SPORTS

Cristiano Ronaldo’s superb backheel late in the game earned Real Madrid a point in a 1-1 La Liga draw with Athletic Bilbao at the Bernabeu stadium on Wednesday. The Portuguese forward flicked Luka Modric’s low drive into the back of the net in the 87th minute with a deft touch, his 24th league goal of the season cancelling out a ...

The head of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s football association has been taken into custody as part of a probe into embezzlement, an investigating magistrate said on Wednesday. FECOFA president Constant Omari has been held along with sports ministry secretary general Barthelemy Okito and two FECOFA vice presidents — Roger Bondembe and Theobad Binamungu — since Tuesday evening, the magistrate ...

Playmaker Kevin De Bruyne and his Manchester City team-mates made up almost half of the Professional Footballers’ Association’s Premier League team of the year revealed on Wednesday. Right-back Kyle Walker, centre-back Nicolas Otamendi, midfielder David Silva and striker Sergio Aguero were also named in the XI. Tottenham were the only other team to have more than one representative, boasting three ...

Lionel Messi was thrown on as a substitute but 10-man Barcelona were relieved to escape with a draw as Celta Vigo came within a whisker of inflicting the Catalans’ first league defeat of the season on Tuesday. Messi was introduced after an hour at the Stade Balaidos and looked to have inspired another Barca victory when Paulinho gave the visitors ...

Jose Mourinho has warned that Manchester United still face a battle to secure a top-four place in the Premier League despite their ambition to finish second. Manchester City wrapped up the title without kicking a ball, thanks to rock-bottom West Brom’s shock 1-0 win at Old Trafford on Sunday. United were a shadow of the side that stormed back to ...

Gianluigi Buffon raged late into the night after a wild match in Madrid as the Juventus legend was sent off in what was probably the final Champions League match of an extraordinary career. The veteran goalkeeper’s frustration spilt over at the Santiago Bernabeu after Juventus beat Real Madrid 3-1 on the night, but were eliminated 4-3 on aggregate in the ...

Liverpool reached the Champions League semifinals for the first time in 10 years as Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino struck decisive blows to secure a 2-1 win over Manchester City on Tuesday that completed a 5-1 aggregate victory. Trailing 3-0 from the first-leg City manager Pep Guardiola had said his team needed to produce a “perfect game” at the Etihad ...

AS Roma pulled off one of the great Champions League comebacks by knocking Barcelona out with a remarkable 3-0 win in their quarterfinal second leg on Tuesday, overcoming a 4-1 deficit from the first game to reach the last four on away goals. Roma’s Kostas Manolas headed the decisive third goal in the 82nd minute, putting the Italians in the ...

Torres, 34, has started only three La Liga matches this season and made 17 appearances from the bench, scoring two goals. “I want to take advantage of this opportunity to say this will be my last season at the club,” Torres said at a promotional event on Monday. “It has not been an easy decision. Looking at the reality, the ...

Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane remains hopeful of overhauling Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah in the race for Premier League Golden Boot but is also focused on helping Spurs finish the season strongly.Kane is bidding to end the campaign as the division’s top scorer for the third time in a row, a feat no other player has managed since Arsenal’s Thierry Henry ...