Barcelona found its scoring touch again to reach the round of 16 of the Europa League with a 4-2 win over Napoli on Thursday, while Rangers knocked out Borussia Dortmund in Glasgow.
Frenkie de Jong scored with a long-range curler and newly signed striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang netted again for Barcelona, which had been held 1-1 at home in the first leg. The Spanish giant has struggled badly in its first season since the departure of Lionel Messi and was demoted to the Europa League after failing to advance to the Champions League knockout stages for the firs time since 2004.
Dortmund is also a Champions League regular but couldn’t come back from a 4-2 home loss in the first leg as a 2-2 draw at Rangers saw the German team eliminated in one of eight playoffs between third-place finishers in the Champions League groups and Europa League group runners-up.
On a night when Europe was rocked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian midfielder Ruslan Malinovskyi scored a couple of goals to lead Atalanta into the round of 16.
Malinovskyi netted twice in a two-minute span in the second half for a 3-0 win over Olympiakos as Atalanta advanced 5-1 on aggregate.
After scoring, Malinovskyi lifted his Atalanta jersey to show a message reading “No war in Ukraine” on his undershirt.
Real Betis also advanced after a 0-0 draw with Zenit St. Petersburg that was enough for a 3-2 aggregate victory after the Russian team had a late goal overturned by VAR.
Ten-man Sevilla eliminated Dinamo Zagreb 3-2 on aggregate, Porto knocked out Lazio 4-3 on aggregate and Leipzig won 3-1 at Real Sociedad to reach the next round 5-3 on aggregate.
In the playoff matches to reach the last 16 of the inaugural Europa Conference League, Leicester advanced with a 7-2 aggregate victory over Denmark’s Randers.
The other biggest teams in the playoff round, Marseille and PSV Eindhoven, also advanced while Norwegian upstart Bodø/Glimt knocked out Scottish giant Celtic.
EUROPA LEAGUE
Barcelona jumped out to a 2-0 lead within 13 minutes as Jordi Alba finished off a counterattack after a corner kick at the other end in the eighth minute and de Jong doubled the advantage five minutes later with a sublime strike into the top right-hand corner.
Lorenzo Insigne halved the deficit from the penalty spot before Gerard Piqué restored a two-goal lead in the final minute of the first half.
Aubameyang added the fourth in the second with his fourth goal in five games since a move from Arsenal, while substitute Matteo Politano netted a late consolation goal for Napoli.
James Tavernier netted both goals for Rangers, putting the Scottish side in front from the penalty spot and then netting the equalizer after Jude Bellingham and Donyell Malen had given Dortmund a 2-1 lead.
Portuguese side Braga won a penalty shootout 3-2 against Moldovan side Sheriff a 2-0 home win made it 2-2 on aggregate.
Willi Orbán and Andrés scored to give Leipzig a 2-0 lead and Emil Forsberg added the third from the penalty spot after Real Sociedad pulled one back through Martin Zubimendi.
Lazio striker Ciro Immobile returned from injury to score the opening goal in the 19th with a low shot past goalkeeper Diogo Costa, a minute after he had a goal disallowed due to offside. But Porto forward Mehdi Taremi equalized from the spot and Matheus Uribe gave the Portuguese team a 2-1 lead at Stadio Olimpico in the 68th. Lazio substitute Danilo Cataldi’s goal in stoppage time came too late.
Mislav Oršić scored the lone goal for Dinamo from the penalty spot in Zagreb for a 1-0 victory over Sevilla.
EUROPA CONFERENCE LEAGUE
Midfielder James Maddison spearheaded Leicester’s dominant display at Randers with two second-half goals within four minutes and Harvey Barnes also scored with a curling right-foot attempt from inside the box on the way to Leicester’s 3-1 victory on the night.
After winning the first leg 3-1 in Glasgow, Bodø/Glimt dominated again at home with another 2-0 victory even though the Norwegian champions are between domestic seasons.
PSV held Maccabi Tel-Aviv 1-1 to advance 2-1 on aggregate while Marseille won 3-0 away at Qarabag to complete a 6-1 rout.
Slavia Prague earned a second straight 3-2 win over Fenerbahce, Vitesse beat Rapid Vienna 2-0 to erase a 2-1 deficit from the first leg and Partizan Belgrade advanced with a 2-1 over Sparta Prague. PAOK eliminated Danish side Midtjylland on penalties after a 2-2 aggregate score.
Barca advances in Europa League, Rangers knock out Dortmund
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Barca advances in Europa League, Rangers knock out Dortmund
Russian teen Andreeva eases into French Open last 16, to meet Kasatkina
- She next plays Australian Daria Kasatkina, ranked 17, for a place in the quarter-finals
- She has climbed to a career-high ranking of sixth this season and became the youngest ever winner of a WTA 1000 title in Dubai in February
PARIS: Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva eased into the last 16 at the French Open on Saturday with a straight-sets win over Kazakh Yulia Putintseva.
The 18-year-old, seeded sixth at Roland Garros, sealed a 6-3, 6-1 win in 78 minutes on her first match point.
She next plays Australian Daria Kasatkina, ranked 17, for a place in the quarter-finals.
Kasatkina got past Spanish 10th seed Paula Badosa 6-1, 7-5 in their third round match which lasted one hour 33 minutes.
“I knew she’s a very tricky player, she plays very interesting and makes it a little uncomfortable for me so I struggled in the beginning,” said Andreeva of her first meeting with world number 31 Putintseva.
“I practice against her so knew what to expect. I’m happy with the way I played today.”
Andreeva converted five of her eight break point chances, being broken once with 18 unforced errors to 16 for her rival.
Andreeva, who reached the semifinals last year, is hoping to become the youngest woman to win a Grand Slam title since her compatriot Maria Sharapova’s famous 2004 Wimbledon triumph.
She was still having to do school work during her run in 2024, which included a shock quarter-final win over Aryna Sabalenka.
She has climbed to a career-high ranking of sixth this season and became the youngest ever winner of a WTA 1000 title in Dubai in February, before securing another at Indian Wells.
Andreeva is hoping for another strong performance at Roland Garros, with both Sabalenka and reigning champion Iga Swiatek in the other half of the draw.
Kasatkina, 28, competing in Roland Garros for the tenth time, reached the semifinals in 2022.
‘We’re going in there to win it’: Manchester City chairman targets FIFA Club World Cup success
- In part 2 of his review of the 2024-2025 season, Khaldoon Al-Mubarak looks forward to the FIFA Club World Cup and and the developments taking place across City Football Group
ABU DHABI: Manchester City’s chairman, Khaldoon Al-Mubarak, has provided his annual review of the season to the club’s official online channel. In part 2 of the interview he reveals the team’s desire to retain the FIFA Club world Cup taking place in June and discusses the developments taking place across City Football Group. Here are some of the highlights.
On the FIFA Club World Cup…
“Well, as the defending champions coming into this new format, of course, we’re very excited. We’re very excited to come in as champions. The format actually, I really like it.
“This is a very, very serious competition. I think, in the summer, the whole world will be watching this with a big number of the top teams in the world will be competing in this tournament.
“I can assure you we’re going to give it our best shot. We’re going in there to win it. This is the beginning of the new season, not the continuation of last season.
“The team will take the rest that they will take right now, and then they start pre-season and then immediately straight into the Club World Cup.”
On Manchester City’s North Stand redevelopment…
“It’s coming up very fast. It’s going to be a great addition to the campus. Once we start the new season, everybody will start physically seeing it a lot clearer.
“The hotel is also coming up nicely. It’s moving very, very fast, but we’re happy with the contractors on the ground. This is going to be a game changer. You will see over these next 12 to 18 months. This is going to be a game changer for the campus and for the club.”
On NYCFC…
“Well, more than the foundation, the work is fully now in full effect. Construction is happening at a fast pace. This is going to be an incredible stadium. We’re very excited about what we’re doing in New York, what we’re doing for that community in terms of a proper football stadium, with a team that now is closing in on 10 years.
“It’s been a great journey. And they’ve earned (it). They deserve a stadium, and finally, they’re going to get it. And we have now a line of sight of when it’s going to be finished and it’ll be transformative for football fans in New York, for our fan base, and really at a time where football is booming in America.”
On City Football Group…
“It’s developed very well. We look at City Football Group as a group, but then each team individually and each team gets the attention it requires and gets a lot of attention from the whole leadership team.
“There’s individuality with each club. Depending on where they are around the world, each one has its own requirements. But overall, one of the things that gives us confidence is how many similar models now are following our CFG model.
“There are a lot of other groups now that are pursuing what we have built at City Football Group, which tells you there’s an appreciation that this is a good model and it’s a model that’s effective.”
Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan face off in the Champions League final
- European club football’s biggest prize is at stake between two teams that have felt the pain of falling at the last hurdle in recent years
- Inter was a losing finalist against Manchester City in 2023 and PSG lost in its only final against Bayern Munich in 2020
MUNICH: Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan go head-to-head in the Champions League final in Munich on Saturday.
European club football’s biggest prize is at stake between two teams that have felt the pain of falling at the last hurdle in recent years.
Inter was a losing finalist against Manchester City in 2023 and PSG lost in its only final against Bayern Munich in 2020.
After spending billions of dollars and signing some of the sport’s greatest players like Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi, PSG is still waiting to win its first Champions League title. Those superstars have now departed, but coach Luis Enrique has assembled one of the most exciting squads in Europe, with the likes of Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia filling the void left by that trio.
Enrique is aiming to win the competition for the second time as a coach, having lifted it with Barcelona in 2015, and would become the seventh coach to win the trophy with different teams.
“The motivation for me is to win the Champions League title for the first time for PSG,” he said. “That is the gift I want to give the people, the club, the city.”
Inter was looking for a treble just over a month ago, but is now left with the Champions League as its only possible trophy. It lost the Italian title by a point and was knocked out of the Italian Cup in the semifinals.
“These players in these four years did a lot — won a lot and lost sometimes. It happens. But we all gave our all, everyone. We are proud to be Inter,” coach Simone Inzaghi said. “I dreamed of playing the Champions League final. I didn’t do it as a player, but thanks to this group of players I’ve been in two finals as a head coach.”
Inter has won the Champions League or European Cup on three occasions, most recently in 2010.
When does the Champions League final begin?
The match at Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena is scheduled to start at 9 p.m. local time.
Alcaraz fights into French Open last 16 as Swiatek, Sabalenka progress
PARIS: Carlos Alcaraz survived a scare to book his place in the French Open last 16 on Friday, with defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka also through to the fourth round at Roland Garros.
Second seed Alcaraz won 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 against 69th-ranked Bosnian Damir Dzumhur in the night session to keep his title defense on course.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz arrived as the favorite at Roland Garros after securing the Monte Carlo Masters and Italian Open trophies in the build-up to the clay-court major.
But his fluctuating performances in the past two rounds have given his rivals reason to believe he is vulnerable.
“Today I honestly didn’t enjoy it that much. I suffered quite a lot,” said a relieved Alcaraz, who came from a break down in the fourth set to seal victory.
“That’s why doing a really good result in a Grand Slam is really difficult because you have to maintain a really high level for three to four hours.”
The 22-year-old next meets American 13th seed Ben Shelton who eased past Italian qualifier Matteo Gigante 6-3, 6-3, 6-4.
Swiatek kept her bid for a fourth consecutive French Open title on track, coming through 6-2, 7-5 against Romania’s world number 60 Jaqueline Cristian in sweltering conditions.
Swiatek broke the 60th-ranked Cristian twice in a comfortable first set, but she was pushed a lot harder by her rival in the second and had to save six break points.
“She really stepped up in the second set. I had to step up as well. It was an entertaining match,” said Swiatek, hoping to become the first woman to win four successive Roland Garros titles since Suzanne Lenglen 102 years ago.
The 23-year-old Pole will next play 12th seed Elena Rybakina after the Kazakh dispatched 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-2, 6-2 in a clash of big hitters.
Swiatek has a 4-4 record against Rybakina but has lost both previous meetings on clay. However she was relieved at avoiding Ostapenko, who is 6-0 against her.
A grinning Swiatek suggested earlier she had no preference as to her last-16 opponent before asking: “Am I a good liar?“
“Let’s say it doesn’t matter, really. Oh, my God. I couldn’t play poker,” joked the world number five who has not won a title since last year’s French Open.
Sabalenka produced a dominant display in a 6-2, 6-3 win over 34th-ranked Serbian left-hander Olga Danilovic.
But the Madrid Open winner, whose best result at Roland Garros was a semifinal in Paris two years ago, insisted the pressure was on Swiatek.
“Let’s just leave it on Iga since she won it, what, three times in a row,” said Sabalenka.
The 27-year-old Belarusian next plays 16th-seeded American Amanda Anisimova who ousted Danish 22nd seed Clara Tauson 7-6 , 6-4 in their third-round tie.
Zheng Qinwen ended the run of Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko 6-3, 6-4.
The Chinese eighth seed has now won nine successive matches at Roland Garros following her run to Olympic gold last year.
Zheng is through to the fourth round in Paris for the second time and will next play Russian 19th seed Liudmila Samsonova who brushed aside Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska 6-2, 6-3.
Italian fourth seed Paolini eased past Ukrainian lucky loser Yuliia Starodubtseva 6-4, 6-1.
Runner-up last year at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, Paolini next plays Ukrainian 13th seed Elina Svitolina who dug deep to see off American Bernarda Pera 7-6 , 7-6 .
Eighth seed Musetti won 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 against Argentine Mariano Navone as he follows on from his runner-up finish in Monte Carlo and semifinal runs in Madrid and Rome.
But the Italian dropped his first set in Paris against world number 97 Navone.
“I’ve grown up a lot. A match like this I don’t know if I would come back a few years ago,” said Musetti.
“The heat was pretty tough to manage. But happy to find a way to turn around the match.”
Musetti next plays Rune who was two points from defeat in the fourth set before rallying past France’s Quentin Halys 4-6, 6-2, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2.
American Tommy Paul, the 12th seed, got past Russian Karen Khachanov 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 , 3-6, 6-3 and meets Australian Alexei Popyrin, the 25th seed, who beat Portugal’s Nuno Borges 6-4, 7-6 , 7-6 .
Arthur Fils, the 14th seed, withdrew ahead of his third-round match on Saturday, extending the host nation’s wait for a first men’s champion at Roland Garros since Yannick Noah in 1983.
Benzema’s double strike gives Al-Ittihad the double
- The Frenchman scored in each half to give the Tigers another trophy to celebrate
- There was an explosion of goalmouth action in the closing stages of the first half
JEDDAH: Karim Benzema scored twice as Al-Ittihad defeated Al-Qadsiah 3-1 on Friday to lift the King Cup and complete the double after winning the Saudi Pro League title earlier in May.
At a delighted King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, the Frenchman scored in each half to give the Tigers another trophy to celebrate with their fans. It marked a 10th King Cup triumph for the club to go along with its 10th league success.
There was an explosion of goalmouth action in the closing stages of the first half. Al-Ittihad had been on top for much of the game but both teams had come close. Fans had to wait until the 34th minute, however, to break the deadlock.
First, Benzema, who scored 21 league goals, did what he does best. Moussa Diaby freed Steven Bergwijn down the right and his cross was chested home by Benzema.
Then, after 43 minutes, Diaby floated a ball over from the right to Benzema at the far post and while the Frenchman’s header was saved, there was Houssem Aouar to finish from close range.
Just when the Tigers were set to head back in at the break in a very good position, Al-Qadsiah were back in the game. Cameron Puertas was bundled over the box and up stepped Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to send Predrag Rajkovic the wrong way.
After the restart, the next goal was always going to be crucial and though Al-Qadsiah pushed for an equalizer, it was Benzema who settled the tie and won the cup in added time after Qadsiah’s Ezequiel Hernandez had been sent off for a second bookable offense.
Not for the first time in the game or the season, much of the good work was done by Diaby. The winger broke free on the left to put the ball across the goal for his fellow Frenchman to score from close range to seal the cup and the double with almost the last kick of a hugely successful — and long — season for Al-Ittihad.
