Bangalore defeat Delhi by 16 runs

Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Delhi Capitals by 16 runs in their Indian Premier League match here on Saturday, The Indian Express reported.

Dinesh Karthik smashed an unbeaten 66 off only 34 balls as Royal Challengers Bangalore scored 189 for five after being asked to bat first.

In reply, DC were restricted to 173 for seven after David Warner top-scored with a 66 off 38 balls. Among RCB’s bowlers, Josh Hazlewood finished with excellent figures of 3/29 in four overs, according to the Indian Express.

Karthik’s innings contained five fours and five sixes after being dropped on five by Rishabh Pant off Kuldeep Yadav’s delivery. Glenn Maxwell (55 off 34 balls) and Shahbaz Ahmed (32 not out off 21 balls) were the other notable scorers.

 Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Khaleel Ahmed and Kuldeep Yadav all got a wicket apiece, Indian Express reported.

Barcelona eliminated, West Ham advances in Europa League

Barcelona’s European campaign has gone from bad to worse in its first season post Lionel Messi.

First the Spanish powerhouse was eliminated from the lucrative Champions League, and now it has been knocked out of the second-tier Europa League by Eintracht Frankfurt.

The German team stunned Barcelona 3-2 at the Camp Nou to advance to the semifinals on a 4-3 aggregate score, Associated Press reported.

Barcelona was the title favorite, looking to win the one trophy not in its collection. It was playing for the first time in the Europa League and had never won its predecessor, the UEFA Cup, reaching the semifinals on four occasions but not getting to a final. Frankfurt won the UEFA Cup in 1980.

Frankfurt will next face West Ham after the Premier League club advanced to a European competition semifinals for first time since 1976 by eliminating Lyon 4-1 on aggregate, according to the Associated Press.

Earlier, Christopher Nkunku scored twice to help Leipzig reach its first semifinals in a European competition with a 2-0 victory at Atalanta.

Kemar Roofe scored in extra time for Rangers to prevail 3-1 over nine-man Braga for a 3-2 aggregate victory to face Leipzig next.

Leicester became the first team to advance to the semifinals of the inaugural Europa Conference League after coming from a goal down to beat PSV Eindhoven 2-1 in the Netherlands.

The Premier League team will next play Roma. With José Mourinho in charge, Roma is one of the favorites to win UEFA’s new third-tier competition. The Italian club got its revenge with a 4-0 victory over Norway’s Bodø/Glimt to make the semifinals 5-2 on aggregate, Associated Press reported.

Gujarat Titans outplay Rajasthan Royals by 37 runs

Hardik Pandya scored an unbeaten 87 while Lockie Ferguson and Yash Dayal picked up three wickets each as Gujarat Titans beat Rajasthan Royals to go top of the points table, Hindustan Times reported.

Jos Buttler scored a quick-fire half-century but Rajasthan Royals lost regular wickets with their risk-taking approach against Gujarat Titans in 193 chase at the DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai.

Devdutt Padikkal perished on duck, and Ashwin (8) and Sanju Samson (11) also fell cheaply. Buttler also walked back after scoring a 24-ball 54 and Rajasthan eventually managed to score just 155 in 20 overs.

Earlier, Hardik's unbeaten knock of 87 helped Gujarat Titans post 192/4. He scored his second consecutive fifty while Abhinav Manohar scored 43 as the duo stitched an 86-run partnership to guide the team to a challenging total, according to Hindustan Times.

While Hardik’s 52-ball knock was studded with eight fours and four sixes, Manohar struck four fours and two maximums.

David Miller (31 not out off 14) also provided a late flourish to power the IPL debutants to their highest score of the tournament, Hindustan Times reported.

 

Liverpool in Champions League semis, quadruple dreams alive

A place in the Champions League semifinals secured. The dream of an unprecedented quadruple of trophies still intact. Key players rested amid a hectic schedule, Associated Press reported.

Liverpool is in a good place entering the home straight of what could turn out to be the club’s greatest ever season.

Even conceding two late goals to draw 3-3 at home to Benfica couldn’t take the smile of Jurgen Klopp’s face.

“The day we qualify for the semifinals of the Champions League and I’m not happy, please come here and knock me out,” the Liverpool manager said Wednesday after seeing his team advance from the quarterfinals 6-4 on aggregate.

With Liverpool inflicting significant damage by winning the first leg 3-1 in Lisbon last week, Klopp was confident enough to rest stars like Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold for a return match against Benfica that turned into a wild, end-to-end contest at Anfield, according to the Associated Press.

Roberto Firmino’s second-half double put Liverpool 3-1 ahead on the night and 6-2 ahead on aggregate, only for Klopp’s team to ease off the pace. Benfica took advantage by getting behind Liverpool’s makeshift defense to score through substitute Roman Yaremchuk and rising star Darwin Núñez, but the gap was too much to make up.

“It was pretty comfortable,” Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson said, “but we’re disappointed with the goals we conceded.”

Ultimately, Liverpool has coasted into the last four of Europe’s top club competition and is there for the 12th time — tying the record for an English team with Manchester United — and the first since the last of its six title triumphs in 2019.

Villarreal awaits Liverpool in the last four. Despite the Spanish team eliminating both Juventus and Bayern Munich and its coach, Unai Emery, being a master strategist of European competitions, it’s pretty much a dream scenario for Klopp and his team, Associated Press reported.

The quadruple of major trophies might really be on for Liverpool, already the winner of the English League Cup, currently in second place in Premier League — just a point behind Manchester City — and into the semifinals of the FA Cup.

That Klopp was able to rotate so heavily against Benfica — even Andrew Robertson and Fabinho had the night off — should enable Liverpool to field a full-strength team against Man City in the FA Cup semifinals at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.

City wasn’t in such a luxurious position Wednesday, taken all the way by Atletico Madrid in the Spanish capital where a 0-0 draw sealed a 1-0 aggregate victory. City, which will face Real Madrid in the semifinals, saw Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker go off with injuries in an often brutal game against Atletico, on the same night Klopp kept his best players fresh and relied on his backups.

Ibrahima Konaté was one of them and he followed up his goal in the first leg — his first both for Liverpool and in the Champions League — with another header to open the scoring off Kostas Tsimikas’ outswinging corner, according to the Associated Press.

Gonçalo Ramos made it 1-1 in the 32nd minute — keeping Benfica in with the unlikeliest of chances — with a goal that had a hint of fortune about it. The ball ricocheted to the 20-year-old forward from a tackle by Liverpool midfielder James Milner and his finish from the edge of the area was emphatic past Alisson.

Firmino is no longer first choice for Liverpool following the arrivals of Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz but the Brazil striker staked his claim for a starting spot in the team’s big upcoming games with a double in the space of 10 minutes.

His first goal came after mistakes from goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos, who fumbled as he attempted to gather a through-ball, and center back Jan Vertonghen, who hurried his resulting clearance. Jota drove the ball back into the middle of the area and Firmino applied the finish in the 55th.

The Brazilian volleyed in Tsimikas’ free kick to make it 3-1 but Liverpool let Benfica back into the match.

“We were 6-2 up on aggregate and maybe we relaxed,” Jota said, Associated Press reported.