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Thursday, March 9, 2017
Thursday, March 9, 2017
Sp rt Real Madrid could do with some improvement despite victory Bayern completes
AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth
Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez, left hugs with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger during the Champions League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Arsenal and Bayern Munich at the Emirates Stadimum in London, Tuesday, March 7, 2017.
NAPLES — Even after reaching the Champions League quarterfinals for the seventh straight season, Real Madrid could do with a little improvement. Madrid advanced, beating Napoli 6-2 on aggregate, but it didn’t look easy and it wasn’t that pretty. With a 3-1 advantage from the first leg, Tuesday’s return match was supposed to be a simple task. But
AP Photo/Andrew Medichini
Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos jumps for the ball above Napoli’s Nikola Maksimovic during the Champions League round of 16, second leg, soccer match between Napoli and Real Madrid at the San Paolo stadium in Naples, Italy, Tuesday March 7, 2017.
the defending champions found themselves pinned back in their own half by Napoli, which dominated for almost an hour. “We’re capable of doing better than we did in the first half and we’ll have to do so,” Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said. “Coming here and being put under the pressure that they put us under, we knew that we might struggle. “We can’t be happy with the first-half display, but have to be pleased with our second-half performance.” Madrid again turned to captain Sergio Ramos to dig the team out of a hole. Napoli was starting to believe it could advance after Mertens, who also hit the post, scored in the 24th minute, but Ramos has proved many times that he is the man for the big occasion. The Spain defender headed in the equalizer six minutes after the interval and another header, six minutes later, was deflected in by Mertens. “We’re pleased to have Sergio here, every now and then he comes up with a goal with his head,” Zidane said with a smile. It was Ramos who headed home deep in stoppage time in the Champions League final in 2014 to save his team. Madrid went on to win 4-1 in extra time, clinching “La Decima” — its record 10th title and its first in 12 years. Ramos was also on hand in the final two years later to set Madrid on its way to an 11th European Cup title. “Last week they were slating me, a month ago I was fantastic, and just because I’ve scored a couple of goals tonight, it doesn’t mean I’m going to be a hero again,” Ramos said. “We try and do our job the best we can and today, despite a poor first half, we’ve shown we can dig in together.” Madrid’s famous front three — the “BBC” of Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo — were largely anonymous, although the latter also hit the post in the first half. “Gareth helped Dani in the defensive aspects, as did Cristiano,” Zidane said. “It’s all about the whole team. We didn’t start well in the first half, we did a good job in the second. We’re a group and Gareth and Cristiano helped us a lot.” Madrid now has almost a month before the first leg of the quarterfinals and can focus on the Spanish league. The team won only three of its five matches between the two last-16 legs, although it is only a point behind league leader Barcelona and has a game in hand. “We’ll have to reflect on the mistakes we made and now we turn our attentions back to La Liga,” Ramos said. “They (Napoli) dominated for nearly the entire first half. We really suffered. We’ll take time now to think about things calmly.” (ap)
Arsenal’s Euro misery with another 5-1 win LONDON — With a second 5-1 rout in three weeks, Bayern Munich completed Arsenal’s humiliation on a night of protests against manager Arsene Wenger. Whether Wenger gets a chance to return to the Champions League next season remains unclear, as his latest contract will expire at the end of this season after 21 years at the club. His team’s heaviest-ever loss at the Emirates Stadium, completing a 10-2 aggregate loss on Tuesday as the German champions reached the quarterfinals, will only heighten demands by pockets of supporters for Wenger to go. Asked if he will manage ARSENAL again in the Champions League, Wenger replied: “I don’t know ... I am here to talk about football not my future.” It is Wenger’s failure to deliver Arsenal’s first European Cup that has diminished his standing among fans who once lauded him as a coaching revolutionary. For the seventh consecutive season, Arsenal has exited the Champions League in the Round of 16 and it has still only reached the final once, back in 2006. Wenger deflected questions about his own future by reprimanding Tuesday’s referee for what the Frenchman called “unexplainable and scandalous” decisions. And there was no sympathy from Bayern, with the five-time European champions joining in the derision by tweeting: “What time is it? Yep, it’s ten to!” The night’s other game saw the first-leg score replicated as Real Madrid beat Napoli 3-1 to reach the last eight for a seventh successive season. But Bayern enjoyed such an emphatic advantage that Arsenal had an uphill task. A glimmer of hope, though, came in the 20th minute when Theo Walcott beat goalkeeper Manuel Neuer at
his near post. Nothing went Arsenal’s way after that. Walcott was denied a potential penalty and then Koscielny was dismissed after the referee initially prepared to show the captain a yellow card for bringing down Robert Lewandowski 10 minutes into the second half. “The game was difficult until the penalty,” said Bayern coach Carlo Ancelotti, who is looking to win the Champions League with a third different club after successes with AC Milan and Real Madrid. “We were too open. They pushed as we expected. We were not so clear with the ball as we usually are.” ARSENAL didn’t do itself any favors, going into freefall as Bayern tore Wenger’s side apart with a clinical attacking masterclass. Arjen Robben netted after a poor clearance by goalkeeper David Ospina in the 68th minute, and Douglas Costa added another in the 78th before Arturo Vidal scored twice in the space of five minutes. “Bayern can be a good side but tonight they can also say thank you to the decisions of the referee,” Wenger said. “It leaves me very angry, very frustrated ... (the referee) killed the game.” As Bayern marched into the quarterfinals for the sixth consecutive year, Arsenal cannot be certain it will even be back in the competition next season. Not only are the Gunners far from winning the PREMIER LEAGUE for the first time since 2004 but they are out of the top four. The objectives are clearer for Bayern: collecting a fifth successive Bundesliga title and winning the Champions League for the first time since its Wembley success in London in 2013. “We just want to keep chugging along,” Neuer said. “We don’t intend on letting up.” (ap)
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European campaign starts after Rostov for Mourinho Manchester United will start thinking “really seriously” about the Europa League should they eliminate Russian side Rostov and advance to the quarterfinals, manager Jose Mourinho has said. United, who play the first leg of the tie in Russia on Thursday, are sixth in the league, three points adrift of the top-four Champions
League qualification spots but have already won the League Cup to secure a Europa League berth next season. Winning the Europa League also comes with the bonus of Champions League qualification but Mourinho said his priority was for United to finish as high up in the Premier League table as possible.
“The Europa League is very difficult but it’s a target for us,” the Portuguese told British media. “If we beat Rostov and we find ourselves in the quarter-final, then we have to think really seriously about the Europa League. “Quarter-final, you smell the final and then in a certain period of the season I have to analyse my team, the players, the conditions
of everyone and if I have to make choices, I have to make choices... but it’s not for now.” United visit Premier League leaders Chelsea in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup on Monday. They trail Chelsea by 17 points and are seven points behind second-placed Tottenham Hotspur,
with a game in hand on both teams. Fourth spot is currently occupied by Liverpool, who have also played a game more than United. “The second position is very difficult but it’s very possible. First is impossible. Second is possible and we have to fight for it,” Mourinho added. (rtr)
Egypt’s best known archaeologist called Messi an idiot
CAIRO — Egypt’s best known archaeologist has apologized after he angrily called Argentine football superstar Lionel Messi “an idiot” because the striker seemed to show little interest during a tour of the Giza Pyramids. Zahi Hawass, famed for his Indiana Jones hat and TV specials
on Egypt’s ancient sites, showed Messi around the Pyramids last month. In a TV interview, he was asked about the Barcelona striker’s reaction. “Messi is an idiot,” he snapped. “I was explaining the antiquities to him and there’s no reaction in his face. I was
explaining things that would make a rock react, but he was just like an idiot.” In a statement late Tuesday, Hawass said he was expressing anger over an inefficient interpreter. “I apologize to Messi and his fans for the misunderstanding,” he said. (ap) Reuters / Maxim Shemetov Livepic
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho during the press conference
AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty
FC Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, center, leaves after a gala dinner held at the Mena House in Giza, Egypt, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017. Soccer player Messi is in Egypt to promote the Tour n’ Cure initiatives which aims to attract Hepatitis C patients from all around the world to seek treatment in Egypt.