■BRAZIL
Flamengo win title
Goalkeeper Bruno saved a penalty in regulation and two more in a shootout against Botafogo to give Flamengo their third straight Rio de Janeiro state title on Sunday. In Sao Paulo, Ronaldo’s Corinthians clinched that state’s title unbeaten after a 1-1 draw against Santos. After a 2-2 draw in regulation time at the packed Maracana stadium, Bruno stopped shots by defenders Juninho and Leandro Guerreiro, giving Brazil’s most popular club a 4-2 win and a 31st state title. Bruno had stopped a penalty shot by Victor Simoes in the second half. Led by three-time FIFA player of the year Ronaldo, Corinthians held Santos to a 1-1 draw to become the first unbeaten Sao Paulo state champion in 37 years. Corinthians had won the first leg 3-1 last week at Vila Belmiro in Santos and could have clinched the title even if they had lost Sunday’s match by a difference of two goals. In Belo Horizonte, Cruzeiro won the Minas Gerais state title with a 1-1 draw against Atletico Mineiro. Cruzeiro had won the first leg 5-0. In Curitiba, Atletico Paranaense secured the Parana state title with a 2-0 win over Cianorte.
■NETHERLANDS
Twente earn crucial win
Goals from Kenneth Perez, Peter Wisgerhof and Eljero Elia earned Steve McClaren’s FC Twente a 3-0 victory over AZ Alkmaar on Sunday and a place in next season’s Champions League. Perez and Wisgerhof gave Twente a 2-0 lead by the hour mark and the match slipped further from AZ’s grasp three minutes later when they were reduced to 10 men, following a red card for Gill Swerts. Elia added Twente’s third goal in the 78th minute. With AZ Alkmaar already having won the Dutch league, Twente is now certain to finish second as they have a four-point lead over third-place Ajax. Ajax will now play in next season’s Europa League, joining PSV Eindhoven. PSV finished up drawing 1-1 with NEC Nijmegen on Sunday after taking the lead before having two men sent off and then conceding an equalizer in stoppage time.
■PORTUGAL
Porto extend lead
Porto extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to six points with a 3-0 win at Maritimo on Sunday after second-placed Sporting were held to a scoreless draw at Academica. Porto lead on 63 points from 27 matches and can clinch their fourth successive title if they beat Nacional at home on May 11. Sporting have 57 points and Benfica are five points further adrift. The champions started strongly against Marititimo with defender Bruno Alves hitting the post in the second minute. Moments later Raul Meireles opened the scoring with a low drive which Maritimo keeper Marcos should have saved. Defender Rolando doubled the lead in the 64th minute, heading in from a Cristian Rodriguez free kick from just outside the area and Tomas Costa added a third on 83 minutes following a counter-attacking move.
■ENGLAND
Blues back in big time
Birmingham City sealed their return to the Premier League after a 2-1 win over Reading ensured them automatic promotion from the Championship. “I’m really delighted for everyone at the club,” Birmingham manager Alex McLeish said. “Last week we wondered if our chance had gone and there were some tired legs out there today. Before the match we just asked the lads to play the best game they’ve played all season. Now it is not the time to start talking about what we are going to do in the Premier League. We just need to savor this moment.”
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
Shohei Ohtani on Thursday delivered his first two-homer game of the season and had six RBIs as the Los Angeles Dodgers poured it on with five long balls in a 19-2 victory over the visiting Athletics. Max Muncy, Andy Pages and James Outman also hit home runs for the Dodgers, who left no doubt by taking a 13-2 lead following a seven-run third inning. Muncy and Kim Hye-seong each had three hits for Los Angeles. Dodgers right-hander Matt Sauer led off a bullpen game by allowing two runs in four innings. Left-hander Justin Wrobleski (1-1) finished with four scoreless innings after he
Taiwanese-American right fielder Corbin Carroll on Tuesday hit his third home run in two days to tie for the MLB lead with 14 homers. Carroll on Monday hit two homers for the Arizona Diamondbacks in their 2-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants to put him with in one of the hit leaders. Although the Giants got their revenge on Tuesday night, beating Arizona 10-6, Carroll hit a solo home run in the seventh inning to tie him with the Philadelphia Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber and the New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge for the most homers so far this year. In the previous night’s
RSS