Manchester United edged closer to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals with a 1-1 draw at Real Madrid on Wednesday, a high-profile showdown watched by an estimated 200 million people worldwide.
England international striker Danny Welbeck gave Alex Ferguson’s side the lead at the Santiago Bernabeu, before former Old Trafford star Cristiano Ronaldo leveled later in the first half.
In the night’s other round-of-16 tie, German champions Borussia Dortmund drew 2-2 at Shakhtar Donetsk in a game overshadowed by a horrifying plane crash at an airport that killed five fans.
Photo: AFP
“It’s very open still,” Ferguson said. “We have a big job on our hands, but it’s within our grasp. This is a difficult place to come, but the players have dug in and got a good result. We had great chances.”
In a match described by Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho as the clash the “whole world was waiting for,” it was the hosts who came close early on with United goalkeeper David de Gea, playing in the city of his birth, pushing a Fabio Coentrao drive onto the post.
However, it was United who snatched the lead after 20 minutes when Welbeck shrugged off the attentions of Sergio Ramos to head in a Wayne Rooney corner.
Photo: Reuters
Real were level after half an hour with Ronaldo living up the huge pre-match hype by scoring against his former club.
Ronaldo outjumped Patrice Evra to send a powerful header off an Angel di Maria left-wing cross past De Gea.
The Portuguese star’s subdued celebrations reflected the warmth with which he still regards United, where he spent six seasons.
De Gea, thriving in the city where he made his name with Atletico Madrid, was on hand again early in the second period to deny Di Maria, before Japan’s Shinji Kagawa made way for veteran Ryan Giggs, making his 150th European appearance.
Robin van Persie then saw a shot saved by Diego Lopez, with the ball coming back off the crossbar, and moments later the Dutchman miscued a close-range effort which was cleared off the line by Xabi Alonso.
“Everything is very open for second leg,” Mourinho said. “For them, they played very tactically, they play very deep, especially in second half. They were waiting for a set-piece to score. Even going there for second leg we can score goals.”
Van Persie said that home advantage in the second leg next month does not mean that the tie is over.
“We have a slight advantage, but at this kind of level it doesn’t matter if it’s home or away,” he said.
In Donetsk, five fans of the hosts, who had flown in for the match, were killed when their Antonov AN-24 plane, arriving from Odessa, was forced into an emergency landing.
There was a minute’s silence before kickoff at the Donbass Arena.
Dortmund, the 1997 European champions, almost snatched an early lead when Mats Hummels headed against the crossbar from a corner, but it was Shakhtar who took a 30th-minute lead when a Darijo Srna free-kick evaded the Dortmund defense, before beating goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller.
The German champions were level four minutes before the interval when Robert Lewandowski found the target after being set up by Mario Goetze.
Shakhtar regained the lead after 68 minutes when substitute Douglas Costa scored with a left-foot drive, but Dortmund finished on top and Hummels leveled with three minutes left.
“It is important that we are going into the second leg level and a 0-0 would see us through,” Hummels said. “Certainly there were a few dangerous moments in defense, but against a such an attack-minded team you can never avoid this.”
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and