Chelsea gains key win in Champions League; Ronaldo saves Man United
Chelsea took a step closer to the knockout stage of the Champions League with a 1-0 victory over Malmo on Tuesday.
Hakim Ziyech’s goal early in the second half was enough for the defending European champion to eliminate host Malmo (Sweden) from the tournament.
The best Malmo can hope for is qualification to the Europa League. The Swedish champion has lost all four of its Group H games and has yet to score so far in the Champions League with two matches remaining.
Ziyech broke the deadlock for Chelsea in the 56th minute, tapping home at the back post after Kai Havertz centered the ball just out of reach of goalkeeper Johan Dahlin.
At Wolfsburg, Germany, Salzburg was made to wait to secure qualification for the Champions League knockout rounds after losing 2-1. A win would have made Salzburg the first Austrian club in the past 16 since Sturm Graz in the 2000-01 season but instead Lukas Nmecha
scored the winning goal for Wolfsburg to reignite its own bid to qualify from
Group G.
Robert Lewandowski missed a penalty but still got a hat trick to lead Bayern Munich into the last-16 after a 5-2 rout of Benfica. Juventus also booked its place in the knockout rounds with a 4-2 win over Zenit St. Petersburg.
Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo again came to Manchester United’s rescue with two goals — including a stoppage-time effort — to salvage a 2-2 draw at Atalanta.
Ronaldo had scored a late winner against Atalanta at Old Trafford two weeks ago when United overturned a 2-0 halftime deficit to win 3-2. And the Portuguese forward scored at the end of each half to help his team to what could prove to be a precious point.
Elsewhere: Former FIFA officials Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini were charged with fraud and other offenses by Swiss prosecutors after a six-year investigation into a controversial $2 million payment. The 85-year-old Blatter and 66-year-old Platini now face a trial at federal criminal court in Bellinzona. They could be jailed for several years if found guilty, though Swiss cases often take years to reach a conclusion. “This payment damaged FIFA’s assets and unlawfully enriched Platini,” Swiss federal prosecutors said in a statement. … Roma’s hardcore “ultra” fans were given a suspended onematch ban by the Italian league for racist and insulting chants aimed at AC Milan players Franck Kessie and Zlatan Ibrahimovic on Sunday.
ETC.
Tennis: Felix AugerAliassime stayed in contention for a place at the ATP Finals by beating Italian qualifier Gianluca Mager 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the first round of the Paris Masters. The ninth-seeded Auger-Aliassime hit two double-faults and sent a forehand wide to allow Mager to serve out the first set. But he leveled the match when Mager double-faulted on set point in the second. Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev and Matteo Berrettini have already qualified for the ATP Finals. Auger-Aliassime, Casper Ruud, Jannik Sinner, Hubert Hurkacz and Cameron Norrie are among the players hoping to join the eight-man tournament. American players
Reilly Opelka, Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz also advanced to the second round, as did Karen Khachanov, Carlos Alcaraz and James Duckworth. … Russia brought Canada to earth by winning their Billie Jean King Cup tie 3-0. Canada’s confidence was boosted the day before when it upset defending champion France, but Russia with all of its players in the top 50 was too strong. Daria Kasatkina eased past
Carol Zhao in straight sets, and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova clinched the win overcoming Rebecca Marino 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
NASCAR: With a 14th NASCAR Cup Series championship on the line this weekend, team owner
Rick Hendrick defended his decision to extend his sponsorship deal with Liberty University as the school faces scrutiny over its handling of sexual assault allegations. Hendrick Motorsports last month reached a new five-year agreement to extend the school’s support of driver William Byron and the No. 24 Chevrolet.
Liberty will serve as the primary sponsor in 12 Cup races annually through 2026.