Man City ousts PSG to reach first Champions League final
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND » By the time Riyad Mahrez completed the counterattack that sealed Manchester City’s spot in a first Champions League final, it looked so effortless overcoming a Paris Saint-Germain lineup that lost its cool and composure.
“Then they lost their nerve and started to kick us and it was good,” Mahrez said.
It was the Paris-born winger who netted twice before PSG had Angel Di Maria sent off. City won 2-0 to eliminate last season’s finalists 4-1 on aggregate on Tuesday.
“They had the red card,” Mahrez said, “and after, it was more comfortable for us.”
It’s been anything but comfortable for City getting a shot at lifting European football’s top prize for the first time despite 13 years of lavish investment. Even reaching this semifinal required a fight in court to overturn a ban from this season’s Champions League for breaching UEFA’s financial rules.
Now City could win the competition in what could be an all-English final on May 29 in Istanbul if Chelsea overcomes Real Madrid on Wednesday. Chelsea and Madrid played to a 1-1 draw in the first leg.
Thiem cruises into 3rd round
MADRID » Looking fresh again after taking a few weeks off, U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem cruised into the third round of the Madrid Open with a comfortable 6-1, 6-3 win over American Marcos Giron.
Thiem was in control from the start at the “Magic Box” center court in what was his first match since March. The fourthranked Austrian was coming off early round losses in Doha and Dubai and felt like he needed a break.
Eighth-seeded Matteo Berrettini defeated Fabio Fognini 6-3, 6-4 in an all-Italian second-round matchup, while Alexander Bublik beat 11th-seeded Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.
In the round of 16 of the women’s draw, third-seeded Simona Halep, a two-time Madrid champion, was upset by 13th-seeded Elise Mertens, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 in a match lasting more than two and a half hours.
Wagner leaves Michigan for draft
ANN ARBOR, MICH. » Franz Wagner is entering the NBA draft. The Michigan sophomore made the announcement Tuesday.
Wagner averaged 12 points, six-plus rebounds and two assists over two seasons. The 6-foot-9, 220-pound Wagner was a second-team All-Big Ten player. The German native helped Michigan win a Big Ten title and reach a regional final in the NCAA Tournament.
His brother, Moritz, plays for the Orlando Magic and is also a former Wolverine.
PGA’S Todd tests positive
Brendon Todd has withdrawn from the Wells Fargo Championship after testing positive for the coronavirus. This is the third straight PGA Tour event that has yielded a positive result in pre-tournament testing.
Four players, including Tyrrell Hatton of England, tested positive last week at the Valspar Championship. Seamus Powers of Ireland tested positive a week earlier in New Orleans.
Johnson to make Indy 500 debut — for NBC Sports
INDIANAPOLIS » Jimmie Johnson will make his first Indianapolis 500 start this year after all — with the television crew, not on the racetrack. NBC Sports said it will use Johnson for studio coverage of the Indianapolis 500 on both race day and qualifying weekend.
The seven-time NASCAR champion is now an IndyCar rookie running only the road and street courses, a decision that has sidelined Johnson for the four ovals on the schedule including the Indianapolis 500. He’s never before attended an Indy 500.
“To say I am excited for May in Indianapolis is an understatement,” Johnson said. “I absolutely cannot wait to take it all in.”
Ban of African stadiums puts World Cup qualifiers in doubt
BLANTYRE, MALAWI » The African soccer confederation under new president Patrice Motsepe has banned 20 of its 54 member countries from using their stadiums to host international games because they don’t meet “minimum requirements” in a move that potentially throws next month’s World Cup qualifiers into disarray.
Eight of the countries whose stadium accreditations were revoked by the Confederation of African Football are involved in those qualifiers, which are scheduled to start June 5. They include Senegal, the topranked team in Africa, and Mali.
Senegal’s 60,000-seat Stade Léopold Senghor in Dakar is closed for renovations and a stadium in the city of Thies that the national team used for recent games has not been approved. Mali’s 50,000-seat Stade du 26 Mars in Bamako also hasn’t been accredited, leaving both countries with no approved venues.