PARIS: The Paris Saint-Germain of Kylian Mbappe and Barcelona clash in the first leg of their blockbuster Champions League quarter-final tie on Wednesday, in the latest instalment of the growing rivalry between the two clubs.
It is the fifth time the sides have been drawn against each other in the knockout stage of Europe’s elite club competition in the last 12 seasons, with those past meetings including an unforgettable encounter in 2017.
PSG won 4-0 at home in the first leg only to lose 6-1 in the return in a stunning implosion against a Barcelona side coached by Luis Enrique.
He is now in charge of PSG, having joined the Qatar-owned club ahead of this season with the responsibility of delivering elusive European success.
“It is a totally different game for me,” Luis Enrique said on Tuesday, referring to the special nature of a fixture against the club with whom he starred as a player before going on to lead to Champions League glory in 2015.
“But I also played against Sporting (Gijon, where he began his career) and scored goals for Barcelona.
“At the end of the day I am a professional. Of course I like Barcelona but I am pleased to be here at PSG, and I must think about my job and my team. I think I’m capable of bringing trophies to this club.”
PSG have never won the Champions League and had gone out in the last 16 in five of the last seven years before beating Real Sociedad to reach the last eight this time.
The consequences of that 2017 meeting between the teams were huge.
A humiliated PSG exacted revenge by signing Neymar from Barcelona a few months later by paying a world-record fee of 222 million euros ($264m at the time) to activate the Brazilian’s release clause.
Barcelona panicked and blew all of that money, and more, in trying to rebuild their team.
Among the players they signed was Ousmane Dembele, who cost an initial 105 million euros from Borussia Dortmund.
Fast forward to last year and Dembele was sold to PSG for just 50 million euros, leaving behind a cash-strapped Barca who have faded somewhat as a continental force in recent seasons.
Their financial problems forced them to let Lionel Messi leave in 2021, with the Argentine teaming up with Neymar in a two-year spell in Paris.
It was only a few weeks after Neymar’s arrival that PSG also signed Mbappe, who has gone on to become the club’s all-time top scorer and will leave at the end of this season when his contract expires, almost certainly for Real Madrid.
Mbappe scored a brilliant hat-trick in the first leg in Barcelona when PSG beat the Catalans 5-2 on aggregate in the last 16 in 2021, in the most recent clash between the clubs.
He has 39 goals this season and appears extra motivated by the desire to win the Champions League with his boyhood club before he leaves.
PSG failed to convince in the group stage, only just scraping through to the last 16.
However, they are unbeaten in 27 games in all competitions going back to early November and are dreaming of winning a Champions League, Ligue 1 and French Cup treble.
Barcelona, meanwhile, have not lost in 11 matches since coach Xavi Hernandez, who played both alongside and under Luis Enrique at the club, revealed his intention to walk away at the end of this season.
The five-time European champions are appearing in the quarter-finals for the first time since 2020, when they were trounced 8-2 by Bayern Munich in a game played behind closed doors in Lisbon, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We are in our best form but we are playing against a team built to win the Champions League and we are coming up against one of the best coaches in Luis Enrique,” Xavi told reporters.
Barcelona are hoping midfielders Pedri and Frenkie de Jong, who have both been struggling with injuries, will be able to play in the game, while PSG are without influential right-back Achraf Hakimi due to suspension.
“All those who have traveled will be able to play, as long as there are no surprises,” Xavi said of his squad.
The second leg will be played in Barcelona next Tuesday, April 16, with the winners advancing to a semifinal against either Atletico Madrid or Borussia Dortmund.
PSG and Barcelona get set to renew Champions League rivalry
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PSG and Barcelona get set to renew Champions League rivalry
- PSG won 4-0 at home in the first leg only to lose 6-1 in the return in a stunning implosion against a Barcelona side coached by Luis Enrique
- “It is a totally different game for me,” Luis Enrique said on Tuesday, referring to the special nature of a fixture against the club with whom he starred as a player
‘Saudi Smash’ in Jeddah set to boost table tennis
- One of the sport’s biggest events takes place at King Abdullah Sports City from May 4-11
JEDDAH: Table tennis in the Kingdom is set for a boost with the debut of the “Saudi Smash” tournament at Jeddah’s King Abdullah Sports City from May 4 to 11.
The event, organized by World Table Tennis, the Ministry of Sport and the Saudi Table Tennis Federation, is the latest example of the Kingdom’s mission to promote active lifestyles as part of Vision 2030.
Table tennis has grown in Saudi Arabia over the past three years, fueled by investments and initiatives by the STTF and the ministry.
The number of clubs has surged by 50 percent to 181, with nearly 5,000 players registered.
Several Saudi Arabia athletes will compete including Ali Alkhadrawi, Abdulaziz Bu Shulaybi and Turki Almutairi.
The tournament will have equal prize money for the men’s and women’s champions.
The Kingdom’s Vision 2030 transformation plan aims to ensure 40 percent of the country’s people engage in sports.
There has been a 300 percent increase in sports participation since 2015, accompanied by a surge in females taking part.
Professional Fighters League’s Ali Taleb looks to bounce back in Riyadh following first career loss
- Only defeated by Khurshed Kakhorov in his 10-bout mixed-martial arts career
Things did not go quite according to plan when Ali Taleb last stepped inside the Smart Cage of the Professional Fighters League.
With a chance to advance to the bantamweight finale of the inaugural season of PFL Europe, Taleb fell short, losing via unanimous decision to eventual champion Khurshed Kakhorov.
The loss last year was the first blemish on Taleb’s 10-fight professional mixed-martial arts resume, but it also became a bit of a learning experience for the Iraqi-Swedish bantamweight.
“What I learned is not to be jittery, don’t chase the knockout all the time,” Taleb said in a recent interview on the Rondvilan Podcast.
“It was his turn, it was his time to win the million,” said Taleb.
The 26-year-old reigning UAE Warriors Bantamweight Champion added: “There’s still a lot for me to learn, honestly.”
Looking ahead, Taleb has his sights set on his PFL MENA debut in Riyadh on May 10. He will be facing a familiar opponent in Jordan’s Nawras Abzakh, whom he defeated in 2021.
“It’s the first time I’m going to rematch someone,” Taleb said. “It’s going to be good, I’m excited, man.”
Taleb will try to make history by becoming one of the first PFL MENA champions.
He said that Abzakh had asked to face him. “It’s a tournament, but he said ‘I want to fight him.’”
“He’s gonna get a taste,” Taleb continued. “Nothing can stop me now. I’m going to take his soul, and that’s that. This guy won’t stop me.”
He also revealed that he will be defending his UAE Warriors’ title.
“I’m allowed by the PFL to take a fight in UAE Warriors, so I think I’m going to defend my belt there,” Taleb said.
The PFL MENA: Riyadh tournament takes place on Friday May 10 at The Green Halls in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. All PFL MENA events will air live on MBC Action and SHAHID.
Matt Wallace takes 1-shot lead at Byron Nelson, with defending champ Jason Day 3 back
- The one-time PGA Tour winner shot an 8-under 63 for a one-shot lead over seven players
- Taiga Semikawa, a 23-year-old from Japan playing on a sponsor exemption, settled for 64 after a three-putt par on the par-5 18th
MCKINNEY: Matt Wallace was relegated to watching the Masters amid a self-described “terrible” season when he found himself pondering what makes some of the best golfers in the world so good.
Asked if Scottie Scheffler was among the players he was watching, Wallace stumbled over his words just a bit.
“Well, him, but, I mean, so good that it’s difficult to take a lot from him because he’s playing unbelievable golf,” Wallace said. “It’s not as realistic for everyone else out there.”
Well, maybe Wallace can take advantage of the world No. 1 sitting out his hometown tournament awaiting the birth of his first child.
The one-time PGA Tour winner shot an 8-under 63 for a one-shot lead over seven players in the first round of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson on Thursday.
Taiga Semikawa, a 23-year-old from Japan playing on a sponsor exemption, settled for 64 after a three-putt par on the par-5 18th just before a rain-delayed round with preferred lies was suspended by darkness with nine players on the course.
Taylor Pendrith, Alex Noren, Chesson Hadley, Jake Knapp, Davis Riley and Kelly Kraft also were at 7 under at TPC Craig Ranch, just north of Scheffler’s hometown of Dallas.
Defending champion Jason Day was in a large group trailing by three after he and Jordan Spieth, the biggest local favorite with Scheffler absent, struggled down the stretch playing in the same threesome. Spieth was 3 under.
Brad Hopfinger, a 35-year-old making his PGA Tour debut, was two shots behind Wallace along with Ben Kohles, Alex Smalley and Hayden Buckley.
Wallace, who has missed the cut five times and doesn’t have a top-10 finish in 11 tournaments this year, birdied five of the first six holes and capped his bogey-free, career-low round with a tap-in birdie on the 18th.
The 34-year-old Englishman has found himself taking mental notes about the likes of young Swede Ludvig Aberg, who played at Texas Tech but is among 27 of the top 30 players skipping the Nelson with a $20 million signature event, the Wells Fargo Championship, and the PGA Championship coming the next two weeks.
“What I’m seeing from a lot of them, especially the younger guys, younger than me — I’m not too old, but younger than me — they’re so focused in their shot and not worrying about the outcome or what’s out there,” said Wallace, who won in the Dominican Republic a little more than a year ago.
Day and Spieth both stumbled with bogeys on the par-5 fifth hole, their 14th of the day. Day had two birdies and a bogey over the final four holes, including the par-5 ninth. Spieth could only par the finishing hole and was 1 over on the par 5s.
“It’s a very gettable golf course,” Spieth said. “I just played the easy holes poorly. That was kind of the story of the day.”
Spieth is still seeking his first victory in his 12th appearance at event in which he debuted by contending as a 16-year-old amateur in 2010. Day got his first PGA Tour win when Spieth was making those headlines, then ended a five-year victory drought last year.
The 30-year-old Spieth missed last year’s Nelson because of a wrist injury. He was the runner-up in 2022.
Rain delayed the start by an hour and remains in the forecast through the weekend. If the rain stays away, players could have minimal wind on a soft course that has surrendered among the most birdies on tour in its four years as the home of the Nelson.
“I’m not out of it, but certainly you want to stay within two or three of the lead as you get through the first couple rounds,” Spieth said. “Doesn’t look like we’re going to get a ton of wind or anything, so I am going to have to really make it up, because there will be a lot of guys shooting low scores.”
Raul Pereda aced the 236-yard seventh hole and shot 68, as did Kris Kim in the tour debut of the 16-year-old from England whose South Korean-born mom played on the LPGA Tour in the 1990s.
Playing on a sponsor exemption in the first year of the Nelson carrying the name of the South Korean company CJ Group, Kim chipped in for eagle at No. 9 to finish an up-and-down round that included five birdies and four bogeys.
“First couple holes the nerves were definitely there, but as we got on, it was just playing golf,” said Kim, who went undefeated in the Junior Ryder Cup last year and is the first amateur sponsored by CJ Group.
Champion Sabalenka sets up Swiatek rematch in Madrid Open final
- Swiatek has a 6-3 record against Sabalenka but in their only match in the Spanish capital, the latter triumphed in three sets a year ago to claim the title
- In the men’s draw third seed Daniil Medvedev retired injured from his quarterfinal clash with Jiri Lehecka
MADRID: Defending Madrid Open champion Aryna Sabalenka produced a brilliant comeback from a set and a break down to beat Elena Rybakina and reach the final on Thursday.
The Belarusian second seed triumphed 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7/5) and will face world No. 1 Iga Swiatek on Saturday in a rematch of last year’s final.
The clinical Swiatek earlier eased past American Madison Keys with a comfortable 6-1, 6-3 victory.
In the men’s draw third seed Daniil Medvedev retired injured from his quarterfinal clash with Jiri Lehecka.
Kazakh Rybakina dominated a below-par Sabalenka in the first set with two breaks, but faced far stiffer resistance in the second after going a break up in the third game.
Two-time Australian Open champion Sabalenka put heavy pressure on the fourth seed’s serve and eventually cracked it to pull level at 4-4.
Rybakina hit back instantly but seemed rattled when serving for the match and world number two Sabalenka broke again for 5-5 and then claimed the next two games to force a deciding third set.
The players exchanged holds with just one break point reached — Sabalenka staying firm for a 6-5 advantage — before the tie-break.
Sabalenka, 25, sealed her victory with a typically powerful serve that Rybakina could not control.
The big-hitter had lost three of her last four clashes against the 24-year-old but emerged triumphant as they met on clay for the first time.
Swiatek has a 6-3 record against Sabalenka but in their only match in the Spanish capital, the latter triumphed in three sets a year ago to claim the title.
Dominant on clay, Swiatek barely put a foot wrong against Keys, making just eight unforced errors in the match to leave the 29-year-old American with virtually no chance.
“I’m really happy that I had such a solid game today,” Swiatek said on court after reaching her 11th WTA 1000 final.
“Madison is an amazing player with a really fast game and a big serve, so I wanted to focus on myself and I’m happy I was focussed.”
The top seed, triumphant at Doha and Indian Wells, started in unforgiving form, taking the first set in 31 minutes.
Keys was more competitive in the second but Swiatek took it with two breaks.
Russia’s Medvedev struggled through to the end of the first set against Lehecka with an apparent upper thigh problem, losing it 6-4 before retiring.
The Czech progressed to his first Masters 1000 semifinal, where he will face Felix Auger Aliassime, who received a walkover after top seed Jannik Sinner withdrew Wednesday with a hip problem.
“If I were to choose the way how to win this match, it wouldn’t be like that,” said Lehecka.
Medvedev took an off-court medical time-out after the fifth game, all holds of serve, and when he returned clearly had problems moving freely around the court.
The world number four saved two break points to hold for a 4-3 lead as Lehecka floundered, despite playing through obvious pain.
The Czech, who knocked-out Rafael Nadal on Wednesday, settled down and capitalized on Medvedev’s woes to break decisively in the ninth game for a 5-4 lead.
Medvedev won just four of the last 16 points before deciding to call it a night, with fans left disappointed. The other men’s quarterfinal set for Thursday had been canceled after Sinner’s withdrawal.
The 28-year-old Medvedev is the defending champion at the Italian Open, which starts next week, while the French Open, the season’s second Grand Slam event, gets underway in just over three weeks’ time.
“It would be good to come back (to Rome) after winning last year, but (I) just need to see what it is, because right now I basically don’t know if it’s very serious, just serious, or not serious — no idea,” Medvedev told reporters.
Taylor Fritz will face Andrey Rublev in the other semifinal on Friday, after the Russian ousted home favorite Carlos Alcaraz on Wednesday.
Bayer Leverkusen’s record unbeaten march continues with a 2-0 win at Roma in Europa League
- No club from Europe’s five biggest leagues — in Germany, England, Italy, Spain and France — has had a longer unbeaten streak
- The result also marked a measure of revenge for Leverkusen — since Roma had beaten the German club in this exact same stage last season for their last defeat in Europe
- In the other semifinal, Atalanta drew 1-1 at Marseille
ROME: An imposing stadium in a major foreign capital did nothing to stop Bayer Leverkusen’s record unbeaten march across Europe.
The freshly crowned first-time Bundesliga champions silenced the Stadio Olimpico with a 2-0 win at Roma in the first leg of the Europa League semifinals on Thursday to extend their unbeaten streak to 47 matches across all competitions.
No club from Europe’s five biggest leagues — in Germany, England, Italy, Spain and France — has had a longer unbeaten streak.
“We take things game by game and we are not thinking about being unbeaten,” Leverkusen midfielder Amine Adli said. “We are not thinking about making history or things like that — that’s why we are playing like this and the team is strong. We just want to enjoy ourselves.”
The result also marked a measure of revenge for Leverkusen — since Roma had beaten the German club in this exact same stage last season for their last defeat in Europe.
“We know it is not easy to play here,” Adli said. “We played a very serious game.”
Leverkusen’s last loss across all competitions was a 3-0 defeat to Bochum in the final round of last season’s Bundesliga nearly a year ago — on May 27, 2023.
Roma were dangerous with an early header off the crossbar from Romelu Lukaku. But then Leverkusen scored on the counterattack seven minutes later.
A failed back pass from Roma right back Rick Karsdorp under pressure from Alex Grimaldo on the left flank resulted in a 3-on-1 for Leverkusen. Grimaldo then passed to Florian Wirtz, who calmly slotted in from the center of the area.
Midfielder Robert Andrich added another goal for Leverkusen in the 73rd with a long-range shot — just as Roma had been threatening on the other end.
In the other semifinal, Atalanta drew 1-1 at Marseille.
The second legs will be held next Thursday, with the final to be held in Dublin on May 22.
Leverkusen has won only one European trophy: the 1988 UEFA Cup, which was then predecessor to the Europa League. Its only other European final came in the 2002 Champions League, won by Real Madrid.
Roma are aiming to qualify for their third consecutive European final after winning the Europa Conference League in 2022 and losing last year’s Europa League final to Sevilla in a penalty shootout.
Daniele De Rossi replaced Jose Mourinho as Roma’s coach in January.
The Giallorossi hadn’t lost a European knockout stage game at home in seven years — since getting beat 1-0 by Villarreal in the 2017 Europa League.
Roma fans’ pre-match choreography across one entire end of the stadium spelled out the word “AVANZIAMO” (“Let’s advance”). But Roma now face an uphill challenge to eliminate Leverkusen, who haven’t lost all season.
Marseille-Atalanta
Marseille’s players were treated to an ovation at Stade Velodrome from their hard-to-please fans after the draw with Atalanta — who eliminated Liverpool in the quarterfinals.
Atalanta took the lead in the 11th when striker Gianluca Scamacca hit a low shot into the bottom corner after reading Teun Koopmeiners’ clever pass.
But Marseille equalized in the 20th when central defender Chancel Mbemba collected Geoffrey Kondogbia’s pass and his fine curling shot from the edge of the penalty area hit the left post and rolled in.
The second half was almost entirely one-way traffic as Marseille pushed forward. Winger Ismaïla Sarr had a goal disallowed for an offside following a video review and substitute Azzedine Ounahi hit the crossbar with a curling shot in the 73rd.
Europa Conference League
In the third-tier competition semifinal first legs, Aston Villa’s hopes of reaching a first European final since 1982 were diminished with a 4-2 home loss to Olympiakos, the first defeat at Villa Park in the European campaign for the last English club in European competitions.
Villa came back from 2-0 down but were not able to answer Ayoub El Kaabi’s third goal of the game. The striker converted from the penalty spot to make it 3-2 for his eighth goal in the competition this season. Santiago Hezze finished the scoring before Douglas Luiz wasted a penalty for Villa.
Olympiakos are aiming to play on home soil in the May 29 final in Athens.
Earlier, El Kaabi scored twice within a half hour put the visitors in charge.
In Florence, substitute M’Bala Nzola netted in stoppage time for last-year’s runner-up Fiorentina to secure a 3-2 victory over 10-man Club Brugge.
Brugge’s Raphael Onyedika was sent off after receiving his second yellow card on the hour when the Italian club was 2-1 up but the visitors equalized through Igor Thiago to complete a counter just minutes later.
Riccardo Sottil put Fiorentina ahead early on, Brugge captain Hans Vanaken answered with an equalizer from the penalty spot and then Andrea Belotti restored the lead for Fiorentina on a rebound.
