Arsenal opened its fourth straight Europa League campaign with a 2-1 come-from-behind win at Rapid Vienna on Thursday in an opening round of games affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Star striker Pierre Emerick Aubameyang came off the bench to score the winning goal in the 74th for Arsenal, which won its group in its previous three campaigns in the second-tier European competition.
Roma also came from a goal down to win 2-1 at Young Boys, as did Granada to upset PSV Eindhoven away.
Rangers’ Kemar Roofe scored the goal of the night in a 2-0 victory at Standard Liege, dribbling his way through three opponents inside his own half and then launching a shot from the halfway line that caught the goalkeeper off guard and looped into the net.
Dutch team AZ Alkmaar overcame a slew of coronavirus cases to upset Napoli 1-0.
Tottenham, AC Milan were among teams playing later Thursday.
Arsenal went behind when goalkeeper Bernd Leno played a poor pass that fell to Rapid forward Taxiarchis Fountas, who slotted in a low shot from a tough angle in the 51st minute.
Arteta sent on Aubameyang and Héctor Bellerín in the 61st, and the substitutes helped spark the comeback.
After David Luiz headed in a free kick from Nicolas Pépé to level the score, Mohamed Elneny freed Bellerín down the right to cross for Aubameyang to complete the comeback from close range.
In the other Group B game, Molde also came from behind to win 2-1 at Dundalk.
AZ Alkmaar flew into Naples with 13 players sidelined with coronavirus infections. Napoli, meanwhile, was coming off a 4-1 win over high-scoring Atalanta 4-1 this past weekend. But the Dutch staved off the hosts’ pressure before Dani de Wit scored the winner in the 57th. Real Sociedad won 1-0 at Rijeka the other Group F game.
With Roma resting striker Edin Džeko, Bruno Peres and Marash Kumbulla led the rally with the second-half goals for the Italian side.
Jean Pierre Nsame had given Young Boys the lead by converting a penalty kick in the 14th.
It was the first home loss for Young Boys to an Italian opponent in European competitions after beating Udinese, Napoli and Juventus.
Also in Group A, Romania’s Cluj won 2-0 at Bulgaria’s CSKA Sofia.
In Group C, Bayer Leverkusen produced the biggest win of the early games by beating Nice 6-2. Nadiem Amiri and Lucas Alario scored early first-half goals five minutes apart for Leverkusen, while substitute Karim Bellarabi netted two and 17-year-old forward Florian Wirtz came off the bench to complete the rout.
In a game between teams from two countries whose domestic leagues have been interrupted due to high levels of coronavirus infections, Israel’s Hapoel Beer-Sheva beat Czech Republic’s Slavia Prague 3-1.
James Tavernier gave Celtic the lead from the penalty spot in the 19th before Roofe added his spectacular second goal in injury time. Benfica won 4-2 at Lech Poznan in the other Group D game.
In Group E, German forward Mario Götze put PSV ahead in first-half injury time before Jorge Molina and Darwin Machis scored for Granada in the second half. Omonoia drew with PAOK 1-1.
Arsenal, Roma open Europa League with comeback wins
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Arsenal, Roma open Europa League with comeback wins
Joao Pedro brace sends Chelsea into Club World Cup final
- Joao Pedro refused to celebrate after either goal against the club with whom he started his career and made 36 top-team appearances before moving to England with Watford in 2020
EAST RUTHERFORD, United States: New signing Joao Pedro scored twice on his first start as Chelsea eased to a 2-0 win over Fluminense on Tuesday to seal a spot in the final of the Club World Cup.
The Brazilian striker opened the scoring in lethal fashion in the 18th minute of the last-four clash at the MetLife Stadium and struck again shortly before the hour mark as Chelsea set up a showdown with either Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain in Sunday’s final.
Signed from Brighton and Hove Albion last week for a reported £60 million ($79 million), the 23-year-old cut short a holiday and made his debut off the bench in the quarter-final win over Palmeiras.
He was then given his first Chelsea start up front here in place of the suspended Liam Delap.
Joao Pedro refused to celebrate after either goal against the club with whom he started his career and made 36 top-team appearances before moving to England with Watford in 2020.
The result ends Fluminense’s impressive run at the tournament after the 2023 Copa Libertadores winners held Borussia Dortmund in the group stage, beat Inter Milan in the last 16 and knocked out Manchester City’s conquerors Al-Hilal in the quarter-finals.
With their exit go the prospects of a South American winner of the first 32-team Club World Cup, with Chelsea claiming back-to-back victories against Brazilian opposition to reach the final.
As always seemed most likely, the trophy will be claimed by one of Europe’s superpowers, with the final now guaranteed to be between two of the last five winners of the UEFA Champions League.
“It is a great achievement. It has been a fantastic season — top four in the league, (winning) the Conference League and now in the final in this competition. We are so, so happy,” Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca told broadcaster DAZN.
“Now finally it is the last game of the season, we can say that, and hopefully we can win the tournament.”
Fluminense coach Renato Portaluppi had described his team as the “ugly duckling” of the tournament due to the enormous difference between their budget and those of the other three remaining sides.
This game ultimately proved to be a step too far for their team, captained by 40-year-old former Chelsea center-back Thiago Silva.
“This was a wonderful Club World Cup,” said Portaluppi.
“There is no crying over spilled milk now. We wanted to get to the final for our fans but we leave with our heads held high, and go back to our reality stronger now than we were before.”
Chelsea were without the suspended Levi Colwill and Delap but Moises Caicedo returned after a ban.
The Premier League side were simply too strong for their opponents in a game watched by 70,556 fans on a hot afternoon just outside New York City.
They went ahead thanks to a wonderful strike by their new forward, who controlled the ball on the edge of the box after Silva had cleared a Pedro Neto cross.
Joao Pedro took a touch and curled a shot beyond veteran goalkeeper Fabio into the far corner, before holding up his hands apologetically toward the Fluminense fans behind the goal.
The team from Rio de Janeiro were an intermittent threat, and Hercules — match-winner against Al-Hilal in the last eight — almost equalized in the 25th minute.
He played a one-two with German Cano and lifted the ball over goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, but Marc Cucurella cleared off the line.
Fluminense were then awarded a penalty 10 minutes before the interval when a set-piece delivery by Rene struck the arm of Trevoh Chalobah in the box.
However, French referee Francois Letexier overturned the decision following a VAR check.
“Had we been awarded the penalty we would have scored and it would have been a different story,” said Portaluppi.
Chelsea got their second on 56 minutes, just after Fluminense had sacrificed one of their three center-backs to send on an extra attacker.
Enzo Fernandez released Joao Pedro on the break, and the forward produced another clinical finish in off the bar.
There were chances for Chelsea to score further goals after that, but the new boy’s double strike sufficed with the only potential black mark on the day the knock which forced Caicedo to limp off before full-time.
Alcaraz, Sabalenka take contrasting routes into Wimbledon semifinals
- Alcaraz needed just 99 minutes to win 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 in his most commanding performance in this year’s tournament
- Sabalenka fought back from the brink of a shock exit to reach the semifinals
LONDON: Carlos Alcaraz swept into the Wimbledon semifinals for a third successive year as the defending champion demolished Cameron Norrie, while world number one Aryna Sabalenka survived a major scare to reach the last four on Tuesday.
Alcaraz needed just 99 minutes to win 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 in his most commanding performance in this year’s tournament.
The Spanish second seed dropped four sets in a series of scrappy displays during his run to the last eight.
But Alcaraz was back to his imperious best in the quarter-finals, blasting 39 winners against the overwhelmed British world number 61, setting up a last-four clash with American fifth seed Taylor Fritz.
Alcaraz is on a career-best 23-match winning run since losing to Holger Rune in the Barcelona final in April — a superb streak which has brought him titles at the French Open, the Rome Masters and Monte Carlo.
The Spaniard, who vanquished Novak Djokovic in the last two Wimbledon finals, has won 34 of his 37 Tour-level matches on grass, while his last defeat at the All England Club came against Jannik Sinner in the fourth round in 2022.
“To be able to play another semifinal here at Wimbledon is super special,” Alcaraz said.
“It’s going to be great. I’m really happy with the way I played against a really difficult player,“
Wimbledon’s controversial line technology system malfunctioned again as Fritz beat Russian 17th seed Karen Khachanov 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (7/4) to reach his first Wimbledon semifinal.
Swedish umpire Louise Azemar Engzell had to stop a point in the opening game of the fourth set on Court One when “fault” was incorrectly called after a Fritz forehand landed well inside the baseline.
The call of “fault,” rather than “out,” and positioning of the ball suggested the system was still tracking Fritz’s serve as opposed to a rally and the point had to be replayed.
Tournament organizers were forced to apologize and make a change to the system to avoid further issues after a major error in Sonay Kartal’s fourth-round defeat to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the women’s draw.
A fully automated system has replaced human line judges at Wimbledon for the first time this year, in line with the Australian Open and the US Open.
Tournament organizers claimed the system had failed to reset because the ball from Fritz’s first serve was still being retrieved when he started lining up his second.
“The player’s service motion began while the BBG (ball boy or girl) was still crossing the net and therefore the system didn’t recognize the start of the point,” an All England Club statement said.
“As such the chair umpire instructed the point be replayed.”
Sabalenka fought back from the brink of a shock exit to reach the semifinals with a gutsy 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 win against Germany’s Laura Siegemund.
She twice trailed by a break in the final set on Center Court and was two games away from crashing out before staging a dramatic revival to win in two hours and 54 minutes of unrelenting tension.
The 27-year-old top seed is through to the Wimbledon semifinals for the third time after losing at that stage in 2021 and 2023.
Beaten in the Australian and French Open finals this year after winning the US Open in 2024, Sabalenka remains on course to reach a fourth successive Grand Slam title match.
Sabalenka remains the only one of the top six women’s seeds still standing at the tournament after two weeks of shocks.
“That was a real test. I need some time to cool down and recover after this,” Sabalenka said.
In the semifinals, the Belarusian will face American 13th seed Amanda Anisimova, who defeated Russian world number 50 Pavlyuchenkova 6-1, 7-6 (11/9).
Anisimova took an eight-month break from tennis in 2023 after suffering with depression brought on by the scrutiny and expectations that came from her run to the French Open semifinals aged just 17.
“It’s been an extraordinary year for me. So many highs. It’s been such a ride,” she said.
Mbappe and PSG set for reunion as Real Madrid eye final
- Mbappe should be remembered as a PSG legend, having spent seven prolific campaigns there and eventually departing as their all-time top scorer with 256 goals in 308 games
EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey: Kylian Mbappe will come up against Paris Saint-Germain for the first time since leaving the French club a year ago as Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid revolution gets its biggest test yet in Wednesday’s Club World Cup semifinal.
Mbappe should be remembered as a PSG legend, having spent seven prolific campaigns there and eventually departing as their all-time top scorer with 256 goals in 308 games.
But his legacy was a little tainted by the manner of his departure, the sense among many that for the last half of his time in Paris he was just waiting for the right moment to move to Madrid, the club he had dreamed of representing as a young boy.
PSG, under their Qatari president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, were not happy with the way in which Mbappe chose to run down his contract in order to sign for Real in 2024, denying them a transfer fee.
A bitter legal dispute has gone on between the parties for much of the time since, with Mbappe claiming he is owed €55 million ($64.4 million) in unpaid wages and bonuses from his spell in Paris.
The latest twist came just this week, when one of Mbappe’s lawyers told AFP that the France captain had withdrawn a complaint of moral harassment against his former employers.
That was after the Paris prosecutor’s office revealed last month that an investigation had been opened following a complaint by the player over the way he was treated by PSG in the summer of 2023.
He believes he was sidelined by PSG and made to train with players the club were looking to offload after refusing to agree a new contract.
Mbappe missed a pre-season tour to Japan and the start of the next campaign before eventually being reintegrated into Luis Enrique’s squad.
All that should have been behind Mbappe long ago, given the way his first season at Real has gone on a personal level.
The 26-year-old, a World Cup winner in 2018, scored 43 goals in 56 matches for his new club across all competitions up to the end of the campaign in La Liga, a remarkable tally.
However, Mbappe has endured frustration at the Club World Cup, not featuring at all during the group stage due to a stomach bug which led to him requiring hospital treatment.
In his absence, young forward Gonzalo Garcia has made the step up in impressive fashion, starting all five matches in the US and scoring four goals.
The last of those was the opener in the 3-2 quarterfinal win over Borussia Dortmund at the MetLife Stadium on Saturday, but it was Mbappe who got what was ultimately the deciding goal.
He came off the bench midway through the second half and scored a brilliant, acrobatic overhead kick for Real’s third of the afternoon in stoppage time.
“He is still not perfect, not 100 percent, but he is getting better every day,” Alonso said of Mbappe after that match.
“Now he will have three days to keep progressing and feeling better ahead of the semifinal.”
It is hard to imagine Mbappe not getting his first start of the tournament against PSG, the club who won the Champions League in the season following his departure after so many years of disappointment in Europe with him in the team.
PSG came to the US fresh from crushing Inter Milan 5-0 in the Champions League final. They reached the last four with a 2-0 win over Bayern Munich in Atlanta in the last eight — despite having Willian Pacho and Lucas Hernandez sent off — and need not fear Real.
“It doesn’t matter who we play in the semifinals. All that matters is that we are there and that we want to get to the final,” said Luis Enrique, for whom this is also a special occasion given that he spent five years at Madrid as a player in the 1990s.
Alonso has just taken over as Real coach after an outstanding spell with Bayer Leverkusen and has already displayed great tactical flexibility, flitting between a back four and a three-man central defense at the tournament.
It will be fascinating to see which system he opts for here, and if Mbappe starts as he prepares to play against PSG for the first time since July 2017, when he was still a thrilling teenager at Monaco.
Turki Alalshikh announces The Ring IV in Riyadh Season featuring four world title fights
- Leading the fight card is the WBO world welterweight title clash between American star Devin Haney and compatriot Brian Norman Jr.
- In the second title bout, David Benavidez, the reigning WBC light heavyweight champion, takes on British contender Anthony Yarde
RIYADH: Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority and chairman of the Saudi Boxing Federation, officially announced the fourth edition of the global boxing event The Ring IV, scheduled to take place on Friday, Nov. 22, at ANB Arena in Riyadh.
Part of Riyadh Season, the event will feature four headline bouts for major world titles.
Leading the fight card is the WBO world welterweight title clash between American star Devin Haney and compatriot Brian Norman Jr. Haney enters the bout with a perfect record of 32 wins (15 by knockout), aiming to become a three-division world champion. This is his second fight at welterweight after defeating Arnold Barboza Jr. in the inaugural The Ring event held at Times Square.
Norman Jr., who also has an undefeated record of 28 wins (22 by knockout), comes into the fight fresh off a dominant KO victory against Japan’s Jin Sasaki, whom he stopped with a powerful left hook in the fifth round.
In the second title bout, David Benavidez, the reigning WBC light heavyweight champion, takes on British contender Anthony Yarde. Benavidez is unbeaten in 30 fights, including 24 knockouts, and will be making his first title defense. Yarde enters the ring with a record of 27 wins (24 by knockout) and three losses, seeking to dethrone the American in what is expected to be an explosive encounter.
In the lightweight division, American Abdullah Mason will face Britain’s Sam Noakes for the vacant WBO lightweight title. Mason brings a flawless record of 19 wins, 17 by knockout, while Noakes comes in undefeated as well, with 17 victories, 15 by knockout. With both fighters known for their high knockout ratios and aggressive styles, this bout is considered one of the most anticipated matchups among the new wave of lightweight contenders.
The night will conclude with a super flyweight (super bantamweight) showdown between US champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez and Argentina’s undefeated Fernando Martinez. Rodriguez has 21 wins (14 by knockout), while Martinez has 18 wins, including 9 knockouts, with no losses. The fight will be contested for the prestigious The Ring title and is expected to deliver a high-level tactical and fast-paced boxing display.
Injured Rauf and Shadab to miss Pakistan’s T20 series in Bangladesh
- Haris Rauf injured a hamstring in Major League Cricket in the United States last week
- Uncapped fast bowlers Ahmed Danial and Salman Mirza were picked in a 15-man squad
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan fast bowler Haris Rauf and allrounder Shadab Khan were injured and will miss the Twenty20 series in Bangladesh this month.
Rauf injured a hamstring in Major League Cricket in the United States last week, and Shadab recently underwent shoulder surgery.
Uncapped fast bowlers Ahmed Danial and Salman Mirza were picked in a 15-man squad on Tuesday to supplement Abbas Afridi and fast bowling allrounder Faheem Ashraf.
Left-arm spinner Sufiyan Muqeem was also recalled after he was overlooked for the last home series against Bangladesh.
Spin allrounder Mohammad Nawaz has also made his way back into the national squad since last appearing in January 2024 against New Zealand, after impressive performance in the Pakistan Super League.
The three-match T20 series will be played in Mirpur from July 20-24.
Pakistan: Salman Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Hassan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Sufiyan Muqeem.
