Real Madrid on Tuesday came from behind to beat Borussia Dortmund 5-2 in the UEFA Champions League with Vinicius Junior scoring a hat-trick, as Aston Villa maintained their 100 percent record to go top of the table.
Vinicius struck three times in the second half, as Madrid bounced back from two goals down to inflict further anguish on Dortmund — in a repeat of last season’s final, which Madrid won 2-0.
First-half goals in quick succession by Donyell Malen and Jamie Gittens had given Dortmund a two-goal lead at halftime.
Photo: Reuters
“Things were very quiet when we got to the dressing room 2-0 down at halftime,” Vinicius, 24, told Movistar. “But we listened to the boss [coach Carlo Ancelotti] and agreed one simple thing: If we can score first then we’ll fight back and win once again.”
The 15-time champions duly struck back early in the second period with goals from Antonio Rudiger and Vinicius, before Lucas Vazquez sent Madrid ahead and the Brazilian netted two more inside the final 10 minutes.
Arsenal emerged 1-0 winners at home to Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk thanks to an own-goal from the visitors’ goalkeeper.
Dmytro Riznyk could only grasp at thin air after Gabriel Martinelli had cut in from the left and smacked the ball against the near post before it rebounded back off the goalkeeper and over the line. Leandro Trossard missed a penalty near the end, but Arsenal had already done enough to secure their second win of the tournament.
Fellow Premier League side Aston Villa are enjoying an excellent return to European soccer’s top table after 41 years as they won their third match in three Champions League outings this term with a 2-0 victory against Bologna.
Elsewhere, VfB Stuttgart sank Juventus 1-0 in Turin, while PSV Eindhoven surprised Paris Saint-Germain with a Noa Lang goal against the run of play in the first period, before Achraf Hakimi hit back on 55 minutes to ensure the points were shared.
AC Milan beat 10-men Club Brugge 3-1, AS Monaco won 5-1 at home to Red Star Belgrade, Sporting beat Sturm Graz 2-0 and Girona picked up their first points with a 2-0 win at home to Slovan Bratislava.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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