Sports

LONDON — Written off last season as a sub-standard misfit with a comical haircut, there are signs that Marouane Fellaini is finally beginning to feel comfortable in a red Manchester United shirt.

The Belgian powerhouse, signed at the start of the ill-fated David Moyes era for £27.5 million, was a convenient scapegoat last season as United endured their worst season in the Premier League, finishing a distant seventh.

There seemed no way back for the rugged midfielder who most United diehards — spoilt by years watching the likes of Paul Scholes, Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Roy Keane — thought not fit to sweep the changing room, let alone be put in charge of United’s creative department.

Yet, with Louis van Gaal appearing to understand exactly what a fired-up and confident Fellaini can offer his team, the Afro-haired battering ram is beginning to flourish.

Not that the season started particularly well.

He was a substitute for Van Gaal’s opening Premier League match, a home defeat by Swansea City that would have revived bitter memories of last season when a large proportion of the home jeers were directed his way.

An ankle injury then sidelined him for a month and when he returned he again found himself benched by Belgium.

Something clicked, however, against West Bromwich Albion last week when Fellaini came on for Herrera at halftime and promptly scored a wonderful goal from outside the area — his first goal for United — and added some much-needed bit to his side’s display in a 2-2 draw.

Van Gaal was suitably impressed, so much so that Fellaini started against Chelsea on Sunday and arguably had his best game for United against the best team in the country.

Helping shore up United’s often-creaky backline at one end, he also displayed his trademark strength at the other end to ruffle Chelsea’s back four as United pressed for an equaliser.

That came in stoppage time when he thumped a header that was parried by Thibaut Courtois with the rebound being hammered home by Robin van Persie.

Late goals in “Fergie time” were United’s stock in trade during the glory years under Alex Ferguson, but this one was greeted with as much fervour as any.

After some of the humble surrenders of last season when Old Trafford was not so much a fortress but a house of horrors, a 1-1 draw with Jose Mourinho’s table-toppers represented a big step in the right direction.

While the balance may not be right and there are still plenty of question marks in defence, the old never-say-die spirit at least seems to have returned.

Van Gaal will know that United are a work in progress, but with so much ground to make up he can hardly overlook any of the club’s supposed assets and Fellaini could yet prove to be the signing United thought they had made last season.

Colombian Radamel Falcao and Angel di Maria may be more in the traditional United thoroughbred mould, but Fellaini is the man to do the dirty work needed if the Reds are to reclaim their place in the Champions League.

According to official Premier League statistics Fellaini covered 12.17 kilometres against Chelsea — more than any teammate — and made 70 “high-intensity” runs.

It was more like the player who once ripped up the midfield at Everton and Van Persie certainly benefited from the physical presence supporting him in United’s route-one attacks.

“@fellainiM was fantastic,” the striker said on Twitter. “He did a great job on Fabregas. He is strong on the ball and in the air.”

High praise indeed, although it will take a few more such performances of similar stature from the Everton man to completely win over the Old Trafford sceptics.

SYDNEY — Western Sydney Wanderers coach Tony Popovic was worried when his team was under cosh from Saudi Al Hilal for a hour of the first leg of the Asian Champions League final on Saturday but is confident they can win the trophy after coming away with a 1-0 win.

Substitute striker Tomi Juric scored the goal with the home side’s first shot on target in the 64th minute, keeping alive their hopes of becoming the first Australian side to win Asia’s biggest club prize.

The twice Asian champion visitors had dominated at Parramatta Stadium up to that point, though, and Popovic paid tribute to the way his players weathered the storm.

“We were concerned, of course we were, it’s a credit to the players,” he told reporters.

“They were nervous and we lacked that bit of composure but in adversity in the first half they didn’t throw it away and they didn’t lose their structure and that was very pleasing.

“We started pressing them a little higher and they gave a few balls away under pressure and we seemed to get more as the game went on.”

Wanderers have beaten reigning champions Guangzhou Evergrande and last season’s finalists FC Seoul over two legs in the semifinals and quarter-finals of their maiden continental campaign.

Securing a slender lead in the first leg against a third Asian powerhouse served both sides notice that his team were genuine contenders for the title, Popovic said.

“We have shown we can score away from home and this result has filled us with confidence,” he added.

“We have to recover well and we’re in for a tough battle next week, but they’re going home tonight knowing they’re up against a very tough opponent who can win the title over there.

“The stadium will be full, supporting their team and we expect that. But we have played tough matches and we have a lot of experience from playing against Guangzhou and Seoul and we can draw on that experience.”

Al Hilal’s Romanian coach Laurentiu Reghecampf said he thought the crowd at the King Fahd Stadium for the second leg in Riyadh next week would spur his players on to a third Asian title.

“I’m sure after six days when we play the next game my team is going to win,” he said.

MADRID — Real Madrid’s decision to sell midfielders Xabi Alonso and Angel Di Maria left many scratching their heads and consecutive La Liga defeats as well as a reverse to Atletico Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup set alarm bells ringing at the Bernabeu.

Toni Kroos, who joined from Bayern Munich while Alonso went the other way, was seen as a poor substitute for the experienced Spain midfielder, while James Rodriguez, top scorer at the World Cup finals in Brazil with six goals, seemed to lack Di Maria’s intensity and eye for a killer pass.

A couple of months later and the picture is an altogether different one.

Real have come into the kind of form that propelled them to a record-extending 10th European title last season in coach Carlo Ancelotti’s first term in charge.

Recent performances, including Saturday’s 3-1 win at home to Barcelona in the La Liga “Clasico”, suggest Ancelotti has successfully completed the integration of Kroos and Rodriguez into a side that is fearsome in attack and mean in defence.

Since they were beaten at home by Atletico in La Liga on September 13,
Real have scored 38 goals in nine outings in all competitions and conceded a mere six.

Portuguese World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo is in the form of his life and has netted a jaw-dropping 16 goals in eight La Liga appearances, including the equaliser from the penalty spot on Saturday.

The victory lifted Real to within a point of leaders Barca after nine matches and they are virtually assured of passage to the Champions League knockout round after winning their opening three group games.

“We’re in very good form, I don’t know if I’ve found the perfect formula,” Ancelotti told a post-”Clasico” news conference.

“We’re also in good mental shape,” added the Italian.

“We still have the same idea as last year. We’re trying to improve our play and everything is coming off well.”

Biggest tests 

Barca, by contrast, are licking their wounds after their defensive frailty was again exposed on Saturday and they squandered a number of chances after Neymar had put them ahead in the fourth minute.

Pepe was left unmarked to head in from a corner for Real’s second goal, while their third came after a mix-up between Andres Iniesta and Javier Mascherano.

Ronaldo’s penalty was the first goal Barca had conceded in La Liga this season but, worryingly for new coach Luis Enrique, they have failed in both their biggest tests so far this term, also losing 3-2 at Paris St Germain in the Champions League.

“The game clearly showed that there are opponents who are just as good as us, if not better, like today,” Luis Enrique told a news conference.

“[In Paris] we deserved more and the team was good in general terms,” added the former Spain midfielder, who had stints at both Real and Barca.

“It was a different story against Madrid as they deserved more. But we’ll pick ourselves up and at the end of the season we’ll see if we have deserved something.”

MADABA — Mohammad Tayseer on Friday was crowned champion of the Kumho Speed Test, the 5th round of the popular Speed Test Championship held at Arena Racetrack in Madaba.

With this win Tayseer stopped Rami Kaghdo from the title and gave fans a November race in Aqaba to determine the champion of the 2014 season.

Tayseer clocked 1m55.78s, followed by Ahmad Daham (1m 57s) and Mustafa Atari (1m58.98s). Kaghdo came fourth (1m59.88s).

AMMAN  — Jordan dropped 5 spots to 74th in the latest FIFA Rankings following a big 13 spot drop last month as the team starts the countdown to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) 2015 Asian Cup in Australia.

The Kingdom, fifth among Asian Football Confederation teams, is the top ranked Arab team in Asia and fourth ranked Arab team after Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt.

FIFA top 10 rankings are led by World Cup champs Germany followed by Argentina, Columbia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Brazil, France Uruguay, Portugal and Spain. 

Asian rankings are led by Iran in 51st place, followed by Japan (52), Uzbekistan (65), South Korea (66), Jordan (74), the UAE (79), Iraq (81), Oman (83), China (88) and Qatar (88).

The national football team is now on break until November 8 when they will regroup to host South Korea on November 14 in the final phase of preparations for the 2015 Asian Cup. The squad is also set to meet Uzbekistan on December 20 as well as the UAE and Bahrain in Australia ahead of the Asian Cup.

Jordan hosted Kuwait in two matches and played the U-23 squad as new head coach Ray Wilkins tried to assess the line-up named and amend any gaps in the run up to the Asian Cup.

The Kingdom qualified to the  Asian Cup after finishing second in Group A qualifiers behind leaders Oman. Jordan is drawn to play in Group D with 2011 titleholders Japan, Iraq and Palestine.

AMMAN — Jordan runner Mithqal Abbadi on Friday was crowned champion of the 42km Full Marathon at the 6th Samsung Amman Marathon while Kenyan runner Sarah Kepasso broke all previous records in the same category for women.

Abbadi clocked 2h26m07s followed by Jordan’s Fathi Al Dayyat (2h38m07s) and by Mohammad Muhammad (2h38m44s).

In the 42km women marathon Kepasso broke the record by completing the 42km Full Marathon with a time of 2h44m41s.

The event, organised by Run Jordan, witnessed the participation of 12,000 runners, a record number of participants who took part in three races:  42km Full Marathon,  21km Half Marathon, introduced for the 1st time this year, and 10km Fun Run.

Run Jordan Chairman of the Board HRH Prince Firas Bin Raad expressed his happiness with this year’s event calling it a success.

The prince thanked all sponsors and participants who are helping in promoting a healthy lifestyle through sports.

Meanwhile, Lina Kurd, Run Jordan deputy general manager, said that this year’s event was different.

“We had extra measures regarding organisation of the marathon based on the directions of HRH Prince Firas Bin Raad, and we saw that everyone was happy and satisfied of the organisation and at the same time the marathon fulfilled its mission of giving people the right picture about sports.”

According to Kurd the marathon’s mission does not stop at its health benefits but also assists and supports other various organisations with 20 per cent of the proceeds going to charity associations across multiple sectors.

Cash prizes were awarded to winners at the end of the ceremony.

PARIS — Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 70th Champions League goal and Mario Balotelli again failed to deliver as Real Madrid cruised to a 3-0 win at Liverpool on Wednesday to take complete control of Group B with a third straight win.

While Tuesday night’s 40-goal bonanza never looked like being matched, there was still drama elsewhere as Arsenal scraped a 2-1 win at Anderlecht with late goals from defender Kieran Gibbs and forward Lukas Podolski — a peripheral player this season.

German sides continue to score for fun, as Borussia Dortmund romped to a 4-0 win at Galatasaray the day after Bayern Munich’s magnificent 7-1 in Roma and Schalke beat Sporting Lisbon 4-3. Bayer Leverkusen also underlined the Bundesliga’s fine form in Europe, beating Zenit St Petersburg 2-0 on Wednesday.

By contrast, it was a bad night for Italian champion Juventus, which slumped to a surprise 1-0 defeat at Greek side Olympiakos.

At Anfield, all eyes were on Ronaldo but it was Karim Benzema — usually Ronaldo’s favourite goal supplier — who out-scored his more illustrious teammate.

The France forward grabbed the other two goals in a devastating 18-minute first-half spell that silenced the home crowd.

On this form, it is hard to bet against defending champion Madrid at least reaching the final, if not securing an 11th European crown.

“We are fighting very hard to repeat our success of last season,” said Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, whose team has won its last eight matches in all competitions — scoring 35 goals. “We are playing well and have a huge desire to make that happen again.”

Ronaldo’s goal, a superbly-taken flick, put Madrid ahead in the 23rd minute, and took him to 20 goals in just 13 games this season. He also moved to within one goal of former Madrid star Raul Gonzalez’s record tally in the Champions League.

He is one ahead of great rival Lionel Messi, who scored one and made one in Barcelona’s 3-1 win against Ajax on Tuesday, before being taken off to rest him ahead of Saturday’s massive game against Ronaldo’s Madrid.

Benzema headed in the second in the 30th minute before pouncing from close range.

Liverpool clearly misses Luis Suarez, who scored 31 league goals last season before joining Barcelona, and Balotelli doesn’t seem to be an able replacement — at least not yet.

Since joining from AC Milan, he has only scored once in 10 games and, to make matters worse, as he was substituted at halftime he even swapped shirts with his marker, Pepe, while walking to the dressing rooms.

“It’s not something I stand for,” an angry Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said. “If you want to do that, for me you do that at the end of the game. It’s something I’ll deal with.”

Liverpool, with three points from three matches, is locked with FC Basel and Ludogorets for second place.

Ludogorets got a first ever win by a Bulgarian side in a Champions League group thanks to a 91st-minute winner from defender Yordan Minev.

Arsenal and Dortmund scrapped for top spot last season, and the odds again look in Dortmund’s favour.

Striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored twice inside the first 20 minutes, Marco Reus made it 3-0 before the break and substitute Adrian Ramos completed the rout late on to give Dortmund nine points.

“We were focused, had no problems in defence and our fast breaks were very dangerous,” Dortmund’s World Cup winning German defender Mats Hummels said.

Although Arsenal is not dominating games, it is at least showing resilience.

After rescuing a point with an injury-time goal from Danny Welbeck in a 2-2 draw against Hull last weekend, this time it was Gibbs and Podolski who gave coach Arsene Wenger a happy ending to his 65th birthday.

“We are in a strong position now,” Wenger said. “It is down to us now and we have to win our home games.”

Third-place Anderlecht, which has one point, sensed victory after Honduras midfielder Andy Najar gave the Belgian champion a 1-0 lead with a powerful header which wrong-footed Arsenal’s third-choice goalie Emiliano Martinez in the 71st minute.

But Gibbs equalised in the 89th with a low volley and Podolski, who was close to leaving Arsenal during the offseason, followed up from close range in stoppage time after a cross from the impressive Alexis Sanchez got deflected.

In Group A, Spanish champion Atletico Madrid leads Olympiakos on goal difference, with both teams tied on six points and Juventus lagging three points behind.

Swiss midfielder Pajtim Kasami fired the winner for Olympiakos past Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon in the 36th minute.

It was a goal feast for Atletico, with five different scorers in a 5-0 win against Malmo to show there is indeed life in the team’s attack after Diego Costa, who has been brilliant for Chelsea since joining the London club in the offseason.

All the goals came in the second half, courtesy of Spain midfielder Koke, striker Mario Mandzukic, France winger Antoine Griezmann, defender Diego Godin and a last-gasp effort from substitute forward Alessio Cerci.

Elsewhere, Bayer Leverkusen beat Zenit St Petersburg thanks to second-half goals from Giulio Donati and Kyriakos Papadopoulos to move top of Group C; one point ahead of Monaco, which drew 0-0 at home to Benfica.

AMMAN — The 5th Round of the Jordan Open National Speed Test Championship kicks off on the Jordan Auto Track Madaba Raceway on Friday. Drivers from Palestine, Syria, Egypt, the UAE and Jordan are expected to challenge at this event. With the rallying scene booming, speed tests were introduced to the motor sport calendar in 1964 and have since been held at various locations throughout Jordan. Most recently they have been held at a variety of locations including SOFEX Racetrack, the Royal Automobile Club of Jordan and in Aqaba.

AMMAN — Fans hope Week 5 of the 63rd Jordan Professional League which kicks off Thursday will finally put the competition in high gear after three matches ending in goalless draws last week.

There were many changes in the standings last week as titleholders Wihdat lost their lead after a 0-0 draw with Hussein. Wihdat are second and will play Manshieh.

Ramtha are in the lead after a 2-0 win over neighbours Ittihad Ramtha. They have scored four consecutive wins and will play Hussein Irbid.

Former champs Faisali held Shabab Urdun 0-0 and remained in third place as the latter dropped to fifth. Faisali will play Baqaa on Friday.

Jazira are fourth after a 4-2 win over Manshieh. They will play Shabab Urdun in a match that is important for both teams struggling for a standing among the top five.

In other matches, That Ras, who held Baqaa 1-1, will play last placed Ahli, who were held to a 0-0 draw by Sarih. Ittihad Ramtha play Sarih and Ahli take on That Ras. 

Teams are also readying for the Jordan Cup quarters now set for October 26: Ahli vs. Ramtha, That Ras vs. Jazira, Wihdat vs. Sarih and Faisali vs. Manshieh. Baqaa, Shabab Urdun and Hussein were eliminated. Only Jordan Professional League teams are competing this year. 

Wihdat won the first major competition of the 2014/15 football season after they beat Baqaa 2-0 in the 32nd Super Cup.

Last season, Wihdat won the Jordan Professional League title for the 13th time and beat Baqaa to win the Jordan Cup, while Shabab Urdun beat That Ras to win the Super Cup. The Jordan Football Association Shield was not held.

AMMAN — The Samsung Amman Marathon kicks off on Friday with the participation of thousands of runners in the 42km, the 21km half marathon and 10km Fun Run.

Lina Kurd, vice director general of Run Jordan, told The Jordan Times that it will be a great event this year.

“Everyone is excited to be part of the event which gives a great opportunity to know more about Amman and creates a unique opportunity to run through the streets of downtown Amman unhindered by traffic and enjoy the beauty of that area,” she said.

“We have started distributing tags on runners who represent various nationalities living in the Kingdom on daily basis and we believe that this year the event is exceptional,” she added.

According to Kurd, sports is for everyone.

“Run Jordan shares the vision of HRH Prince Firas [chairman of the board of Run Jordan] that sports is for everyone and that is why we have created this year a professional section which is the 21 km half marathon so people would really enjoy competing and have fun at the same time,” she said.

“The popularity of running events in the Kingdom has grown significantly in the past years and this gives us a great chance to present what we have and to give the people of Jordan the opportunity to practice a healthy lifestyle,” she added.

The 42km marathon starts at 6:00am from the main building of Greater Amman Municipality while the 21km half marathon departs from Raghadan Bridge and the 10km (Fun Run) takes off at 8:30am from the Royal Cultural Centre.

Last year, Jordanian runner Suhail Nashash registered a new record in the Middle East visually impaired category, after clocking 3h27m16s.

Meanwhile, Ethiopia’s runners reigned with Tewodros Asfaw finishing first at the men’s 42km and Mihiret Antoiyos winning the women’s 42km marathon.

Jordanian men and women did well with Methqal Abady and Razan Mokbeal finishing third in the 42km while Deifallah Matar and Sojood Alkhotabah Khanazreh finished first in the 10km marathon.

Run Jordan is dedicated to bringing together different marathon events and races under one umbrella and promoting healthy lifestyles.