SOCCER
Villarreal win with late goals
New signing Cedric Bakambu scored two late goals to give Villarreal a 3-1 win over RCD Espanyol on Friday in La Liga. Bakambu put the hosts ahead in the 87th minute and then netted again in injury time to complete a come-from-behind victory at El Madrigal. Felipe Caicedo had put Espanyol ahead in the sixth minute after Villarreal turned the ball over near the halfway line. However, Roberto Soldado — who joined from Tottenham Hotspur in the off-season — equalized with a volley in the 67th and then set up both goals for Bakambu, who had come one as a substitute. The win gave Villarreal four points from the opening two games, while Espanyol remained on three.
CYCLING
Lindeman swoops in Vuelta
Bert Jan Lindeman of Netherlands took advantage of a mistake by Jerome Cousin of France to sprint ahead and win the seventh stage of the Vuelta a Espana on Friday, while Esteban Chaves of Colombia held the overall leader’s red jersey. Cousin had led a group of five riders up the final ascent after breaking away from the pack, but within sight of the finish line his back wheel touched Ilia Koshevoy’s front tire and he lost his balance. Bulgaria’s Koshevoy finished second, nine seconds behind, and Italy’s Fabio Aru finished third, 29 seconds adrift. Cousin recovered to cross the line fourth. In the overall standings, Chaves led second-placed Tom Dumoulin of the Netherlands by 10 seconds with Daniel Martin of Ireland third, 33 seconds behind.
MIXED MARTIAL ARTS
Rousey fight moved forward
Ronda Rousey’s next UFC fight against Holly Holm has been moved up to Nov. 14 in Melbourne, Australia. The mixed martial arts promotion made the announcement on Friday night. Rousey was scheduled to defend her bantamweight title against Holm on Jan. 2 in Las Vegas, but a thumb injury to welterweight champion Robbie Lawler has changed the UFC’s schedule. Lawler was slated to defend his title against Carlos Condit in the main event at UFC 193 at Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium, which seats more than 55,000. Instead, Rousey (12-0) is to go after her seventh title defense against Holm (9-0), a boxing champion from New Mexico. Rousey has become one of the world’s most prominent female athletes while winning her past three bouts in a combined 64 seconds. She stopped Bethe Correia in 34 seconds on Aug. 1.
GOLF
Fitzpatrick, Edberg lead
Matthew Fitzpatrick and Pelle Edberg both shot five-under 67s on Friday to share the lead after the second round of the Czech Masters. It was the second flawless round for the 20-year-old Fitzpatrick at the Albatross Golf course near Prague. “It was very consistent today,” the Englishman said. “I played nicely and hit a lot of greens again which is always important to keep making pars and then take your chances when you have them.” Fitzpatrick holed a 20-foot putt for eagle on the par-five 12th and finished his round with his third birdie of the day on the 18th for an 11-under total of 133. The 36-year-old Edberg of Sweden had six birdies, including four on the front nine, and a bogey. “Like yesterday I putted really well,” Edberg said. “I holed a lot of putts and it was good off the tee and had some nice irons, so it added up to a good score.” Both Fitzpatrick and Edberg are seeking their first European Tour victory. Thomas Pieters of Belgium was one shot back after carding a 68.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
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
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later