Ronaldo apologises after mobile phone incident following Man United loss
Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo has apologised after he appeared to knock a mobile phone out of a supporter’s hand following his side’s 1-0 defeat at Everton on Saturday, Reuters reported.
Footage emerged on social media of Ronaldo appearing to swipe his hand towards the ground as he walked off the pitch and headed for the tunnel at Goodison Park. Eyewitnesses said the 37-year-old had knocked a fan’s phone out of their hand and it smashed to the ground.
Ronaldo took to Instagram to apologise for the incident, according to Reuters.
“It’s never easy to deal with emotions in difficult moments such as the one we are facing,” Ronaldo said. “Nevertheless, we always have to be respectful, patient and set the example for all the youngsters who love the beautiful game.
“I would like to apologise for my outburst and, if possible, I would like to invite this supporter to watch a game at Old Trafford as a sign of fair-play and sportsmanship.”
The club have told Reuters they are looking into the incident.
The defeat left United seventh in the Premier League standings and they face the prospect of missing out on qualification for next season’s Champions League as they are six points adrift of fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur, Reuters reported.
Bangalore defeat Mumbai by 7 wickets
Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Mumbai Indians by seven wickets in an IPL match here on Saturday, The Indian Expresa reported.
Invited to bat, Rohit Sharma (26) and Ishan Kishan (26) added 50 runs off 38 balls but MI suffered a collapse to slump to 62 for 5. However, Suryakumar Yadav (68) hit a rearguard unbeaten fifty to lift MI to a respectable 151 for six.
In reply, RCB chased down the target, scoring 152 for 3 in 18.3 overs, riding on a half-century from Anuj Rawat (66) and Virat Kohli (48 not out), according to The Indian Express.
De Kock shines as Lucknow Super Giants beat Delhi Capitals by six wickets
It was a brilliant show by South Africa's Quinton de Kock, who slammed 80 off just 52 balls as Lucknow Super Giants registered their third-successive win of the season, defeating Delhi Capitals by six wickets, Hindustan Times reported.
Chasing a 150-run target, LSG made a bright start -- thanks largely to De Kock, whose 19-run over against Anrich Nortje turned the tide in LSG's favour.
Even as KL Rahul (24) and Evin Lewis (3) were dismissed in quick succession, De Kock continued on his strong outing and steered the side in the run-chase.
When he fell, LSG required 28 runs off 25 deliveries and even as Mustafizur Rahman and Shardul Thakur conceded only 9 runs in the next two overs, Ayush Badoni kept his calm to steer the LSG to win, according to Hindustan Times.
Earlier, Prithvi Shaw slammed 61 but the rest of the batting lineup failed to step up as LSG restricted DC to 149/3.
Benzema hat-trick gives Real Madrid 3-1 win at Chelsea
A hat-trick by veteran striker Karim Benzema, including two fine headed goals in the space of three first-half minutes, earned Real Madrid a 3-1 win at reigning European champions Chelsea in their Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday, Reuters reported.
Benzema, 34, claimed his hat-trick when he pounced on an error by Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy just after halftime to put the Spaniards in control of the tie before Tuesday’s second leg in Madrid.
Kai Havertz had restored some hope to the Blues when he headed in an angled pass from Jorginho in the 40th minute to make it 2-1.
But Chelsea’s chances of a comeback were undone by Mendy’s mistake in the 46th minute when, outside his box, he tried to pass to Antonio Rudiger only for Benzema to intercept and steer the ball into an empty net for his 37th goal of the season.
The France striker rocked Chelsea when he converted pinpoint crosses with headers, first from Vinicius Jr from the left in the 21st minute and then from Luka Modric on the right in the 24th, leaving Mendy with no chance on either occasion.
Benzema had looked certain to claim his hat-trick just before halftime but he fired wide with Chelsea’s usually rock-solid defence looking ragged.
“They’re very important goals. I’m happiest to have scored the third as I missed one in the first half and I was thinking about that chance because it’s very important to score goals. Then I got another and I’m very happy,” Benzema told Spanish television, according to Reuters.
“Today we came out to win, to show we’re Real Madrid. Things worked out well for us as we played well, from the first minute to the last.”
The Spaniards were seeking revenge after the Londoners eliminated them in last season’s semi-finals before the Blues won the trophy in Porto.
There was an early warning sign for the Londoners when Vinicius Jr cracked a shot against the bar in the 10th minute.
Chelsea sought to fight back in the second half with the best chance falling to substitute Romelu Lukaku – Chelsea’s record signing who has struggled to fit in at Stamford Bridge – but he headed narrowly wide as a deflected ball dropped to him on the edge of the six-yard box in the 69th minute.
In the dying moments, Hakim Ziyech, also on as a sub, fired over from 13 yards.
Real – who have been crowned European champions 13 times but had never previously beaten Chelsea – are now in pole position to advance into the semi-finals to face either Manchester City or crosstown rivals Atletico Madrid.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, who spent two years as Chelsea head coach and led the Blues to the Premier League and FA Cup double in the 2009/10 season, hailed his team’s control of the game and the danger they posed on the counterattack, Reuters reported.
“It was a good night but it is only the first half of this round,” he was quoted as saying by the BBC.
Chelsea’s defeat adds to a sense of turmoil with the club put up for sale by Roman Abramovich after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special military operation.”
The Russian billionaire has been sanctioned by the British government.
Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel said his team had been way off the levels he expects.
“You cannot expect a result from this kind of performance,” he told reporters.