World Sports News in Brief

Football: Athletic's Raul Garcia sends Real out of Super Cup

Athletic Bilbao forward Raul Garcia scored twice in a 2-1 win over Real Madrid on Thursday (Jan 14) to knock the holders out of the Spanish Super Cup and set up a final against Barcelona.

Soccer Football - Spanish Super Cup - Semi Final - Real Madrid v Athletic Bilbao - La Rosaleda Stadium, Malaga, Spain - January 14, 2021 Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos. (Reuters)
Soccer Football - Spanish Super Cup - Semi Final - Real Madrid v Athletic Bilbao - La Rosaleda Stadium, Malaga, Spain - January 14, 2021 Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos. (Reuters)

* World number two Rafa Nadal and last year's Australian Open finalist Dominic Thiem have both suffered setbacks with their coaches unable to make the trip Down Under for the year's first tennis Grand Slam. Players and officials have to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine on arrival in Australia before they participate in warmup events from Jan. 31 at Melbourne Park, where the major will be held from Feb. 8-21.

* Aston Villa's home match against Everton on Sunday has been postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak at the Midlands club, the Premier League said on Thursday. Newcastle United's postponed game at Villa has been rescheduled for Jan 23.

* Brentford have turned Iran winger Saman Ghoddos' loan move from French club Amiens into a permanent deal until 2023 with an option for an extra year, the second-tier club said on Thursday. The 27-year-old has played 19 games in all competitions for the west London side.

* Olympic 100 metres hurdles gold medallist Brianna McNeal has been charged and provisionally suspended for violating World Athletics' Anti-Doping rules, the Athletics Integrity Unit said on Thursday.

* Ferrari Formula One driver Charles Leclerc announced on Thursday (Jan 14) he had tested positive for COVID-19 and was self-isolating at home in Monaco with mild symptoms.

* American Madison Keys said on Thursday she tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss next month's Australian Open in Melbourne. The world number 16 said she returned a positive result before she was due to travel to Australia and is now self-isolating at her home.

* Southampton striker Danny Ings has tested positive for COVID-19 and is set to miss Saturday's trip to Leicester City, manager Ralph Hasenhuettl said on Thursday (Jan 14).

* Serbian striker Luka Jovic has completed a loan move back to Eintracht Frankfurt from Real Madrid for the remainder of the season, the German club confirmed on Thursday. The 23-year-old left Eintracht for Madrid in June 2019 but has struggled to make an impact in La Liga since his EUR60 million (US$73 million) move.

* Colombia named Reinaldo Rueda as their new coach on Thursday, appointing him for a second spell in charge just hours after he left his position as manager of Chile.

* Andy Murray's participation in the Australian Open has been thrown into doubt after it was revealed on Thursday (Jan 14) he had tested positive for coronavirus.

* MotoGP has added a shakedown and two days of official testing to the March pre-season schedule in Qatar after planned test sessions in Malaysia next month were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The shakedown will be on March 5, followed by testing on March 6-7.

* Arsenal's recent resurgence in the Premier League was checked by Crystal Palace as they were held to a dull 0-0 draw on Thursday (Jan 14). Mikel Arteta's side were bidding for a fourth successive league win but could find no way through an obdurate Palace.

Reuters