CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Former England manager Steve McClaren saw his debut as a manager in the Champions League brought to an end on Tuesday in the cruelest fashion as Sporting Lisbon scored an injury-time goal to go through on the away goal rule with the tie with FC Twente finishing 1-1 on aggregate.
To make matters even harder to take for McClaren — who guided unfashionable Middlesbrough to the UEFA Cup final in 2006 where they lost to Sevilla — it was an own goal by Peter Wisgerhof, who deflected Sporting’s goalkeeper Rui Patricio’s header from a last ditch corner, which saw the visitors progress.
PHOTO: AP
Twente had held the lead virtually from the off with Brazilian defender Douglas giving them the lead in the second minute.
Kazakh side Aktobe were another side to suffer after taking the lead early on, but in their case they only had themselves to blame as they went 3-0 up after just 15 minutes away at Israeli outfit Maccabi Haifa.
Maccabi had reduced the deficit to 3-2 at half-time and then two second-half goals by Georgian international Vladimir Dvalishvili — who only arrived in the summer — saw the hosts to a remarkable 4-3 victory which was also the aggregate score.
Austrian side Salzburg also enjoyed a successful night away from home as they beat Croatian giants Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 to go through 3-2 on aggregate, while Greek heavyweights Panathinaikos overcame a 3-1 deficit from the first leg to beat Sparta Prague of the Czech Republic 3-0 and go through 4-3 on aggregate.
For Sparta it was a case of nightmares revisited as the same side had ousted them at the same stage of the competition last year and the writing was on the wall when Kostas Katsouranis made it 2-0 nine minutes into the second-half as it put the Greeks ahead on away goals.
However, they were only able to wrap up their place in the next round when Dimitris Salpingidis scored with a minute of the match remaining to give Dutch coach Henk ten Cate — a former Ajax manager and assistant manager at Chelsea — an important victory.
Yesterday’s action included the possibility of two of the better known clubs going out at what would be a disastrously early stage for them both.
Scottish giants Celtic were to try to overcome a 1-0 deficit in Moscow against Dynamo Moscow.
The former European Cup winners have never before overturned a first-leg deficit in European competition, but new manager Tony Mowbray is banking on them doing so as he said last week they need to progress in the competition if he is to have funds for new players.
Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk — their country’s first ever European trophy winners when they won the last ever UEFA Cup last season — also faced a tough task as they headed to unheralded Romanian side Timisoara with the hosts holding what could be an invaluable two away goals under their belt after a 2-2 draw in the first leg.
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Roger Federer on Wednesday said that staying involved with tennis in retirement helped him avoid feeling “like an alien” ahead of this week’s Laver Cup in Berlin. Federer, who helped create the tournament, retired at the Laver Cup in London two years ago and has since stayed involved with the competition as an ambassador. “I’m happy I went back right away to some tournaments,” the 43-year-old told reporters. “I feel I ripped the Band-Aid off quite quickly and when I walk around the tennis sites I still feel I belong there,” he said. “I don’t feel like an alien, which is a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two