Sports

Chelsea survived a spectacular late overhead kick from Mehdi Taremi to overcome Porto and confirm a place in the Champions League semi-finals for the first time in seven years. Thomas Tuchel's side went into this 'home' last-eight second leg - with both games being played in Seville during the current Covid-19 pandemic - protecting a two-goal lead they only briefly threatened to surrender in the dying seconds following Taremi's brilliant finish. Chelsea, who will now face either Liverpool or Real Madrid in the

Punjab Kings had staged a miraculous comeback last year after a disastrous start, nearly making it to the playoffs in the process, and captain KL Rahul will hope his side is able to build momentum early so as to not build too much pressure over the playoffs qualification towards the business end of the tournament. With their purchase of top-ranked T20I batsman Dawid Malan, and shoring up the pace department with the acquisition of Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith, Punjab will certainly fancy

With the Games just months away, the regime’s sports ministry says it wants to protect athletes from the ‘global health crisis’. North Korea’s sports ministry said on Tuesday that it will not participate in the Tokyo Olympics this year to protect its athletes amid the coronavirus pandemic. The decision was made at a meeting of North Korea’s Olympic committee, including its sports minister Kim Il guk, on 25 March the ministry said on its website, called Joson Sports. “The committee decided not to join the

Atletico Madrid went back to the top of La Liga, by only one point, after labouring to a draw against Real Betis. Defending champions Real Madrid had gone top on Saturday after beating third-placed Barcelona 2-1. Yannick Carrasco put Atletico ahead when he latched onto a loose ball and tapped home but Cristian Tello levelled with a cushioned finish. Veteran keeper Claudio Bravo made two fantastic saves in injury time to deny Angel Correa a winner for Atletico. Diego Simeone's Atletico - who

The Pakistan Super League will resume on 1 June with the final on 20 June after it was postponed because of a coronavirus outbreak. The Twenty20 tournament was halted on 4 March after seven cases were reported. A June restart was initially proposed subject to a Pakistan Cricket Board-commissioned independent report into how Covid-19 protocols were breached. Those plans have now been finalised with enhanced safety measures based on the commission's findings. "The board of governors endorsed all recommendations of the fact-finding panel,

Ishikawa, who is president of an IT company, has attended every Summer Olympics since then, becoming famous as an unofficial 'International Olympic Cheerleader'. She relishes joining in with fans from everywhere to cheer for their athletes. Tokyo: Kyoko Ishikawa was a back-packing Japanese student in Barcelona in 1992 when she says a “miracle happened.” She managed to buy a ticket to the opening ceremony of Spain's historic Olympics. She said she had only “pocket money” with her — maybe $50 — when some

Hideki Matsuyama held off the field to win the Masters by one stroke at Augusta National and become the first Japanese man to claim a major title. Matsuyama had a four-shot lead heading into the final day and, despite some nervy moments on Sunday, shot a one-over 73 to win on 10 under par. American debutant Will Zalatoris was his closest challenger on nine under. England's Justin Rose, who led for two rounds, faded in the final 18 holes with a two-over 74

Sam Darnold’s departure from New York was not a decision made lightly but the hardest part came at the end, when Jets general manager Joe Douglas had to make the call and tell his young quarterback that he would be heading to Carolina to start a new journey with the Panthers.  In an interview with Sports Illustrated published on Thursday, Douglas recalled the tough conversation he had with Darnold, saying it was difficult to break the news to someone who was so convinced that he would be the guy

"He's good, he's young. He wants to take the game on and is really relaxed," the star Aussie pacer said in an Instagram live by KKR in the build-up to their opening IPL match against Sunrisers Hyderabad here on Sunday. Pat Cummins had an eventful series against India Down Under. The Aussie pacer was in top form during the four-match Test series as he picked up the most number of wickets during the contest. Shubman Gill also made his debut for India in

PL 2021: Mumbai Indians opener Chris Lynn said shoulder niggle was the reason behind team's all-rounder Hardik Pandya not bowling in the season opener against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Friday. Ahead of the IPL 2021, Mumbai Indians bowling coach Shane Bond had said that Hardik Pandya was coming in the tournament as an all-rounder. With just 160 to defend in the season opener versus Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Friday, Hardik Pandya was expected to play an important role for the 5-time

CHENNAI, India - Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli believes Harshal Patel has solved the team’s death-overs woes in the Indian Premier League (IPL) following the seamer’s bowling masterclass in Friday’s victory against champions Mumbai Indians. Patel claimed three wickets in four balls in the dramatic 20th over and conceded only one run to help restrict a star-studded Mumbai to a modest 159-9. His 5-27 was also the first five-wicket haul any bowler has managed against five-time champions Mumbai, the most successful team

Former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has received some "flattering" offers to return to management since his dismissal by the London side in January, but the 42-year-old said he will wait until the right opportunity comes along. Former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has received some "flattering" offers to return to management since his dismissal by the London side in January, but the 42-year-old said he will wait until the right opportunity comes along. Chelsea dismissed club great Lampard after only 18 months in charge,

Ferrari Formula One driver Charles Leclerc has a new car in his garage - the one he raced to victory from pole position in Belgium and Italy in 2019. The 23-year-old Monaco resident posted pictures on Instagram on Friday of the SF90 under a red Ferrari covering in the back of a transporter and then safely indoors. "Something special just arrived home," he said. Ferrari replied on Twitter by saying "we hope you enjoy it". The back-to-back 2019 race wins are the only

CAPE TOWN - An already depleted South Africa squad has been dealt a further blow after newly-appointed captain Temba Bavuma was ruled out of their four-match home Twenty20 International series against Pakistan with a hamstring strain. Bavuma was injured while batting in the One-Day International series decider that was won by the tourists in Pretoria on Wednesday. The opening T20 match is in Johannesburg on Saturday. South Africa are already without five of their leading players, including batsmen Quinton de Kock and David

MADRID - Real Madrid found an unlikely ally in Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman, who hit out at Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp after he labelled Madrid’s Alfredo di Stefano stadium a training pitch. Klopp was unimpressed at having to play Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg at the Di Stefano, where his side lost 3-1. Madrid have played at the Di Stefano, which is situated in their training base, since last June with renovations taking place at their usual Santiago Bernabeu stadium. Barca travel

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola on Friday said he was overwhelmed after receiving effusive praise from his Leeds United counterpart Marcelo Bielsa ahead of their Premier League clash on Saturday. Argentine Bielsa, who steered Leeds back to the top flight after a 16-year absence this season, described Guardiola as a magical man and said he had given up trying to emulate the Spanish coach’s style of play. Guardiola, who previously hailed Bielsa as one of the most important influences on his trophy-laden managerial

Xavi Hernandez added another feather to his cap as manager when his champion side Al-Sadd finished the Qatar Stars League campaign without losing a single game after winning the final match of the season on Friday.Having already sealed the title when second-placed Al-Duhail were mathematically out of the title race last month, Al-Sadd beat Qatar Sports Club 3-0 to finish with 19 victories and three draws in their 22 games to win the title by 13 points.The former Barcelona and Spain midfielder previously

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Dustin Johnson’s quest to join an exclusive group of back-to-back Masters champions ended lamely when he bogeyed the final two holes and missed the halfway cut on Friday. He had some notable company in exiting early, with Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka sent packing from Augusta National, but it was Johnson’s poor performance that most disappointed the local fans. He grew up nearby across the state border in South Carolina, barely an hour’s drive along the Interstate 20 freeway, and

Bayern Munich have confirmed 32-year-old centre-back Jerome Boateng will leave when his contract expires at the end of the season, but the decision has sparked obvious tensions behind the scenes. Bayern have already signed France centre-back Dayot Upamecano, 22, from Bundesliga rivals RB Leipzig for the 2021/22 season, effectively hastening Boateng's departure. "That was a joint decision of the club management and the coach was also involved," sports director Hasan Salihamidzic told Sky. "I explained that to Jerome, he understood." Boateng was at

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel praised midfielder Mason Mount's attitude after the England international scored his first Champions League goal in Wednesday's 2-0 win against Porto in Seville. Mount and Ben Chilwell scored to put Chelsea in the driving seat ahead of the "home" leg of the quarter-final on April 13, which will also be played in Seville due to COVID-19 travel restrictions between Portugal and England. Since Tuchel replaced Frank Lampard at Stamford Bridge in January, Mount has scored five goals in all