Author: Reuters

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Barcelona fan ‘gutted’ at missing Newcastle game after going to wrong St James’ Park

  • Supporter ended up in Exeter, 366 miles away

  • League One club took pity and let him watch their game

A Barcelona fan’s navigation mishap turned into an unexpected adventure when he arrived at the wrong St James’ Park on Tuesday for a Champions League clash, ending up 366 miles from where his team were playing.

The Spanish fan, who had travelled from London expecting to watch Barcelona take on Newcastle in the first leg of the last-16 tie, instead found himself at the turnstiles of third-tier Exeter’s St James Park.

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Sabalenka powers past Osaka to reach Indian Wells quarter-finals

  • World No 1 wins 6-2, 6-4 against Japanese

  • Australian qualifier Talia Gibson stuns Paolini

Aryna Sabalenka eased past Naomi Osaka 6-2, 6-4 to reach the Indian Wells quarter-finals while the fourth seed, Alexander Zverev, progressed to the last eight in the men’s event.

Sabalenka and Osaka, both four-time grand slam title winners, were meeting for the first time since 2018, when the Japanese won at the US Open en route to her maiden major title, but the world No 1’s power proved too much for one of her predecessors.

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Pogacar makes it three in a row at Strade Bianche while Chabbey sprints to glory

  • Teenage French sensation Paul Seixas finishes second

  • Swiss wins women’s race in a thrilling finish

Tadej Pogacar won a record fourth Strade Bianche title as he made a triumphant start to his 2026 season, with the teenage French sensation Paul Seixas second. The world champion made a typically devastating long-range break around 80km from the finish, after which it was a procession to the line in Siena for his third win in a row.

In doing so, the four-time Tour de France winner proved once again that his appetite to triumph – and dominantly – has not diminished despite his myriad successes. One of the 27-year-old Slovenian’s main targets for this season comes in a week’s time at the Milan-San Remo one-day classic, one of only two of the five Monument races he is yet to win.

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Indian Wells Open: Russians delayed after travel disruptions caused by Middle East crisis

  • Medvedev and Rublev both miss pre-event exhibition

  • Challenger event in Dubai cancelled over security alert

The Russian tennis players Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev did not arrive at Indian Wells in time to participate in Tuesday night’s southern California exhibition event after they were among those affected by travel disruptions caused by the war on Iran.

The US and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran over the weekend and the conflict has led to airspace closures and widespread flight cancellations across parts of the Gulf, disrupting a key transit hub.

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Former Wallabies coach Rennie takes All Blacks job and targets World Cup glory

  • Rennie succeeds Scott Robertson in one of biggest jobs in rugby

  • ‘I’m really clear on the way I want the All Blacks to play,’ says coach

Dave Rennie has been named the new coach of the All Blacks and charged with taking New Zealand to a fourth World Cup triumph in Australia next year.

The 62-year-old former Wallabies coach beat out Jamie Joseph for one of the biggest jobs in world rugby after an extensive recruitment process that started when Scott Robertson stepped down in mid January after a critical review.

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India thrash Zimbabwe to revive T20 World Cup hopes and South Africa close on semis

  • Sharma and Pandya speed India towards 72-run win

  • Proteas’ Markram leads nine-wicket win over West Indies

A rampant India piled up a record total and handed Zimbabwe a 72-run shellacking in a Super 8s contest to revive their Twenty20 World Cup title defence. Sent in, the hosts blasted 256 for four, the tournament’s highest score this year, after Abhishek Sharma and Hardik Pandya struck blistering half-centuries.

It rained 17 sixes and as many fours at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium as India’s top order feasted on a modest Zimbabwean attack made even blunter by their sloppy catching.

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Champions League: Bodø/Glimt send Inter crashing out, Sørloth seals Atlético’s spot

  • Norwegian side win 2-1 in Milan to seal giant-killing upset

  • Atlético defeat Club Brugge; Bayer Leverkusen progress

Bodø/Glimt dumped last season’s finalists Inter out of the Champions League with a remarkable 2-1 win at San Siro in their playoff second leg that sent the Norwegian minnows through to the last 16, 5-2 on aggregate.

Under sustained pressure, the visitors struck in the 58th minute when Ole Didrik Blomberg seized on a loose pass on the edge of the Inter area and drove at goal. Yann Sommer pushed his shot away but Jens Petter Hauge reacted quickest to convert the rebound from close range.

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Australia wrap up failed T20 World Cup campaign with rapid win over Oman

  • Oman 104; Australia 108-1. Australia won by nine wickets

  • Victory completed with more than 10 overs to spare

Australia demolished Oman by nine wickets to win the final Twenty20 World Cup group encounter in Pallekele on Friday in emphatic style, . Both teams were already eliminated from the tournament.

Chasing a modest target of 105, Mitchell Marsh was in no mood to hang around and ruthlessly dispatched Oman’s bowlers, bringing up his half-century off 26 balls inside the first powerplay.

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Champions League roundup: PSG recover from terrible start to edge Monaco

  • Désiré Doué helps Paris side fight back for 3-2 first-leg win

  • Galatasaray stun 10-man Juve; Dortmund beat Atalanta

The Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain overcame a terrible start and a two-goal deficit to beat 10-man Monaco 3-2 in the first leg of their playoff tie. Désiré Doué came off the bench to engineer an impressive turnaround for PSG, who conceded a goal in the opening minute and were 2-0 down after 18 minutes as Folarin Balogun grabbed a double for the hosts.

The 20-year-old Doué replaced the Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé, who went off injured after 27 minutes, and proved decisive for the visitors as he struck two superb goals and set up one for Achraf Hakimi.

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Under-fire Australia left to rely on others to avoid humiliating exit at T20 World Cup

  • Selectors under fire after Steve Smith unused against Sri Lanka

  • Fate now rests with Ireland and Sri Lanka beating Zimbabwe

Australia’s aura as a white-ball heavyweight has all but petered out in the space of two disastrous defeats at the T20 World Cup where the absence of their champion fast bowlers has been ruthlessly exposed.

Following an abject 23-run defeat to world No 11 Zimbabwe, Australia crashed to an eight-wicket loss to co-hosts Sri Lanka in Kandy on Monday to be pushed to the brink of a humiliating exit.

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European football: Serie A referees’ chief apologises after controversial Kalulu red card

  • Juventus lost 3-2 in dramatic fashion away at Inter

  • Santos scores on debut to earn Napoli draw with Roma

Serie A’s referee designator Gianluca Rocchi said the match official Federico La Penna was “clearly wrong” in showing the Juventus defender Pierre Kalulu a second yellow card during Saturday’s loss at Inter, and apologised over the incident.

Kalulu was sent off after Inter’s Alessandro Bastoni tumbled to the ground and immediately gestured towards the referee demanding a card, indicating that Kalulu had grabbed his shirt to bring him down. Television footage suggested there was no contact between the players. Juventus, down to 10 men after the sending off, lost 3-2, meaning Inter are now eight points clear at the top.

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European football: PSG thrash Marseille and return to summit of Ligue 1

  • Dembélé doubles up in 5-0 mauling

  • Kane and Díaz on target in Bayern win

Ousmane Dembélé struck twice as Paris Saint-Germain blew away bitter rivals Marseille on Sunday, reclaiming top spot in Ligue 1 with a crushing 5-0 victory at the Parc des Princes.

Dembélé opened the scoring after just 12 minutes and added a second before half-time as PSG delivered a real statement of intent going into the crucial months of the season.

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Los Angeles 2028 Olympic soccer tournaments to use MLS venues nationwide

  • Six venues outside of LA will be used for games

  • Men’s and women’s gold medal games set for Rose Bowl

Organizers of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics on Tuesday named six stadiums across the United States set to host matches in the men’s and women’s Olympic soccer tournaments, expanding the competition footprint well beyond southern California.

LA28 said group stage and knockout games will be played in New York, Columbus, Nashville, St Louis, San Jose and San Diego.

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Pakistan to play Twenty20 World Cup but will boycott game against India

  • Government gives approval to compete in tournament

  • Pakistan will not play India in Colombo on 15 February

Pakistan will boycott their Twenty20 World Cup match against India on 15 February, the Pakistan government said on Sunday while approving the team’s participation in the tournament.

“The government … grants approval to the Pakistan cricket team to participate in the World T20, however, the Pakistan cricket team shall not take the field in the match against India,” the post on the government’s X account said.

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