Barcelona Fight Back to Reach Europa League Quarter-finals

Barcelona striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang celebrates after scoring the winning goal against Galatasaray (AFP/KEMAL ASLAN)
KEMAL ASLAN
Barcelona striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang celebrates after scoring the winning goal against Galatasaray (AFP/KEMAL ASLAN) KEMAL ASLAN
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Barcelona Fight Back to Reach Europa League Quarter-finals

Barcelona striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang celebrates after scoring the winning goal against Galatasaray (AFP/KEMAL ASLAN)
KEMAL ASLAN
Barcelona striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang celebrates after scoring the winning goal against Galatasaray (AFP/KEMAL ASLAN) KEMAL ASLAN

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored the winner as Barcelona fought back from a goal down to beat Galatasaray 2-1 on Thursday to book their spot in the Europa League quarter-finals, while Andriy Yarmolenko scored an extra-time winner as West Ham knocked out Sevilla.

After a goalless first leg at the Camp Nou last week, Xavi Hernandez's Barca trailed on aggregate in the last 16 when Marcao headed Galatasaray into a 28th-minute lead on the night in Istanbul.

But 19-year-old midfielder Pedri drew the visitors level before the break, AFP said.

The Catalan giants, playing in Europe's second-tier competition for the first time since 2004 after a Champions League group-stage exit, forged ahead for the first time in the tie less than five minutes into the second half.

Aubameyang, a January signing after his contract with Arsenal was ended, tapped in from Frenkie de Jong's pass to score his seventh goal for the club.

Barcelona will now turn their attentions to this weekend's Clasico against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.

"We played a match of huge personality," said Xavi. "It was a great performance to fight back on a ground like this against a very good team."

Xavi's men sit third in the La Liga table, 15 points behind runaway leaders Real, as they look to qualify for next season's Champions League.

Ukrainian international Yarmolenko scored for the second time in a week after also netting against Aston Villa at the weekend as West Ham beat record six-time winners Sevilla 2-0 at the London Stadium.

Trailing 1-0 after the first leg, David Moyes' side levelled the tie in the 39th minute through Tomas Soucek.

The match went to extra time, and Yarmolenko pounced after Pablo Fornals' shot was saved to send West Ham into the quarters of a major European competition for the first time since 1981.

Yarmolenko was given time off by the club after Russia invaded Ukraine, and he has now scored in both of his appearances since.

"Andriy Yarmolenko is such a lovely guy," striker Michail Antonio told BT Sport. "I can't imagine what he's going through. He's got a finishing touch now. Hopefully he can keep doing it.

- Rangers march on -
Rangers reached the last eight for the first time since losing the 2008 UEFA Cup final to Zenit Saint Petersburg despite a 2-1 second-leg loss to Red Star Belgrade in Serbia.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side took a 3-0 lead into the second leg.

The Scottish champions suffered a setback early on when Mirko Ivanic scored, but Ryan Kent all but ended the tie as a contest 11 minutes after the break with an equalizer.

El Fardou Ben's late penalty gave Red Star the consolation of a win on the day, but Rangers march on and continue their bid for a first European trophy since lifting the 1972 Cup Winners' Cup.

"I'm very proud -- it's a great achievement to reach the last eight", van Bronckhorst said.

Elsewhere in the last 16, Atalanta wrapped up a 4-2 aggregate success over Bayer Leverkusen as Jeremie Boga's injury-time strike secured a 1-0 win in Germany.

Monaco bowed out as Abel Ruiz scored the only goal in the principality for Braga, who progressed 3-1 in the tie.

Lyon booked their place in the next round with a 2-1 aggregate success over Porto, while Eintracht Frankfurt scored in the 121st minute to beat Real Betis in extra time.

Leicester continued their run in the Europa Conference League as they edged out in-form Rennes 3-2 on aggregate despite a 2-1 second-leg defeat.

Defender Wesley Fofana, playing for the first time this season after injury, scored the all-important second-half goal for Brendan Rodgers' Foxes.

Jose Mourinho's Roma edged through as England striker Tammy Abraham's late strike salvaged a 1-1 second-leg draw with Vitesse and a 2-1 aggregate win.

PSV Eindhoven thrashed FC Copenhagen 4-0 in Denmark after a 4-4 first-leg draw to go through, with Marseille also into the last-eight hat after winning 2-1 at Basel after victory by the same scoreline in the first leg.

PAOK, Slavia Prague, Feyenoord and Norwegians Bodo/Glimt all also booked their places in Friday's draw.



Hospital: Vonn Had Surgery on Broken Leg from Olympics Crash

This handout video grab from IOC/OBS shows US Lindsey Vonn crashing during the women's downhill event at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games on February 8, 2026. (Photo by Handout / various sources / AFP)
This handout video grab from IOC/OBS shows US Lindsey Vonn crashing during the women's downhill event at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games on February 8, 2026. (Photo by Handout / various sources / AFP)
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Hospital: Vonn Had Surgery on Broken Leg from Olympics Crash

This handout video grab from IOC/OBS shows US Lindsey Vonn crashing during the women's downhill event at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games on February 8, 2026. (Photo by Handout / various sources / AFP)
This handout video grab from IOC/OBS shows US Lindsey Vonn crashing during the women's downhill event at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games on February 8, 2026. (Photo by Handout / various sources / AFP)

Lindsey Vonn had surgery on a fracture of her left leg following the American's heavy fall in the Winter Olympics downhill, the hospital said in a statement given to Italian media on Sunday.

"In the afternoon, (Vonn) underwent orthopedic surgery to stabilize a fracture of the left leg," the Ca' Foncello hospital in Treviso said.

Vonn, 41, was flown to Treviso after she was strapped into a medical stretcher and winched off the sunlit Olimpia delle Tofane piste in Cortina d'Ampezzo.

Vonn, whose battle to reach the start line despite the serious injury to her left knee dominated the opening days of the Milano Cortina Olympics, saw her unlikely quest halted in screaming agony on the snow.

Wearing bib number 13 and with a brace on the left knee she ⁠injured in a crash at Crans Montana on January 30, Vonn looked pumped up at the start gate.

She tapped her ski poles before setting off in typically aggressive fashion down one of her favorite pistes on a mountain that has rewarded her in the past.

The 2010 gold medalist, the second most successful female World Cup skier of all time with 84 wins, appeared to clip the fourth gate with her shoulder, losing control and being launched into the air.

She then barreled off the course at high speed before coming to rest in a crumpled heap.

Vonn could be heard screaming on television coverage as fans and teammates gasped in horror before a shocked hush fell on the packed finish area.

She was quickly surrounded by several medics and officials before a yellow Falco 2 ⁠Alpine rescue helicopter arrived and winched her away on an orange stretcher.


Meloni Condemns 'Enemies of Italy' after Clashes in Olympics Host City Milan

Demonstrators hold smoke flares during a protest against the environmental, economic and social impact of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, February 7, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs
Demonstrators hold smoke flares during a protest against the environmental, economic and social impact of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, February 7, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs
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Meloni Condemns 'Enemies of Italy' after Clashes in Olympics Host City Milan

Demonstrators hold smoke flares during a protest against the environmental, economic and social impact of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, February 7, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs
Demonstrators hold smoke flares during a protest against the environmental, economic and social impact of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, February 7, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has condemned anti-Olympics protesters as "enemies of Italy" after violence on the fringes of a demonstration in Milan on Saturday night and sabotage attacks on the national rail network.

The incidents happened on the first full day of competition in the Winter Games that Milan, Italy's financial capital, is hosting with the Alpine town of Cortina d'Ampezzo.

Meloni praised the thousands of Italians who she said were working to make the Games run smoothly and present a positive face of Italy.

"Then ⁠there are those who are enemies of Italy and Italians, demonstrating 'against the Olympics' and ensuring that these images are broadcast on television screens around the world. After others cut the railway cables to prevent trains from departing," she wrote on Instagram on Sunday.

A group of around 100 protesters ⁠threw firecrackers, smoke bombs and bottles at police after breaking away from the main body of a demonstration in Milan.

An estimated 10,000 people had taken to the city's streets in a protest over housing costs and environmental concerns linked to the Games.

Police used water cannon to restore order and detained six people.

Also on Saturday, authorities said saboteurs had damaged rail infrastructure near the northern Italian city of Bologna, disrupting train journeys.

Police reported three separate ⁠incidents at different locations, which caused delays of up to 2-1/2 hours for high-speed, Intercity and regional services.

No one has claimed responsibility for the damage.

"Once again, solidarity with the police, the city of Milan, and all those who will see their work undermined by these gangs of criminals," added Meloni, who heads a right-wing coalition.

The Italian police have been given new arrest powers after violence last weekend at a protest by the hard-left in the city of Turin, in which more than 100 police officers were injured.


Liverpool New Signing Jacquet Suffers 'Serious' Injury

Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - RC Lens v Stade Rennes - Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens, France - February 7, 2026  Stade Rennes' Jeremy Jacquet in action REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - RC Lens v Stade Rennes - Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens, France - February 7, 2026 Stade Rennes' Jeremy Jacquet in action REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
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Liverpool New Signing Jacquet Suffers 'Serious' Injury

Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - RC Lens v Stade Rennes - Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens, France - February 7, 2026  Stade Rennes' Jeremy Jacquet in action REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - RC Lens v Stade Rennes - Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens, France - February 7, 2026 Stade Rennes' Jeremy Jacquet in action REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

Liverpool's new signing Jeremy Jacquet suffered a "serious" shoulder injury while playing for Rennes in their 3-1 Ligue 1 defeat at RC Lens on Saturday, casting doubt over the defender’s availability ahead of his summer move to Anfield.

Jacquet fell awkwardly in the second half of the ⁠French league match and appeared in agony as he left the pitch.

"For Jeremy, it's his shoulder, and for Abdelhamid (Ait Boudlal, another Rennes player injured in the ⁠same match) it's muscular," Rennes head coach Habib Beye told reporters after the match.

"We'll have time to see, but it's definitely quite serious for both of them."
Liverpool agreed a 60-million-pound ($80-million) deal for Jacquet on Monday, but the 20-year-old defender will stay with ⁠the French club until the end of the season.

Liverpool, provisionally sixth in the Premier League table, will face Manchester City on Sunday with four defenders - Giovanni Leoni, Joe Gomez, Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley - sidelined due to injuries.