CRICKET
Thunder players collide
Two Sydney Thunder players in Australia’s T20 Big Bash League required overnight hospital treatment on Friday after colliding while fielding in a match against the Perth Scorchers. Team officials said that Cameron Bancroft’s season was over after the Thunder opener sustained a broken right shoulder blade and broken nose in a collision with teammate Daniel Sams. Sams appeared to be knocked out by the collision. The match was delayed while both players were taken off the field. Sams would be sidelined for at least 12 days after he and Bancroft were diagnosed with concussions, the team said. The Thunder won the match by four wickets.
Photo: AP
SOCCER
Nice defeat Rennes
Nice on Friday beat Stade Rennais 3-2 to move into fourth in Ligue 1. Both sides produced chance after chance in an entertaining match. The result preserved Nice’s unbeaten home record and lifted them to 27 points, equal with OSC Lille and two points ahead of Olympique Lyonnais ahead of the rest of the weekend’s games. Rennes remained 12th.
Photo: AFP
SOCCER
Bellingham snatches win
Jude Bellingham on Friday snatched 10-man Real Madrid a 2-1 victory against Valencia to take them top of La Liga after winger Vinicius Junior was sent off. Huro Duro scored for Valencia and Luka Modric equalized. Vinicius was dismissed for shoving Los Che goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski in the back of the neck with little over 10 minutes remaining before Bellingham pounced in stoppage-time.
Photo: Reuters
SOCCER
Milan reach final
AC Milan reached Monday’s Supercoppa Italiana final after coming from behind on Friday to beat Juventus 2-1 in Sergio Conceicao’s first game in charge. The win set up a derby decider with Inter, who beat Atalanta BC 2-0 in their semi-final on Thursday. Conceicao could immediately get his hands on a trophy after replacing the sacked Paulo Fonseca as Milan manager on Monday.
Photo: AFP
SOCCER
Pontevedra slay giant
Pontevedra on Friday slayed another giant in the Copa del Rey. The fourth-tier side dispatched high-flying La Liga side RCD Mallorca 3-0 to move into the last 16. Dalisson de Almeida scored from almost 40m, Yelko Pino doubled the lead with a cracking volley and Rufo rounded off the perfect night after a shocking defensive lapse. The Galician side knocked out Villarreal in the previous round. In the night’s other games, Rayo Vallecano and Getafe progressed. Getafe needed extra time to beat second-division Granada 1-0. Borja Mayoral got the only goal in the 93rd minute to put the visitors through. Rayo Vallecano made swift work of second-tier Racing Ferrol, winning 3-1. Alfonso Espino and Jorge de Frutos put the visitors 2-0 up before halftime and Frutos grabbed a third on the hour mark. Alvaro Gimenez scored a late consolation for the home side.
The Philadelphia 76ers, fueled by 36 points from Tyrese Maxey and a triple-double from Joel Embiid, on Thursday beat the Houston Rockets 128-122 in an NBA overtime thriller. Cameroonian big man Embiid scored 32 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and handed out 10 assists, posting the ninth triple-double of his career to help the Sixers end the Rockets’ three-game winning streak. Rockets star Kevin Durant scored 36 points and Amen Thompson added 17, but Thompson was scoreless in the fourth quarter. Even so, the Rockets led by nine midway through the final frame, Maxey tying it at 115-115 with 40.1 seconds left. Durant missed a
MARRED FINAL: As most of Senegalese players walked off the pitch after a controversial decision, some supporters threw objects and attempted to get onto the pitch Senegal on Sunday won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as Pape Gueye’s extra-time winner sunk hosts Morocco 1-0 after a chaotic final that saw the eventual champions storm off the pitch late in the game. Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco with a controversial spot-kick in the 24th minute of added time at the end of normal time as ugly scenes broke out in the stands. However, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted “Panenka” chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay that followed the penalty award.
Qatar’s Nasser al-Attiyah on Saturday secured his sixth Dakar Rally car title in Saudi Arabia with Luciano Benavides scraping home by two seconds to claim the motorbike title. “We’ve worked very hard since last year. I might not be showing much emotion yet, but it’s there, deep down. We are so happy to win,” al-Attiyah said at the finish. Al-Attiyah, at the wheel of a Dacia, only had to avoid a final day slip-up to top the podium after bringing his career tally of stage wins to 50 on Friday. The 55-year-old, who took clay pigeon shooting bronze at the
Tobias Harris on Monday scored 25 points as the Detroit Pistons held off the Boston Celtics to score a 104-103 victory in their top-of-the-table Eastern Conference showdown. Harris was one of four Detroit players to finish in double figures, with Jalen Duren adding 18 points and point guard Cade Cunningham scoring 16 points with 14 assists. The win sees Detroit extend their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference to 31-10, 5.5 games ahead of second-placed Boston, who fell to 26-16 with the defeat. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics scoring with 32 points and almost snatched victory in the
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