Sports
Barca advance to Champions League semis despite Guirassy hat-trick
Barcelona are through to the Champions League semi-finals with a 5-3 aggregate win, despite losing 3-1 at Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday with Serhou Guirassy hitting a hat-trick.
Holding a 4-0 lead after a dominant performance in Catalonia, the visitors were made to sweat as Dortmund and Guirassy nearly pulled off a stunning turnaround.
Guirassy put Dortmund in front with a Panenka from the spot with 11 minutes gone and headed them two goals clear early in the second half.
Dortmund sensed a sensation but Barcelona hit back, Fermin Lopez forcing Ramy Bensebaini into an own goal with just over half an hour remaining.
Guirassy reignited Dortmund’s belief with a third on the 76th-minute mark and the final stages may have been different had Julian Brandt not been offside before scoring with 11 minutes remaining.
Despite losing their first competitive game in 2025, Barcelona are through to the semis, keeping their dream of a remarkable treble alive, 10 years after last completing the feat by winning the Champions League in Berlin.
Barcelona, considered title favourites, will face either Inter Milan or Bayern Munich in the final four.
Clearly outclassed in the first leg, Dortmund will take inspiration from Tuesday’s performance, not least the goalscoring form of Guirassy.
The 29-year-old Guinean, who has spent most of his career bouncing between the first and second divisions in Germany and France, now has 13 Champions League goals this season, more than any other player.
Despite a big first-leg lead, Hansi Flick made good on his pre-match pledge to continue attacking, opting against resting any of his attacking trident of Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal or Raphinha.
With coach Niko Kovac admitting Dortmund needed a “miracle” to reach the semis after the debacle in Catalonia, the hosts’ task got a little harder when captain and centre-back Emre Can was ruled out with injury just before the match.
But Dortmund raced out of the blocks, Guirassy and strike partner Maximilian Beier going close inside the opening 10 minutes before Pascal Gross was the victim of a clumsy foul in the box by Wojciech Szczesny.
Guirassy stepped up to the spot and was nerveless, calmly unleashing a Panenka to get the hosts underway.
Dortmund sliced Barcelona open repeatedly without reward until half-time but made it count four minutes into the second-half, Guirassy heading in a Ramy Bensebaini assist from a corner.
With Dortmund’s 81,355-strong Westfalenstadion smelling blood, Barcelona’s familiar response was to send their attack down the right and the move paid off almost immediately.
After Yamal’s cross was half-cleared, Fermin Lopez found himself in the teenager’s channel, whipping a pass towards Lewandowski which Bensebaini hit into his own net.
With Barcelona content to control possession as the clock wound down, Guirassy relit the hosts’ hopes when he scored his third in the final quarter of an hour, blasting in from close range after some delightful dribbling from teenage winger Julian Duranville.
The home fans erupted when Brandt scored three minutes later, but the midfielder was offside, allowing Barcelona a breather.
Barcelona managed to hold on despite waves of energetic Dortmund attacks in the final stages to remain on track for the treble.
AFP
Al Nassr striker, Cristiano Ronaldo has been named as Forbes highest-paid athlete for 2024.
This is the third consecutive year he’s claiming the top spot.
The 40-year-old banked around £206.6million in 2024, which is £11.2m more than in 2023.
Ronaldo is believed to earn £177million-a-year salary at the Saudi club, which he joined from Manchester United in December 2022.
He is ahead of NBA’s Steph Curry and British boxer Tyson Fury.
Ronaldo’s longtime rival Lionel Messi drops to fifth place from third place in 2024.
TOP 10 HIGHEST-PAID ATHLETES
1. Cristiano Ronaldo – £206.6m ($275m)
2. Stephen Curry – £117.1m ($156m)
3. Tyson Fury – £109.5m ($146m)
4. Dak Prescott £102.8m ($137m)
5. Lionel Messi £101.3m ($135m)
6. LeBron James £100.4m ($133.8m)
7. Juan Soto £85.5m ($114m)
8. Karim Benzema £78m ($104m)
9. Shohei Ohtani £76.9m ($102.5m)
10. Kevin Durant £76.1m ($101.4m)
Barcelona have been crowned champions of LaLiga after a Lamine Yamal-inspired 2-0 win at Espanyol
Second-half goals from Yamal and Fermin Lopez either side of Leandro Cabrera’s sending off for Espanyol secure a league and cup double for head coach Hansi Flick in his first season in charge.
Seventeen-year-old Yamal, a league winner for the second time, found the top corner with a pinpoint, curling strike from the edge of the box to open the scoring after 53 minutes.
Yamal, who Cabrera struck to earn a red card with 10 minutes left, then set up fellow La Masia graduate Lopez in stoppage time to extend their lead against their rivals Espanyol.
Barcelona have dethroned rivals Real Madrid, who they beat in the Copa del Rey final last month.
The treble was still a possibility until earlier this month, when Barcelona were knocked out of the Champions League by Inter Milan in one of the great semi-final ties, losing 7-6 on aggregate.
Barcelona won their 28th Spanish title with two games to spare, but are still some way off matching Real Madrid’s tally of 36.
Nigeria’s hopes of winning the 2025 CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations have come to an end following a narrow 1-0 defeat to South Africa’s Amajita in Thursday’s semifinal clash, held on May 15, 2025.
Led by coach Aliyu Zubairu, the Flying Eagles entered the contest on the back of a dramatic penalty shootout victory over Senegal in the quarterfinals—a win that also secured their qualification for the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup. However, their AFCON journey fell short of the final hurdle.
The semifinal was a tense, tactical encounter, with both sides relying heavily on counter-attacking football. Despite dominating possession, the Flying Eagles struggled to convert their control into clear-cut chances, and the first half ended goalless.
The second half brought a major setback for Nigeria when 15-year-old goalkeeper Ebenezer Ifeanyi-Harcourt was forced off due to injury. He was replaced in the 51st minute by Ajia Soliu Yakub.
Yakub, however, was unable to prevent South Africa from breaking the deadlock. In the 66th minute, Tylon Christopher Smith rose to meet a cross and headed home what would prove to be the match-winner.
Despite late substitutions and a push for an equalizer, Nigeria couldn’t find a way back into the game, allowing South Africa to advance to the final while the Flying Eagles were left to reflect on what might have been.
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