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Real Madrid Has 3-Game Home Run to Rebound from Barcelona Loss in Super Cup Final

Soccer Football - Spanish Super Cup - Final - FC Barcelona v Real Madrid - King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - January 12, 2025 Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham look dejected during the trophy presentation after losing the Spanish Super Cup final. (Reuters)
Soccer Football - Spanish Super Cup - Final - FC Barcelona v Real Madrid - King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - January 12, 2025 Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham look dejected during the trophy presentation after losing the Spanish Super Cup final. (Reuters)
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Real Madrid Has 3-Game Home Run to Rebound from Barcelona Loss in Super Cup Final

Soccer Football - Spanish Super Cup - Final - FC Barcelona v Real Madrid - King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - January 12, 2025 Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham look dejected during the trophy presentation after losing the Spanish Super Cup final. (Reuters)
Soccer Football - Spanish Super Cup - Final - FC Barcelona v Real Madrid - King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - January 12, 2025 Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham look dejected during the trophy presentation after losing the Spanish Super Cup final. (Reuters)

Real Madrid hopes some home comfort will help the team get over yet another embarrassing loss to Barcelona.

After losing 5-2 in the Spanish Super Cup final on Sunday in Saudi Arabia, Madrid has a run of three home games over seven days.

The home run begins on Thursday against Celta Vigo in the Copa del Rey last 16. Las Palmas visits on Sunday in La Liga then Salzburg on Jan. 22 in the Champions League.

“We are sad and disappointed,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “We have no option but to look forward and try to regain the good momentum that we had until this match against Barcelona.”

Madrid won five in a row across all competitions before the loss to Barcelona. The Catalan side also routed Madrid 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu in October in La Liga.

“We have to stick together, be a team and react the same as we did after losing to them in La Liga,” Madrid midfielder Luka Modric said. “We showed a reaction and I hope we will react to this tough defeat, because we didn’t think we would lose like this. It’s good that the Copa game is coming up soon and we won’t have much time for regrets.

“It’s not nice to see your greatest rival score nine goals in two matches. But I’m sure that we are going to recover. We need to remain united and keep working hard. We are still going to give our fans a lot of reasons to celebrate. It’s a long season.”

Madrid is in second place at the halfway point in the Spanish league, one point behind city rival Atletico Madrid and five points ahead of third-placed Barcelona. In the Champions League, Madrid is 20th in the 36-team league phase of the competition.

Copa del Rey matches Barcelona follows the Super Cup by hosting Real Betis on Wednesday in the Copa del Rey last 16. Hansi Flick's squad has won three in a row this year after losing its last two in 2024.

Also on Wednesday, red-hot Atletico visits second-division club Elche looking to extend its 14-game winning streak in all competitions, already a club record.

Defending Copa champion Athletic Bilbao hosts Osasuna on Thursday, while Rao Vallecano visits Real Sociedad.

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Sports

Real Madrid’s Carvajal Suffers Toe Fracture

Real Madrid's Dani Carvajal during the team's training session at club's sport complex in Valdebebas, Madrid, Spain, 23 April 2026. (EPA)
Real Madrid's Dani Carvajal during the team's training session at club's sport complex in Valdebebas, Madrid, Spain, 23 April 2026. (EPA)
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Real Madrid’s Carvajal Suffers Toe Fracture

Real Madrid's Dani Carvajal during the team's training session at club's sport complex in Valdebebas, Madrid, Spain, 23 April 2026. (EPA)
Real Madrid's Dani Carvajal during the team's training session at club's sport complex in Valdebebas, Madrid, Spain, 23 April 2026. (EPA)

Real Madrid defender Dani Carvajal will miss the Clasico on May 10 after suffering a toe fracture, his club said Saturday.

The veteran right-back is set to miss the next two weeks according to Spanish media and could return for the club's final game of the season against Athletic Bilbao.

Real Madrid, second, are 11 points behind league leaders Barcelona who could clinch La Liga this weekend with a win at Osasuna, if Los Blancos drop points at Espanyol on Sunday.

Carvajal will be out for the Clasico clash at Barca next Sunday, which may be his last as a Madrid player.

The defender, who has won six Champions League titles and four La Liga titles with Madrid, is out of contract at the end of the season.

The 34-year-old had hoped to form part of Spain's World Cup squad this summer but after an injury-hit season his chances were already slim before his latest setback.

Sports

Alex Zanardi, Auto Racing Champion-Turned-Paralympian, Dies at 59 After Life-Altering Accidents

Alex Zanardi of Italy celebrates holding his gold medal following the medal ceremony for the man's road cycle individual time trial H4 category at the 2012 Paralympics games, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012, at Brands Hatch motor racing circuit near London. (AP)
Alex Zanardi of Italy celebrates holding his gold medal following the medal ceremony for the man's road cycle individual time trial H4 category at the 2012 Paralympics games, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012, at Brands Hatch motor racing circuit near London. (AP)
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Alex Zanardi, Auto Racing Champion-Turned-Paralympian, Dies at 59 After Life-Altering Accidents

Alex Zanardi of Italy celebrates holding his gold medal following the medal ceremony for the man's road cycle individual time trial H4 category at the 2012 Paralympics games, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012, at Brands Hatch motor racing circuit near London. (AP)
Alex Zanardi of Italy celebrates holding his gold medal following the medal ceremony for the man's road cycle individual time trial H4 category at the 2012 Paralympics games, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012, at Brands Hatch motor racing circuit near London. (AP)

Alex Zanardi, the Italian auto racing champion-turned-Paralympic gold medalist whose career was marked by two life-altering accidents, has died. He was 59.

Zanardi’s family announced his death on Saturday, saying that he passed away on Friday night.

“Alex died peacefully, surrounded by the affection of those closest to him,” the family said in a statement without providing a cause of death.

In 2020, Zanardi was seriously injured in a handbike accident after crashing into an oncoming truck during a relay event in Tuscany. Zanardi suffered serious facial and cranial trauma in the crash and was put in a medically induced coma.

Nearly 20 years earlier, Zanardi lost both of his legs in an auto racing crash.

"Italy loses a great champion and an extraordinary man, capable of turning every challenge of life into a lesson in courage, strength, and dignity,” Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni said on X.

“Alex Zanardi knew how to bounce back every time, facing even the toughest challenges with determination, clarity, and a strength of spirit that was truly exceptional,” Meloni added. “With his sporting achievements, with his example, and with his humanity, he gave all of us much more than a victory: he gave hope, pride, and the strength to never give up. On behalf of myself and the government, I extend my heartfelt thoughts and the sincerest closeness to his family and to all those who loved him. Thank you for everything, Alex.”

Zanardi won two championships in CART in the United States before a brief move to Formula One. He returned to America and was racing in Germany in a CART event in 2001 when both of his legs were severed in a horrific accident the weekend after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. CART raced only because the series was already in Germany at the time of the attacks and could not return to the US.

During his recovery, Zanardi designed his own prosthetics — he joked that he made himself taller — and learned to walk again. He then turned his attention to hand cycling and developed into one of the most accomplished athletes in the world. He won four gold medals and two silvers at the 2012 and 2016 Paralympics, competed in the New York City Marathon and set an Ironman record.

His spirit, will, and determination gave the beloved Italian a larger-than-life persona. When he returned to the US in 2019 to compete for BMW at the Rolex 24 of Daytona without his prosthetics, he was the most revered driver in a field that included F1 champion Fernando Alonso.

Drivers from around the world sought out Zanardi for photographs and were transfixed as he told elaborate tales of his adventures in the nearly two decades since many had seen him.

Noted for his infectious smile and fanciful storytelling, Zanardi was praised by Pope Francis after his 2020 crash as an example of strength amid adversity. Francis penned a handwritten letter of encouragement assuring Zanardi and his family of his prayers.

Zanardi’s family added that it “thanks everyone who is sharing their support right now and asks for respect during this time of mourning.”

Funeral details were still to be announced, the family said.

Sports

Kinsky Says de Zerbi Has Lifted Tottenham Spirits as Club Fights to Avoid Relegation

Football - Premier League - Wolverhampton Wanderers v Tottenham Hotspur - Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, Britain - April 25, 2026 Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi celebrates after the match (Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff)
Football - Premier League - Wolverhampton Wanderers v Tottenham Hotspur - Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, Britain - April 25, 2026 Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi celebrates after the match (Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff)
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Kinsky Says de Zerbi Has Lifted Tottenham Spirits as Club Fights to Avoid Relegation

Football - Premier League - Wolverhampton Wanderers v Tottenham Hotspur - Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, Britain - April 25, 2026 Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi celebrates after the match (Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff)
Football - Premier League - Wolverhampton Wanderers v Tottenham Hotspur - Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, Britain - April 25, 2026 Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi celebrates after the match (Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff)

Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky ‌said the arrival of head coach Roberto De Zerbi has instilled a positive mindset as the club battles to avoid relegation from the Premier League this season.

De Zerbi became the club's third manager of the 2025-26 season when he joined Spurs in late March on a long-term contract, replacing Igor Tudor and taking over a team that was already sliding towards the danger zone.

Spurs are 18th in the Premier ‌League table with ‌34 points, two behind 17th-placed West ‌Ham ⁠United, with four ⁠matches remaining in the season.

"By the way he (De Zerbi) speaks, what you read and what you hear from him is that he believes in us and that is a big message that he gives us overall: that the quality is there in the ⁠squad," Kinsky said in an interview with ‌Sky Sports on Friday.

"It's just ‌not to speak about it but to show it. ‌With the combination, with the style that he wants ‌to play, I think our squad fits to that so I believe this is going to work.

"Now we have four points from three games, there is four left ‌and I hope and I believe that this is the right way." Spurs ended ⁠a 16-game ⁠winless run in the league with a victory over already relegated Wolverhampton Wanderers last week, with Kinsky producing a crucial late save from Joao Gomes' free-kick to secure all three points.

"It's very precious. If we wouldn't bring three points from there, of course, it would be much more difficult now," the 23-year-old said about the win against Wolves.

"We are not closer but at least we didn't get further (away). So the difference is still just two points."

Spurs travel to fifth-placed Aston Villa on Sunday.