European football: Celta fight back to stun Barcelona; Inter thrash Verona

  • Barça blow two-goal lead after Marc Casadó is sent off
  • Simeone wins 700th game at Atléti; Inter 5-0 Verona

Celta Vigo fought back with two late goals in quick succession to hold Barcelona to an-action-packed 2-2 draw. It looked as though Barça were cruising towards victory after the La Liga leaders opened a two-goal lead thanks to strikes by Raphinha in the first half and by Robert Lewandowski after an hour’s play, but the script changed when Marc Casadó was sent off due to a second yellow card for a foul in the 82nd minute.

With Barcelona down to 10 men, the home side piled on the pressure and managed to score twice, through Alfonso González then Hugo Álvarez in the 84th and 86th minutes respectively.

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Jannik Sinner overpowers Alex de Minaur to put Italy into Davis Cup final

  • Italy beat Australia 2-0 in repeat of last year’s final
  • They will face Netherlands, who beat Germany 2-0

Italy moved into the Davis Cup final after a 2-0 win over Australia on Saturday as Jannik Sinner defeated Alex de Minaur in straight sets to follow up Matteo Berrettini’s victory over Thanasi Kokkinakis for the defending champions.

A repeat of last year’s final ended with the same result and with Sinner, the world No 1, again seeing off De Minaur. That sent Italy into Sunday’s final where they will meet the Netherlands, who have reached the decider for the first time after a 2-0 win over Germany.

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France see off Argentina to round off their perfect autumn

  • France 37-23 Argentina
  • Les Bleus run in four tries for third straight victory

France wrapped up their Autumn Nations Series in style with a 37-23 victory against Argentina for their third win in as many Tests at the Stade de France.

Six days after beating New Zealand 30-29, Fabien Galthié’s side were never in real trouble against the Pumas, with a penalty try and tries by Thibaud Flament, Gabin Villière and Louis Bielle-Biarrey while Thomas Ramos had another perfect kicking day with 15 points.

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‘I started crying’: emotional Jorge Martín clinches MotoGP world title

  • Spaniard wins by 10 points after third-place finish
  • Francesco Bagnaia earns victory in Solidarity Grand Prix

Prima Pramac Racing’s Jorge Martín was crowned the 2024 MotoGP world champion after he finished third at Sunday’s season-ending Solidarity Grand Prix, which was won by his title rival Francesco Bagnaia of Ducati.

Martín led by 19 points heading into the final race of the season and the Spaniard needed to finish in the top nine to clinch the title if the polesitter and double champion Bagnaia won the race. Gresini Racing’s Marc Márquez finished second in Barcelona. The original venue was Valencia, but it was changed after the recent floods.

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Darcy Graham equals record as Scotland run in nine tries despite Portugal grit

  • Autumn Nations Series: Scotland 59-21 Portgual
  • Wing takes try total to 29 in 41 appearances

Wing Darcy Graham equalled the record for the most tries for Scotland as they ran in a total of nine in a dominant 59-21 victory over Portugal in their Test at Murrayfield on Saturday.

Graham scored the third of Scotland’s five first-half tries to bring his total to 29 in 41 international appearances and equal Duhan van der Merwe’s record.

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Monaco Grand Prix’s long-term future resolved with F1 extension until 2031

  • Race remains on F1 calendar after six-year deal agreed
  • Contest has been part of motor sport scene since 1950

Formula One’s iconic Monaco Grand Prix will remain on the calendar until at least 2031 after a six-year extension was announced on Thursday, with a date change to June that also avoids future clashes with the Indianapolis 500.

The race around the streets of Monte Carlo was part of the first world championship season in 1950 and has been present since, with the exception of 2020 during the global pandemic.

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South Korean president practising golf to prepare for future meetings with Donald Trump

It is estimated that Trump played hundreds of rounds of golf during his first term as president of the United States

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is practising golf – for the first time in eight years – in preparation for future meetings with US president-elect Donald Trump, Yoon’s office has confirmed.

South Korean media said Yoon had visited a golf course on Saturday for a sport his office said he had last played in 2016.

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US tennis analyst taken off-air for derogatory comment about Barbora Krejcikova

  • Tennis Channel removes Jon Wertheim from WTA Finals line-up
  • Wertheim sorry for being ‘neither professional nor charitable’

American journalist Jon Wertheim has been removed as an on-air analyst for the Tennis Channel for a derogatory comment he made about Barbora Krejcikova’s forehead.

Covering the WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Wertheim said in a statement on Sunday that his comment “inadvertently” made it on air after he joined the Tennis Channel broadcast via Zoom.

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European football: Barcelona suffer shock defeat against Real Sociedad

  • Roma sack coach Ivan Juric after just 12 games in charge
  • Scott McTominay scores as Napoli hold Inter 1-1

Barcelona suffered a shock 1-0 La Liga defeat at Real Sociedad on Sunday that ended their seven-match winning streak in all competitions as Sheraldo Becker scored for the Basque side in the first half. It was also notable as it was the first time since September 2014 that Barça had failed to get a shot on target in a league game.

The league leaders got their first taste of defeat in over a month and only their second in their domestic season after they were dominated throughout the match by the home side, who wasted several chances. Becker’s strike in the 33rd minute was enough to secure Real Sociedad the win as he beat the offside trap to race on to a Luka Sucic header before slotting a tidy finish just inside the post.

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Zheng extends dream WTA Finals debut by thrashing Paolini to reach last four

  • Zheng Qinwen defeats Italian opponent 6-1, 6-1 in Riyadh
  • Chinese player is youngest to reach semi-finals since 2011

China’s Zheng Qinwen reached the semi-finals of the WTA Finals in Riyadh after claiming an impressive 6-1, 6-1 win over Italian fourth seed Jasmine Paolini. In her WTA Finals debut, the 22-year-old became the youngest player to reach the semi-finals since Petra Kvitova in 2011.

The seventh seed fired 12 aces in a dominant performance, recording her 30th win from 34 matches since Wimbledon. “It’s one of the best performances I had during this year,” she said on court. “Really good percentage of first serves. I enjoyed a lot tonight to play here.”

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New Zealand beat India again to romp to historic 3-0 Test series win

  • Ajaz Patel claims 6-57 as hosts fail to chase 146 in Mumbai
  • India slump to first home series defeat since 2012

New Zealand completed an unprecedented 3-0 series sweep in India as the Black Caps dismissed the hosts for 121 on a tricky wicket to secure a 25-run victory on day three of the third and final test in Mumbai on Sunday.

The last time India were blanked at home was in 2000, in a two-match series against South Africa, and Rohit Sharma’s side will be feeling the pressure ahead of a challenging five-match series against Australia starting later this month.

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European football: Simeone criticises playing in Spain after floods disaster

  • ‘It doesn’t make any sense,’ says Atlético Madrid manager
  • Harry Kane scores two as Bayern beat Union Berlin

The Atlético Madrid manager, Diego Simeone, said on Saturday it made no sense to play this weekend after catastrophic floods swept through parts of Spain.

The deadliest flash floods in Spain’s modern history – and the second-deadliest European floods of the century – have killed at least 211 people and dozens are unaccounted for, four days after torrential rains swept the region of Valencia, the prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said on Saturday. The matches between Valencia and Real Madrid, along with Villarreal v Rayo Vallecano, are among several postponed after the floods.

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MotoGP title rivals ask organisers not to host season finale in flood-hit Valencia

  • Márquez, Martín and Bagnaia ask for change in venue
  • Valencia v Real Madrid La Liga fixture postponed

MotoGP riders on Thursday said it would be unethical to stage the season’s final race in Valencia, with the six-times champion Marc Márquez saying funds needed to go to people devastated by floods instead of being spent on repairs for the event. At least 140 people have been killed in the flooding.

“Ethically speaking, I don’t think it should be held,” Gresini Racing’s Márquez said of the race scheduled for 17 November. “Now [the organisers] have to meet and decide, but [if it were up to me] I would have already decided.

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Mario Balotelli returns to Serie A after four years to sign for struggling Genoa

  • 34-year-old striker joins as free agent
  • Genoa are third-bottom in the standings

Mario Balotelli has signed for Genoa as a free agent, the Serie A club said on Monday, marking a return to the Italian top-tier for the striker after more than four years.

Genoa, third from bottom in the standings, have scored just seven goals in nine league games. The club’s manager, Alberto Gilardino, will hope that the 34-year-old can add to the 52 goals he has netted in 141 Serie A games.

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European football: Yildiz double earns Juventus point in 4-4 thriller at Inter

  • PSG blitz Marseille with three-goal first half
  • Kane and Olise on target as Bayern Munich win 5-0

Piotr Zielinski converted two penalties for Inter as they played out a thrilling 4-4 draw with Juventus, for whom Kenan Yildiz scored a late brace, in Serie A on Sunday.

The five-goal opening half began with Marcus Thuram earning a penalty, which Zielinski converted to give Inter the lead after 15 minutes. Juve equalised five minutes later through Dusan Vlahovic and then took the lead with a strike from Timothy Weah, all within a six-minute span. After Henrikh Mkhitaryan equalised for Inter in the 35th minute, Zielinski scored his second from the penalty spot two minutes later, handing Inter a 3-2 lead going into the break.

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