ENGLAND
Wax Mbappe unveiled
France superstar Kylian Mbappe on Friday received one of the greatest honors that England can bestow upon a sportsman from a rival nation — a lifelike waxwork at London’s Madame Tussauds museum. The statue shows the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner striking a familiar pose — arms crossed and wearing France’s white away jersey from last summer’s UEFA European Championships, along with the captain’s armband. “The entire ... outfit was donated by Mbappe himself,” Madame Tussauds said in a press release. The statue went on public display at the central London venue, with Mbappe take his place alongside waxwork clones of other greats such as Pele and Cristiano Ronaldo. “Let me introduce you to my twin,” Mbappe joked in a post on Instagram.
Photo: AFP
BUNDESLIGA
Bayern beat Augsburg
Bayern Munich on Friday came back from a goal down to beat hosts Augsburg 3-1 and move nine points clear at the top of the table. However, Jamal Musiala was taken off injured ahead of next week’s UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. Bayern, who are to host Serie A pacesetters Inter in the first leg on Tuesday, are already without injured defenders Hiroki Ito, Alphonso Davies and Dayot Upamecano. They moved to 68 points with six games left in the German league, nine ahead of Bayer 04 Leverkusen ahead of their game yesterday.
LA LIGA
Espanyol ease pressure
Two goals in the first 15 minutes on Friday set relegation-threatened RCD Espanyol on their way to a vital 4-0 win over Rayo Vallecano. The result — only their second away win all season — extended a run in which Espanyol have lost only once in six league matches and lifted them one place into 15th and five points clear of the relegation zone.
ITALY
Mats Hummels to retire
Mats Hummels has announced the end of his soccer career. The AS Roma defender and 2014 FIFA World Cup winner on Friday said that he will retire from professional soccer at the end of the season. “I’m struggling with my emotions right now,” the 36-year-old Hummels said in a video on X. “Now comes the moment that no footballer can avoid. After 18 years and so many things that football has given me, I’m ending my career this summer.”
LIGA MX
Sergio Canales kicks door
Sergio Canales on Thursday injured his left leg from kicking and breaking a crystal door after an argument with his Monterrey coach Martin Demichelis, the club said on Friday. The disagreement and injury happened in the locker room after practice at the team’s training center, the club said. Canales was reportedly frustrated about the team’s poor performances and questioned Demichelis. The injury put in doubt Canales’ availability to face CD Guadalajara yesterday.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
CUNNINGHAM CONNECTS: In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons snapped their record 15-game playoff losing streak by beating the Knicks to level their series at 1-1 Kawhi Leonard on Monday scored 39 points on 15-of-19 shooting as the Los Angeles Clippers evened their first-round NBA Playoffs series against the Nuggets with a 105-102 win in Denver. “It feels like he didn’t miss a shot,” James Harden said. “His shot-making ability is elite.” Good thing, too, because his teammates were a combined 26 of 66 for a 39 percent clip. “I made shots tonight,” Leonard said. “I just keep playing, try to stay in the zone no matter if I’m making or missing shots.” The fifth-seeded Clippers needed every bit of his brilliance to snatch the homecourt advantage in the series
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