Diego Milito scored four goals as Inter twice came from behind to draw 4-4 with Palermo, while city rivals AC Milan missed the chance to go top of Serie A when they were beaten 2-0 at SS Lazio.
Milito moved to 12 goals for the season with an inspired performance to cancel out an early goal from Andrea Montovani and a second-half hat-trick from Fabrizio Miccoli.
AC Milan, who remain one point behind leaders Juventus, whose match against Parma was postponed on Tuesday, were undone when Hernanes latched on to a loose ball to strike low into the net on 78 minutes.
Photo: EPA
Tommaso Rocchi then hammered home the decisive blow with a powerful finish from 10m five minutes from time, as fourth placed SS Lazio moved to 39 points, four behind AC Milan.
Udinese, in third place, beat Lecce 2-1 thanks to goals from Michele Pazienza and Antonio Di Natale, while Thiago Ribeiro scored twice as Cagliari beat sixth placed AS Roma 4-2. Napoli drew 0-0 at home to Cesena.
Atalanta BC’s clash with Genoa, Bologna’s match against Fiorentina and AC Siena’s game against Catania were all postponed because of bad weather.
FRENCH LEAGUE CUP
REUTERS, PARIS
A Brandao goal earned holders Olympique de Marseille a place in the French League Cup final after a 2-1 home win over OGC Nice in a tense game on Wednesday.
The Brazilian striker, who returned to the club on loan to cover the Ayew brothers’ departure for the Africa Cup of Nations, scored 13 minutes after the interval to set up a final clash against Olympique Lyonnaise.
The Cote d’Azur derby was a fierce confrontation between the two clubs, who both finished with 10 men after Mathieu Valbuena and Franck Dja Djedje were sent off in the second half.
France striker Loic Remy gave Olympique de Marseille an early lead when he bent the ball in from the left side of the box after 17 minutes.
COPA DEL REY
REUTERS, MADRID
Lionel Messi had a penalty saved early in the second half as Barcelona were held to a 1-1 draw at Valencia in a hard-fought Spanish Copa del Rey semi-final, first leg on Wednesday.
Valencia snatched a 27th-minute lead at their Estadio Mestalla, when Jeremy Mathieu found space down the left wing and Jonas clipped the Frenchman’s low cross high into the net, past goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto.
Barca captain Carles Puyol equalized 10 minutes before the break when he met a deep Cesc Fabregas corner and nodded past Diego Alves.
Alves, who has an impressive record saving spot-kicks, made amends 11 minutes into the second half when he flung himself to his left and parried away Messi’s penalty, awarded after Miguel felled Thiago Alcantara in the area.
Substitute Daniel Alves smashed a shot against the post about 15 minutes from time, but neither side was able to find a winner ahead of next week’s second leg at the Camp Nou.
The eventual winners are scheduled to play 23-times Cup winners Athletic Bilbao or third-tier Mirandes in the final.
Twelve days after winning her second Grand Slam title at the French Open, Coco Gauff fell at the first hurdle on grass in Berlin on Thursday as beaten Paris finalist Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the quarter-finals. Recipient of a first round bye, American Gauff lost 6-3, 6-3 to Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu as world number one Sabalenka beat Rebeka Masarova 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) in her second round tie. Winner of 10 main tour titles, including the US Open in 2023 and the WTA Finals last year, Gauff has yet to lift a trophy in a grass-court tournament. “After I won the first
While British star Jack Draper spent the past week trying to find rhythm and comfort in his first grass tournament of the season at the Queen’s Club Championships in London, Jiri Lehecka on Saturday bulldozed everything in his path. After more than two furious hours of battle, their form was reflected in the final scoreline as Lehecka toppled a frustrated Draper, the second seed, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to reach the biggest final of his career, against Carlos Alcaraz. Lehecka is also the first Czech to reach the men’s title match at Queen’s since Ivan Lendl lifted the trophy in 1990. Draper, who
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka staged a “crazy comeback,” saving four match points before beating Elena Rybakina 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (6) in the quarter-finals of the Berlin Open on Friday. Sabalenka was 6-2 down in the final-set tie-breaker, but won six straight points to reach her eighth semi-final of the season. “Elena is a great player and we’ve had a lot of tough battles,” Sabalenka said. “I have no idea how I was able to win those last points. I think I just got lucky.” “I remember a long time ago when I was just starting, I won a lot of matches being down
The Canterbury Crusaders edged the Waikato Chiefs 16-12 in an intense Super Rugby Pacific final battle in Christchurch yesterday to claim their 15th title in 30 years of the Southern Hemisphere competition. Hooker Codie Taylor scored a try and Rivez Reihana contributed 11 points from the kicking tee as the most dominant team in Super Rugby history extended their perfect home playoff record to 32 successive matches since 1998. The Chiefs, who were looking for a first title since 2013, scored first-half tries through George Dyer and Shaun Stevenson, but were unable to register a point after the break and fell to
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