Champions League Resumes Tuesday at Manchester Utd in Mourning for Bobby Charlton

Floral tributes are pictured at the base of the “United Trinity” sculpture, depicting former Manchester United players George Best, Denis Law and Bobby Charlton, outside Old Trafford football stadium in Manchester, northwest England, on October 22, 2023, following the announcement of death of club legend Bobby Charlton on Saturday. (AFP)
Floral tributes are pictured at the base of the “United Trinity” sculpture, depicting former Manchester United players George Best, Denis Law and Bobby Charlton, outside Old Trafford football stadium in Manchester, northwest England, on October 22, 2023, following the announcement of death of club legend Bobby Charlton on Saturday. (AFP)
TT

Champions League Resumes Tuesday at Manchester Utd in Mourning for Bobby Charlton

Floral tributes are pictured at the base of the “United Trinity” sculpture, depicting former Manchester United players George Best, Denis Law and Bobby Charlton, outside Old Trafford football stadium in Manchester, northwest England, on October 22, 2023, following the announcement of death of club legend Bobby Charlton on Saturday. (AFP)
Floral tributes are pictured at the base of the “United Trinity” sculpture, depicting former Manchester United players George Best, Denis Law and Bobby Charlton, outside Old Trafford football stadium in Manchester, northwest England, on October 22, 2023, following the announcement of death of club legend Bobby Charlton on Saturday. (AFP)

The Champions League resumes Tuesday at Manchester United where one of the competition’s most storied clubs is mourning its all-time great Bobby Charlton.

Charlton, who died Saturday aged 86, survived the fatal air crash at Munich in February 1958 that devastated the then-champion of England on its journey home from a European Cup game.

He lifted the trophy 10 years later as captain of a team rebuilt by manager Matt Busby who had been seriously injured at Munich, where eight players died.

Charlton was a beloved director on the Man United board when it was European champion again in 1999 and 2008 under another Scottish manager, Alex Ferguson, who he had helped bring to the club.

The main stand is named for Charlton at Old Trafford where Man United will host Copenhagen on Tuesday and pay tribute to a man who helped define its illustrious history.

Charlton “was a hero to millions,” the club said in a statement. “Not just in Manchester, or the United Kingdom, but wherever football is played around the world.”

Manchester United was the first English team to play in the European Cup, and Charlton first played in the competition in that 1956-57 season. He scored against Real Madrid though a 2-2 draw in the semifinals, second leg in Manchester meant the defending champions advanced.

The “Busby Babes” had just qualified for another semifinal the next season, eliminating Red Star Belgrade, when the team airplane stopped at Munich to refuel. The plane overshot the runway and caught fire on its third attempt to take off in heavy snow.

Charlton was thrown clear of the wreckage and suffered only minor injuries in an accident that eventually took the lives of 23 of the 44 people on board.

Restoring Manchester United to greatness was a quest for Busby and Charlton, who scored twice in the 4-1 extra-time win over Benfica in the 1968 European Cup final at Wembley Stadium. England’s national stadium in London stages the next Champions League final on June 1.

Early exit?

Manchester United started this Champions League campaign in Munich and it has not been a happy return after playing last season in the second-tier Europa League.

Back-to-back defeats – 4-3 at Bayern Munich and twice wasting leads in a 3-2 loss at home to Galatasaray – have left United last in Group A and added pressure on manager Erik ten Hag.

Home and away games against Copenhagen in a 16-day spell ahead of the next break for national-team games are likely to be key to United’s chances of advancing.

One bright spot for Ten Hag is three goals in the group by 20-year-old forward Rasmus Højlund, who Copenhagen sold 21 months ago for a little over $2 million to Sturm Graz. His value had increased 40-fold when Manchester United agreed an $80 million transfer fee with Atalanta in August.

Arsenal also lost three weeks ago, 2-1 at Lens and now has back-to-back games against Sevilla, starting Tuesday in Spain. The Europa League title holder fired its coach José Luis Mendilibar after a slow start to the season including draws in its first two Group B games.

Newcastle soars

Newcastle also had a slow start to the season but has surged to an eight-game unbeaten run — including a 4-1 beating of Paris Saint-Germain — ahead of hosting Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.

In its first Champions League campaign for 20 years, Newcastle is top of the blockbuster group that also includes seven-time champion AC Milan, which plays at PSG on Wednesday.

Defending champion Manchester City is cruising to the knockout rounds with two wins before going to Swiss champion Young Boys on Wednesday.

Bayern rolls on

If the Champions League group phase often seems predictable, Bayern Munich is one reason.

The German champion hasn’t lost a group game since 2017 and hasn’t dropped a point since 2020, though needed an 83rd-minute winning goal at Copenhagen three weeks ago. Next up Tuesday in Istanbul is Galatasaray.

In Germany this week, Leipzig hosts Red Star Belgrade on Wednesday after losing 3-1 to Man City.

Union Berlin’s debut Champions League campaign has been a story of heartbreak, losing to both Real Madrid and Braga on goals scored deep into added time. Union next hosts Napoli on Tuesday, when Madrid is at Braga.

Pointless so far

Benfica is along with Manchester United perhaps the biggest surprise among teams with no points after two games.

A quarterfinalist last season, and top-seeded in the group-stage draw, Benfica lost at home to Salzburg before a 1-0 defeat at Inter Milan. The Portuguese champion now hosts Real Sociedad.

Celtic aims to get off the mark at home to Group E leader Atletico Madrid. Royal Antwerp hosts Porto at its 100-year-old Bosuil Stadium where a two-goal lead was given up in a 3-2 loss to Shakhtar Donetsk.

Barcelona hosts Shakhtar on Wednesday seeking a third straight win.



Novak Djokovic Beats Carlos Alcaraz and Gets Closer to 25th Grand Slam Title

Novak Djokovic of Serbia gestures during his quarterfinal match against Carlos Alcaraz of Spain at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)ASSOCIATED PRESSLess
Novak Djokovic of Serbia gestures during his quarterfinal match against Carlos Alcaraz of Spain at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)ASSOCIATED PRESSLess
TT

Novak Djokovic Beats Carlos Alcaraz and Gets Closer to 25th Grand Slam Title

Novak Djokovic of Serbia gestures during his quarterfinal match against Carlos Alcaraz of Spain at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)ASSOCIATED PRESSLess
Novak Djokovic of Serbia gestures during his quarterfinal match against Carlos Alcaraz of Spain at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)ASSOCIATED PRESSLess

Novak Djokovic refused to let anything stop his pursuit of a record 25th Grand Slam trophy in the Australian Open quarterfinals. Not a problem with his left leg. Not an early deficit. And not the kid across the net, Carlos Alcaraz, who was making things difficult and eyeing his own bit of history.

Djokovic overcame it all, just as he has so often along the way to so many triumphs, moving into the semifinals at Melbourne Park for the 12th time with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Alcaraz in a scintillating showdown Tuesday night between a pair of stars born 16 years apart and at opposite ends of their careers, The AP reported.

The action was non-stop, the shot-making brilliant, even as the match stretched on for more than 3 1/2 hours and nearly to 1 a.m. — never more so, perhaps, than when Alcaraz saved a break point that would have put Djokovic ahead 5-2 in the fourth set, allowing him to serve for the win. The 33-stroke exchange was the longest of the evening, and when it ended with Djokovic sailing a forehand long, the capacity crowd at Rod Laver Arena went wild. Djokovic reached for his bothersome leg and yelled toward his entourage; Alcaraz, his chest heaving, leaned on a towel box and grinned.

Turned out that only delayed the final result.

With his wife, son and daughter cheering in the stands, the No. 7-seeded Djokovic prevailed thanks to the sort of remarkable returning and no-mistakes-made groundstrokes against Alcaraz that now-retired rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal dealt with for years.

Djokovic enjoyed some of his own best efforts in the latter stages, pointing to his ear or blowing kisses or spreading his arms while puffing out his chest. There was the forehand winner on a 22-stroke point that earned the break for a 5-3 lead in the third set. There was that set’s last point, which included a back-to-the-net sprint to chase down a lob. Alcaraz wasn’t shy, either, shouting “Vamos!” and pumping his fists after one particularly booming forehand in the fourth set.

On Friday, Djokovic’s 50th major semifinal will come against No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev, a two-time runner-up at majors who beat No. 12 Tommy Paul 7-6 (1), 7-6 (0), 2-6, 6-1. The other men’s quarterfinals are Wednesday: No. 1 Jannik Sinner vs. No. 8 Alex de Minaur, and No. 21 Ben Shelton against unseeded Lorenzo Sonego.