PSG, CHELSEA LOSE BUT STILL ADVANCE TO CL SEMIFINALS
After Neymar missed several chances to finish off defending champion Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain was left clinging to a 1-0 home defeat that nevertheless sealed the French club’s second straight Champions League semifinal on Tuesday.
Bayern had to score twice after losing 3-2 in Germany in the first leg of their quarterfinal and survived several scares from livewire Neymar in the first half before largely taking control in the second.
But without the prolific Robert Lewandowski, the six-time champions lacked a cutting edge and could not add to Eric Maxim ChoupoMoting’s first-half goal against his former club.
“Normally, my team has so much quality in the final third, but today they were lacking that final punch,” Bayern coach Hansi Flick said. “We have to accept that, even though we would have liked a different outcome.”
PSG now faces either Manchester City or Borussia Dortmund in the semifinals.
In Tuesday’s other
Champions League quarterfinal, a spectacular goal from a scissor kick by Mehdi Taremi wasn’t enough to earn Porto a place in the semifinals as Chelsea advanced despite a 1-0 loss in the second leg.
Chelsea went through 2-1 on aggregate and will play either Real Madrid or Liverpool in the last four, which the English club has reached for the first time since 2014.
More soccer
Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan scored and the U.S. women’s national team beat host France 2-0 in an exhibition.
The United States extended its unbeaten streak to 39 games, dating to January 2019 when the Americans fell to France 3-1.
Rapinoe scored on a penalty kick in the fifth minute. She leads the team with seven goals in seven matches this year.
Morgan made it 2-0 with her 109th career goal in the 19th minute.
Basketball
The WNBA will play a 32game schedule that includes mini two-game series in the same city to reduce travel amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The season opens on Friday, May 14, with New York hosting Indiana — one of four games that night. Seattle will receive its rings for winning the WNBA title last season when the Storm host the Las Vegas Aces in a finals rematch the next day.
The regular season will conclude on Sept. 19 and be followed by the traditional playoffs format. The league will take a break for the Tokyo Olympics from July 15 through Aug. 11.
Vanderbilt hired Shea Ralph away from UConn to help revive the Commodores’ struggling women’s basketball program, which hasn’t reached the NCAA Tournament since 2014.
IUPUI hired former basketball star Matt Crenshaw as its head coach.
Point guard Marcus Zegarowski, who led the Bluejays with 15.8 points a game as a junior, is leaving Creighton
and declaring for the NBA Draft.
Guard Caleb Grill, who started all 27 games for the Runnin’ Rebels last season and averaged 9.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists, will transfer back to Iowa State after playing last season at UNLV for new Cyclones coach T.J. Otzelberger.
Michigan State forward Thomas Kithier has entered the transfer portal.
Death
Bobby “Slick” Leonard
was selected as the ABA’s greatest coach. Hall of Fame player George McGinnis
considered him a genius.
On Tuesday, the Indiana Pacers announced that the man who led them to three ABA championships during a Hall of Fame coaching career and was selected a 1963 NBA All-Star had died. No details about the 88-year-old Leonard were provided but he had been in failing health in recent years.
Conn Findlay, a fourtime Olympic medalist in the sports of rowing and sailing and a member of two winning America’s Cup crews, has died. He was 90.
NHL SCOREBOARD Local colleges
SDSU’s Maggie Balint was named the Mountain West Pitcher of the Week after leading the Aztecs to a sweep on the road at UC Santa Barbara last weekend, going 2-0 with a save and a 0.42 ERA in 142⁄3 innings.
Aztecs pole vaulter Kaitlin Heri was named the Mountain West Field Athlete of the Week after clearing 14 feet to win at the Mountain West Challenge and then winning the Triton Invitational by clearing 1306.25.
Freshman Akira Isayama took 17th with a 2over total and UCSD’s men’s golf team finished seventh at 24 over in the UC Santa Barbara Intercollegiate at Sandpiper Golf Club, which was won by Boise State with 11 under.
Hockey
Trevor Zegras scored two goals and had two assists as the Gulls (18-12-0-0) held off the Ontario Reign (916-3-0) in Irvine, 7-4. Chase De Leo added two goals and an assist for the Gulls.