Schalke lose: Schalke 04 handed the Bundesliga title initiative straight back to Bayern Munich yesterday when they suffered a 2-1 defeat at struggling FSV Mainz. Schalke, who beat Bayern 1-0 last week to take over at the top, found the role of front-runners a lot tougher to play and Mainz took the lead within 60 seconds via a Fabian Gerber header. Lincoln pulled Schalke level from the penalty spot in the 70th minute but a Michael Thurk volley nine minutes later earned Mainz a valuable win in their battle to avoid the drop. With eight games left to play, Bayern and Schalke each have 53 points, with Bayern ahead on goal difference. VfB Stuttgart moved back into third place on 48 points with a 1-0 home win over bottom club SC Freiburg.
Adriano: Inter face an anxious wait for tests on their Brazilian striker Adriano who suffered a knee injury in yesterday's Serie A win over Fiorentina. Adriano, who struck a hat-trick in the midweek Champions League win over Porto, was taken off on a stretcher in the 43rd minute of the game which Inter went on to win 3-2. Inter said that the Brazilian had a "suspected light strain to his medial ligament on his right knee". Inter face city rivals Milan in their Champions League, quarter-final, first leg match on April 6.
Petkovic: Serbia and Montenegro coach Ilija Petkovic has called for national unity ahead of the World Cup Group Seven qualifier against Spain in Belgrade on March 30. Serbia lead the group with 10 points from four matches ahead of Spain on eight and a win would put them in a commanding position to qualify for next year's finals in Germany after missing out on the 2002 event. The national anthem, unchanged since the bloody break up of the old Yugoslavia, has recently been jeered by the home crowd but Petkovic said he wanted to concentrate on football. "I am aware of the problem but this is not important. The most important thing is that we score and win," he said.
Petit: Benfica midfielder Armando Petit will miss Portugal's friendly against Canada this week and their World Cup qualifier against Slovakia on March 30 after sustaining a rib injury on Saturday. The 28-year-old suffered the injury just three minutes into Benfica's 2-0 over Vitoria Setubal on Saturday and could be out for up to two weeks, Benfica coach Giovanni Trapattoni said. The victory gave Benfica a six-point lead at the top of the Premier League table from 26 matches with Boavista second on 45.
In Spain: Weekend results - Deportivo vs Barcelona 0-1; Espanyol vs R. Sociedad 2-2; Real Betis vs Albacete 2-1; A. Bilbao vs Levante 3-1; Numancia vs R. Santander 2-3; Real Madrid vs Malaga 1-0; Real Mallorca vs Sevilla 0-1; Valencia vs Getafe 3-1. Leading standings - Barcelona 68; Real Madrid 57; Real Betis 48; Villarreal 47; Valencia, Espanyol, Sevilla 46; A. Madrid, Deportivo 42; A. Bilbao 41.
UEFA cup: Last 16 (second leg) Villarreal vs S. Bucharest 2-0 (agg: 2-0).
In France: Ligue 1 - Paris SG vs Auxerre 1-0; St Etienne vs Lille 0-0.
¤ The International Cricket Council (ICC) could prune the number of teams in the Champions Trophy to eight to raise the level of competition, its president Ehsan Mani said yesterday. "We are looking at probably the top eight teams taking part rather than 10 or 12," Mani told reporters. "We saw in England, 12 teams featured and the competition was diluted." The 10 test nations alongside Kenya and United States took part in the tournament in England last September which was marred by one-sided games in the early stages. India is set to stage the next Champions Trophy in 2006.