23/09/2025

SPORTS TUESDAY | SEPT 23, 2025

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Torres double helps Barca down listless Getafe

BRIEFS

Fritz seal Team World’s win

FERRAN TORRES struck twice for champions Barcelona as they beat Getafe 3-0 yesterday to stay on Real Madrid’s tails at the top of La Liga. Dani Olmo was also on target for the Catalans, who trail leaders Madrid by two points after Xabi Alonso’s side beat Espanyol on Saturday to maintain their 100% record. Despite his brace against Newcastle in the Champions League, German coach Hansi Flick left Marcus Rashford on the bench, with Spanish media reporting that it was because the England international was late for a morning meeting. Rashford’s replacement as the stand-in for injured teenage superstar Lamine Yamal, Torres, took his chance with both hands. The Spaniard opened the scoring with a

apart from too many fouls, in my opinion, but we managed it well … and the important thing is we got the three points,”Torres told DAZN . Javi Munoz lashed a volley inches wide early in the second half as Getafe threatened for the first time. Rashford created Barcelona’s third, zipping inside from the right flank and unselfishly cutting the ball back for Olmo to finish. Getafe goalkeeper David Soria admitted: “We struggled a lot in attack, we weren’t able to create virtually anything.” Barcelona travel to face promoted side Real Oviedo on Friday (3.30am Malaysian time), with Real Madrid visiting Levante on Wednesday (3.30am). – AFP

powerful finish at the end of a slick move, with Olmo backheeling the ball into his path in the box. Torres’s second finish was even better, guided into the bottom left corner from outside the box after Raphinha sent him through on goal. The forward crashed a shot off the bar as a first half hattrick beckoned. Barca players lost their temper before the break as Getafe put in several hard and late tackles, with Jules Kounde the victim of many of them. Flick sent on Rashford for Raphinha at halftime, perhaps in order to save the Brazilian from a potential red card. “A lot of the time, they don’t try to do anything

TAYLOR FRITZ held off Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) to seal Team World’s triumph in the Laver Cup yesterday as two wins for Carlos Alcaraz on the final day proved too little for Team Europe. Fritz fired a backhand volley winner on his first match point to give Team World a 15-9 victory over Europe in the global tennis event, sparking jubilant celebrations from his teammates and World captain Andre Agassi at Chase Center – home of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors. “The energy from the team, it just feels the moments of winning feel so much better, the moments of losing feel so much worse because you’re doing it for all these guys,” Fritz said. “It just fires me up so much,” added the fifth-ranked American, who had beaten Alcaraz on Saturday when Team World swept all four matches to seize a 9-3 lead. Team World regained the title they surrendered to Europe last year in Berlin. Europe have won five of eight editions of the event co created by Swiss great Roger Federer, which will be held in London next year. Paolini takes Italy to BJK Cup triumph A CLINICAL Jasmine Paolini guided Italy to a second consecutive Billie Jean King Cup title with a commanding victory over Jessica Pegula to seal the tie against the United States in Shenzhen, China on Sunday. World No. 8 Paolini went undefeated in singles and doubles this week, and wrapped up her faultless campaign with a 6-4, 6-2 victory against Pegula to hand Italy a sixth BJK Cup triumph, which comes with US$2 million (RM8.4m) in prize money. World No. 91 Elisabetta Cocciaretto kicked off the final with a 6-4, 6-4 upset of the 18th-ranked Emma Navarro, to hand Italy the opening point in the tie. The Italians are the first team to win back-to-back BJK Cups since the Czech Republic pulled off three in a row between 2014 to 2016. “It’s amazing, I didn’t expect that. It’s amazing always to play this competition,” said an elated Paolini on court. “It was so tough this year, we played amazing teams. They are very strong, today the United States. I think we didn’t expect to win, so we’re really happy about this win because we know that it was really tough,” the 29-year-old added.

Inter squeeze past Sassuolo … as Roma outcast Pellegrini earns derby glory I NTER MILAN followed up on a positive start in the Champions League by beating Sassuolo 2-1 yes terday to put their Serie A season in the future because life is unpredict able … I was close to leaving and I had no idea in what condition I would be after my injury,

but I came back in the derby and scored the winning goal,” said Pellegrini to DAZN . Yesterday’s 38th

back on track. Federico Dimarco and Carlos Augusto scored Inter’s goals in a largely humdrum encounter at the San Siro which ended with Cristian Chivu’s team creeping into the top half of the table with six points from four matches. Inter played brilliantly in beating Ajax on Thursday in the Champions League but losing to a last-gasp goal against fierce rivals Juventus last weekend had left the 20-time Italian champions way off the pace in domestic competition. “It was important to win because we came into the match from two defeats (in Serie A),” said Dimarco. “We had to take the points home with us because we’re Inter, and we did.” Yesterday’s success was a far cry from Inter’s performance in midweek in Amsterdam, but was enough for Chivu to claim just the fifth win of his short Serie A coaching career. Lorenzo Pellegrini fired Roma to vic tory in the derby with Lazio, the former captain coming in from the cold with the only goal in a 1-0 win at a boisterous Stadio Olimpico. Roman-born Pellegrini lost the cap taincy of his boyhood club and was placed on the transfer list over the sum mer, but he was decisive against Lazio in his first appearance of the season to fire Roma up to fourth in Serie A on nine points. Ahead of kickoff, fans unfurled a banner which read: “Welcome back, captain” as they serenaded Pellegrini, who also had to have surgery on his injured right thigh in May. “I don’t know what will happen

minute strike was Pellegrini’s fourth in a Rome derby and repaid the faith shown in him by new coach Gian Piero

Gasperini, who started the 29-year old in one of Roma’s biggest games of the season. Gasperini seemed to have frozen out Pellegrini, who has 36 caps for Italy, but on Saturday hinted at a spot in the derby team, while making it clear that the player was on borrowed time unless he “becomes an athlete and starts running”. And after the derby win he dou bled down on Pellegrini needing to improve physically as Roma prepare to begin their Europa League cam paign at Nice on Thursday (3am Malaysian time). Lazio are stuck on three points from their first four matches of the season but

could have easily come away with a point from a typically tense derby, even after losing Reda Belahyane to a straight red card. One point behind Roma in fifth are Atalanta in a 3-0 win at Torino. – AFP PSG-Marseille clash postponed, Ansu Fati scores double in Monaco win

Sassuolo’s Jay Idzes (left) in action with Inter Milan’s Carlos Augusto. – REUTERSPIC

PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN’S showdown with great rivals Marseille in Ligue 1 was postponed yesterday due to forecast storms in the south of France, while super sub Ansu Fati scored twice as Monaco beat Metz 5-2. The fixture between Marseille and PSG, the biggest in French football, was called off because local authorities feared forecast heavy rainfall would be a significant risk for both players and spectators. With little space in a packed calendar and both clubs involved in the Champions League, the French league moved quickly to rearrange

minute. A Koffi Kouao own goal and a stoppage-time George Ilenikhena strike wrapped up a fourth win in five league outings for Monaco, who trail leaders PSG only on goal difference having played a game more. Strasbourg, as well as Lyon, are also alongside the leaders on 12 points after a 3-2 win away to Paris FC in the capital. Auxerre beat Toulouse 1-0 with a Danny Namaso goal, as they held on despite playing most of the second half with 10 men. Le Havre and Lorient drew 1-1. – AFP

Barcelona loanee Fati made a stunning impact off the bench for Monaco as the Principality side bounced back from a 4-1 loss at Club Brugge in the Champions League on Friday. Fati was introduced at the start of the second half in place of German youngster Paris Brunner and needed just 40 seconds to find the net in Ligue 1 for the first time from a Lamine Camara assist. Gauthier Hein brought Metz level again from a penalty awarded for a foul off the ball by Takumi Minamino, but Fati headed in a Krepin Diatta cross to restore Monaco’s lead in the 83rd

the fixture for this morning (2am Malaysian time). That means the match will clash with the Ballon d’Or ceremony taking place in Paris, with a host of members of the PSG team that won the Champions League last season among the nominees for the biggest individual award in the sport. Ousmane Dembele, who scored 35 goals for Luis Enrique’s side in all competitions during their remarkable campaign, is the favourite to win the award – he is currently injured and cannot play against Marseille.