MONACO: Newcastle United were handed a tough return to the UEFA Champions League group stage on Thursday as the Magpies were drawn against Paris Saint-Germain, seven-time champions AC Milan and 1997 winners Borussia Dortmund.
Bayern Munich’s new signing Harry Kane will return to England to face Manchester United in a group that also includes Copenhagen and Galatasaray. Man United beat Bayern in the 1999 final after an injury-time comeback.
Record 14-time champion Real Madrid plays Napoli, Braga and debutant Union Berlin.
Man City, the defending champion, got a favorable draw and will play Leipzig for the third straight season, plus Red Star Belgrade and Young Boys.
Last season’s finalist Inter Milan will play Benfica – which it beat in the quarterfinals – plus Salzburg and Real Sociedad.
Barcelona was drawn with Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk and Royal Antwerp, another Champions League debutant which last played in the competition in the old European Cup in 1957.
Arsenal’s return after six years away will be against Sevilla, PSV Eindhoven and Lens.
Feyenoord, the 1970 European Cup winner, was grouped with the team it beat in that final, Celtic, plus Atlético Madrid and Lazio.
Teams from 15 different nations were in the draw, including 14 former European champions who have combined to win 48 titles in the competition’s 68-year history.
Games start Sept. 19 and group-stage play ends Dec. 13.
C on June 1.
Newcastle United drawn with PSG, Milan and Dortmund in UEFA Champions League group stage
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Newcastle United drawn with PSG, Milan and Dortmund in UEFA Champions League group stage
- Knockout stage starts in February, final at Wembley Stadium in London in June
Tickets for Fury-Usyk rematch go on sale
RIYADH: Tickets for the much anticipated rematch between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are now on sale, organizers announced on Wednesday.
The heavyweight boxing contest will take place on December 21 at the Kingdom Arena.
Tickets for “Fury vs Usyk Reignited” can be purchased through Webook App.
The main event will see Ukrainian heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk face off against British powerhouse Tyson Fury in a highly anticipated rematch of their previous fight held last May as part of Riyadh Season. Known for his speed and agility, Usyk holds all major belts in the heavyweight division, marking a historic achievement as the first boxer in 25 years to claim unified heavyweight titles. Fury, on the other hand, brings a wealth of experience and raw strength, celebrated for his knockout power and tactical prowess.
Alongside the main event, Ukrainian boxer Serhii Bohachuk will take on Uzbek opponent Israil Madrimov. Bohachuk enters the ring with an impressive record of 24 wins, including 23 knockouts, while Madrimov showcases his strength with 10 wins, 7 by knockout.
Other fights include an electrifying bout between unbeaten Johnny Fisher, with 12 wins and 11 knockouts, facing British veteran David Allen, who has amassed experience in 31 bouts. Dennis McCann will battle Peter McGrail as McCann aims to maintain his flawless 16-win record, while McGrail looks to claim his 11th victory.
Isaac Lowe and Lee McGregor will also go head-to-head in what promises to be an intense fight. Lowe brings 30 fights of experience, while McGregor boasts a strong record of 14 wins, including 11 knockouts, making this one of the most anticipated fights of the night.
Bizarre penalty sends Aston Villa to first Champions League loss at Brugge
- Villa had led the 36-team Champions League standings after three straight wins without conceding a goal
- The loss leaves Villa in fifth place in the standings now led by Liverpool
BRUGES, Belgium: A strange penalty for handball ended Aston Villa’s winning run in the Champions League on Wednesday as the English team lost 1-0 at Club Brugge.
In the other early game, Shakhtar Donetsk playmaker Heorhiy Sudakov had a fine assist and an even better goal in a 2-1 win for the Ukrainian champion against Young Boys.
Villa had led the 36-team Champions League standings after three straight wins without conceding a goal — and they took a bizarre incident before goalkeeper Emi Martínez was eventually beaten.
Villa defender Tyrone Mings was punished for picking up the ball when Martínez seemed to restart play with a goal kick passed short to his teammate.
Mings walked forward a couple steps to gather the ball with his left hand and returned to place it at the corner of the six-yard box.
The penalty kick was awarded and Brugge captain Hans Vanaken scored in the 52nd minute, placing the ball to Martínez’s left as the World Cup-winning Argentina goalkeeper dived to his right.
Martínez tried to persuade German referee Tobias Stieler after the game that he had made a mistake.
The loss leaves Villa in fifth place in the standings now led by Liverpool, with Inter Milan, Arsenal and Brest all able to rise above coach Unai Emery’s team with a win later Wednesday. Inter were hosting Arsenal at San Siro.
Club Brugge have six points, from two wins and two losses and were provisionally in 20th place, which after all eight rounds in January would earn a place in the knockout playoffs round.
Shakhtar’s Sudakov showed against Young Boys why he is expected to be the club’s next big-money sale.
Both teams came into the game without scoring a goal in the first three rounds of the new league phase format.
Swiss champion Young Boys are struggling in 10th place in their domestic title defense and took an unexpected lead in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, where Shakhtar are playing their Champions League home games during the military invasion by Russia.
After the Shakhtar defense was caught in the 27th minute playing short passes deep in their own half, Kastriot Imeri struck with a low shot from the edge of the penalty area.
Shakhtar was level four minutes later when Sudakov’s precise pass into the goalmouth eluded a circle of five Young Boys players to find Oleksandr Zubkov for a tap-in.
Sudakov cleverly created space in the 41st to stride forward and fire a low shot from 20 yards (meters) into the far corner of the net past diving goalkeeper Marvin Keller.
Shakhtar are outside the playoff places in 26th, with four points, and Young Boys is 35th and among six teams with zero points.
Zheng advances to semis of WTA Finals in Riyadh with victory over Paolini
- The Olympic gold medalist, seeded 7th, sweeps aside 4th seed Paolini 6-1, 6-1 in just 67 minutes, her 30th win in 35 matches
- Already eliminated Rybakina claims consolation 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 victory over world No. 1 Sabalenka, who secured semi-final spot on Monday
RIYADH: Zheng Qinwen continues to deliver in her breakthrough season, as she advanced to last four of the WTA Finals in Riyadh on Wednesday with a victory over Wimbledon finalist Jasmine Paolini.
The Chinese Olympic gold medalist swept past fourth seed Paolini 6-1, 6-1 in a mere 67 minutes. It was her 30th victory in 35 matches.
Meanwhile, Elena Rybakina claimed a consolation 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 victory over world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who had already secured her semi-final spot as group winner on Monday.
Rybakina, who was already out of the competition after losing her first two matches, finally found form against Sabalenka. It was a much-needed confidence boost for the world No. 5, who missed most of the second half of the season with allergies, insomnia and a back injury.
“It was a tough match and I’m really happy that I managed to win,” said Rybakina, who shared a warm embrace with Sabalenka at the net. “I think it’s nice to finish the year at least with one win against the world No. 1.”
The loss was only Sabalenka’s second in 24 matches. She was yet to learn who she will face in Friday’s semi-final but whatever happens, she has reason to celebrate as she clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking when Iga Swiatek was defeated by Coco Gauff on Tuesday.
However, the Belarusian does not intend to let that achievement distract her from the task at hand, which is to lift the WTA Finals trophy for the first time in her career.
“It’s a really great feeling but I figured that last night and it didn’t work really well tonight for me, so I just want to focus on the current tournament, to stay hungry and stay motivated, because it’s a big tournament and it’s also one of my goals, so I’ll focus on this goal,” Sabalenka said on Wednesday.
In the last day of round-robin action in the Purple Group, Zheng and Paolini were fighting it out for the second qualification spot behind Sabalenka.
Zheng, seeded seventh, locked down her place in the last four with a dominating performance as she became the first Chinese player to make it out of the group stage at the event since Li Na in 2013.
“That was 11 years ago; I’m really proud I could make it,” said the 22-year-old. “I didn’t know what to expect coming to these WTA Finals for the first time. I was in a very difficult group.
“It’s one of the best performances I’ve had during this year. Really good percentage of first serves. I felt really good on my groundstrokes and I made a couple of good volleys. I really enjoyed it.”
An aggressive return earned Zheng her first break of the match in game three and then she broke again and held her serves to go 5-1 up. Paolini, a two-time Grand Slam finalist this season, saved one set point on her own serve in game seven but Zheng kept her foot on the gas to close out the 32-minute set on the second opportunity.
Zheng was just as impressive in the second set, and after saving a break point while serving for the match at 5-1 she closed out the win with her 12th ace of the match.
“I finally feel that my serve has started to be a bit more consistent,” said Zheng, who leads the tour in aces and first-serve points won this season.
This was her fourth victory in as many meetings with Paolini, who will remain in Riyadh to battle for a semi-final spot in the doubles competition alongside fellow Italian Sara Errani.
Since Wimbledon in July, Zheng has recorded the most wins of any woman on the tour. Besides taking gold in the singles at the Olympics, she defended her Palermo title, reached the quarter-finals of the US Open, the semi-finals in Beijing, the final in Wuhan, and lifted the trophy in Tokyo. Three of her five defeats during that run were at the hands of Sabalenka and she said she has been impressed by the Belarusian’s form this season. Zheng’s record against Sabalenka is 0-5, and she said this is a big source of motivation for her.
“She won two slams,” Zheng said. “This is really big achievement for her. And I remember last year, she won her first Grand Slam in the Australian Open. And then she kept going, kept working.
“But you know, both slams that she won this year, I lost against her on the way. Which means if I want to win a slam, I have to be able to beat her. And I’m quite excited for that day.”
Pegula withdraws from WTA Finals with knee injury
- Pegula lost her opening two matches in Saudi Arabia in straight sets and had no chance of advancing to the semifinals
- US Open finalist was due to face defending champion Iga Swiatek and will now be replaced by alternate Daria Kasatkina
RIYADH: American sixth seed Jessica Pegula has withdrawn from the WTA Finals in Riyadh with a left knee injury, the tournament announced on Wednesday.
A runner-up at the WTA Finals last year, Pegula lost her opening two matches in Saudi Arabia in straight sets and had no chance of advancing to the semifinals.
The US Open finalist was due to face defending champion Iga Swiatek in the last day of round-robin action on Thursday and will now be replaced by alternate Daria Kasatkina on the schedule.
“I’ve just been struggling with a little bit of an injury and for whatever reason, it really flared up this week. Not really sure why,” Pegula, 30, said.
“In the few days before practice, it felt really, really good, but it started creeping up right before my first match, and just feel like I’m not feeling comfortable moving on court, so I just wanted to make the decision to unfortunately pull out.”
Kasatkina is ranked No. 9 in the world and recently clinched the WTA 500 title in Ningbo.
She is 1-5 head-to-head against Swiatek, losing her last five consecutive clashes with the Pole.
Coco Gauff is the only player in the Orange Group in Riyadh to have secured passage to the semifinals.
Red Bull Car Park Drift returns to Riyadh with Red Bull Mobile
- The championship returns with Red Bull Mobile as the event’s connectivity partner
- A panel of expert motorsport judges will evaluate each competitor, awarding points based on specific technical criteria
RIYADH: Riyadh will host the national competition of Red Bull Car Park Drift on Nov. 16, 2024, at the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Olympic Complex (Green Halls).
The championship, which first held its world finals in Jeddah in December 2022, returns with Red Bull Mobile as the event’s connectivity partner, providing unique services to enhance the fan experience.
In partnership with the Saudi Arabian Motor Federation and Nissan, 22 skilled drivers will compete to claim the title of Saudi champion and secure a spot in the Red Bull Car Park Drift World Finals in Oman on Dec. 6.
Fans can enjoy the event and all the shows for free, with doors opening at 2 p.m. on Nov. 16, according to a media statement issued on Wednesday.
Red Bull Car Park Drift uniquely blends car speed, engine power, driving precision, and drifting artistry, set against a backdrop of special effects and dynamic show elements.
A panel of expert motorsport judges will evaluate each competitor, awarding points based on specific technical criteria.
Lebanese drift icon and rally star Abdo Feghali will return to elevate the competition with new twists on the track layout, ensuring an even higher level of challenge.
Alongside the thrilling main event, fans will get a behind-the-scenes track tour with Feghali, while they cheer on top drivers in Saudi Arabia.
Red Bull Car Park Drift is a competitive drifting event where both amateur and professional drivers tackle a track full of obstacles and challenges. Competitors aim to score high in each round to move forward in an elimination-style format.
Judges evaluate performances based on skills like drifting ability, car smoke, and overall appearance, awarding up to 400 points.
Red Bull Car Park Drift also gives amateur drivers the chance to compete internationally, showcasing their skills in front of thousands of motorsport fans.
