Juventus

* Jan Oblak saved a late penalty to boost Atletico Madrid’s stuttering La Liga title challenge as Luis Suarez’s header proved enough for a nervy 1-0 win over Alaves on Sunday.

* Chelsea beat Sheffield United 2-0 on Sunday thanks to an own goal by Oliver Norwood and winger Hakim Ziyech’s late strike to reach the FA Cup semi-finals for the fourth time in five seasons.

* Arsenal came from 3-0 down to claim a 3-3 draw at West Ham on Sunday (Mar 21), but a share of the points from a thrilling encounter did little for either side’s hopes of a top-four Premier League finish.

* Tottenham Hotspur emerged from the gloom of the past week to claim a morale-boosting 2-0 victory at Aston Villa and climb to sixth place in the Premier League on Sunday.

* Leicester City’s Kelechi Iheanacho scored two poacher’s goals as they beat Manchester United 3-1 in their FA Cup quarter-final on Sunday to set up a last-four clash against Southampton.

* Ole Gunnar Solskjaer defended his decision to field a weakened team as Manchester United crashed out of the FA Cup with a 3-1 quarter-final defeat at Leicester on Sunday (Mar 21).

* Kylian Mbappe became the youngest player to score 100 goals in Ligue 1 when his double powered Paris St Germain to a 4-2 win at Olympique Lyonnais and to the top of the standings on Sunday.

* Lille’s hopes of a first Ligue 1 title in a decade suffered a major blow as the leaders slumped to a shock 2-1 home defeat at the hands of struggling Nimes on Sunday (Mar 21).

* Atalanta bounced back after their Champions League last 16 exit to Real Madrid with a 2-0 win at Hellas Verona on Sunday (Mar 21) to consolidate fourth place in Serie A.

* Dries Mertens scored his 99th and 100th Serie A goals for Napoli to secure a 2-0 win away to top-four rivals AS Roma on Sunday.

* Zlatan Ibrahimovic marked his return to the AC Milan starting line-up with a goal in a thrilling 3-2 win at Fiorentina on Sunday (Mar 21), narrowing the gap to Serie A leaders Inter to six points.

* World number seven Alexander Zverev recovered from an uncertain start to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4 7-6 (3) in a thrilling Mexican Open final in Acapulco on Saturday (Mar 20) and land his 14th ATP title.

* Benevento dented Juventus’ Serie A title hopes on Sunday as Adolfo Gaich’s second-half strike sealed a shock 1-0 victory in Turin and ended the relegation battlers’ 11-match winless run.

* Hertha Berlin boosted their hopes of avoiding relegation from the Bundesliga after an impressive 3-0 home win over sixth-placed Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday (Mar 21).

* Gemma Evans scored a second-half equaliser to earn Bristol City a 1-1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur in the Women’s Super League on Sunday and another valuable point in their battle against relegation.

* Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia claimed his first All England Open on Sunday (Mar 21) as he outlasted Danish second seed Viktor Axelsen 30-29, 20-22, 21-9. Lee edged a marathon opening set that went all the way to the maximum 59 points.

* Serena Williams became the latest high-profile player to pull out of the Miami Open on Sunday (Mar 21), saying she was withdrawing in order to concentrate on her recovery from recent oral surgery.

* Croatia, 2018 runners-up, slumped to a shock 1-0 defeat away to Slovenia, while Belgium continued their remarkable run in qualifiers by coming from behind to beat Wales 3-1 at home.

* Ireland ended a seven-game drought by scoring twice away to Serbia but still got beaten 3-2, while Czech Republic routed Estonia 6-2 in the biggest win of the night and Portugal scraped past minnows Azerbaijan 1-0 courtesy of an own goal.

*Qatar beat 10-man Luxembourg 1-0 in a friendly in Hungary thanks to a goal from striker Mohammed Muntari in the 2022 hosts’ first match in a set of games after being included as a guest team in Group A, although their matches will not count towards the qualification process.

* Pathum Nissanka scored a century on debut as Sri Lanka amassed a commanding lead on the fourth day before setting the West Indies a target of 375 to win the first test in Antigua. The 22-year-old Nissanka and wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella spent most of Wednesday at the crease in a 179-run partnership before Sri Lanka were bowled out for 476.

* Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford and Arsenal midfielder Bukayo Saka are doubtful for England’s three World Cup qualifiers, manager Gareth Southgate said ahead of Thursday’s opener against San Marino at Wembley. Rashford missed United’s FA Cup defeat at Leicester City on Sunday due to a foot injury and has yet to train with England, while Saka is still having his hamstring injury treated by his club.

* Former Manchester United midfielder Nicky Butt has left his role as their head of first team development in order to seek a new challenge, the Premier League club said on Wednesday. The former England midfielder, who played 387 games for United between 1992 and 2004, was moved up to the position from Head of Academy two years ago and reported directly to manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

* World Rugby is set to spend 1.2 million pounds (US$1.65 million) annually over three years on two Pacific Island teams to help them join Super Rugby in 2022, the sport’s governing body said on Wednesday.

* Italy manager Roberto Mancini expects a “typically British” Northern Ireland team to cause his side problems when they kick off their World Cup qualifying campaign on Thursday, four months after their last game. The Azzurri begin their bid to reach Qatar 2022 on a 22-match unbeaten run, but they haven’t played a match since a 2-0 win over Bosnia in November 2020.

* Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo and striker Cristiano Ronaldo will not leave Turin despite a disappointing season, the Serie A champions’ vice-president Pavel Nedved said on Wednesday.

* The Paris-Roubaix one-day cycling race will not take place on April 11 as planned due to the COVID-19 situation, Le Parisien paper reported on its website on Wednesday. The 2020 edition of the ‘Queen of the Classics’ race was also postponed once before being cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

* Manchester United forward Mason Greenwood has withdrawn from England’s squad for the Euro Under-21 Championship due to injury, the Football Association said. Greenwood, who scored in United’s 3-1 defeat by Leicester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Sunday, has been replaced by Norwich City midfielder Todd Cantwell in Aidy Boothroyd’s 23-man squad.

* Athletes representing New Zealand at the Tokyo Olympics later this year will be able to apply to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before they depart, the government said on Wednesday.

* Manchester City will install over 5,000 rail seats at the Etihad Stadium, the Premier League club said, a move that will allow spectators to stand safely during matches next season. The seats, which are designed to lock into a folded position and give fans space to stand, would be installed over the summer in the lower tier of the South Stand, City said.

AFP

The result left the Germans top of the group on six points from two games ahead of Armenia on goal difference before their next match at home to North Macedonia on Wednesday.

* Ryan Fraser struck a second-half equaliser for Scotland to again came from behind to draw a second successive World Cup qualifier as they held Israel to a 1-1 draw in Tel Aviv on Sunday.

* South Africa suffered a major embarrassment on Sunday as a 2-0 defeat by Sudan in Khartoum saw the hosts clinch a place at the Africa Cup of Nations finals at the visitors’ expense with first-half goals from Saifeldin Maki and Mohamed Abdel Rahman. Sudan qualified for only the third time in 23 attempts, finishing second in Group C behind Ghana, who won 3-1 at home to Sao Tome e Principe at the same time.

* Spain striker Dani Olmo snatched a 2-1 win away to Georgia in their World Cup qualifier on Sunday with a stoppage-time strike from outside the area to kick-start his side’s efforts to qualify for Qatar 2022 after a sluggish start. Spain host Kosovo on Wednesday, while Georgia visit Greece.

* Denmark turned on the style as they thrashed hapless Moldova 8-0 in their World Cup qualifier on Sunday to top Group F, with Kasper Dolberg and Mikkel Damsgaard both scoring twice against the nation ranked 177th in the world.

* Italy top Group C with maximum points after Andrea Belotti and Manuel Locatelli secured a 2-0 win over Bulgaria in Sofia. The Azzurri are ahead of Switzerland on goal difference after Xherdan Shaqiri’s second minute strike was enough for a 1-0 win over Lithuania in St Gallen.

* Yamaha’s Maverick Vinales overcame a slow start to win the season-opening Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday in an exhilarating race where defending world champion Joan Mir lost out on a podium on the final lap to Johann Zarco and Francesco Bagnaia.

* Harry Kane scored his first England goal since 2019 to lead his side to a comfortable 2-0 win against Albania in a World Cup qualifier on Sunday to top Group I. They top the standings with six points from two games ahead of their home clash with most-likely group rivals Poland at Wembley on Wednesday.

* Seven-times Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton won the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix for Mercedes on Sunday after an epic, knife-edge thriller with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen over the final laps. Verstappen, who passed the Briton with four laps to go only to have to hand back the lead for exceeding track limits, finished a mere 0.745 seconds behind after starting on pole position. Hamilton’s team mate Valtteri Bottas was third, 37.383 seconds behind after a slow stop.

* A match official for the CONCACAF men’s Olympic qualifying tournament in Guadalajara, Mexico, has tested positive for COVID-19, the governing body for soccer in North and Central America and the Caribbean said on Sunday. The positive COVID-19 case came from the latest round of testing of the entire group of referees at the tournament and the individual is isolating and complying with CONCACAF protocols and regulations imposed by local authorities.

* Ousmane Dembele inspired France to a 2-0 victory over Kazakhstan on Sunday in their second match in World Cup qualifying Group D to mark a successful return to the world champions’ team. Four days after being held 1-1 by Ukraine at the Stade de France, the French built their win in the first half with Sergiy Maliy’s own goal adding to Dembele’s opener before Kylian Mbappe missed a second-half penalty

* Stephanie Frappart reached another milestone on Saturday when she became the first female referee to take charge of a men’s World Cup qualifier during the Netherlands’ 2-0 win over Latvia in Amsterdam. Earlier in December, Frenchwoman Frappart became the first female official to take charge of a men’s Champions League match when Italian champions Juventus defeated Ukrainian club Dynamo Kyiv 3-0 in the group stage in Turin.

* Rodrigo scored a hat-trick as Valencia staged a stunning late fightback at the Mestalla to stun ten-man Getafe 3-2 on aggregate to reach the Copa del Rey semi-finals on Tuesday.

* Ten-man Monaco were knocked out of the League Cup semi-finals by En Avant Guingamp, losing 5-4 on penalties after the game had ended in a 2-2 draw in Leonardo Jardim’s first match back in charge on Tuesday.

* Valencia reached the Copa del Rey semi-finals after hat-trick hero Rodrigo Moreno scored twice in stoppage time as they beat 10-man Getafe 3-1 on Tuesday to secure a 3-2 aggregate win.

* Krzysztof Piatek said it was “just the start” to his AC Milan career after scoring twice on his full debut as Gennaro Gattuso’s side beat Napoli 2-0 at the San Siro on Tuesday (Jan 29) to reach the Coppa Italia semi-finals.

* Spanish forward Jese Rodriguez has joined La Liga side Real Betis on loan from Paris St Germain for the rest of the season, the French side said on Tuesday.

* Superstar Dutch winger Arjen Robben is lining up a move to J-League outfit FC Tokyo after he leaves Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, local media reported on Tuesday (Jan 29).

* Big-spending Paris Saint-Germain have signed Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes from Zenit St Petersburg on a four-and-a-half year deal, the French Ligue 1 club announced on Tuesday (Jan 29).

* Australia will begin their Women’s Twenty20 World Cup title defence against India next year in a tournament the International Cricket Council (ICC) is hoping to conclude with a record attendance for a women’s sporting event.

* Republic of Korea defender Kim “Monster” Min-jae on Tuesday (Jan 29) snubbed interest from the Premier League and the advice of his team-mates to sign for Beijing Guoan in China.

* The coach of Italian Serie C team Lucchese has been given a five-month ban for head-butting a member of the opposing team’s staff and telling a player to break an opponent’s legs.

* Struggling La Liga side Villarreal have sacked coach Luis Garcia Plaza after nine games in charge, the club said on Tuesday. Garcia was only appointed by Villarreal, who have not won in La Liga since Nov. 25, last month after Javi Calleja was sacked.

* Italian champions Juventus have welcomed Jose Martin Caceres Silva back to their ranks after signing the Urugay defender on loan from Serie A rivals Lazio, the clubs said on Tuesday.

* Former world number one Victoria Azarenka set up a second-round clash with Australian Open runner-up Petra Kvitova in St Petersburg on Tuesday (Jan 29) with a straight-sets win over Margarita Gasparyan.

* Russian chess grandmaster Vladimir Kramnik announced on Tuesday he was retiring from professional competition. Kramnik, 43, made waves in 2000 when he defeated defending champion Garry Kasparov at the World Championship. Currently ranked seventh by the World Chess Federation, he became the undisputed world champion in 2006.

There were also victories for Croatia, Serbia and Norway while Slovakia shocked Russia and Wales got their campaign up and running with a late winner against the Czech Republic.

* Daniel James headed a late winner as Wales claimed their first victory in their World Cup qualifying campaign by beating the Czech Republic 1-0 in Cardiff.

* Serbia’s Aleksandar Mitrovic completed a perfect week for the striker in World Cup qualifying with two more goals to help the Balkan nation to a 2-1 win at Azerbaijan.

* South Africa’s Olympic 400 metres champion Wayde van Niekerk stepped up his return from long-term injury with a victory over 200 metres at the ASA Athletix Invitational on Tuesday.

* World Cup hosts Qatar continued their impressive run as they drew 1-1 with struggling Ireland in Debrecen on Tuesday.

* European soccer’s governing body UEFA will make a final decision on its proposed changes to the Champions League on April 19 as talks continue about the details of the plan for an expanded competition. UEFA’s executive committee will on Wednesday be given an update on the negotiations with clubs and leagues about the plans for a new-look competition which will take effect from 2024.

* Bayern Munich’s Poland striker Robert Lewandowski has been ruled out for four weeks after suffering sprained ligaments in his right knee, the German champions said on Tuesday. Lewandowski sustained the injury in Poland’s World Cup qualifying win over Andorra on Sunday, ruling him out of their match against England on Wednesday, and had scans on Monday.

* Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has been handed a one-match ban for making a “blasphemous expression” and will miss Saturday’s Turin derby at Torino, the Italian Federal Court of Appeal ruled on Tuesday. Buffon was initially given a 5,000 euros (US$5,862.00) fine over an incident which took place during a Serie A clash against Parma on Dec. 19 last year.

* Stoke City have withdrawn from the women’s FA Cup before their second round match due to challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the FA said on Tuesday.

* In-form midfielder Mason Mount has been declared fit for England’s home World Cup qualifier against Poland on Wednesday after shaking off a minor injury. The Chelsea player scored England’s second goal in the 2-0 win over Albania at the weekend – a victory that left England top of Group I ahead of the clash with Poland.

* Ethiopia, Guinea Bissau and Mauritania have become the latest countries to qualify for January’s Africa Cup of Nations as they secured runners-up berths in their groups on Tuesday. A total of 22 teams have so far qualified for the finals in Cameroon.

* Both legs of Chelsea’s Champions League quarter-final meeting with Porto will be played in Seville, Spain over restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, European soccer’s governing body UEFA said on Tuesday. The first leg will take place on April 7 at Estadio Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan with the return fixture scheduled for April 13. The prize for the winners will be a clash with Real Madrid or Liverpool.

* Rebecca Welch has become the first female referee to be appointed to an English Football League match as she prepares to take charge of the League Two clash between Harrogate Town and Port Vale next week, the EFL said on Tuesday. Welch has previously officiated men’s matches in the National League as well as elite women’s matches such as the FA Cup final in 2017, but on Monday she will set a new benchmark for female referees in English football.

* The women’s Champions League quarter-final second leg between Olympique Lyonnais and Paris St Germain has been postponed due to a string of COVID-19 cases within the OL squad. Seven-times champions Lyon said on Monday that six of their players had tested positive for the novel coronavirus and asked for Wednesday’s home game to be played at a later date after the whole squad was put in isolation by regional health authorities.

* Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino has returning to training from a knee injury ahead of Saturday’s (Apr 3) Premier League trip to Arsenal.

* German software company Teamviewer said on Tuesday that it had struck a five-year sponsorship deal with the Mercedes Formula 1 and Formula E teams, following its recent shirt deal with football club Manchester United.

* Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu praised his side’s ruthlessness after they recorded their biggest win in World Cup qualifying with Tuesday’s 14-0 thrashing of Mongolia. Victory over Myanmar on June 3 will see them advance to the next phase, when the continent’s four guaranteed qualifiers for Qatar 2022 will be determined.