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Friday 47 Sports Friday, January 19, 2018 Missed Messi penalty costs Barca in cup derby defeat Costa strike not enough as Sevilla down Atletico MADRID: Lionel Messi missed a penalty as Es- “This victory is important for the history of panyol struck in the dying moments to consign the club and to break down all those walls,” said Barcelona to their first defeat since August, 1-0 Espanyol coach Quique Sanchez Flores. “It was in the first leg of the Copa del Rey quarter-finals telling how long ago it had been since we’d won on Wednesday. Oscar Melendo slotted home a against Barcelona, now the counter is back zero neat finish with two minutes remaining of a tem- and we’re immensely happy about that.” peramental derby cup tie, racing onto Marc Navarro’s low cross to punish Messi for missing ATLETICO STUNNED a 62nd-minute penalty Diego Costa’s third and send the home goal in four matches crowd into raptures. wasn’t enough for “We knew this day Atletico Madrid as would come, we tried to Sevilla twice scored late delay it as much as pos- We knew to stun their hosts 2-1 in sible but it couldn’t be this day the first leg at the Wanda today,” said Sergio Bus- Metropolitano. Costa quets after the match. would come struck for dominant “The good thing is that Atletico on his first ap- we have the second leg pearance since being to try to mount a come- sent off for wildly cele- back. We are lucky to have that game at home, brating his last goal, in a 2-0 league win against and we will have to win whatever happens.” Getafe, this one a superb first-time shot past In a match of few chances Barca’s penalty, Sevilla keeper Sergio Rico after the ball rico- CORNELLA DE LLOBREGAT: Espanyol’s defender Didac Vila (L) and Espanyol’s goalkeeper Diego Lopez which came after a foul on Sergi Roberto, looked cheted to him in the 73rd minute. (R) vie with Barcelona’s defender Gerard Pique during the Spanish ‘Copa del Rey’ (King’s cup) quar- to be the decisive moment for the away side, but However Sevilla grabbed a hugely fortunate ter-final first leg football match between RCD Espanyol and FC Barcelona at†the RCDE Stadium in Cor- Espanyol keeper Diego Lopez dived superbly to and barely deserved equaliser seven minutes nella de Llobregat . — AFP his left to push Messi’s powerful shot wide. later when a speculative cross deflected off Navarro then came close to giving the hosts Atletico defender Lucas Hernandez and was the lead in the 83rd minute with a dipping free- then inexplicably pushed into his own net by minutes from time, Joaquin Correa racing on to in 17th place in La Liga and are just two points kick that forced an excellent save from Jasper keeper Miguel Angel Moya. Wissam Ben Yedder’s knock-on and tucking a above the relegation zone, but Goncalo Guedes Cillessen, before five minutes later setting up the New Sevilla coach Vincenzo Montella sealed fine finish past Moya. and Rodrigo scored in nine second-half minutes goal that gave Espanyol their first win over his third win since arriving in Spain-all of coming Valencia came close to being shocked at their to overturn Ruben Sobrino’s 66th-minute opener Barcelona in nearly nine years. them in the cup-with a much better goal two Mestalla stadium by Alaves, who are languishing for the away side. — AFP would also likely involve a £20 million sign- Man Utd set to ing-on fee and a £10 million agent’s fee. The Sun reports however that Arsenal could still refuse to allow Sanchez to leave if they do make Sanchez not find a replacement. Kuwait jumps 15 However, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger at yesterday’s press conference said highest-paid the deal was probably going to be done. “I spots in latest worked on transfers for 30 years so it is likely EPL player to happen but at any moment or minute FIFA ranking things can break down,” said Wenger. “As long as it’s not over the line you have to ac- LONDON: Manchester United are set to cept it may not happen. KUWAIT: Kuwait jumped 15 spots in the FIFA land Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal by making These kind of things are not guaranteed.” ranking following its participation in the 23rd Ara- him the Premier League’s highest paid player, Wenger, whose failure to keep key players bian Gulf Cup after its ban was lifted. The first according to several reports yesterday. The and perceived inability to replace them with FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking of 2018 ranks Chilean striker would earn between 400,000 similarly talented stars has seen support Kuwait in the 174th position, up from 189 in the and 500,000 pounds ($555,000 and drain away amidst sections of the club’s sup- previous ranking. The 15-spot leap is the biggest $690,000) a week before tax by moving to porters, said he had no problem with the jump in the latest FIFA ranking. Old Trafford, according to The Sun, the Daily amounts being mentioned in the press of Germany remain at the summit of a static top Telegraph and other newspapers. what United were prepared to pay two-time ten, while Iceland (20, up 2) are the only team to The 29-year-old’s wage demands are said Copa America winner Sanchez. “I respect enter the top 20, with the Netherlands (21, down 1) KUWAIT: Kuwaiti striker Abdullah Al-Buraiki re- to have scared off Manchester City and United because they generate the money dropping out. Croatia (15th, up 2) also made some acts after scoring a goal during the 23rd Ara- Chelsea, leaving United as his main suitors. they pay by their own resources,” said ground, and there were more substantial rises fur- bian Gulf Cup which concluded in Kuwait two The Daily Telegraph reported that United Wenger, who revealed German star Mesut ther down the order. Tunisia (23rd, up 4), for exam- weeks ago. — AFP have offered Sanchez a four-and-a-half-year Ozil would not be joining Sanchez in quitting ple, built on the gains made during their successful contract and he would move for a £30 million North London.”United is a club very well FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, while transfer fee it is relatively low because he managed financially and of course on the Kuwait, Sudan (124, up 12), and El Salvador (90, up (75, up 5) all reached their best-ever Ranking po- could leave for free at the end of the summer. pitch so that’s why I don’t have any problem 10) all registered double-digit jumps. Chinese sitions. The next FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking The deal for the former Barcelona player with the money they pay.” — AFP Taipei (134, up 1), Lebanon (84, up 1), and Palestine will be published on 15 February 2018..