Maria stops Osaka
Italy victory
VILNIUS - Goals from Stefano Sensi and Ciro Immobile earned Italy a 2-0 victory over Lithuania on Wednesday as Roberto Mancini’s side got their third win from three games in 2022 World Cup qualification Group C. Mancini made 10 changes to the side who beat Bulgaria 2-0 on Sunday and it showed as the visitors struggled to break down Lithuania on their artificial pitch in the opening period. After the break however, Italy stepped up a gear, with halftime substitute Sensi firing the opening goal two minutes into the second half, before Immobile converted a stoppage-time penalty to make sure of the three points.
Barca in last four
LONDON - Barcelona advanced to the last four of the women’s Champions League with a 4-2 aggregate victory over Manchester City after a 2-1 defeat in the second leg of their quarterfinal at the City Academy Stadium on Wednesday. City came into the game with a 3-0 deficit after losing the away leg, played in Monza because of travel restrictions, but they began brightly and pulled back a goal when Janine Beckie prodded home in the 20th minute after Barca had failed to clear a corner. Asisat Oshoala levelled the score by slotting into an empty net in the 59th minute as Barcelona punished City for some poor defending. But City continued to push and Ellen White won a penalty that Sam Mewis converted to make it 2-1.
Maguire’s winner
LONDON - Harry Maguire smashed home a late winner as England laboured to a 2-1 victory over Poland in World Cup qualifying on Wednesday after an error by John Stones nearly cost the hosts all three points. Maguire swivelled and smashed home a knock-down from a corner in the 85th minute to maintain England’s perfect start to their Group I campaign. England had dominated the majority of the match at Wembley, taking the lead after 19 minutes when Harry Kane fired home from the penalty spot. Things turned sour for Gareth Southgate’s side, however, when Stones allowed Jakub Moder to level in the second half. Stones dawdled on the ball and Poland midfielder Moder robbed him of possession before firing home after a quick exchange of passes. The win lifted England to nine points from three games, two ahead of Hungary in second, with Poland on four points, and while the performance was far from impressive, England manager Southgate was pleased with how they stuck to the task.
New manager
NEW YORK - Chicago Blackhawks president of hockey operations Stan Bowman has been appointed general manager of the US men’s Olympic ice hockey team for the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, USA Hockey said on Wednesday. Bowman, who also serves as Blackhawks general manager, has helped to build three Stanley Cup championship teams in Chicago and has been a member of the national team advisory group since 2012. Bill Guerin, a threetime Olympian as a player and currently general manager of the Minnesota Wild, was named assistant general manager.
MIAMI - Naomi Osaka had grown so accustomed to dominating that she was not immediately sure what lessons to take after her 23-match winning streak came to an abrupt end in quarter-final action at the Miami Open on Thursday.
Osaka, the reigning US Open and Australian Open champion whose last loss came in February 2020, was beaten 6-0 6-4 by Greek 23rd seed Maria Sakkari.
“I feel like even if you’re not playing great you should still find ways to win. I’m trying to find ways to do that,” Osaka said.
“Hopefully, I don’t lose like this a couple more times, but I think the more times that stuff like this happens, the more I’ll learn from it.”
The Japanese second seed’s early exit also ended any hopes she had of reclaiming the world number one ranking from Australian Ash Barty, who has moved into the Miami semifinals.
For the first time since the WTA Tour resumed play last July, the top ranking could have changed hands in Miami but for that to happen Osaka needed to at least reach the final.
Osaka, who has looked calm and collected in several high-pressure situations on court while winning four Grand Slam titles, admitted that all the talk about rankings may have gotten the better of her.
“It’s hard to say, but I do think like the last time I was in this seat I wasn’t really thinking at all about rankings, but someone asked me that question, so then I did start to ponder about it a lot,” said Osaka.
“So maybe unwillingly that put pressure on myself. But I feel like even if it did, I should be able to rise above that.”