Soccer: Spain: At the Clasico in the desert, Real Madrid had the better end to themselves in extra time. The royal team around Germany’s ex-international Toni Kroos defeated FC Barcelona 3-2 (1-1) in the Spanish Supercup semi-final on Wednesday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and advanced to the final, in which the winner of Thursday’s game Atletico Madrid will be the opponent against Athletic Bilbao on Sunday. Real took the lead after 25 minutes through Vinicius Junior (25th), who overcame the German national goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen with a left-footed shot. But FC Barcelona, where Ferran Torres was in the starting line-up after corona infection, was able to equalize with a strange goal before the break. Real defender Eder Militao shot the ex-Gladbacher Luuk de Jong, from whom the ball first hit the inside post and then into the goal.
In the middle of the second half, Real seemed already on the way to victory when striker Karim Benzema took the lead again with a flick in the 72nd minute, but 19-year-old Ansu Fati equalized with a header seven minutes before the end. In the extension, the decision was made in a pressure phase from Barcelona. The Uruguayan Federico Valverde closed a counterattack to 3-2 for Real (98.). After the 0-1 slip against Getafe, Real was back on the road to success on Sunday with a 4-1 win over Valencia in La Liga. “It was important for us to win the next league game again after losing in Getafe. Our goal is clear, we want to be at the top at the end of the season,” said ex-Bayern professional David Alaba before the game.
Basketball, NBA: Dennis Schröder led the Boston Celtics to their third win in a row. The 28-year-old contributed 23 points to 119: 100 against the Indiana Pacers and showed his best performance in 2022 with a hit rate of over 70 percent after weak last weeks. The top scorer of the record champions was Jaylen Brown with 34 points, and Jayson Tatum also shone with 33 points. Rookie Franz Wagner, meanwhile, continued to be in top form when the Orlando Magic went bankrupt for the tenth time.
The 20-year-old managed a career record against the Washington Wizards with 10 assists, but he was unable to prevent the bottom light from 106: 112 with his own 14 points. His brother Moritz came back from the bench and contributed six points in a good 9 minutes. Maximilian Kleber and the Dallas Mavericks suffered a setback in the play-off race. The Mavs were subject to the New York Knicks 85: 108, Kleber got nine points with low odds. His national team colleague Daniel Theis contributed eight points in the 128: 124 of the Houston Rockets against the San Antonio Spurs.
Soccer, England: Cristiano Ronaldo from the English soccer record champions Manchester United has defended his coach Ralf Rangnick against criticism. “He arrived here five weeks ago and has changed a lot,” Ronaldo told Sky Sports. “But he needs time to convey his ideas to the players, including on the pitch. But I’m sure he will do a good job.” At Man United, seventh in the table, things are not going well yet. After a successful start under Rangnick, the Red Devils had a hard time lately. “We knew beforehand that we weren’t playing the best football like we had to,” said Ronaldo. “But we still have a lot of games to improve. And I think we’ve been better on some points since he arrived.”
Football, Africa Cup: The Zambian referee Janny Sikazwe caused a scandal with bizarre decisions in the preliminary round match of the Africa Cup between fellow favorites Tunisia and Mali. The 42-year-old referee whistled twice for the game in Group F – and both times too early. First he blew in the 86th minute when the score was 1-0 for Mali in his whistle, noticed his mistake after protests from the Tunisian side, apologized and let go with a ball. The final whistle of the match in Limbe, Cameroon came after 89:45 minutes and thus 15 seconds too early.
This time the entire Tunisian delegation was furious, coach Mondher Kebaier frantically waved his watch around in front of the officials’ noses. The referee team had to leave the field under the protection of security guards in the face of the anger of the “Eagles of Carthage”. About half an hour later, with the press conference already in full swing, the game appeared to be resumed. The Malians with Bundesliga professionals Amadou Haidara from RB Leipzig and Diadie Samassekou (TSG Hoffenheim) returned to the field to play the last seconds of regular time and possible stoppage time. However, the Tunisians with Cologne’s Ellyes Skhiri stayed in the cabin, which could indicate a protest.
The only goal of the less than 90 minutes was scored by Mali’s center forward Ibrahima Kone with a 48th-minute penalty. Tunisia’s captain Wahbi Khazri failed in his team’s opening game from the penalty spot (77th). “In 30 years in this business I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Tunisia coach Kebaier: “His decision is inexplicable. We’ll see what happens now.” When the order came to return to the field, his players were “already in the ice baths”.
Sikazwe is nominated for the fifth time for the Africa championship, he was also at the 2018 World Cup and headed two preliminary round matches in Russia. It’s not the first time he’s been the focus of controversy. Sikazwe was once suspended after a game in the African Champions League on suspicion of corruption, as stated in the CAF announcement at the time. However, the suspension was lifted due to a lack of evidence.
Biathlon, Kühn: Germany’s currently best biathlete Johannes Kühn has tested positive for the corona virus and will miss the home World Cup in Ruhpolding at short notice. The German Ski Association announced on Wednesday. All other additional PCR tests carried out on the members of the German team were negative in Bavaria. Kühn, who is tenth in the overall World Cup, had to go into isolation. As the world association IBU announced, contacts are being followed up by the local health authorities. A decision on a quarantine is therefore still pending.
Actually, Kühn should have competed in the sprint in the Chiemgau Alps on Thursday (2.30 p.m. / ZDF and Eurosport). Now the Thuringian Philipp Horn will take over the starting position of the 30-year-old. Bayer Kühn celebrated his first World Cup victory in Hochfilzen in December. The success in the sprint was also the only one so far for the German ski hunters in the Olympic winter
Football, Africa Cup: Defending champion Algeria with Ramy Bensebaini from Gladbach started the Africa Cup in Cameroon with a disappointment. With the Bundesliga professional in the starting eleven, the co-favorites against the outsider Sierra Leone in Douala did not go beyond 0-0. However, Algeria expanded its impressive streak with the draw: the reigning African champions have not lost in 35 games. Only two games are missing for the Italians’ world record. Sierra Leone, number 108 in the world, is taking part in the finals of the African Cup for the first time in 25 years. Other opponents in Group E are Ivory Coast and Equatorial Guinea.
The tournament started even worse for record winners Egypt. The team around Liverpool star Mohamed Salah lost at the start in Group D 0: 1 (0: 1) against Nigeria. Kelechi Iheanacho (30) from England’s ex-champions Leicester City scored the decisive goal for the Nigerians, where Union striker Taiwo Awoniyi was in the starting line-up. In Egypt, Omar Marmoush from Stuttgart played through.
Basketball, FC Bayern: FC Bayern Munich has ended its series of defeats in the basketball Euroleague. Against the Lithuanian top club Zalgiris Kaunas, the Bundesliga team won 74:65 (34:33) on Tuesday after three previously lost games and, with a record of 8:10 wins, is just behind the ranks that guarantee participation in the playoff. The best Munich shooter was Ognjen Jaramaz with 16 points. After a balanced first quarter (16:15), the guests around national player Niels Giffey had control of the game after a 9-0 run (19:26/14th minute). But coach Andrea Trinchieri’s team quickly got back into the match and was already leading with one point at the break.
Even after the break, Bayern were better. Above all with successful distance throws from national player Andreas Obst, Vladimir Lucic or the strong Serb Jaramaz, the Munich team continued to expand their lead (72: 58/35). Even if Kaunas was able to shorten it slightly afterwards, the eighth win of the season in the Euroleague was perfect. Already on Thursday (8.30 p.m. / Magentasport) the basketball premier class against AS Monaco continues.