Sports

BARCELONA — Barcelona winger Ferran Torres said on Tuesday he is ready to step up a gear in a vital week for the Spanish champions, who are missing several players through injury, including striker Robert Lewandowski.

The Catalans face Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday in the Champions League, aiming for a third victory in three games in Europe, before hosting rivals Real Madrid on Saturday in the season’s first La Liga Clasico.

Torres, who has struggled for form since joining Barca from Manchester City in 2022, says he is confident he can keep improving to help the team at a difficult time.

“We’ve got a lot of injuries, I think that I am ready to take this step forward, I’m very confident and I’m prepared for what’s coming,” Torres told a news conference ahead of the clash with Shakhtar.

“I don’t need to gain more confidence, I have enough, I have what I need — but I can improve a lot of things.

“I’m 23 and at the start of my career even though I’ve been going for a lot of years already.”

Torres said he was grateful to coach Xavi Hernandez for bringing him to Barcelona and sticking with him through difficult spells.

“The coach has always been there, he’s always given me good advice, he’s played me when he’s decided to,” added the winger.

“I’ll always be grateful because it was him who gave me the confidence to come to Barca when they signed me and I learn a lot from him.”

Although Torres is still young, he is one of the more experienced players at the club, with plenty of youngsters coming through from the La Masia youth academy.

Striker Marc Guiu, 17, scored 33 seconds into his debut to earn Barca a 1-0 win over Athletic at the weekend that pulled his side within a point of La Liga leaders Madrid.

“I feel like an old guy but I try to give the advice that I can,” said Torres, of the emerging teenagers.

“They’re footballers who are coming through strong, they’re finding their places, getting plenty of starts ... they have enormous potential.”

Xavi said he thought Torres, who has scored four goals in 11 games across all competitions this season, is coming into his own.

“Forwards live from goals, they generate so much confidence... Ferran has confidence, he plays with more ease, calmer, without tension,” said the coach.

Barcelona have failed to progress from their group in each of the past two seasons but wins over Royal Antwerp and Porto have put them top of Group H at the start of this season’s campaign.

They face Shakhtar without a host of injured players — Lewandowski, Raphinha, Jules Kounde, Frenkie de Jong, Pedri and Sergi Roberto — and Gavi is suspended.

“It’s not ideal, but it’s what we have — the situation before us at this moment,” added Xavi.

“We have to improve and compete tomorrow for the three points, having all those absences will not be an excuse.”

MANCHESTER, United Kingdom — Manchester United have no time for sentimentality from Rasmus Hojlund as he faces his younger twin brothers and former club on Tuesday when FC Copenhagen visit Old Trafford.

The Red Devils desperately need a win to keep their Champions League campaign alive on what is sure to be an emotional evening in the wake of Bobby Charlton’s death.

Arguably the club’s greatest ever player, Charlton passed away at the age of 86 on Saturday, with tributes planned to the man who scored 249 goals in 758 games for United.

Erik ten Hag’s men need the highly-charged atmosphere to inspire them after losing their first two games of a Champions League group stage for the first time in the club’s history.

Hojlund has been the one beacon of hope from defeats by Bayern Munich and Galatasaray as the Dane has scored three times in his first two Champions League appearances.

A £64 million ($78 million) move to United from Atalanta in August capped a meteoric rise for the 20-year-old, who Copenhagen sold for just £1.7 million to Sturm Graz in January last year.

His father criticised the lack of game time he was afforded by the Danish champions before leaving his homeland.

“He wasn’t really given a chance,” Anders Hojlund, himself a former professional player, told Danish media outlet Frihedsbrevet.

“He only spent six months in the first team... where he mainly had 10, 12 or 15 minutes where he was asked to run everywhere.”

‘Unique’ talent 

But there are still two members of the Hojlund family at Copenhagen as 18-year-old twins Emil and Oscar look to follow in their big brother’s footsteps.

Midfielder Oscar is expected to be included in the visitors’ squad at Old Trafford having already made his bow in the Champions League against Galatasaray.

Emil is more akin to his older sibling as a physical forward, but might have to wait for his opportunity to face Rasmus after featuring more regularly for the under-19s.

Despite arriving in Manchester as a precocious talent with “still a lot to learn” in his own words, United are reliant on Hojlund to help turn a troubled season around.

Only holding midfielder Casemiro has scored more than Hojlund’s three goals this season as the rest of Ten Hag’s forward line has misfired.

Marcus Rashford has netted just once and looks a shadow of the player that scored 30 times last season, putting more pressure on his new teammate.

Hojlund is also yet to score a Premier League goal, but has shown flashes of the combination of strength and speed that lured United into splashing out on him rather than target a move for Harry Kane as their new number nine.

“What I see in Rasmus is completely unique,” said Peter Moller, head of the Danish Football Federation.

“He has the dynamism and carefreeness of youth, he believes in himself.

“At the same time, he is humble, hard-working and a pleasant boy to be around.”

Denmark has already seen his potential at international level with seven goals in eight Euro 2024 qualifiers.

United need him to be just as deadly against Danish opposition if an embarrassing early exit from the Champions League is to be avoided.

PARIS — Kylian Mbappe scored one goal and made another as Paris Saint-Germain beat Patrick Vieira’s Strasbourg 3-0 in Ligue 1 on Saturday but it is unbeaten Nice who are top of the table after a 1-0 victory over Marseille.

Mbappe opened the scoring for PSG with a 10th-minute penalty and set up Carlos Soler to make it 2-0 just after the half-hour mark on a wet and windy day in Paris.

The reigning champions were heading for a routine victory and added a third in the 77th minute courtesy of Fabian Ruiz.

It was a second straight win for PSG following their 4-1 defeat away to Newcastle United in the Champions League earlier this month, and they sit a point behind Nice in second place.

“The logical concern with these games straight after an international break is that it is clearly not easy for the players to switch their mentality but the team played well and managed the game very well,” said PSG coach Luis Enrique.

He rested several regular starters with this game also coming just before a key Champions League meeting with AC Milan.

Achraf Hakimi and Ousmane Dembele were among those to be left out at kick-off, while Soler and Ruiz came in, as did Lee Kang-in.

South Korean international Lee was making his first appearance for PSG in over a month, having helped his country win football gold at the Asian Games in the meantime.

“In general all those players who have been involved less up to now this season did well. They got an opportunity today and made the most of it,” said Luis Enrique.

Ten-man Marseille beaten 

However, there was no question of Mbappe being rested, and he opened the scoring from the penalty spot in front of the empty Auteuil end of PSG’s stadium, closed by the French league for this encounter as a punishment after homophobic chanting during a win over Marseille last month.

The penalty was awarded for a foul on Goncalo Ramos, and Mbappe converted for his ninth club goal this season.

South African striker Lebo Mothiba then thought he had equalised for Strasbourg, only for his goal to be disallowed for offside following a VAR check.

Instead PSG doubled their lead on 31 minutes as Mbappe produced a step-over to beat his marker before cutting the ball back from the byline for Soler to prod in.

It was Soler who set up the third goal late on for his fellow Spaniard Ruiz, not long after PSG suffered a scare when Mbappe went down needing treatment after Gerzino Nyamsi appeared to tread on his left foot.

However, the France captain managed to carry on.

Having sent out a team loaded with attacking players, just as he did in the defeat by Newcastle, Luis Enrique must decide whether to play the same way against Milan.

“Each match is different,” he insisted, “but my objective is to have 11 players attacking and 11 defending.”

It was a third straight loss for Strasbourg, with the club who were recently bought by Chelsea’s owners BlueCo struggling for goals and having won just once in six games now.

“My young players need to learn and learn very quickly,” said Vieira, whose line-up featured five outfield players aged 22 or under.

“We competed but we made too many mistakes to stand a chance.”

Later, the Mediterranean derby was decided when Marseille defender Leonardo Balerdi was sent off for a second yellow card and substitute Evann Guessand headed in the resulting free-kick in the 79th minute.

The result maintained Nice’s unbeaten record this season under 34-year-old Italian coach Francesco Farioli and left them top, although Cote d’Azur rivals Monaco will replace them at the summit by beating Metz on Sunday.

Nice have enjoyed a fine start to the season despite British owner Jim Ratcliffe being focused on acquiring a stake in Manchester United.

Marseille have won only once in four games under new coach Gennaro Gattuso and are seven points behind the leaders.

PARIS — Bobby Charlton, whose death was announced on Saturday, spent most of his career shadowed by the ghosts of the team-mates and friends who died in the Munich air disaster.

Looking back at a career which included England’s only World Cup title and leading Manchester United to a first European Cup, Charlton would recall those “pals” who should have been at his side.

Charlton was one of the survivors of the 1958 air disaster which killed 23 people including eight members of a youthful team known as the “Busby Babes”.

“There isn’t a day that goes by I don’t remember what happened and the people who are gone,” said Charlton on a visit to Munich many years later.

“Manchester United at that time were going to be one of the greatest teams in Europe. The accident changed everything. The fact that the players are not here and are never going to be judged is sad. They’ll never grow old.”

Charlton had broken into the United team at inside forward, the latest youngster promoted by manager Matt Busby.

The club had won two consecutive English league titles. Europe was next.

After a European Cup tie in Prague in December 1957, the team’s return, on a scheduled flight, was diverted to Amsterdam. They crossed to England by ferry.

For their quarter final second leg, away to Red Star Belgrade, United chartered a jet to make sure they got home quickly.

United drew 3-3 in Belgrade to reach the semis. On February 6, the plane landed to refuel in snowy Munich. After two aborted attempts to take off, the pilot tried again, lost control and hit a house.

‘Just lucky’ 

“I was just lucky and sitting in the right place,” Charlton told the BBC in 2008.

He was taken to hospital.

“The medical people came around and gave me an injection,” he said. “I didn’t wake up until the following morning.”

That’s when he found out the scale of the tragedy.

“This German lad was there and he had a paper. He had a list of all the players and he read them out and if they were alive, he would say ‘yes’ and if they were dead, he said ‘no’.”

In all, 23 of the 44 people on the plane died. The victims included club officials and journalists, as well as eight players.

Club captain Roger Byrne, midfielder Eddie Colman and England centre forward Tommy Taylor were killed in the crash. Midfielder Duncan Edwards, who Charlton called “the best player I ever saw”, died 15 days later. Edwards and Colman were 21.

Charlton returned to the family home in the mining village of Ashington. There he posed for press photographs, dated February 19, in collar and tie, drinking tea with his mother Cissie and on the streets where he had learned the game, juggling a football as awed youngsters gazed up at him.

He was only 20, but his club was also looking up to Charlton.

“I wondered what would happen,” he told the BBC. “I wondered how we would be able to recover, but recover we had to do.”

United had fixtures to fulfil.

Charlton returned for an FA Cup quarter-final against West Bromwich Albion on March 5. He scored three times over a replayed semi-final against Fulham, but that was an isolated triumph.

United lost the Cup final and won only one of their 14 league games after Munich. They were knocked out of the European Cup in the semifinals by AC Milan

“Suddenly all my pals were missing,” he said in a 2001 interview posted online as part of the History of Football video series.

“I am playing in a team that... had the whole world at their feet. Suddenly you have to come back and the club was struggling to survive.”

“It was a very traumatic time for the club.”

Debut for England 

Charlton remained acutely aware that the deaths of his teammates created a void he filled.

“From being a reserve who occasionally got a game in the first team, suddenly I was one who was in the first team on a regular basis,” he told History of Football.

“I was in a position of responsibility that I had to take... It changed my whole attitude. I probably got into the first team, I got into the national team, earlier than I would ever have done if it had not been for the air crash.”

Munich had hit the national team’s plans in the build-up to that year’s World Cup in Sweden.

Charlton made his England debut against Scotland in Glasgow in April and scored the first of his 49 international goals. His third cap was away to Yugoslavia, in Belgrade.

“I made the decision that you couldn’t do anything other than fly. It was impossible to go to places you wanted to go to if you didn’t use an aeroplane,” he said.

Yet, representing England did not arrive as he had dreamt.

“Playing for England at that time was not the way I intended to play for England. I intended to play for England one day with Duncan Edwards, Tommy Taylor and Roger Byrne. Unfortunately, it couldn’t be.”

TOKYO — Defending champion Taylor Fritz said he could not cope with an “incredible” turnaround from world number 215 Shintaro Mochizuki as he crashed out of the Japan Open with a stunning second round loss on Thursday.

Top-seed Fritz, the highest-ranked American in the world at number 10, lost 0-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/2) to the Japanese wild card, who went into the tournament without a tour-level win to his name.

Fritz, who has won two titles this season, looked to be cruising into the quarter-finals when he took the first set to love in just 29 minutes.

But the momentum shifted midway through the second set when Mochizuki broke serve, and the 20-year-old fought back from a losing position in the third to force a tiebreaker and claim the win.

“It was all smooth and then I had the chance to break in the second, didn’t get it and then after that I feel like he was playing incredible tennis,” said Fritz.

“He served really well, he was constantly hitting the lines with his serve — it was tough for me to attack.”

Mochizuki, who qualified for his first Grand Slam appearance at Wimbledon this year, said he was “trying not to be nervous but I was” in his first match against a top-10 player.

He loosened up in the second set and Fritz said his opponent performed “at the level of a top player for the next two sets”.

“I never really got time to set up and attack or feel comfortable after he started playing better,” said the American.

“It felt like I could have served better but outside of that I don’t think there was much I could do.”

De Minaur advances 

Mochizuki quickly took control in the tiebreaker and closed the match out with a volleyed smash at the net to delight the Tokyo crowd.

His quarter-final opponent will be Australian Alexei Popyrin, who beat Chile’s Cristian Garin 4-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-2.

“If I couldn’t play my best, I knew that I couldn’t beat Fritz for sure,” said Mochizuki.

“So I just tried to focus on myself and give 100 per cent from the second set.”

Fritz’s exit meant the top three seeds in Tokyo have all been eliminated, with Norwegian number two Casper Ruud and German number three Alexander Zverev also bowing out early.

Number four seed Alex de Minaur progressed to the quarter-finals with a 6-0, 7-5 win over Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman.

The Australian said he was not surprised that so many of the tournament’s big names had fallen by the wayside.

“We’ve all played a lot of matches this year and it’s been a long year,” said de Minaur.

“At times I feel like these are the types of tournaments that are more prone to surprises.

“I’m just happy I was able to keep my head down and play at a good level.”

Russia’s Aslan Karatsev also advanced to the quarter-finals with a 6-3, 6-4 win over China’s Zhang Zhizhen.

TOKYO — Norway’s Casper Ruud said his trip to Asia was “not what I was really hoping for” after exiting the Japan Open with a second-round defeat to qualifier Marcos Giron on Wednesday.

World number eight Ruud, who reached this year’s French Open final, lost in the Beijing Open quarter-finals before bowing out in the last 16 of the Shanghai Masters this month.

Ruud’s Asian swing ended with a 6-3, 6-4 defeat to American world number 79 Giron in Tokyo, but he tried to stay positive, noting his fall at the first hurdle at last year’s tournament.

“I think it went better than last year so what can you say, I played better than last year, for sure,” said the tournament’s number two seed.

“Maybe not what I was really hoping for and kind of what I needed but there’s still a couple of weeks to go and I’ll keep my head high and try to fight in the last couple of weeks of the year.”

Ruud had to work hard to beat Japan’s Yosuke Watanuki in a 7-6 (8/6), 6-3 first-round win on Tuesday night.

He said he was “never able to get into a rhythm” against Giron in a match that lasted just 1hr 20min.

“I tried to play the same level as I did yesterday — maybe I wasn’t able to but it’s OK, it’s not always easy to shift from one day to the other with different opponents,” said Ruud.

“I wasn’t able to be ready enough for his game and counter his game.”

German number three seed Alexander Zverev and American Frances Tiafoe, seeded sixth, had already been eliminated in the first round in Tokyo.

Shanghai Masters champion Hubert Hurkacz joined them after losing to China’s Zhang Zhizhen.

Zhang, who won gold at the Asian Games in the Chinese city of Hangzhou last month, beat the Pole 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4).

American number five seed Tommy Paul booked his place in the quarter-finals alongside Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime, the number eight seed.

Paul beat fellow American Mackenzie McDonald 6-4, 6-2 to progress in his tournament debut.

Paul said the “very fast” Tokyo court was to his liking.

“The fast ones are a little bit more fun because you can really take advantage of well-struck shots and get to the net,” said the 26-year-old.

“It’s quicker points, your serve is a little bit more effective. I do enjoy a fast hard court.”

Auger-Aliassime beat Austria’s Sebastian Ofner 6-4, 6-1.

CHENNAI, India — Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi on Tuesday hailed flamboyant shot-maker Rahmanullah Gurbaz as a World Cup “matchwinner” as they plot the downfall of New Zealand.

Afghanistan pulled off one of the greatest shocks in the history of the tournament when they defeated defending champions England by 69 runs in New Delhi on Sunday.

That victory was set up by Gurbaz’s 57-ball 80, laced with eight boundaries and four sixes.

Along with fellow opener Ibrahim Zadran (28), Afghanistan enjoyed a first wicket stand of 114.

“Rahmanullah can change the game anytime,” said Shahidi.

“You know whenever I am talking to him, I am telling him ‘you are a matchwinner’. He has a lot of impact on the games.

“So whenever he does well, automatically, our team will perform well.”

On the downside, Rahmanullah, was reprimanded on Tuesday for venting his frustration after being run-out, angrily smashing his bat against the boundary rope.

In a statement, the International Cricket Council said Gurbaz had broken the code relating to the “abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings during an international match”.

Afghanistan had lost both its opening games at the tournament before they stunned England, ending a 14-match World Cup losing streak stretching back to their 2015 debut.

The victory was only their second at a World Cup.

“Definitely it was a big win against the defending champions for us,” said Shahidi.

“We had belief from the beginning of the tournament but the first two games didn’t go our way. But still we had the belief and we beat England.”

Afghanistan’s win in New Delhi followed losses to Bangladesh and hosts India.

Shahidi also praised all-rounder Mujeeb Ur Rahman, also one of the architects of the win over England.

Slow bowler Mujeeb made a 16-ball 28 and then claimed 3-51 in his 10 overs as England was bowled out for 215, winning him the man of the match award.

“Mujeeb has worked very hard, he gives us a lot of advantages,” said the captain.

Due to the security situation in their own country, Afghanistan have played most of their international cricket in the United Arab Emirates and in India, a factor that Shahidi sees as a benefit.

“India was our home for two or three years,” said Shahidi, whose team had a preparatory camp in Chennai ahead of the 2019 World Cup.

“We are used to this ground. On this ground, we had a preparation camp for the 2019 World Cup and spent 40 days here. So, all these things give us a lot of advantages.”

Shahidi saluted the impact of head coach Jonathan Trott, the former England batsman.

“Jonathan is a very positive person and very disciplined,” said Shahidi.

“He always wants us to be disciplined off the field, on the field. Sometimes he goes hard on the boys.”

Afghanistan go into Tuesday’s game having lost both their previous ODIs against New Zealand, at the 2015 and 2019 World Cups by six and seven wickets respectively.

GLASGOW — Scotland’s serene qualification for Euro 2024 comes as a culture shock for a country used to crushing disappointment from its national team.

For only the second time since the 1998 World Cup, Scotland will grace a major tournament in Germany next year.

Qualification was secured on Sunday without the Scots kicking a ball thanks to Spain’s 1-0 win in Norway.

But Steve Clarke’s men had already done the hard work themselves with a scintillating start to what was considered a highly challenging group.

As well as facing the three-time European champions Spain, Norway and Georgia currently boast generational talents in Erling Haaland and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

Scotland slayed all three, along with a pair of 3-0 wins home and away against Cyprus, in a perfect start to the campaign through five matches.

The 100 per cent record came to a controversial end as Spain prevailed 2-0 in Seville on Thursday after Scott McTominay’s strike was ruled out by a questionable VAR review.

A goal from the Manchester United midfielder would have been a fitting way to seal qualification as McTominay’s scoring streak has carried his country to the Euro.

After scoring just once in his first 37 internationals, the 26-year-old netted six times in the first five qualifiers, including twice in a famous 2-0 victory over Spain in March.

Yet, it is his manager that deserves most of the credit for a transformation in Scotland’s fortunes.

Clarke took charge in 2019 shortly after a humiliating 3-0 defeat in Kazakhstan that cost Alex McLeish his job.

The former Kilmarnock and West Brom boss swiftly ended a 23-year wait to reach a major tournament by making Euro 2020 thanks to penalty shootout victories over Israel and Serbia.

But it was a familiar tale of woe once back on the big stage as Scotland lost on home soil to the Czech Republic and Croatia either side of a spirited 0-0 draw against England at Wembley.

Experience counts 

Clarke has delivered on his promise in the immediate aftermath of crashing out that it would not take another 23 years for Scotland to reach a major tournament.

Led by Liverpool’s Andy Robertson, Scotland now boast an experienced core undaunted by the challenges of international football thanks to their abundance of Premier League and Champions League appearances.

“The gaffer’s been consistent with the squads he’s picked, and you can see that with the number of caps we’ve got now,” said Robertson.

“When he took over there wasn’t that experience and now we’ve got lads on high thirties, early forties and that makes a huge difference.”

A friendly defeat to England last month before losing to Spain has provided a reality check to the jubilant mood of the Tartan Army.

But tens of thousands are expected to descend on Germany come June in what will be the first chance in a generation to fully enjoy the major tournament buzz.

Capacity was capped at 12,000 for Scotland’s two games at Hampden during Euro 2020 due to coronavirus restrictions.

For years, the Scottish support travelled the length and breadth of the continent in search of a good time.

Now they are also infused with belief that their side can shake up Europe and progress beyond the group stage of a major tournament for the first time.

SHANGHAI — Hubert Hurkacz saved a match point before defeating fifth seed Andrey Rublev 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (10/8) to win a thrilling Shanghai Masters final on Sunday.

It was the big-serving Pole’s second Masters triumph, to go with the one he won in Miami in 2021, and a seventh ATP title in all.

“It was such a battle, especially emotionally,” the 16th seed said after surviving a nail-biting third-set tie break in front of the watching Roger Federer.

“I had a match point and Andrey hit an amazing serve and then he had a match point and then I had some match points.

“It was back and forth and such a tricky match.”

Hurkacz had Rublev under pressure early and broke the Russian with a vicious whipped forehand that Rublev had no chance of returning to lead 4-2 in the first set.

The 25-year-old Rublev let out an angry roar in response and then Hurkacz easily held his own booming serve to go up 5-2.

The Pole Hurkacz came into the final with a tournament-leading 77 aces and Rublev could not handle his blistering serve.

Hurkacz sealed the first set in 31 minutes — and it was inevitably with another ace. He sent down 21 over the course of a topsy-turvy final.

It was the first set that Rublev had dropped in Shanghai.

But Rublev, who won the Monte Carlo Masters in April, struck back to break his opponent’s torpedo of a serve for a 2-0 lead at the start of the second set.

A rejuvenated Rublev kept the 26-year-old Hurkacz at bay to send them into a deciding third set.

Rublev on Saturday described his angry outbursts in his semifinal win over Grigor Dimitrov as “ugly” and he was struggling again with his emotions at times.

In contrast, Hurkacz went about his business with quiet determination.

Serving at 4-5 in a gripping third set, Rublev saved a match point — having been booed by the crowd moments earlier for aggressively approaching and shouting at courtside photographers.

The battling duo went into the tie break, where Hurkacz finally prevailed.

‘Super happy’ 

Hurkacz said that self-belief carried him through, even when he was down in the tie break and staring defeat in the face.

“It was one of those matches and I kept believing and I am super happy with how I managed at the end,” said the Pole.

Rublev will now focus on trying to qualify for the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin.

He said he knew to expect Hurkacz’s big serve, but stopping it was another matter.

“The way he was serving was unreal,” said Rublev, who was nevertheless pleased with his week as a whole.

“Last month I felt I was doing everything right and thought it was only a matter of time that I could show this at a tournament.”

Despite the confrontation with the photographers, which earned him a ticking-off from the umpire, the seventh-ranked Russian felt he mostly kept his temper in check compared to a day earlier.

“In general I was able to handle my emotions much better,” he said.