Gourcuff: Algeria coach Christian Gourcuff resigned yesterday, days after positive results in a pair of African Nations Cup qualifiers put the north African country on the cusp of going into next year’s finals in Gabon. Algeria beat Ethiopia 7-1 at home on March 25 and then came back three times to draw 3-3 in Addis Ababa against the same opponents last Tuesday.

Schaaf: Bundesliga basement side Hanover 96 fired coach Thomas Schaaf after three months in charge yesterday. The decision came the day after a 3-0 home defeat by Hamburg SV, their 10th loss in 11 games since Schaaf took over, left them 10 points adrift at the bottom of the table.

Ajax win: Ajax returned to the top of the Dutch league after a comfortable 3-0 home victory over PEC Zwolle yesterday. There were emotional scenes at the Amsterdam Arena ahead of the game as Johan Cruyff, who died of cancer aged 68 on March 24, was remembered with giant replicas of his Ajax, Barcelona and Netherlands national team jerseys laid out on the pitch.

Violence: A bystander was killed in Sao Paulo after being hit in the chest by a bullet fired as Palmeiras and Corinthians fans battled ahead of their derby game. Police said at least three people were arrested but could not say who fired the shot that killed the unidentified man.

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