Strikers ease strain on Van Gaal

DERBY — Manchester United eased the pressure on manager Louis Van Gaal following a 3-1 win over second-tier Derby in the FA Cup Friday. Goals from Wayne Rooney, Daley Blind and Juan Mata saw United advance to the fifth round of the competition. Rooney curled home from the edge of the area in the 16th with a fine effort beyond the outstretched arm of Derby goalkeeper Scott Carson. The hosts equalized in the 37th through George Thorne, who after being picked out by Chris Martin, brought the ball down with one foot before stabbing beyond David De Gea with the other from 12 yards. United responded after the interval and Blind steered home Jesse Lingard’s right-wing cross deep inside the penalty area after surging forward from defense. Anthony Martial laid on the third for Mata in the 83rd for his sixth goal of the season. Marseille salvages a draw 10-man Marseille scored in the sixth minute of second half stoppage time to salvage a 1-1 draw against Lille in the French League Friday. Substitute Antoine Rabillard netted the equalizer with the host seemingly set for another home defeat having lost substitute Abdelaziz Barrada to a straight red card in the 86th minute. Despite the man disadvantage, the home side surged forward, and was rewarded when Rabillard pounced on a rebound after Lille goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama had kept out Paolo De Cegli’s firm header. Lille defender Sebastien Corchia made the breakthrough in the 57th. Mainz shocks Gladbach Mainz climbed into the Bundesliga’s top six Friday by scoring their first goal in four games to seal its 1-0 upset win at home to Borussia Moenchengladbach. Visitor Gladbach stays fourth in the table, but, after losing last week at home to Dortmund, slipped to its second straight defeat thanks to a superb first-half goal from Mainz’s Christian Clemens. Real and Atletico transfer bans suspended Real Madrid and its neighbor Atletico Madrid have had their bans on signing new players for the next two transfer windows suspended pending the outcome of appeals to FIFA, the clubs said in separate statements Friday. The pair, who are third and second respectively in La Liga, were hit with the suspensions by FIFA for breaching rules on signing non-Spanish under-18 players. The bans do not cover the current transfer window, which runs until the end of this month. “The FIFA appeals committee has conceded a provisional suspension while our appeal is presented,” Atletico wrote on its Twitter account. Real added on its website (www.realmadrid.com): “Real Madrid has announced that the FIFA Appeal Committee has decided to provisionally suspend the sanction imposed on the club.” Both clubs announced they would appeal after being given the punishments earlier this month. The FIFA probe concerned players featuring in competitions with Atletico from 2007 to 2014 and with Real from 2005 to 2014. — Agencies