Sports
Inter edge past Bayern to set up Champions League semi against Barcelona
Inter Milan reached the semi-finals of the Champions League on Wednesday after drawing 2-2 with Bayern Munich to win a pulsating last-eight tie 4-3 on aggregate.
Italian champions Inter will face Barcelona in the semis after goals in the space of three minutes from captain Lautaro Martinez and Benjamin Pavard cancelled out a Harry Kane strike for Bayern which levelled the tie in the 52nd minute.
Eric Dier’s looping header in the 75th minute earned Bayern a draw on the night in soaking and blustery Milan but that wasn’t enough for Vincent Kompany’s side to continue their bid to be crowned Kings of Europe for a seventh time.
Simone Inzaghi’s side came through in awful conditions at the San Siro where a combination of heavy rain and driving winds affected both teams’ ability to play their best football, but added uncertainty and tension to an already highly-charged occasion.
Inter are still on for a repeat of the Serie A, Champions League and Italian Cup treble won under Jose Mourinho in 2010, as they are also three points ahead of Napoli in Italy’s top flight and face AC Milan in the semi-finals of the domestic cup.
And Wednesday’s win showed that Inter are more than capable or reaching the final of Europe’s elite club competition, as they did two years ago when they were narrowly beaten by Manchester City.
Bayern had won all three of their previous Champions League away matches at Inter, but after Pavard crashed home his first goal for the club in the 61st minute there was no way back for the injury-hit Bundesliga leaders.
Inter will also benefit from playing the second leg of their showdown with Barca, who they beat in the semi-finals on their way to victory in Madrid 15 years ago, at the San Siro.
– Treble dream –
The hosts didn’t come alive until their fans, who had been sat and stood in silence for the first 20 minutes in protest at ticket prices, burst loudly in song.
By that time the wind had picked up so much that one Inter cross almost swung back out of the penalty box, but even with the wind in their faces the hosts were on the up.
Thuram just failed to get a touch on Francesco Acerbi’s scuffed finish in the 29th minute, and moments later Hakan Calhanoglu crashed powerful shot just wide of the upright.
Bayern reacted and pushed Inter back into their own area for the final minutes of the opening half, but a combination of the conditions, desperate defending and poor finishing kept the match scoreless at the break.
Inter started the second half the stronger but Kane levelled the tie with a brilliantly taken goal, shifting onto his right and drilling a low shot through Federico Dimarco’s leg’s and past Yann Sommer.
Just moments before Kane had rookie Bayern goalkeeper to thank for stopping him scoring an own goal, but not long afterwards Martinez re-established Inter’s advantage when he controlled Dimarco’s corner and lashed home.
And Pavard decided the tie three minutes later with a bullet header against his former club from another corner, sending the San Siro wild with delight.
That wasn’t it though as Dier moved Bayern back to within a goal of extra-time, but when Sommer smothered Kane’s header in stoppage time Inter’s treble dream was kept alive.
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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