SOCCER
Brazil beat Russia 3-0
Brazil on Friday cruised to a 3-0 win over FIFA World Cup hosts Russia without an injured Neymar. In freezing temperatures at Moscow’s vast Luzhniki Stadium, the Brazilians worked hard to break down Russia’s deep defense before three goals in 13 minutes early in the second half. Russian goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev parried Thiago Silva’s 53rd-minute shot into the path of Miranda, who scored from close range. Philippe Coutinho made it 2-0 from the penalty spot 9 minutes later, and Paulinho added Brazil’s third in the 66th with a header off Willian’s cross. Less than three months before the World Cup opens at Luzhniki, the defeat highlighted Russia’s vulnerability at the back. Injuries to two central defenders this year forced coach Stanislav Cherchesov to field a makeshift five-man back line, which was often able to do little more than stay deep and defend in numbers. Up front, the Russians missed the injured Alexander Kokorin — who is unlikely to return for the World Cup — but still managed to create chances against a sometimes-shaky Brazilian defense.
TABLE TENNIS
Ghosh denies rape
Indian table tennis player Soumyajit Ghosh has been provisionally suspended by the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) after an 18-year-old woman filed a rape allegation against him with the police. The 24-year-old, who represented India at the 2012 London Olympics and the Rio Olympics four years later was also named in the squad to compete at next month’s Commonwealth Games in Australia. Ghosh has denied the allegations. The TTFI said in a statement on Friday that it had placed Ghosh under provisional suspension, pending the final outcome of a police investigation and court verdict, if any. “I am in touch with my lawyer and will decide the course of action,” Ghosh told the Hindu newspaper.
BOXING
Alvarez fails second drug test
Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez was temporarily suspended by the Nevada Athletic Commission following two positive tests for the banned fat-burning drug clenbuterol, the body’s executive director Bob Bennett said in a statement on Friday. Alvarez is to meet with the commission on April 10 for a final decision on his case, less than a month before his scheduled rematch against multiple middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin in Las Vegas on May 5. The pair battled to a controversial draw in September last year. Alvarez has a 49-1-2 record, with his only loss coming against Floyd Mayweather in 2013, while Golovkin has won 37 of his 38 bouts, with the only blemish on his record the draw against the Mexican.
BIATHLON
Kuzmina wins sprint title
Anastasia Kuzmina won the biathlon World Cup sprint title in Tyumen, Russia, despite a 12th-place finish in Friday’s race that cut her lead in the overall standings. The Slovakian missed three shots as she finished more than 1 minute off the pace of race winner and overall title contender Darya Domracheva of Belarus. Domracheva took the win by 1.2 seconds from Kaisa Makarainen of Finland, while Tiril Eckhoff of Norway was third. That meant that Kuzmina won the sprint season title by 10 points from Domracheva, but that her overall lead was cut to 16 points over Makarainen with two races remaining. The US and Canadian teams were among a number of biathletes to boycott the final World Cup round because they consider Russia’s doping scandals make it an unsuitable host.
Freddie Freeman homered and drove in four runs, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and Roki Sasaki earned his first major league win as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 10-3 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory. The Dodgers have won the first two games of the series to improve to 5-0 against Atlanta this year. Los Angeles’ three-game sweep at home early in the season left the Braves 0-7. Sasaki allowed three runs and six hits over five innings. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up a home run to Ozzie Albies, but received plenty of offensive support in his
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Bayern Munich on Sunday were crowned German champions for the 34th time, giving striker Harry Kane his first major trophy, after second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 2-2 at SC Freiburg. Bayern’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday, when the Bavarians came from two goals down to take the lead before conceding a stoppage-time equalizer, meant defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen needed to win at Freiburg to delay the title party. Leverkusen were two goals down before scoring twice in the final 10 minutes, but Xabi Alonso’s side could not find a third, as Bayern reclaimed the title at the first attempt after
THRILLER: Raphinha gave Barca a 3-2 lead with two minutes remaining of regular time, but Francesco Acerbi equalized the game in the second minute of added time Davide Frattesi on Tuesday fired Inter into the UEFA Champions League final with an extra-time winner that gave the Italians a stunning 4-3 triumph over Barcelona, 7-6 on aggregate. Italy midfielder Frattesi won a tie for the ages under a downpour in Milan when he lashed home in the 99th minute, sending a packed and rocking San Siro wild with joy. Simone Inzaghi’s team will face either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this month in Munich, Germany, where they would feel they have a great chance to be crowned kings of Europe for a fourth time after
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