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Europa League Restarts, Bringing back Continental Football

The UEFA Europa League trophy. (Getty Images)
The UEFA Europa League trophy. (Getty Images)
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Europa League Restarts, Bringing back Continental Football

The UEFA Europa League trophy. (Getty Images)
The UEFA Europa League trophy. (Getty Images)

It's been five months since the last games, but European continental club football is finally back. The Europa League restarts on Wednesday with the round of 16.

Manchester United and Bayer Leverkusen are among the teams playing the second legs of matchups suspended in time by the coronavirus pandemic.

Those second legs will still be played at clubs' home stadiums before the winners head to Germany for a new knockout tournament format. All games will be played without spectators.

Getafe and Inter Milan will be the first teams to play at the UEFA tournament venues when they meet on Wednesday in Gelsenkirchen.

They're playing their last-16 fixture over a single leg because they didn't complete a first leg in March before the competition was suspended. Sevilla and Roma play on Thursday in Duisburg.

United warms up
Manchester United should have no trouble booking its place in the quarterfinals. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team holds a 5-0 lead from its first leg against Austrian team LASK Linz going into the second leg in Manchester on Wednesday.

Shakhtar Donetsk is hoping to convert a 2-1 advantage over Wolfsburg into a win, while Istanbul Basaksehir holds a 1-0 lead over Copenhagen.

On Thursday, Wolverhampton tries to keep up its best European run since reaching the final of the then-UEFA Cup in 1972. It's at 1-1 with Greek club Olympiakos after the first leg.

Bayer Leverkusen is keen not to slip up against Rangers with a 3-1 lead.

Basel has just three days since its last Swiss league game on Monday and must try to cling on to its 3-0 advantage over well-rested Eintracht Frankfurt.

Travel and testing
While domestic leagues across Europe were able to restart amid the pandemic — though France, the Netherlands and Scotland abandoned their seasons — the international travel needed for the Europa League and Champions League was a persistent problem.

Teams are already used to being tested for the coronavirus, and at least one player will miss Europa League games because of a positive test.

Wolfsburg said on Monday that Swiss defender Kevin Mbabu would not travel with the team for its last-16 game against Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk. He tested positive for COVID-19 last month.

Sevilla midfielder Nemanja Gudelj is also likely to miss the last-16 game against Roma following a positive test. He has been in isolation at home but could potentially return if Sevilla makes the quarterfinals.

Champions League promise
When UEFA decided in 2015 to give a Champions League spot to the Europa League winner, it seemed like a good idea. This season it's a headache.

The promise of a place in the Champions League encourages big clubs to take the Europa League seriously. In a season interrupted by the coronavirus, it plays havoc with the calendar.

UEFA has to push back some of the qualifying rounds for 2020-21 until this season's competitions are resolved and it knows who has the right to take part in which competition.

If the Europa League winner is a team which has already qualified for the Champions League anyway — Manchester United or Inter Milan — then UEFA rules give that Champions League group stage spot to France's third-place team, Rennes.

The venues
The four stadiums in western Germany are an introduction to once-proud clubs going through tough times.

Sevilla and Roma meet in Duisburg, which has a 31,500-seat stadium but only a third-tier club team with chronic financial problems.

Money worries are also a problem for Schalke, which plays at the stadium in the industrial city of Gelsenkirchen. It's slashing its budget after incomes shrunk when it regularly missed out on the Champions League.

The stadium in Düsseldorf is home to a club just relegated to the second tier.

The final is being played on Aug. 21 in Cologne, whose fans were happy to stay in the Bundesliga last season after a mixed recent record. That's still not a patch on Cologne's golden era when it fought for league and cup titles from the 1960s to 1980s.

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Kenyan Great Kipchoge Wins First Marathon in Three Years

Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge won his first marathon in three years at Melbourne. Saeed KHAN / AFP
Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge won his first marathon in three years at Melbourne. Saeed KHAN / AFP
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Kenyan Great Kipchoge Wins First Marathon in Three Years

Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge won his first marathon in three years at Melbourne. Saeed KHAN / AFP
Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge won his first marathon in three years at Melbourne. Saeed KHAN / AFP

Two-time Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge won his first marathon in three years on Sunday when the Kenyan great cruised to victory at Melbourne.

The most-decorated marathoner in history crossed the finish line in 2hrs 9min 10sec, two seconds inside the race record.

It was his first victory over the distance since Berlin in 2023 and part of his "World Tour" to raise funds for causes he believes in.

The 41-year-old former world record-holder announced in 2025 he planned complete marathons on all seven continents, including Antarctica, over two years.

Melbourne was the third stop after South Africa and Brazil.

He broke away inside the last 10 kilometers on a course raced partly on the Australian Formula One track at Albert Park and which finished inside the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground.

"On the course, it was really wonderful, I enjoyed seeing people standing, cheering, and shouting my name," Kipchoge said, looking fresh at the finish.

He would have gone faster, but slowed down inside the MCG waving to fans.

"It was actually different -- running on a beautiful course, but also running on the Formula One track, and above all else, finishing on a cricket ground," he added.

"It makes me proud to run with the younger generation and inspire the running community in Melbourne."

Australian Thomas Do Canto was runner-up in 2:10:35 while New Zealand's Camille French came first in the women's race in 2:28:25.

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Messi Nets Brace to Win in First Match after Argentina Exit

Inter Miami's Argentine forward Lionel Messi scored two goals in his club's 4-0 MLS victory over DC United. CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP
Inter Miami's Argentine forward Lionel Messi scored two goals in his club's 4-0 MLS victory over DC United. CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP
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Messi Nets Brace to Win in First Match after Argentina Exit

Inter Miami's Argentine forward Lionel Messi scored two goals in his club's 4-0 MLS victory over DC United. CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP
Inter Miami's Argentine forward Lionel Messi scored two goals in his club's 4-0 MLS victory over DC United. CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP

Lionel Messi scored twice to help Inter Miami rout DC United 4-0 on Saturday, taking a victory in his first match since saying farewell to the Argentina national team.

Four nights after scoring in his final match for the Albiceleste in a victory over Benin, the 39-year-old South American superstar struck in the 47th and 60th minutes as defending MLS champion Miami won for only the second time in their past 11 league matches.

A first-half brace by Luis Suarez staked the Herons to the lead as they improved to 13-5 with 10 drawn for 49 points, jumping from third to second in the Eastern Conference

Messi hopes to make Miami the first team to win back-to-back MLS crowns since the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2011-12.

Messi, the top point producer in the league with 23 goals plus assists on 13 others, seeks a third consecutive MLS Most Valuable Player award.

Uruguayan striker Suarez scored in the third minute to give Miami the lead, blasting a left-footed shot from the heart of the box into the top left corner.

Suarez struck again in the 39th for his 16th goal of the campaign, assisted like his first of the night by German Berterame.

Messi blasted home a left-footed shot off an assist from Suarez to give Miami a 3-0 lead and evaded three defenders to add another goal 13 minutes later as the pink-clad hosts pulled away to stay.

In other games, Scottish striker Lewis Morgan and American Djordje Mihailovic scored in second-half stoppage time to rally Toronto for a 2-1 home victory over Montreal.

The visitors grabbed the lead in the Canadian clash on a goal by Mexican forward Daniel Rios in the 52nd minute.

Toronto, however, battled back for the equalizer by winger Morgan, obtained last month from San Diego, in the third minute of stoppage time, his first regular-season MLS goal in two years.

Former Montreal standout Mihailovic struck for the decider in the fifth minute of extra time.

"Now I've scored on both sides of this derby," he said. "It feels good."

Toronto snapped a three-game losing streak to pull within a point of an East playoff berth.

At Chicago, Swiss forward Maren Haile-Selassie scored in the 87th minute to give the 10-man Chicago Fire a 2-1 triumph over New York City.

Austrian midfielder Hannes Wolf gave City the lead in the 19th minute and Chicago dropped to 10 men when Ivory coast midfielder Dje D'Avilla received his second yellow card in the 43rd minute.

Swede Anton Saletros equalized for Chicago in the 55th minute, setting the stage for the decider.

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Red Bull's Verstappen Fastest in Singapore to Claim 50th Career Pole

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands smiles as he speaks after finishing first during the qualifying session ahead of the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix in Singapore, Singapore, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands smiles as he speaks after finishing first during the qualifying session ahead of the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix in Singapore, Singapore, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
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Red Bull's Verstappen Fastest in Singapore to Claim 50th Career Pole

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands smiles as he speaks after finishing first during the qualifying session ahead of the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix in Singapore, Singapore, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands smiles as he speaks after finishing first during the qualifying session ahead of the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix in Singapore, Singapore, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Red Bull's Max Verstappen claimed the 50th pole position of his career when he went fastest in qualifying under the lights at the Singapore Grand Prix on Saturday, repeating his heroics from the sprint qualifying session a day earlier.

Verstappen clocked one minute 31.373 seconds at the Marina Bay Street Circuit and will have Ferrari's Charles Leclerc alongside him on the front row, with the Monegasque driver just 0.054 seconds slower than the four-times champion.

Leclerc's team mate Lewis Hamilton was third fastest and championship leader Kimi Antonelli was fourth quickest for Mercedes.

"The margins are very close between us throughout all of qualifying, so of course, very happy to be on pole because this is the one that I wanted," Verstappen said ahead of his 250th race.

"The car has been ⁠pretty strong all ⁠weekend. Of course, I always think that you can be better, but it was enough for pole, so very happy with that."

Verstappen, who won a chaotic sprint in wet conditions earlier on Saturday, topped the timesheets despite gearbox issues in Q2 to claim his second straight pole of the season.

Leclerc had struggled in Q1 and Q2 but found his groove in Q3 to put Ferrari on the front row right at the end of the session.

"I had some weird things going on with the brakes, car pulling a ⁠bit under braking, which is not so nice on a track like here," Reuters quoted Leclerc as saying.

"But then in Q3, the lap was okay. I did some mistakes. I think there was a potential to be on pole today, but Max just did a better job."

With celebrity girlfriend Kim Kardashian watching on from the Ferrari garage, Hamilton topped Q1 and Q2 at a circuit where he has four victories, but the Briton could not reproduce his form in Q3.

"There's a real fine line with our car where it's over the edge or under the limit and finding that sweet spot is very, very difficult," said seven-times world champion Hamilton.

Mercedes driver George Russell, second in the championship, was sixth fastest in Q3 but the Briton is set to start from the back of the grid due to his engine penalty ⁠as he looks to ⁠bridge the 89-point gap to Antonelli.

Drivers struggled under braking in the first session, with Esteban Ocon and Lance Stroll both forced to abandon their laps, but the biggest casualty of Q1 was Verstappen's team mate Isack Hadjar.

The Frenchman complained about an issue with his gearbox before the 22-year-old returned to the garage without setting a lap time, losing his 100% record of qualifying for Q3 this year.

"Nothing Isack could have done. We had a gearbox issue on his car," Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies told Sky Sports.

Verstappen also complained about gearbox issues despite advancing from Q2.

"Insanely, insanely bad shifts," he said. "The downshifts are so bad."

Reigning champion Lando Norris and McLaren team mate Oscar Piastri will line up on the third row after the stewards took no further action following the collision between the two drivers in the sprint.

Alpine's Pierre Gasly will start seventh on the grid followed by the Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad, and Audi's Nico Hulkenberg completed the top 10.