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DORTMUND, Germany - Manchester City scored twice in the second half through Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden to beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 on Wednesday and reach the Champions League semi-finals for the first time in six years. Foden, who scored the winner in their 2-1 first-leg victory, fired in off the post in the 76th minute after Mahrez had converted a 55th-minute penalty to secure a 4-2 aggregate triumph and send City into the last four for the second time. “It means a

Double Olympic boxing champion Claressa Shields will make her mixed martial arts debut with the Professional Fighters League (PFL) in June when she faces Brittney Elkin, organisers said on Wednesday. American Shields, the first undisputed boxing world champion in two different divisions in the four-belt era, signed with PFL in December with the goal of becoming the “greatest two-sport athlete of all time”. PFL presents MMA in a format where individuals compete in a regular season, playoffs, and championship for a million-dollar prize,

Italy’s Imola circuit provides a fresh challenge for seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton and young pretender Max Verstappen as the pair prepare for round two of their Formula One battle this weekend. The circuit, with the Santerno river running alongside and a verdant backdrop of trees and parkland, is a marked contrast to Bahrain’s desert Sakhir track that hosted the opener won by Mercedes’ Hamilton. The fast and flowing anti-clockwise layout is also narrower and bumpier than Bahrain, and with fewer opportunities to

Rafa Nadal said he was not worried about contracting COVID-19 despite having trained with Daniil Medvedev, who was forced to withdraw from this week’s Monte Carlo Masters after a positive test. Russian Medvedev, who was seeded second at the ATP Masters 1000 event, was put in isolation on Tuesday, a day after he practised with world number three Nadal. “I was not worried because I practised with him, but I was never close to him,” Nadal said after his second-round victory over Federico

PRETORIA - Captain Babar Azam hit a record-breaking 122 to lead Pakistan to an impressive nine-wicket victory over hosts South Africa at Centurion on Wednesday and a 2-1 lead in the four-match Twenty20 series. Mohammad Rizwan scored an unbeaten 73 as he and Babar, whose century came off 49 balls, shared a record 197-run partnership in a devastating display of batting that enabled the touring side to reel in South Africa’s competitive 203-5 with consummate ease. They won with two overs to spare

ROME - Rome’s Stadio Olimpico was confirmed as a Euro 2020 host venue on Wednesday after the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) told UEFA that fans would be allowed to attend matches. “The authorities have guaranteed at least 25% of the stadium’s capacity will be filled. As a result, UEFA considers Rome to be fully confirmed as a venue for the tournament,” read a statement from European soccer’s governing body. A FIGC statement on Tuesday said that at least 25% of the 72,698-seater Olimpico

British number one Dan Evans will face Novak Djokovic in the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters after easing past Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets. Evans, who sealed his first tour-level win on clay in four years on Tuesday, beat the Polish 13th seed 6-4 6-1. Djokovic beat Italian teenager Jannik Sinner 6-4 6-2 in what was the world number one's first match since winning the Australian Open in February. "It was a very good encounter," said the Serb, 33. "I thought

England all-rounder Ben Stokes has been named Wisden's leading cricketer in the world for the second year in a row. Stokes, 29, is the first Englishman to win the award twice since its inception in 2004. He scored more Test runs than any other batsman in 2020, with 641 in seven matches, while also taking 19 wickets. Kent all-rounder Darren Stevens has become the oldest person since 1933 to be named as one of Wisden's five Cricketers of the Year. Stevens, 44, is

Liverpool's Champions League campaign ended in disappointment as Real Madrid set up a semi-final meeting with Chelsea by keeping Jurgen Klopp's side at bay in a goalless draw at Anfield. Real arrived at Anfield protecting a 3-1 lead from the first leg and while they eventually went through in relative comfort Liverpool will curse themselves for missing several glorious first-half chances. Mohamed Salah shot straight at Real keeper Thibaut Courtois, who also saved well from James Milner, in the opening moments and shot

LIVERPOOL: Liverpool can mount another memorable Champions League comeback at Anfield when they take on a depleted Real Madrid in the quarter-final, second leg but they cannot afford any more defensive errors, manager Juergen Klopp said on Tuesday (Apr 13). Down 3-1 from the first leg, Klopp's side find themselves in a near-impossible situation in the knockouts again and will seek inspiration from their 2019 semi-final comeback against Barcelona when they 4-0 to advance with a 4-3 aggregate score. With their backs against

TOKYO: Holding the postponed Tokyo Olympics this summer will be "really difficult" given a spike in COVID-19 infections across Japan, the head of the Tokyo Medical Association has warned. Haruo Ozaki sounded the alarm as rising daily cases prompt new coronavirus restrictions in Tokyo and elsewhere in Japan. "If infections spread further, in reality it would be difficult to hold the Olympics in its regular form with athletes coming from various countries, even if the Games are held with no spectators," the Sports

Spain and Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos faced a new setback in a season littered with injury problems when his club said on Tuesday he had tested positive for COVID-19. Ramos has been nursing a calf injury since April 1 which led him to miss his side’s 3-1 win over Liverpool in their Champions League quarter-final first leg and Saturday’s 2-1 victory over rivals Barcelona in La Liga. The central defender, 35, who underwent knee surgery in February, had already been ruled out

Rajasthan Royals and England all-rounder Ben Stokes will miss the remainder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) season after breaking his finger in their opening match, his franchise said on Tuesday. Stokes sustained the injury while fielding during Monday’s narrow four-run loss to Punjab Kings, where he bowled only one over and was dismissed for a duck after opening the innings in the run chase. The Royals said the 29-year-old will not be returning to England yet. “Subsequent investigations revealed that he sustained

Fourth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece recorded a 6-3, 6-4 win over Aslan Karatsev of Russia on Tuesday in their second-round match at the Rolex Monte Carlo Masters in Monaco. Tsitsipas smashed four aces en route to dispatching Karatsev in one hour, 24 minutes. He advanced to the third round of the tournament for the second straight edition. “I’m putting (in) hours on the court, trying to become consistent (and) get close to the legends of our sport,” Tsitsipas said. “I am working every

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson was the recipient of the Sir Richard Hadlee medal as player of the year for the fourth time in six years at the country’s 2020-21 cricket awards on Tuesday. Williamson, the number one test batsman, also bagged the International Test Player of the Year award as he led from the front with New Zealand winning 17 of 20 matches across all formats played over their summer, winning all seven series. The 30-year-old plundered test runs which included double

SEVILLE, Spain -Chelsea hung on to reach the Champions League semi-finals with a 2-1 aggregate win despite Mehdi Taremi’s stunning overhead kick in added time handing Porto a 1-0 victory in the quarter-final second leg on Tuesday. The substitute had been responsible for his side’s only attempt on target as they chased a 2-0 deficit from last week’s first leg but he provided an emphatic response in a cagey game with his acrobatic strike deep into added time. Thomas Tuchel’s side had a

PARIS - Bayern Munich felt the best team did not reach the Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday after they went out on away goals but Paris St Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino reminded them that as well as a beautiful game football was a fight. PSG had struggled in the quarter-final first leg in Munich but won 3-2 thanks to their ruthless efficiency in front of goal and Bayern’s Joshua Kimmich and Thomas Mueller were confident the German champions would go through at the

Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic will miss Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City at Wembley due to a hamstring injury, manager Thomas Tuchel said. Kovacic missed Tuesday’s 1-0 Champions League quarter-final second leg defeat by Porto, though Chelsea still reached the last four 2-1 on aggregate and will face either Real Madrid or Liverpool. “(On Monday) in training he got a muscle injury in his hamstring after 20 minutes, more or less out of nothing,” Tuchel said after Tuesday’s game. “He is for

Mixed doubles will return for the 2021 French Open after being cancelled last year because of Covid-19 restrictions. The draw will feature 16 pairs, rather than the usual 32, when the tournament begins in May. Latisha Chan of Taiwan and Croatia's Ivan Dodig are the two-time defending champions on the Roland Garros clay. The French Open will run from 30 May to 13 June after being pushed back by a week in the hope that more spectators will be able to attend. Source:

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel said reaching the last four of the Champions League is a "great achievement" as the Blues moved into the semi-finals for the first time since 2014. Chelsea will play either Liverpool or Real Madrid for a place in the final after a 2-1 aggregate win over Porto. "We will become a strong side," he told BT Sport after his team lost the second leg 1-0 in injury time. "We could not finish it off with a goal so we