LONDON: Alexis Sanchez scored a stunning goal as Arsenal came from behind to beat Cologne 3-1 in a Europa League clash on Thursday that was delayed for an hour due to crowd trouble.
Kick-off in the Group H opener at the Emirates Stadium was put back until 9:05 p.m. local time (2005 GMT) in the interests of “crowd safety” after problems caused by thousands of ticketless Cologne supporters arriving at the ground.
Police confirmed four arrests were made before kick-off while there were reports of scuffles inside the stadium.
However, when the match did get under way, those traveling fans who got in were treated to a stunning 40-yard strike by Jhon Cordoba that put Cologne ahead with Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina caught out of his area.
Arsenal improved in the second half and substitute Sead Kolasinac volleyed them level before a brilliant goal by Sanchez gave them a 67th-minute lead.
The Chilean cut in from the left flank before curling a sublime effort into the far top corner, and the three points were secure when Hector Bellerin made it 3-1 late on after Theo Walcott’s effort had been saved by Timo Horn.
“The win, and coming back from losing, obviously gives you a boost. Now we’ll train hard in the coming days to be ready for the weekend,” Bellerin, whose side go to Chelsea on Sunday, told BT Sport.
Arsene Wenger’s side are next in European action in a fortnight in Belarus against BATE Borisov, who drew 1-1 at Red Star Belgrade.
Earlier, Everton’s group-stage campaign got off to a disastrous start as Ronald Koeman’s side were taken apart in Italy, losing 3-0 to Atalanta.
The Serie A club — back in Europe after a 26-year absence — were forced to entertain their English visitors in Reggio Emilia, a two-hour drive south of their base in Bergamo, because their own stadium does not have a license for European games.
But that did not prove a hindrance to Gian Piero Gasperini’s side, who completely overran Everton, scoring all their goals in the first half courtesy of Andrea Masiello, Alejandro Gomez and Bryan Cristante.
Gomez’s goal, a stunning curling strike from outside the area, was the pick of the bunch for Atalanta, who also saw Remo Freuler strike the bar early in the second period.
“A lot went wrong. In the first half they showed more aggression, more passion, and that’s really painful because in my opinion it starts with that and then you need quality with the ball,” Koeman told BT Sport.
“The commitment and passion they showed in the first half was much stronger than us.”
Everton’s next match in Group E will be at home to Apollon Limassol, the Cypriot side who snatched a 1-1 draw with Lyon on Thursday.
Meanwhile, AC Milan underlined their status as one of the teams to beat in the competition by romping to a 5-1 victory at Austria Vienna in Group D with Andre Silva scoring a hat trick.
Milan were three goals up inside 20 minutes in the Austrian capital with Hakan Calhanolgu getting the opener and Portugal striker Silva netting twice.
Silva went on to complete his hat trick after the break before Suso’s long-range effort completed the rout.
Hoffenheim, who lost to Liverpool in the Champions League playoffs but beat Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga last weekend, suffered a 2-1 defeat at home to Portuguese side Braga in Group C despite Sandro Wagner giving them the lead.
Other winners on Thursday included Villarreal, who beat Astana 3-1 in Spain in Group A, and Real Sociedad, who crushed Rosenborg 4-0 in Group L.
Mario Balotelli scored as Nice won 5-1 at Zulte-Waregem of Belgium in Group K, in which Lazio also won, 3-2 at Vitesse Arnhem.
Marseille beat Konyaspor 1-0 in Group I while Athletic Bilbao drew 0-0 at Hertha Berlin in Group J.
Arsenal win delayed Europa League clash as Everton humbled
Arsenal win delayed Europa League clash as Everton humbled
Morocco, Algeria dispute over shirts leads to second cancelation
- Before kick-off on Sunday, Renaissance supporters held up a banner with a map of Morocco showing the disputed territory. Many fans waved Moroccan flags
- The former Spanish colony of Western Sahara is largely controlled by Morocco but claimed by the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which seeks the territory’s independence
BERKANE, Morocco: For the second straight week, an African Confederation Cup match between Renaissance Berkane and Algerian side USM Alger was canceled in a dispute over a map on the Moroccan team’s shirts.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) awarded Berkane a 3-0 victory in the first leg of their semifinal, canceled last Sunday when the Moroccan club refused to take the field after Algerian officials confiscated their shirts.
On Sunday in Berkane, only the home players took the field and they saluted their fans as the stadium announcer told the crowd the match had been canceled.
Moroccan television reported that the USM team left the stadium just before the scheduled 1900 GMT kickoff.
The row began when the Moroccan squad arrived in Algeria last week ahead of the first-leg tie.
Customs officers confiscated Berkane’s shirts on the grounds that they carried a map of Morocco that included the disputed Western Sahara.
Shortly before the first leg kick-off, USM Alger sporting director Toufik Korichi told Algerian radio that the match would not be played because Berkane refused to take to the pitch in any other shirts
The former Spanish colony of Western Sahara is largely controlled by Morocco but claimed by the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which seeks the territory’s independence.
Algeria broke off diplomatic relations with Morocco in 2021, partly over the issue.
Before kick-off on Sunday, Renaissance supporters held up a banner with a map of Morocco showing the disputed territory. Many fans waved Moroccan flags.
On Saturday, business was brisk in the official shop selling Berkane shirts.
“There’s a huge demand,” said Soufiane Al Korchi, a representative of the official distributor of the Moroccan team shirt, adding that the “map has been part of the official design for three years.”
The Algerian football federation has lodged an appeal against the CAF sanction with the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, arguing that the Cairo-based body had “validated the request of the Moroccan club, RS Berkane, to wear a shirt with a political message.”
England’s Jacks makes case for T20 World Cup inclusion with IPL ton for Bengaluru as Chennai win
- Jacks chalked up 10 sixes in his blitz as he put on an unbeaten stand of 166 with Virat Kohli
AHMEDABAD: England’s Will Jacks on Sunday served a timely reminder for his inclusion in the T20 World Cup with a match-winning 41-ball 100 for IPL team Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Jacks chalked up 10 sixes in his blitz as he put on an unbeaten stand of 166 with Virat Kohli, who hit 70.
Bengaluru chased down their victory target of 201 against Gujarat Titans with four overs and nine wickets to spare as Jacks hit the winning six, which also brought up his century.
In the second match of the day, skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad hit 98 to help holders Chennai Super Kings jump to third in the table with a 78-run hammering of Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The innings from Jacks and Gaikwad came just two days ahead of the International Cricket Council deadline of May 1 to announce teams for the T20 World Cup in June.
Bengaluru got their third win — and second in a row — in 10 matches so far this season, keeping their slim hopes of reaching the play-offs alive.
Jacks was on 16 when the in-form Kohli reached his fifty in 32 balls with a four off Rashid Khan, but soon the 25-year-old Englishman smashed three sixes and two fours in a 29-run 15th over from Mohit Sharma.
“Phenomenal. Initially when he came to bat, he was annoyed that he wasn’t able to strike the ball as he wanted to,” Kohli said after the win.
“The only talk was for him to stay calm; we know how explosive he can be when he gets going. The over from Mohit was the game changer, I was just happy to stay around and watch him go.”
Jacks then took on Rashid with four sixes and a four in the winning over.
The 35-year-old Kohli, who hit the first ton of this edition, reached 500 runs and was quick to slam critics who said the veteran batsman has struggled to meet modern T20 standards of power hitting.
“There’s a reason why you do it for 15 years. For me, it’s only about doing the work. People can talk anything they want to, they can talk about me not able to push on, not playing spin well, but you yourself know the game better,” Kohli said.
Kohli — who played the spinners with aplomb, including by using the sweep shot to good effect — and Bengaluru are still waiting for their first IPL title.
Bengaluru, who remain bottom of the 10-team table, elected to field first and Gujarat reached 200-3 in their 20 overs.
Sai Sudharsan hit an unbeaten 84 and put on key partnerships, including putting together 86 runs with Shahrukh Khan, who hit 58, and an unbeaten 69-run stand with David Miller, who made 26.
Glenn Maxwell returned to the Bengaluru line-up after a short “mental and physical break” of three matches, taking a wicket in his first over to return figures of 1-28 with his off-spin.
In match two, Chennai posted 212-3 courtesy of Gaikwad’s 54-ball knock and his key partnerships including a 107-run second-wicket stand with Daryl Mitchell, who hit 52.
Medium-pace bowler Tushar Deshpande led the bowling charge with four wickets as he helped bowl out Hyderabad for 134 in 18.5 overs.
Brunson scores career playoff-high 47 points, leads Knicks over 76ers for 3-1 lead
PHILADELPHIA: Jalen Brunson scored a career playoff-high 47 points, added 10 assists and the New York Knicks beat the Philadelphia 76ers 97-92 on Sunday to take a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.
OG Anunoby added 16 points and 14 rebounds, and took on some of the defensive assignment against Joel Embiid in the fourth quarter as the Knicks moved within a victory of getting to the Eastern Conference semifinals for the second straight year.
The No. 2-seeded Knicks can do that with a victory at home on Tuesday night.
Embiid played the entire second half after the 76ers faltered badly when he sat in the first. But the All-Star center, who has been dealing with lingering problems from his surgically repaired left knee that he appeared to reinjure after a dunk in Game 1, and was recently diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis, couldn’t muster a basket in the fourth quarter.
Embiid finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Tyrese Maxey added 23 points for the 76ers, who will try to force another game at home, which would be Thursday.
Not that the 76ers had much of a home-court advantage Sunday. Knicks fans were all over the arena and gave Brunson louder chants of “MVP! MVP!” than Embiid — who won the award last season — received from the home fans.
Brunson earned every one of them on a day some of his usual support couldn’t get going.
Josh Hart missed all seven shots and Donte DiVincenzo missed his first seven. But Hart grabbed 17 rebounds and the Knicks kept going after missed shots, especially when it was clear Embiid didn’t have the energy to keep chasing them, and scored 21 second-chance points.
Brunson was in the locker room to start the fourth quarter but returned to hit a basket over Embiid during a 6-0 Knicks run that gave them the lead for good and made it 86-81. He had another basket that made it 95-89 with 55 seconds remaining and the Knicks closed it out.
Paris Saint-Germain win Ligue 1 title after Monaco defeat
- Monaco’s defeat gave PSG an unassailable 12-point lead at the top
PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain were confirmed as Ligue 1 champions on Sunday without playing after closest challengers Monaco lost 3-2 away to Lyon.
Monaco’s defeat gave PSG an unassailable 12-point lead at the top of the table with three games remaining and means they are champions for a French record-extending 12th time.
PSG could have clinched the title on Saturday with a win at home to struggling Le Havre, but in the end they needed a 95th-minute equalizer to snatch a 3-3 draw.
However, after that game coach Luis Enrique insisted his side had won the league “without any doubt,” as they were 12 points clear with only 12 points left to play for, and also boast a far superior goal difference to that of Monaco.
The principality club’s loss in Lyon nevertheless makes PSG’s coronation official, and sets them up for Wednesday’s Champions League semifinal first leg away to Borussia Dortmund in Germany.
Monaco had taken the lead inside the opening minute in Lyon thanks to a Wissam Ben Yedder goal, but Alexandre Lacazette equalized for the hosts and Said Benrahma put them ahead before the half-hour mark.
Ben Yedder struck again to bring it back to 2-2, only for substitute Malick Fofana to net a late winner for Lyon, who are still hoping to qualify for Europe.
PSG have won 10 of their 12 titles in the last 12 seasons, a record which goes to show how the Qatari takeover of the club in 2011 has utterly transformed them and the face of French football as a whole.
They are on course for a clean sweep of trophies this season, with the French Cup final against Lyon to come on May 25 and the French Champions Trophy already in the bag.
Luis Enrique’s side are also hoping to see off Dortmund and win through to the final of the Champions League on June 1.
India’s Kohli slams strike-rate talk and pundits ‘from the box’
- Called “King Kohli” for his prolific run-scoring, the star batter has a strike rate of 147.49 in 10 IPL innings
- In contrast, Australia’s up and coming batter in Jake Fraser-McGurk has made 247 runs at 237.50 strike-rate
AHMEDABAD: India’s Virat Kohli on Sunday hit back at critics taking aim at his hitting prowess in T20 cricket after he slammed a match-winning unbeaten 70 off 44 balls in the Indian Premier League.
The in-form Kohli set up Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s chase of 201 before his younger partner Will Jacks blew away Gujarat Titans with his 41-ball 100 in Ahmedabad.
Kohli, who has now passed 500 runs in this edition, and England batsman Jacks put on an unbeaten stand of 166 to see Bengaluru home by nine wickets with four overs to spare.
But despite Kohli’s flowing form ahead of the T20 World Cup in June, pundits have raised concerns over his strike-rate as compared to a new breed of T20 batters, who deal in sixes.
“All the people who talk about strike rates and me not playing spin well are the ones talking about this stuff,” Kohli said in response to looking at his season stats.
“For me, it’s about winning the games for the team and there’s a reason why you’ve done it for 15 years. You’ve done this day in and day out, you’ve won games for your teams, I’m not quite sure that if you haven’t been in that situation yourself, to sit and talk about the game from the box.”
Called “King Kohli” for his prolific run-scoring, the star batter has a strike rate of 147.49 in 10 IPL innings. In contrast, Australia’s up and coming batter in Jake Fraser-McGurk has made 247 runs at a strike-rate of 237.50 for Delhi Capitals.
Kohli’s 51 in the previous match came in 43 balls, a contrast to teammate Rajat Patidar’s 20-ball 50 and former India quick RP Singh said the veteran batter was “slow.”
“For me, people can talk about their assumptions day in and day out, but those who have done it day in and day out, they know what’s happening and it’s a kind of muscle memory for me now,” said the 35-year-old Kohli.
Kohli struck the first century — his eighth in the IPL — of this edition earlier this month in 67 balls but the knock ended in a losing cause after Rajasthan Royals Jos Buttler hit 100 in 58 balls.
“I don’t want to be over-aggressive, want to keep the bowler guessing. They want me to go hard and get me out,” Kohli said after the knock on April 6.
“It’s just experience and maturity. I play the conditions and have the game ready.”
Bengaluru, who remain bottom of the 10-team table with just three wins in 10 matches, and Kohli still await their first IPL title.
