MOTORCYCLING
Jorge Martin crashes
MotoGP world champion Jorge Martin was taken to hospital yesterday after crashing on the opening day of pre-season testing in Malaysia. The 27-year-old, who made the move to Aprilia after winning last season’s championship for Pramac Ducati, reported pain in his left foot and right hand after being thrown off at turn two of Sepang track, his second crash of the session. Martin had completed 13 laps when he lost control of his new bike and was flipped high into the air. The Spaniard landed hard on his left foot before his head banged onto the asphalt, bringing out the red flag to halt the opening-day session. He had walked away unscathed from his first crash early in the session. Trackhouse team rider Raul Fernandez of Spain also crashed on an eventful first day of testing and was ruled out of the remaining two days with hand and foot fractures.
Photo: EPA-EFE
SOCCER
Premier League eyes tech
The Premier League could introduce semi-automated offside technology before the end of this season following “significant” progress in testing, chief football officer Tony Scholes said. Last year, Premier League clubs unanimously agreed to introduce the technology at a shareholders’ meeting. It was expected to be implemented before Christmas, but met with problems in testing. “The progress made over the last four to six weeks has been significant. So, we believe we’re going to be adopting the best system and the most accurate system,” Scholes told British media on Tuesday. “The EFL [English Football League] has introduced it into the League Cup this year. We will monitor it... Clearly, if we’re not confident until the last two or three match rounds, I think you then arrive at a pragmatic place where you just say, it wouldn’t make sense to introduce it now, but if we’re able to introduce it in advance of that, then it’s something that we’re actively considering.”
SOCCER
Milan sign Joao Felix
AC Milan have signed Portuguese forward Joao Felix from Chelsea on loan for the rest of the season, while Chelsea have brought in French midfielder Mathis Amougou from AS Saint-Etienne on an eight-year contract, the Premier League club said on Tuesday. British media reports said that Amougou, 19, joined Chelsea for a fee of about ￡12 million (US$14.98 million). “It’s an honor for me to sign for such a big club like Chelsea. They believe in young players and the process they have in place to develop us is fantastic,” Amougou said in a statement. Felix joined Chelsea from Atletico Madrid in August last year on a seven-year deal for a reported fee of ￡46 million, but the 25-year-old has struggled for game time in his second spell with the Premier League club.
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
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
Manchester United on Thursday settled for a 1-1 draw with Real Sociedad in the first leg of their Europa League round-of-16 tie. United led on Joshua Zirkzee’s goal in the 58th minute, but the hosts equalized 12 minutes later after Bruno Fernandes’ hand ball and Mikel Oyarzabal sent Andre Onana the wrong way from the penalty spot. The Europa League could be a way for United to finish the season with a trophy after crashing out of the FA Cup on Sunday. A spot in the quarter-finals is to be on the line at Old Trafford in the second leg on Thursday next
Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday held their nerve to beat Liverpool 4-1 on penalties and reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals after their tie finished one-apiece on aggregate, while Bayern Munich saw off Bayer 04 Leverkusen to complete a 5-0 win over both legs. Lamine Yamal and Raphinha fired Barcelona into the next round as the Catalans bested SL Benfica 3-1, and Inter booked a last-eight meeting with Bayern by seeing off Feyenoord 2-1. At Anfield, Ousmane Dembele netted the only goal of the night as PSG bounced back from Liverpool’s late winner last week to force the tie to extra-time and penalties. Maligned
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