■ITALY
Lazio rally to down Juve
Lazio came from behind to beat Juventus 2-1 at home in the first leg of their Italian Cup semi-final on Tuesday thanks to second-half goals by Goran Pandev and Tommaso Rocchi. Macedonia striker Pandev controlled a rebounded Stephan Lichtsteiner shot, before spinning around and finding the far corner of the net on 65 minutes. Rocchi then sprinted onto a though ball and slid in to fire home and give the Rome side a precious advantage 12 minutes from time. Midfielder Marco Marchionni had put Juventus in front in the 34th minute, intercepting a loose clearance and driving in with the help of a deflection. The visitors made the brighter start and striker Vincenzo Iaquinta had a goal disallowed for offside early on, although TV replays suggested he was in line with the last defender. Lazio responded well and Juve keeper Alex Manninger, standing in for the rested Gianluigi Buffon, did well to repel a diagonal Rocchi shot and a Cristian Ledesma free-kick later in the first half. The hosts keep pressing hard after Pandev’s goal and Pasquale Foggia forced two more good saves from Manninger before Rocchi scored the deserved winner.
■GERMANY
Mainz stun Schalke
Second-division Mainz got a goal from Aristide Bance in the 88th minute to beat Schalke 04 1-0 and reach the semi-finals of the German Cup for the first time on Tuesday. Bance sneaked behind Schalke’s defense to meet a long free-kick and slotted the ball home unopposed from close range. Mainz, the second-placed team in the second division, sent Schalke deeper into troubled water. Fred Routen’s team were third last season in the Bundesliga, but they have been unable to challenge for the title and are stuck in eighth place. Tuesday’s loss meant Schalke are out of the running for any title. “It was a really dumb goal to concede,” Schalke manager Andreas Mueller said.
■FRANCE
Guingamp defeat Le Mans
Bakary Kone scored a late winner as Ligue 2 side En Avant Guingamp defeated top flight Le Mans 1-0 to reach the quarter-finals of the French Cup on Tuesday. Kone got the clinching goal in the 83rd minute. A Xavier Pentecote double earned Toulouse a 2-0 win at Ligue 2 side Boulogne-sur-Mer. Pentecote, who has featured in only three Ligue 1 games this season, opened the scoring four minutes before the break when he latched onto an Alexandre Bonnet cross. The 22-year-old striker grabbed his second on 62 minutes by beating Boulogne keeper Florian Bague from close range. Grenoble went through after winning a penalty shootout 4-2 at Ligue 2 side Dijon following a 1-1 draw. Defender Stephane Morisot’s 15th-minute opener for the home side was canceled out three minutes later by Grenoble striker Nassim Akrour.
■SERBIA
Platini rejects Kosovo
UEFA president Michel Platini said on Tuesday that Kosovo could not join the organization until it was recognized by the UN. “The situation is very simple: UEFA, FIFA do not go in for politics ... the only thing UEFA can do at the present is to respect the statutes of UEFA and the statutes clearly say that to be affiliated with UEFA it is necessary to be recognized by the United Nations,” Platini told reporters in Belgrade. Kosovo, which unilaterally declared independence from Serbia a year ago, has been recognized by more than 50 countries, including the US and most of the EU.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
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