Torres treble powers Barca past Valencia into Copa del Rey semis

Torres treble powers Barca past Valencia into Copa del Rey semis
FC Barcelona's Ferran Torres celebrates scoring their second goal with Lamine Yamal. (Reuters)
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Updated 07 February 2025
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Torres treble powers Barca past Valencia into Copa del Rey semis

Torres treble powers Barca past Valencia into Copa del Rey semis
  • Fermin Lopez and Lamine Yamal were also on target for the record 31-time Spanish Cup winners as they swaggered to victory at an upset Mestalla stadium
  • Earlier Real Sociedad progressed with a comfortable 2-0 win over 10-man Osasuna, joining Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in a strong final four

VALENCIA: Ferran Torres hit a hat-trick as Barcelona routed Valencia 5-0 on Thursday to cruise into the Copa del Rey semifinals.

Fermin Lopez and Lamine Yamal were also on target for the record 31-time Spanish Cup winners as they swaggered to victory at an upset Mestalla stadium.

Earlier Real Sociedad progressed with a comfortable 2-0 win over 10-man Osasuna, joining Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in a strong final four.

Former Valencia forward Torres took the plaudits with his treble inside 30 minutes, taking full advantage of Barca coach Hansi Flick’s decision to rest striker Robert Lewandowski.

The Spaniard netted in the third minute, running onto a fine Alejandro Balde through ball and finishing clinically against his former side.

Torres netted the second after 17 minutes when teenage winger Yamal’s shot bounced off the post back into his path.

Lopez put Barcelona three up midway through the first half with a well-timed run expertly found by Pedri Gonzalez, rounding goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski and tucking home.

Torres completed his hat-trick after half-an-hour with an accurate low finish after Raphinha teed him up on the edge of the box.

The former Manchester City winger’s bright display offered food for thought, with Barcelona scoring at least five goals in the last four games where veteran Polish striker Lewandowski has not started.

Some Valencia fans started leaving the Mestalla stadium in anger, a constant theme around the club with owner Peter Lim criticized by supporters with chants and banners.

This was Valencia’s second thrashing at Barca’s hands in the space of two weeks, after the Catalans triumphed 7-1 at home in La Liga.

Valencia had a rare moment of cheer at the start of the second half when Umar Sadiq found the net but the goal was ruled out for offside.

The gangly Nigerian striker then won a penalty but that too was scrapped after he was shown to be offside again in the build-up.

At the other end Yamal struck the post again but this time the ball flew out and to safety for Valencia.

The 17-year-old Spain star got his goal eventually with a low effort which took a small deflection and beat Dimitrievski, who could still have kept it out.

In San Sebastian Ander Barrenetxea and Brais Mendez struck for hosts Real Sociedad before Osasuna had Alejandro Catena sent off for a wild challenge after 35 minutes.

Osasuna beat the same opposition 2-1 in La Liga on Sunday but Catena’s dismissal effectively ended any hope of mounting a comeback.

La Real reached the Copa semifinals for the third time in six seasons, last winning in the 2020 edition.


India look to maintain momentum against faltering England in third Test

India look to maintain momentum against faltering England in third Test
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India look to maintain momentum against faltering England in third Test

India look to maintain momentum against faltering England in third Test
  • Shubman Gill has enjoyed a stunning start to his reign as India captain, with a remarkable 585 runs in his first two Tests as skipper
  • So prolific has Gill been, he could now threaten Australia great Donald Bradman’s record of 974 runs in a single Test series

LONDON: An in-form India will continue their quest for just a fourth series win in England when the third Test at Lord’s starts on Thursday.

India levelled this five-match campaign at 1-1 with a 336-run rout of England in last week’s second Test at Edgbaston.

Here are several key talking points ahead of what promises to be a fascinating encounter:

Shubman Gill has enjoyed a stunning start to his reign as India captain, with a remarkable 585 runs in his first two Tests as skipper after replacing the retired Rohit Sharma.

At Edgbaston, thanks to innings of 269 and 161, the admirably composed and elegant Gill became the first batsman in Test cricket to make scores of 250 and 150 in the same match.

So prolific has Gill been, he could now threaten Australia great Donald Bradman’s record of 974 runs in a single Test series, after the 25-year-old also made 147 in India’s five-wicket defeat in the opener at Headingley.

“You’ve got got to give your opposition credit when it’s due and for him to bang out as many runs as he has done in this game has been pretty special,” said England captain Ben Stokes.

One encouraging thought for Stokes, however, as he ponders how to get the better of Gill, is that Bradman’s mark has stood for 95 years.

Many batsmen have made blistering starts, only for the runs to dry up later on.

South Africa’s Graeme Smith started his captaincy reign with back-to-back double hundreds in England, at Edgbaston and Lord’s, in 2003.

Opening batsman Smith, however, managed just 93 more runs in the remaining three Tests of that series.

It has been over four years since fast bowler Jofra Archer last played a Test but the injury-blighted express quick now appears set to return at Lord’s, where in 2019 he marked his debut by felling Australia’s Steve Smith with a fearsome bouncer.

Doubts remain over whether Archer can be the bowler he once was after such a lengthy lay-off.

But England coach Brendon McCullum said: “He’s obviously been through his injuries and his time out of Test cricket, but we all know what he’s capable of achieving and we hope that when the opportunity does arrive for him, he’s able to recapture and improve on what he’s been able to do already.”

Archer at his best would certainly give England a much-needed cutting edge.

Chris Woakes has taken just three wickets at a hugely expensive average of nearly 97 apiece so far this series, despite being given the new ball.

England great Geoffrey Boycott suggested the 36-year-old was now “past his sell-by date” but all-rounder Woakes has a fine record at Lord’s, with 32 wickets in seven Tests at a miserly average of 12.90, as well as a batting average of 42.50.

Akash Deep proved a more than capable stand-in with a 10-wicket haul in Birmingham — a return that will surely see him keep his place— but it is hard to see how India can be anything but stronger with a refreshed Jasprit Bumrah in their side after resting the world’s top-ranked Test bowler at Edgbaston.

“He (Bumrah) jogs in, you will be thinking ‘this will be 70 miles an hour’ and it hits you at 90,” former England paceman Stuart Broad told his ‘For the Love of Cricket’ podcast.

Overseas players often raise their game at Lord’s and Bumrah is unlikely to be an exception as the 31-year-old fast bowler bids to gain a coveted place on the dressing room honors board for the first time in his career.


Joao Pedro brace sends Chelsea into Club World Cup final

Joao Pedro brace sends Chelsea into Club World Cup final
Updated 09 July 2025
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Joao Pedro brace sends Chelsea into Club World Cup final

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, Sabalenka take contrasting routes into Wimbledon semifinals
Updated 08 July 2025
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Alcaraz, Sabalenka take contrasting routes into Wimbledon semifinals

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 and PSG set for reunion as Real Madrid eye final
Updated 08 July 2025
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Mbappe and PSG set for reunion as Real Madrid eye final

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

Turki Alalshikh announces The Ring IV in Riyadh Season featuring four world title fights
Updated 08 July 2025
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Turki Alalshikh announces The Ring IV in Riyadh Season featuring four world title fights

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.