World Sports News in Brief

Underwhelming Madrid held to stalemate at Getafe

Real Madrid dropped points for the third time in seven games since Zinedine Zidane's return as they were held to a 0-0 draw away to Getafe in La Liga on Thursday, which harmed their neighbours' hopes of a top-four finish.

La Liga Santander - Getafe v Real Madrid - Coliseum Alfonso Perez, Getafe, Spain - April 25, 2019 Real Madrid's Karim Benzema shoots at goal. (Reuters)
La Liga Santander - Getafe v Real Madrid - Coliseum Alfonso Perez, Getafe, Spain - April 25, 2019 Real Madrid's Karim Benzema shoots at goal. (Reuters)

* Surprise package Atalanta reached the Coppa Italia final for the first time since 1996 when an Alejandro Gomez strike gave them a 2-1 win over Fiorentina in their semi-final second leg on Thursday (Apr 25).

* Manchester City's England forward Raheem Sterling has been awarded The Integrity and Impact Award at this year's BT Sport Industry Awards for speaking out on a range of social issues, including racism.

* Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has been fined £8,000 by the Football Association after accepting a misconduct charge from Monday's 2-2 Premier League draw against Burnley.

* More than 200 European clubs have been invited to an assembly in June to discuss the future of UEFA competition including the idea of a "pyramidal Pan European League System."

* Rafael Nadal gave a much improved performance to advance into the quarter-finals of the Barcelona Open on Thursday (Apr 25), dispatching Spanish compatriot and crowd favourite David Ferrer 6-3 6-3.

* World number one Naomi Osaka made a winning start to her claycourt season by beating Taiwan's Hsieh Su-wei 6-4 6-3 on Thursday to move into the quarter-finals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.

* AC Milan are in danger of being swallowed up by the pack as five Serie A teams battle for a single Champions League slot and with it an estimated 50 million euros (£43 million) of extra revenue.

* Defending champions Manchester City and Liverpool dominated the Professional Footballers' Association's (PFA) Team of the Year announced on Thursday (Apr 25), claiming six out of 11 spots. United midfielder Paul Pogba was the only player not from either Manchester City or Liverpool to be named in the team.

Reuters, CNA