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MADRID — Karim Benzema missed a penalty for Real Madrid as they finally blinked in the La Liga title race, dropping their first points of the season in a 1-1 draw with Osasuna on Sunday.

Elsewhere Real Sociedad won 5-3 at Girona and high-flying Real Betis fell to a 1-0 defeat at Celta Vigo.

After Barcelona beat Real Mallorca on Saturday, Madrid knew they had to win to stay top but were frustrated by JagobaArrasate's well-organisedside at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Benzema, on his return to the side after injury, won a spot-kick but then fired it against the crossbar, and also had a goal disallowed for offside as Madrid tried to force a way through.

Vinicius Junior broke the deadlock just before half-time with a cross that snuck all the way into the far corner, but Kike Garcia's well-taken header early in the second period earned Osasuna a point.

"What we were missing was scoring that penalty, normally Karim scores them," Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti told DAZN.

"He had no problem playing the 90 minutes. It's been a month since he's played, he has to get his best form back. He did his part, he had the chance from the penalty. It's an accident, sometimes it happens."

Real Madrid President Florentino Perez told the club's fans at an assembly on Sunday morning that a European Super League project was essential, but Osasuna showed domestic football can still offer a significant challenge.

Benzema made his first appearance since September 6, while AndriyLunin and Dani Ceballos started in place of injured duo ThibautCourtois and Luka Modric.

Madrid probed promisingly down the flanks, while at the other end AbdeEzzalzouli, on loan at Osasuna from Barcelona, crashed a shot into the side netting on a bright display.

Madrid opened the scoring in fortuitous fashion, with Vinicius whipping in a low cross which caught out goalkeeper Sergio Herrera and crept in at the far post.

Osasuna complained that Benzema and Antonio Rudiger were offside and interfering with play, but their protests were dismissed.

The visitors were level five minutes into the second half, when Kike Garcia brilliantly looped a backwards header over Lunin.

The goal meant Madrid have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of the first seven league games.

"We were quite solid at the back," insisted Ancelotti. "We conceded a goal from a deep cross, it was quite strange. The team was balanced, the objective is always to be strong to avoid conceding."

No way through

Turning up the heat, Benzema drew a stunning save from Herrera, although he was offside, then neatly slipped throughRodrygo Goes, who fired over.

The French striker won a penalty when he was shoved over by David Garcia, who was sent off, but hit the crossbar with his effort. Moments later Benzema had the ball in the net, but it was disallowed for offside.

The draw means Barcelona lead Madrid on goal difference after seven games, with both teams on 19 points and unbeaten. It is the first time the Catalans lead the league at the end of a fixture round since June 2020.

"We have to celebrate, they had won all their games and we came back from a goal down, the team did great work and played a great game," said Arrasate.

"If Madrid's players weren't offside then the goalkeeper's position would have been different [for the opening goal]."

Earlier Real Sociedad, seventh, came out on top after an eight-goal thriller at Montilivi.

Norwegian striker Alexander Sorloth hit a first-half brace for the visitors either side of goals for Girona's Rodrigo Riquelme and Arnau Martinez.

Valentin Castellanos put Girona ahead but Brais Mendez and Martin Zubimendi struck in the space of six minutes to restore the Basque side's lead.

Takefusa Kubo made the game safe for La Real late on.

Real Betis fell to a narrow defeat at Celta Vigo, playing most of the game with 10 men after Luiz Felipe's 20th-minute red card.

Gabriel Veiga slammed home in the opening stages from distance for the hosts at Balaidos and they moved 10th while Betis remained fourth.

Espanyol and Valencia shared a thrilling 2-2 draw which saw both sides reduced to 10 men after red cards for Martin Braithwaite and Marcos Andre respectively.

SINGAPORE — Sergio Perez won a rain-affected Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday meaning his Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen, who finished seventh, must wait at least another week to retain his Formula One world championship.

The Mexican took the chequered flag 7.5 sec ahead of the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, whose teammate Carlos Sainz was third in the night race that started more than an hour late because of a storm.

Verstappen had a mathematical chance to clinch a second world title in Singapore, but needed to win and have other results go his way.

The Dutchman was always going to struggle after starting eighth on the grid at the Marina Bay Street Circuit but he battled back from a slow start where he dropped to 13th to finish seventh.

It means his world championship lead over Leclerc has been cut to 104 points ahead of next week's Japanese Grand Prix. Perez is two points behind Leclerc.

Verstappen will need to be 112 points ahead at the end of next Sunday's race in Suzuka to retain his title.

It means a win will be enough for Verstappen if Leclerc fails to finish second.

"It was certainly my best performance," Perez said. "I controlled the race. The last three laps were so intense. When I got out of the car, I felt it. I gave everything today."

Perez was under investigation for an infringement under one of numerous safety car periods during the race, and potentially faces a time penalty that could hand the victory to Ferrari.

"I have no idea what's going on, they just told me I was under investigation and to increase the gap," Perez said.

Leclerc started on pole but had a sluggish getaway on intermediate tyres in the slippery conditions allowing Perez to reach the first corner in the lead.

"I pushed all the way," said Leclerc. "The bad start put us on the back foot and it was a really difficult race after that.

"I need a good night's sleep and to get ready for Japan."

Sainz said he felt he could never threaten the front two after he crossed the line 7.7sec behind his teammate.

"It was very tough out there," Sainz said. "I never really got into a rhythm in the wet and then couldn't challenge the top two guys.

"I had to settle for P3, but the good thing is I didn't do any mistakes and could bring the car home and be quick towards the end of the race."

Lewis Hamilton started third in his Mercedes and lost a place at the start before later slithering into a barrier and finishing ninth.

AMMAN — Their Royal Highnesses Princess Sara Bint Feisal and Princess Aisha Bint Feisal on Friday crowned the champions of the 49th Al Hussein Rumman Hill Climb. 

Princess Sara and Princess Aisha watched the event, which saw a wide audience of motorsport fans, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The event witnessed the participation of 21 drivers from Jordan and Palestine.

Mustafa Atari clocked 1m.51.410s, snatching first place. Ayman Najjar came second with 1m.52.617s, followed by Hisham Amir (1m.53.175s). 

The Hill Climb course, situated two kilometres north of Rumman, is exactly three kilometres in length, with an average rise of 8 per cent. 

The event, which started as a competition among friends, is the Arab world’s longest running motorsport event and was launched in 1955 when His Majesty King Hussein stormed to victory in his Mercedes Benz 300 SL. 

King Hussein patronised the opening of the Royal Automobile Club of Jordan in 1953.

NAPLES, Italy — Napoli strengthened their hold on the Serie A summit with Saturday's 3-1 win over Torino which put them three points clear of their title rivals.

An early brace from Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, his first goals in Serie A, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's fifth of his first Serie A season will keep Napoli in first place unless Atalanta beat Fiorentina by five goals on Sunday.

"I'm very happy, I don't want to lie, it's the first time for me in Serie A," Anguissa told DAZN.

"It's important to score but I just want to do my job. If the goals come I'm happy but the first thing for me is my team, for my team to win.

"So if we can win all the games, even if I don't score I don't care. I just want to win."

Napoli have won six on the bounce between Italy's top flight and the Champions League and go into Tuesday's trip to Ajax in high spirits, knowing they could take a big step towards the knockout stage of Europe's top competition.

Luciano Spalletti's side have also netted 18 times in their eight league fixtures despite having to do without starting centre-forward Victor Osimhen for their last three matches.

Torino, who scored through Antonio Sanabria just before the break, stay ninth after losing their third straight game and are level on 10 points with local rivals Juventus who host Bologna on Sunday night.

Ivan Juric's side have been unlucky to collect no points from their last three fixtures, with their previous two defeats coming late and after decent performances.

They acquitted themselves well in Naples too once they recovered from Anguissa's strikes in the sixth and 12th minutes, the Cameroon midfielder first heading in Mario Rui's pinpoint cross before charging unchallenged towards goal and doubling the hosts' lead.

Kvaratskhelia then scored a similar goal to Anguissa's second from the opposite flank in the 37th minute, bursting onto Piotr Zielinski's through ball and rolling a low finish in off the post.

Torino pushed throughout the second half after Sanabria forced one back in the 44th minute but couldn't find a way back, allowing Napoli to celebrate another win in front of their delighted supporters.

SINGAPORE — Red Bull’s dominant Max Verstappen can clinch a second world championship when the Singapore Grand Prix returns this weekend after a three-year absence because of Covid.

The flying Dutchman has a mathematical chance to seal back-to-back world titles under lights around the spectacular and demanding Marina Bay street circuit.

To do so, the 24-year-old must win the race — something he has never done in Singapore — and needs his closest rivals to falter badly.

If that does not happen, the championship fight will move on to the Japanese Grand Prix a week later. It looks a case of when, not if.

“You need a bit of luck for that as well,” Verstappen told Sky Sports of retaining his crown in Singapore.

“I don’t think about it.”

Verstappen opened up a 116-point lead in the drivers’ standings over Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc following his victory at the Italian Grand Prix. He is 125 clear of third-placed Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez. 

He needs to extend his lead to 138 points by Sunday’s chequered flag to be crowned with five races to spare — the earliest championship win since Michael Schumacher’s in 2002 with six GPs remaining.

Monza was Verstappen’s 11th victory in 16 races of a potentially record-breaking season.

He needs two more wins to equal the single-season mark of 13 jointly held by Schumacher (2004) and Sebastian Vettel (2013).

“I want to go to Singapore and try to win that race as well,” Verstappen said. 

“We are having a great season, so we should really try and appreciate it and enjoy the moment.”

To take the title this weekend, he must win the race with Leclerc finishing no higher than eighth or ninth — depending on who claims the extra point for the fastest lap — and Perez outside the podium places. 

Much will depend on Saturday night’s qualifying for a grand prix that has been won from pole position seven times in its last 11 runnings.

The night race around the tight street track affords precious few overtaking opportunities and the stifling heat and humidity provide a test of stamina and reliability as much as driving ability.

Singapore’s climate always carries a threat of rain-induced chaos, as happened in 2017, when Vettel and Verstappen started on the front row only to crash out before the first bend.

Mercedes chase Ferrari

Red Bull also look sure to wrap up the constructors’ championship — although they won’t do so in Singapore — but the race for second is still alive with Mercedes banking on a late-season revival to overtake early front-runners Ferrari.

The consistent George Russell is still in mathematical contention for the drivers’ crown in his first Mercedes season, though a Verstappen victory would end his hopes.

But the Silver Arrows are pushing hard and are 35 points behind Ferrari, who have suffered from a combination of reliability issues and strategic blunders.

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has won four times in Singapore, but Russell was cautious about the pair’s chances of ending the team’s 2022 win drought.

“Singapore could be interesting,” said Russell. 

“But historically it’s a circuit where Mercedes have struggled a little bit.”

Ferrari were buoyed by Leclerc’s second place at their home race at Monza two weeks ago and can attack Singapore with more confidence.

“I think we made a step ahead,” said team principal Mattia Binotto.

Carlos Sainz cut through the field to finish fourth for Ferrari in Italy, with his charge for a podium place scuppered only by a late safety car.

“It’s clear as well if you look at the other cars behind us, we made a step ahead,” said Binotto.

This will be Singapore’s first grand prix since the pandemic and signs are that the city-state is relishing having racing back.

Authorities have not released exact numbers, but ticket sales have already exceeded 2019, they say.

SYDNEY — Favourites the United States will face Serbia in the women’s basketball World Cup quarter-finals after hitting three figures for the second straight match Tuesday, while Puerto Rico take on Canada after making the knockouts for the first time.

China play France in the last eight and hosts Australia meet Belgium.

Three-time defending champions USA were the only unbeaten team in the preliminary phase, winning all five games and surpassing 100 points in three of them.

After a World Cup record-setting 145-69 romp over South Korea on Monday, they beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 121-59 to reinforce their standing as overwhelming favourites for an 11th title overall.

“It’s phenomenal to see how many people [know] how talented we are,” said Kelsey Plum, who scored 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting. “I mean, just one through 12 you know. It’s just been a lot of fun.”

They finished top of Group A with their reward a clash with Serbia as they look to extend a 27-game unbeaten World Cup run.

Mya Hollingshed drilled a game-high 29 points and 12 rebounds for Puerto Rico as they pulled off a “fairytale” 92-73 win over South Korea on the final day of group matches at the 10-day tournament in Sydney.

Defeat consigned the Koreans to an early exit as 17th-ranked Puerto Rico progressed with two wins from five in Group A, taking the initiative to open an 18-point lead after the first quarter.

The Koreans, missing injured marquee star Park Ji-su, battled back in much tighter second and third quarters and came out on top in the fourth, but their slow start was fatal.

“Obviously very proud of our team, we have a mix of young players with veteran players,” said Puerto Rico coach Jerry Batista. “So for us who have been here for a couple of years working and trying to develop Puerto Rico basketball, it is so great.”

“It is like a fairytale... it shows that if you work, you can achieve everything,” he added.

‘Frustrated’

Arella Guirantes has been a standout with her exceptional performances helping steer Puerto Rico to the play-offs in only their second World Cup, having failed to win a game at their first tournament in 2018.

The ever-dangerous shooting guard finished with 18 points, five rebounds and five assists.

They next play fourth-ranked Canada who beat winless Mali 88-65, a team in disarray after two of their players were caught on camera fighting each other in a media zone after their loss on Monday.

Footage showed Salimatou Kourouma throwing at least three punches at teammate Kamite Elisabeth Dabou as other Mali players rushed to intervene, with governing body FIBA opening a disciplinary investigation.

They both fronted the media after the Canada defeat to apologise.

“We were frustrated because of the loss and we’re here to apologise to the whole of the FIBA basketball World Cup,” said Dabou.

An impressive China swept past Belgium 81-55 to secure second spot in Pool A with Li Meng leading the way with 16 points and three assists.

They play France for a place in the semi-finals, after the French lost their final group game to Serbia 68-62 and finished fourth in Group B.

Australia, the beaten 2018 finalists, shook off a rocky start to the tournament to win four in a row and top Group B after cruising past Japan 71-54.

The Japanese lost four-from-five games and failed to qualify, a shadow of the side that took silver at their home Olympics in Tokyo.

BRAGA, Portugal — Alvaro Morata’s late strike snatched Spain a 1-0 Nations League victory over Portugal in Braga on Tuesday and sent them into the semifinals.

La Roja needed to win to finish top of League A Group 2, but struggled on another difficult night for the Euro 2020 semifinalists, until Morata’s 88th-minute breakthrough.

Spain have not been able to hit top form in the internationals leading up to the Qatar 2022 World Cup, but this hard-fought victory provides a welcome morale boost.

Portugal had the better of the game but Spain brightened in the final stages, with the introduction of several substitutes, including Nico Williams, who headed across goal for Morata to gleefully turn in at the back post.

“When we had to stand up, we did,” Morata told TVE. “If we had lost, it had to be giving everything we had on the pitch, and that’s what we did.”

“I’ll remember the attitude of the team, we fought until the end. And Nico Williams, in his second game for the national team, was key and I put it over the line.”

Spain will join Italy, Croatia and the Netherlands in the semis in June 2023, although attention now switches to the fast-approaching World Cup.

Luis Enrique made wholesale changes to the side that suffered Spain’s first home defeat since 2018 against Switzerland on Saturday, retaining only four starters.

Morata was brought in to lead the line, while the Asturian coach rotated his entire midfield trio.

Spain still dominated possession, as their gameplan demands, but to little effect as Portugal created the more dangerous openings.

Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper Unai Simon made a solid save to deny Ruben Neves and then a brilliant one to keep Liverpool striker Diogo Jota at bay.

With Portuguese confidence increasing, Bruno Fernandes lashed an effort narrowly off-target, celebrated prematurely by swathes of the stadium as the ball appeared to settle in the net.

Changes pay off for Spain

Just as they did against Switzerland, Spain failed to get a single shot on target in the first half, and after Simon made another good save from Cristiano Ronaldo early in the second half, Luis Enrique took action.

The coach sent on Pedri, Gavi and Yeremy Pino to try and give La Roja more inspiration going forward, although it was the hosts who almost broke the deadlock when Dani Carvajal deflected a strike narrowly over his own crossbar.

The changes livened Luis Enrique’s team up and they began to turn the tide, building momentum as the game reached its denouement.

Carvajal launched a crossfield ball into the area, with Williams’ header leaving Morata with the simple task of firing into the empty net to put the runners-up of the last edition of the Nations League back into the final four.

An exasperated Ronaldo was denied by Simon at the death and Fernando Santos’s Portugal left ruing their missed chances and wishing they had killed off Spain when they had the chance.

“We had many chances and Spain few, we are sad, we would have liked to have been in the finals,” said Santos.

“Ronaldo had three or four chances that he would usually score, but he could not. That’s football.”

It was a disappointing end to a good run for Portugal, while Spain experienced the opposite sensation. 

After defeat by Switzerland and frustrating draws with Portugal and the Czech Republic in June, Morata’s late winner provided relief for La Roja.

“This is a wonderful sport in which winning is the best antidote to any depression or sadness,” said Luis Enrique.

“Portugal are a top, top, top team. In the first half I insisted, maybe too much, on having the ball, and we did. It’s evident we’d prefer to play the passes in their half.

“[But] the first half was necessary to show that the ball was ours, and in the second we had the sensation that the goal would come. We’re in the final four again and it’s a great joy.”

LONDON — Gareth Southgate hopes England will feel the benefit of being put under intense pressure in recent days at the World Cup after fighting back from 2-0 down to salvage a 3-3 draw against Germany on Monday.

The Three Lions had already been relegated from the top tier of the Nations League and will head to Qatar on a six-game winless run.

The knives were being sharpened for Southgate after his faith in Harry Maguire backfired for two German goals early in the second half.

Centre-back Maguire has been publicly backed by the England boss despite being dropped at club level by Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag.

Ilkay Gundogan slotted home the opener from the penalty spot after Maguire gifted possession to Jamal Musiala and then chopped down the Bayern Munich midfielder.

Kai Havertz then curled brilliantly into the top corner after Maguire was disposed in the German half.

England had failed to score from open play in any of their opening five games in Group A3.

But two goals in three minutes transformed the atmosphere around Wembley and the scrutiny on Southgate’s position heading to Qatar.

Luke Shaw was also restored to the starting line-up despite his lack of game time at United and started the fightback by volleying in at the back post.

Moments later, two of Southgate’s substitutes combined to deadly effect as Bukayo Saka set up Mason Mount to curl home.

Harry Kane looked to have completed the turnaround from the penalty spot seven minutes from time after Nico Schlotterbeck’s challenge on Jude Bellingham was punished following a VAR review.

Yet, there was more drama to come as Nick Pope spilled Serge Gnabry’s shot and Havertz pounced on the rebound to snatch Germany a point.

Despite the disappointment of a late equaliser, there was relief for Southgate that England’s attack finally came to life after accusations that his conservative tactics were to blame for a lack of goals.

“The whole experience has been what we needed,” said Southgate, who had been booed by England fans after a 1-0 defeat to Italy in Milan on Friday.

“You are going to have pressure in a World Cup. You can try to avoid pressure, but it’s coming.

“It’s better that we feel it and know how we deal with it. The players reacted in the right way — we showed character but a lot of quality.”

The home side had plenty of chances to end their goal drought even in a scoreless first half.

Raheem Sterling twice shot too close to Marc-Andre ter Stegen with just the German goalkeeper to beat, while Kane would have had a tap in but for a poor cross from Phil Foden.

Germany was seeking to bounce back from their first defeat under Hansi Flick after their hopes of reaching the Nations League final four were ended by losing 1-0 at home to Hungary on Friday.

“We made individual mistakes — it can’t happen that we give away a lead like that,” said a frustrated Flick. “But we came back, that’s the positive. There’s some work for us to do, but we’re optimistic.”

Germany came alive after the break with Musiala, who played for England at youth level, particularly impressive.

Dutch referee Danny Makkelie needed the assistance of VAR to see Maguire’s mistimed challenge on Musiala as he tried to atone for his error in giving the ball away.

Gundogan coolly slotted into the bottom corner and it seemed game over when Havertz arrowed home his shot from outside the box with 23 minutes to go.

However, three goals in 11 minutes got the England support back on side and gave the team some impetus to build on heading to Qatar.

Any doubt over who Southgate will start in goal against Iran on November 21 appears to over though, as long as Jordan Pickford has recovered from a thigh injury that kept him out of this squad.

Pope has impressed in his early weeks as Newcastle’s new number one, but would have done much better to palm Gnabry’s shot to safety and Havertz took full advantage.