MOTOGP
Jorge Martin takes pole
Jorge Martin of Pramac Racing yesterday set a lap record and stormed to his second pole position of the season at the Japanese Grand Prix, with championship leader Francesco Bagnaia and last year’s winner Jack Miller joining the Spaniard on the front row. Martin secured his spot atop the timesheets by improving on Brad Binder’s Friday mark with a time of 1 minute, 43.198 seconds. “I feel strong and making the record in Motegi is always special. I really enjoy this track, so I’m really happy,” Martin said.
SOCCER
Own-goal hands Barca win
Sergio Ramos’ own-goal on Friday handed Barcelona a narrow 1-0 win over Sevilla in La Liga, taking the Catalans to the top of the table ahead of the rest of the weekend’s games. Veteran centerback Ramos deflected Lamine Yamal’s header into his own net in the 76th minute to break the deadlock in a tight clash. The 37-year-old said this week he had planned a special goal celebration if he scored against Barca after his summer return to Spain from Paris Saint-Germain, but putting through his own net was not part of the plan. “Ramos is a spectacular defender, today he had the misfortune of scoring an own-goal, but he had a good game,” Barcelona coach Xavi told reporters. “It was unlucky for him, but for us it was good.”
SOCCER
Dortmund win with 10 men
Borussia Dortmund on Friday held on with 10 men to beat TSG 1899 Hoffenheim 3-1 in the Bundesliga. The win put Dortmund top of the table ahead of the remainder of the weekend’s games. Ramy Bensebaini was sent off for a second booking after kicking the ball away at a routine throw-in in the 71st minute with the score 2-1. Marco Reus had scored Dortmund’s second goal, but was later booked for throwing a water bottle onto the field from the bench. Niclas Fullkrug opened the scoring in the 18th minute Andrej Kramaric converted a spot-kick for Hoffenheim.
SOCCER
Gnomes placed at stadium
Mysterious gnome statues appeared this week in the surroundings of the Estadio Pedro Bidegain in the run-up to yesterday’s derby between San Lorenzo and Huracan in the Argentine Primera Division. Local media reported that this “witchcraft,” aimed to get a positive result in the derby, was not claimed by any club fan and the statues were removed late because no one dared to touch them. “In this type of match there are no favorites. The dummies appeared, I read about it and I thought it was funny. I don’t think those things influence a match,” San Lorenzo coach Ruben Insua told reporters on Friday. After the incident, coffin-shaped posters with red drawings of ghosts with the faces of fans Ulises Fernandez and Rodrigo Silvera, who lost their lives in violent clashes between supporters, appeared in the vicinity of Huracan’s headquarters. “Regrettable. Nothing to do with what represents the folklore of one of the most beautiful matches in Argentina,” local media firm Ole reported, criticizing the response of some San Lorenzo fans to what happened at the stadium. Tickets were sold out for the game — which was to be played after press time last night. The rivalry has more than 100 years of history in the so-called “neighborhood derby.”
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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