MUNICH, Germany: An 88th-minute Davide Frattesi goal took Inter Milan to a 2-1 win at Bayern Munich on Tuesday, giving the Italians the edge after the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
Undermanned Bayern, nursing a bulging casualty ward, set the tone in the first half-hour, with Michael Olize and Harry Kane narrowly failing to break through.
Inter opened the scoring on the 38-minute mark when Marcus Thuram’s clever back-heel found Lautaro Martinez who blasted home.
The Italians maintained control until Bayern veteran Thomas Mueller, days after announcing a summer departure after 25 years at the club, scored the equalizer with a typical poacher’s finish with five minutes remaining.
Not content to be spectators to a Bayern fairytale ending, Inter broke on the counter just three minutes later, with Carlos Augusto finding Frattesi, who scored Inter’s second.
Inter, defeated in the final by Manchester City two seasons ago, have their noses in front in their bid to make the last four of the competition.
The late goal consigned Bayern to their first home defeat in the Champions League since 2021, a run of 22 matches.
Semi-finalists last season, Bayern’s preparation for the game was hampered by an injury crisis. The German giants were particularly hard hit in defense, with England veteran Eric Dier and Kim Min-jae the only two fit center-backs.
Inter had their own injury woes in the rematch of the 2010 Champions League final but welcomed the news that Alessandro Bastoni, subbed off at halftime in Serie A on Saturday, was fit to start.
Bayern coach Vincent Kompany replaced the injured Jamal Musiala by moving left-back Raphael Guerreiro to the number 10 position behind Kane, leaving veteran Mueller on the bench.
The hosts dominated the opening half hour, with Olize carving up the Inter defense at pace, but without finding the breakthrough.
Olize flashed just wide with seven minutes gone, hit a shot straight at Yann Sommer on the quarter-hour mark and found Kane to head at the ‘keeper shortly after.
The English-born France international dribbled through Inter’s defense to create Bayern’s best chance of the opening half, finding an unmarked Kane but the England captain hit his effort against the far post.
Inter’s forays into Bayern territory were brief but their confidence grew.
The Italians were ahead shortly before half-time, Thuram backheeled blind to Martinez who blasted into the top of the net.
Once ahead, Inter found the control which had eluded them earlier, managing the tempo and the tone of the match.
With 56 minutes gone, Bayern’s rookie goalkeeper Jonas Urbig kept Martinez out with a superb reflex save at the near post.
Kompany brought Mueller on with 15 minutes remaining and the Bayern veteran seemed to have given the match a fairytale ending in typical fashion, catching the Inter defense napping to tap in at the far post.
The goal was just the third Inter have conceded in 11 games in Europe this season.
Three minutes later however, Inter broke on the counter, Augusto finding Frattesi to guide home.
Late Frattesi strike gives Inter edge over Bayern in Champions League
https://arab.news/9y5sz
Late Frattesi strike gives Inter edge over Bayern in Champions League
- The late goal consigned Bayern to their first home defeat in the Champions League since 2021, a run of 22 matches
Courtois questions Real Madrid’s ‘individual’ attack after lopsided loss to Arsenal
“Maybe we need to make more team moves and not so many individual ones”
BARCELONA: Thibaut Courtois watched from the other end of the pitch as Real Madrid’s forward took turns crashing against the Arsenal defense.
Courtois had done his part by stopping a penalty. But Kylian Mbappé’s best shot sailed high and wide. Rodrygo’s dribbles got him nowhere, and Vinícius needed a defensive blunder to take Madrid’s sole goal of a 5-1 aggregate defeat in the Champions League quarterfinals.
“Sometimes you have to be self-critical and have a good look at everything,” the Belgian goalkeeper said after the 2-1 home loss to Arsenal midweek.
“Maybe we need to make more team moves and not so many individual ones, because if they double-mark Vini or Mbappé they can break it once, but not three, four or five times,” Courtois said. “We can’t always rely on one of our four attacking players dribbling past three defenders and scoring a great goal, we have to attack and defend better as a team.”
Exiting from the competition they have won five times in the last decade was not what Madrid expected when they added Mbappé to a squad that was coming off a record 15th European Cup and Spanish league title last season.
The France captain has scored a glut of goals in his first season with Madrid but failed to come up big in the biggest games, including two lopsided losses to Barcelona. Jeers were heard for Mbappé when he limped off the field on Wednesday with a hurt right ankle.
The hard truth is that the team have played worse with him on board. Madrid have had injuries in defense and they lost midfielder Toni Kroos to retirement but their attack has failed to click, with Mbappé having to adapt to a central striker role as Vinícius’ production dropped.
Courtois even called into question the range of attacking options for a squad that also counted on Endrick and Brahim Díaz as sparks off the bench. The goalie said Madrid were missing the tall, big striker who could win balls in the box like Joselu Mato, who scored critical goals in last season’s Champions League.
“It was difficult to find openings and we had little success. We were also unlucky with balls into the box. This year we don’t have a Joselu who can win those duels,” Courtois said. “Now we have to analyze what we can do better because we still have the (Spanish) league, the final of the Copa del Rey and the Club World Cup, and we want to get everything right.”
Athletic Bilbao up next in La Liga
There will be little let up for Madrid with a strong Athletic Bilbao arriving on Sunday aiming to dig into the wound left by Arsenal.
Madrid must try to overhaul a four-point deficit to Barcelona in La Liga as they try to salvage the season by defending their domestic title.
Madrid could be facing a seven-point gap with Barcelona by kickoff, if the front-runner beat Celta Vigo at home on Saturday.
Madrid will also face Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final next week, but coach Carlo Ancelotti will likely also need his team to retain the league crown to keep his job. The Italian manager admitted his future was in doubt after his team was outplayed by Arsenal, while also attempting to dampen speculation.
“I’m only thinking about preparing for the next game to stay in the fight for the league title and try to win the Copa del Rey,” he said.
Van Dijk signs new Liverpool contract
- The announcement comes with Liverpool potentially just days away from winning the EPL
- “I’m very happy, very proud,” said Van Dijk, whose existing deal, like Salah’s, had been set to expire at the end of the season
LIVERPOOL: Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk on Thursday signed a new two-year contract with the club, ending months of fevered speculation over his future just a week after Mohamed Salah extended his stay.
The announcement comes with Liverpool potentially just days away from winning the Premier League title in Arne Slot’s first season in charge.
“I’m very happy, very proud,” said Van Dijk, whose existing deal, like Salah’s, had been set to expire at the end of the season.
“There are so many emotions obviously that go through my head right now speaking about it.
“It’s a proud feeling, it’s a feeling of joy. It’s just incredible. The journey I’ve had so far in my career, to be able to extend it with another two years at this club is amazing and I’m so happy.”
With new deals confirmed for Salah and Van Dijk, the future of defender Trent Alexander-Arnold remains unresolved.
The England international, who returned to training on Wednesday after a month out because of injury, is out of contract at the end of the season and has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid.
Van Dijk, 33, has made 314 appearances for Liverpool, scoring 27 goals.
He has won the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, two League Cups, the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup, all under former manager Jurgen Klopp.
Last month Van Dijk said he had “no idea” if he would remain at Anfield but on Sunday hinted that he was set to extend his stay.
The imposing center-back had been linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain but said his heart was set on Liverpool.
“It was always Liverpool,” he said. “That was the case. It was always in my head, it was always the plan and it was always Liverpool.
“There wasn’t any doubt in my head that this is the place to be for me and my family. I’m one of Liverpool. Someone called me the other day an adopted Scouser — I’m really proud to hear these things, it gives me a great feeling.”
Van Dijk arrived from Southampton in January 2018 for £75 million ($99 million), then a world record fee for a defender, and has been instrumental in Liverpool’s rise back to the top of the English and European game.
He won the Champions League in 2019 and a year later helped deliver the club’s first league title for 30 years.
He also came second in the 2019 Ballon d’Or vote, losing out to Argentina star Lionel Messi, who has won the award eight times.
Van Dijk, who played for Celtic before joining Southampton, took over the club captaincy in 2023 following the departure of Jordan Henderson.
Now he is on the brink of adding to his collection of silverware with Liverpool, who are set to equal Manchester United’s record of 20 English titles.
The Reds are 13 points clear of Arsenal with just six games remaining and could wrap up the title this weekend if the Gunners lose.
Heat scorch Bulls to advance, Mavericks upset Kings
- Miami point guard Herro led from the front in a wire-to-wire victory that eliminated Chicago and sends the Heat into a winner-take-all clash against Atlanta Hawks on Friday
- Dallas will now play the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday with the winner advancing to a first-round playoff series against top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder
LOS ANGELES: Tyler Herro scored 38 points as the Miami Heat cruised past the Chicago Bulls 109-90 to keep their NBA playoff hopes alive on Wednesday.
Miami point guard Herro led from the front in a wire-to-wire victory that eliminated Chicago from postseason contention and sends the Heat into a winner-take-all clash against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.
The winner of Friday’s Miami-Atlanta game will advance to the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, where they will face No.1 seed Cleveland.
“We just came out in attack mode,” Herro told ESPN after Wednesday’s win.
“We had a couple of days off since the last game — myself, my teammates and the coaching staff put in a lot of work and it paid off.
“We’ve got one more to go. The job is not done yet, just to get in the playoffs. So we’ve got a long way to go.
“We have a bunch of guys who come in every day, put their hard hats on and they work. The season hasn’t exactly gone how we wanted it to, but we continue to get better. There’s a lot to look forward to.”
Herro was backed by 20 points from Andrew Wiggins, while Bam Adebayo and Davion Mitchell scored 15 points apiece.
Australian international Josh Giddey led Chicago’s scorers with 25 points.
Wednesday’s win marked the third season in a row that Chicago have been eliminated from the play-in tournament by Miami.
Miami, who finished 10th in the Eastern Conference regular season standings, were always in control after making a fast start against a surprisingly lackluster Chicago line-up.
Herro did most of the early damage, scoring from his first eight attempts to pour in 16 points in a 39-28 first quarter that left Miami in control at Chicago’s United Center.
A dominant second quarter — Miami outscoring Chicago 32-19 — left the Heat leading 71-47 with the Bulls seemingly powerless to halt the flow of Heat scoring.
Although Chicago rallied in the third quarter, outscoring Miami 27-17, it was too little too late and the Heat closed out a comfortable win in the fourth.
In Wednesday’s other play-in game, Anthony Davis and Klay Thompson combined for 50 points as the Dallas Mavericks brought the Sacramento Kings’ season to a juddering halt with a 120-106 blowout on the road in California.
The Mavericks, who scraped into the play-in tournament after finishing in 10th place in the West, seized control of the game in an explosive second quarter, outscoring Sacramento 44-19 to build a hefty double-digit advantage which they held for the remainder of the game.
Former Golden State star Thompson rattled in 23 points while Davis, who joined Dallas in February from the Los Angeles Lakers following his former team’s trade for Luka Doncic, finished with 27 points and nine rebounds.
“We’re so desperate to keep the postseason alive,” Thompson said afterwards.
“It’s a privilege to play basketball at this time of year. I told the guys before the game ‘We have nothing to lose. Go out there with a free swing, play for each other and play free-minded.’ Because that’s when we’re at our best.”
Dallas will now play the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday with the winner advancing to a first-round playoff series against top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.
Ben Sulayem: Saudi Arabia providing Arab world a major long-term F1 future
- FIA president says surge in F1 popularity particularly strong among young people, females, especially in the Kingdom
DUBAI: Mohammed Ben Sulayem, president of the FIA, has hailed Saudi Arabia’s role in cementing a long-term future for Formula 1 in the Middle East.
Looking forward to attending Sunday’s Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the fifth round of the 2025 championship at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Ben Sulayem said the Kingdom has made a major impact since its introduction in 2021.
“The race, and its spectacular venue in Jeddah, have added their own distinctive character and fascination to the sport’s global appeal, and reinforced the country’s status as a world-class location for motorsport,” he said.
“In recent years, the region’s engagement with Formula 1 has evolved from hosting races to fostering a passionate fan base and promoting inclusivity within the sport, something which is central to the FIA’s strategy for motorsport growth and development.
“The surge in F1 popularity in the Arab world has been particularly strong among younger demographics and female fans, especially in Saudi Arabia, where we see strong efforts to encourage the active involvement of young Saudis at all levels of motorsport.
“This is a process which is vital to ensure motorsport sustainability, and a long-term F1 future, in Saudi Arabia, and the Middle East as a whole.”
Ben Sulayem added: “We have not seen an F1 driver emerge from the region yet, but that may be a matter of time as more young candidates take to the track and the Arab world looks to play an increasingly influential role in F1, and the overall global motorsport landscape.”
In his fourth year since being elected as president of the FIA, the governing body for world motorsport and the federation for mobility organizations globally, Ben Sulayem has analyzed progress during his tenure, as well as the work that remains.
“The first three years were both busy and successful,” he said.
“Over 2,000 hours of consultation with clubs and members shaped the development of my 2021 manifesto, creating a clear vision and action plan for the future, which we are still working towards today.
“I remain committed to placing our members at the heart of the FIA and ensuring the federation is on the right track. Last year, we celebrated the FIA’s 120th anniversary, marked by hard work and key achievements.”
He added that financial reforms and “a sustainable model” led to a forecasted operational result of 2.2 million euros ($2.5 million), a “significant improvement” from the 24-million-euro deficit he inherited in 2021.
“Our ongoing efforts to enhance our operational and commercial strategies will see this trend continue.”
He added: “We have taken a knowledge-driven approach within the federation, promoting education and the sharing of information to create more career opportunities in motorsport.
“Last year, 13,500 individual courses were completed through the FIA University, and we delivered 70 motorsport safety research projects. By continuing to work together, we can ensure further success for the next century.”
Cricket’s 21st century growing pains
- Sport conflicted by multiple formats, and T20 franchise cricket threatens to eclipse Test series
A central tenet of the International Cricket Council in recent years has been to achieve growth in cricket.
A part of the ICC’s vision is to create opportunities for more people and nations to enjoy the sport. This may be the single unifying factor for all its members in an otherwise skewed governance regime, dominated by India, Australia and England.
However, growth is in the eye of the beholder. It could mean increased revenues, participation, watching or viewing, matches played, or more franchise leagues. Uncontrolled growth can lead to an inefficient use of resources, something already evident in an overcrowded international calendar.
It was concerning, therefore, to read reports emanating from an ICC board meeting held in Harare, Zimbabwe, from April 10 to 13, that the idea of officially recognizing the T10 cricket format was raised.
Although it is understood that the topic was not part of the official meeting agenda and did not receive much interest and support, it could be regarded as the first step in a process to achieve recognition.
The most prominent T10 tournament is the Abu Dhabi T10, first held in December 2017. Since then, T10 competitions have been held in the West Indies, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Nepal and the US.
Last year, a planned T10 league in Scotland was cancelled because it did not receive ICC sanction. Meanwhile, in Melbourne, five academy teams are currently playing a T10 competition promoted by Cricket Victoria.
So far, T10 cricket has not been played by full members in either men’s or women’s cricket at national level. If the format were to be recognized performance data would be included in a player’s official statistics.
Cricket is already a sport conflicted by multiple official formats. T20 franchise cricket threatens to eclipse Test cricket. In recognition of this, the ICC is considering splitting the 12 Test-playing members into two discrete divisions for Test series.
The issue of promotion and relegation is a stumbling block, as neither of Australia, England or India wish to forego series against each other. Smaller countries fear marginalization.
The multiple format factor was also a talking point over cricket’s inclusion in the 2028 Olympics. There was some support for the T10 format on the basis that it would be appealing to fans and allow more matches in a day in a single stadium. Its duration of 90 minutes puts it on a par with football.
However, it has been determined that six men’s and six women’s teams will compete in the T20 format. Ninety athlete quotas have been allocated for each gender, allowing squads of 15 players.
If the US qualifies automatically as host nation, the criteria for selecting the other five countries are awaited with interest. A long-awaited showcase of cricket’s diversity and global reach may end up being exclusive.
There can be little doubt that cricket’s inclusion was largely motivated by the desire to cater to South Asian audiences and provide the International Olympic Committee with opportunities to secure handsome broadcast deals.
Talk of switching the venue to New York from Los Angeles because it is 9.5 hours behind India compared with 12.5 has been quashed by the announcement that the Fairgrounds in Paloma, 50 km from Los Angeles, will be the venue. A temporary, purpose-built structure will be constructed on a 500-acre complex.
Both T10 cricket and the sport’s inclusion in the Olympics represent major opportunities for the ICC to pursue its growth mantra. Whilst Olympics participation is firmly underway, formal recognition of T10 appears some way off.
A particular concern is that adding another format alongside the three current international ones risks a dilution of interest in and the value of those formats. A glance at the introduction of The Hundred in England and Wales confirms that risk.
Another criticism of T10 is that bowlers have a limited role, since they can only bowl two overs. Teams batting second also appear to have an advantage, winning 70 percent of the time.
If T10 is not going to be officially recognized in the immediate future, growth will need to be generated through existing channels. There is a limit to how much the 96 ICC associate members can achieve. Together, they receive a mere 11 percent of the ICC’s annual revenue distribution, approximately $67.5 million, an average of $700,000.
As many of them can attest, the establishment of structures to develop local talent requires additional funding from alternative sources, which are hard to acquire. This is not a way to grow the game in those countries, either in terms of increased participation or international competitiveness.
Much has been made by the ICC of the growth in audience numbers for the 2025 Champions Trophy. It estimates that the total watch time was approximately 250 billion minutes, including 137 billion minutes on Star Sports and 110 billion minutes on JioHotstar.
The final between India and New Zealand saw peak concurrent viewership reach 122 million on TV and 61 million on JioHotstar, a new benchmark for digital views in cricket. The overall figures were almost a quarter higher than those for the ICC Men’s World Cup in 2023.
These growth outcomes are fueled by India, through its corporates and its people. The burning question is whether this dominance can have a cascade effect for the game in general. Applications of digital technology for spectators have been prominently developed in India.
Streaming platforms provide more ways to watch cricket. Social media has allowed fans to connect with teams and players in real time. Virtual reality technology promises to change the way in which they can watch and interact with cricket. Each of these channels is helping cricket to grow and reach more people around the world.
Cricket’s future is being determined by its ability to adapt to the digital age and to recognize that its audience now prefers shorter formats. Its future also depends upon the ability of its custodians to blend old traditions and formats with the new and emerging ones.
Without healthy domestic structures, which include longer formats, there is a danger that the top players, those coveted by the franchise leagues, will not be produced to the same standard. There is a counter argument that young players now grow up in T20 cricket and do not need to experience any other format to succeed.
In Harare, the ICC batted away discussion of T10 cricket to focus on suggestions to improve the longer formats. How long it can hold that line in the dash for growth is uncertain.
