CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
The carrot of qualifying for the last 16 of Europe’s premier club competition is dangling in front of some of the biggest teams involved in this year’s Champions League.
But finishing top of their groups is another incentive enticing the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool, Inter and Atletico Madrid ahead of today’s penultimate round of group games.
Of the 16 teams in action, only two — Barcelona and Sporting Lisbon — have qualified for the knockout phase.
For the teams in the three other groups, things are more open.
Chelsea lead Roma and Bordeaux by just a point in Group A, Cypriot surprise package Anorthosis are hoping to pip Panathinaikos to join virtually qualified Inter from Group B and Liverpool and Atletico have virtually sealed the top two spots in Group D.
With 10 points from four games Barcelona need only a draw away to Sporting Lisbon to retain the lead of Group C ahead of their final group game at home to Shakhtar Donetsk.
Barcelona beat Sporting 3-1 in their opening group fixture, but the possible absence of injured Argentine Lionel Messi and Barcelona’s unexpected 1-1 Spanish league draw at home to Getafe may have given hope to Sporting.
While Shakhtar host FC Basel hoping to hold on to third place and a UEFA Cup spot, Barca coach Pep Guardiola says he can cope with losing a key player such as Messi.
“He is a special player that is key for us but I have others,” Guardiola said.
Atletico and Liverpool are also battling for top spot, in Group D — and it could all come down to who scores the most goals.
Both sides are eyeing victory today with Atletico, who lead Liverpool only on goal difference, welcoming PSV Eindhoven while Rafa Benitez’s Reds host UEFA Cup-bound Marseille.
Group A is far more open and Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc will be hoping for an off-night from Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka, his former France teammate during Les Bleus triumphant Euro 2000 campaign.
Defeat for Chelsea would be prove disastrous for Luiz Felipe Scolari’s Blues, who have qualified for the knockout phase for the past six successive seasons, and would split the group wide open.
In Group B victory for Inter against resurgent Panathinaikos in Milan would guarantee they go through as group winners.
Jonas Vingegaard on Tuesday claimed the overall Vuelta a Espana lead while Jay Vine earned the stage 10 victory for his second triumph of the race. Two-time Tour de France winner Vingegaard overhauled Torstein Traen’s lead to head the general classification by 26 seconds from the Norwegian, with Joao Almeida third and trailing the Dane by 38 seconds. Vine put in an unmatchable performance on the final climb to finish ahead of Spanish Movistar riders Pablo Castrillo and Javier Romo. “Back in red, I’m happy with it, it’s a beautiful jersey,” Vingegaard said. “I’m happy with how the day went,
Australian Alex de Minaur reached the second week of the US Open for the third year in a row with little fanfare on Saturday and said he intended to keep winning until the tournament organizers were forced to give him better billing. Despite being the eighth seed and a quarter-finalist last year at Flushing Meadows, De Minaur’s third-round match against German Daniel Altmaier was scheduled for Court 17 — the smallest of the four stadium venues in the precinct. “It is a little bit of a headscratcher for me. I’m not gonna lie,” he told reporters after progressing 6-7 (9/7), 6-3, 6-4,
RIVALRY: Carlos Alcaraz lost his previous two matches against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, in the Australian Open quarter-finals this year and Paris Olympics final last year Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday dazzled at the US Open to make the semi-finals before Novak Djokovic of Serbia danced his way through to book a New York showdown with the Spaniard that would mark the latest chapter in their generational rivalry. Former champion Alcaraz produced yet another entertaining display at Flushing Meadows to dismantle 20th seed Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 at a sunbathed Arthur Ashe Stadium, securing his place in the last four without dropping a set this year. “Sometimes I play a shot that I should not play in that moment, but it’s the way I love
Spain are in danger of not getting out of EuroBasket Group C after losing 67-63 to Italy on Tuesday, but the defending champions still control their destiny. Marco Spissu put Italy in front for good at 64-63 with two free throws with 31 seconds left and made two more with 14 seconds remaining. Giampaolo Ricci converted one of two free throws with eight seconds on the clock. Spain, which in 2022 won their fourth title, are tied with Georgia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina at 2-2 each. Greece and Italy have clinched two of the group’s four spots in the round-of-16,
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