Mbappe back from ‘bottom’ as Real Madrid down Sevilla

Mbappe back from ‘bottom’ as Real Madrid down Sevilla
Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe runs to the ball during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Sevilla at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. (AP)
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Updated 23 December 2024
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Mbappe back from ‘bottom’ as Real Madrid down Sevilla

Mbappe back from ‘bottom’ as Real Madrid down Sevilla
  • Mbappe, back after a brief absence with a thigh injury, scored for Madrid in midweek as they won the Intercontinental Cup

MADRID: Kylian Mbappe said he had bounced back from hitting rock bottom after helping Real Madrid thrash Sevilla 4-2 on Saturday to move second in La Liga above stuttering rivals Barcelona.
After Atletico Madrid beat Barca on Saturday to claim top spot at Christmas, Carlo Ancelotti’s side also took advantage with a comfortable home win which leaves them a point behind the leaders.
Madrid coach Ancelotti said ahead of Sevilla’s visit that Mbappe’s adaptation period had ended following his summer switch from Paris Saint-Germain and the French forward proved the coach right with a strong performance and his 14th goal of the season across all competitions.
Fede Valverde also netted a brilliant effort from range, with Rodrygo Goes and Brahim Diaz on the scoresheet for the hosts too, the latter assisted by a clever Mbappe pass.
Isaac Romero and Dodi Lukebakio scored for Sevilla, although they were thoroughly outplayed on veteran defender Jesus Navas’ final game for the club.
“I think that we know each other better, my arrival changed a lot of things, and now, as the coach said, the adaptation is over and I feel very good in the team,” Mbappe told Real Madrid TV.
“We can see on the pitch that I click better with my team-mates and now we’re all playing better.”
Mbappe, back after a brief absence with a thigh injury, scored for Madrid in midweek as they won the Intercontinental Cup.
It was welcome relief for the forward after missing two penalties in recent weeks against Liverpool and Athletic Bilbao, as well as suffering criticism for his form.
“I know I’ve got much more in my legs than I’m showing, but in the last games I’ve played better,” Mbappe added.
“The Bilbao game was good for me, I hit the bottom, I missed a penalty and it was a moment to realize that I have to give everything for this shirt and show my personality.”
With Vinicius Junior suspended, Mbappe took the reins and broke the deadlock in the 10th minute as Madrid brought the ball out from the back and worked it to Rodrygo on the left flank.
The Brazilian squared to Mbappe on the edge of the area, who took one touch to control, another to set himself and with his third, smashed a fierce effort past the helpless Alvaro Fernandez.
“I think (Mbappe) has been self-critical, he’s come out of a situation that could have been complicated for him,” Ancelotti told reporters.
“Yesterday I said his adaptation period was over, today he showed it, sometimes I’m not wrong.”
The coach said Madrid had found their footing after struggling at times in the first half of the season.
“We’re running a bit more, playing with more intensity, we’re doing things well again, as we have to do — they’ve been complicated months,” Ancelotti added.
Madrid’s second, 10 minutes later, was even better, with Valverde firing a screamer into the top corner from over 30 yards out after a short corner.
Ancelotti’s side were in full flow and the third followed in the 34th minute when Lucas Vazquez crossed for Rodrygo.
Sevilla hit back within a minute, with Romero nodding home from Juanlu Sanchez’s cross.
Madrid stretched their lead after the break with Mbappe dinking a superb pass through for Diaz to finish clinically.
Sevilla brought on Navas after the hour mark and he was applauded by the Santiago Bernabeu, with this his 705th and final appearance for the club, far more than any other player.
Madrid and Sevilla players together gave the retiring Spanish great — a World Cup winner in 2010 and two-time Euros champion — a guard of honor at the start of the game.
Navas, 39, won four Europa Leagues and two Copa del Rey trophies with Sevilla, but his final appearance ended in disappointment for the Andalusians.
Lukebakio pulled one back late on for Sevilla as Madrid were able to finish an impressive year, in which they became Spanish and European champions, with positive vibes.
“Today was a spectacle, I haven’t seen anything like that in my life at an away ground, it was crazy,” an emotional Navas told reporters.
“I was thinking of all the moments that I’ve lived through, the joys I’ve given to my Sevilla and my national team.”


F1 title fight is increasingly focused on McLaren but Verstappen still hopeful

F1 title fight is increasingly focused on McLaren but Verstappen still hopeful
Updated 18 April 2025
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F1 title fight is increasingly focused on McLaren but Verstappen still hopeful

F1 title fight is increasingly focused on McLaren but Verstappen still hopeful
  • Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes have all had their moments but none has been a consistent challenger, as McLaren’s 58-point constructors’ championship lead shows
  • Jeddah hosts the fifth race in six weeks in a hectic start to the season, which stays at a record 24 races

JEDDAH: Ahead of Sunday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, this Formula 1 season is looking like McLaren vs. McLaren. Still, defending champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull says he hasn’t lost hope.
McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are the only ones to consistently have the pace through the first four rounds of the championship.
Norris has a three-point lead but admits he isn’t at his best — though he had the fastest time of the day in practice on Friday — while Piastri has momentum after winning in Bahrain last week.
Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes have all had their moments but none has been a consistent challenger, as McLaren’s 58-point constructors’ championship lead shows.
Friday practice
Norris went fastest in the second practice session, while Yuki Tsunoda crashed to continue his difficult start with Red Bull.


Norris was .163 seconds faster than Piastri in the second session, which was run under floodlights and more representative of race conditions than the hotter daytime session. Verstappen complained earlier in the day of his car feeling “very loose” in high-speed corners but ended Friday third fastest, .280 off Norris.
In his third race weekend with Red Bull since replacing Liam Lawson, Tsunoda clipped the wall on the inside of a corner and slid into the barrier on the other side, requiring a red flag.
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was the surprise leader in the first session, just .007 of a second faster than Norris. Charles Leclerc of Ferrari was .07 off Gasly in third and Piastri fourth, barely a tenth of a second off the pace. Lewis Hamilton was eighth in the other Ferrari. Verstappen was ninth.
Verstappen’s hope
Verstappen is the only non-McLaren driver to win a grand prix this season, but in Bahrain he was struggling so much that Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko said he was concerned the Dutch star might reconsider his future.
Verstappen said this week he wasn’t considering the championship picture this early in the season.
“I’m not thinking about that. I just go race by race,” he said. “At the moment we are not the quickest. So then naturally it’s very tough to fight for a championship, but it’s still a very long road ... I’m hopeful that we can still improve things.”
Two-time champion Fernando Alonso dampened speculation Verstappen could seek to join his Aston Martin team after Red Bull car designer Adrian Newey made that move last year.
Asked if he’d welcome being Verstappen’s teammate, Alonso said Thursday: “Yes, but it’s unlikely to happen. Very unlikely.”
Alonso’s current teammate is Lance Stroll, son of team owner Lawrence Stroll.
Busy schedule
Jeddah hosts the fifth race in six weeks in a hectic start to the season, which stays at a record 24 races. There’s a little respite after Saudi Arabia, with two weeks till the next event in Miami.
“It’s on the upper end of the limit. It feels like race 10 already,” said Williams driver Alex Albon, adding it’s especially tough on mechanics and other crew members.
“As drivers, we travel better than everyone else in the paddock. We stay in better hotels than everyone else in the paddock — it’s just a function of being in a privileged position. With mechanics ... these are people with families. These are the people that really struggle.”
The rookies are still enjoying their first taste of F1, though.
“It’s just the beginning of my career, so I just want to keep racing and keep driving,” Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto said. “I’m learning new things every single weekend, so for me, if I could have another race next weekend, I would be very happy as well.”


Treble-chasing Inter sweat over Thuram’s fitness

Treble-chasing Inter sweat over Thuram’s fitness
Updated 18 April 2025
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Treble-chasing Inter sweat over Thuram’s fitness

Treble-chasing Inter sweat over Thuram’s fitness
  • The Frenchman, Inter’s top scorer in Serie A with 14 goals, is likely to miss Sunday’s Serie A match
  • “The tests revealed fatigue in the adductor muscles of his left thigh,” Inter said

MILANO: Inter Milan striker Marcus Thuram has a thigh injury, the Serie A leaders said on Friday as they wait to see if he can recover in time for their Coppa Italia semifinal against AC Milan next week.
The Frenchman, Inter’s top scorer in Serie A with 14 goals, is likely to miss Sunday’s Serie A match at fifth-placed Bologna, Italian media reported as the club confirmed Thuram underwent medical tests this morning.
“The tests revealed fatigue in the adductor muscles of his left thigh. His condition will be assessed day by day,” Inter said in a statement.
Champions Inter lead the Italian top-flight standings on 71 points after 32 games, three ahead of Napoli.
They host Milan in the second leg of their Italian Cup semifinal on Wednesday, after the first leg ended in a 1-1 draw.
Inter, one of eight teams who have won a league, cup and European Cup treble, could repeat the feat this season.
They face Barcelona, another treble-winning side, in the Champions League semifinals after advancing to the last four of Europe’s elite club competition with a 4-3 aggregate win over Bayern Munich.
Thuram, who has started 26 league games and missed only one this season, recently dropped out of the France squad due to an ankle injury.


Klopp ‘happy’ in new job despite Real Madrid rumors: agent

Klopp ‘happy’ in new job despite Real Madrid rumors: agent
Updated 18 April 2025
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Klopp ‘happy’ in new job despite Real Madrid rumors: agent

Klopp ‘happy’ in new job despite Real Madrid rumors: agent
  • Agent Marc Kosicke said 57-year-old Klopp was enjoying his new job
  • RB Leipzig coach Zsolt Low said he “could not imagine” Klopp moving to Real Madrid

BERLIN: Jurgen Klopp is “very happy” in his current post at Red Bull despite rumors linking him to a return to management with Real Madrid, his agent said Friday.
The former Liverpool manager became Red Bull’s Global Head of Soccer in January, taking care of a stable of clubs including RB Leipzig, the New York Red Bulls and Bragantino in Brazil.
Real Madrid’s quarter-final elimination from the Champions League at the hands of Arsenal this week has led to speculation manager Carlo Ancelotti is headed for the exit at the end of the season.
German media reported that Klopp was one of the names that the Spanish giants want to take over in the Bernabeu dugout.
Asked about the rumors, his agent Marc Kosicke said 57-year-old Klopp was enjoying his new job.
“Jurgen is very happy with his new role with Red Bull,” Kosicke told Sky Deutschland.
Also speaking on Friday, RB Leipzig coach Zsolt Low said he “could not imagine” Klopp moving to Real Madrid, adding the German was “very happy in the job.”
Low praised Klopp’s impact, saying “he’s shown that he can bring a club together, a group of 40, 50, 60 people, and take them with him.
“He adds incredible value with his experience, his human quality and his energy.”
In a 23-year career as a top-flight manager with Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund and Mainz, Klopp left each club of his own accord, a rarity in coaching.
“No matter where he’s been, he’s given 100 percent,” Low said, adding “regardless of where he is he’s stayed and done the job. It’s important to him to make a clean exit.”
Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso is considered a leading candidate for the Real Madrid job. Alonso, a former Madrid player, said Friday it was “not the time” to discuss his future.


Morocco ex-football club chair denies seizing villa in drug case

Morocco ex-football club chair denies seizing villa in drug case
Updated 18 April 2025
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Morocco ex-football club chair denies seizing villa in drug case

Morocco ex-football club chair denies seizing villa in drug case
  • Said Naciri is being tried alongside the head of a regional council in eastern Morocco, Abdennabi Bioui, in a vast drug trafficking case
  • Naciri denied the allegation in court on Friday, saying he legally purchased the villa

CASABLANCA: The former president of Morocco’s most successful football club maintained in court Friday that he legally acquired a villa he is accused of seizing from a convicted Malian drug trafficker dubbed the “Escobar of the Sahara.”
Said Naciri, who was chairman of Casablanca club Wydad AC and president of the city’s prefectural council, is being tried alongside the head of a regional council in eastern Morocco, Abdennabi Bioui, in a vast drug trafficking case related to the jailed kingpin.
Both defendants — former officials of the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), a member of the country’s ruling coalition — have been in custody since the end of 2023, and face charges of “possession, marketing, and export of drugs,” as well as corruption and related offenses.
Naciri was accused by the Malian trafficker, Ahmed Ben Brahim, of having wrongfully dispossessed him of a villa in an upscale Casablanca neighborhood, one of Naciri’s lawyers told AFP.
But Naciri denied the allegation in court on Friday, saying he legally purchased the villa though a real estate company in 2017 before finalizing the acquisition in 2019.
“I am taking advantage of my hearing before the court to refute the false allegations being made,” he told the court, presenting documents and testimony that he said supported his version of events.
The trial is the first in Morocco to see prominent political figures accused in a drug trafficking case.
It opened last May, and involves 25 people alleged to have played roles in the trafficking network of Ben Brahim, who is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence.
Ben Brahim, whose complaint initiated the proceedings against Naciri and Bioui, accuses the pair of helping him smuggle drugs to elsewhere in North Africa and the Sahel.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for April 25.


CAF fines its president’s club $100,000 after African Champions League fan disorder

CAF fines its president’s club $100,000 after African Champions League fan disorder
Updated 18 April 2025
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CAF fines its president’s club $100,000 after African Champions League fan disorder

CAF fines its president’s club $100,000 after African Champions League fan disorder
  • Motsepe has been president of African soccer’s governing body CAF for four years and was re-elected unopposed last month
  • Esperance was fined $150,000 for the fan misconduct

CAIRO: CAF fined its president’s club $100,000 after violent fan clashes at an African Champions League game between two teams that are going to the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States.
Mamelodi Sundowns, owned by Patrice Motsepe — a South African mining billionaire and FIFA vice president – breached safety and security rules hosting an April 1 game against Esperance of Tunisia, the Confederation of African Football said in a disciplinary ruling late Thursday.
Motsepe has been president of African soccer’s governing body CAF for four years and was re-elected unopposed last month.
The African soccer body said Sundowns “is required to strictly implement the safety and security measures specified in the CAF regulations, guidelines and directives, particularly in their upcoming matches.”
Esperance was fined $150,000 for the fan misconduct, CAF said, related to clashes in the stands at the quarterfinal, first leg game.
Sundowns won the first leg 1-0 in Pretoria and advanced to the semifinals after the return game ended 0-0 in Tunis one week later. The South African team on Saturday hosts Al Ahly of Egypt — another Club World Cup team — in the first leg of the semifinals.
Sundowns and Esperance are both coming to the US in June as two of Africa’s four entries in the first 32-team Club World Cup organized by FIFA.
Both qualified because of consistently good results over four years in the CAF Champions League through 2024.
Sundowns has been drawn in a Club World Cup group with Ulsan of South Korea, Borussia Dortmund of Germany and Fluminense of Brazil, playing games in Orlando, Cincinnati and Miami.
Esperance is in a group with Chelsea of England, Brazil’s Flamengo and a third team that was to be Leon, which FIFA disqualified because it is in the same ownership as another Mexican team that qualified, Pachuca. Those games are in Philadelphia and Nashville.
Leon has a May 5 hearing with the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Madrid in its appeal against FIFA’s ruling. The Club World Cup is played in 11 US cities from June 14 to July 13.