The sporting world marches on at pace with football clubs across Europe involved in midweek fixtures. The planned return of tennis action suffered a setback while there are still safety concerns as the NBA is set to return next month.
Here, glazia looks at some of the main talking points ahead of the midweek action.
Liverpool..An Inch Closer to The League Title
Liverpool edges closer to their first league title in 30 years after beating Crystal Palace 4-0. A win or draw for Chelsea against Manchester City on Thursday will see them crowned English champions for the first time in 30 years. After the goalless Merseyside derby at Everton on Sunday, they shook off the cobwebs in their first home game since the campaign was halted because of the coronavirus pandemic to beat Palace with an almost embarrassing ease.
Trent Alexander-Arnold was on target with a superb free-kick after 22 minutes and Mohamed Salah effectively settled the contest with a cool finish from Fabinho’s brilliant pass just before the break. Fabinho produced something even more special in the 54th minute when he drilled a magnificent rising right-foot finish past Wayne Hennessey from more than 30 yards.
Salah turned provider after 69 minutes with a slide-rule pass to Sadio Mane, who finished with precision as Liverpool’s superiority was stamped all over this game.
La Liga is Still a Two-Horse Race
Vinicius Junior and Sergio Ramos both scored delightful goals as Real Madrid returned to the top of La Liga by easing past Mallorca. Zinedine Zidane’s side are level on 68 points with Barcelona but lead by virtue of a better head-to-head record.
Brazilian Vinicius chipped in a first-half opener and Ramos curled home a brilliant free-kick in the second half. Real have seven games remaining and victory in all of them would guarantee their first title since 2017. Madrid visits Espanyol on Sunday, while Barcelona play at Celta Vigo on Saturday.
Real Mallorca’s forward; Luka Romero became the youngest player to make his La Liga debut after the 15-year-old came off the bench.
Inter, Lazio Slip Up in Italy Series A Title Race
Lazio and Inter Milan slipped up to hand an advantage to Juventus in the title race. Atalanta fought back from 2-0 down to beat Lazio 3-2 and ended the Biancocelesti’s 21-match Serie A, with an unbeaten run, with Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Ruslan Malinovskyi rockets. Lazio is now four points behind Serie A leader Juventus and four ahead of third-place Inter Milan, which again gave away a lead to draw 3-3 against Sassuolo.
This was a showdown between fourth and second, but also the most entertaining sides in Serie A, as La Dea had scored 74 goals and the Biancocelesti 60. When they met earlier this season, Lazio fought back from 3-0 down to claw a stoppage-time equaliser.
Inter Milan’s title hopes diminished further as it again dropped points from a leading position. Inter had fought back from a goal down to lead 2-1 at halftime and also led 3-2 with four minutes remaining before Giangiacomo Magnani levelled again for Sassuolo. The Nerazzurri have now lost 15 points this season from leading positions.
Djokovic Faces Backlash as COVID-19 Disrupts Adria Tour
The Adria Tour organised in the Balkan region by World No. 1 tennis player, Novak Djokovic ended in catastrophic circumstances after tennis players tested positive for coronavirus.
Four tennis players, including Djokovic, and a coaching staff tested positive for Covid-19 after featuring in the exhibition tennis tournament, aimed at helping raise funds for charity. The final of the Croatian leg, scheduled for Sunday was cancelled as well as the final leg in Bosnia.
It was revealed Grigor Dimitrov felt uncomfortable during his defeat to Borna Coric during the second leg of the Adria Tour in Zadar, Croatia. He was tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday after which it emerged Coric also contracted the novel coronavirus.
Djokovic has apologised but he has come under heavy criticism for putting some tennis players at harm’s way. As the head of ATP Players’ Council and one of the senior members of the tennis community, critics have said it was not right on Djokokvic’s part to invite his mates, mostly young ones, to the tournament amid the Covid-19 pandemic that has brought normal lives to a grinding halt across the globe.
The visuals and the after effects have caused a lot of anger in the tennis fraternity with the likes of Andy Murray and NIck Kyrgios slamming the organisers.
“Obviously it’s not surprising how many players have tested positive when you see the scenes and the images and the videos from the tournament and the players party with no social distancing in place,” Murray said
Laker’s Bradleys Oots Out of NBA’s Restart
Los Angeles Lakers will be without a starter when the National Basketball Association (NBA) season resumes, as guard Avery Bradley announced on Tuesday (June 23) that he will not join the team next month in Florida.
Bradley told ESPN that his decision was made out of concern for the health of his six-year-old son, Liam, who has dealt with respiratory problems. Bradley and his wife have three children.
After a four-month hiatus prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, the NBA will send the top 22 of its 30 teams to the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida. Training camp is due to run July 9-29 with games to commence on July 30.
“As committed to my Lakers teammates and the organisation as I am, I ultimately play basketball for my family,” Avery Bradley said, per ESPN.
“So, at a time like this, I can’t imagine making any decision that might put my family’s health and well-being at even the slightest risk.