LEICESTER, ENGLAND (REUTERS) - Leicester City beat Legia Warsaw 3-1 on Thursday (Nov 25) to leap from bottom to top of Europa League Group C and keep alive their hopes of reaching the knockout stages. The Premier League side have eight points from five games, one more than Spartak Moscow and Napoli and two ahead of Legia, with all four teams still in contention to advance ahead of the last round of games. Napoli, beaten 2-1 at Spartak on Wednesday, host Leicester while the Russian side visit Legia on Dec 9. Patson Daka fired Leicester ahead in the 10th minute with a clinical finish and James Maddison made it 2-0 with a superb shot on the turn before Filip Mladenovic pulled one back for Legia. Mladenovic swept in a rebound after Kasper Schmeichel saved Mahir Emreli's penalty but Wilfred Ndidi, who gave away the spot-kick, made amends with a towering header from Maddison's corner in the 33rd minute. Rangers advanced to the knockout stages from Group A with a match to spare after Alfredo Morelos scored twice to secure a 2-0 home win over Sparta Prague, as they joined runaway group leaders Olympique Lyonnais in advancing. The Colombian striker opened the scoring in the 15th minute and added the second in the 49th with a header into an empty net as he intercepted a poor pass by Sparta defender Filip Panak across his own area. Lyon stayed top after two goals from Rayan Cherki and another by Islam Slimani gave them a 3-1 win at Danish side Brondby. Monaco advanced from Group B with a 2-1 home victory over Real Sociedad as goals from Kevin Volland and Youssouf Fofana cancelled out Alexander Isak's effort for the visitors. Vinicius and Bruma scored for PSV Eindhoven in a 2-0 win over visiting Sturm Graz and the Dutch side need a draw in their final group match at Sociedad to progress. Late substitute Tiquinho Soares scored a 90th-minute winner for Olympiakos to sink Fenerbahce 1-0 in Group D and send the Greek side through along with Eintracht Frankfurt, who stayed top after a 2-2 home draw against Antwerp.
PODGORICA (REUTERS) - Two late goals from Montenegro denied the Netherlands the chance to book a berth at next year's World Cup finals with a match to spare, with their 2-2 draw on Saturday (Nov 13) leaving the outcome of Group G in the balance. The Dutch were eight minutes away from moving into an unassailable lead in the group, but goals from Ilija Vukotic in the 82nd minute and Nikola Vujnovic four minutes later meant the Netherlands must now wait for Tuesday's last home game against Norway in Rotterdam to book their place in Qatar. They had been coasting at 2-0 after a double from Memphis Depay as they looked to banish the bitter memories of missing out on the last World Cup in Russia. Yet their hopes of celebrating with a game to spare, after closest challengers Norway drew earlier on Saturday, were spoilt by an exciting home comeback. The Dutch remain two points ahead of the other teams in the group after Norway were held to a goalless draw at home by Latvia while Turkey beat Gibraltar 6-0. The Netherlands are on 20 points with Norway and Turkey on 18. The Dutch benefited from a generous refereeing decision to hand them a first half penalty when Davy Klaassen tumbled to the ground under a challenge from Marko Jankovic on the edge of the penalty box. The referee's decision, however, was confirmed by VAR but still looked harsh on the home team. Depay tucked away the 25th minute spotkick for his 36th goal in 75 appearances for his country. His second, in the 54th minute, was a much more impressive strike, flicking the ball in with his back heel from a Denzel Dumfries cross, taking Depay's tally in these World Cup qualifiers to 11. But Montenegro made matters uncomfortable for the Dutch when they pulled a goal back with eight minutes remaining. A swift counter attack saw Milutin Osmajic set up Ilija Vukotic, who rounded Dutch goalkeeper Justin Bijlow to score. Then Vujnovic headed home the equaliser as a nervy Dutch defence were breached again. There might have been a dramatic winner as the hosts pushed forward in search of an unlikely victory, but it was not to be. More on this topic Related Story Football: Mbappe shines as France thump Kazakhstan 8-0 to qualify for World Cup finals Related Story Football: Belgium reach World Cup finals with win over Estonia
WOLFSBURG, GERMANY (REUTERS) - A makeshift Germany team crushed Liechtenstein 9-0 in a World Cup qualifier on Thursday (Nov 11) as Hansi Flick recorded the best ever start for a Germany coach with his sixth win in six games in charge. With five players sidelined due to defender Niklas Suele's Covid-19 infection, coach Flick had to make sweeping changes to his lineup. But the already-qualified Germans eased past Liechtenstein, who were down to 10 men after 11 minutes, with two goals each from Thomas Mueller and Leroy Sane to top Group J with 24 points, nine ahead of second-placed North Macedonia. The hosts went ahead with an 11th-minute Ilkay Gundogan penalty after Jens Hofer was sent off for kicking Leon Goretzka with a high challenge in the face. It got worse for the visitors who conceded three goals in three minutes, starting with Daniel Kaufmann stabbing in for an own goal in the 20th. Leroy Sane made it 3-0, slotting in from a perfectly timed Goretzka pass and Marco Reus added another. With Flick's predecessor Joachim Loew, who received an official farewell before the game, watching from the stands Germany struck again four minutes after the restart with Sane before late goals from Mueller and Ridle Baku. Mueller bagged his second in the 86th before another own goal by Liechtenstein, this time from Max Goeppel, ended their miserable evening. Germany play Armenia on Sunday.
ANDORRA LA VELLA, ANDORRA (AFP) - Jack Grealish and Ben Chilwell scored their first England goals as the Group I leaders moved closer to World Cup qualification with a 5-0 rout of Andorra on Saturday (Oct 9). Chilwell put Gareth Southgate's side ahead in the early stages before Bukayo Saka doubled the lead at the Estadi Nacional. Tammy Abraham bagged his first England goal for two years after the interval and James Ward-Prowse claimed the fourth. Grealish, in his first season with Manchester City after his club record move from Aston Villa, came off the bench to join Chilwell with his maiden England goal in the closing stages. England are four points clear at the top of the group and need two wins from their last three games to make sure of automatic qualification for the World Cup. They have a home game against Hungary on Tuesday before hosting Albania and travelling to San Marino in November. The Euro 2020 runners-up should have no problems emerging from that undemanding schedule with a place at next year's tournament in Qatar. With Phil Foden and Jadon Sancho delivering influential displays for England, this was a walk in the park for the visitors. The Estadi Nacional's VAR monitor and a small section of the artificial pitch were damaged in a fire which tore through the stadium's television gantry on Friday. Southgate's bench was on that side of the pitch, but there was never any danger of the England boss being put on the hot seat by the team from a tiny principality located in the mountains of the Pyrenees. Andorra, ranked 156 in the world, were intent only on keeping the score down, but their resistance soon went up in smoke. Foden shines Southgate made 10 alterations from the draw against Poland in England's previous qualifier as Roma striker Abraham made his first international start for four years. Chilwell was one of Southgate's changes and the Chelsea left-back headed narrowly wide before giving England the lead in the 17th minute. Sancho made a clever run on Foden's chipped pass before flicking the ball into Chilwell's path for defender to slot into the empty net. Initially, Chilwell thought his first England goal would be ruled out for offside, but Ukrainian Kateryna Monzul - the first woman to referee an England men's match - reversed the decision after a VAR check. Sancho is yet to score a goal or provide an assist for Manchester United since his move from Borussia Dortmund in the close-season. Taking on Andorra's part-timers was an ideal confidence boost for Sancho and his pin-point cross reached Abraham for a header that was well saved. England had around 90 percent of the possession and it was Manchester City midfielder Foden who was at the heart of their more incisive moments. Foden was the catalyst for England's second goal in the 40th minute when his superb no-look pass found Saka and the Arsenal winger fired home at the near post. Abraham has scored four goals since leaving Chelsea in August and he maintained that strong form in the 59th minute. Sancho whipped in a cross from the left and Abraham stuck out a leg to prod home from close-range. Ward-Prowse grabbed England's fourth in the 79th minute after Chus Rubio conceded a penalty with his foul on Grealish. The Southampton midfielder's spot-kick was saved by Josep Gomes but he recovered quickly to slam in the rebound. With Andorra exhausted, Grealish was able to run onto goalkeeper Sam Johnstone's long throw and slot in from 10 yards in the 86th minute.
LONDON (REUTERS) - West Ham United made it two wins out of two in the Europa League after goals by Declan Rice and Said Benrahma secured a 2-0 home victory over Rapid Vienna while Leicester City suffered a 1-0 defeat at Legia Warsaw on Thursday (Sept 30). Italian league leaders Napoli crashed to a shock 3-2 home loss to Spartak Moscow and 1967 European Cup winners Celtic were humbled 4-0 at home by Bayer Leverkusen. Olympique Marseille's home game with Galatasaray, which ended in a 0-0 draw, was marred by crowd trouble with play held up for eight minutes in the first half after rival fans hurled fireworks at each other. West Ham twice hit the woodwork before England midfielder Rice turned in Michail Antonio's cross in the 29th minute and Benrahma sealed the win in stoppage time with a crisp low shot. The result put the Hammers top of Group H on six points, three ahead of Dinamo Zagreb who thrashed Genk 3-0 away helped by two goals from striker Bruno Petkovic. Legia emerged as the surprise Group C leaders on six points after Mahir Emreli's goal sunk Leicester. Spartak, second on three points, fought back having fallen behind after 11 seconds when a sloppy error by goalkeeper Aleksandr Maksimenko allowed Eljif Elmas to fire Napoli ahead. The home side had defender Mario Rui sent off in the 30th minute for a rash tackle and Spartak turned the match round thanks to two goals from Quincy Promes and another by Mikhail Ignatov. Victor Osimhen pulled one back for Napoli in stoppage time, too late to spare Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti his first defeat in all competitions after taking over in May. Leicester and Napoli have one point each from their opening two games. Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky produced a string of superb saves against Celtic in Group G and the hosts were punished by clinical finishing at the other end. Piero Hincapie fired the visitors ahead in the 25th minute and Florian Wirtz doubled the lead with a neat finish before Lucas Alario's penalty and Amine Adli completed the rout. More on this topic Related Story Football: England's Rice dedicated to West Ham, targets Europa glory Real Betis also celebrated their second successive win as they beat Ferencvaros 3-1 in Budapest to stay level with Leverkusen on six points. Rangers completed a poor night for Scottish clubs as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat at Sparta Prague in Group A, with Lyon keeping pole position after a Karl Toko Ekambi brace helped them to a 3-0 victory over Brondby. Marseille and Galatasaray both missed chances in an ill-tempered Group E match, and Lazio beat Lokomotiv Moscow 2-0 thanks to first-half goals from Toma Basic and Spanish defender Patric.
PRISTINA (REUTERS) - Goals from Pablo Fornals and Ferran Torres earned Spain a 2-0 victory away to Kosovo in World Cup qualifying Group B on Wednesday (Sept 8) and dragged them back into automatic qualification contention. Fornals produced a fine near-post finish from the angle on 32 minutes after smart build-up play from Carlos Soler and Alvaro Morata. Spain dominated the ball for large swathes of the game, but were almost undone on numerous occasions as their high defensive line was exploited by the hosts. They were indebted to profligate finishing, in particular from Vedat Muriqi, who ran clear on goal but put his shot wide of Unai Simon's left-hand post. Simon then almost gifted the hosts an equaliser as he raced out of his box to meet a long ball over the top, only to get in a muddle with Inigo Martinez. The Athletic Bilbao stopper was just able to scramble back and stop Florian Loshaj's goalbound effort to keep Spain ahead. It proved a crucial save as Torres went on to seal the win in the 90th minute from a counter-attack. After initially being flagged offside, the goal was awarded following a VAR check. "It was a tough fought game right until the end," defender Aymeric Laporte said. "Getting that second at the end was liberating in difficult conditions. The pitch was a tricky to play our football on. "They've got their own weapons, and some quick forwards, but the important thing is we got the result. We need to win all our remaining games if we want to top the group." More on this topic Related Story Football: Sane inspires Germany to big win over Iceland Related Story Football: Italy return to winning ways with rout of Lithuania Luis Enrique's side moved clear at the top of the group on 13 points from six games, four ahead of Sweden who have played two matches fewer. Greece defeated Sweden 2-1 on Wednesday to move into third place on six points. More on this topic Related Story Football: Italy return to winning ways with rout of Lithuania Related Story Football: Poland strike late to end England's perfect record
MANCHESTER, UNITED KINGDOM (AFP) - Pep Guardiola believes Jack Grealish can match the goalscoring feats of Raheem Sterling at Manchester City if he works on developing the same instinct to get into the box. Grealish scored his first goal for the English champions since his Premier League record £100 million (S$180 million) move from Aston Villa in a 5-0 thrashing of Norwich on Saturday (Aug 21). Sterling came off the bench to also get his first goal of the season and Guardiola believes Grealish can learn from his club and international teammate, whose game has been transformed under the Catalan coach. "If he gets the mentality to score goals like Raheem, he can score more," said Guardiola. "When Raheem was here when I first arrived he didn't have goals in his mind and we immediately changed his arrival. "Today, he scored because he arrives in the centre, he's a machine there. He changed his mind and decided he was going to score. "Jack has this mentality to score goals and win games as well, but if he has the Raheem mentality then he can do it too." Aymeric Laporte and Riyad Mahrez were also on the scoresheet as City made light of playing without a recognised centre-forward. Grealish's record as the most expensive English player in history could last a matter of weeks if Tottenham finally accept City's advances for Harry Kane before the end of the month. More on this topic Related Story Football: Grealish bags first City goal as champs crush Norwich, while Liverpool beat Burnley Related Story Football: Man City sign playmaker Grealish from Villa in record £100 million deal However, Gabriel Jesus took his chance to shine with a man-of-the-match performance in an unfamiliar role on the right side of the City attack. The Brazilian set up three goals and earned fulsome praise from Guardiola. "One of the reasons why I'm a manager is when you can work with people and humans like Gabriel," added the City boss. "He never complains, he plays five minutes, he plays the best five minutes he can do. "He's happy on left, right or centre and today the connection with Kyle (Walker) was exceptional. "He was involved in three of our goals and is an incredibly important player for us. He made an exceptional performance today."
COPENHAGEN (REUTERS) - Spain held off a remarkable Croatian fightback to win 5-3 in a pulsating Euro 2020 last 16 knockout match on Monday (June 28) thanks to goals from Alvaro Morata and Mikel Oyarzabal in extra time. The three-times European champions will now face either France or Switzerland on July 2 in St. Petersburg Spain and Croatia were drawing 3-3 after normal time, with the goals starting when goalkeeper Unai Simon failed disastrously to control a simple back-pass to give Croatia a shock 1-0 lead. Spain looked like they had made amends with goals from Pablo Sarabia, Cesar Azpilicueta and Ferran Torres to go 3-1 up, until Mislav Orsic scored in the 85th minute and Mario Pasalic netted two minutes into stoppage time to level for Croatia. Spain's goals in extra time came after Simon had made a point blank save to stop Croatia taking the lead. More on this topic Related Story Football: Spain put five past Slovakia to book Croatia showdown in Euro 2020 Related Story Spain determined not to fizzle out
MILAN (AFP) - Cristiano Ronaldo made more history on Sunday (May 23) becoming the first player to finish the season as top scorer in three major leagues - England, Spain, and Italy. The 36-year-old scored 29 goals this campaign, five more than second-placed Belgian Romelu Lukaku for champions Inter Milan. The Portuguese striker was top scorer in England with Manchester United in 2008, and three times in Spain with Real Madird, 2011, 2014 and 2015. But it is the first time in three seasons the former five-time Ballon d'Or winner has scored the most goals. Ronaldo scored 21 goals in his first season after joining in 2018 and 31 last campaign when he finished behind Lazio's Ciro Immobile's 36. In all competitions, he has now scored 101 goals for Juventus. On Sunday, he stayed on the bench in Juve's final league game a 4-1 win over Bologna which secured a top-four finish and Champions League football next season. "It was a shared choice, Ronaldo was tired after (playing in the Coppa Italia final) Wednesday," said coach Andrea Pirlo. There has been speculation about Ronaldo's future with the club if they failed to reach the Champions League for the first time since 2012, after their nine-year league reign ended this campaign.
BELGRADE (REUTERS) - Serbia striker Aleksandar Mitrovic became his country's all-time top scorer on 39 goals from 63 international appearances after he netted in a 2-2 home draw with Portugal in a thrilling 2022 World Cup Group A qualifier on Saturday (March 27). The Serbians fought back from two goals down to earn a share of the spoils as Fulham striker Mitrovic pulled one back in the 46th minute and Filip Kostic levelled after a Diogo Jota double had given Portugal a 2-0 lead in the first half. Liverpool forward Jota fired the European champions ahead with an 11th-minute header from a superb Bernardo Silva assist and added another in the 36th as he glanced a Cedric Soares cross from the right. But Serbia roared back at their Rajko Mitic stadium and halftime substitute Nemanja Radonjic, who engineered both their goals, gave his markers a roasting after the break and also drew a fine save from Portugal goalkeeper Anthony Lopes. Serbia defender Nikola Milenkovic was sent off in stoppage time, having been shown a straight red card for a reckless challenge on an opponent and Cristiano Ronaldo had a seemingly good goal denied seconds later. Ronaldo beat Serbia keeper Marko Dmitrovic to a long ball and side-footed it towards goal only for Stefan Mitrovic to clear it but television replays suggested it had crossed the line. The result left both sides on four points from two games as Serbia edged Ireland 3-2 at home in their opening game on Wednesday while Portugal eked out a 1-0 win over Azerbaijan. The outcome also made for a bittersweet milestone for Portugal coach Fernando Santos, who reached a rare milestone of 1,000 games as head coach at club and international level combined in his 33-year long career in the dugout. More on this topic Related Story Football: Lukaku on target as Belgium draw with Czech Republic
DUISBURG, Germany/PARMA, Italy (REUTERS) - Germany made light work of their start to the 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign after goals from Leon Goretzka, Kai Havertz and Ilkay Gundogan gave them a 3-0 home win over Iceland in a lopsided Group J clash on Thursday (March 25). Goretzka and Havertz fired the Germans into a 2-0 lead inside the opening seven minutes before Gundogan sealed victory with a sizzling low shot from 25 metres in the 56th. The match went ahead after two German players, Jonas Hofmann and Marcel Halstenberg, were quarantined earlier on Thursday as Hofmann tested positive for Covid-19 and Halstenberg was identified as a category one contact. Germany took the lead after a delightful move as Joshua Kimmich found Serge Gnabry in the penalty area with a perfectly weighed pass and the latter touched it back for Goretzka to volley home in the third minute. Havertz made it 2-0 after another defence-splitting pass from Kimmich released Leroy Sane who squared it back for the Chelsea forward to curl in a low first-time shot from 12 metres. The home side took their feet off the pedal after Gundogan's strike but could have added the fourth as Gnabry hit the post with a rasping shot in the 70th minute. Meanwhile, Italy made a comfortable start to the 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign by beating Northern Ireland 2-0 in Group C on Thursday. Two goals inside the first 39 minutes from Domenico Berardi and Ciro Immobile settled Italy's nerves as they look to banish the disappointment of failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. Northern Ireland rallied in the second half, forcing Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma into several saves, but the damage was done in the opening period, with the hosts taking their foot off the gas and seeing out the win with ease. Up next for Roberto Mancini's Italy side are two away games against Bulgaria on Sunday and Lithuania next week, while Northern Ireland face the United States in a friendly at the weekend before hosting the Bulgarians the following Wednesday. More on this topic Related Story Football: Ward-Prowse, Watkins score first England goals in San Marino rout Related Story Football: Spain frustrated by Greece in opening 1-1 draw
PARIS (AFP) - Arsenal reached the Europa League quarter-finals despite suffering a 1-0 loss to Olympiakos in the second leg on Thursday (March 18), while Mislav Orsic scored a brilliant hat-trick as Dinamo Zagreb knocked out Tottenham Hotspur after extra time. Youssef El-Arabi's deflected second-half strike earned Olympiakos another victory at the Emirates but Arsenal advanced 3-2 on aggregate, avenging their exit to the Greeks on away goals last season. Jose Mourinho's Spurs held a two-goal lead following last week's first leg in London, but Orsic netted twice in the final half-hour as Croatian champions Dinamo levelled the tie at home. Dinamo coach Zoran Mamic resigned this week after being sentenced to four years and eight months in jail for multi-million euro fraud involving Luka Modric's move to Tottenham and other transfers. However, Orsic curled in a marvellous shot from the corner of the area to give Dinamo the lead on 62 minutes and then capped off a fine team move with a thumping finish to send the match to extra time. Orsic completed his treble in style as he ran past three players and hammered a low drive beyond Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris from the edge of area on 106 minutes. Harry Kane nearly snatched a late goal that would have put Spurs through on away goals but his effort was clawed out by Dinamo goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic. Spanish side Granada extended their debut run in European competition, going through 3-2 overall, despite a 2-1 loss to Norway's Molde in Budapest. Roma also progressed as a 2-1 victory courtesy of two goals from Real Madrid loanee Borja Mayoral against Shakhtar Donetsk in Kiev wrapped up a 5-1 win on aggregate. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is set to face his former club as AC Milan host Manchester United at the San Siro following a 1-1 draw in England last week. Rangers, meanwhile, are at home to Slavia Prague. Steven Gerrard's side have already been crowned Scottish champions and drew 1-1 in the Czech Republic last week. Four-time European champions Ajax are virtually assured of passage into the next round as they are 3-0 ahead in their tie with Young Boys, while Villarreal hold a two-goal lead over Dynamo Kiev.
MILAN (AFP) - Pele on Sunday (March 14) congratulated Cristiano Ronaldo for 'breaking his record' of goals scored in official matches. Portuguese star Ronaldo hit a hat-trick for Juventus in a 3-1 Serie A win over Cagliari to bring his total to 770 goals. The 36-year-old took to Instagram to tell his 270 million followers he could now claim the record, having matched Pele's 767 on March 2. "I'm filled with joy and pride as I acknowledge the goal that puts me on top of the World's goalscoring list, overcoming Pele's record, something that I could never have dreamed of while growing up as a child from Madeira," Ronaldo wrote. Brazilian great Pele, 80, wrote on Instagram to his 5.8 million followers: "Congratulations on breaking my record of goals in official matches. "I admire you a lot, I love watching you play and this is no secret to anyone. "My only regret is not being able to give you a hug today." "Cristiano life is a solo flight. Each makes his own journey. And what a beautiful journey you are having!" Pele - the only player in history to win three World Cups - has claimed to have scored 1,283 goals in total, including in unofficial matches. Ronaldo's goals include 668 for club sides - five with Sporting Lisbon, 118 for Manchester United, 450 for Real Madrid and 95 for Juventus. He has also scored 120 for Portugal. Some media however put Czech Josef Bican on 805 goals, ahead of both Ronaldo and Pele. Former Brazilian striker Romario also claims to have scored 1,000 career goals including unofficial matches. Other sources attribute 772 to him. More on this topic Related Story Football: 760 up, Cristiano Ronaldo hailed as most prolific goal-scorer Related Story Football: Messi, Cristiano, Ronaldo in attack for Ballon d'Or Dream Team; Pele, Maradona on the wings
LONDON (REUTERS) - Two goals apiece from Harry Kane and Gareth Bale helped a resurgent Tottenham Hotspur to beat Crystal Palace 4-1 and move into sixth spot in the Premier League on Sunday (March 7). The on-loan Bale provided more evidence that he has rediscovered his spark with Tottenham's first and second goals either side of Christian Benteke's equaliser on the stroke of halftime. But he was outshone by the magnificent Kane who ended with two goals and two assists. Kane's first goal, which put Tottenham 3-1 ahead shortly after halftime, was a sublime curler from distance and his second was a tap-in before he was substituted. Tottenham's third successive league win lifted them above Liverpool and West Ham with 45 points from 27 games, two points behind fourth-placed Chelsea who play Everton on Monday. Palace's first defeat in four games left them in 13th place with 34 points from 28 games, eight points above third-from-bottom Fulham.
Zheng Zhou, Jan 19, 2021 - (ACN Newswire) - The Fourth Session of the 13th People's Congress of Henan Province and the Fourth Session of the 12th Henan Provincial CPPCC (hereinafter referred to as the "Henan Two Sessions") opened in Zhengzhou on January 18 and January 17, 2021, respectively. At the meeting, the "14th Five-Year Plan" and long-term goals for 2035 were put forward, in which the implementation of rural construction activities was placed in an important position. The government work report mentioned that in 2021, the upgrade of rural infrastructure will be accelerated, the implementation of the "gasification village" project will be accelerated, and 2 million rural natural gas users will be added. As a pioneer and important participant in the gasification of rural areas in Henan Province, China Tianlun Gas Holdings Co., Ltd. (1600.HK, hereinafter referred to as "Tianlun Gas" or "Company") will benefit from this policy.According to reports from Henan Dahe Finance Cube,in Henan, Tianlun Gas is the pioneer and leader of rural gas construction. In July 2018, Yuzi Holding and Tianlun Gas jointly established Henan Yutian New Energy Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Yutian New Energy), and jointly established Henan Yuzi Tianlun New Energy Investment Fund with a total scale of 50 billion yuan. Used to invest in rural gasification projects and natural gas upstream and downstream industrial chains in Henan Province.Nowadays, Tian Lun Gas is making efforts in the upstream and downstream industries of gasification villages at the same time. It plans to provide multi-level products by extending the industrial chain and actively integrate into the domestic cycle. As the director of Tianlun Group, Zhang Daoyuan, also a member of the Provincial Committee of the CPPCC, said that the province's gasification and rural construction should be promoted in five levels: the province's overall planning, clarification of competent departments, improvement of organizational structures and implementation systems, strengthening of funds and gas sources, and innovation of gas franchise rights.At the Henan two sessions, the "Fourteenth Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of Henan Province and the Outline of Long-term Goals for 2035 (Draft)" was put forward. The draft predicts that during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the average annual growth rate of Henan Province's main economic indicators will be higher than the national average with an average annual growth rate of about 6% and the urbanization rate of the permanent population will exceed 60%. The main expected goals for economic and social development this year are GDP growth by more than 7%, industrial added value above designated size by about 7%, and fixed asset investment by 6%. The urbanization rate of the permanent population will increase by about 1.3%, and the energy consumption per 10,000 yuan of GDP will be reduced by about 3%. (Source: The "Fourteenth Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of Henan Province and the Outline of Long-term Goals for 2035 (Draft)")In addition to economic goals, the draft also emphasizes ecological construction and rural construction-related work. The draft put forward to implement the concept of green development, continue to improve environmental quality, strengthen precise prevention and control of air pollution, basically eliminate heavily polluted weather, actively practice green development methods, in-depth adjustment and optimization of industrial structure, energy structure, transportation structure, land use structure and agricultural investment structure, and continue to reduce the intensity of carbon emissions and reduce the proportion of coal in total energy consumption by about 5 percentage points. Among the eight key tasks to be done this year, promoting rural revitalization, accelerating agricultural and rural modernization were specially strengthened. Accelerate the implementation of the "Gasification Village" project, add 2 million rural natural gas users, optimize and upgrade rural infrastructures such as water, electricity, roads, communications, radio and television, and logistics, and improve the level of rural public services. In 2020, Henan will comprehensively improve the living environment in rural areas. Pipeline natural gas will enter more than 1.2 million villages while vigorously promoting energy conservation and carbon reduction. Promote clean production and green transformation in key industries, promote the use of environmentally friendly and energy-saving equipment and products, implement the project of entering enterprises and parks on special railway lines, and launch low-carbon pilot projects in multiple fields to improve the level of green development. (Source: The "Fourteenth Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of Henan Province and the Outline of Long-term Goals for 2035 (Draft)")In the 2035 long-term goal, it is emphasized that in the construction of an ecologically strong province, the ecological environment will be fundamentally improved, and the Yellow River Basin will be the first to achieve a healthy and stable ecosystem, a wide range of green production and lifestyles and a steady decline in carbon emissions after peaking and then realize the modernization of harmonious coexistence between human beings and nature. (Source: The "Fourteenth Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of Henan Province and the Outline of Long-term Goals for 2035 (Draft)") Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.acnnewswire.com
BARCELONA • Lionel Messi beat Pele's record of goals for a single club when he scored his 644th for Barcelona in a 3-0 Spanish La Liga victory over Valladolid on Tuesday. The Argentina skipper scored Barca's third goal when he collected Pedri's back-heel before firing past goalkeeper Jordi Masip in the 65th minute. "When I started playing football I never thought I would break any records. And even less the one I achieved today," Messi posted on Instagram shortly after the game. "I can only thank all those who helped me over the years, my teammates, my family, my friends and all those who support me every day." Messi, who is Barca's record goalscorer, had equalled Pele on Saturday in a 2-2 draw with Valencia, with both players netting at almost an equal rate for their clubs. It was the 33-year-old's 749th competitive match for Barca, meaning he has scored a goal every 1.16 games. The Brazil legend scored 643 goals in 757 matches with Santos, where he played from 1956 to 1974, or one every 1.17 matches. Six-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi - with 10 goals in all competitions and five being penalties - is enduring his worst individual season since 2007-08. However, Barca coach Ronald Koeman is hoping that by switching to an unfamiliar 3-5-2 formation, he can free up his captain in attacking areas. Despite dropping Antoine Griezmann and Philippe Coutinho, the visitors dominated at Valladolid and the Dutchman, whose side also scored via Clement Lenglet and Martin Braithwaite, hopes they can build on the away win, their first in the league since Oct 1. Koeman said: "I see Messi happy. He is working hard, and he is a very important part of our attacking game. "For this game, we changed our formation to give us more security at the back and make the most of the quality of our full-backs. "At the same time, we were able to build plays without any problems, and have lots of possession and players running between the lines. We saw a team that meant business, that showed good concentration, and we created a lot of opportunities." Barca remain eight points behind leaders Atletico Madrid (32), who won 2-0 at third-placed Real Sociedad (26) on Tuesday, and have also played a game more. AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
LONDON • Timo Werner arrived at Chelsea in the summer with a big reputation as one of Europe's hottest strikers. But the former RB Leipzig star has had a slow start to life at Stamford Bridge following his £47.5 million (S$85.2 million) transfer, scoring just four Premier League goals in 14 games. He has also now failed to find the back of the net in his last eight starts. However, after seeing Chelsea beat West Ham 3-0 thanks to a Tammy Abraham double and a Thiago Silva header on Monday, Blues manager Frank Lampard claimed he was not worried. Insisting the German international, who has eight strikes in 21 games for Chelsea in all competitions, will start firing on all cylinders, he said: "That's the period Timo is in, it's unfortunate but he's getting in the positions - when one (goal) goes in it will be a run for him. Every striker will want to be scoring goals, it's what they ultimately get judged on and that's why Timo was a great acquisition for us because of the level of goals he's scored in the last few years. "He's a player in a new league and we have to give him time to settle but he's getting positions regularly, he's scaring teams and giving them a problem... "West Ham are a good team on good form, so many threats, I thought today would be a tough match and it proved to be so, even in the not beautiful moments, we defended superbly - Thiago Silva did brilliantly with that. "We dropped off slightly and it was important tonight we came back." The Blues bounced back from two successive league defeats and closed in on the top four as they moved up to fifth in the standings. They are one point behind fourth-placed Everton and six adrift of champions and leaders Liverpool. But pundits remain concerned, not just about Werner but also the form of another summer signing, compatriot Kai Havertz. The £71 million buy from Bayer Leverkusen has just one goal from 12 Premier League games and did not start against the Hammers. Jamie Carragher told Sky Sports Lampard had made the right decision as he currently has better options in midfield. "Sometimes, players fall into that category where you're not sure they fit in," the former Liverpool defender said. "For me, right now Chelsea look stronger with N'Golo Kante, (Mason) Mount and one other, Mateo Kovacic or Jorginho." REUTERS
LONDON (REUTERS) - Late goals by Callum Wilson and Joelinton earned Newcastle United a 2-0 win at Crystal Palace on Friday (Nov 27) as they got back to winning ways after consecutive Premier League defeats. It looked as though the points would be shared on a chilly night in south-east London but just when Palace were threatening, Steve Bruce's visitors struck. Wilson's neat finish in the 87th minute following a counter-attack gave Newcastle the lead and 100 seconds later they sealed the points when Brazilian Joelinton's shot deflected past keeper Vicente Guaita for his first league goal of the season. Newcastle's win lifted them to 10th in the table on 14 points from 10 games with Palace 13th and a point behind.
LONDON • Maurizio Sarri was in charge the last time Chelsea were in pole position in the Premier League in September 2018. The Blues may not be top after the weekend is over, but Tammy Abraham believes his side are firmly in the title hunt following their 2-0 Premier League away win over Newcastle yesterday. The England forward put the game to bed in the second half after an early own goal by Federico Fernandez set up the victory at St James' Park, provisionally moving them to first in the table. Chelsea had won only once in their previous seven visits to Newcastle but, despite the complaints of an early kick-off - which ruled out Thiago Silva, who arrived back in England from international duty on Thursday - the visitors were seldom troubled. The hosts were not helped by Fernandez's howler - since his debut in 2014, no player has scored more own goals than the Argentinian defender (five). With Magpies' top scorer Callum Wilson, who has netted six of their 10 league goals this season, missing with a hamstring injury, the hosts looked toothless in attack. Chelsea handed Antonio Rudiger his first league start of the campaign in place of Silva and could have scored more than the two goals. The second came as Timo Werner sprinted clear before slipping a pass to Abraham, who calmly finished past Karl Darlow. Sean Longstaff hit the bar from long range late on, but there was to be no comeback, meaning Frank Lampard's side are now unbeaten in nine games in all competitions. With five clean-sheets in their last six matches and a third straight league win, Abraham said it was the perfect way to start a hectic period leading up to Christmas. "It's a fantastic result, we had to dig deep as it's never an easy place to come. It was 1-0 for a very long time, they created a few chances, but so did we and we defended well," he told BT Sport. "We didn't let the international break distract us. We had to come out all guns blazing, we did that. It's a massive three points. AIMING HIGH No pressure (being in the title mix). That's where we want to be. TAMMY ABRAHAM, Chelsea striker, exemplifying the confidence within the squad. The last time the west London club were top of the Premier League was under Maurizio Sarri in September 2018. "These games are always tricky when you can't get that second goal. It's very easy to drop your head and lose confidence, but we didn't do that and kept going. "No pressure (being in the title mix). That's where we want to be, we just need to keep getting the three points and hopefully, we will stay up there." Lampard agreed his side "put the game away with a professional performance" but, with only nine top-flight games played, it was far too early to make any predictions. "We played well, the result is key because the Premier League is tough and relentless. I thought the lads dealt with the challenge today and I'm really pleased," the Blues boss said. "It's pleasing, but I'm not going to get excited about being at the top of the table for five minutes. "We dominated the game, we could have scored more goals. But the lads dealt with it very well. We lost here last year, so it's good progression to come here and get the right result. "We have to think about the big picture and there's improvement and work to be done. We need the squad, we need everybody. "It's a gruelling season and it's good for the team's confidence we got another clean sheet." AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
TURIN, Italy (REUTERS) - An early goal from Ousmane Dembele and a late Lionel Messi penalty gave Barcelona a 2-0 win away to Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday (Oct 28) after Alvaro Morata had three goals disallowed for offside for the Serie A side. Dembele struck with a deflected shot in the 14th minute for a Barcelona side smarting from Saturday's home defeat by Real Madrid and rocked by the resignation of club president Josep Maria Bartomeu on Tuesday. Juventus, still missing Cristiano Ronaldo after he tested positive for Covid-19 two weeks ago, were frustrated as Morata had two goals disallowed in the first half and a third after halftime when VAR showed that his heel was offside. Juve's frustration was complete as defender Merih Demiral was sent off in the 85th minute and Messi settled the match with a stoppage-time penalty to leave Barcelona top of Group G with six points and Juventus on three.