PORTO, PORTUGAL (AFP) - Atletico Madrid grabbed a place in the last 16 of the Champions League as Antoine Griezmann scored one goal and had a key role in the two others as the Spanish side beat Porto 3-1. The win in northern Porto coupled with AC Milan's 2-1 defeat to a second-string Liverpool side at the San Siro was enough to send Diego Simeone's side through as the second-placed team in Group B despite starting the day bottom. Yannick Carrasco complicated Atletico's task by getting sent off with 20 minutes to go for grappling Otavio to the ground in a touchline melee. Three minutes later, the numbers were evened up as Porto had Wendell red-carded after French referee Clement Turpin adjudged he had struck an Atletico player. Porto had two golden chances to score, but Mehdi Taremi wasted both. First he was denied by a brilliant one-handed save by Jan Oblak in the first half and then he side-footed over the bar in the second from a good position. After a largely sterile first half, all the goals came in a frenetic second period. Against the run of play, Atletico went ahead on 56 minutes when Griezmann was left unmarked by Otavio and nonchalantly tapped in at the back post from an in-swinging corner. Ater the bad-tempered period that produced two red cards, Griezmann created the second goal by drawing two Porto defenders on the touchline before brilliantly slipping the ball to the charging Angel Correa who kept his head to slide a shot past 'keeper Diogo Costa. Griezmann was involved again as Porto, with players committed in attack, were caught out and the French striker scuffed his shot but Rodrigo De Paul made no mistake two minutes into stoppage time. Sergio Oliveira scored from the penalty spot for Porto in the sixth minute of injury time but the long faces on the Portuguese side's bench told the story of the match. More on this topic Related Story Football: Perfect Liverpool knock Milan out of Champions League Related Story Football: Walker sent off as Man City crash in Champions League at Leipzig
LONDON (AFP) - West Ham ended Manchester City's four-year hold on the League Cup on Wednesday (Oct 27) as Liverpool and Tottenham booked their places in the quarter-finals. City's record run in the competition came to an end at the London Stadium as the Hammers emerged 5-3 winners from a penalty shootout after both sides were guilty of missing plenty of chances in a 0-0 draw. Phil Foden was the only man to miss from the spot as Mark Noble, Jarrod Bowen, Craig Dawson, Aaron Cresswell and Said Benrahma all found the net for David Moyes' men. Pep Guardiola characteristically named a strong side and will feel City should have continued their run of 21 League Cup games without defeat. Nathan Ake, John Stones, Ilkay Gundogan and Raheem Sterling all wasted big opportunities as the scoreline belied a contest which raged from one end to the other. Tomas Soucek also side-footed wide two big chances to win the game for the hosts. Foden was thrown on along with Jack Grealish in an attempt to win the game from Guardiola. But the England international pulled City's first penalty wide and stand-in goalkeeper Zack Steffen could not bail his teammate out despite getting a hand to Bowen and Benrahma's strikes. Liverpool will now fancy their chances of winning the League Cup for the first time in nine years, but had to overcome a poor start to win 2-0 at Preston. The Reds had scored 30 goals in eight previous away games this season, but a much-changed side from Jurgen Klopp failed to hit the heights of Sunday's famous 5-0 win at Manchester United. Preston had by far the better of the first-half as Adrian made a point-blank save from Sean Maguire, Neco Williams cleared off the line and Brad Potts fired over within a matter of seconds. Liverpool were clinical as they went in front with their first shot on target just after the hour mark as Williams' cross was acrobatically flicked home by Takumi Minamino. Klopp's men then controlled the final half hour and doubled their lead in spectacular fashion when Divock Origi's backheel dinked the ball over Delcan Rudd. Tottenham's bid for a first trophy since they last won the League Cup in 2008 remains on course as Nuno Espirito Santo was rewarded for naming a strong side with a 1-0 win at Burnley. Lucas Moura scored the only goal 22 minutes from time with a powerful downward header from Emerson Royale's cross. Leicester also needed penalties to see off Brighton after an entertaining game ended 2-2. The Foxes twice pounced on Brighton gifting possession away in dangerous areas to take the lead through Harvey Barnes and Ademola Lookman in the first-half. Adam Webster and Enock Mwepu levelled for the Seagulls, but Mwepu and Neal Maupay failed to beat Danny Ward from the spot. Brentford reached the last eight for the second consecutive season with a 2-1 win at Stoke thanks to first-half goals from Sergi Canos and Ivan Toney.
MONTREAL (AFP) - The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) said on Friday (May 21) it will trial the use of dried blood spot testing at the Tokyo Olympics, an innovative new technique hailed as a potential "game-changer" in the fight against drug cheats. Speaking following a virtual meeting of the global anti-doping watchdog's board and executive committee, Wada president Witold Banka said the new method would complement existing anti-doping techniques. Dried blood spot testing - in which small samples are collected from a finger prick and blotted onto an absorbent card - could mark a new era in anti-doping, eventually allowing for more athletes to be targeted and more tests to be carried out, Banka said. "It has the potential to make a significant positive impact for both athletes and anti-doping organisations," Banka said. "I truly believe that it could be a real game-changer in anti-doping." While Wada said the new method would be trialled at this year's delayed Tokyo Olympics, testers hoped to have the technique in "routine" use by next February's Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing. Wada said dried blood spot testing allowed for greater analysis of unstable compounds and made it easier to test athletes in remote areas around the world, where traditional blood samples were often difficult to transport. "Given the logistical and cost advantages, DBS will allow testing authorities to target more athletes and collect more samples," Banka said, describing it as a "great step forward" for anti-doping. Olivier Rabin, Wada's head of science, said dried blood spot samples were also cheaper to collect. "Currently, when we transport blood samples, we transport in vials. This time we only transport a piece of paper," Rabin said. "There is also a significant saving in terms of storage of the samples, because the volume that needs to be stored is much lower. "It's much easier to store cards with dried blood spots on them than vials of blood or even urine." More on this topic Related Story Olympics: IOC veteran Pound says Tokyo Games 'a go' Related Story Olympics: Russia unveils flagless uniforms for Tokyo Games
LONDON (REUTERS) - Chelsea slipped up in their push for a Champions League spot when they lost 1-0 at home to Arsenal in the Premier League on Wednesday (May 12) with Emile Smith Rowe's first-half goal settling the London derby after a defensive mix-up by the hosts. The visitors capitalised on a wayward back pass by Chelsea's Jorginho to goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga who scrambled back to palm it off the line. The ball fell to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who cut it back for Smith Rowe to score in the 16th minute. Five minutes earlier, Kai Havertz had spurned a glorious chance to put Chelsea ahead when the German dispossessed Arsenal defender Pablo Mari, ran through on goal but fired over when he looked certain to score. Chelsea, who play Leicester City in the FA Cup final on Saturday and Manchester City in the Champions League final on May 29, dominated the ball but failed break down Arsenal's organised defensive lines. The Blues almost drew level in the 90th minute when Kurt Zouma's header was tipped onto the crossbar by Bernd Leno and former Gunner Olivier Giroud, on as a sub, volleyed against the bar. The rare defeat under coach Thomas Tuchel left Chelsea in the last of the Premier League's four Champions League qualifying spots with two games to play. They are six points clear of West Ham United who have three matches left and seven ahead of Liverpool who have four games to play. Arsenal edged up to eighth spot but have played more matches than Everton and Tottenham Hotspur, their main rivals in the hunt for a Europa League spot.
SINGAPORE - For the first time in Singapore's table tennis history, a local-born paddler will be competing in the men's singles at the Olympic Games after Koen Pang and Clarence Chew both reached the final of the Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament in Doha. With the winner of the clash earning a ticket to Tokyo, the all-Singaporean final guarantees a spot for the Republic. While China-born Gao Ning last competed for Singapore at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where he was eliminated in the second round, no local-born player has ever qualified for the men's individual event. The Singapore women’s team of Feng Tianwei, Yu Mengyu and Lin Ye have already booked their spot at the July 23-Aug 8 Games, with world No. 10 Feng and world No. 48 Yu to also contest the women’s singles. Competing at the Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena, both Pang and Chew won their semi-final matches on Friday (March 19) after topping their respective groups in the South-east Asian contest at the tournament. SEA Games champion Pang, 18, beat Thailand's Padasak Tanviriyavechakul 4-0 (17-15, 11-6, 11-5, 11-7), while Chew defeated Indonesia's Rafanael Nikola Niman 4-1 (11-7, 7-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-4). Pang said: "I was very calm and collected when I played today, and I executed my strategies well. I was very confident as I knew what to do as I played him once and won against him in the 2019 SEA Games." While happy to reach the final, Chew, 25, plans to try and "stay calm" ahead of the clash with his teammate on Saturday as he focuses on his receiving and footwork. He said: "It will definitely be a tough match but I just want to give my best and leave no regrets regardless of results." In the mixed doubles earlier in the day, Pang and Lin Ye narrowly missed out on the final after a 4-2 (12-10, 9-11, 11-5, 5-11, 11-8, 13-11) defeat by India's Sharath Kamal Achanta and Manika Batra in the last four. The Indian pair will meet South Korean pair Lee Sang-su and Jeon Ji-hee in the final on Saturday for a spot at the Tokyo Games. Embed code for #GameOfTwoHalves channel player:
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND (REUTERS) - A mistake by Everton keeper Jordan Pickford helped Leicester City stretch their unbeaten Premier League run to seven although they will be disappointed with a 1-1 draw on Wednesday (Jan 27). With Everton hanging on to the lead given them by James Rodriguez in the first half, England keeper Pickford let Youri Tielemans's shot squirm into the net in the 67th minute. Rodriguez's 30th-minute strike was a beauty but Leicester dominated for large periods, especially after the break. Despite that it was Everton who actually finished strongly and Dominic Calvert-Lewin missed a chance to win it. The draw left Leicester in third spot with 39 points, two points behind leaders Manchester City who have played a game fewer. Everton remain in seventh spot with 33 although they have games in hand on most of the sides above them.
PARIS (REUTERS) - Neymar scored on his return from injury as Paris St Germain beat Olympique de Marseille 2-1 to win the French Super Cup in Lens on Wednesday (Jan 13). Brazil forward Neymar, who had been out of action since mid-December with an ankle injury, netted from the penalty spot in the second half to add to Mauro Icardi's first-half opener. Icardi, who has been struggling for goals this season, found the back of the net in the first half to set Ligue 1 champions PSG on the way to a routine win against last season's runners-up Marseille. Icardi, who earlier had a goal ruled out for offside, put PSG ahead six minutes before the break from close range after his header was parried back into his path by Steve Mandanda. Neymar replaced Angel Di Maria in the 65th minute for his first appearance in 2021. He put on a convincing display, which was rewarded with a goal from the spot five minutes from fulltime after Icardi was brought down in the area by Yohann Pele. Dimitri Payet pulled one back for Marseille in the 89th minute when he latched onto Florian Thauvin's cross but PSG held firm to give new coach Mauricio Pochettino his second win in three games with the capital side.
BARCELONA (AFP) - Cristiano Ronaldo struck twice from the penalty spot to win his battle with rival Lionel Messi and guide Juventus to a 3-0 win over Barcelona on Tuesday (Dec 8), earning the Italians top spot in Champions League Group G. The former Real Madrid striker and his Argentina counterpart traded Ballon d'Or wins for a decade between 2008-2017 and were figureheads for the duelling Spanish giants, but there was only one winner at the Camp Nou as they met for the first time since Ronaldo's departure for Juve in 2018. Andrea Pirlo's Juventus lost 2-0 at home against Barcelona in October without Ronaldo, sidelined with Covid-19, but were greatly improved and earned the first Champions League away win against Barcelona since Bayern Munich triumphed in 2013. Both sides, tied on 15 points, were assured of qualification before kick-off, but Juve's three-goal victory handed them a superior head-to-head record. Ronald Koeman, reeling from Barcelona's 2-1 defeat by promoted minnows Cadiz on Saturday in La Liga, reacted by making four changes but the hosts started badly. It only took 13 minutes for Ronaldo to break the deadlock, slotting home from the penalty spot after the referee deemed Ronald Araujo's challenge on him a foul. Juventus did not relent and their pressure led to a second goal, US midfielder Weston Mckenzie volleying home Juan Cuadrado's sweetly clipped cross in the 20th minute. The Catalans and their captain Messi finally woke from their slumber, as the attacker had one effort blocked by Matthijs de Ligt and another saved by veteran goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, while Pjanic lashed over the bar. Ronaldo notched his second from the penalty spot in the 52nd minute after Clement Lenglet handled clumsily in the area, as the hosts imploded. Antoine Griezmann, who was invisible in the first half, grazed the crossbar with a looping header from a Messi free kick, and Buffon beat out another effort, with De Ligt's pressure enough to stop Martin Braithwaite converting the rebound. Leonardo Bonucci had a fourth goal ruled out for offside after he tapped in Ronaldo's effort from close range, with Messi trying in vain at the other end to answer Ronaldo, but he found the 42-year-old Buffon in his way time and time again.