03/10/2025

SPORTS FRIDAY | OCT 3, 2025

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Juve held after dramatic late equaliser

SHORTS

Guirassy helps Dortmund sink Bilbao SERHOU GUIRASSY scored a goal and set up another as Borussia Dortmund beat Athletic Bilbao 4-1 at home yesterday for their first Champions League win of the season. Karim Adeyemi supplied Daniel Svensson’s opener before the half hour mark and Carney Chukwuemeka added Dortmund’s second early in the second half. Dortmund handing Gorka Guruzeta a goal with a defensive mix-up on the hour mark and looked shaky but Guirassy calmed their nerves, getting a boot to a Marcel Sabitzer shot to restore their two-goal lead with nine minutes remaining. Julian Brandt then added a fourth for the hosts to wrap up the match in stoppage time. “We made things a bit more exciting than we needed to, but we scored a couple more goals and can go home happy,” said Brandt. Coach Niko Kovac made good on his pre-match promise to rotate the side and get more minutes into the legs of his bench players. Jobe Bellingham started his first match since August while Chukwuemeka made his full debut in the starting line-up. Kovac praised the English midfielder despite the mistakes. “He did well. He was agile, he pressed and managed to keep the opposition at bay. “I don’t want to look at everything so negatively. There may not have been a lot of positives, but he’s only 20. He can improve a lot.” PSV hold Leverkusen PSV EINDHOVEN fought back quickly after conceding a sloppy goal to hold German hosts Bayer Leverkusen to a 1-1 draw in the Champions League yesterday. Calamitous defending from the Dutch visitors allowed teenager Christian Kofane to pinch a 65th minute goal at the Bay Arena but PSV were quick to pull level, with Ismael Saibari thundering home a 72nd-minute equaliser. It was a group second draw for Leverkusen in the group phase, after being held at Copenhagen, while PSV picked up their first point following a surprise home loss to Belgium’s Union Saint-Gilloise in their opening fixture last month. A defensive mix-up in their own penalty area saw captain Jerdy Schouten play a dangerous back pass to centreback Armando Obispo, who failed to control it and offered the 19-year-old Kofane an opportunity to dispossess him and score from close range on his first Champions League start. But the lead lasted all of seven minutes before Guus Til’s pull-back pass found Saibari in space and he did not hesitate as he unleashed a thunderbolt from close range to make it 1-1. “There’s disappointment, because I think we could have done better,“ Saibari said. “We kept coming out from under pressure, especially in the second half. Leverkusen also played well, so I think the 1-1 draw was a fair result.”

VILLARREAL snatched a dramatic 2-2 draw against Juventus in the Champions League yesterday, with Renato Veiga’s last minute header denying the Italian side their first win. Georges Mikautadze put Villarreal ahead in the 18th minute, finishing coolly into the far corner after Nicolas Pepe put him through inside the area. The hosts continued to threaten with Alfonso Pedraza and Tajon Buchanan, but Juventus keeper Mattia Perin denied both before the break. Juventus rallied in the second half, equalising through Federico Gatti’s

“We worked and prepared as best we could, but we did have some difficulties. There was too much of a frenzy and too many nerves. Too many simple passes we got wrong.” Yet the Croatian manager stood up for his defenders. “The three defenders are doing better than anyone else,” Tudor said. “We need to be winning more second balls. The three at the back held the fort for the whole game.” Juventus remain unbeaten across all competitions and will next host AC Milan in Serie A on Sunday. – Reuters

minute, securing the hosts’ first point of the campaign. “I’m a bit pissed off because of that play and my loose ball,“ Parejo said. “In any case, I’m very proud of the team’s comeback. Now let’s think about Madrid, a beautiful and special team that has only lost one game, and we are also in good form.” Juventus coach Igor Tudor voiced his frustration, admitting his side looked nervous at times as they let victory slip away. “You can’t lose a game in the last seconds from a corner like that. We’ll take this point and move on,” he said.

acrobatic overhead kick in the 49th minute, before Francisco Conceicao gave them the lead seven minutes later, pouncing on a defensive error by Dani Parejo to slot home. “The team understood what we needed to improve at the end of the first half,” Conceicao said. “We have to train a little better. We improved in the second half but couldn’t get the win. But it must be said that we played a strong team.” Villarreal refused to give in, and Veiga, who spent half of last season at Juventus, rose highest to head in a corner from close range in the 90th

Champions show class C HAMPIONS LEAGUE holders Paris Saint-Germain stunned Barcelona with a 90th minute Goncalo Ramos winner to claim a 2-1 away victory in the league Ramos stars as European Cup holders PSG shock Barcelona

“There isn’t any problem, neither with the team nor the boss. I just want to play football and enjoy it and move on.” De Bruyne was key to Napoli taking the lead in the 36th minute as he burst from in front of his own area before beautifully sliding through Hojlund who calmly slotted past Sporting goalkeeper Rui Silva. And he was supplier again with 11 minutes remaining with a teasing, inswinging cross from the left flank which allowed Hojlund to nip in front of Silva and head home the winning goal. The home fans exploded with joy at Hojlund’s third goal since arriving from Manchester United, as the hosts looked lost once Colombia forward Suarez stroked his spot-kick past Vanja Milinkovic-Savic. – AFP we have to improve. We know that and we will do it.” Barcelona and PSG have not been on the best of terms over the past decade, with the Catalans recording one of the sport’s greatest comebacks in 2017 with a 6-1 win over the Parisians. PSG snatching Neymar and going on to sign all time Barca great Lionel Messi worsened relations, although Luis Enrique’s approach and a spate of injuries left the visitors shorn of star names on their return to Catalonia. Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele and his usual attacking partners Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia all missed out, but PSG midfielders Vitinha and Fabian Ruiz were fit to start. Barcelona took the lead in the 19th minute after Yamal and Pedri combined and Torres slotted home from Marcus Rashford’s quick first-time pass. PSG started to grow into the game and forced Wojciech Szczesny into his first save, tipping Achraf Hakimi’s freekick around the post. Nuno Mendes gave Yamal a taste of his own medicine by blazing away from the youngster downfield, cutting through Barcelona players, only to be felled by a desperate De Jong. Mendes repeated the trick to set up the equaliser, tearing into Barca territory. Pau Cubarsi misjudged a lunge to try and cut out his pass for 19-year-old striker Mayulu, who beat Szczesny in the 38th minute. Bradley Barcola fired narrowly over and then forced Szczesny into a solid save either side of the interval as the European champions clicked into a higher gear. Eventually Ramos grabbed three points for PSG as he stayed onside to collect Hakimi’s pass, after the Moroccan got in behind Barca’s defence, and slot home. “We’re happy with what we showed today,” said Luis Enrique, after PSG sealed their second win from two league stage games. The coach hailed his fullbacks Mendes and Hakimi, calling them “the finest in their positions in the world. No doubts, the two best,” added Luis Enrique. “Nuno and Hakimi played excellently.” – AFP

stage yesterday. Ferran Torres sent Hansi Flick’s Barcelona ahead with a cool finish but Senny Mayulu fired a depleted PSG level before halftime. It was an even and thoroughly entertaining bout between two of the

competition’s favourites at the Olympic stadium which was eventually settled by Ramos’ late strike, as PSG exploited Barca’s high defensive line. “After scoring the (first) goal we got a confidence boost and in the second half we w e r e better,”

Lamine Yamal (left) in action with Nuno Mendes. – REUTERSPIC

Luis Enrique told reporters. “I’m happy … because it’s an important victory and playing against Barcelona is always difficult.” Luis Enrique, who won the treble coaching Barcelona in 2015, was lacking several key players and his team held on at times but eventually got the better of last season’s semifinalists. “If you let in a goal in the last minute and you lose at home, you’re going to be disappointed,” Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong told Movistar . “There’s a long way to go in the Champions League. It was a good game to test where we are – hing yers y got you ted,” told ions are– “Kevin is a legend of football. He has so much quality that every time he has the ball all I have to do is find space and I know he’ll find me.” De Bruyne’s excellent performance was a good sign for Napoli supporters after the Belgian star showed clear signs of irritation towards coach Antonio Conte when he was substituted in Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at AC Milan. The 34-year-old swore when being replaced at the San Siro before stomping over to the bench, and on Tuesday Conte said that his star player would not be given another chance to behave in a way he con sidered disrespectful. “There was never any problem. I’m a winner and I want to play and make the difference. Everything has been said,” De Bruyne insisted to Sky .

Napoli’s Hojlund, De Bruyne pushing Sporting

RASMUS HOJLUND gave Napoli their first points in this season’s Champions League after combining with Kevin De Bruyne to score twice in yesterday’s 2 1 win over Sporting Lisbon in Naples. Denmark striker Hojlund netted in each half to give Serie A champions Napoli a big win in front of relieved fans at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. Both of the 22-year-old’s strikes came via De Bruyne whose magic boots conjured up both assists, denying Sporting who levelled in the 62nd minute through a Luis Suarez penalty. “It was a tough start to this campaign in the Champions League, we showed our character today and played really well against the Portuguese cham pions,” said Hojlund.