Football Africa Cup: Mohamed Salah can still hope for his first title with the Egyptian national team. The Liverpool striker led the record winners to the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday with a goal and an assist. Egypt beat Morocco 2-1 (1-1, 0-1) after extra time and will now face hosts Cameroon in the semifinals on Wednesday. Salah equalized in the 53rd minute with his second goal of the tournament after Morocco took the lead early on thanks to a penalty kick from Sofiane Boufal (6th). In extra time, the 29-year-old set the ball perfectly for Trezeguet after a solo down the right side, who only had to push the ball into the goal (100′).
Salah has been denied a title in his two previous participations in the continental tournament, and the striker did not get past the preliminary round with Egypt at the 2018 World Cup either. Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp will have to wait for his two top strikers. Because Sadio Mané also made it into the top four with Senegal that evening. With Bayern defender Bouna Sarr in the starting XI, the Senegalese beat Equatorial Guinea 3-1 (1-0). Famara Diedhiou put the ball ahead after 28 minutes before Yannick Buyla equalized for Equatorial Guinea after the break. Substitutes Cheikhou Kouyaté (68th) and Ismaila Sarr (79th) then made the victory perfect. In the semi-finals on Thursday, Senegal will now face Tunisia’s conquerors Burkina Faso.
Basketball, NBA: Franz Wagner and his brother Moritz contributed to the Orlando Magic’s surprising victory over the Dallas Mavericks with a total of 32 points. The laggards at the bottom of the Eastern Conference won against the Texans, who had been in good form recently, 110:108. For Orlando, it was the second win in a row, but only the 11th in the NBA’s 51st game of the season. Luka Doncic provided the big show, scoring the 43rd triple double (34 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists) of his career. However, two Germans were significantly involved in the decision: Franz Wagner pulled to the basket and put Orlando in the lead with 109:108. Maximilian Kleber then lost the ball and shortly before the end missed the chance for the Mavericks to win.
With 18 points, Franz Wagner was the second-best thrower on his team behind Chuma Okeke (19). Moritz Wagner got 14 points, Kleber just six points. Dallas missed Kristaps Porzingis with a knee injury. Isiah Hartenstein scored seven points in his Los Angeles Clippers’ 115:90 against the Charlotte Hornets, and the youngster also collected six rebounds. With a record of 26 wins and 26 losses, the Clippers moved closer to Dallas (29-22) in seventh place in the West. The Phoenix Suns remain the undisputed leader and the best team in the NBA. The 115:110 at the San Antonio Spurs was their tenth win in a row and already their 40th success (9 losses) this season.
Football, France: AS Monaco around Kevin Volland is in the quarter-finals of the French Cup – but had to worry for a while despite a temporary 3-0 lead. At RC Lens, after half an hour, it looked like the Monegasque would win after Wissam Ben Yedder (18′), Jean Lucas (27′) and Sofiane Diop (29′) scored. Immediately before the break, Wesley Said scored the goal before Arnaud Kalimuendo (53′) reduced the lead further. Volland was substituted shortly afterwards and saw from the substitutes’ bench how Ben Yedder made the decision and made it 4-2 in the 88th minute.
Olympia I: Before the Winter Olympics in Beijing, the organizers found 34 more corona cases. As the organizing committee announced on Sunday, 23 people entering the country tested positive for the corona virus on Saturday, including 13 athletes or team members. In addition, infections were registered in eleven people who are already in the closed Olympic system. The day before there had been a total of 36 positive tests, and the total number of corona cases since January 23 has risen to 139.
A strict corona security concept applies to the Winter Olympics in Beijing. Everyone involved – from athletes to journalists – is completely segregated from the rest of the Chinese population. In order to detect infections as quickly as possible, each participant must complete a daily PCR test within the “Olympic bubble”.
Anyone who has contracted the virus will be isolated in a specially designated hotel. Only after two negative PCR tests at least 24 hours apart can those affected leave before the end of ten days. After this period, only a negative PCR test is required.
The People’s Republic of China is pursuing a strict “zero Covid” strategy, in which even smaller strands of infection are being combated with tough measures. In the past few weeks, the authorities have imposed lockdowns in several cities in the country.
Olympia II: DOSB President Thomas Weikert holds the International Olympic Committee responsible for the issue of freedom of expression during the Winter Games in Beijing. “It is the task of the IOC to ensure that the Olympic charter and the host contract are observed,” said the head of the German Olympic Sports Confederation of the German Press Agency. “I think Mr. Bach will take countermeasures and make sure that everyone in Beijing is treated as guaranteed by the charter and that opinions guaranteed by the IOC can be made.”
This was in response to Chinese Organizing Committee member Yang Shu’s threat that statements contrary to the Olympic spirit and Chinese laws and regulations would be punished with specific penalties.
When asked if China could use the Winter Games for propaganda, he replied: “I can imagine that the Chinese hosts want to present their country as positively as possible. Every country does that.” He does not know whether it is called propaganda in a totalitarian state and advertising in other nations. “We will stand in front of the athletes in Beijing. If they want to express themselves, they can do so, but they don’t have to,” emphasized Weikert.
In the opinion of Chef de Mission Dirk Schimmelpfennig, the athletes could express their opinion “basically freely”. “Human Rights Watch recently publicly recommended that you refrain from making critical statements during the games,” he said. “We assume that our well-informed and well-advised athletes will behave intelligently and skilfully in Beijing. We will always put ourselves before the athletes.”