LONDON — Jermain Defoe scored a sensational long-range volley as Sunderland leapt three points clear of the Premier League relegation zone by beating derby rival Newcastle United 1-0 Sunday. Defoe struck in first-half stoppage-time, crashing a sublime left-foot volley into the top-right corner from 25 yards after Steven Fletcher headed on Costel Pantilimon's punt downfield. The goal sparked jubilant celebrations at the Stadium of Light and Defoe, who returned to English football in January after a disappointing spell at Toronto FC, was seen to wipe away tears as he left the pitch at half-time. The England international's goal gave manager Dick Advocaat victory in his first Wear-Tyne derby and enabled Sunderland to extend its run of successive wins over Newcastle to five. It also continued a theme of spectacular goals in the English top flight over the weekend, following Charlie Adam's remarkable 65-yard strike against Chelsea for Stoke City and Bobby Zamora's exquisite lob against West Bromwich Albion for Queens Park Rangers. Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur head coach Mauricio Pochettino admitted that his team faced an uphill battle to secure Champions League qualification following a 0-0 draw at Burnley. The stalemate left Spurs seven points below the top four in sixth place, having played a game more than fourth-place Manchester City. Chelsea won 2-1 Saturday and leads league by 7 points. Lewandowski strikes Robert Lewandowski scored on his return to Borussia Dortmund as Bayern Munich defeated his former side 1-0 in the Bundesliga Saturday. Lewandowski claimed the only goal in the 39th minute, heading the rebound into an unguarded net after Roman Weidenfeller saved Thomas Mueller's initial effort. The Poland striker won the ball from Dortmund captain Mats Hummels to get the move under way. It was a rare chance in a fractious game marred by fouls, yellow cards and broken play. Juve restores 14-point lead Carlos Tevez hit his 17th goal of the campaign and Roberto Pereyra added a late second as Juventus beat Empoli 2-0 in Turin Saturday to restore its 14-point lead on Roma. Roma had earlier ended a four-month wait for victory at the Stadio Olimpico when Miralem Pjanic struck in the 25th minute to seal a 1-0 win for Rudi Garcia's men over Napoli. But Juve's 21st win of the season restored its sizeable advantage and underlined its status as champions in waiting. Tevez now leads Serie A on goals with 17 so far, one more than Frenchman Jeremy Menez who pulled level with the Argentinian when he hit the winner for AC Milan in a 2-1 win at Palermo. Gunshots fired at Fenerbahce team bus, driver injured A bus carrying Turkey's Fenerbahce football team was attacked on a highway in the country's northeast Saturday as the players were returning from an away game, the club said, adding that the driver was injured in the shooting. Several gunshots were fired at the bus as the Turkish league leaders were returning to Istanbul having beaten Rizespor 5-1 in the Black Sea city of Rize, said the club's vice president Mahmut Uslu. The driver was injured in the face and taken to hospital, said Uslu, who was himself on the bus at the time. He accused the attackers of trying to “crash the bus and kill the players.” “It's unbelievable,” he told Turkish television. None of the players was injured in the attack, which happened in the city of Trabzon. Pictures of the bus showed a windshield pocked by bullet holes. — Agencies
