World Sports News in Brief

Man City win record-equalling fourth straight League Cup

Manchester City claimed a record-equalling fourth successive League Cup triumph as Aymeric Laporte's late header sealed a deserved 1-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday (Apr 25).

Soccer Football - Carabao Cup Final - Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - April 25, 2021 Manchester City players pose with the trophy as they celebrate after winning the Carabao Cup. (Photo: Pool via Reuters)
Soccer Football - Carabao Cup Final - Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - April 25, 2021 Manchester City players pose with the trophy as they celebrate after winning the Carabao Cup. (Photo: Pool via Reuters)

They have now matched Liverpool's feat of winning the competition for four seasons in a row, and also join Liverpool with the most League Cup wins on eight.

* Italian Matteo Berrettini won the Serbia Open after beating Russia's Aslan Karatsev 6-1 3-6 7-6(0) in the final at Novak Djokovc's claycourt tennis centre in downtown Belgrade by the Danube river on Sunday.

* Rafa Nadal saved a match point before defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4 6-7(6) 7-5 to claim a record-extending 12th Barcelona Open title on Sunday, ending his Greek opponent's nine-game unbeaten start to the European claycourt swing. Having collected his first title of the 2021 season, Nadal, 34, will leapfrog Russian Daniil Medvedev to take back the world number two spot in the updated ATP rankings on Monday.

* Sevilla beat visitors Granada 2-1 on Sunday to stay firmly in La Liga's four-way title race although the game ended in farcical circumstances when the referee mistakenly blew his whistle after playing only three of the allotted four minutes of added time. They remain in fourth spot just one point behind both Barcelona, who are third with a game in hand, and second-placed Real Madrid.

* A superb strike by Sweden international Hanna Glas gave Bayern Munich a 2-1 win over Chelsea in the first leg of their UEFA Women's Champions League semi-final on Sunday. The two sides meet again at Kingsmeadow in London next Sunday to decide who will face Barcelona or Paris St. Germain, who drew 1-1 in their first leg earlier on Sunday, in the final on May 16 in the Swedish city of Gothenburg.

* Racing Genk's Japan forward Junya Ito scored early in the second half and Theo Bongonda added a late second to secure a 2-1 win over Standard Liege in the Belgian Cup final on Sunday. The win meant Genk could celebrate their first Belgian Cup success since 2013 and the fifth in the club’s history.

* Rangers were knocked out in the Scottish Cup quarter-finals with a 4-2 defeat on penalties after St Johnstone keeper Zander Clark set up a last-gasp extra-time equaliser and saved two penalties in the shootout to end the Glasgow side's hopes of winning the double. With the match ending 1-1 after the extra period, James Tavernier missed Rangers' first penalty in the shootout at Ibrox and Kemar Roofe spurned the final one while St Johnstone converted all their kicks to join Hibernian and Dundee United in the last four.

* Lille showed their hunger to win the Ligue 1 title with a stunning comeback from two goals down to win 3-2 at Olympique Lyonnais on Sunday thanks to two goals and an assist from Burak Yilmaz, regaining top spot from Paris St Germain. Lille top the standings on 73 points, one ahead of champions PSG who won 3-1 at Metz on Saturday, while Lyon were left fourth on 67.

* Australian duo Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith harnessed the spirit of Anzac Day to victory at the Zurich Classic on Sunday, bringing pride to family back home they haven't seen in over a year. The duo carded a two-under par 70 to beat South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel in a playoff at TPC Louisiana in New Orleans in the two-man team event.

* Second-placed Manchester United edged closer towards qualification for the Champions League with a goalless draw at Leeds United in the Premier League on Sunday. The point left Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side 12 points clear of fifth-placed West Ham United with five games of the season remaining. Manchester City are top of the table on 77 points, 10 ahead of United.

* British rookie Jake Dennis took his first win in the electric Formula E championship with the BMW Andretti team on Sunday in the second of two races held at Valencia's Ricardo Tormo circuit. The 25-year-old led from start to finish to beat Porsche's Andre Lotterer by 1.483 seconds, with Alex Lynn third for Mahindra.

* Manchester United hammered Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 in the FA Women's Super League on Sunday to keep their hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions League alive. United moved to third spot on 41 points after 20 games, three ahead of fourth-placed Arsenal, who take on Brighton & Hove Albion later on Sunday and also have a match in hand. The top three sides will play in next season's Champions League.

* Striker Chris Wood scored a first-half hat-trick as Burnley cruised to a 4-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday and eased their Premier League relegation fears. Sean Dyche's visiting side exposed a listless Wolves defence as they snapped a three-game losing run to climb to 14th in the league table and nine points clear of the relegation zone.

* La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid's title bid was derailed again as they were beaten 2-1 at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday by a late goal from Inigo Martinez, offering Barcelona the chance to go top of the table next week. Atletico lead the table on 73 points but third-placed Barca, on 71 after beating Villarreal 2-1 earlier on Sunday, can take over first place if they beat Granada on Thursday in their game in hand.

* Atalanta thrashed 10-man Bologna 5-0 in Bergamo on Sunday to move into second place in Serie A and extend their unbeaten league run to seven games. The victory leaves Gian Piero Gasperini’s side on 68 points from 33 games, 11 adrift of runaway leaders Inter Milan but two ahead of AC Milan and Juventus.

* World number six Bianca Andreescu is out of the Madrid Open after testing positive for COVID-19, the Canadian confirmed on Sunday. The 20-year-old said she tested negative twice before flying to Madrid for the tournament, which is set to begin Friday, but was told upon arrival that she had produced a positive test.

Reuters