SOCCER
Messi conjures up quintet
Lionel Messi on Sunday scored all of the goals in Argentina’s 5-0 friendly win over Estonia in Pamplona, Spain. Messi joins a select club comprising only Juan Andres Marvezy and Manuel Moreno to score five in a game for Argentina. The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner scored from the penalty spot in the eighth minute, then added four more in the space of 30 minutes (at the 45th, 47th, 71st and 76th minutes). His quintet extended his record tally of goals for his country to 86.
GOLF
Minjee Lee wins US Open
Australian Minjee Lee on Sunday secured the biggest prize in women’s golf with an emphatic four-stroke victory at the US Women’s Open at Pine Needles in Southern Pines, North Carolina. Lee shot 71 and finished at 13-under-par 271, collecting US$1.8 million from a record total purse of US$10 million. “It’s such a great honor. It’s been my dream since I was a little girl. It’s the one I’ve always wanted to win, so now I’ve done it and it just feels amazing,” said the 26-year-old from Perth.
CYCLING
Van Aert takes Stage 1
Team Jumbo-Visma rider Wout van Aert on Sunday won the opening stage of the Criterium du Dauphine after a hilly 192km run from La Vaulte Sur Rhone to Beauchastel. Wearing his Belgian champion tunic, Van Aert beat Britain’s Ethan Hayter of Team Ineos Grenadiers and the American Sean Quinn of Team EF Education-EasyPost in a bunch sprint to the line in bright sunshine after a showery day in the Ardeche region. The peloton managed to drop the sprint specialists, such as Dylan Groenewegen and Phil Bauhaus, 10km from home on this first of five hilly runs, with a time trial and three mountain stages also on the menu.
MOTORCYCLING
Espargaro pays for error
Fabio Quartararo on Sunday won the Catalonia MotoGP helped by an astonishing error by his closest pursuer, Aleix Espargaro. As the race reached its climax, Espargaro raised his arms, thinking he had finished second only to realize that there was a still a lap to go. “The only thing I can say is ‘sorry’ to my team,” Espargaro said contritely. “It is an inadmissible error at this level of competition. It is totally my fault. I completely forgot that here the last lap is listed as zero not one, hence I took my foot off the gas in the finishing straight,” he said. “If I am to beat Fabio in the title race I cannot make such errors,” he added. His misfortune allowed compatriot Jorge Martin to take second, with his Ducati Primac teammate Johann Zarco taking third.
BOXING
Haney crowned world champ
Devin Haney was crowned the undisputed lightweight world champion at Melbourne’s Docklands Stadium on Sunday with a unanimous decision over George Kambosos to hand the Australian his first-ever defeat. Haney added Kambosos’ WBA, IBF, WBO and The Ring belts to the WBC strap he already held as the American controlled the fight in front of 41,129 fans to become the first undisputed champion at the weight since the start of the four-belt era. “This is a dream come true,” said Haney, who took his record to 28-0. “I took the last round off because I knew I was comfortably ahead, but I fought a good, smart fight.”
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
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
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
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