Sports

BERLIN — Borussia Dortmund striker Niclas Fuellkrug is on the brink of a Champions League final appearance at Wembley, just two years after plying his trade in the German second division, heading into Tuesday’s semifinal second leg against Paris Saint-Germain.

The 31-year-old netted the only goal of last week’s first leg, giving Dortmund hope of a first final in the competition since losing to rivals Bayern Munich in 2013, also at Wembley.

Contrasted with the glamour of PSG and their hometown superstar Kylian Mbappe, the workmanlike Fuellkrug is cast in the image, not only of the current iteration of the team under Dortmund-born coach Edin Terzic, but the club’s broader identity itself.

While Dortmund remain underdogs against cash-rich PSG despite their slender advantage, Fuellkrug has experience in overcoming the odds.

A late bloomer who did not play Champions League football until this season, Fuellkrug’s hopes of reaching his full potential were undermined by a string of serious injuries.

Four times in his career he has missed more than half a season’s worth of games, most notably from 2019 to 2020 when he tore an anterior cruciate ligament.

Fuellkrug represented Germany consistently at youth level, but did not make his senior national team debut until 2022, when he was just three months shy of 30.

He has 11 goals in 15 games — a testament to his quality in a Germany side which has regularly failed to impress recently.

Fuellkrug joined Dortmund last August from Werder Bremen, where he had won the previous season’s Bundesliga top scorer trophy.

A Bremen academy product, Fuellkrug — nicknamed “Luecke” (Gap) for his missing front tooth — bounced around several clubs before returning in 2019. He played a key role in Bremen’s promotion back to the top flight in 2021-22.

With Euro 2024 on the horizon, Fuellkrug is Germany’s first-choice striker. He was the only member of Dortmund’s squad to get called up for the recent Germany friendlies by coach Julian Nagelsmann.

Former Juventus and Italy striker Alessandro Del Piero lavished praise on Fuellkrug after the PSG first leg, saying he was “on another level”.

“He’s not that fast, not that strong, but he’s so effective.

He’s underestimated,” Del Piero, now a TV pundit, told CBS.

“He’s a real threat in the penalty area. He’s a real striker.

“We saw his goal, but in the first half he has an opportunity to shoot, but he calmly gives the ball to Marcel Sabitzer. A wonderful pass.”

‘It means nothing yet’ 

While not many people expected either Dortmund or Fuellkrug to be in the Champions League semi-finals even a few months ago, the striker said he always believed in himself and the team.

“If I couldn’t imagine it, I don’t think I’d be here playing Champions League and playing for the national team,” he said.

“But I’m very happy to be here because we as a team deserve to be in the semi-finals.

“It’s good to be 1-0 up but it means nothing yet. We need to work well this week to be prepared for the second leg.”

Champions League winners Dortmund do have some experience of going deep in the competition.

Both Mats Hummels and Marco Reus, who announced on Friday he would leave the club at the end of the season, played for Dortmund in the 2013 final.

Niklas Suele was on the victorious Bayern Munich side which beat PSG in the 2020 showpiece.

The pressure will be on Paris on Tuesday.

The freshly crowned Ligue 1 champions’ main goal under their Qatari owners has been to lift Champions League, while Mbappe’s expected exit has raised the stakes.

A win or a draw in Paris will take Dortmund, who are fifth in the Bundesliga, through to the final, the next stop in an unlikely journey for both the club and their gap-toothed striker.

LOS ANGELES -- Anthony Edwards scored a play-off career-high 43 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves dominated defending champion Denver in the final minutes for a 106-99 victory in Saturday's NBA play-off series opener.

Edwards made 17-of-29 shots from the floor, 3-of-7 from 3-point range, and all six free throws for his third career 40-point play-off game.

"My teammates trust me in every position in critical moments in the game. I try to come through for them," Edwards said after Minnesota took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference second round series, which continues on Monday in Denver.

"It's tough here," Edwards said. "The altitude, their team, the crowd. I'm proud of my teammates. They came out and fought super-hard."

None delivered more in the clutch than NBA Sixth Man of the Year Naz Reid, who scored the first 10 Minnesota points in an 18-7 run to break an 84-84 deadlock. Reid scored 14 of his 16 points in the last quarter.

Anthony and his teammates kept the Nuggets at bay to the finish, with "Ant-Man" crediting his time with the 2023 US Basketball World Cup team with improving him this season.

"I put in work this summer," said Edwards. "Shout out to USA team. They got me ready for this season. I appreciate that."

Karl-Anthony Towns, whose foul trouble late led to Reid entering the game, scored 20 points while Mike Conley added 14 points, all in the second half, plus 10 assists and Rudy Gobert grabbed 13 rebounds.

"He has done a good job of finding us late in games and giving us confidence," Conley said of Edwards.

The Nuggets, who hadn't trailed in a play-off series in two years, were led by 32 points, nine assists and eight rebounds from two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic.

But the Serbian centre was pressured into a game-high seven turnovers and rushed into shots by an aggressive T-Wolves defensive effort.

"There's a lot we can clean up and get better at and we're going to have to," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. "Played no defence in the third and you can't just trade baskets with that team. There's a lot that we'll look at in the film and try and clean up."

Michael Porter Jr. added 20 points for Denver while Jamal Murray had 17, all in the second half after his first scoreless play-off half in 59 post-season contests.

"I think we'll be all right," said Porter.

Finch gets ideas across

Edwards scored 25 of Minnesota's 40 first-half points on 10-of-17 shooting, keeping the T-Wolves within 44-40 at halftime.

Edwards netted 16 first-quarter points, 11 of them in a 14-2 Minnesota run to start the contest.

"I just felt good," Edwards said. "My teammates found me on some easy layups. I've never gotten that many easy buckets so that was pretty fun."

But the Nuggets answered with a 21-3 spurt that put them ahead 25-23 after the first quarter, in which Jokic and Porter each scored nine points.

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch, who underwent surgery on Wednesday to repair a ruptured patellar tendon in his right knee, was seated a row behind the players in order to guide his club, even though assistant Micah Nori passed along most of his instructions.

"It went well in a not-ideal situation," Nori said. "It went as smooth as it possibly could have.

"Even though he's up a lot during games, he's not calling a lot of plays. He was great. We don't want to make it clunky, was the term he used, and we did a good job of that."

MADRID — Felix Auger-Aliassime said “it’s crazy times for the elite of our sport” as the Canadian benefitted from yet another retirement to set-up a Madrid Open final clash against Andrey Rublev on Friday.

Czech 30th seed Jiri Lehecka became the latest player to withdraw in the Spanish capital through injury, as he sustained a back problem and was forced to retire at 3-3 in the opening set of his semi-final against Auger-Aliassime.

Top seed Jannik Sinner withdrew ahead of his quarter-final with Auger-Aliassime, citing a hip injury, while Jakub Mensik also gave the Canadian free passage when he retired early in the second set of their third round.

The Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid has been dealt one blow after another, starting with the pre-event withdrawal of World No.1 Novak Djokovic.

After losing Sinner to injury, the tournament also saw its third seed bow out as Daniil Medvedev retired midway through his quarter-final with Lehecka on Thursday.

Carlos Alcaraz, meanwhile, announced on Friday he was withdrawing from next week’s Masters 1000 in Rome due to a forearm injury.

“It’s crazy. I don’t know if it’s ever happened to a player before, it’s kind of a weird situation to be in on my part,” said a stunned Auger-Aliassime, who is through to the first Masters final of his career by playing just three completed matches.

Lehecka felt something in his back as he attempted a serve early in the match and took an eight-minute off-court medical timeout before play resumed at 3-3.

It was all over three points later as Lehecka fell to the ground in pain, bringing the match to an abrupt end.

“I couldn’t believe what was happening when I saw that his back blocked on him. I feel really bad for him,” said Auger-Aliassime.

“It’s crazy times for the elite of our sport, withdrawing from many events. But obviously for me it’s kind of a weird rhythm not having played that much and being in the finals. But I can just focus on the first week of tennis I had.”

Rublev reached the fifth Masters final of his career with a 6-4, 6-3 win against American Taylor Fritz.

The seventh-seeded Rublev arrived at the tournament carrying a four-match losing streak but rebounded in the Spanish capital, claiming five impressive wins, including one over world number three Alcaraz in the quarter-finals.

“For sure mentally I was feeling much better [this week] and I was able to perform, putting emotions in the right direction, for sure that helped me to be in the final,” said Rublev.

MUNICH, Germany — Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior scored a double, including an 83rd-minute equalising penalty, to snatch a 2-2 draw at Bayern Munich in Tuesday’s Champions League semifinal first leg.

Vinicius gave Real the lead after 24 minutes but Bayern scored twice in four second-half minutes to wrestle back control of the match, Leroy Sane with a stunning opener and Harry Kane converting a penalty.

Kim Min-jae judo tackled Rodrygo Goes in the box with eight minutes remaining and Vinicius stepped up, drowning out a chorous of boos and whistles to blast home.

“In this competition it’s important not to lose, and we’re here because we haven’t lost yet,” said Vinicius.

“I’m very happy that I was able score two goals, and now we need to have a magical night at home,” he added.

The draw puts Madrid in the driving seat ahead of next week’s return leg at the Santiago Bernabeu. Bayern, who dominated large parts of the match, will still have hopes of making it to Wembley’s final in June.

“It’s a good result for the second leg,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “But nothing has been decided yet.

“Bayern have” high quality. They have players like Musiala or Sane who can hurt us.”

“It feels a bit strange,” said Bayern Manager Thomas Tuchel.

“But the situation is very clear. Win in Madrid, then off to Wembley. The winner takes it all.

“We will be ready and we accept the fight. We will go to Madrid with self-confidence. We have to be brave.”

Most played Champions League fixture 

Before the match, the Bayern fans unveiled a giant banner depicting Franz Beckenbauer which spanned all the way from the grass to the rafters. It was a fitting tribute on a night featuring the most-played fixture in European Cup history.

Famed for their composure on the biggest of stages in this competition, the 14-time winners struggled early, Bayern dominating possession and field position while spurred on by a ferocious home crowd.

Sane had a chance after just 40 seconds and another minutes later, while Kane chipped a shot from halfway just over the bar as the leggy visitors struggled to cope.

Madrid’s continued success in this competition, including in their quarter-final win over Manchester City, has been built on absorbing pressure before striking.

The visitors repeated the trick for the opener, breaking Bayern’s dominance in ruthlessly simple fashion while showing the hosts how easy scoring goals can be.

Toni Kroos collected the ball from a corner and drilled a defence-splitting pass along the ground which found Vinicius galloping in acres of space on the edge of the area.

Without a Bayern player in range, Vinicius calmly slotted the opener past a helpless Manuel Neuer, changing the complexion of the match completely.

Bayern, who have six European Cups of their own, were not awed and continued to push but could not break through; their best chance of the remainder of the half came through a free kick, with Kane finding a huge gap in the wall but blasting wide.

With Real seemingly in cruise control, Bayern grabbed hold of the match early in the second-half, scoring twice in four minutes.

Eric Dier found Sane down the right flank. The Germany winger, who had missed several chances in the first half, dribbled into the box before unleashing an unstoppable rocket at the near post, his first goal for Bayern in any competition since October.

The hosts’ next attack came down the left, with the ever-dangerous Jamal Musiala felled by Lucas Vazquez in the box. Referee Clement Turpin pointed straight to the spot and Kane duly sent Andriy Lunin the wrong way to take the lead.

With Bayern in control, Real went on the counter and it was Kim’s turn to give away a clumsy penalty, with Vinicius confidently slotting in the equaliser.

“We have to continue with cool heads, rest until next week, and we will give everything to leave the Bernabeu qualified for London,” said Madrid’s goal hero on the night.

LOS ANGELES — The Boston Celtics turned the tables on Miami in dominant style on Saturday, routing the Heat 104-84 to take a 2-1 lead in their NBA play-off series while Oklahoma City pushed New Orleans to the brink of elimination.

Eastern Conference top seeds Boston, stunned at home by the eighth-seeded Heat on Wednesday, responded with a comprehensive victory in Miami.

The Thunder, winners of their first two games against the Pelicans in Oklahoma City, pressed their advantage in New Orleans with a 106-85 thrashing that gave them a 3-0 stranglehold on the best-of-seven Western Conference first round series.

The Orlando Magic authored another big win, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 112-89 to level their Eastern Conference series at two games apiece, while in the final game of the day LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, down 0-3, sought to fend off elimination against the reigning champion Denver Nuggets.

In Miami, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown scored 22 points apiece, Tatum adding 11 rebounds and six assists as the Celtics led from start to finish.

Kristaps Porzingis scored 18 points and Derrick White chipped in 16 for the Celtics, who allowed the Heat the fewest points of any Celtics opponent this season.

“That’s where we’re going to win games at, on defensive end,” Tatum told broadcaster TNT, adding that even if shots aren’t falling “if you can get stops, you can figure it out”.

Boston appeared to have this one figured out early, leading 21-12 after the first quarter before erupting for 42 points in the second period.

They were up by 24 points at halftime, having dominated every facet of the game and scored 19 points off Miami turnovers.

They pushed the lead to as many as 29 in the second half.

Miami, who had just nine three-pointers after raining 23 treys in their game two victory, will try to regroup when they host game four on Monday.

That’s when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder will have a chance to close out the Pelicans in New Orleans.

With Zion Williamson sidelined with a hamstring strain, the Pels have had no answer for the young Thunder team led by Most Valuable Player award finalist Gilgeous-Alexander, who led the Thunder on Saturday with 24 points five rebounds and eight assists.

A three-pointer from Gilgeous-Alexander launched a 14-0 Thunder run late in the second quarter that put Oklahoma City in control for good.

The Thunder drained 17 three-pointers and after taking a 60-46 lead into halftime pushed their advantage to as many as 24 points in the fourth quarter.

Jalen Williams and Josh Giddey scored 21 points apiece for the Thunder.

Brandon Ingram led the Pelicans with 19 and CJ McCollum added 16, but New Orleans made just nine of their 32 three-point attempts and turned the ball over 21 times.

Magic rout Cavs 

In Orlando, Franz Wagner scored 32 points and the Magic dominated Cleveland in the second half.

The Cavs scored just 10 points in the third quarter and 29 in the second half, going more than six minutes without scoring as the Magic took a 92-70 lead early in the fourth quarter.

With Magic star Paolo Banchero struggling to just nine points and four rebounds, Germany’s Wagner filled the void, grabbing 13 rebounds with four assists and a blocked shot.

Jarrett Allen led Cleveland with 21 points and nine rebounds with Cavs star Donovan Mitchell finishing with 18 points.

“Our guys made the right adjustments,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said of his team’s recovery from a nine-point halftime deficit.

“[They] realised it was about the body and ball movement, sharing it, moving it, trusting the pass,” Mosley said, calling their defensive effort “special”.

LONDON — Liverpool’s fading Premier League title hopes were dealt a near-fatal blow on Saturday as West Ham rescued a draw against Jurgen Klopp’s men while Sheffield United dropped through the relegation trap door.

Manchester United’s push for Europe was dented by Burnley, who secured a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford, keeping alive their hopes of a dramatic escape act.

Klopp’s glittering reign at Anfield appears to be ending on a flat note after they dropped points for the fourth time in five league games at the London Stadium.

Just weeks ago Liverpool, who won the League Cup in February, were on course for a quadruple of trophies but that is now a distant memory after FA Cup and Europa League exits and a string of damaging league results.

Liverpool would have moved level on points with leaders Arsenal with a victory, at least temporarily, but they failed to make the most of their chances despite a stirring second-half fightback.

The Gunners are on 77 points, two clear of Liverpool with a game in hand, while defending champions Manchester City have 76 points with two games in hand on the Reds.

Jarrod Bowen put David Moyes’s West Ham ahead shortly before half time but Liverpool looked a different side in the second period, taking the lead through Andy Robertson before an own goal from West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola.

But West Ham levelled in the 77th minute when Bowen wriggled free down the right and lifted a cross towards Michail Antonio, who headed home to make it 2-2.

A downbeat Klopp, in the final weeks of his time at Anfield, refused to talk about his side’s title chances.

“I’m not in the mood to talk about that to be honest or look at that at all,” he told TNT Sports.

“We had to win here, we knew that, and we didn’t, and now we have a little bit more time between now and the next game. We try to get the boys ready again and we will go again.”

Klopp attempted to play down a touchline spat with Mohamed Salah, who was left out of the starting line-up, but the Egypt forward fanned the flames.

“There’s going to be a fire today if I speak,” he told reporters.

Pep Guardiola’s City, who play relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest on Sunday, are hot favourites to secure an unprecedented fourth straight English top-flight title.

Arsenal, who led the way for much of last season, are firmly in the hunt but face a tough away day at Tottenham, also on Sunday.

Sheffield Utd down

Newcastle’s 5-1 win against basement club Sheffield United strengthened their push for European football next season but sent Chris Wilder’s team down to the Championship after just one season in the top flight.

Anel Ahmedhodzic gave the visitors an early lead at St James’ Park but Alexander Isak scored twice as the home side roared back.

“We have not been good enough,” Wilder told the BBC. “The league has been too powerful for us right the way through the season.”

Newcastle remain in seventh place but are just one point behind Manchester United, who conceded a late penalty in a draw against Burnley.

Brazilian winger Antony scored his first Premier League goal of the season but Zeki Amdouni levelled from the spot in the 87th minute to leave the home side ruing missed chances.

United have now won just one of their past six league matches as they limp towards the end of the season.

Burnley are two points behind Forest, who are just outside the relegation zone, and one point behind Luton.

Ten Hag said his team ‘gave it away’

“We are one of the most dynamic and entertaining teams in the league at this moment,” said the Dutchman.

“We are creating loads of chances by playing good football. it was unnecessary to lose control.”

Hwang Hee-chan and Toti Gomes scored as Wolves deepened Luton’s woes with a 2-1 win and Fulham drew 1-1 with Crystal Palace.

Everton host Brentford later on Saturday seeking their fourth win in five games while Aston Villa, chasing a Champions League spot, take on inconsistent Chelsea in the late kick-off.

AMMAN — The Professional Football League resumes as of Thursday after a pause that allowed the U-23 national squad to compete at the Asian Cup currently under way in Qatar.

In the highlight of matches this week, Hussein host Aqaba, Shabab Urdun face Wihdat, and Faisali play Ahli.

Prior to the break Hussein’s lead was slashed after they were held 0-0 with Wihdat as Faisali crushed Aqaba 6-2 to stay in contention for the title. Ramtha stayed fourth after beating Salt 1-0 while Ma’an jumped two spots up to 6th after they beat Shabab Urdun 3-1. Ahli stayed clear of the relegation zone by holding Mughayer Sarhan 2-2 while Sahab moved up a spot by beating Jail 2-0.

Just like Ramtha, who  surprised fans in 2021, when they won the League crown for the third time in their history after 39 years, Hussein still have the chance to grab the crown and change the usual Faisali-Wihdat dominance of the title. Faisali aim to retain their title after beating Wihdat 2-0, while the latter has now switched focus to retaining the Jordan Cup which will also resume May 6. 

Shabab Urdun, who have lost three consecutive matches seem to be going through many challenges with six matches left and the team closely monitoring the relegation zone battle. 

Standings(previous rank in brackets)