عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Sports

Madrid Draws with Betis with Likely Starters for Champions League Final and Kroos Says Farewell

Real Madrid's German midfielder #08 Toni Kroos is thrown in the air by teammates during the Spanish league football match between Real Madrid CF and Real Betis at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on May 25, 2024. (AFP)
Real Madrid's German midfielder #08 Toni Kroos is thrown in the air by teammates during the Spanish league football match between Real Madrid CF and Real Betis at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on May 25, 2024. (AFP)
TT
TT

Madrid Draws with Betis with Likely Starters for Champions League Final and Kroos Says Farewell

Real Madrid's German midfielder #08 Toni Kroos is thrown in the air by teammates during the Spanish league football match between Real Madrid CF and Real Betis at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on May 25, 2024. (AFP)
Real Madrid's German midfielder #08 Toni Kroos is thrown in the air by teammates during the Spanish league football match between Real Madrid CF and Real Betis at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on May 25, 2024. (AFP)

Real Madrid drew with Real Betis 0-0 on Saturday in its last warmup game before facing Borussia Dortmund in the Champions league final.

Madrid wrapped up the Spanish league title three weeks ago, and since then coach Carlo Ancelotti has rotated his lineups to rest his starters. But the Italian likely had his top-choice players back in his starting 11 against Betis at the Santiago Bernabeu.

There were only two changes from the Champions League semifinals victory over Bayern Munich.

The versatile Eduardo Camavinga was in the spot of injured holding midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni, who will miss the final due to a foot injury.

The other tweak was goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois starting over Andriy Lunin, the backup who played most of the season before the Belgian recovered recently from an ACL injury.

Ancelotti, however, would not confirm that this will be his starting team for the final in London on June 1.

“I have a week to think about it, we may still have some doubts,” Ancelotti said. “We will enjoy preparing for the final and arrive at our best form on Saturday and try to win it.”

KROOS HONORED

Toni Kroos played his last home game for Madrid. The 34-year-old midfielder announced this week he will retire after playing for Germany at this summer’s European Championship.

Kroos' teammates donned his No. 8 shirt to hold an honor guard for him before kickoff. When he was substituted late, his teammates and coach took turns hugging him. Kroos then embraced his three young children.

He can add to his 22 titles, including four Champions League crowns, with Madrid next weekend.

“I couldn’t have asked for more,” Kroos said. “These have been 10 unforgettable years. Now the best way for me to finish would be winning another title.”

DOVBYK EYES TOP SCORER

Ukraine striker Artem Dovbyk is set to finish the Spanish league as its top scorer after his main challenger fell one goal short of his mark.

Dovbyk, who is expected to play in Euro 2024, leads the league in the final round with 24 goals.

Villarreal striker Alexander Sorloth has 23 and had a chance to equal Dovbyk when it visited Osasuna. But the Norway striker appeared to suffer a leg injury early and had to be substituted without scoring.

Dovbyk was two goals behind Sorloth in the goals race until he bagged a hat trick to fuel a 7-0 rout of Granada on Friday.

Dovbyk's last outside threat is Robert Lewandowski, who has 18 before Barcelona visits Sevilla on Sunday in Xavi Hernández's last game in charge.

Dovbyk joined Girona last summer from Ukrainian club SC Dnipro-1 and helped transform the small club into a European sensation. The Catalan club partly owned by Manchester City's Adu Dhabi ownership qualified for the Champions League for the first time with a third-place finish.

Villarreal drew at Osasuna 1-1 after Sorloth's replacement, José Luis Morales, scored a second-half equalizer.

Osasuna striker Ante Budimir, who is on Croatia's Euro 2024 squad, netted his first goal since recovering from fractured ribs to give the hosts a first-half lead. He finished the league with 17 goals.

Villarreal will likely conclude the campaign with the league’s top assist-maker. Midfielder Álex Baena, who could be on Spain’s Euros 2024 squad, made it 14 assists by setting up Morales. Villarreal said that tied a club record set by Juan Riquelme.

The game also featured the farewell of coach Jagoba Arrasate after his six years at Osasuna. Arrasate announced in March that he turned down the offer of a contract extension, saying he needed a fresh start.

NICO SHINES

Nico Williams capped his superb season by scoring to give fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao a 1-0 win at Rayo Vallecano. Williams helped Athletic win the Copa del Rey and is a sure bet to play for Spain at Euro 2024.

Fourth-placed Atletico Madrid got goals from Samuel Lino and Reinildo Mandava to defeat sixth-placed Real Sociedad 2-0.

The final round had no drama with the title, European berths and relegation spots all decided beforehand.

Madrid, Barcelona, Girona and Atletico will play in the Champions League next season, while Athletic and Sociedad are Europa League bound. Betis will play the Conference League.

FINALLY A REASON TO CHEER

Almeria, which was relegated a month before the season ended, was at least able to escape last place and give its fans something to cheer about after crushing Cadiz 6-1. Luis Suárez and Sergio Arribas both notched braces in the rout.

Almeria pushed Granada to the bottom. Cadiz will join them in the second division next season.

Most Viewed

 
 
Sports

Australian Open Champion Jannik Sinner’s Style Draws Comparisons to Novak Djokovic 

Jannik Sinner of Italy poses with the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup the morning after defeating Alexander Zverev of Germany in the men's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP)
Jannik Sinner of Italy poses with the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup the morning after defeating Alexander Zverev of Germany in the men's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP)
TT
TT

Australian Open Champion Jannik Sinner’s Style Draws Comparisons to Novak Djokovic 

Jannik Sinner of Italy poses with the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup the morning after defeating Alexander Zverev of Germany in the men's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP)
Jannik Sinner of Italy poses with the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup the morning after defeating Alexander Zverev of Germany in the men's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP)

Of all the praise bestowed on Jannik Sinner after he won his second consecutive Australian Open championship, and third Grand Slam title overall, nothing felt as significant as the comparison made by runner-up Alexander Zverev.

Facing Sinner, particularly on hard courts, reminded Zverev a lot of trying to solve the challenge presented by none other than 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic.

"He’s very, very similar to Novak when he was at his best. They barely miss. Like, barely miss. They make you think like you have to overhit all the time to have a chance in a rally against them," Zverev said after losing to Sinner 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3 at Melbourne Park on Sunday night.

"It’s very, very difficult to win a point from the back of the court against them — against Novak and him," said Zverev, who is ranked No. 2 but felt much further away from No. 1 Sinner in Rod Laver Arena. "(Both) move, obviously, tremendous. They’re constantly on the baseline. They don’t give you any space. They don’t give you any time."

Sinner, still just 23, is a long way from achieving just a fraction of what Djokovic has at 37, of course.

And just as Djokovic had a couple of hurdles by the names of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to deal with, Sinner is not alone among the newest generation of tennis stars. His top rival at this point is Carlos Alcaraz, who has four Slam victories at age 21 — and won all three matches he played against Sinner in 2024.

Still, it made sense to think of Djokovic while watching Sinner extend his record in major finals to 3-0, which includes a US Open title in September.

What about Sinner is similar to Djokovic?

The never-give-an-inch court coverage. The squeaking sneakers while sprinting, stretching, sliding to reach shots that most other players wouldn't. The ability to flip from defense to offense in a split second. The wherewithal and reflexes to neutralize even the biggest servers.

Add it all up — plus a serve good enough to avoid any break points against Zverev — and Sinner is certainly formidable.

Those Djokovic-like tendencies are not mere coincidence.

Sinner, who is from Italy, modeled himself after the Serbian star.

"Game style-wise I looked up to him, trying to understand what he’s doing, how he handles the pressure moments and important moments," Sinner said. "I still believe we are different as players, because everyone is different, but for sure we have similarities. The similarities are having quite clean ball-striking from the baseline, having good movement, understanding a little bit where your opponent (is going to play) the ball."

Sinner keeps improving

The swift improvement Sinner has made over the past couple of years is unmistakable.

It's why he ascended atop the rankings last June and hasn't budged. It's why he is 80-6 with nine titles since the start of last season. It's why no one wants to play him these days.

Zverev was 4-2 against Sinner before Sunday, including wins at the US Open in 2021 and 2023.

How much has Sinner changed since then?

"He serves better. He returns better. He hits his forehand better. He hits his backhand better. He moves better. He volleys better. I mean, there’s nothing that he doesn’t do better right now," Zverev said. "I remember those matches. Before, I always felt like once I was getting on top of the rally, I was winning most of those rallies. Now it’s like he’s prime Novak. It’s so difficult to go through him."

The upcoming task will be to get better on clay and grass, the surfaces at the French Open and Wimbledon. Before play begins at Roland Garros in May, Sinner has a hearing scheduled in April in the World Anti-Doping Agency's appeal of a ruling that cleared him in a doping case.

"At the moment, I’m not thinking about this," Sinner said. "Of course, you have your moments, (on) certain days, where you feel like: ‘I wish I would not have this problem.’"

Sinner and his two coaches, Simone Vagnozzi and Darren Cahill, all talk a lot about putting in hard work to grow even more as a player.

"He's still young. ... You never know what’s (going to) happen in the future, but for sure, he is a guy that tries to improve every day — going on court, (in) practice, trying to put new things (in) his game, trying to improve physically," Vagnozzi said. "He's one of the guys that can reach the top level. I mean, when we speak about top level, we think about Novak, about Roger or Rafa."

Pretty heady company.