15/09/2026

SPORTS TUESDAY | SEPT 15, 2026

29

FOLLOW

ON INSTAGRAM

Malaysian Paper

@thesundaily @t

L AMINE YAMAL struck twice to help Barcelona to an exciting 4-2 win at Levante in La Liga on Sunday, extending the Catalans’ perfect start to the season. Hansi Flick’s side reestablished their three point lead over Real Madrid at the top of the table, after Los Blancos beat Rayo Vallecano earlier. Atletico Madrid defeated Real Sociedad 3-0 with three late goals to move joint-third. Xavi Espart opened the scoring for the cham pions in Valencia with Yamal netting the second and then scoring a penalty early in the second half. Barca may have a 100% record so far from their five games but their defensive frailties were exposed as Ivan Romero and Roger Brugue pulled Levante back into the game in the final stages. Substitute Karim Adeyemi made the game safe for Barca in stoppage time with a stunning solo goal, breaking through at pace and beating Mathew Ryan. “It was not our best game of course. We had a great start. In the second half we struggled a little bit,” Flick told reporters. “We have to fight to improve. It’s normal, we have situations we have to make better, much bet ter. We’ll tell the team and go on to the next

Yamal keeps Barca perfect Teenage star’s brace helps Catalans beat Levante, Atletico triumph

Borussia Dortmund winger Adeyemi ended the hosts’ dreams of a point with a dynamic burst through the defence and then a cool finish to match. Atletico Madrid beat Real Sociedad with a late flurry of goals. Diego Simeone’s side were without Julian Alvarez, who suffered a muscle injury in training on Saturday, but got back to winning ways after their defeat last weekend by Athletic Bilbao. Alejandro Grimaldo opened the scoring with a penalty after 84 minutes, before Canada interna tional Jonathan David netted his first goal for the club in the 90th minute. Giuliano Simeone completed the Rojiblancos ’ victory deep in stoppage time. Elsewhere, Celta Vigo were held to a 1-1 home draw by Malaga, while Getafe and Deportivo La Coruna also drew 1-1. – AFP

Levante responded with a spell of concerted pressure but Petar Ratkov could not get a proper shot away when well placed and Barca goal keeper Joan Garcia saved well from Brugue. Levante soon came to regret those spurned chances when Raphinha created Barca’s second for teenage star Yamal. Yamal claimed his second goal soon after the restart, winning and then converting a penalty for his seventh goal in four games across all competi tions. Andreas Christensen cleared Romero’s bobbling shot off the line but the forward capitalised on an Espart error to score a few minutes later and Brugue capital ised on a Marc Bernal error to net the second and create a tense finale. However, former

match, but with the result I’m happy.” Barcelona defender Eric Garcia said that the team relaxed a bit in the second half and it nearly cost them. “It was a hard game, we did make it harder for ourselves than it needed to be,” Garcia told Movistar . “But it has to teach us something – if you give any opponent a bit of breathing room they get on top of you.” The Catalans came flying out of the blocks at the Cituat de Valencia stadium, where Levante were unbeaten in eight matches prior. The visitors took the lead in

the fifth minute, with Levante barely touching the ball before Barca defender Espart found the net.

Kane on target as Bayern edge Elversberg

SHORTS Torres fires PSG to first win

FERRAN TORRES was on target as champions Paris Saint Germain finally got their Ligue 1 campaign up and running with a 1-0 win at Brest yesterday. Prior to their trip to Brittany, Luis Enrique’s double Champions League-winning side had managed just two points from their opening three matches in an uncharacter istically sluggish start to the league season. They began their quest to win a third consecutive Champions League title by thrashing Slovan Bratislava 6-1 on Wednesday and four days later they are now off the mark domestically thanks to new signing Torres. The close-season arrival from Barcelona, who scored the winning goal for Spain in the World Cup final this summer, netted a hattrick midweek and followed it up with a sumptu ous early strike at Brest’s Stade Francis-Le Ble. Torres now has six goals in five outings in all competitions for PSG. “What matters to me is always helping the team, regard less of how much playing time the coach decides to give me, and doing my part. Whether that’s through goals, assists, or my work on the pitch,” the 26-year-old said. Lowry captures Irish Open SHANE LOWRY won the Irish Open title in record-breaking style yesterday as US President Donald Trump watched the home hero’s triumph at his Doonbeg course. Lowry carded a final round total of 63 and finished 23 under for the tournament, securing victory by 11 strokes to end his four-year wait for another individual title. Lowry’s margin of victory at Doonbeg surpassed the pre vious tournament record set when Bernhard Langer won by 10 shots in Portmarnock 39 years ago. “This year has been quite difficult on the course for me. I had a few chances to win. To come here this week and do this... I just don’t do things in half-measures,” said Lowry, who shot a course record 62 on Friday. “I can’t believe I’m standing here on top of the leader board. A lot of things went right but this has been the most spectacular week for me. It’s just mad. I can’t believe it.” The 2019 British Open champion left Patrick Reed and Joaquin Niemann – who shared second place – trailing in his wake in a dominant display. Team Europe reclaim Solheim Cup TEAM EUROPE produced a dominant display in Sunday’s decisive singles to beat the United States and claim back the Solheim Cup after a dramatic three days of see-sawing for tunes. Playing in her first Solheim Cup, Lottie Woad held her nerve to drain the putt on the 17th green to give Europe an unassailable lead over the Americans and snatch back the trophy. The putt sparked wild scenes on the green as Woad was mobbed by her fellow players, cheered on by a raucous crowd at the first Solheim Cup hosted in the Netherlands. “I’m just really, really proud of the players for starting strong and also finishing strong,” said Europe’s team captain Anna Nordqvist, as the players drenched the manicured greens with champagne.

HARRY KANE scored his first goal of the season to help Bayern Munich edge to a 2 1 win at promoted Elversberg in the Bundesliga on Sunday. Handed the cap tain’s armband with skipper Manuel Neuer rested, Kane scored with 18 minutes remaining to break a 1-1 deadlock and put the defending champions on track for victory. Bayern had taken the lead through teenage Germany winger Lennart Karl but Elversberg levelled things up just after the hour

football – sometimes you have to wait more than you’d have expected. It was nice to get the goal and the three points. “It’s a tough place so we’re happy with the win… We probably haven’t reached our top level yet, but it’s still early days.” Earlier, RB Leipzig bounced back from their Champions League defeat at Como by thumping strug glers Hamburg 5-0 at home. Norway winger Antonio Nusa was the best of the bunch for the hosts, scoring one goal and setting up two more, including one for Christopher Nkunku, the French winger’s first since returning to Leipzig in August. Tidiam Gomis, Willi Orban and Romulo also got on the scoresheet for Leipzig, who climbed to fifth with the victory. “It’s easy to look into the past too much. You lost two games. It’s dif ficult, but you have to look for ward,” Nusa told reporters. “Today we had to perform and we did, so I think we had a good balance of not thinking too much of the past, but try ing to attack today and I think we did it.” – AFP

mark thanks to a stun ning curling effort from Maurice Krattenmacher.

Kane scored 36 league goals last campaign but

after drawing a blank in his first two matches he told DAZN : “That’s

Bayern’s Harry Kane (right) and Elversberg’s Lukasz Poreba in action during Sunday’s Bundesliga match. – REUTERSPIC

Sassuolo stun Juve, Lobotka stars for Napoli

SASSUOLO midfielder Vasilije Adzic scored a last-gasp winner against his parent club to consign Juventus to their first defeat of the season after a five-goal thriller yester day, while Napoli broke a three-match los ing streak to beat Bologna. Edon Zhegrova twice drew Juve level at the Mapei Stadium, including scoring within two minutes of Kieron Bowie’s 89th minute strike, but the Turin club were caught on the counter as Adzic steered home the winner with the last kick of the game. The 20-year-old Montenegrin, who joined Sassuolo on loan from Juventus in the summer, sealed a victory that sent his side level with the Bianconeri on seven points. “The team could have won it in the final minutes. They deserved to turn things

up just three points from their first three league games – the club’s worst start in 11 years – before a midweek Champions League defeat to Arsenal. Napoli moved up to 10th place on six points, while Bologna’s wait for a first win of the season goes on as they remained in 16th with one point from four games. “The results didn’t come because we lacked a bit of anger,” Allegri said. “Today too, we conceded some crosses late in the first half where we could have paid for it. “We need to improve on this aspect. With the same anger and desire, I don’t know how the game would have ended against Inter and Como (3-2 and 2-1 losses).” Earlier, Lecce beat winless Monza 3-2 for their second victory of the season to move into 11th place. – AFP

around, but they lost their balance by attacking with eight players,” Juventus coach Luciano Spalletti told DAZN . “The players tried to go for the win and I encouraged them. But perhaps they fol lowed my instructions to the letter too much. Too many of them went forward to win it. “But we also have to take the positive side of this. It all stems from the desire to go and finish the game.” Napoli’s losing run came to an end as Stanislav Lobotka scored to earn a 1-0 Serie A win over Bologna and ease pressure on coach Massimiliano Allegri. The Slovakian playmaker’s cushioned volley midway through the second half sealed a deserved win for the hosts in Naples. It was badly needed after Napoli picked