Tottenham and Lazio stay perfect in Europa League with second straight wins

Lazio’s Taty Castellanos, left, celebrates with his teammates the second goal after scoring against Nice during their Europa League opening phase at Rome’s Olympic Stadium, on Oct. 3, 2024. (AP)
Short Url
Updated 03 October 2024
Follow

Tottenham and Lazio stay perfect in Europa League with second straight wins

  • Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou made seven changes to the team that beat Manchester United 3-0 at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Sunday
  • Lazio captain Mattia Zaccagni finished off the win from the penalty spot

ROME: A youthful Tottenham side maintained a perfect record in the Europa League with a 2-1 victory away at Ferencváros on Thursday, while Lazio also made it two wins out of two by routing Nice 4-1 at home.
Pape Sarr gave Tottenham the lead midway through the first half when he reacted quickly to a loose ball in the area and slotted it into the net with a right-foot shot for his second goal in two games in the second-tier European competition.
Brennan Johnson came on as substitute in the second half and scored the second four minutes from time with a left-footed strike off the far post. It was the fifth goal in five games in all competitions for the Wales international.
Parnabas Varga pulled one back for Ferencváros in the final minute.
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou made seven changes to the team that beat Manchester United 3-0 at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Sunday.
Four teenagers started for Spurs, with the 19-year-old Will Lankshear making his senior debut and 17-year-old teammate Mikey Moore making his first start.
In torrential rain at Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Taty Castellano scored twice for Lazio, first making it 2-0 in the first half by lobbing the ball over goalkeeper Marcin Bulka in a one-on-one situation and then making it 3-1 in the second half with a shot into the roof of the net.
Lazio captain Mattia Zaccagni finished off the win from the penalty spot.
Substitute Tomáš Chorý headed in a second-half equalizer for Slavia to hold Ajax to a 1-1 draw in Prague. Ajax went ahead after Branco van den Boomen sent Slavia goalkeeper the wrong way from the spot in the 18th. The visitors were reduced to 10 men in the 75th after defender Youri Baas received his second yellow card.
Anderlecht came from a goal down to beat Real Sociedad 2-1 away, with Theo Leoni scoring the winner late in the first half.
Ayoub El Kaabi scored two and Santiago Hezze added another one for last year’s Conference League winner Olympiacos to beat visiting Braga 3-0.
Hoffenheim, which are struggling in the Bundesliga, recorded a 2-0 win over Dynamo Kyiv.
Manchester United were playing at Porto later Thursday.

Conference League
The third-tier UEFA Conference League saw a couple of high-scoring games as Cercle Brugge routed St. Gallen 6-2 after a hat trick from Kevin Denkey, and Omonoia beat Vikingur Reykjavík 4-0 at home in Cyprus.
Legia Warsaw edged Real Betis 1-0.
Scottish side Hearts traveled a long way to Sumgayit, Azerbaijan, to take home a 2-1 victory over Belarusian champion Dinamo Minsk.
UEFA banned Russian clubs from all its events over the country’s invasion of Ukraine but has allowed Belarusian teams to keep playing despite the country’s support of Russia, as long as the games are hosted outside of Belarus without a crowd.


Alcaraz withdraws from Davis Cup Finals because of hamstring injury

Updated 5 sec ago
Follow

Alcaraz withdraws from Davis Cup Finals because of hamstring injury

  • Carlos Alcaraz set to lead Spain in Bologna against the No. 4-seeded Czech Republic in the quarterfinals on Thursday
MADRID: Top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz withdrew from playing for Spain in the Davis Cup Finals in Italy because of a hamstring injury on Tuesday.
Alcaraz said the decision was recommended by doctors.
“I’m so sorry to announce that I won’t be able to play for Spain in the Davis Cup in Bologna,” he said on X. “I have an edema in my right hamstring and the medical recommendation is not to compete.”
Alcaraz said he was returning home “heartbroken.”
“I’ve always said that playing for Spain is the greatest thing there is, and I was really looking forward to helping us fight for the Davis Cup.”
Alcaraz was set to lead Spain in Bologna against the No. 4-seeded Czech Republic in the quarterfinals on Thursday to try and win the Davis Cup for the first time. Last year, Alcaraz and Spain were eliminated in the opening round of the Final 8 at home in Malaga, spoiling the final match of Rafael Nadal’s storied career.
The 22-year-old Alcaraz had said he wants “to win the Davis Cup one day … because for me, it’s a really important, important tournament.”
Spain already had a tough task, going up against a Czech team including top-20 players in Jiri Lehecka and Jakub Mensik. They eliminated the United States in the qualifying round in September.