Striker Aritz Aduriz scored two goals and set up another to help Athletic Bilbao beat RC Celta de Vigo 4-2 in the Copa del Rey round-of-16 on Tuesday.
Malaga also seized control of their Copa tie, crushing Levante UD 2-0 at home thanks to brilliant goals by Juan Pablo Anor and Ricardo Horta.
In Balaidos, 23-time winners Bilbao took advantage of a series of defensive errors to build a commanding advantage for next week’s second leg at home.
Mikel San Jose tapped in after Aduriz headed the ball on from Xabier Etxeita’s free-kick in the fifth minute.
Alex Lopez leveled for Celta in the 11th, only for Aduriz to nod home against Os Celeste’s slack defending four minutes later.
Charles made it 2-2 in the 54th from Mikel Balenziaga’s bad clearance, but Markel Susaeta scored after Celta lost possession in the 61st minute.
The hosts had David Costas sent off in the 70th minute and Aduriz converted a penalty in the 87th after he was pulled down by Gustavo Cabral.
“It’s a good result, I won’t deny it, but we respect Celta too much to make the mistake of saying that the tie is decided,” Bilbao manager Ernesto Valverde said. “Celta have enough weapons to make it difficult for us at the San Mames [Barria], so until next Wednesday nothing is over.”
At La Roselada, Malaga took the lead with a superb goal from Anor in the 16th minute when he rifled a left-foot shot into the top corner of the net after fending off his marker.
Goalkeeper Francisco Ochoa made two good saves to deny Levante and Malaga’s Luis Alberto hit the upright before Horta doubled the lead in the 78th by chipping the ball over goalie Jesus Fernandez before smashing it home.
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
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care