Soccer-Venezuelan Arango does a Suarez and bites opponent
MEXICO CITY, April 5 (Reuters) - Tijuana midfielder Juan Arango has taken a leaf out of Luis Suarez's book by biting an opponent in the Mexican championship. Venezuela's Arango bit Monterrey defender Jesus Zavala in the shoulder in the final minutes of Tijuana's 4-3 home defeat on Saturday. Zavala went down holding his left shoulder but the referee, who missed the incident which was caught on television, took no action. Barcelona striker Suarez is still banned from playing for Uruguay after biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup, having previously been punished by the English Premier League for biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic when he was with Liverpool. Tijuana had their lead in the Clausura standings cut to one point. They have 23 points from 12 matches, one more than Veracruz who lost 3-1 at fifth-placed UANL Tigres. Monterrey climbed to ninth on 16 points, one place outside the top eight who qualify for the knockout rounds of the championship at the end of the 17-match league phase. Guadalajara, who drew their city derby 1-1 away to Atlas, are on 21 points with title holders and arch-rivals America but continue to languish two places from bottom of the relegation table. The team that finishes bottom of the relegation table, based on teams' average points over three seasons, after the league phase will be relegated. Guadalajara coach Jose Manuel de la Torre said his team could not relax and would continue with their fight to avoid the drop after some good results in the Clausura. "There are two more tournaments in which Chivas will have percentage problems," De la Torre said referring to the 2015/16 season Apertura and Clausura championships. "Since we took charge we have looked to stabilise the team percentage-wise," he told reporters. Striker Emanuel Villa scored twice, including the stoppage time winner, as Queretaro won 5-4 at Leon to improve their percentage in a match that saw the teams score twice each in the final six minutes. (Writing by Rex Gowar in Buenos Aires; editing by Martyn Herman)
