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African Champions Pyramids Hit Back to Draw in Morocco

An aerial view shows Cairo's traffic with buildings and houses, through the window of a Turkish Airlines plane, in Cairo, Egypt March 12, 2026. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
An aerial view shows Cairo's traffic with buildings and houses, through the window of a Turkish Airlines plane, in Cairo, Egypt March 12, 2026. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
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African Champions Pyramids Hit Back to Draw in Morocco

An aerial view shows Cairo's traffic with buildings and houses, through the window of a Turkish Airlines plane, in Cairo, Egypt March 12, 2026. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
An aerial view shows Cairo's traffic with buildings and houses, through the window of a Turkish Airlines plane, in Cairo, Egypt March 12, 2026. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

Pyramids of Egypt preserved an unbeaten record in defense of the CAF Champions League title by coming from behind to draw 1-1 at FAR Rabat of Morocco late on Friday.

The home team were ahead after just eight minutes of the quarter-final first leg when Ahmed Hammoudan scored his first goal of the campaign.

Mahmoud Zalaka equalized in the seventh minute of the second half in a match staged behind closed doors due to crowd trouble during an earlier FAR match.

The second leg is set for March 21 in Cairo and the overall winners will face another Moroccan club, Renaissance Berkane, or Al Hilal of Sudan in the semi-finals during April.

Pyramids and FAR also clashed in the quarter-finals last season with the Cairo club winning 4-3 on aggregate.

Surprise winners of the premier African club competition last season, Pyramids have won eight matches and drawn three in pursuit of back-to-back titles.

They pocketed four million dollars (3.5 mn euros) after defeating Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa in the 2024/25 final.

This week, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced that first prize had been increased by 50% to six million dollars. The runners-up prize is unchanged at two million dollars.

FAR rattled Pyramids by taking an early lead amid the silence of the Olympic Stadium in the Moroccan capital, AFP reported.

A pass into space behind the Pyramids defense found Hammoudan, who raced in from the left flank and beat veteran goalkeeper Ahmed El Shenawy with an angled shot into the far corner.

Both sides had spells of territorial dominance in the opening half, but there were no further goals before half-time with few clearcut chances.

Pyramids pressed for an equalizer from the restart and were rewarded on 52 minutes when Zalaka claimed his second goal of the African campaign.

FAR goalkeeper Ahmed Tagnaouti parried a close-range shot from Ahmed Atef after a corner and Zalaka reacted quickest to poke the loose ball into the net.

Mahmoud Mayele, the Democratic Republic of Congo striker and leading scorer in the Champions League last season with nine goals, was substituted after 83 minutes.

After scoring three goals in qualifiers this season, the 31-year-old has gone eight matches without adding to his tally.

The quarter-final in Rabat kicked off only at 2200 local time due to the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

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Sports

Liverpool Confirm Ekitike Out for Season, Will Miss World Cup

Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk checks on Hugo Ekitike during the Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain in Liverpool, England, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk checks on Hugo Ekitike during the Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain in Liverpool, England, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
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Liverpool Confirm Ekitike Out for Season, Will Miss World Cup

Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk checks on Hugo Ekitike during the Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain in Liverpool, England, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk checks on Hugo Ekitike during the Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain in Liverpool, England, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

Liverpool followed France in confirming Thursday that forward Hugo Ekitike will miss the remainder of the Premier League season and the 2026 World Cup after suffering a serious injury in a Champions League loss to Paris Saint-Germain.

The 23-year-old crumpled in a heap holding his lower right leg during the first half of Liverpool's 2-0 quarter-final second-leg defeat by European champions PSG at Anfield on Tuesday and had to be substituted, reported AFP.

A brief statement issued by Premier League champions Liverpool on Thursday said scans had subsequently confirmed a "rupture of the Achilles tendon".

The statement added: "Ekitike will therefore be sidelined for the remaining weeks of the club season and unable to participate at this summer's World Cup with France."

Liverpool gave no timescale for Ekitike's recovery, saying only "further updates will be provided at the appropriate time, with Hugo receiving the full support of everyone at LFC".

Liverpool's statement followed Wednesday's announcement by France coach Didier Deschamps that Ekitike was out of the World Cup.

"Unfortunately, the severity of (Ekitike's) injury will prevent him from finishing the season with Liverpool and taking part in the World Cup," Deschamps said in a statement released by the French football federation.

"This injury is a huge blow for him, of course, but also for the French national team.

"I wanted to express my full support for him, as well as that of the entire coaching staff."

Ekitike has scored 17 goals in 45 matches in all competitions for Liverpool since arriving at Anfield for a fee of £79 million ($105.5 million) last summer from German side Eintracht Frankfurt.

Since winning his first France cap in a World Cup qualifier in September last year, Ekitike has been a regular, scoring two goals and providing one assist in his eight caps.

"It looks really bad, but difficult for me to say how bad," Liverpool manager Arne Slot said after Tuesday's match.

Injuries have been a major factor in a disastrous season for Liverpool as they sit fifth in the Premier League and will end the campaign without silverware.

"Losing a player is something we have had many times this season, but it is especially hard for him because you never want to be injured, especially at this time of the season," added Slot.

Sports

Real Madrid Season in Tatters, Arbeloa Looking Shaky after Euro Exit

Soccer Football - UEFA Champions League - Quarter Final - Second Leg - Bayern Munich v Real Madrid - Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany - April 15, 2026 Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa reacts REUTERS/Michaela Stache
Soccer Football - UEFA Champions League - Quarter Final - Second Leg - Bayern Munich v Real Madrid - Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany - April 15, 2026 Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa reacts REUTERS/Michaela Stache
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Real Madrid Season in Tatters, Arbeloa Looking Shaky after Euro Exit

Soccer Football - UEFA Champions League - Quarter Final - Second Leg - Bayern Munich v Real Madrid - Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany - April 15, 2026 Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa reacts REUTERS/Michaela Stache
Soccer Football - UEFA Champions League - Quarter Final - Second Leg - Bayern Munich v Real Madrid - Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany - April 15, 2026 Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa reacts REUTERS/Michaela Stache

Serial Champions League winners Real Madrid bared their fangs but left Munich staring down the barrel of a second consecutive season without a major trophy and left coach Alvaro Arbeloa's tenure looking tenuous.

Nine points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona, Los Blancos seem destined to end a troubled campaign empty-handed after their dramatic European quarter-final exit against Bayern on Wednesday.

Arbeloa's side took the lead three times at the Allianz Arena and until Eduardo Camavinga's 86th minute red card had every chance of going through after digging deep and going blow-for-blow with the Bavarian giants in a thrilling clash.

A late double for Bayern consigned Madrid to a 4-3 defeat on the night -- one on which Arbeloa said his team gave "their souls and their lives" -- and a 6-4 aggregate loss.

"An honorable exit that will not provide consolation or avoid another revolution," wrote Spanish newspaper AS after a heady night in Munich.

That revolution could cost Arbeloa his job and Los Blancos are braced for pain and possible change in the weeks and months to follow, AFP reported.

"I've always tried to help the club in the best way I can, and that's how it will be until the last day," Arbeloa told reporters after the match.

"I'm not at all worried (about my future) and I will understand perfectly any decision that the club takes.

"I'm a man of the club -- if I'm hurt today it's not for me, it's for Real Madrid, and because this year we will not win our 16th (Champions League title)."

Failure in the Spanish capital is rarely tolerated under president Florentino Perez without someone paying the price.

When Arbeloa was promoted to first team manager in January, Madrid did not state the length of his contract -- suggesting that he had no long-term guarantees.

The coach has found it hard to motivate the squad at times in La Liga, and has only 13 victories in 21 matches at the helm.

In his first game in charge, Real's superstars were knocked out of the Copa del Rey by second-tier Albacete.

Yet, his bold, attacking line-up against Bayern almost paid off.

Arbeloa left Camavinga and Thiago Pitarch on the bench and opted for an aggressive midfield trio of Jude Bellingham, Federico Valverde and Turkish playmaker Arda Guler, who struck twice.

Ultimately, it was not enough, and Real will likely fail to win any silverware for a second successive season for the first time since the 2008-09 and 2009-10 campaigns.

Perhaps Madrid's biggest problem remains one which Carlo Ancelotti could not solve last season, nor Xabi Alonso in his short time at the helm -- how to fit Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Bellingham into the same side without losing balance.

Arbeloa could argue that the Bayern second leg showed it is possible, with England international Bellingham impressive, Mbappe on the scoresheet and Vinicius hitting the woodwork.

Yet the energy and effort the star trio put into this game was beyond their regular performances this season and unlikely to be replicated on lesser occasions.

Not to mention, the team still conceded four goals.

Real's anger at the pivotal decision to send off Camavinga and their gutsy display could help Arbeloa, but whether it is enough to save his job, only time will tell.

There is no obvious replacement for Perez to turn to either.

The final weeks of the season in La Liga may have a say in Arbeloa's prospects, including their performance in the Clasico against Barcelona on May 10, when the Catalans could capture the title.

It may be a grim procession to the end of May but Arbeloa said that his team had "no other choice" but to keep on trudging and defend the club's badge for as long as he is in charge.

Sports

Tsitsipas' Munich Switch Backfires as Rankings Slide Continues

Argentinia's Francisco Cerundolo reacts after a fall as he plays against Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas during the Monte Carlo ATP Masters Series Tournament round of 64 tennis match on Court Rainier III at the Monte-Carlo Country Club in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, south-eastern France on April 6, 2026. (Photo by Valery HACHE / AFP)
Argentinia's Francisco Cerundolo reacts after a fall as he plays against Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas during the Monte Carlo ATP Masters Series Tournament round of 64 tennis match on Court Rainier III at the Monte-Carlo Country Club in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, south-eastern France on April 6, 2026. (Photo by Valery HACHE / AFP)
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Tsitsipas' Munich Switch Backfires as Rankings Slide Continues

Argentinia's Francisco Cerundolo reacts after a fall as he plays against Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas during the Monte Carlo ATP Masters Series Tournament round of 64 tennis match on Court Rainier III at the Monte-Carlo Country Club in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, south-eastern France on April 6, 2026. (Photo by Valery HACHE / AFP)
Argentinia's Francisco Cerundolo reacts after a fall as he plays against Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas during the Monte Carlo ATP Masters Series Tournament round of 64 tennis match on Court Rainier III at the Monte-Carlo Country Club in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, south-eastern France on April 6, 2026. (Photo by Valery HACHE / AFP)

Stefanos Tsitsipas walked off the court in Munich on Wednesday after another first-round defeat that highlighted how far the former world number three has drifted from the sport's elite amid injury problems and inconsistent form.

Resuming at 2-2 in the deciding set against Fabian Marozsan after play was suspended on Tuesday due to darkness, the 27-year-old Greek crashed out 3-6 7-6(5) 6-4 in a defeat that will see his ranking slide into the 70s, his lowest in eight years.

Tsitsipas, who decided to play in Munich this year instead of his usual tour stop in Barcelona, knows that the more his ranking slides the tougher his opponents will be in the early stages of tournaments.

"I'm aware that I ⁠might need to ⁠play good players in earlier rounds at different tournaments this year," he told Tennis TV ahead of the ATP 500 tournament.

"It's not an easy thing to get to play them early, but I also accept the challenge and I accept my current position and state, that these things need to happen in order for me to get back to where ⁠I belong."

Tsitsipas showed plenty of potential when he broke through eight years ago but since reaching the finals of the French Open in 2021 and Australian Open in 2023 he has struggled to deliver a sustained run of form.

A niggling back injury derailed the second half of his 2025 campaign and while he began this year saying his goal was just to feel competitive again, his only decent run came in Doha where he reached the quarter-finals.

Questions have been asked about his professionalism, with Goran Ivanisevic, who coached him in 2025, saying after the Greek's first-round exit ⁠at Wimbledon last ⁠year that he had not seen a more "unprepared player" in his life, Reuters reported.

Before Munich, Tsitsipas said he would consider playing more ATP 250 tournaments to regain his rhythm. The Geneva Open is the only tournament at that level ahead of Roland Garros, which begins on May 24.

"I'm a player that needs matches, I'm a player that needs to play a lot of sets to feel my game better, and this is something I might need to do in the next couple of weeks," he added.

"I'm expecting to play a lot of tournaments, I want to get a lot of tournaments under my belt, but of course be careful where I choose my tournaments and when I get to play."