■ITALY
Sampdoria knock out Inter
Serie A leaders Inter were knocked out of the Italian Cup on Thursday when a 1-0 semi-final second-leg win over Sampdoria fell short of overturning a 3-0 deficit from the teams’ first meeting. In the May 13 final in Rome, Sampdoria will face Lazio. It will be Sampdoria’s first cup final appearance since 1994 where they defeated Ancona. With three goals to make up, Inter coach Jose Mourinho played three strikers, with Mario Balotelli, Julio Cruz and Zlatan Ibrahimovic all starting. It was Ibrahimovic who was to score the only goal of the second leg with a superb 27th-minute volley.
■SWEDEN
AIK go top of Allsvenskan
Ivan Obolo capitalized on a mishap by Orgryte goalkeeper Nathan Coe to give AIK a 1-0 victory and top spot in the Swedish league on Thursday. Obolo scored with a weak shot in the 30th minute for the Stockholm suburb side at Goteborg after Coe fell on the slippery grass. “I slipped ... but it was my fault,” Coe said. AIK top the 16-team Allsvenskan standings with 12 points after winning their fourth straight game by a single goal. Still, AIK coach Mikael Stahre was not pleased. “We didn’t play well,” Stahre said. “And they watered the pitch too much before the match.”Star striker Henrik Larsson’s Helsingborg lost to Halmstad 3-1, while two-time UEFA Cup champions IFK Goteborg edged Hammarby 1-0. Gefle drew with Gais 0-0 and Orebro nipped defending champions Kalmar 2-1.
■ENGLAND
Saints to appeal penalty
Southampton are set to appeal against the 10-point penalty imposed on them on Thursday that threatens to condemn them to life next season in the third tier of English soccer. The penalty was imposed by the English Football League in reaction to the club’s parent company going into administration. Southampton are currently second from bottom in the Championship with two matches left to play this season. If they can manage to scramble out of the drop zone, they will inevitably be relegated once the points penalty is applied, but that option would be preferable to starting next season with a 10-point deficit.
■ITALY
Carrozzieri fail doping test
Palermo defender Moris Carrozzieri has tested positive for cocaine following a Serie A match against Torino on April 5, the Italian Olympic Committee announced on Thursday. The 28-year-old is a first team regular at Palermo, who currently lie seventh in Serie A. “This news has surprised us,” the club said in a statement. “We repeat our total commitment in the battle against the use of illegal substances which damage the health of people and in particular the young,” club president Maurizio Zamparini told Ansa news agency. “If it is true, he has taken cocaine, he must admit it.”
■CANADA
Two fans charged over flares
Two men face assault and other charges after two flares were thrown from the stands at a Major League Soccer game between Toronto FC and Chivas USA on Wednesday. Toronto police said one of the flares landed on a woman’s leg, causing burn injuries, and the other landed on the artificial turf at BMO Field and caused about US$2,000 damage. Andjelo Franjic, 18, and a 17-year-old whose name was not released, were charged with possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, assault with a weapon, assault causing bodily harm and mischief under US$5,000, police said in a statement on Thursday.
Carlos Alcaraz on Monday powered into the French Open second round with a resounding win to start his title defense, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and three-time defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also progressed at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and is to face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. “The first round is never
TIGHT FINISH: Napoli only needed to do the same as or better than Inter, who won their game against Como 2-0 on the same day, leaving Napoli with a one-point lead The two players who Antonio Conte wanted more than any others secured Napoli their second Serie A title in three years on Friday. Scott McTominay scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick before halftime and Romelu Lukaku doubled the lead with a solo goal after the break in the decisive 2-0 home win over Cagliari. Conte became the first coach to win the Italian championship with three different teams. “Everyone contributed to this — but the coach most of all,” Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo said. “Napoli needed him to get back on top. He’s phenomenal.” Comparing it to his three Serie A titles won
The journey of Taiwan’s badminton mixed doubles duo Ye Hong-wei and Nicole Chan at the Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur came to an end in the semi-finals yesterday after they suffered a 2-0 loss to China’s Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping. Ye, 25, and Chan, 20, teamed up last year and are currently ranked No. 23 in the world. The Taiwanese shuttlers took on China’s second seeds in the mixed doubles event, but proved no match for Feng and Huang, losing the match 10-21, 7-21. In the first half of the first game, the pairings were neck and neck at 6-7 until Ye
SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said
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