1. Brilliant Barcelona blow Chelsea away in Gothenburg final
Football
Chelsea boss Emma Hayes was gracious in defeat after her side were beaten 4-0 by Barcelona in the Uefa Women’s Champions League final last night. The Spaniards opened the scoring after just 33 seconds and were 4-0 up inside 36 minutes in Gothenburg.
After winning the FA Women’s Super League and League Cup, Chelsea were looking to add a third trophy this season, but Barca’s quickfire start meant the final “was over before it began”, said Hayes.
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“It’s been a wonderful season for us, today was difficult because the game was over before it began and that’s what is so difficult to reflect on,” she told BT Sport. “Congratulations to Barcelona, they’re worthy winners, deserving of their title and it’s something we will learn from because this is the next step up. We showed some naivety at times in situations.”
The victory means Barcelona have become the first club to win both the men’s and women’s Champions League.
2. ‘Awesome’ Tielemans secures Leicester’s first FA Cup
Football
It was also a tough weekend for Chelsea’s men’s team as they were beaten 1-0 by Leicester City in the FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday. Leicester won their first ever FA Cup thanks to a magnificent long-range strike by Youri Tielemans in the 63rd minute.
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Man-of-the-match Tielemans worked tirelessly in the midfield and his goal will go down as an “all-time classic”, said The Guardian’s Paul Doyle. “The goal encapsulated Tielemans’ qualities: awesome power, impeccably dispensed”.
In the race for Champions League qualification, third-placed Leicester travel to four-placed Chelsea in the Premier League tomorrow night (8.15pm).
3. Perfect ten for Nadal in Italy
Nadal bites the Italian Open trophy after defeating Djokovic
(Image credit: Filippo Monteforte/AFP via Getty Images)
Tennis
Rafael Nadal secured his tenth Italian Open title with a 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 victory over world No.1 Novak Djokovic yesterday. The win in Rome was Nadal’s 57th “Big Title” and moves him within two of Djokovic’s record of 59.
“It’s a very satisfying [victory],” said Nadal. “It’s amazing [to] have the trophy with me again one more time here in Rome. The tenth, I really wanted this tenth here in Rome. It was one of the first important titles that I won in my career. After achieving ten in Roland Garros, ten in Monte-Carlo, ten in Barcelona, I really wanted this one.”
Defending champion Nadal will be aiming for a 14th career title at the French Open in Paris. The clay-court grand slam begins on 30 May at Roland Garros.
The new schedule for the British & Irish Lions’s summer tour of South Africa has been confirmed. Warren Gatland’s squad will play five warm-up matches before taking on the Springboks in three Tests.
All eight games will be played in Gauteng or Cape Town and this is to “minimise the risks of disruption that could be caused by the Covid-19 pandemic”. SA Rugby will organise all scheduled tour games “on the basis they will take place behind closed doors”, a statement said.
Before travelling to South Africa the Lions will take on Japan in the Vodafone Lions 1888 Cup at BT Murrayfield Stadium on 26 June.
Fixtures: Lions tour of South Africa 2021
Saturday 3 July: Emirates Lions vs. British & Irish Lions (Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg; 5pm BST)
Wednesday 7 July: Cell C Sharks vs. British & Irish Lions (Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg; 7pm BST)
Saturday 10 July: Vodacom Bulls vs. British & Irish Lions (Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria; 5pm BST)
Wednesday 14 July: South Africa ‘A’ vs. British & Irish Lions (Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town; 7pm BST)
Saturday 17 July: DHL Stormers vs. British & Irish Lions (Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town; 5pm BST)
Saturday 24 July: 1st Test - Springboks vs. British & Irish Lions (Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town; 5pm BST)
Saturday 31 July: 2nd Test - Springboks vs. British & Irish Lions (FNB Stadium, Johannesburg; 5pm BST)
Saturday 7 August: 3rd Test - Springboks vs. British & Irish Lions (FNB Stadium, Johannesburg; 5pm BST)
5. ‘Massive news’: Fury announces Joshua date
(Image credit: DAZN)
Boxing
Tyson Fury has announced some “massive news” on Twitter - his all-British heavyweight bout against Anthony Joshua will take place on 14 August in Saudi Arabia.
In a video the 32-year-old said: “I have just got off the phone with Prince Khalid of Saudi Arabia and he told me this fight is 100% on August 14. I cannot wait, I repeat, cannot wait to smash Anthony Joshua on the biggest stage of all-time. This is going to be the biggest sporting event ever to grace the planet Earth. Do not miss it.”
For the first time in the history of boxing all four heavyweight belts will be up for grabs. Fury holds the WBC belt while Joshua is the WBA, WBO and IBF champion.
Mike Starling is the former digital features editor at The Week. He started his career in 2001 in Gloucestershire as a sports reporter and sub-editor and has held various roles as a writer and editor at news, travel and B2B publications. He has spoken at a number of sports business conferences and also worked as a consultant creating sports travel content for tourism boards. International experience includes spells living and working in Dubai, UAE; Brisbane, Australia; and Beirut, Lebanon.
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