Real Madrid, Barcelona Face off in Spanish Super Cup Final in Riyadh on Sundayhttps://english.aawsat.com/sports/4787556-real-madrid-barcelona-face-spanish-super-cup-final-riyadh-sunday
Real Madrid, Barcelona Face off in Spanish Super Cup Final in Riyadh on Sunday
Football - Spanish Super Cup - Real Madrid Training - Al Nassr FC Facilities, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - January 12, 2024 Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham with teammates during training. (Reuters)
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Real Madrid, Barcelona Face off in Spanish Super Cup Final in Riyadh on Sunday
Football - Spanish Super Cup - Real Madrid Training - Al Nassr FC Facilities, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - January 12, 2024 Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham with teammates during training. (Reuters)
Real Madrid and Barcelona are poised to compete in the “El Clasico” final of the Spanish Super Cup at the King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh on Sunday.
Carlo Ancelotti’s squad clinched a thrilling 5-3 victory against capital rivals Atlético Madrid in Riyadh on Wednesday, while the Catalan super team secured a 2-0 win over Osasuna.
Perennial rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona faced off in the Spanish Super Club final at the King Fahd Sport City Stadium in Riyadh in 2023. Barcelona emerged victorious with a 3-1 win.
Saudi Arabia has previously hosted two editions of the Spanish Super Cup, the first in Jeddah in 2020 and the second in Riyadh in 2022, with Real Madrid claiming both titles.
The hosting of the Spanish Super Cup in the Kingdom, organized by the Ministry of Sports, aligns with the Quality of Life Program, one of the Saudi Vision 2030 Realization Programs.
The initiative aims to bolster the Kingdom's standing as a premier destination for global mega events and enhancing the overall quality of life for its residents and visitors alike.
Marathon Brothers Run Ireland in Race to Find Dementia Curehttps://english.aawsat.com/sports/5268063-marathon-brothers-run-ireland-race-find-dementia-cure
(FILES) British runner Jordan Adams carries a fridge at the start of the 2026 London Marathon at Blackheath in south-east London on April 26, 2026. (Photo by Toby Shepheard / AFP)
Marathon Brothers Run Ireland in Race to Find Dementia Cure
(FILES) British runner Jordan Adams carries a fridge at the start of the 2026 London Marathon at Blackheath in south-east London on April 26, 2026. (Photo by Toby Shepheard / AFP)
Jordan Adams, who ran the London marathon with a 25-kilogram fridge on his back last weekend, is now running around Ireland in a race to find a cure for a form of dementia both he and his brother are near certain to contract.
"This mission is ongoing, as is our family's devastation with dementia, one step at a time," Adams told a crowd who gathered to see him off on Wednesday in County Donegal, their latest stop.
The 30-year-old is running consecutive daily marathons for 32 days in each of Ireland's 32 counties -- north and south of the Irish border -- with the finish in Dublin on May 28. Without the fridge, though.
Assisted by his younger brother Cian, 25, who will mostly cycle the routes, the pair started in County Antrim in Northern Ireland on Monday, just a day after completing the 26.2-mile-long (42 kilometers) course in London.
Nicknamed the FTD brothers, their mother Geraldine was diagnosed in 2010 aged 47 with a rare form of familial Frontal Temporal Dementia, AFP reported.
Overnight, Cian, then aged just 9, Jordan as a 15-year-old, their older sister and father became primary carers of their mum who died at 52 in 2016.
Two years later, Jordan learned he carries the MAT-T gene mutation which gives him a 99.9 percent chance of developing the same early-onset dementia.
Soon after Cian tested positively for the same gene.
With terminal symptoms expected to aggressively emerge in their 40s, the brothers face a stark race against time.
"What makes this disease even more cruel is that we've lost twelve Irish relatives, including my mum and Nan," Jordan, from the English Midlands, told AFP.
"We wanted to come to Ireland where all the devastation started, to honour our Irish relatives," he said.
Running with a fridge on board in London was "surreal", said Jordan, who did the stunt to bring attention to the disease.
But with Cian alongside to douse him with water, they reached the finish line together.
"We both share the same diagnosis and the same future, so I know our mum was shining down with a lot of pride," Jordan told AFP.
The brothers are not new to extreme challenges.
They ran around the United Kingdom two years ago, while Jordan has a seven-in-seven-days marathon challenge under his belt.
Undaunted by the Irish 32-in-32 test, Cian said it "comes in handy that he works as a physiotherapist.
"We've put together a good plan over the last six months, strength and conditioning, plyometrics, running training to get Jordan in the best nick possible for this challenge," Cian told AFP.
"Touch wood, at the moment his legs feel good for it," he said.
The brothers have set themselves the goal of raising one million pounds in their mother's honor, and for research into an Alzheimer's cure that could save them.
After London, they are almost halfway there.
Carol Molloy, who helps run the local branch of the Alzheimer Society of Ireland (ASI), told AFP that around 64,000 people are living with dementia in the EU member.
An estimated one in 10 of those have a young-onset diagnosis, with that number expected to grow to around 150,000 by 2050, according to Molloy.
Some 50 percent of the proceeds of the brothers' marathon challenge will go to the ASI.
"What Jordan and Cian are doing is amazing, we are so grateful," said Molloy.
Dozens of local people joined the pair on their run, at least part of the way.
One participant Sean McFadden, a runner from Letterkenny who recently lost his father to dementia, said he would complete the full marathon route alongside the brothers in solidarity.
"We have to hold our hearts out to the two lads and hope everything goes well," said the 50-year-old.
"It's a hard disease. For me today to be able to join in with the boys, it's quite special," he told AFP before setting off.
Lucky Loser Potapova Makes History with Madrid Open Semi-final Runhttps://english.aawsat.com/sports/5267900-lucky-loser-potapova-makes-history-madrid-open-semi-final-run
Austria's Anastasia Potapova returns the ball to Czech Republic's Karolina Pliskova during their 2026 WTA Tour Madrid Open tennis tournament singles match at the Caja Magica in Madrid, on April 29, 2026. (Photo by OSCAR DEL POZO / AFP)
Lucky Loser Potapova Makes History with Madrid Open Semi-final Run
Austria's Anastasia Potapova returns the ball to Czech Republic's Karolina Pliskova during their 2026 WTA Tour Madrid Open tennis tournament singles match at the Caja Magica in Madrid, on April 29, 2026. (Photo by OSCAR DEL POZO / AFP)
Anastasia Potapova has turned tennis heartbreak into history by becoming the first lucky loser to reach a WTA 1000 semi-final after her thrilling 6-1 6-7(4) 6-3 victory over Karolina Pliskova at the Madrid Open on Wednesday.
The Russian-born Austrian, who lost in qualifying last week, has capitalized on her unexpected main draw entry, stunning former world number one Pliskova in a roller-coaster clash despite squandering three match points.
Potapova's run has included impressive victories over former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko and world number two Elena Rybakina.
When asked if she thought she would be in the final four after that qualifying loss, the unseeded Potapova said: "No, I wouldn't, for any money and anything.
"That's what makes our sport beautiful. I was given a second chance and now I'm here.
"I’m super happy. There’s nothing better that could happen to me in my life at the moment."
After cruising through the opening set, Potapova appeared destined for a straightforward victory when she earned three match points in the second.
But Pliskova clawed back to force a tiebreak and level the match.
Potapova trailed 3-1 in the decider, only to reel off five consecutive games and seal victory with her 10th ace before collapsing to her knees.
"I was given a few match points in the second set on serve. I couldn't manage my nerves at the time, I know that," Reuters quoted Potapova as saying.
"But it seems like this tournament keeps giving me second chances and I keep using them."
Potapova will face Marta Kostyuk or Linda Noskova in the semi-finals.
PSG and Bayern's 5-4 Thriller Points to New Era of High-scoring Soccerhttps://english.aawsat.com/sports/5267890-psg-and-bayerns-5-4-thriller-points-new-era-high-scoring-soccer
PSG's Ousmane Dembele celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during a Champions League semifinal, first leg, soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich in Paris, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
PSG and Bayern's 5-4 Thriller Points to New Era of High-scoring Soccer
PSG's Ousmane Dembele celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during a Champions League semifinal, first leg, soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich in Paris, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
It was possibly the wildest match in Champions League history and may just change some long-held perceptions about soccer.
Paris Saint-Germain's 5-4 win against Bayern Munich on Tuesday felt more like an NBA game than a traditional soccer match and set new goalscoring records for the sport's biggest club tournament.
And it might not be just a one-off. The thrilling first leg of the semifinals in Paris points toward a growing trend as some coaches embrace a high-risk, high-reward strategy that is leaving fans breathless.
PSG coach Luis Enrique summed it up perfectly, telling French broadcaster Canal+ that "we deserved to win, but we also deserved a draw, and we would have even deserved to lose, because this game was that incredible.”
Soccer's new age of entertainers Despite being the world's most popular sport, soccer has been criticized, in the United States in particular, because of the low-scoring nature of games, which can result in single-goal victories or even goalless ties over 90 minutes of play.
Compare that to the high octane, high-scoring NBA or NFL and it is understandable why soccer has taken time to fully grab the attention of US fans.
But Champions League holder PSG is at the vanguard of soccer's new entertainers, with Luis Enrique an uncompromising coach, determined to reach new levels of excitement in his pursuit of dominance.
PSG became champion of Europe for the first time last year by beating Inter Milan 5-0 in the final in one of the most spectacular performances in the tournament's history. It completed a trophy treble for the French club, which also won its national league title and cup last season.
Luis Enrique also won the Champions League with Barcelona in 2015 and on Tuesday became the fastest coach to record 50 victories in the competitions — proving his all-action approach is working.
Harry Kane of Bayern celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the UEFA Champions League semifinal match between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich in Paris, France 28 April 2026. EPA/YOAN VALAT
The attacking trend is catching on It is no surprise then that his methods are being echoed elsewhere. Not least by Bayern, which has blazed a trail through the Champions League this term under Vincent Kompany and already clinched the German title.
PSG, with 43 goals, is the highest-scoring team in the Champions League this season. Bayern is second with 42.
Tuesday's nine-goal thriller was the highest-scoring semifinal in the history of the competition and neither club is talking about changing its approach for the second leg in Munich next week.
“I asked my staff how many goals we think we’ll have to score, and we agreed on three,” The Associated Press quoted Luis Enrique as saying. "We’ll show the same mentality. We’ll be going to win the match.”
PSG's Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembele is also ready for another high-scoring affair.
“We won’t change our philosophy. We want to attack and so do they, so I think a great game is in the offing,” Dembele told Canal+.
Kompany, who was a serial title-winning defender for Manchester City in his playing days, is showing his offensive flair as a coach.
“It’s one thing to look at the goals conceded – normally, five goals away from home in a Champions League semi-final, you’re out,” he told Amazon Prime. "But if you look at the chances we created, we could have scored more. And that has to give us belief.”
A clash of styles Soccer has always involved contrasting styles of attack and defense. Brazil has traditionally been a team that embraces the individual flair of its players. Italy has been more defensive and has nullified opponents' attacking strengths.
Two-time Champions League-winning coach Jose Mourinho has taken a more pragmatic approach to winning the competition — shutting opponents down with well-organized and powerful teams. Pep Guardiola, by contrast, has tried to dominate games with the ball and has won Europe's top prize on three occasions. That approach has sometimes been used to criticize him when, despite having some of the best players in the world at Man City, he has often fallen short in the Champions League.
It is refreshing to hear both Luis Enrique and Kompany accept the dangers associated with their all-out attacking soccer.
“It’s my job to accept nothing but perfection," said Kompany. "There was a part of the match that was inevitable, and that was the risks that we were both willing to take.”
More goals, more thrills Higher scoring games are the trend in the Champions League. This season there is an average of well over three goals a game (3.51).
That is above last season's 3.27, which was the previous highest average.
Each of the last five seasons feature in the top seven high-scoring campaigns in the Champions Leagues, pointing to a clear trend toward more attacking soccer since the turn of the decade. In only one of those years did the average drop below three goals a game — in 2022-23 when it dipped to 2.98.
The European Cup was rebranded as the Champions League in 1992. During the 1990s the average goals per game was 2.69 and that figure dropped to 2.59 from 2000-10.
It rose to just under three goals a game (2.95) from 2010-20 and so far this decade the average is three goals a game, with teams loading their lineups with attacking talent.
PSG is led by Dembele, who is flanked by brilliant wingers like Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Desire Doue.
Bayern has England captain Harry Kane, who took his season's tally to 59 goals in 51 appearances for club and country this season when opening the scoring on Tuesday. The German giant has also paid big money for France star Michael Olise and Uruguay forward Luis Diaz. Both also scored at the Parc des Princes.
Barcelona is another leading proponent of thrill-first soccer, and features the spectacular Spanish teenager Lamine Yamal, Brazil winger Raphinha and goal-scoring icon Robert Lewandowski. But its German coach Hansi Flick has been criticized for being too open in Europe - most notably when losing 7-6 on aggregate to Inter Milan in last year's semifinals.
The good news for fans next week is that PSG and Bayern seem determined to stick to their attacking principles, which should serve up another thrilling clash.
“The game there will be the same game – a crazy game between two teams that want to win and score. We need to go there with the same mentality, the same personality, so we can do an amazing job there like we did here,” PSG captain Marquinhos said.
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