Sports
Sarr’s brace finally sunk Brighton at home with a 3-1 win
Ismaila Sarr’s brace finally settled the M23 grudge match as Crystal Palace beat bitter rivals Brighton 3-1 on their own patch.
Sarr struck twice after Trevoh Chalobah scored a controversial opener as the Eagles soared to a first win in seven attempts against their sworn south-coast enemy.
Having failed to win any of their first eight matches this season, Oliver Glasner’s side have now lost just one of their last eight.
It was a sobering Sunday afternoon for Seagulls boss Fabian Hurzeler on his first experience of the Premier League’s weirdest derby.
But Brighton could count themselves unlucky that Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson was not sent off in the opening moments, while referee Michael Oliver’s part in the first goal also left them aggrieved.
Henderson raced out of his area to challenge Yankuba Minteh with a foot that was far too high but not, as the Brighton forward would have had everyone believe, anywhere near his head.
But he escaped any punishment, and against the run of play Palace went ahead in the 27th minute.
Eberechi Eze relieved the pressure by taking the ball into the Brighton half after Oliver had inadvertently blocked Carlos Baleba from making a tackle.
Crystal Palace went on to win a corner, and when Brighton failed to get a head on to Will Hughes’ delivery at the near post, Chalobah reacted quickest to crash the ball into the roof of the net.
It was a messy goal which survived VAR checks for both offside and handball before eventually being given.
But there was no doubting Palace’s second, just five minutes later, after Tyrick Mitchell shrugged off Tariq Lamptey as both challenged for a high ball down the left.
Mitchell whipped his cross over Brighton keeper Bart Verbruggen to present Sarr with a free header at the far post.
Shellshocked Brighton almost let in a third before half-time when Daniel Munoz’s cross found Eze, whose header drifted inches wide.
Lamptey was sacrificed at half-time with Julio Enciso sent on to add some zip to Brighton’s attack, and almost immediately Kaoru Mitoma’s goalbound shot was cleared by Maxence Lacroix before Lewis Dunk’s header was kept out by Henderson.
Moments later Henderson made a superb, diving save to tip Enciso’s curler round his left-hand post.
Palace full-back Munoz had a goal ruled out after Sarr was harshly adjudged to have fouled Pervis Estupinan.
But with eight minutes remaining Sarr put away the third, holding off Dunk before slotting past Verbruggen.
Brighton pulled one back from a corner, with the ball going in off Marc Guehi, but Henderson kept the damage down to one goal with another fine save from Enciso to ensure Palace were laughing all the way back to up south London
Paris Saint-Germain have secured their place in the UEFA Champions League final after a 2-1 victory over Arsenal at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday night, completing a 3-1 aggregate win in the semi-finals.
The French champions, holding a 1-0 lead from the first leg, extended their advantage early in the match when Fabián Ruiz unleashed a powerful strike in the 27th minute, leaving Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya with no chance.
PSG doubled their lead in the 72nd minute, with Achraf Hakimi finishing off a well-orchestrated team move to make it 2-0 on the night.
Arsenal managed to pull one back in the 76th minute through Bukayo Saka, who capitalized on a defensive lapse to slot the ball past Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Despite late pressure, the Gunners couldn’t find the equalizer, and PSG held on to advance to the final.
In the other semi-final, Inter Milan triumphed over Barcelona in a thrilling encounter that ended 4-3 after extra time, giving the Italian side a 7-6 aggregate victory.
Davide Frattesi scored the decisive goal in the 99th minute, while goalkeeper Yann Sommer made several crucial saves to preserve the lead.
The Champions League final is set for May 31 at the Allianz Arena in Munich, where PSG will face Inter Milan in a highly anticipated showdown.
Davide Frattesi fired Inter Milan into the Champions League final on Tuesday with an extra-time winner, which gave the Italians a stunning 4-3 triumph over Barcelona, 7-6 on aggregate.
Italy midfielder Frattesi won a tie for the ages under a downpour in Milan when he lashed home in the 99th minute, sending a packed and rocking San Siro wild with joy.
Simone Inzaghi’s team will face either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this month in Munich, where they will feel they have a great chance to be crowned kings of Europe for a fourth time after coming out on top in an epic contest.
Tuesday’s triumph saved Inter’s season as their bid for the treble went up in smoke after getting past Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals.
Inter conceded top spot in Serie A to Napoli, who are favourites to claim the domestic league title, after getting past Bayern, while AC Milan dumped them out of the Italian Cup a fortnight ago.
But Inter ended Barca’s hopes for the quadruple and now head into the final weeks of the season buoyant with a second Champions League final in three seasons to look forward to.
Frattesi’s winning goal, his seventh of the season and probably the most important of his career, was all the more incredible for the fact that Inter should by rights have already been eliminated.
The hosts were heading out with two minutes remaining of regular time when Raphinha completed a comeback from two goals down at half-time and gave Barca a 3-2 lead on the night.
But Francesco Acerbi stunned everyone in the stadium, not least the already-celebrating Barca supporters, when he forced home Denzel Dumfries’ cross in the second minute of added time.
That goal came as a bolt from the blue as Barca had been by far the better team in the second half of normal time after going in at the break behind to a brilliant Lautaro Martinez goal and Hakan Calhanoglu’s penalty in first-half stoppage time.
Eric Garcia and Dani Olmo pulled Barca level with goals in the 54th and 60th minutes, both from sumptuous Gerard Martin deliveries, and Yann Sommer had to be at his best to keep Inter within touching distance.
Sommer made possibly the save of the season between Barca’s first two goals, somehow stopping Eric Garcia from finishing off a lightning Barca counter-attack.
And the Swiss ended up being crucial again in the 113th minute when he pulled off another miraculous save from Lamine Yamal, who hit the post just before Acerbi’s equaliser.
Inter then held off Barca as the home fans held their breath before unleashing a mighty roar at the final whistle of the match of the season.
AFP
By Francesca Hangeior
Brazilian winger Raphinha has revealed that he was on the verge of accepting a call-up to play for the Italian national team before ultimately representing Brazil.
Speaking to journalist Isabela Pagliari and posted on Monday, Raphinha admitted he was close to joining Italy’s Euro 2020-winning squad.
“I was close to accepting the Italian national team call!” he said. “I was supposed to go to the Euro they won in 2020. I was basically set to go. So luckily, since the passport didn’t come through.”
The Barcelona forward explained that he was being actively pursued by the Italian setup at the time.
“At that point, the people from the Italian national team were calling me. Jorginho used to call me all the time. The Italian staff had this amazing project for me, something that really caught my eye,” he added.
Despite the strong interest and the prospect of joining a major European tournament, Raphinha said he held onto a small hope of playing for his country of birth.
“But at the same time, deep down, I still had that one per cent of hope that I could wear the Brazil shirt. And luckily, my Italian passport didn’t get ready in time!” he said.
Raphinha has since gone on to feature for Brazil at the international level, fulfilling the dream he nearly missed out on.
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