Real Madrid won the Spanish Supercup for the first time since 2003 with a 4-2 win at home over Valencia with goals by Ruud van Nistelrooy, Sergio Ramos, Ruben de la Red and Gonzalo Higuian.
The Spanish champions headed into the return leg of the tournament — which is contested each year between the league champions and the winners of the King’s Cup — with a 3-2 deficit.
Valencia midfielder David Silva, who helped Spain to win Euro 2008, opened the scoring in the 32nd minute with an accurate shot that slipped in the left side of the net as Real keeper Iker Casillas looked on helplessly.
Real striker van Nistelrooy equalized four minutes into the second half with a penalty kick that slid past Valencia goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand.
The Spanish champions were awarded the penalty due to a goal-line incident involving Valencia defender Raul Albiol.
Real Madrid took the lead in the 77th minute with a confusing and contested goal by defender Sergio Ramos from close range.
De la Red scored in the 85th minute from 35m with Higuain adding the club’s fourth goal three minutes later.
Fernando Morientes managed to score a second for Valencia in the dying minutes of the match following a pass from David Villa.
Players and fans observed a minute of silence before the start of the match as a mark of respect for the 154 people who died after a Spanair jet crashed on Wednesday at Madrid airport shortly after takeoff.
Amongst the victims of the crash, Spain’s worst aviation accident in 25 years, was the Bulgarian mother of 15-year-old Martin Kozhuharova who was recently recruited by Real Madrid’s youth team.
Real coach Bernd Schuster was without a number of players. Midfielder Wesley Sneijder, defender Fabio Cannavaro, striker Javier Saviola and defenders Michel Salgado and Christoph Metzelder missed the match due to injury.
Argentine midfielder Fernando Gago and Brazilian defender Marcelo were absent due to their participation at the Olympics in China for their national squads.
Schuster included Real’s Brazilian forward Robinho, who on Friday called on the club to let him join Chelsea before the transfer window closes at the end of the month, in his squad but did not include him in his starting line-up.
The player was jeered by a small group of fans as he left Real’s team hotel and as well as when he arrived at the club’s Bernabeu stadium.
“Robinho don’t be ungrateful, stay,” read one black and white sign that was hung from the stands of the stadium by fans during the match.
Pepe returned to the squad after being suspended for the opening encounter.
Dutch star Rafael Van der Vaart started for Real only to receive a red card in the first half during in his first appearance in front of the Madrid fans since joining the club from Hamburg earlier this month.
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
LeBron James and eldest son Bronny James claimed a piece of NBA history on Sunday after making their long-awaited first appearance alongside each other for the Los Angeles Lakers. The duo appeared together at the start of the second quarter in the Lakers’ 118-114 preseason defeat to the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert, east of Los Angeles. While LeBron James impressed with 19 points in just 16 minutes and 20 seconds on court before sitting out the second half, Bronny found the going harder with zero points in just over 13 minutes on court. The younger James attempted just one
RSS