SOCCER
Sevilla in sight of top three
Sevilla on Monday gave themselves an outside chance of rejoining La Liga’s title race by winning a seven-goal thriller away at RC Celta de Vigo. A second-half double from Ivan Rakitic and Papu Gomez snatched a 4-3 victory for Sevilla, who twice had to come from behind at the Balaidos. The comeback puts Sevilla six points behind Atletico Madrid. For weeks it has looked like only Real Madrid and Barcelona could overhaul struggling Atletico, but 13 points from 15 has put Sevilla back in sight of the top three. Fourth place is all but secure for Julen Lopetegui’s side, who have a 14-point advantage over fifth-placed Real Sociedad, who they face next weekend. Celta stay 10th.
FOOTBALL
Patriots’ Edelman retires
New England Patriots star Julian Edelman on Monday announced his retirement from the NFL, bringing the curtain down on a career that spanned 12 seasons and included three Super Bowl victories. The 34-year-old receiver, named Most Valuable Player in the Patriots most recent Super Bowl victory in 2019, confirmed his retirement after his contract was terminated due to a failed physical. “I’ve always said I’m going until the wheels come off, and they’ve finally fallen off,” Edelman said in a recorded video on Twitter that showed him sitting on the Patriots’ Gillette Stadium field at Foxboro, Massachusetts. “Due to an injury last year, I’ll be making my official announcement of my retirement from football. It’s been the best 12 years of my life. It’s been a hell of a run.”
SOCCER
US women closer to equality
The US women’s soccer team on Monday vowed to press on with an appeal in their equal pay lawsuit after a federal judge in Los Angeles formally approved a deal with the US Soccer Federation over working conditions. US District Judge Gary Klausner inked a settlement reached in December last year that grants the US women’s team the same treatment as their male counterparts in areas such as flights, hotels, venue selection and support staff. It followed an earlier ruling by Klausner in May in which the judge dismissed a claim by the women’s team for pay equality. “Finally, giving these athletes access to facilities, training, care and professional support is the next step needed in the long and hard work to grow the game of women’s football,” said Molly Levinson a spokeswoman for the players.
CRICKET
SA level Pakistan T20 series
Pakistan opening batsman Mohammad Rizwan on Monday fell into a trap off the first ball of the match and the tourists never recovered as South Africa romped to a six-wicket win with six overs to spare in the second Twenty20 international at the Wanderers. Man-of-the-match George Linde revealed at the post-match presentation that South Africa deliberately placed mid-off Aiden Markram inside the 30m circle to tempt Rizwan to go over the top. Rizwan danced down the wicket and went for a big hit, but only succeeded in hitting a high catch to Markram. “We had a game plan to bring that guy up, and I was happy when he [Rizwan] came down the wicket,” said left-arm spinner Linde who went on to take 3-23. He also held three catches in the deep and Pakistan were restricted to 140-9.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two