David Moyes was sent off late in Real Sociedad’s 2-2 draw with Villarreal on Wednesday as his side bowed out of the Copa del Rey’s last 16.
The former Manchester United manager was dismissed for protesting about a refereeing decision. He then climbed over a barrier to take a seat in the stands, where he accepted and ate a Cheeto cheese chip offered by a little girl, as his team failed to beat Villarreal for the third time since his arrival in November last year.
Villarreal extended their unbeaten run to 14 straight games as they advanced 3-2 on aggregate to the quarter-finals, where they face Getafe after their 1-0 win against UD Almeria sealed a 2-1 win over the two legs.
Photo: EPA
Sevilla had no trouble routing Granada 4-0 to reach the last eight with a 6-1 scoreline over both legs, earning a meeting with RCD Espanyol.
Athletic Bilbao stumbled on after losing 2-0 at home to RC Celta de Vigo, progressing on away goals, 4-4 on aggregate, amid boos from their own fans. Bilbao are to play Malaga next.
Giovani Dos Santos set up Gerard Moreno to curl in Villarreal’s opener in the 27th minute before a Carlos Vela equalizer seconds before halftime.
Dos Santos restored the visitors’ lead in the 73rd minute following a throw-in. The Mexican striker beat two defenders to the ball before putting a shot past goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli from inside the area.
Esteban Granero combined with Vela to level again in the 75th, but Sociedad could not muster a final push even with Villarreal down to 10 men from the 83rd minute when Mateo Musacchio got his second booking.
Sevilla thrashed struggling Granada, who have slipped to the bottom of La Liga, with forward Kevin Gameiro scoring twice and the other goals coming from Iago Aspas and Denis Suarez.
Celta almost pulled off a comeback, but were left one goal short after Bilbao’s Xabier Etxeita scored an own-goal in the 50th minute and Fabian Orellana converted a penalty in the 61st following a Mikel Rico foul on Charles in the area.
Bilbao have lost four of their past five games, including a humbling 2-1 loss in San Mames to lowly Elche on Saturday.
Getafe sealed their place in the last eight when Alvarez Vazquez scored from a rebound in the 76th minute.
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and partner Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia yesterday advanced to the women’s doubles final at the Australian Open after defeating New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe and Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 6-3 in their semi-final. Hsieh has won nine Grand Slam doubles titles and has a shot at a 10th tomorrow, when the Latvian-Taiwanese duo are to play Taylor Townsend of the US and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic in the championship match at the A$96.5 million (US$61 million) outdoor hard court tournament at Melbourne Park. Townsend and Siniakova eliminated Russian pair Diana Shnaider and Mirra Andreeva 6-7
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
Things are somewhat out of control at the Australian Open this year, and that has only a little to do with the results on the courts. Yes, there were some upsets, including Madison Keys eliminating No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the women’s singles semi-finals on Thursday. It also was the first time since 1990 that three teenagers beat top-10 men’s seeds at a Grand Slam tennis tournament. The loser of one of those matches, Daniil Medvedev, got fined US$76,000 for behaving badly. Last year’s women’s singles runner-up exited in the first round. However, the real fuss is happening elsewhere. The rowdy fans, for one