Bayern stay strong to complete quadruple with Super Cup win

Bayern Munich beat Sevilla 2-1 after extra time on Thursday (Sep 24) to lift the UEFA Super Cup and complete a quadruple under coach Hansi Flick, in the first European game played with fans in the stands since the sport returned amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Substitute Javi Martinez, in possibly his last game for Bayern, headed the winner in the 104th minute after Europa League winners Sevilla had taken a 13th-minute lead through Lucas Ocampos’s penalty and Bayern levelled through Leon Goretzka in the 34th.

* Rafael Nadal, who is seeking a record-extending 13th French Open title, was handed a relatively tough path to this year’s final at Roland Garros when the draw was made on Thursday. The Spaniard will take on Bulgaria’s Egor Gerasimov in the first round and faces a potential last-eight clash with US Open runner-up Alexander Zverev, who has never made it past the quarter-finals at the claycourt Grand Slam.

* Mainz 05 players returned to training on Thursday after refusing to do so on Wednesday afternoon over the Bundesliga club’s decision to suspend forward Adam Szalai.

* Estonian teenager Lauri Suup was hauled off in what might have been the quickest substitution in the country’s soccer history as he exited Nomme Kalju FC’s 2-1 defeat by FCI Levadia after just 15 seconds on Sunday. With many squads in the Estonian top flight affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Suup was on the field for the kickoff. However, as soon as the ball went out for a throw-in he was replaced by Ukrainian midfielder Vladyslav Khomutov, one of only four substitutes on the Nomme Kalju bench.

* Hungary and UEFA will review the health impact of the Super Cup, Europe’s first major game open to fans amid the COVID-19 pandemic, to see if international matches can be held safely, the president of European soccer’s governing body said on Thursday.

* UEFA will continue to allow teams to make up to five substitutions each per match, instead of three, in the Champions League and Europa League this season, the European soccer governing body said on Thursday.

* Mexican Sergio Perez will miss out on an aerodynamic upgrade package at this weekend’s Russian Formula One Grand Prix after his Racing Point team were unable to provide enough parts for both cars. Team mate Lance Stroll was the only one of the two to have the upgrade at the previous Tuscan Grand Prix in Italy but the Canadian suffered a big crash, wrecking the new parts.

* Australian cyclist Amanda Spratt has been ruled out of this week’s UCI Road World Championships in Imola after failing to recover from injuries sustained in the Giro Rosa.

* Luis Suarez highlighted his close friendship with Lionel Messi as he bid a teary farewell to Barcelona on Thursday ahead of his move to La Liga title rivals Atletico Madrid. Messi had failed to dovetail with other top strikers such as Samuel Eto’o, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and David Villa but took no time at all to gel with Suarez, who became his best friend at the club as well as a prolific strike partner.

* Twice world champion Fernando Alonso said on Thursday he hoped to attend some races this year to help Renault with “anything they may need” before his Formula One comeback in 2021. The 39-year-old Spaniard, who last raced in F1 with McLaren in 2018, is returning for a third stint with the French manufacturer team.

* Fiorentina midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng has moved to Monza AC, the Italian second-tier club owned by former AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi, Italian media reported on Thursday. The 33-year-old player is the 11th move to the club in a busy transfer window aimed at supporting Monza in its quest for a second consecutive promotion to the top-flight league, after elevation to Serie B last season.

* Former McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh has been appointed to a commission set up by Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton to help increase the representation of Black people in British motorsport. The 14 board members were announced on Thursday in a joint statement by Hamilton and Britain’s Royal Academy of Engineering.

* Chelsea have signed Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy from French club Stade Rennes on a five-year deal, the Premier League side said on Thursday. Mendy played 33 games in all competitions for Rennes last season as they finished third in Ligue 1 to qualify for the Champions League.

* The European Tour has scrapped plans to allow a limited number of fans to attend the Scottish Open at the Renaissance Club in East Lothian next month due to the tightening of COVID-19 restrictions in the country. The Tour planned to allow 650 spectators per day for the Rolex Series tournament, which has been rescheduled from its usual July date to Oct. 1-4.

Source: Nhan Dan Online