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Monday 21 January 2013

Clint Dempsey sends Spurs to draw against United


LONDON (AP) -- Clint Dempsey scored during stoppage time Sunday, giving Tottenham a 1-1 draw against Premier League-leading Manchester United.
The American, who sent Tottenham to its first win at United in 23 years in September, offset Robin van Persie's first-half header to give the fourth-place hosts something to show for their dominance at snowy White Hart Lane.
''Before (this season) I'd never scored against them, so it's good to help the team get results,'' said Dempsey, who joined from Fulham in August. ''We've got a win and a draw now (against United).''
United's lead has been trimmed to five points this weekend after second-place Manchester City beat Fulham 2-0 on Saturday.
While United managed just five shots, Tottenham scored with its 25th shot in the third minute of stoppage time. Dempsey was set up by Aaron Lennon, who had pounced on the ball after goalkeeper David de Gea inadvertently punched a shot by Benoit Assou-Ekotto to him.
Despite salvaging a point, Tottenham fell four points behind third-place Chelsea after its London rival beat Arsenal 2-1 earlier in the day.
Juan Mata's excellent finish and a penalty kick from Frank Lampard gave Chelsea a two-goal lead after only 16 minutes. The other score came in the 58th minute goal by Theo Walcott.
Arsenal, which lost to Manchester City last Sunday, remains sixth, but is now seven points behind Tottenham in the fourth Champions League spot.
''We have lost two big games in the last week,'' Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. ''That's damaging for us. We can't afford to lose more points. It's a concern.''
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BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - Atletico Madrid defeated Levante 2-0 despite losing striker Radamel Falcao to injury, maintaining its perfect home record in the Spanish league while breathing some life into the title chase.
Atletico took advantage of Barcelona's first league defeat of the season the day before by staying perfect through 11 league games at Vicente Calderon stadium. Atletico is eight points behind the league leaders.
Adrian Lopez scored in the 32nd minute. Jorge ''Koke'' Resurrecion then put the result beyond doubt in the 61st, four minutes after Falcao walked off clutching his upper left leg.
Elsewhere, Osasuna beat visiting Deportivo La Coruna 2-1 to move out of last place while sending its rival there. Oscar Gonzalez scored one goal and set up another to steer Valladolid to a 2-0 home win over Real Zaragoza.
In the late match, Real Madrid visited Valencia.
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MILAN (AP) - Napoli missed the chance to close the gap on Serie A leader Juventus, drawing 1-1 at Fiorentina.
Fiorentina took the lead following a blunder by Morgan De Sanctis. The Napoli goalkeeper rushed out of his area to intercept a long pass from Facundo Roncaglia by midfield but misjudged the ball, which bounced over him and into the goal.
Napoli tied it three minutes from halftime as Edinson Cavani headed in Marek Hamsik's free kick for his 100th Serie A goal. Alberto Aquilani could have won it for Fiorentina in stoppage time but blasted a good chance over the bar.
Napoli, which had a two-point penalty for match-fixing rescinded Thursday, is tied on points with second-placed Lazio, five points behind defending champion Juventus.
Fiorentina remains fifth but it is only two points above AC Milan, which beat Bologna 2-1 thanks to two goals from Giampaolo Pazzini.
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AMSTERDAM (AP) - Ajax pulled even on points with second-placed PSV Eindhoven in the Dutch league after beating rival Feyenoord 3-0 despite playing much of the second half with 10 men.
Viktor Fischer, Ajax's 18-year-old Danish striker, scored twice in the first half and Siem de Jong completed the scoring in the 62nd minute.
Ajax's main title rivals dropped points. PSV slumped to a 3-1 home defeat against PEC Zwolle on Friday. League leader FC Twente was held to a goalless draw by RKC Waalwijk on Saturday. Vitesse Arnhem lost to AZ Alkmaar. Ajax is third because of PSV's better goal difference while Feyenoord is fourth.
U.S. striker Jozy Altidore scored a hat-trick Saturday night to bring his season's total to 14 as AZ Alkmaar beat Vitesse Arnhem 4-1.
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ATHENS, Greece (AP) - Rafik Djebbour scored in first-half injury time and Djamel Abdoun added a goal in the 68th minute to give defending champion Olympiakos a 2-0 home victory over Giannena in the Greek league.
The win gave Olympiakos a 13-point lead over second-place PAOK with 12 rounds to play. PAOK lost 1-0 at third-place Asteras Saturday.
Also Sunday, Xanthi and Kerkyra played to a 0-0 draw and AEK drew 1-1 at Aris after tying the score in the eighth minute of injury time. Two players from each team were sent off in the last 10 minutes of regulation.
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GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) - Motherwell's slim hopes of catching Celtic in the Scottish Premier League were boosted by a 3-2 win over St. Johnstone on Michael Higdon's hat trick.
Motherwell is tied on points with second-place Inverness and nine points behind Celtic, which maintained its march to a successful title defense by beating Hearts 4-1 on Saturday.

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