SPAIN
Getafe down Sociedad
Jaime Mata on Monday scored twice as Getafe beat fellow European hopefuls Real Sociedad 2-1 in La Liga to give their push for UEFA Champions League qualification a boost. Getafe had seen their top-four bid hit by a four-game winless streak since the league restarted following the COVID-19 suspension, but they moved back to within two points of fourth-placed Sevilla. Sociedad, who were in the Champions League places before the suspension, have picked up just one point from a possible 15 since and are now seven points adrift in seventh. Sevilla’s 1-1 draw with Real Valladolid on Friday last week had given Getafe a chance of narrowing the gap and they took a 20th-minute lead through a Mata penalty. Former Manchester United winger Adnan Januzaj leveled for the visitors 10 minutes after halftime, but Mata had the final word with seven minutes remaining as he latched onto Jorge Molina’s quick throw-in and poked in from the tightest of angles.
SPAIN
Valencia fire Celades
Valencia on Monday fired coach Albert Celades after a run of bad results culminated with a defeat by the La Liga club’s bitter local rivals Villarreal at the weekend. Valencia have picked up a meager four points from a possible 15 since the COVID-19 suspension, dropping to eighth place. “Valencia have informed Albert Celades of his immediate release,” a statement said. Former caretaker coach Voro has been called in as a temporary replacement for the sixth time. Celades took over at Mestalla in September last year after the surprise sacking of previous boss Marcelino, who had led the club to back-to-back fourth-placed finishes.
SPAIN AND ITALY
Arthur, Pjanic swap clubs
Barcelona midfielder Arthur is to join Juventus at the end of the season, with Miralem Pjanic moving in the opposite direction, the two clubs announced on Monday. Barcelona said that they had paid 60 million euros (US$67.4 million) plus a potential 5 million euros more in bonuses for Bosnian playmaker Pjanic after earlier confirming Juventus would pay 72 million euros plus 10 million euros in variables for Arthur. The two deals went through separately, allowing both clubs to boost their profit figures at the end of the financial year yesterday. Pjanic’s four-year contract includes a release clause of 400 million euros, while Juventus said that Arthur’s contract would run for five years. The players are remain with their current teams until the end of this season, including the UEFA Champions League next month.
ITALY
Benevento promoted
Benevento, coached by former AC Milan and Juventus striker Filippo Inzaghi, on Monday secured promotion to Serie A for the second time in their history with seven games to spare. They edged out SS Juve Stabia 1-0 to move 24 points clear of third place, with the top two guaranteed promotion. Inzaghi’s men have only lost once in Serie B all season. Benevento previously played in the top flight in the 2017-2018 season, when they infamously set the record for most consecutive defeats to start a season in one of Europe’s top five leagues, suffering 14 straight losses. It was a run that was snapped when goalkeeper Alberto Brignoli’s stoppage-time header grabbed a dramatic draw with AC Milan.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
Taiwanese badminton superstar Lee Yang broke down in tears after publicly retiring from the sport on Sunday. The two-time Olympic gold medalist held a retirement ceremony at the Taipei Arena after the final matches of the Taipei Open. Accompanied by friends, family and former badminton partners, Lee burst into tears while watching a video celebrating key moments in his professional sporting career that also featured messages from international players such as Malaysia’s Teo Ee Yi, Hong Kong’s Tang Chun-man, and Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan. “I hope that in the future when the world thinks about me, they will
Former Formosa Dreamers player Ilkan Karaman was killed in a traffic accident in Datca, Turkey, Turkish media reported yesterday. He was 34. The former Turkish national team player was reportedly hit by a car, the driver of which was allegedly drunk, while he was standing on a sidewalk, Turkish newspaper Sozcu reported. Karaman and his friends were on their way to the beach town of Dalaman to go scuba diving when they stopped at a gas station to buy gasoline, it reported. Karaman was hit by the car while waiting on a sidewalk as his friends were buying gasoline, it
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later
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