David Villa took his career goals tally to 301 when he netted twice as holders Barcelona eliminated third-tier Alaves 6-1 on aggregate to qualify for the last 16 of the King’s Cup on Wednesday.
The striker clipped a free-kick into the top corner in the 56th minute at the Camp Nou and smashed home Cristian Tello’s layoff three minutes later as Barca came from behind to win the second leg 3-1.
Coach Tito Vilanova took the chance to give some time on the pitch to players returning from injury and some promising youngsters and rested regulars including Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta.
After Barca had won last month’s first leg at Alaves 3-0, the Basque club took a surprise 17th-minute lead when Borja Viguera nodded past Jose Manuel Pinto.
Adriano leveled in the 35th minute when he exchanged passes with Thiago Alcantara and sidefooted past Alaves goalkeeper Sergio Herrera before Villa struck twice after the break.
Levante won 4-1 on the night and 4-2 on aggregate but were given a scare by Melilla when they conceded an early goal to the third-tier side that would have sent them crashing out.
Melilla won the first leg 1-0 and were leading 2-1 on aggregate until goals from Roger Marti, Michel and Vicente Iborra from the penalty spot sent Valencia-based Levante through.
Atletico Madrid, Getafe and Valencia all reached the last 16 but Espanyol were thrashed 3-0 at home by Sevilla, the Andalusians progressing 6-1 on aggregate.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
Playing soccer and competing for trophies is the best way that many transplanted Hong Kongers and Macanese have found to stay in touch, and to interact with Taiwanese society, said officials at the Taiwan-Hong Kong-Macau Football Friendship Cup, which was held on April 13. Twelve clubs, mostly of players and coaches originally from Hong Kong and Macau, took part in the tournament in New Taipei City. The event is sponsored by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and the Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council. Participating teams were from the wider Taipei area, Hsinchu, Taichung, Kaohsiung and other areas. They divided into two