Fernando Torres scored twice as Atletico Madrid ended Real Madrid’s defense of the Copa del Rey title with a 2-2 draw on Thursday, maintaining their dominance over their crosstown rival this season.
Atletico advanced 4-2 on aggregate and will play Barcelona in the quarterfinals after they won 4-0 at Elche to progress 9-0 over both legs.
Torres stunned the Santiago Bernabeu by striking from Antoine Griezmann’s pass seconds into the Spanish capital derby.
Sergio Ramos made it 1-1 soon after, but Atletico hung on until Griezmann set up Torres for his second goal just after the half-time restart.
Cristiano Ronaldo leveled the score again in an otherwise subdued night that he began by parading his Ballon d’Or trophy, leaving Real needing three more goals in 36 minutes to advance.
“Scoring so early set us on our way,” Torres said. “I’m happy for our fans who have come, and for scoring my first two goals in my return at a ground I had never scored at.”
Since losing last season’s Champions League final to Real, Diego Simeone’s team has beaten their main rivals in the Spanish Super Cup, the league, and the Copa del Rey.Their record against Real is now four wins, three draws, and three losses since it broke a 14-year, 25-match winless streak with a victory in the 2013 Copa del Rey final.
“We have eliminated the best team in the world,” Simeone said.
Madrid continued to sputter with only one win in four matches since finishing 2014 on a Spanish record 22-win streak.
“Losing is never good, but you always have to be positive,” said Ronaldo. “The team is going to improve and we are alive in the Spanish league and the Champions League. Real is the biggest club in the world and always wants to win, although sometimes you have to take a step backward to later take two forward.”
Hyped for a comeback, the Real faithful greeted Atletico’s bus with a sea of raucous supporters that Spanish police had to part with officers on horseback.
The atmosphere inside was equally charged, but Atletico needed only 50 seconds to silence the crowd, except for the red-and-white contingent which exploded in rapture when Torres got his first goal in three games since returning to his boyhood club.
Siqueira intercepted Ramos’ long ball, and three quick passes launched Griezmann on the break. He flew by Pepe and put his cross past Ramos for Torres to score a left-footed volley.
Real now needed four goals to go through, and they found their first in the 20th when Torres fouled Ronaldo to set up a Toni Kroos free kick that Ramos headed in after goalkeeper Jan Oblak fell.
The hosts continued to bombard Atletico’s area with crosses and long-range shots, as the defending league champions dug in until half-time.
The second half started with another erred pass by Ramos that Griezmann latched onto before dribbling into the box and laying on for Torres, who cut back to bring Pepe to his knees before squeezing the ball under goalie Keylor Navas to crush Real’s hopes.
Ronaldo got his goal when he slipped around Diego Godin to nod in Gareth Bale’s short cross.
Atletico, however, were in control the rest of the way, with Koke and substitute Arda Turan keeping possession as Real faded.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique left Lionel Messi and most of his first-choice players out of the squad to face Elche with the tie already all but won. And it made little difference as goals by Jeremy Mathieu, Sergi Roberto, Pedro Rodriguez and Adriano saw Barca safely through.
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Day 4, Dubai Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Lahiru Gamage appeared to have been hard done by when he had his dismissal of Sami Aslam chalked off for a no-ball. Replays suggested he had not overstepped. No matter. Two balls later, the exact same combination – Gamage the bowler and Kusal Mendis at second slip – combined again to send Aslam back.
Stat of the day Haris Sohail took three wickets for one run in the only over he bowled, to end the Sri Lanka second innings in a hurry. That was as many as he had managed in total in his 10-year, 58-match first-class career to date. It was also the first time a bowler had taken three wickets having bowled just one over in an innings in Tests.
The verdict Just 119 more and with five wickets remaining seems like a perfectly attainable target for Pakistan. Factor in the fact the pitch is worn, is turning prodigiously, and that Sri Lanka’s seam bowlers have also been finding the strip to their liking, it is apparent the task is still a tough one. Still, though, thanks to Asad Shafiq and Sarfraz Ahmed, it is possible.
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
EU Russia
The EU imports 90 per cent of the natural gas used to generate electricity, heat homes and supply industry, with Russia supplying almost 40 per cent of EU gas and a quarter of its oil.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Brahmastra%3A%20Part%20One%20-%20Shiva
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAyan%20Mukerji%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERanbir%20Kapoor%2C%20Alia%20Bhatt%20and%20Amitabh%20Bachchan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The biog
DOB: March 13, 1987
Place of birth: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia but lived in Virginia in the US and raised in Lebanon
School: ACS in Lebanon
University: BSA in Graphic Design at the American University of Beirut
MSA in Design Entrepreneurship at the School of Visual Arts in New York City
Nationality: Lebanese
Status: Single
Favourite thing to do: I really enjoy cycling, I was a participant in Cycling for Gaza for the second time this year
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Genesis G80 2020 5.0-litre Royal Specs
Engine: 5-litre V8
Gearbox: eight-speed automatic
Power: 420hp
Torque: 505Nm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.4L/100km
Price: Dh260,500
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20myZoi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Syed%20Ali%2C%20Christian%20Buchholz%2C%20Shanawaz%20Rouf%2C%20Arsalan%20Siddiqui%2C%20Nabid%20Hassan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2037%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Initial%20undisclosed%20funding%20from%20SC%20Ventures%3B%20second%20round%20of%20funding%20totalling%20%2414%20million%20from%20a%20consortium%20of%20SBI%2C%20a%20Japanese%20VC%20firm%2C%20and%20SC%20Venture%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Australia squads
ODI: Tim Paine (capt), Aaron Finch (vice-capt), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye.
T20: Aaron Finch (capt), Alex Carey (vice-capt), Ashton Agar, Travis Head, Nic Maddinson, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Andrew Tye, Jack Wildermuth.
Du Football Champions
The fourth season of du Football Champions was launched at Gitex on Wednesday alongside the Middle East’s first sports-tech scouting platform.“du Talents”, which enables aspiring footballers to upload their profiles and highlights reels and communicate directly with coaches, is designed to extend the reach of the programme, which has already attracted more than 21,500 players in its first three years.
