Carlos Aranda’s 90th-minute goal gave Real Zaragoza a 1-0 win at Levante UD in a King’s Cup last- 16 first-leg tie on Thursday while Real Betis Balompie were held to a 1-1 draw at second division Las Palmas.
Aranda’s superb lob from outside the penalty area at the Ciutat de Valencia stadium put Zaragoza in the driving seat as they seek a likely meeting with Sevilla, who are virtually assured a quarter-final berth after thrashing RCD Mallorca 5-0 on Wednesday.
Betis remain on course to meet Atletico Madrid or Getafe in the last eight despite surrendering the lead at the Estadio de Gran Canaria.
Photo: EPA
Substitute Ruben Castro curled a first-time shot into the top corner in the 67th minute to fire the 2005 winners ahead before Macauley Chrisantus poked the ball over the line to give Las Palmas hope for the return leg in Seville next month.
Most of Spain’s big guns played their ties on Wednesday when Lionel Messi extended his record goal tally for this year to 88 with a double for holders Barcelona in a 2-0 win at second-division Cordoba.
Real Madrid fell two goals behind at La Liga rivals RC Celta de Vigo, but Cristiano Ronaldo’s late strike made it 2-1, giving last year’s winners a good chance of turning the tie around in the second leg at the Bernabeu.
Athletic Bilbao coach Marcelo Bielsa had a wretched night as his side were dumped out by third-tier Basque neighbors Eibar on away goals in a postponed last-32 second leg at the San Mames that ended 1-1 on the night and on aggregate.
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
The Greek basketball league finals between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos were suspended by the government on Monday following on-court scuffles involving rival security teams. The best-of-five series is at 1-1. The third game, scheduled for today, has been postponed. The owners of both clubs were summoned to meet with the country’s sports minister. They “will be asked to provide explicit guarantees that this situation will be brought to an end. If not, this year’s championship will be definitively canceled,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said. “There can be no tolerance for such pathological phenomena of violence and delinquency.” In online posts, the owners of Panathinaikos and
The Edmonton Oilers on Thursday defeated the Dallas Stars 6-3 to book their place in the Stanley Cup Finals, setting up a repeat of last year’s NHL showpiece against reigning champions the Florida Panthers. The Oilers, bidding to become the first Canadian team to win the NHL’s championship series since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens, head to Florida for Game 1 of the best-of-seven series set for Wednesday. Florida, who are to play in the NHL showpiece for the third straight season, won last year’s title 4-3 to extend Canada’s decades-long Stanley Cup drought. Connor McDavid led Edmonton back to the championship series on
RSS