Endrick Scores in Extra Time to Help Madrid top Celta in Copa. Titleholder Athletic Loses to Osasuna

Soccer Football - Copa del Rey - Round of 16 - Real Madrid v Celta Vigo - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - January 16, 2025 Real Madrid's Endrick celebrates scoring their fifth goal REUTERS/Juan Medina
Soccer Football - Copa del Rey - Round of 16 - Real Madrid v Celta Vigo - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - January 16, 2025 Real Madrid's Endrick celebrates scoring their fifth goal REUTERS/Juan Medina
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Endrick Scores in Extra Time to Help Madrid top Celta in Copa. Titleholder Athletic Loses to Osasuna

Soccer Football - Copa del Rey - Round of 16 - Real Madrid v Celta Vigo - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - January 16, 2025 Real Madrid's Endrick celebrates scoring their fifth goal REUTERS/Juan Medina
Soccer Football - Copa del Rey - Round of 16 - Real Madrid v Celta Vigo - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - January 16, 2025 Real Madrid's Endrick celebrates scoring their fifth goal REUTERS/Juan Medina

Real Madrid needed two goals from Endrick in extra time to get past Celta Vigo in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey and avoid another embarrassing setback less than a week after losing 5-2 to Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final.
Federico Valverde also scored in extra time Thursday as Madrid reached the quarterfinals with a 5-2 victory after squandering a 2-0 lead in a 2-2 draw in regulation at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.
Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior scored a goal in each half but Celta rallied with goals by Jonathan Bamba in the 83rd minute and Marcos Alonso in stoppage time.
The 18-year-old Endrick, who entered the match in the 79th, put Madrid ahead in the 108th with a shot from outside the area and then sealed the victory in the 119th with a back-heel flick after Valverde had added to the lead in the 112th.
“It was tough, but with Madrid it’s always like this, we keep fighting until the end and we come out on top,” said Endrick, who profusely celebrated his first goal by taking off his shirt. “We never give up.”
Madrid was looking for a comfortable victory to bounce back from the rout against Barcelona. Carlo Ancelotti's team is trying to keep pace with Atletico Madrid at the top of the Spanish league and improve its standings in the league phase of the Champions League.
It was the first of a three-game home stretch for Madrid, which on Sunday hosts Las Palmas in the Spanish league and on Wednesday takes on Salzburg in the Champions League.
Mbappé put Madrid ahead in the 37th minute after picking up the ball before the midfield line and making a run all the way into the Celta area to finish with a left-footed cross shot. It was Mbappé’s second goal in his last five matches with Madrid. Vinícius scored his first goal in five matches after a breakaway in the 48th.
Celta pulled closer after Madrid midfielder Eduardo Camavinga lost possession near the area and allowed Bamba to score in the 83rd, and the Vigo team evened the match early in stoppage time with a penalty kick converted by Alonso after Bamba was fouled inside the area.
Endrick got off to a strong start in his first season with Madrid but had not been given much playing time by Ancelotti recently.
“(Ancelotti) knows what he's doing," Endrick said. “He doesn't have to do what's best for Endrick, he has to do what's best for the team. He knows that I've been working hard.”
Aurélien Tchouaméni, who struggled in the Super Cup final against Barcelona in Saudi Arabia, was booed by part of the crowd at the Bernabeu.
Defending champion beaten Titleholder Athletic Bilbao rallied from a two-goal deficit in the first half but still lost 3-2 to Osasuna at home.
The visitors took the lead with goals by Aimar Oroz in the 40th and Ante Budimir in the 44th before Athletic evened the match with Nico Williams in first-half stoppage time and Óscar de Marcos in the 55th.
Budimir netted the winning goal in the 70th to help Osasuna advance two years after it had eliminated Athletic in the semifinals.
Also Thursday, Real Sociedad advanced by defeating Rayo Vallecano 3-1 at home.
On Wednesday, Barcelona beat Real Betis 5-1. Atletico Madrid defeated second-division club Elche 4-0, while Getafe won 1-0 at fourth-division team Pontevedra and Leganes won 3-2 at second-tier side Almeria.



Saudi U15 Girls' National Team Begins Training Camp in Jeddah

The camp runs through November 19 as part of the team's preparations for upcoming competitions - SPA
The camp runs through November 19 as part of the team's preparations for upcoming competitions - SPA
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Saudi U15 Girls' National Team Begins Training Camp in Jeddah

The camp runs through November 19 as part of the team's preparations for upcoming competitions - SPA
The camp runs through November 19 as part of the team's preparations for upcoming competitions - SPA

The Saudi U15 girls' national football team begins its training camp today in Jeddah. The camp runs through November 19 as part of the team's preparations for upcoming competitions.

The camp aims to enhance the players' technical and physical readiness and strengthen team cohesion through a training program developed by the coaching staff, SPA reported.

The program is designed to improve performance and prepare the team for the next phase.

The camp is part of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation's development plan for the U15 girls' national team.


Sport Ministry Launches Ticketing Platform Accreditation Service Through Riyadhi Platform

Sport Ministry Launches Ticketing Platform Accreditation Service Through Riyadhi Platform
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Sport Ministry Launches Ticketing Platform Accreditation Service Through Riyadhi Platform

Sport Ministry Launches Ticketing Platform Accreditation Service Through Riyadhi Platform

The Saudi Ministry of Sport announced on Sunday the launch of a service to accredit platforms that sell and resell tickets for sports competitions and events in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The service is available through the ministry’s Riyadhi Platform (riyadhi.sa) and aims to regulate ticket sales and resale in accordance with ministry-approved regulations while streamlining accreditation procedures for investors and platform operators, according to SPA.

The ministry previously granted ticketing platform operators a 90-day grace period, starting from October 26, when the regulations governing ticket sales for sports competitions and events were issued, to update their systems and align their operations with the approved technical and regulatory requirements.


Sabalenka Apologizes for Outburst During Loss to Svitolina

13 November 2026, US, Indian Wells: Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka in action against Ukraine's Elina Svitolina during their women's singles group stage match of the FAGE WTA Finals tennis tournament at Indian Wells. Photo: Charles Baus/CSM via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
13 November 2026, US, Indian Wells: Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka in action against Ukraine's Elina Svitolina during their women's singles group stage match of the FAGE WTA Finals tennis tournament at Indian Wells. Photo: Charles Baus/CSM via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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Sabalenka Apologizes for Outburst During Loss to Svitolina

13 November 2026, US, Indian Wells: Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka in action against Ukraine's Elina Svitolina during their women's singles group stage match of the FAGE WTA Finals tennis tournament at Indian Wells. Photo: Charles Baus/CSM via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
13 November 2026, US, Indian Wells: Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka in action against Ukraine's Elina Svitolina during their women's singles group stage match of the FAGE WTA Finals tennis tournament at Indian Wells. Photo: Charles Baus/CSM via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Aryna Sabalenka apologized on Saturday for her angry outburst during her defeat by Ukraine's Elina Svitolina at the WTA Finals.

Television footage appeared to show the Belarusian swearing during Friday's round-robin match, with some social media users interpreting her remarks as being directed at Svitolina or Ukrainians. The loss eliminated Sabalenka from the season-ending tournament.

"My comment was not directed at Elina," Sabalenka said in a social ⁠media post.

"I was ⁠frustrated with a small group of spectators who were aggressively cheering my mistakes, and I reacted emotionally in the moment.

"That said, I should have handled my frustration differently, and I apologize to anyone I offended.

"Elina played a great match, ⁠and I wish her all the best for the rest of the tournament."

Svitolina did not shake hands with Sabalenka after the match, maintaining her policy of not doing so with Russian or Belarusian opponents following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow launched with Belarus as a staging ground.

Asked about her reaction to Sabalenka's apology, Svitolina called for mutual respect, acknowledging that fans' passions ⁠can ⁠sometimes run high.

"We've played many times with Aryna. She has her fans, I have my fans," she told reporters after her semi-final win over Linda Noskova on Saturday.

According to Reuters, she expressed hope that matches between the two of them would be respected, "because yes, sometimes in some matches that we've played, also been not great comments towards me in regards of the war."

Svitolina, the 2018 WTA Finals champion, faces Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva in Sunday's final.