SOCCER
Erling too nice, Pep says
Manchester City on Saturday opened up a four-point lead at the top of the English Premier League with a 2-1 win against Leeds United as Liverpool beat Brentford 1-0 to close on the top four. City underlined their desire to extend their reign as they chase a fifth Premier League title in six seasons. Ilkay Gundogan scored both goals for Pep Guardiola’s men inside the first 27 minutes, but the City boss was left annoyed after Erling Haaland handed the German the chance to secure a hat-trick from the penalty spot. Gundogan hit the post and within a minute Leeds were back in the game when Rodrigo fired home. “The game is not over. It shows how nice and generous Erling is. If it is 4-0 with 10 minutes left, okay. But at 2-0? Erling is the best penalty taker right now, so he has to take it,” Guardiola said.
BOXING
Alvarez thrills at home
Canelo Alvarez returned home and remained the undisputed super middleweight champion on Saturday night, beating John Ryder by unanimous decision before more than 50,000 fans in his first fight in Mexico since 2011. Alvarez bloodied the British challenger’s nose and knocked him down, cruising to the victory by scores of 120-107 on one card and 118-109 on the other two to improve to 59-2-2. “I hit him too much in the head and he did not go down,” Canelo said at ring side after the fight. “I’ve always said it, when they fight me, they give their 100 percent, it gets complicated because they usually give me the fight of their lives.” Ryder said that he suffered what is probably a broken nose in the second round and that played a major role in having his four-bout winning streak stopped and is 32-6. It was Alvarez’s first fight since he had surgery on his left wrist in March last year. In a fight that was touted as the “King is Coming Home,” the sold-out crowd at the Estadio Akron in Guadalajara, just 40km away from Juanacatlan, the small town where Alvarez grew up, screamed deliriously during the whole fight. “It was different, I’ve fought in stadiums before, but tonight was very different, the vibe of the crowd was awesome. I’m very thankful,” Alvarez added.
FORMULA ONE
Leclerc frustrated by crash
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc crashed late on Saturday in qualifying for yesterday’s Miami Grand Prix to end in seventh place on the grid. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez was in pole position ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso with Red Bull’s other driver, world champion Max Verstappen, starting in ninth place on the grid. Leclerc was furious with himself after losing control through turn six and spinning out of control and into the wall — an incident that left Verstappen without the chance to post a strong final lap. The Ferrari driver had a similar crash in practice on Friday, and it was that repetition of mistakes that upset him. “I think what is unacceptable is doing the same mistake in the same corner twice,” he said. “I am really disappointed with myself. You can always find excuses in those situation, the wind was strong, the set-up was tricky, but I put myself in these conditions,” Leclerc said. “I am taking a lot of risks in Q3 to try and do something special, because I know we are behind Red Bull at the moment... I think it will pay off in the race for us but in qualifying it was just too much.”
Tallon Griekspoor on Friday stunned top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) in the second round at Indian Wells, avenging a devastating loss to the German at Roland Garros last year. Zverev, the world No. 2 who is heading the field of the prestigious ATP Masters event with No. 1 Jannik Sinner serving a three-month drugs ban, is the first Indian Wells men’s top seed to lose his opening match since Andy Murray in 2017. It was a cherished win for Griekspoor, who had lost five straight matches — including four last year — to the German. That included a five-setter
Donovan Mitchell on Wednesday scored 26 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers punched their ticket to the NBA playoffs with a hard-fought 112-107 victory over the Miami Heat. A seesaw battle in Cleveland saw the Heat threaten to end the Cavs’ 11-game unbeaten streak after opening up a seven-point lead late in the fourth quarter, but the Cavs clawed back the deficit in the closing minutes to seal their 12th straight victory and a place in the post-season. The Cavaliers improved to 52-10, maintaining their stranglehold on the Eastern Conference with 20 games of the regular season remaining. Mitchell was one of six Cleveland
VALUABLE POINT: Relegation-threatened Valencia snatched a thrilling 3-3 draw at CA Osasuna thanks to a remarkable backheel volley by Umar Sadiq Barcelona on Sunday secured a comfortable 4-0 win over Real Sociedad to move back top of La Liga. Aritz Elustondo’s early red card gave Hansi Flick’s side a comfortable afternoon, with Gerard Martin, Marc Casado, Ronald Araujo and Robert Lewandowski on the score sheet. Atletico Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao on Saturday to temporarily knock the Catalans from their perch, while Real Madrid, third, lost at Real Betis Balompie. Flick was able to rotate his side a little ahead of the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 visit to face SL Benfica tomorrow and still move one point above Atletico. “There were a lot of things that
Five-time champion Novak Djokovic on Saturday tumbled out of the Indian Wells ATP Masters, falling in his first match to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp as two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz advanced. “No excuses for a poor performance,” 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said after 37 unforced errors in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 defeat. “It doesn’t feel great when you play this way on the court,” he said. “But congratulations to my opponent — just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me.” Djokovic is just the latest in Van de Zandschulp’s string of superstar victims. He
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