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Unlikely title race tightens in Sweden as leader Sirius loses. Frosinone surges in Serie A
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- Unlikely title race tightens in Sweden as leader Sirius loses. Frosinone surges in Serie A
Unheralded Swedish club Sirius' push for a first league title in its 118-year history got more tense Thursday when it lost 2-0 to second-place Hammarby.
Sirius once led by 12 points in the April-to-November league but Hammarby is now just three points back, and has a superior goal difference, with four rounds left.
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In Italy, newly promoted Frosinone continued its unlikely rise up the standings by beating Lecce 5-1, making it 13 goals scored in the past three games by coach Massimiliano Alvini's team.
Frosinone, a small-city club near Rome, never avoided relegation in three previous seasons in Serie A yet now sits sixth, just one point behind AC Milan after nine rounds.
Fiorentina drew 2-2 with Atalanta in a back-and-forth game that kept both teams in the bottom half of the table.
There were 21 scheduled games in Spain's Copa del Rey as soccer returned one day after a fatal train crash near Madrid led to Wednesday's games being postponed. Barcelona and Real Madrid do not play in the first round of the national cup.
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Sirius aims to give Sweden another fairytale league champion
Sirius has never won the top-tier league or cup in Sweden yet went unbeaten through 16 rounds into August and seemed to be cruising to the title.
Star striker Robbie Ure then was sold to Sevilla and three straight losses followed to give hope to chasing teams Hammarby and Djurgarden.
In a sold-out game Thursday in Stockholm, Hammarby led in the 21st minute after being awarded a disputed penalty for a foul by Sirius defender Mohamed Soumah.
Victor Lind scored the spot-kick and Paulos Abraham doubled the lead in the 51st with a side-footed shot from near the penalty spot.
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Hammarby won its only Swedish league title in 2001 and was runner-up in each of the past two seasons. The defending champion Mjallby had its own fairytale title win one year ago.
Frosinone frolics in its best-ever start to Seria A season
Frosinone had never played in Serie A in its long history until 2015, and was relegated in 19th, 19th and 18th places in its first three top-tier seasons. The fourth is going much better.
Fans are getting rare entertainment this month, beating Champions League upstart Como, putting four goals past Sassuolo and then Atalanta in a 4-4 draw.
Romania winger Daniel Bîrligea came off the bench Thursday to score the last two goals of five past Lecce.
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If the fixture schedule has been kind so far, Frosinone faces a true test starting in December playing the current top three teams — Inter Milan and its near neighbors Lazio and Roma — in a four-game spell.
Spanish Cup returns to action
Former Sirius striker Robbie Ure rose to score with a header to start Sevilla in a 3-0 win at sixth-tier Sporting Hortaleza.
Deportivo A Coruna also won 3-0, at Auriense, and it was 6-1 for Athletic Bilbao at AE Prat. Getafe won 3-2 at UB Lebrijana.
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