Atalanta dominant again with 6-1 win over Cesena in Italian Cup, Roma rout Sampdoria

BERLIN: Despite their best Bundesliga season in decades, Eintracht Frankfurt know only something close to a perfect performance will help topple league leaders Bayern Munich on Sunday.
With 22 of 34 games played this Bundesliga campaign, Frankfurt sit third and are on track for their first top-four finish since the 1992-93 season.
Frankfurt’s 2022 Europa League win meant a first-ever Champions League participation.
Another crack at the European elite from finishing in the top four this season would be a just reward for Dino Toppmoeller’s impressive side, who have rebounded despite the loss of Omar Marmoush to Manchester City.
Up next is a trip to Bayern, who are eight points clear of second-placed Bayer Leverkusen and on track to win back the Bundesliga title.
Frankfurt will be the underdogs on Sunday but have recent form against the German giants.
Frankfurt held Bayern to a 3-3 draw in October, making them one of only four teams alongside Leverkusen, Mainz and Borussia Dortmund who have taken points off the league leaders this season.
Bayern may have won only one of their past four against Frankfurt, but Eagles captain Kevin Trapp was not getting ahead of himself on Thursday.
“We are third and Bayern are 13 points ahead of us, that speaks volumes.
Trapp said the visitors “must get close to perfection in order to get a point or better there.”
Bayern may be sailing in the league but they come into Sunday’s game after two straight draws and Trapp said the hosts will fight hard “so that a crisis isn’t declared in Munich.”
Bayern look set to be without star striker Harry Kane, who was subbed off at half-time in Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Celtic.
Frankfurt have their own injury woes, with German defender Robin Koch out and midfielder Mario Goetze in doubt with illness.
Toppmoeller said Friday his side needs “a good plan, a top performance and a bit of luck,” along with cool heads, with the coach calling on his charges to exhibit “a high tolerance for frustration.”
Elsewhere, Leverkusen travel to last-placed Holstein Kiel hoping to keep their slim hopes of defending their title alive.
Coach Xabi Alonso he knew the odds of overtaking Bayern, who they will meet in the Champions League last 16 after Friday’s draw, were slim, but stranger things had happened in football.
“We’re not looking so far (into the future)... Everything can happen. There are still many games. There’s time for anything.”
After establishing himself alongside striker Serhou Guirassy as Dortmund’s attacking threats early this season, English winger Jamie Gittens has hit a lull in form.
The 20-year-old has not scored for nine games dating back to mid-January.
Dortmund coach Niko Kovac urged patience with the young winger, telling reporters “Jamie has developed really well, he’s playing intensively and we need to find a balance.
“I’m very happy with Jamie, but you understand there can also be a bit of a dip now and again.”
Joshua Kimmich has played every minute of Bayern Munich’s 22 league games this season — a total of 1,980 minutes plus stoppage time in each match — the only player from the league leaders to do so.
Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike has 12 goals in 21 league games this season.
Borussia Dortmund have faced Union Berlin 13 times in all competitions but have never had a draw, winning nine and losing four.

LOS ANGELES, United States: The Cleveland Cavaliers boosted their NBA-best record with a 142-105 romp past the New York Knicks on Friday, tightening their grip on the Eastern Conference lead with an all-around dominant display.
Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points to lead six Cavs players to score in double figures, connecting on five of seven three-pointers as Cleveland drilled 19 from beyond the arc.
Cleveland out-scored the Knicks 66-38 in the paint and held a 23-6 edge in fast-break points, pushing their lead to as many as 42 on the way to a sixth straight victory.
Evan Mobley added 21 points and Jarrett Allen scored 10 before departing in the third quarter with a right hand injury.
Cleveland guard Darius Garland took a hard fall in the first half, striking his head on the court, but stayed in the game.
Jalen Brunson scored 16 of his 26 points in the first quarter for the Knicks but was held scoreless in the second period as the Cavs roared to a 77-50 halftime lead.
Karl-Anthony Towns scored 23 points for New York, who are in third place in the East but fell to 0-6 this season against the three teams with the league’s best records: Cleveland, Boston and Oklahoma City.
“I think the biggest thing was just try to set the tone early,” Mitchell said, adding that the determination to dominate had nothing to do with the Knicks’ first-round playoff win over the Cavs two seasons ago and everything to do with the fact that they could yet meet in this post-season.
“For us, it’s about how do we continue to build and get better – we may see them in the playoffs,” Mitchell said. “So we’re trying to measure ourselves, continue to do what we’ve been doing.”
It came down to the wire in Orlando, where Memphis star Ja Morant drove for a layup that tied it at 104-104 with 1:50 remaining and Desmond Bane delivered the decisive free-throw in the Grizzlies’ 105-104 victory over the Magic.
Morant scored 23 points while Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. added 16 apiece for the Grizzlies, with Jackson blocking a potential game-winner by Orlando’s Paolo Banchero at the buzzer.
Milwaukee’s trade-deadline acquisition Kyle Kuzma scored 19 points to lead the Bucks to a 104-101 victory over his former team, the Washington Wizards.
Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo was limited by foul trouble and scored 18 points before fouling out with 3:37 left to play.
Khris Middleton, who arrived in Washington in the four-team deal that sent Kuzma to Milwaukee, scored 12 points against his former team in his Wizards debut.
Down by 10 with 4:53 to play, the Wizards cut the deficit to 102-101 on Middleton’s three-pointer with 1:01 remaining.
But Brook Lopez made a pair of free-throws and blocked a Middleton layup, with Middleton coming up empty again on a last-gasp three-point attempt.