Bayern Opens Nine-Point Gap

Robert Lewandowski bagged hia 15th goal in 16 league games aa Bundesliga leader Bayern Munich went nine points clear despite struggling to beat bottom side Cologne 1-0 on Wednesday.
The Poland hot-shot has failed to score in only four of Bayern's league matches this season and has netted 21 goals in all competitions.
With an hour gone at the Allianz Arena, Bayern went ahead when Thomas Mueller flicked the ball with the back of his head into Lewandowski's path to tap home.
Bayern has won 13 of its 14 games since Jupp Heynckes replaced Carlo Ancelotti as coach at the start of October. In contrast, Cologne are waiting for their first league win of the season.
Their club bosses are already planning for life in the second division with the team now 13 points from safety.
In Gelsenkirchen, Schalke went second despite throwing away a two-goal lead in their thrilling 3-2 win at home to Ausburg.
Argentinian striker Franco di Santo gave them the lead with a deft backheel on 44 minutes, then Austria striker Guido Burgstaller made it 2-0 just after the break.
A header by Brazilian midfielder Caluby and a Michael Gregoritsch penalty pulled it back to 2-2 on 79 minutea before Daniel Caligiuri converted the winning penalty for Schalke seven minutes from time.

AFP/Berlin.

Fox To Bring Disney Cash, Cricket In India

Walt Disney Co.'s expected deal with Twenty-First Century Fox. inc. would give the world's best-known entertainment company new advantages in India, such as cricket rights and local-language TV shows for the fast-growing media market.
Through the US$75 billion deal, which a source said is expected to be announced Thursday morning, Disney would be able to distribute its programming on Star India, operator of 69 TV channels in eight languages, as well as the popular Hotstar streaming service. Disney also would gain global rights to professional cricket.
"It is an amazing opportunity to get into the best developing market in the world," MoffettNathanson analyst Michael Nathanson said, "but it is highly competitive."
Netflix Inc. has been offering its streaming service in India for nearly two years, and Amazon.com Inc.'s Prime Video has been courting customers there for one year.
Global expansion is important to Disney because its largest United Statea network, ESPN, has been losing subscribers as audiences migrate from traditional television to digital viewing.
India represents the second-largest subscription TV market in Asia, with 154 million households in 2016, according to consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers, which projected that number will grow to 167 million in 2021.
Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Fox declined to comment.

Reuters/New York

Mourinho Defiant, Guardiola Sorry For Derby Ruck

Jose Mourinho has dismissed claims his Manchester United players were in the wrong during the chaotic post-match confrontation that overshadowed Sunday's Manchester derby at Old Trafford.
England's Football Association is investigating claims around 15 people were involved in a physical altercation after Mourinho complained about the volume of Manchester City's dressing-room celebrations.
Mourinho had a carton of milk thrown at him before a melee ensued involving players and staff in which City coach Mikel Arteta was left with a cut below his eye after being hit by a plastic bottle.
Asked about reports the bottle that hit Arteta was thrown by United striker Romelo Lukaku, Mourinho said: "Accuse? Prove? Show evidence and punish him."
City manager Pep Guardiola, whose side won the game 2-1, has also defended his players, altough he has offered an apology to United.
Some City staff have claimed one of their physiotherapist was punched during the ruck, which took place in a corridor leading away from the tunnel, but United have denied their players threw punches.
Mourinho said he was certain his players had not done anything untoward.
"I know," said the United manager. "I am not confident: I know."
When a reporter asked Mourinho if he feared punishment over the brawl, he responded: "I think your work for another club and not for the press."
The FA has given both clubs until 6 p.m. local time on Wednesday to offer their accounts of what happened and will then decide whether to act.
Mourinho has a history of passionate celebrationa himself.
He ran down the touchline at Old Trafford to celebrate after his Porto side knocked United out of the Champions League in 2004.
He also raced onto the Camp Nou pitch with his arm raised in the air when his Inter Milan team defeated Barcelona - in a 2010 Champions League semi-final.
But Mourinho says his current side are much more restrained, pointing to the way celebrated their recent 3-1 win at Arsenal.
"What we did in the Arsenal stadium, you know? It was completely diverse (different)," he aaid.
"What we did, what happenend after that match, the way we behaved as winners."
Guardiola had earlier admitted he "encouraged" his players to celebrate, but denied their behavior was provocative.

Timothy Abraham
Agence France-Presse/Manchester

Chelsea Gives Conte Cheer, Burnley Go Fourth

Chelsea responded perfectly to head coach Antonio Conte's claim their Premier League title hopes are over with a convincing 3-1 win at Huddersfield Town on Tuesday.
Tiemoue Bakayoko opened the scoring midway through the first half with with a deft clipped finish, offering an answer to supporters who have criticized him for a series of poor performances following his July move from Monaco.
Willian headed in a second goal shortly before half-time and Pedro made it three to leave Chelsea level on points with second-place Manchester United, who host Bournemouth on Wednesday.
"A good win," Conte told BT Sport. "From the start we played good football."
Upwardly mobile Burnley are one place below Chelsea in fourth after edging Stoke City 1-0, while Crystal Palace hauled themselves off the foot of the table with two late goals in a dramatic 2-1 defeat of Watford.
Conte, who has cut an increasingly grumpy figure this season, said after Chelsea's surprise 1-0 defeat at West Ham United that his side had no chance of catching leader's Manchester City in the title race.
For Chelsea's fourth game of nine in a packed December, Conte was without his 10-goal top scorer Alvaro Morata because of a bad back, but Eden Hazard shone as a false nine and was ably supported by Willian and Pedro.
"I have decided for this solution," said the Chelsea manager.
"It's not the first time to play with these type of players - Hazard, Willian, Pedro. I think they are very good technically. They are very fast. They played very well."
The visitora thought they had made the breakthrough in the sixth minute, but Pedro was just offside as he ran clear to slot in Willian's pass.
But Chelsea made their superiority count as they took the lead midway through the first half.
Goalkeeper Jonas Lossl slipped as he cleared the ball and Victor Moses's header was touched on stylishly by Hazard to Willian.
The Brazilian fed pass left for Bakayoko to chip over the advancing goalkeeper and into the net despite Chris Lowe's attempt to clear off the line.
Stand-in captain Cesar Azpilicueta's long diagonal pass from inside his own half found Marcos Alonso in space on the left and he had time to cross for Willian to bounce in a header at the far post.
A third Chelsea goal took less than five minutes at the second half to arrive and again it cam from an Alonso cross.
Willian held off Mathias Jorgensen and tees up Pedro to hammer into the top-right corner feom 18 yards.
Huddersfield, who stay 12th, claimed a stoppage-time consolation when Lauren Depoitre glanced a header into the net from fellow substitute Florent Hadergjonaj's left-wing cross.
Burnley provisionally climbed to the dizzy heights of fourth place after Ashley Barnes drilled home in the 89 minute to snatch a gritty win over Stoke at Turf Moor.
The modest Lancashire club climb above Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, all of whom are in action on Wednesday.
"Football is about realities, but also about dreams," Burnley manager Sean Dyche told BBC Tadio 5 Live.

Mike Whalley
Agence Ftance-Presse/Hudderafield, UK

Scolari Back In The Game For Clubs Or Countries

Three-and-a-half years after watching his Bazil side suffer the most embarrassing result in their history, coach Luiz Felipe Scolari is itching for a new challenge, and the World Cup or English Premier League are among his preferred destinations.
The former Brazil, Portugal and Chelsea coach has just ended a two-and-a-half year stint in China with Guangzhou Evergrande.
The 69-year old told Reuters he has been sounded out this year about jobs with Chile, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, but it is the vacant Australia position that currently interests him.
"I am one of the names they spoke with (...) to see if I was interested in taking them to the World Cup," Scolari told Reuters in an exclusive interview on Tuesday.
"They can probably hire someone in February? So if they are interested they will call my agent and we'll discuss it."
"But I don't intend in just taking a team to the World Cup," he added. "I intend on leading a team with an organized project for one or two yeara: But I am interested."
The Socceroos have been without a coach since Ange Postecoglou resigned after getting them past Honduras in an intercontinental playoff for Russia last month.
They were then drawn in Group C against France, Peru and Denmark.
Scolari, who is back in Brazil to resolve personal issues over the Christmast period, wants to get back into management after a succesful spell in China, where he took Guangzhou Evergrande to three consecutive league titles, beating managers such as Sven Goran Eriksson, Manuel Pellegrini and Andre Villas-Boas in the process.
He is open to offers from clubs sides, and would particularly like another crack at the Premier League, eight years after his spell at Chelsea was aborted only 7 months into the job.
But his most solid offers so far have come from national teams.
Scolari told Reuters he rebuffed advances from at least four countries this year, but none of them were going to the World Cup and he refused to discuss any deal while still employed in China.
"I had an offer from Saudi Arabia," he said. "I had an invite from Chile just recently. The Asian countries, such as United Arab Emirates, Qatar, sounded me out but I was under contract.
"I waited for the right moment to say, OK, now I don't have a contract and I am receptive to invites and we'll look at them and we see what might happen."
Known by everyone in Brazil as Felipao, or Big Phil, Scolari has enjoyed a long and colorful ccareer in management with both clubs and countries.
He has coached in Brazil, England, Uzbekistan, Kuwait and China, and he took Portugal to the finals of the 2004 European Championship and semi-finals of the 2006 World Cup.
But he will be most remembered for the highs and lows with Brazil.
A Scolari-led team featuring Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and Roberto Carlos won the World Cup in Japan in 2002, giving Brazil a record fifth world title.
But a return to the helm 10 years later was less successful. After winning the Confederations Cup in 2013, they were favorites to lift a sixth title on home soil a year later.
However, they were demolished 7-1 by Germany in the semifinals in what was the most embarrassing defeat in their history.
That result will never go away but Scolari - who sits behind only German coach Helmut Schoen in terms of total World Cup victories - is determined to look forward, not back.
"We wanted to win the World Cup at home," he said, obviously weary at still having to discuss that result.

Andrew Downie
Reuters/Sao Paulo

Cardona Banned For Wrong Gesture

Colombian international Edwin Cardona was handed a five-match ban by FIFA on Tuesday after being found to have mad a "discriminatory" gesture during a friendly against South Korea last month.
Cardona was caught on camera appearing to make a slant-eyes gesture during a minor scuffle between the two sides in the second-half of the game at the Suwon World Cup stadium.
FIFA also fined the Boca Juniors attacking midfielder 20,000 Swiss francs (US$20,173), with his suspension to be served in Colombia's upcoming friendly matches.
After the match on November 10, South Korea captain, Swansea City midfielder Ki Sung-yeung, slammed Cardona's actions, saying "racist behaviour is absolutely unacceptable."
Colombia currently only have one friendly scheduled before next year's World Cup, against France in March, but will likely play five times before the finals start, which would allow Cardona to feature in their opening Group H game against Japan in Russia on June 19.

AFP/Paris

Pochettino Mulls Tunnel After Brawl

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has joked the see-through tunnel at his club's new stadium might need to be covered up following the fracas that marred Sunday's Manchester derby.
England's Football Association is investigating reports of a mass brawl that erupted in a corridor leading awa from the Old Traffford tunnel following Manchester City's 2-1 win at Manchester United.
Spur's new stadium in north London, due to open next season, will have a transparent tunnel wall allowing fans to watch the players before and after games, similiar to the 'Tunnel Club' at City's Etihad Stadium.
"The tunnel is with glass, big glass, like the bank glass, very safe," a smiling Pochettino told a press conference on Tuesday ahead of his side's home game with Brighton and Hove Albion on Wednesday.
"But now, yes, City and Tottenham, both maybe (have to) paint it black. Or at half-time, curtains - before the game, open, half-time, closed.
"Or if not you must pay double if you want to open them!"

AFP/London