BARCELONA: Barcelona clung on with 10 men to beat Valencia 1-0 and move 10 points clear of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga on Sunday, thanks to Raphinha’s early header.
The Brazilian winger nodded the Catalans in front in the 16th minute. But after Ferran Torres missed a penalty and Ronald Araujo was sent off, the hosts were left fighting tooth and nail for the three points.
“The important thing is we keep adding points and we have three more,” Raphinha told Movistar.
“It’s hard to play with one less man, we did what we needed to, moved deeper and we pulled out the win.”
Barca retreated in the final half hour following Araujo’s 59th minute red card but survived to beat Ruben Baraja’s Valencia, who are 19th and two points from safety.
Barcelona’s 1-0 Copa del Rey semifinal first-leg triumph over Real Madrid on Thursday followed two consecutive defeats, and this narrow victory felt like a significant step toward a first league title since 2019.
Madrid can cut the gap back to seven points later on at Real Betis, but were hoping a depleted Barcelona would stumble at Camp Nou.
Without top scorer Robert Lewandowski, midfield maestros Pedri and Gavi and winger Ousmane Dembele, the Catalans were unable to play their best football, but did just enough to win.
Along with Barcelona’s playing absentees, coach Xavi Hernandez was suspended too, watching from a box, with his brother and assistant Oscar in the dugout.
Valencia resisted early Barcelona pressure but came undone when Sergio Busquets lofted a pass into the area for Raphinha to meet with a cunning run and a header over Giorgi Mamardashvili.
It was Raphinha’s fifth league goal of the season and similar to his header against Osasuna which snatched Barcelona a vital win before the World Cup break.
Although the forward has not consistently shone since his move from Leeds United last summer, his goals in recent weeks have helped Barca cope with Dembele’s absence.
Raphinha fired a free-kick into the wall and curled another effort wide after a fine Alejandro Balde run as Barcelona looked to build on their strong start.
Remaining at the heart of the action, the Brazilian whipped in a cross for Ansu Fati who headed into the ground and off target when he should have tested Mamardashvili.
Valencia might have equalized when Samuel Lino slashed an effort wildly over the bar, with Barcelona’s defense caught out for the first time.
Former Barcelona youth player Ilaix Moriba stabbed an effort wide toward the end of the first half, as Los Che finally began to earn a foothold in the game.
Early in the second half, Barcelona should have moved two ahead when Hugo Guillamon was penalized for handball.
Torres grabbed the ball to take the penalty, although Fati also wanted it and the pair exchanged words, increasing the pressure on the Spaniard, who hit the post.
“Before the game we talked about who will take the penalties,” added Raphinha.
“Ansu wanted to, I understand that, it’s normal. He asked for it, but sometimes your team-mate lets you and sometimes he doesn’t. It happens in a lot of teams.”
Fati struck the near post himself moments later, before a mistake from Jules Kounde left Barcelona with 10 men.
The French defender’s ill-advised header back toward Marc-Andre ter Stegen sent Hugo Duro through on goal. Ronald Araujo dragged down the striker and saw red.
Valencia put pressure on Barcelona without troubling Ter Stegen, who kept his 18th La Liga clean sheet of the season.
The visitors might have been awarded a late penalty when Kessie tangled with Fran Perez, but the referee waved away their desperate — and not unfounded — appeals.
“I have the feeling we could have taken something more from here,” Guillamon told Movistar.
“I thought the referee was going to blow for (the penalty), he steps on him and there’s contact.”
Raphinha header helps 10-man Barca to nervy Valencia win
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Raphinha header helps 10-man Barca to nervy Valencia win

- The Brazilian winger nodded the Catalans in front in the 16th minute
Jannik Sinner faces Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon in a rematch of their epic French Open final

- Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are meeting to decide the Wimbledon championship just five weeks after they played each other in an epic French Open final
- Alcaraz won in five sets spread over 5 hours, 29 minutes in Paris, coming back from a two-set deficit and saving three match points along the way
LONDON: Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are meeting to decide the Wimbledon championship just five weeks after they played each other in an epic French Open final.
Sunday’s matchup at Center Court between the No. 1-ranked Sinner and No. 2 Alcaraz marks the first time the same two men faced off in the title matches on the clay at Roland-Garros and the grass at the All England Club in the same year since Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal did it in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Alcaraz, a 22-year-old from Spain, defeated Sinner, a 22-year-old from Italy, in five sets spread over 5 hours, 29 minutes in Paris on June 8, coming back from a two-set deficit and saving three match points along the way.
That made Alcaraz 5-0 in Grand Slam finals, including victories in 2023 and 2024 at Wimbledon.
He also carries a career-best 24-match winning streak into Sunday and has beaten Sinner five times in a row.
Sinner owns three major trophies and will be playing in his fourth consecutive Slam final — but first at the All England Club.
He won the US Open last September and the Australian Open this January.
Sinner has been wearing tape and an arm sleeve to protect his right elbow since falling in the opening game of his fourth-round win on Monday. After eliminating 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, Sinner said he doesn’t think his elbow will be an issue on Sunday.
Play is scheduled to begin Sunday at 4 p.m. local time, which is 11 a.m. ET.
Sinner was listed Saturday as the slight money-line favorite at -110 by BetMGM Sportsbook, with Alcaraz at -105.
Trump the football fan: US president to attend FIFA club final

- The US president is attending the final of the FIFA Club World Cup on Sunday
BEDMINSTER, United States: Donald Trump will on Sunday showcase his unexpected attachment to a sport in which “America First” remains a dream, for now.
The US president is attending the final of the newly expanded FIFA Club World Cup in his latest use of the beautiful game as a soft power political weapon.
His appearance at the MetLife stadium in New Jersey, where Paris Saint-Germain face Chelsea, is very much a trial run for the World Cup final, which will take place in the same stadium next year.
Trump has made it clear he sees both tournaments, as well as the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, as showpieces for what he calls the “Golden Age of America” during his second term.
The billionaire Republican’s close friendship with FIFA president Gianni Infantino, a frequent visitor to the White House, is also a factor in his appearance.
Trump has kept the Club World Cup trophy next to his desk in the Oval Office since Infantino dropped by in March.
But Trump’s embrace of football, or soccer as he would say, is also personal.
The president’s 19-year-old son Barron is a fan, as Infantino pointed out in a press conference at FIFA’s new office in Trump Tower in New York on Saturday.
Asked if Trump liked the game, Infantino replied: “Well I think he does. In his first term as president of the United States there was a soccer goal in the garden of the White House.
“He then explained to me that his son loved football, and that he loved the game. And of course when you are a parent, you love what your children love, so I think that he loves it.”
As a student at the New York Military Academy, Trump himself also reportedly played the game for a season.
Trump’s apparent fondness for football may seem unusual for a country where, despite growing popularity, the sport still lags behind American football, basketball and baseball.
The former reality TV star has, however, always had an eye for popularity, power and influence. And football in its own way brings all three.
Trump pointed out when Infantino visited the White House in March that the United States won the right to host the 2026 World Cup in 2018, during his first term as president.
He said he was “so sad” because he assumed he would not be president when the tournament came around — but his 2020 election loss meant that he would after all.
The FIFA Club World Cup has meanwhile proved more successful than its critics predicted, with around 2.5 million people attending games across the country and some gripping games.
Infantino, who is no stranger to dealing with hard-nosed leaders around the world, thanked Trump for his support on Saturday.
He said Trump “embraced immediately the importance of the FIFA Club World Cup, and of course of the World Cup next year.”
Infantino also joked that Trump “certainly loves as well the trophy” — whose gold-plated curves match the gilded makeover that the president has given the Oval Office.
But in typical form Trump has also mixed political controversy with his football fandom.
Hosting Italian side Juventus in the Oval Office in June, he delivered a diatribe on transgender people in sports before asking the players: “Could a woman make your team, fellas?“
Most of the players looked bemused before Juventus general manager Damien Comolli replied: “We have a very good women’s team.”
“He’s being very diplomatic,” said Trump.
Trump’s hard-line immigration crackdown — part of his “America First” policy — has meanwhile sparked fears that football fans will be discouraged from coming to the United States.
In May, Vice President JD Vance said that 2026 World Cup fans were “welcome to come... but when the time is up they will have to go home.”
Messi at the double again to lift Miami to MLS win over Nashville

- Lionel Messi continued his historic Major League Soccer scoring run Saturday, netting two goals for the fifth game in a row to lift Inter Miami to a 2-1 victory over Nashville
MIAMI: Lionel Messi continued his historic Major League Soccer scoring run Saturday, netting two goals for the fifth game in a row to lift Inter Miami to a 2-1 victory over Nashville.
Just days after he became the first player to score multiple goals in four straight MLS matches, Messi did it again as Miami continued their climb up the Eastern Conference standings after their league hiatus for the Club World Cup.
Messi, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a trademark left-foot free-kick, which found the only gap in Nashville’s defensive wall to go past goalkeeper Joe Willis.
Miami dominated in the first half but, just four minutes after half-time, Hany Mukhtar’s header pulled Nashville level.
Messi grabbed the winner in the 62nd minute when he capitalized on a bad mistake from Willis, who misjudged a pass to tee up the Argentine for the strike.
The two goals — on the heels of his two in a 2-1 win over New England on Wednesday — took Messi’s total to 16 in 16 appearances this season, tied with Nashville’s Sam Surridge, who was unable to add to his tally of 16 on Saturday.
“There are not many words. It’s incredible what he keeps doing, breaking records now every three days, not even every weekend,” Miami coach Javier Mascherano said.
“He is the standard-bearer of our team that shows us the way to compete. He is the leader.
“It’s a blessing for me to accompany this stage of his career.”
Miami were playing their third match since returning to MLS action in the wake of a month-long Club World Cup campaign that ended when they were eliminated in the last 16 by Paris Saint-Germain.
With 38 points from 19 matches, they are in fifth place in the East, five points behind leaders Philadelphia with three games in hand.
Philadelphia went top with a 2-0 victory over New York Red Bulls, Indiana Vassilev and Bruno Damiani delivering the goals.
Cincinnati slipped to second in the East on 42 points after falling 4-2 to Columbus. Nashville and Columbus both have 41 points.
Miami’s jam-packed schedule continues Wednesday against Cincinnati, with the New York Red Bulls coming up next weekend.
Mascherano knows he will have to find time to give the 38-year-old Messi some rest.
“At some point we are going to have to find a space to give him some rest, we are going to talk about it day by day,” he said.
“He is feeling good and when we think it is time to give him some rest, we will do it.”
Hamzah Sheeraz stops Berlanga, Shakur Stevenson defends lightweight title at home of US Open tennis

- The English fighter moved up in weight to make his debut at super middleweight and showed he has plenty of power for it
- In the co-main event, Shakur Stevenson remained undefeated and defended his WBC lightweight title with a dominant performance, beating William Zepeda
NEW YORK: Hamzah Sheeraz punctuated the first boxing card held on the grounds of the US Open tennis tournament by stopping Edgar Berlanga in the fifth round Saturday night.
The English fighter moved up in weight to make his debut at super middleweight and showed he has plenty of power for it, dropping Berlanga twice in the fourth round and then pouncing quickly to start the fifth before referee David Fields stopped the fight.
Sheeraz (22-0-1, 18 KOs) has been touted as a potential opponent for 168-pound champion Canelo Alvarez and would not only deserve it but have a chance to win if if he looked as good as he did against Berlanga (23-2), who had boasted that he would have an easy night.
In the co-main event, Shakur Stevenson remained undefeated and defended his WBC lightweight title with a dominant performance, beating William Zepeda by unanimous decision.
One judge favored Stevenson 119-109, while the other two had it 118-110 for the 2016 Olympic silver medalist.
Stevenson (24-0) won just before Berlanga and Sheeraz fought in the final bout of the night in Louis Armstrong Stadium, the No. 2 venue at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
But it was a main event-level performance from Stevenson and the first wide victory of the night after the previous two bouts were close right to the finish.
Zepeda (33-1) landed a left hand shortly after the opening bell that drew a smile from the champion, and he was able to get inside a number of times to unload a series of shots at Stevenson. But he was often powerless to stop the flurries that were coming back at him from Stevenson’s hand speed that is up at the top of boxing.
The Ring Magazine held its second fight card in New York after staging one in Times Square in May. Tickets weren’t sold then and just a few hundred people were able to see it, creating an atmosphere where the scene was impressive but the sounds were almost non-existent, leaving fighters to say it felt like a sparring session.
This time, seats were sold and many were occupied well into the second deck of the 14,000-seat stadium, which had its retractable roof closed to create comfortable conditions on a humid day.
And the fans saw good action early in a brilliant performance from Stevenson, who has been criticized at times for a style that that seems too dependent on avoiding pain and not dishing it out.
But he seemed happy to trade Saturday and most times came out ahead when he did.
Zepeda did trap Stevenson in a corner to score with some shots in the third round, bringing his Mexican fans out of their seats, but many other times Stevenson’s quick head movement allowed him to dodge potential trouble. By the middle of the fight, Stevenson was firing off two, three, sometimes four unreturned shots
There was a title change in the previous fight, when Subriel Matias (23-2) edged Alberto Puello (24-1) by majority decision to take the WBC’s 140-pound belt.
Before that, Cuban David Morrell (12-1) got up from a fifth-round knockdown to rally late and edge Imam Khataev (10-1) by split decision in a light heavyweight bout.
Crawley’s last-over ‘theatrics’ against India spark time-wasting row at Lord’s

LONDON: England and India accused each other of sharp practice after Zak Crawley’s conduct at Lord’s on Saturday drew an angry reaction from visiting captain Shubman Gill.
India ought to have been able to bowl two overs late in the third day’s play of the third Test after being dismissed for 387 — exactly level with England’s first-innings total.
Crawley, however, ensured there were only six deliveries from Jasprit Bumrah before stumps by twice withdrawing from his stance and then calling for the physio after the fifth ball appeared to make only minimal contact with his glove.
Tempers flared as it became evident India would not be able to bowl another over before the close, with host broadcaster Sky Sports issuing an on-air apology after a stump microphone picked up Gill swearing angrily at Crawley.
Crawley and Gill jabbed fingers at each other as they exchanged choice words, with Ben Duckett, England’s other opener, also getting involved.
Tim Southee, England’s bowling consultant, suggested Gill was guilty of double standards after delaying the end of the hosts’ innings to receive treatment on the second day, while India all-rounder Washington Sundar also held up proceedings for what appeared to be a comfort break while batting.
“I’m not sure what they were complaining about when Gill was lying down getting a massage in the middle of the day yesterday,” Southee told reporters after stumps on Saturday.
“It’s obviously part of the game. It’s always exciting to see both sides animated toward the end and it was an exciting way to finish the day. It was good to see energy from both sides.”
The former New Zealand paceman, asked about Crawley’s fitness, gave a deadpan reply by saying: “He’ll be assessed overnight. Hopefully he’ll be alright to carry on tomorrow .”
India opener KL Rahul, who scored his 10th Test century and second at Lord’s on Saturday, was far from shocked by Crawley’s behavior.
“Two overs is a no-brainer with six minutes to go,” he said. “But it was a bit of theatrics at the end.
“I know exactly what was going on; everyone knows exactly what was going on. But an opening batter will understand completely what happened in the last five minutes.”
Meanwhile, former England captain turned BBC pundit Michael Vaughan had no qualms about the flare-up.
“It’s as good a piece of time-wasting as I’ve ever seen,” he said. “India can’t complain because yesterday Gill was down with the hamstring strain... But what great drama and what a great day.”