MILAN, Italy: Liverpool strutted to a 3-1 win at AC Milan on Tuesday as the Reds got their campaign in the revamped Champions League off to a stylish start.
Arne Slot’s team reacted superbly to going behind in the third minute to a Christian Pulisic goal and ended up cruising to the three points thanks to strikes from Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai.
Fashion Week got underway in Milan on Tuesday and it was the away team who made all of the slick moves at the San Siro in a clash of European football royalty.
Liverpool and Milan have been crowned continental kings 13 times and have beaten each other in Champions League finals but the Reds were a class above and would have won by more had the woodwork not twice denied Mohamed Salah in the first half.
“It was a great day to celebrate your birthday at a stadium like this, and then to win,” said Slot, who turned 46 on Tuesday, to Prime Video.
“I wouldn’t have said this after five minutes but it went quite well.”
For Liverpool it was a return to perfect form after falling to a shock home defeat to Nottingham Forest at the weekend while Milan again struggled under new coach Paulo Fonseca ahead of Sunday’s Milan derby.
Fonseca has failed to convince Milan supporters, a large number of whom stayed away on Tuesday night with fewer than 60,000 turning up for their team’s highest profile fixture of the new league phase of Europe’s top club competition.
And Milan will likely have to face Italian champions Inter Milan, who take on Manchester City on Wednesday, without France goalkeeper Mike Maignan who limped off with a knee injury early in the second half.
“It’s a difficult start for us and we have to change things,” Pulisic told Sky in Italy before looking for an immediate response against Inter at the weekend.
“Of course it (the derby) is a big match for us,” he said. “We need to turn things around. We have a big opportunity to do that.”
Milan fans put up a giant display which read “fearless” before kick-off and the hosts tore straight into Liverpool, Virgil van Dijk desperately clearing Tijjani Reijnders low cross.
And Pulisic quickly had Milan ahead with his super low finish, punishing Liverpool’s dawdling defense after being brilliantly sent scurrying toward goal by Alvaro Morata at the end of a move which was started by Maignan.
Liverpool quickly responded however and were unlucky in the 16th minute when Salah smashed an effort with his weaker right foot off the crossbar.
And the away side, whose pressing had started to force Milan into giving the ball away cheaply, were level when Konate nodded home Trent Alexander-Arnold’s floated free-kick.
With the Reds taking control, Milan should have been behind before Van Dijk nodded Liverpool ahead, as Diogo Jota wasted a great chance seconds after Konate’s leveller and Salah smacked another shot off the bar on the half-hour mark.
Things got even worse for the home team in the 51st minute when Maignan, who had already dropped to the ground in pain twice during the first half, limped off after being clattered by Fikayo Tomori as the England defender desperately tried to stop Jota from extending Liverpool’s lead.
Maignan was replaced by teenager Lorenzo Torriani and the rookie could only look on in the 67th minute as Szoboszlai bundled home Cody Gakpo’s teasing cross after the Netherlands forward eased past sluggish Strahinja Pavlovic.
Disappointed Milan fans began streaming toward the exit long before the final whistle, after which a deluge of whistles and boos, and loud chants for their team to “show some balls,” met a thoroughly deserved defeat.
Stylish Liverpool strut past Milan in confident Champions league opener
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Stylish Liverpool strut past Milan in confident Champions league opener
- Fashion Week got underway in Milan on Tuesday and it was the away team who made all of the slick moves at the San Siro in a clash of European football royalty
Aston Villa officials unhappy with Premier League fixture change, citing ‘prejudice’
- The match was due to be played on Sunday, May 18, but will now take place on Friday, May 16
- Monchi, president of football operations at Villa, took to X to say the change in match date “is not what we wanted” and represented “the least damaging alternative”
LONDON: Aston Villa officials have expressed their unhappiness with the Premier League for bringing forward a match against Tottenham by two days to help Spurs maximize preparation time for a potential appearance in the Europa League final.
The match was due to be played on Sunday, May 18, but will now take place on Friday, May 16 — five days before the title match in the Europa League in Bilbao, Spain.
Tottenham lead Bodø/Glimt 3-1 from the first leg of the semifinals, with the return match on Thursday in Norway.
The fixture rearrangement gives Villa — a team chasing Champions League qualification — two fewer days to prepare for Tottenham, which might also choose to play a stronger lineup now there is more time to recover for a possible European final.
It also will affect travel and logistical arrangements for some Villa fans.
Monchi, president of football operations at Villa, took to X to say the change in match date “is not what we wanted” and represented “the least damaging alternative.”
“Our fans didn’t deserve (it),” he wrote on the social network site, “but we tried hard to keep the match to protect the most important for us: YOU and OUR TEAM.”
Damian Vidagany, Villa director of football operations, went further in a long post on X, saying there was a “clear prejudice” toward Villa fans and bemoaning the fact that his club “didn’t feel this support” over their last two European campaigns — in the Europa Conference League last season and the Champions League this season.
“European football is not only demanding for English clubs just on the verge of the finals,” Vidagany wrote.
Villa are in seventh place in the Premier League and in a battle with five other teams to secure the remaining four Champions League qualification spots on offer. Liverpool, the already crowned champion, have already qualified.
While it is commonplace in other countries, there has been no precedent for the Premier League moving games to benefit clubs playing in Europe.
Manchester United are also in the Europa League semifinals and hold a 3-0 lead over Athletic Bilbao from the first leg in Spain last week.
United will be playing a Premier League game on Friday, May 16, too — against Chelsea. So United and Tottenham would have the same amount of preparation time should they both reach the Europa League final.
PSG striker Ousmane Dembélé fit to face Arsenal in Champions League semifinal
- “I have him at my disposal tomorrow,” Enrique said on Tuesday.
- Dembélé was injured during the first leg and rested over the weekend when PSG lost to Strasbourg 2-1 in Ligue 1
PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain striker Ousmane Dembélé has recovered from a slight hamstring problem and will be in the squad taking on Arsenal in the second leg of their Champions League semifinal on Wednesday.
Coach Luis Enrique said Dembélé, who scored the winner in PSG’s 1-0 win in London last week, has been training with his teammates for two days.
“I have him at my disposal tomorrow,” Enrique said on Tuesday.
Dembélé was injured during the first leg and rested over the weekend when PSG lost to Strasbourg 2-1 in Ligue 1. Enrique heavily rotated his squad with the match against the Gunners in mind.
Dembélé’s goal against Arsenal was his eighth in nine Champions League appearances since the start of the year.
According to UEFA statistics, PSG have won 18 of the 19 ties in which they won a first leg away, while Arsenal have never overturned a home first leg defeat in European competition, losing all five ties. Enrique, however, isn’t counting on history ahead of the match at the Parc des Princes.
“We’re bound to suffer because our opponents don’t have a favorable result,” Enrique told reporters. “We need to match our performance as closely as possible in the first leg to win the return leg and stay true to our ideas.”
Both teams are looking for a first Champions League title, and second final. PSG lost to Borussia Dortmund at this stage last year. The French side lost to Bayern Munich in their only Champions League final in 2020, while Arsenal were runner-up to Barcelona in 2006.
Jokic-inspired Nuggets stun Thunder, Knicks down Celtics
- The towering three-time NBA Most Valuable Player finished with 22 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and a steal in addition to his 42-point tally
- Brunson — the 40-point hero of New York’s series-clinching win over Detroit last week — was once again in superb form as the Knicks climbed out of a 72-52 hole in the third quarter to snatch Game 1 at the TD Garden
LOS ANGELES: Aaron Gordon scored a last-gasp three-pointer and Nikola Jokic produced a 42-point masterpiece as the Denver Nuggets stunned the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder 121-119 in a dramatic NBA Western Conference semifinal series opener on Monday.
Nuggets forward Gordon drained a 25-foot effort from outside the arc with four seconds remaining to snatch victory against a Thunder lineup who had led by as many as 14 points in the third quarter at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
The Thunder continued to lead by double digits for much of the fourth quarter, but saw their advantage evaporate after 18 points from Serbian star Jokic in the final frame.
The towering three-time NBA Most Valuable Player finished with 22 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and a steal in addition to his 42-point tally.
Oklahoma City were left ruing two missed free throws from forward Chet Holmgren with 10 seconds remaining with his team defending a slender 119-118 lead.
Those misses proved costly, with Denver rebounding and launching the final offensive raid that ended with Gordon’s winning three-pointer.
Denver interim coach David Adelman paid tribute to the all-round effectiveness of Gordon, who finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds.
“I’m looking at ball-handling, responsibilities, leadership — he is a Denver Nugget, the soul of our team,” Adelman said. “So cool to see him have a moment like that.”
Gordon said the Nuggets’ calmness under pressure had helped them close out the win.
“A lot of guys stepped up,” he said. “We had poise and a belief that we were going to win no matter the circumstances.”
Gordon and Jokic were backed by 21 points from Jamal Murray and 18 points from Russell Westbrook.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City with 33 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, with Alex Caruso scoring 20 off the bench after shooting five three-pointers.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series takes place on Wednesday.
In the Eastern Conference semifinals, a pulsating battle in Boston saw the New York Knicks dig deep to edge past the reigning champion Celtics 108-105 after Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby scored 29 points apiece for New York.
Brunson — the 40-point hero of New York’s series-clinching win over Detroit last week — was once again in superb form as the Knicks climbed out of a 72-52 hole in the third quarter to snatch Game 1 at the TD Garden.
Brunson’s 29 points included five-of-nine from three-point range, with Anunoby pouring in six three-pointers in his 29-point haul.
Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum led Boston’s scoring with 23 points apiece on a miserable shooting night for the Celtics, who missed 45 three-point attempts — the most ever missed threes in a playoff game.
“It was a great team win,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said.
“We started well, then we fell into a hole and then we fought our way out and then we made tough plays down the stretch,” Thibodeau added.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said lax defense in the second half cost his team dearly.
“We left some of their good shooters open,” Mazzulla said. “There’s detail stuff that we have to be better at.”
Brown, who shot only seven-of-20 from the field and made only one-of-10 attempted three-pointers, said the Celtics would not get hung up on their wayward shooting night as they prepare for game two in Boston on Wednesday.
“We had a historic night of missed three-pointers,” Brown acknowledged. “We’ll take a look and kind of see what the energy was.
“In reality you’ve got to have a short-term memory — throw it away and get ready for game two.
“We don’t have time to let stuff carry over.”
Jannik Sinner all set for Rome Open after doping ban
- Sinner was welcomed back to action on Monday by thousands of fans who watched his first training session at the tournament on center court at the Foro Italico
- Sinner: I’m very happy, happy to be back here. It has been a very long, long three months
MILAN: Jannik Sinner is the star of the show at the upcoming Rome Open as the world No. 1 and Italian tennis hero gears up for his return to the courts after a contested doping ban.
Away from the game since agreeing a suspension with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in February, Sinner was welcomed back to action on Monday by thousands of fans who watched his first training session at the tournament on center court at the Foro Italico.
Such is the interest in Sinner, who has become a national hero in Italy since rising to the top of the men’s game, that Sky Sport broadcast the practice match with world No. 38 Jiri Lehecka live on television.
All eyes will be on the 23-year-old as he hasn’t swung a racket since retaining his Australian Open title in January, a victory which took his Grand Slam tally to three.
“I’m very happy, happy to be back here. It has been a very long, long three months,” Sinner told reporters in a packed conference room inside the center court.
Fans in Rome have waited two years to see Sinner play their clay court tournament after he missed last year’s edition, won by Alexander Zverev, with injury.
It is on a surface which is not his favorite and his rustiness was clear to see on Monday.
Only one of Sinner’s 19 titles has come on clay, in Umag back in 2022, the same year as his best result in Rome, a quarter-final exit at the hands of beaten finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas.
However he does have some time before he finally takes to the court, his status as the top-ranked player on the men’s tour allowing him a bye into the second round which starts on Friday.
Sinner has been fortunate that none of his rivals took advantage of his enforced pause, with second-ranked Zverev still almost 2,000 points behind the man who beat him in the Australian Open final.
Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz is yet to arrive in Rome after withdrawing from the Madrid Open while Novak Djokovic will have to wait a bit longer for his 100th ATP title after deciding to sit out a tournament he has won six times.
Sinner is eyeing a run at the French Open, the second Slam of the season which follows the Rome tournament.
“My objective is Roland Garros, I’m here to see what level I’m at,” said Sinner.
“I’m not here to beat whoever, but to get past the second round and then see what happens.”
Sinner’s rise to the top of the game in 2024, when he won eight titles including his first two Slams and the ATP Finals, was dogged by the controversy which followed his two positive tests for traces of clostebol in March last year.
He said last month he hit “rock bottom” at the most recent Australian Open, saying he felt like other players “looked at me differently.”
Sinner was aggrieved as he feels he did nothing wrong, and WADA said explicitly he “did not intend to cheat,” accepting he was contaminated by his physiotherapist using a spray containing the banned substance to treat a cut before providing a massage.
Regardless, he also had to accept the three-month ban offered by WADA, rather than risk being forced out of tennis for two years just as he became the dominant force in men’s tennis.
“I didn’t want to do it in the beginning. It was a bit not easy for me to accept it because I know what really happened,” said Sinner.
“But sometimes you have to choose the best in a very bad moment. And that’s what we did. It’s all over now, so I’m happy to play again.”
Milan clinch 2-1 win with two quick-fire goals in rainy Genoa clash
- The result keep Milan at ninth place with 57 points, six points behind fourth-placed Juventus
- Milan completed the turnaround when Genoa midfielder Frendrup, attempting to clear a short cross, inadvertently tapped the ball into his own net
GENOA: AC Milan secured a 2-1 victory over Genoa in a rainy Monday Serie A clash, with a rapid second-half turnaround driven by Rafael Leao’s equalizer and an own goal from Morten Frendrup.
The result keep Milan at ninth place with 57 points, six points behind fourth-placed Juventus, who occupy the last Champions League spot, with three rounds remaining.
With crucial back-to-back clashes against Bologna looming — first in the league followed by the Coppa Italia final — Milan appeared passive for much of the match, lacking urgency and creativity until a late surge turned the tide.
“We always try to improve. We work on individual and group levels. We work a lot,” Milan manager Sergio Conceicao told reporters.
“The players responded well, which shows we have a group that believes in what we do at Milanello (Milan training ground). I’m pleased with that.”
Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan was the stand out performer in a first half largely dominated by Genoa, making several crucial saves to keep his side level at the break.
Milan began to find their rhythm late in the first half and nearly took the lead just before the break, but Christian Pulisic was denied at point-blank range by a sharp save from Genoa keeper Nicola Leali.
The second half started in a largely uninspired fashion, with the relentless downpour proving more consistent than the football, as play was frequently halted for injury treatments.
Vitinha, introduced only a minute earlier, made an instant impact in the 61st minute, drifting into space inside the box and smashing home a perfectly delivered cross with his first touch to put Genoa in front.
Quick turnaround
A fortunate equalizer from Leao came in the 76th minute, when a low cross from the byline by Santiago Gimenez wrong-footed the Genoa defense and found the Portuguese forward unmarked in the box; his shot took a deflection off Genoa’s Brooke Norton-Cuffy before nestling in the net to level the score.
Less than two minutes later, Milan completed the turnaround when Genoa midfielder Frendrup, attempting to clear a short cross, inadvertently tapped the ball into his own net.
In stoppage time, Milan nearly added a third when Leao fired a powerful effort that Leali was forced to parry away from danger.
“In terms of our game plan, we could’ve done better in possession during the first half. We played against a tough team on a tough pitch. Credit to the opponent — but we could have looked for depth more,” Conceicao said.
“On the goal we conceded, collectively, we could have done more.”
