Portland on 8-3 after their 122-119 win over the Indiana Pacers.

Reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic led the Denver scoring with 24 points while Bennedict Mathurin topped the Pacers scorers with 30 points.

There was an upset in Sacramento where the high-flying Cleveland Cavaliers were taken down by the Kings 127-120.

Donovan Mitchell put on a 38-point scoring show for Cleveland but the Kings claimed the victory after a balanced offensive performance that saw seven players in double figures.

The Boston Celtics (8-3) were too strong for the 3-9 Detroit Pistons, cruising to a 128-112 win after 31 points from Jayson Tatum.

Milwaukee bounced back from their defeat to Atlanta to score a 136-132 overtime win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Jevon Carter scored 36 points including five-of-10 from beyond the arc, on a night when all of the Bucks starters finished in double figures.

AMMAN — Jordan hosts the Philippines on Thursday in Round 2 Asian qualifiers for the 2023 FIBA World Cup with 12 teams fighting for 6 remaining slots from the continent.

The match, set for 7 pm at Prince Hamza Arena, is a must win for Jordan before it faces New Zealand on November 13 with the qualifiers running up to February 2023. 

Playing in Group E, which also includes Lebanon and Saudi Arabia,Jordan so far beat India 80-64 and lost 100-72 to New Zealand as Round 2 kicked off in August. Group F includes Australia, Kazakhstan, China, Iran, Japan and Bahrain.

Eight nations from Asia and Oceania will join the 32-country FIBA World Cup 2023 field that will take place from August 25 to September 10, 2023. Japan and the Philippines qualify as hosts while third host Indonesia did not make it to the FIBA Asia Cup quarters and failed to qualify.  

The tournament serves as a qualifier for the 2024 Summer Olympics, where the top two teams from each of the Americas and Europe, and the top team from each of Africa, Asia and Oceania, will qualify alongside the tournament›s host France.

In Round 1 of the qualifiers, Jordan finished second after Lebanon in Group C.  In window 3, Jordan lost 89-70 to Lebanon in an under-par performance before they beat Indonesia 77-52. In Window 2, Jordan beat Lebanon 74-63 and Indonesia 94-64 and in Window 1, they beat Saudi 68-61 and lost 72-64.

Jordan is led by coach Wisam Al Sous, a star of the 2010 World Cup qualifying squad. The lineup has jumped back from inconsistent results in Round 1 to a  winning spirit of a team that finished 4th at the FIBA Asia Cup in summer. 

Sous told the media this week that injures continue to be an obstacle and that the team’s preparations were not as he would have wished. However, he added there were “no excuses. The team has to do its job regardless.”

MONTEVIDEO — For the last decade and a half, Uruguay's national football team has been led by a formidable attacking duo but now veterans Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani are heading into their final World Cup with retirement edging ever closer.

Born just 21 days apart in the northern Salto department, the two 35-year-olds have graced some of Europe's most prestigious clubs while never failing to light up their homeland shores.

Their remarkable careers have left them as the two greatest goalscorers in the Celeste national team's history: Suarez has 68 goals in 134 matches with Cavani scoring 58 from 133 games.

For the better part of 15 years they have been pillars of a plucky Uruguay outfit that reached the World Cup semifinals in South Africa in 2010 before lifting the Copa America the following year.

This will be their fourth World Cup and despite their advancing years they remain heroes to their compatriots.

They are "the best forward pairing in the history of the Celeste", ESPN journalist Diego Munoz told AFP.

"They put their egos aside, always put the team first and strengthened each other. [They were] essential to a generation that gave back the national team and hope to the people."

Once their boots are hung up for good, they will be sorely missed.

The attacking duo guaranteed "an important goalscoring potential that the Celeste has rarely had, at least in the last 60 years", said journalist Luis Prats, an author of many books on football history.

"Relying on them gave you the confidence that you could even win tight games with few chances. You just had to give them the ball and they finished it.

"On top of that they had great understanding: Cavani created many of Suarez's goals and vice versa."

Passing the baton 

The Qatar World Cup will bring to an end the transformative era under iconic former coach Oscar Tabarez, who spent 15 years at the helm and brought back glory to a side that had not won the Copa America since 1995 nor reached a World Cup semifinal since 1970.

But Cavani says there will be no special emotion attached to this tournament.

"For those that live, feel and love football, and more so for those that wear their country's jersey, there is no mystery: it's a World Cup," Cavani told a local radio station.

"Whether it's the first or the fifth" makes no difference. "If this doesn't motivate you, we're in trouble."

Neither Suarez nor Cavani are quite the players they once were.

Having played for Napoli, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United, Cavani is currently at a Valencia side that is a shadow of the team of the early 2000s, when they won two La Liga titles and reached successive Champions League finals.

And after Ajax, Liverpool, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, Suarez stunned the footballing world earlier this year by returning to his first professional club, Nacional.

But Suarez is as competitive and confident as ever.

"We have a mix of experienced and quality players — I believe Uruguay can have a great World Cup," he said.

Under new coach Diego Alonso, Uruguay are building a new team of talents with Real Madrid's Federico Valverde, Darwin Nunez of Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur.

Even so, there is something unique about the Suarez-Cavani partnership that may never be repeated.

"It's very difficult to find a Suarez-Cavani duo," said Prats.

Although new talents have appeared on the horizon, "They still need to complete their development."

But Munoz points to the fact that alongside Diego Godin, Suarez and Cavani took over the mantle from Diego Forlan and Diego Lugano when they retired.

"The key is to maintain the legacy and to learn to play without them, to modify the power axis towards the midfield and for Valverde-Bentancur to lead the next generation," said Munoz.

RIO DE JANEIRO — Fuelled by past disappointments at the World Cup, Neymar has been preparing for a long time to make sure he is in peak condition to lead Brazil into this year's tournament in Qatar.

Now aged 30, the world's most expensive player has often struggled to live up to expectations and been hampered by injuries since joining Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona in 2017 for a record 222 million euros.

It is not so long ago that Neymar let slip that Qatar could be his last World Cup as he struggled with the demands of playing football at the highest level.

But his form and his attitude in the first three months of this season bode well going into Brazil's bid to win a record sixth World Cup crown.

After reporting for pre-season training a week earlier than expected, Neymar hit the ground running when the French campaign kicked off and he has scored 15 goals in 19 games so far for PSG, while also providing a hatful of assists for the likes of Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe.

"He is flying. It is the fruit of all the preparation he has put in," said national team coach Tite recently of Brazil's superstar forward.

Ready to equal Pele? 

Close-season talk that PSG were keen to cut their losses and sell Neymar has faded, and he heads to Qatar needing just two goals to draw level with Pele on 77 as Brazil's all-time top goal-scorer.

Eight of Neymar's 75 goals for his country came during Brazil's outstanding World Cup qualifying campaign, as they went unbeaten through 17 games to finish top of the single South American qualifying group.

He set up another eight goals and developed promising relationships with fellow attackers like Richarlison and Lucas Paqueta.

"With Neymar in good form, we have a great chance of winning the World Cup, because he is a player who really can make the difference on the field," Brazil great Cafu told AFP.

Neymar may be fuelled by the desire to finally win a Ballon d'Or, but above all he will be determined to banish the memory of his previous World Cups.

Brazil's 2014 campaign ended in a disastrous 7-1 humiliation at home to Germany in the semifinals.

Yet, that only came after Neymar — carrying the weight of a nation on his shoulders — suffered a fractured bone in his back in a challenge by Juan Camilo Zuniga in their last-eight defeat of Colombia.

Four years later Neymar scored in wins over Costa Rica and Mexico but Tite's team underwhelmed as they went out in the quarter-finals to Belgium.

Neymar's international disappointment also extended to the 2019 Copa America, which Brazil won without him as he recovered from an ankle ligament injury.

He was back as Brazil hosted last year's Copa, but could not prevent them losing the final to Argentina at the Maracana.

So far success with his country has been limited to the 2013 Confederations Cup and an Olympic gold at the Rio Games in 2016.

"I hope he is in inspired form so that Brazil have a greater chance of reaching the final," Careca, who played for the Selecao at the 1986 and 1990 World Cups, told AFP.

Yet, Neymar's fine form on the pitch comes as he continues to make headlines off the field.

Prosecutors in Spain recently dropped corruption and fraud charges against Neymar and several others accused in a trial over his 2013 move from Santos to Barcelona.

Meanwhile, he also came in for criticism after coming out in support of far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro in the Brazilian presidential election campaign.

"It would be marvellous: Bolsonaro reelected, Brazil champions and everybody would be happy," he said while joining in a campaign rally online from Paris.

Neymar promised to dedicate his first goal in Qatar to Bolsonaro, who lost the election to the leftist candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

In a polarised country, marked by four years under Bolsonaro and the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic which has caused almost 700,000 deaths, many observers have been critical of Neymar's decision to back the outgoing president.

Nevertheless, Neymar is focused on his World Cup goal.

"I have a dream of winning it," he said in a recent interview with PSG's website.

LOS ANGELES — Donovan Mitchell returned from injury to score 33 points and lead Cleveland to a 114-100 NBA victory over former Cavaliers star LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.

Darius Garland added 24 points and the Cavs pulled away in the second half against a lackluster Lakers side that got only two points from star Anthony Davis after the interval.

Jarrett Allen added 16 points for the Cavaliers, who won their eighth straight and at 8-1 are second to the 9-0 Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference.

The winning streak is Cleveland's longest since a 13-game streak in 2017 — James's final season with the club.

Meanwhile, the sputtering Lakers fell to 2-7. They led by as many as 12 in the first half and were up by six at the break, but couldn't muster a response as they were outscored 56-36 in the second half.

"All of our spirit seemed to have left the building, and that's one of the parts of re-establishing a winning culture is being able to maintain a competitive spirit," Lakers coach Darvin Ham said.

"What we saw in the first half is how we want to play. We were right there going toe-to-toe with them, we actually had the lead going into halftime.

"And then second half, again, shots don't go down, a few turnovers happen and we kind of dropped our heads a little bit and they just kept revving it up, revving it up, revving it up.

"We have to continue to fight and that can't change, continue to be competitive and that can't change," Ham said.

James scored 27 points and Davis had 19 with 12 rebounds. Russell Westbrook scored 19 points and handed out 10 assists to go with seven turnovers.

But with their offence sputtering late, the Lakers couldn't find a way to shut down Mitchell and Garland, who had missed six of Cleveland's previous seven games with eye and knee injuries.

Mitchell, a three-time All-Star guard who joined the Cavaliers from the Utah Jazz in September, has scored 30 or more points in six of eight games with his new team.

He said Cleveland, trying to return to the play-offs for the first time since the 2017-18 campaign, wasn't focused on their former star James.

"I grew up a Cavs fan so I'm very aware of LeBron, but I don't think that was what we brought into the game," Mitchell said.

"You've always got to have respect for greatness," he said, but noted: "At the end of the day, we're here to win."

VanVleet paces Raptors 

Elsewhere, Fred VanVleet returned from a three-game injury absence to score 30 points and hand out 11 assists to help the Raptors beat the Chicago Bulls 113-104 in Toronto.

With Toronto leading scorer Pascal Siakam sidelined, all five Raptors starters scored in double figures.

O.G. Anunoby scored 22 points and Scottie Barnes put up 19 points with 10 rebounds as the Raptors bounced back from a heartbreaking 111-110 loss to Dallas on Friday.

DeMar DeRozan scored 20 points to lead six Bulls players in double figures. Nikola Vucevic added 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, but Chicago lost a second straight game.

The Bulls coughed up 17 turnovers leading to 23 points for Toronto. But they were down by just one point after Patrick Williams's dunk with 4:23 remaining.

The Raptors responded with a three-point play by VanVleet and Anunoby came up with a steal and a driving dunk as Toronto pulled away again.

In Memphis, Desmond Bane and Ja Morant combined for 51 points as the Grizzlies beat the short-handed Washington Wizards 103-97.

Despite the absence of Washington's leading scorer Bradley Beal, the Wizards seized a quick 9-0 lead before the Grizzlies found their range.

Bane scored 28 points and Morant added 23 with nine rebounds and six assists for Memphis, who led 57-43 at halftime, pushed the advantage to as many as 23 in the third quarter and turned back the Wizards' comeback bid in the fourth.

MILAN — Juventus' long crisis showed signs of being over on Sunday after their 2-0 win over fierce rivals Inter Milan put them in sight of Serie A's top four, while Felipe Anderson fired Lazio to a 1-0 Rome derby triumph.

Juve have spent almost the entire season lurching from one disaster to another but Adrien Rabiot's brilliant first-time finish five minutes after the break and a late deflected shot from youngster Nicolo Fagioli earned them a fourth straight league win.

Massimiliano Allegri's side, who were without Serbia striker Dusan Vlahovic and a raft of other players, are fifth in Italy's top flight and two points off Lazio — who they face next weekend — and Atalanta in the final two Champions League places.

"We've had some difficulties... there's desire and determination to do everything for your teammate and never give up," Rabiot told DAZN after netting his fifth goal of the season.

Inter are a point behind Juve in seventh after their fifth defeat of the season, which came after they wasted a clutch of opportunities.

Rabiot's opener came following superb play from the impressive Filip Kostic and five minutes after Hakan Calhanoglu had a piledriver tipped onto the bar by Wojciech Szczesny, one of a series of chances Inter had to take the lead before going behind.

Edin Dzeko headed wide from inches out in the 27th minute, but the worst miss came three minutes before half-time when Denzel Dumfries somehow skied a simple close-range chance from Nicolo Barella's cross-cum-shot.

And after Danilo had a goal for Juve ruled out for handball in the 65th minute, Martinez drove a poor low finish straight at Szczesny at the end of a quick counter-attack.

Fagioli then sealed the points with five minutes remaining after being fed by Kostic to give Juve hope their recent troubles might be coming to an end.

"We played really well in the first half and you can't go in at half-time goal-less there," said Inter coach Simone Inzaghi.

"It's a hard defeat in a big match against a rival, and it hurts."

Lazio's bragging rights 

Anderson struck Lazio's winner just before the half-hour mark in the Italian capital after Roma defender Roger Ibanez gave the ball away cheaply in his own area under pressure from Pedro.

It was the 29-year-old's third league goal of the campaign as he continues to play in the unfamiliar position of centre-forward in place of the injured Ciro Immobile.

Italy striker Immobile was on the bench supporting Lazio despite a thigh problem leaving him unable to play and he watched his team go third with an assured performance.

"Immobile has been with us the whole time, even during the training camp... He's a leader and I'm playing a role in which he is a master," Anderson told DAZN.

Known for his expansive brand of football, Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri has developed a team who are hard to beat and shorn of key man Sergej Milinkovic-Savic they soaked up Roma's largely ineffectual attacking to claim a seventh clean sheet from their last eight matches.

Roma were the nominal home side at the Stadio Olimpico but went closest to scoring four minutes after going behind when Nicolo Zaniolo's deflected shot smacked off the crossbar.

Jose Mourinho's side failed to create enough to deserve a win and drop down a place to fifth following their fourth defeat of the season.

Earlier, Verona slumped to bottom place after losing 2-0 at promoted Monza, their eighth loss in a row.

Second-half strikes from Carlos Augusto and Andrea Colpani handed Monza their first win in four matches and left 10-man Verona on five points from 13 matches.

Monza stay 15th but are seven points clear of the relegation zone in their first ever Serie A season and were cheered on in the stands by stabbing victim Pablo Mari.

On-loan Arsenal defender Mari was one of several people attacked last week in a Carrefour supermarket on the outskirts of Milan by a man who killed an employee after grabbing a knife from a shelf.

PARIS — Liverpool will have the chance to avenge last season's Champions League final defeat at the hands of Real Madrid after Jurgen Klopp's side were drawn on Monday to face the holders again in the last 16.

Meanwhile, the other standout tie saw Paris Saint-Germain drawn to play Bayern Munich in a repeat of the 2020 final which was won by the German club.

Liverpool won five of their six group games but missed out on top spot to Napoli after losing 4-1 when the sides met in Italy.

The Anfield club also lost the 2018 Champions League final to Real, who won their group ahead of RB Leipzig.

"They are two historic teams and the tie is going to be electric, fascinating for the fans," said Emilio Butragueno, a great former Real player who is now the director of institutional relations for the 14-time European champions.

Current domestic form suggests Real should be favourites, with Carlo Ancelotti's side unbeaten in La Liga while Liverpool are eighth in the Premier League despite winning away to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

However, both clubs will lose key players to the World Cup and Butragueno acknowledged much can change in the three months before the Champions League returns.

"The World Cup is going to condition the whole season. We will see how the players are when they return," he said.

PSG only missed out on topping their group because Benfica scored more away goals across all matches after the sides remarkably finished level on points, goal difference, goals scored and head to head.

Chelsea to play Dortmund 

That left the Qatar-owned club exposed to a tough draw, a year on from their painful exit in the first knockout round at the hands of Real.

In terms of form they could not have got tougher than Bayern, who were the only side to win all six group matches, despite being in a section with Barcelona and Inter Milan.

The 2020 final was played behind closed doors in Lisbon at the height of the pandemic, with Bayern triumphing 1-0. PSG gained revenge the following season by beating the Bavarians in the quarter-finals.

Like PSG, Manchester City have never won the trophy but are also one of the leading contenders to do so this season.

Pep Guardiola's side will be expected to dispose of Leipzig, who they faced in the group stage a year ago and beat 6-3 at home before a 2-1 defeat in Germany, by which time they had already secured first place in the section.

Chelsea, who defeated City in the 2021 Champions League final, also drew German opposition in the shape of Borussia Dortmund, with the clubs set to meet for the very first time in a competitive game in the first leg at the Signal Iduna Park.

After topping their group thanks to a last-gasp winner away to Marseille last week, Tottenham Hotspur were given a tough draw against Italian champions AC Milan.

They have met at this stage of the competition before, with Spurs winning 1-0 on aggregate in 2010/11 thanks to a solitary goal at San Siro by Peter Crouch.

Inter will play Porto and last season's Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt take on Napoli, while Benfica's reward for winning their group was a tie against tournament outsiders Club Brugge of Belgium.

The first legs of all last-16 ties will be played in February with the return matches in March.

The final of this season's Champions League will be held in Istanbul on June 10 next year.

The Turkish city was supposed to host the final in 2020 and again 2021, only for the game to be moved on each occasion to Portugal due to the pandemic.