Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice from the penalty spot and was also hit on the head by a lighter thrown from the crowd as Real Madrid sealed their place in the Copa del Rey final with a 2-0 win over holders Atletico Madrid that saw tehim triumph 5-0 on aggregate.
Any chance of Atletico recovering from their 3-0 defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu last week was extinguished after just seven minutes, when Ronaldo opened the scoring after being felled by Manquillo.
The Portuguese star doubled his tally nine minutes later from another penalty granted after Gareth Bale was taken down by Emiliano Insua.
Photo: AFP
Ronaldo’s eventful evening continued as, moments after being booked for a clash with Manquillo, he was hit by a lighter thrown by Atletico fans as the players headed to the dressing rooms at halftime.
To the probable dismay of the visiting supporters, the Ballon d’Or winner was fit to continue at the start of the second half before being substituted late on.
Real will face either Barcelona or Real Sociedad in the Copa final on April 19, with Barca holding a 2-0 advantage heading into the second leg of their semi-final yesterday.
Photo: EPA
Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said that Ronaldo was fine after the lighter incident and lauded his side’s reaching the final on the back of eight consecutive clean sheets in the Copa this season.
“Cristiano is fine, he scored two goals and he doesn’t have any problems,” Ancelotti said. “We are still alive in all competitions and whilst this is the least important of the three in comparison to La Liga or the Champions League, to get to a final is always a good thing for the team.”
Atletico boss Diego Simeone seemed to have given up any hope of an unlikely comeback from the off on Tuesday as he rested Juanfran, Diego Godin, Arda Turan and captain Gabi, whilse four more first-team regulars missed out on the action through injury and suspension.
However, despite suffering three defeats in a week, Simeone is hoping for a positive reaction from his side as they too have La Liga and Champions League honors to fight for in the coming weeks.
“You are never happy to lose or go out of a competition, much less in this manner losing 5-0. Last year, we managed to win this competition, this year we got to the semi-finals. You can always do better as a team, but now we will continue with the same desire as before and we want to remain competitive,” he said.
Ancelotti named a strong side and was rewarded with the away-goal that killed the tie off when Ronaldo converted from the spot after tumbling under Manquillo’s clumsy challenge inside the area.
Atletico briefly threatened a revival when Raul Garcia struck the post moments later.
However, it was 2-0 after just 16 minutes as Bale went and Ronaldo again struck the resulting spot-kick into Daniel Aranzubia’s net.
With the tie effectively over as a contest, the only spice was added as Ronaldo was struck as he headed toward the tunnel at half-time.
The best that Atletico could muster as they slipped to their first home defeat of the season was a drive from Jose Sosa that forced Iker Casillas into a flying save.
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