Sports

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — Red Bull’s Sergio Perez flexed his street circuit muscles with dramatic effect on Sunday by storming to victory ahead of teammate Max Verstappen at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

The 33-year-old Mexican came home 5.355 seconds clear of the defending double world champion as Red Bull reeled off a masterful one-two triumph, the Dutchman having stormed through the field from 15th on the grid.

Verstappen, however, clocked the fastest lap of the race on the final lap to retain his lead of the embryonic drivers’ championship, snatching it back from Perez as they duelled at high speed.

It was Perez’s fifth career win having previously triumphed in Monte Carlo and Singapore to earn his reputation as a ‘street fighter’.

“It turned out to be tougher than expected,” he said. “The safety car tried to take the victory from us again here, but not this year! The team did a great job. Now we must keep pushing.”

Verstappen, who was eliminated from qualifying after a drive-shaft failure, said it had not been an easy race.

“It wasn’t easy to get through the field,” he said. “In the first sector at the start it was difficult and I was sliding around. We settled for second so it’s a good recovery in the end.”

Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso finished a stirring third on track for Aston Martin seemingly to claim a 100th podium finish on his record-extending 357th start.

But his podium was taken from him after the race when an investigation into an infringement of the rules when he served a five-second penalty at his pit-stop resulted in him receiving a further 10-second penalty.

George Russell rose to third for Mercedes and Alonso fell to fourth ahead of seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton in the second Mercedes. 

The two Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, who started 12th, finished sixth and seventh ahead of Esteban Ocon and his Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly. Kevin Magnussen was 10th for Haas.

The race began under dazzling floodlights at the Jeddah Street Circuit in balmy conditions with an air temperature of 27 degrees, ideal for spectators, drivers and cars, and in front of a sell-out crowd.

Alonso dream start

It was Alonso who made the best start, albeit from an incorrect starting position too far to the left of his grid slot, as he surged past Perez to lead into turn one.

It looked like a dream start from the Spaniard, but he was unable to retain it for long and was passed by Perez at turn one at the start of lap four. By then, he had been given a five-second penalty for his starting spot error.

Behind them, Leclerc, on soft tyres, began his climb from 12th and reached seventh by lap eight as Verstappen climbed from 15th to 10th while Russell and Stroll settled into third and fourth.

After an unexceptional start, Hamilton, one of only two drivers on hard tyres while the majority took mediums, was warned for weaving on the straight.

By lap 11, Hamilton was eighth, trapped between Leclerc and Verstappen.

The Dutchman passed Hamilton on lap 12 while Perez reeled off another fastest lap to pull three seconds clear of Alonso.

On lap 18, yellow flags waved as Stroll obeyed a team order to stop his Aston Martin on the track — resulting in a full safety car deployment and a rush to pit for Perez, Alonso, Russell, Verstappen and Hamilton.

Despite attempting to serve his penalty during the pit stop, Alonso stayed second behind Perez. Hamilton, sixth, was the only front-runner on mediums while the rest took hards. 

Verstappen, up to fourth, was the big winner from the safety car. When racing resumed on lap 21 with Perez powering clear again, Verstappen also showed great pace as he pressed Russell, breezing past him for third on lap 24, leaving the Briton to hold off his teammate Hamilton who was up to fifth. 

The Dutchman then passed Alonso on the straight into lap 25 to take second. He had gone from 15th to second before half-distance. Thereafter, it was a Red Bull scrap to the flag.

With 10 laps remaining, Verstappen said his drive-shaft, which had caused his exit from qualifying on Saturday, was “running a bit rough”. 

He was pacified by the team as was Perez who complained of a “long brake pedal” before the final fast laps were completed.

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — Sergio Perez claimed pole position for Sunday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix to salvage pride for Red Bull after Max Verstappen was forced out of qualifying with a driveshaft failure in Q2.

The 33-year-old Mexican clocked a best lap in one minute 28.265 seconds to beat Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who faces a 10-place grid penalty, by 0.155sec in a closely fought qualifying session.

It is Perez’s second career pole and second in Saudi Arabia, while Verstappen will start from 15th.

“Good job guys,” said Perez. “Hopefully, Max will be able to fight through in the race and we can enjoy a good result. We’ve got a good car and it’s a good circuit for me.”

As a result of Leclerc’s penalty, two-time champion Fernando Alonso will start from the front row of the grid for Aston Martin alongside Perez after winding up third fastest ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell and Carlos Sainz, who was fifth in the second Ferrari.

Lance Stroll was sixth in the second Aston Martin ahead of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton in the second Mercedes and rookie Oscar Piastri of McLaren.

Pierre Gasly was 10th for Alpine.

“Red Bull are on a different planet,” said Leclerc, who will set off from 12th on the grid.

The floodlit session began in cooler conditions than FP3 and Williams led the way.

Nyck de Vries, who had missed the earlier session due an engine change on his Alpha Tauri car, spun almost immediately at the first corner, but recovered. His tyres, however, were gone for a flying lap.

The Red Bulls were soon setting the pace again, Verstappen heading Perez by six-tenths on his first run, before Lando Norris brushed the wall at the final corner.

As the Ferraris showed sign of improvement, Aston Martin pushed in response and after 12 minutes, Alonso spun at Turn Two, retaining control without hitting any barriers and snatched fourth place.

Logan Sargeant was another spinner, the American rookie revolving his Williams at Turn 22 as McLaren’s pit crew worked frantically to salvage Norris’s car and hopes in vain.

The blur of busy and error-strewn Q1 action ended with Norris eliminated in 19th along with Sargeant, 20th, Yuki Tsunoda and his Alpha Tauri team-mate De Vries, and Alex Albon in the second Williams.

‘Almost not accelerating’

The Q2 segment began with Alfa Romeo and Haas leading the queue ahead of the Aston Martins. Alonso immediately lit up the time screens in purple and set the pace in 1:28.757.

Verstappen, who had a sharp snap through Turns One and Two, soon reported a power problem. “It’s an engine problem,” he said, as he made slow progress. “It’s almost not accelerating.”

The Dutchman limped back to the pits and with five minutes remaining climbed out as his crew set to work. He left the garage, walked away to the weigh-room and out of qualifying as the team diagnosed a driveshaft problem.

This left Alonso on top ahead of Perez, who returned to try and restore some pride for Red Bull on a second run, clocking 1:26.635 to beat him by a tenth ahead of the two Ferraris.

The two Haas cars and both Alfa Romeos were eliminated along with Verstappen, creating the prospect of an unexpectedly open battle for pole with Alonso seeking his first pole in 11 years since the 2012 German Grand Prix.

“It happened at Turn 10,” said Verstappen. “Very annoying because we were having such a good weekend. It will be tricky now to get to the front so have to concentrate on points, but anything is possible at this track.”

With Leclerc facing a 10-place grid penalty, his rivals sensed a rare chance for pole, Alonso attacking his lap, Leclerc outpacing him and then Perez going top in 1:28.265 — half a second clear of the Ferrari.

Russell also dipped into the 1:28s to go third ahead of Alonso before the Aston Martins and Ferraris returned for their final flings.

MADRID — Karim Benzema struck for Real Madrid to clinch a 1-0 win over Liverpool and qualification for the Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesday 6-2 on aggregate.

After the wild last 16 first leg clash at Anfield in February left Madrid sitting pretty with a three-goal advantage, Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp said his side only had a one per cent chance of turning the tie around.

They stemmed the bleeding at the Santiago Bernabeu but never looked like mounting a stirring comeback of the type they managed against Barcelona in 2019, or AC Milan in the 2005 final.

Madrid have now knocked Liverpool out of the Champions League in three consecutive seasons, including beating them in last year’s final.

“It was a complicated game but from the start we showed we wanted to go through, and we are in the quarterfinals,” Benzema told Movistar.

“Suffering is part of today’s football. Everyone wants more, but sometimes you have to suffer in a game — the most important thing is to win and go through.”

The 14-time record winners showed the nous to keep Liverpool at arm’s length, with defenders Eder Militao and Antonio Rudiger determined to shut out the visitors, along with goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. 

Reigning champions Madrid could have significantly stretched their lead, save for a series of superb stops by Liverpool stopper Alisson Becker and some unusually profligate finishing.

In the first leg, Madrid were lethal, with Vinicius Junior and Benzema netting twice each — neither were as decisive.

Yet eventually they combined for Madrid’s winner after 78 minutes, with Vinicius slipping as he tried to shoot, but hooking the ball into Benzema’s path for a simple tap-in.

Madrid’s only worry was seeing their captain limp off after his goal amid an injury-hit season — Benzema said it was only a blow on the shin and Carlo Ancelotti confirmed he would be fit to face Barcelona in the Clasico on Sunday.

“Madrid were in control of the whole game, Ali had to make two sensational saves to keep us in the game,” Klopp told reporters.

“Madrid were outstanding and that’s why the better team went through to the next round.”

No magic

Liverpool, deeply inconsistent in this campaign, took heart from their 7-0 thrashing of Manchester United in the Premier League, but could not produce the same magic under the Bernabeu lights.

Klopp started with Diogo Jota alongside his usual attacking trio of Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo, deploying as much firepower as he could to try and mount a comeback.

The first chance of the game fell to Nunez but Courtois thwarted the Uruguayan, who was fed by Salah.

At the other end Madrid sliced open Liverpool on various occasions, and Alisson made a stunning save to deny Vinicius from point-blank range.

Eduardo Camavinga crashed a long-range effort against the crossbar, with Alisson getting his fingertips to it.

The Brazilian goalkeeper made further saves from Vinicius, Fede Valverde and Benzema as Madrid controlled the game.

Camavinga impressed in midfield and eventually helped create Benzema’s goal, with a driven pass forward in the build-up.

“I told him a few small details, like how I know that the two Liverpool centre-backs play open, there’s space in the middle, and that’s how we scored the goal,” added Benzema.

The striker has now scored seven times in the Champions League against Liverpool, more than any other player.

Benzema is key to Madrid’s bid to lift the trophy for a sixth time in 10 seasons, if he can stay fit.

Madrid played classic Liverpool anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone” at the end of the game, at once a classy touch but also showing Liverpool never made them truly uncomfortable.

Ancelotti said Madrid were full of belief after their remarkable run to the final last season.

“We have a lot more confidence, because of what happened last year, it gave us a lot of confidence,” said the Italian.

“We saw that in this tie, against a strong team, we did well in the two games.

“But later, with confidence alone, we don’t reach the semifinals. We have to play surprising football... as always, the Champions League is very complicated and we have to compete until the end.”

MANCHESTER, United Kingdom — Erling Haaland equalled a Champions League record with a five-goal haul to ease Manchester City into the quarterfinals at RB Leipzig’s expense as a 7-0 win for the English champions secured an 8-1 aggregate victory on Tuesday.

Haaland also set a new club record for goals in a season of 39 in the process as Pep Guardiola’s men reached the last eight for the sixth consecutive season.

“My super strength is scoring goals,” said Haaland. “A lot of it is being quick in the mind and trying to put it where the goalkeeper is not.”

City are, yet, to go all the way in the Champions League, but they have never had a striker of Haaland’s quality to make the difference in the latter stages before.

At just 22 he now has 33 goals in 25 appearances in Europe’s premier club competition.

“Firstly, I’m proud to play in this competition, I love it,” added Haaland. “Five goals! To win 7-0 is amazing.”

The weather was more akin to Haaland’s homeland on a snowy night in Manchester, but City did not freeze under the pressure and kept their Champions League dreams alive.

The tie was delicately balanced after a 1-1 draw in eastern Germany three weeks ago, but a Leipzig side depleted by injury never looked like a match for their star-studded opponents.

Guardiola had kept Kevin De Bruyne in reserve for Abu Dhabi-backed City’s 1-0 win at Crystal Palace in the Premier League at the weekend and on his return to the starting line-up, the Belgian was back to his best.

Ilkay Gundogan should have opened the scoring after just three minutes from De Bruyne’s inviting cross.

Haaland’s searing pace then created a chance out of nothing from Nathan Ake’s long ball, but Janis Blaswich raced out from his goal to block.

Leipzig did have cause for complaint over two controversial calls that had a massive impact on the game before half-time.

Firstly, VAR spotted a handball against Benjamin Henrichs that led to a penalty that neither the City players nor the crowd even noticed.

Denied record chance

Haaland fired low to Blaswich’s left to maintain his perfect record from the spot for City with his sixth penalty of the season.

Two minutes later it was 2-0 as Haaland teed up De Bruyne, who smashed a shot against the bar, and then showed his speed and strength to power home a header from the rebound.

Leipzig could have been gifted a route back into the tie when Ederson sprinted from his goal to wipe out Konrad Laimer.

But rather than send the Brazilian goalkeeper off, Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic did not even award a free-kick.

Any doubt over the outcome was ended with the final action of the first half.

Ruben Dias rose highest to head Jack Grealish’s corner onto the post and Amadou Haidara’s attempted clearance ricocheted off Haaland into the net.

Gundogan’s classy finish into the far corner four minutes into the second half rubbed more salt into Leipzig’s wounds before Haaland started rewriting the record books.

Firstly, he hammered home at the second attempt after Blaswich parried his initial header to match Tommy Johnson’s record of 38 goals for City in the 1928-29 season.

Haaland set a new mark with still three months of the campaign to go when he snaffled up another rebound after Blaswich saved from Manuel Akanji.

In the process, he moved level with Lionel Messi and Luiz Adriano’s record of scoring five goals in a Champions League game.

But Guardiola denied his star striker the chance of another record as he replaced him with Julian Alvarez with 25 minutes remaining.

“I told him I would love to score a double hat-trick, but what can I do,” said Haaland.

Instead, it was left to De Bruyne to have the final say as he curled a superb strike into the top corner in stoppage time.

MADRID — Karim Benzema has formed an essential part of Real Madrid’s Champions League success, but there are doubts over whether his team can rely on him to extend their European domination this season.

The French striker’s season has been regularly disrupted by injuries, and although Vinicius Junior is a deadly threat on the left, without Benzema, defences can focus on shutting down the Brazilian winger.

His future at Madrid is also unknown — his contract expires in June and no public decision has been made over a renewal by player or club.

“Legends of this club have to stay at Madrid,” said Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, hoping the forward remains at his disposal next year.

Benzema missed Madrid’s La Liga win over Espanyol on Saturday with an ankle issue but is expected to return to face Liverpool at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday in a last 16 second leg clash.

The 35-year-old has been sidelined frequently, including with a thigh problem that saw him miss the World Cup with France.

“Something is wrong with Benzema, never in his entire career has he spent so much time in the injury room,” complained Madrid newspaper AS last week, with Benzema out for the eighth time.

The forward has missed 34 per cent of Madrid’s games across all competitions this season, 14 matches in total, but has scored 18 in the 27 games he has played.

“These have been months of disappointment and enormous mystery regarding Karim,” continued AS. 

Captain and champion

Benzema has aged like a fine wine, playing his best football in his later years, freed up from playing on the fringes when Cristiano Ronaldo left Madrid in 2018, and becoming a top-class goalscorer.

Last season Benzema captained Madrid to Champions League glory, with the 1-0 win over Liverpool in the final securing a record 14th triumph.

Benzema was crucial in Madrid’s wild run to Paris, scoring a remarkable 17-minute hat-trick in the last 16 to knock out Paris Saint-Germain.

The forward netted another hat-trick at Stamford Bridge in the quarterfinals to put Chelsea on the ropes and clinched the tie for his team with an extra-time winner in the second leg.

Manchester City suffered the same fate in the semifinals, with Benzema netting twice at the Etihad in the first leg then slotting home a penalty to send Madrid through to the final, in extra-time again at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Benzema finished as the competition’s top scorer, with 15 goals, and scored 44 in 46 games across all competitions last season, as Madrid lifted the double.

That magic has been sprinkled less liberally this season, although Liverpool had a taste at Anfield in the first leg as Madrid ran out 5-2 winners, with Benzema netting twice, his first goals in this season’s edition.

It was a display of lethal finishing, leaving Jurgen Klopp’s side shell-shocked after they had raced into a two-goal lead.

Benzema’s brace took the forward to 88 in the Champions League in his career and he will hope to overtake Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski on 91 as the third top scorer of all time in the competition.

Both players are reaching the end of their storied careers and eyes are turning to the future. 

With Benzema’s destiny yet to be decided, PSG’s Champions League exit last week proved an opportunity for some Spanish news outlets to rekindle links with Kylian Mbappe.

“If you want to win the Champions League, you already know...” ran Marca’s front page, next to a picture of the French striker.

Madrid fans are also excited about young prospect Alvaro Rodriguez, although it is too soon to expect the 18-year-old to make significant contributions on the European stage.

The club’s hopes of retaining the trophy this season reside with Benzema, who causes worry each time he suffers a new setback.

Some believe he has been deliberately preserving himself for the team’s biggest matches and the key European dates, and that it has affected his form.

“I see a very motivated Benzema, and I think you will see a different Benzema from now on, in 2023,” said Ancelotti in late December, but so far it has not transpired.

For Madrid to succeed again in Europe and win a fifth Champions League trophy in 10 seasons, getting Benzema back to his best is of the utmost importance.

LONDON — As Erling Haaland was mobbed by his Manchester City team-mates, the Norway star’s broad grin gave Pep Guardiola renewed belief that his coveted striker is still happy at the club ahead of Tuesday’s decisive Champions League clash with RB Leipzig.

When Haaland scored a late penalty to clinch City’s 1-0 win against Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday, he responded with a joyous slide across the rain-soaked Selhurst Park pitch.

Amid reports that Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid are plotting audacious bids for Haaland in the close season, the 22-year-old’s ecstatic reaction to his winner was a welcome sight for Guardiola.

Haaland has scored 28 times in the Premier League and netted 34 goals in all competitions since arriving from Borussia Dortmund in May.

He remains on course to break the Premier League goal record for a single campaign, jointly held by Alan Shearer and Andy Cole, who netted 34 for Blackburn and Newcastle respectively.

Yet, although the raw numbers suggest all is well with the astonishingly prolific striker and his team, the eye-test has sometimes painted a different picture.

There have been pointed questions raised about Guardiola’s ability to get City to adapt to Haaland’s unique talents, and the striker’s own issues with coming to terms with the champions’ style of play.

At times, Haaland has ploughed a lone furrow in City’s attack, left isolated and surrounded by defenders during his team’s long spells of possession.

As a result, City have occasionally seemed more toothless than Haaland’s phenomenal record would suggest, with his misses microscopically analysed for evidence he is square peg in a round hole.

Haaland did miss a sitter before scoring at Palace, while his profligacy in a 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest in February saw City surrender first place in the Premier League.

With City trailing Arsenal by five points in the title race, the Champions League may offer their best chance of a memorable end to the season.

‘He’s thinking positive’

They have never won Europe’s elite club competition and must see off Leipzig, who earned a 1-1 draw in the last 16 first leg in Germany, to advance to the quarter-finals.

Guardiola will need Haaland at his predatory best and he insisted there is no reason to doubt the striker’s commitment to the City cause.

“The way he celebrates his goals and his mates’ goals shows how happy he is here and how we are with him and his personality,” Guardiola said.

“This guy doesn’t score one or two goals and the people go, oh he’s not the same! He is always there so the numbers speak for itself. 

“One of the biggest attributes I’ve discovered knowing him and working together is the fact that he can miss one chance, second, he’s not getting depressed, he’s not sad.

“He’s thinking positive, he knows he will have the chance, he knows he will be there. And this is an incredible attribute as a football player.”

However, Guardiola was willing to acknowledge the growing pains experienced since Haaland’s transfer, adding: “What I would like when I finish our period together is the fact that he could improve the game, with the association with the team.

“Realising how he can be involved in our game, not just putting the ball in the net. Because the net will happen all the time in his life.”

Haaland is well aware of the pressure to live up to the hype that saw him rated as the best finisher in Europe following his arrival in Manchester.

Showing no signs of wanting to flee to Paris or Madrid, for now at least, Haaland said: “Of course I don’t like to miss chances.

“I just do as I do every game, focus on my game. It’s not that bad, we have to keep going. As I said it’s not easy, I’m really proud.”

SAN FRANCISCO — Stephen Curry rallied the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors in the fourth quarter on Saturday to deliver a 125-116 overtime victory over Milwaukee.

The two-time NBA Most Valuable Player scored 22 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, with key three-pointers and a timely block helping Golden State stretch a home win streak to seven games.

“We feed off our crowd’s energy,” Curry said. “Whatever it is in terms of our focus and energy and effort, it’s giving us a chance no matter what the score is down the stretch.”

The Bucks, playing without two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo due to his sore right hand, saw their nine-game road win streak snapped and their NBA-best record fall to 48-19.

Milwaukee led by five in the final minute, but Curry sank a three-pointer, made a fast break layup to tie the game, then answered a Jrue Holiday three with one of his own with 18 seconds remaining to lift the Warriors level at 111-111.

His late block of Holiday in the paint on a drive to the hoop helped ensure the game went into overtime.

“It felt like playoff-type energy and atmosphere,” Curry said. “I know they were missing Giannis but we’ve been searching for a long time to try and figure out how to perform and execute down the stretch in a game like this.”

“We got down five with under a minute and come back. And I think it has been a long time since we won an overtime game. So all those things — dig deep and figure out a way to get it done.”

Curry, who turns 35 on Tuesday, scored nine points in overtime to seal the victory, playing 43 minutes in all to achieve his first victory in four tries since returning March 5 from a left leg injury.

“I’m great. I’m just getting old,” a visibly worn-down Curry said after the finish. “Everybody contributed and that’s the way it has to be for us the way we’re built right now.”

Curry made eight of 11 shots from the floor in the fourth quarter and overtime, and sank four of seven from behind the arc.

“That’s a great way to get a win,” Curry said.

In Atlanta, Jason Tatum delivered game highs of 34 points and 15 rebounds in powering the Boston Celtics over the host Hawks 134-125.

Jaylen Brown added 24 points as the Celtics improved to 47-21, while the Hawks, paced by 35 points and 13 assists from Trae Young, fell to 34-34.

Kawhi sparks Clippers

Kawhi Leonard scored 38 points to lead the Los Angeles Clippers over the visiting New York Knicks 106-95.

Paul George added 22 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the Clippers. Immanuel Quickley led the Knicks with 26 points.

Clippers guard Russell Westbrook overtook Isiah Thomas for ninth on the NBA’s all-time assists list with a third-quarter pass to set up a George dunk for his 9,062nd career assist.

Talen Horton-Tucker had game highs of 37 points and 10 assists in leading Utah to a 119-111 victory at Charlotte.

Zach LaVine scored 36 points and DeMar DeRozan added 27 to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 119-111 victory at Houston.

Wendell Carter scored seven of his 27 points in overtime to spark Orlando over visiting Miami 126-114. Jimmy Butler scored 38 points to lead the Heat.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 35 points to lead Oklahoma City’s 110-96 victory at New Orleans.

Desmond Bane scored 25 points while David Roddy came off the bench to score 24 and spark the Memphis Grizzlies over visiting Dallas 112-108.

Tim Hardaway Jr. led the Mavericks with 23 points, but Dallas was without Luka Doncic due to a left thigh strain and Kyrie Irving with a right foot injury, while Ja Morant was still away from Memphis for personal reasons.

Harrison Barnes scored 19 points to lead seven double-digit scorers for Sacramento in a 128-119 victory at Phoenix.

Jalen Smith scored 20 points off the bench to lead Indiana’s 121-115 victory at Detroit.

DOHA — Surgeons at a Qatari hospital on Friday “successfully” operated on the right ankle of Brazil star Neymar following an injury that will rule him out for the rest of the season, his club said.

The 31-year-old Paris Saint-Germain player hobbled into Aspetar hospital in Doha on crutches early Friday and the operation was finished within hours. “Neymar Jr was successfully operated on late this morning,” Paris Saint-Germain said in a statement. “The player will now follow a protocol of rest and treatment.” Neither the club nor Aspetar would say whether Neymar had left the hospital again.

The operation was led by British surgeon, James Calder, who has treated several European football stars.

Neymar is facing up to four months on the sidelines after suffering the latest in a series of injury problems against Lille last month playing Lille. Fitness has been a regular concern since Paris Saint-Germain signed Neymar for a world-record 222 million euros ($264m) in 2017.

He has played only 49 per cent of PSG’s Ligue 1 matches — 112 out of 228 — since his arrival. Neymar, who was also treated in Qatar after suffering an injury to the same ankle in 2018, has vowed to “come back stronger” from his latest upset.

INDIAN WELLS, California — Unseeded Australian Jordan Thompson grabbed one of the biggest wins of his career on Friday, ousting third-ranked Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6 (7/0), 4-6, 7-6 (7/5) to reach the third round of the Indian Wells WTA and ATP Masters.

“It’s unreal at a Masters 1000 ... to have a win like that is incredible,” said Thompson, the World No. 87 whose only prior victory over a top-10 player came back in 2017 against Andy Murray at Queen’s Club.

He admitted he felt a little lucky when a stinging forehand from Tsitsipas on match point was ruled a hair wide.

“I’m thankful that last ball was out — I thought it was in,” Thompson told fans on court.

While Tsitsipas led the third-set tiebreaker 2-1 and 4-3, Thompson’s coolness under pressure paid off as Tsitsipas belted a forehand into the net to give the Aussie a match point before succumbing with the near miss.

Thompson next faces Chilean qualifier Alejandro Tabilo, who hung on to beat American Maxime Cressy 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (15/13).

For Tsitsipas it was another setback in the wake of his sparkling run to the Australian Open final in January.

He departed Melbourne energised despite falling to Novak Djokovic in the title match, but shortly thereafter suffered a shoulder injury.

Playing his first tournament since a second-round exit at Rotterdam, Tsitsipas admitted earlier this week that his shoulder was still troubling him and he didn’t have high hopes of a third Masters 1000 crown.

Tsitsipas and women’s second seed Aryna Sabalenka — playing just her second tournament since winning the Australian Open — headlined Friday’s second-round action.

Sabalenka moved smoothly into the third round with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Evginiya Rodina, who was playing her eighth match since a return to competition at last year’s US Open after three years away from the game.

“Happy to win this match in two sets without struggling too much,” said Sabalenka, who has never made it past the round of 16 in the California desert.

Sabalenka, still barred from playing under her native flag of Belarus because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, next faces Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko, who beat 29th-seeded Croatian Donna Vekic 2-6, 6-2. 6-2.

In other women’s matches, last year’s runner-up Maria Sakkari salvaged Greek pride with a battling 2-6, 6-4, 6-0 victory over American Shelby Rogers.

Sakkari, trailing 1-4 when rain halted play for about 90 minutes, managed to turn it around in the second set.

She fended off five break points — despite three double faults — to hold serve in the fifth game and broke Rogers to pocket the set.

The American, who had won all three of their prior encounters, was down 3-0 in the third when she received treatment on her right calf and Sakkari remorselessly powered to the win.

Medvedev rolls on

Fifth-seeded Daniil Medvedev, fresh off three straight ATP victories Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai, continued his red-hot form with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over American Brandon Nakashima.

Medvedev didn’t face a break point in the first set, but had to fight off half a dozen in an entertaining second set before closing it out with his third break of Nakashima’s serve.

“There were some tough moments in the match, tough break point saves I’m happy that I managed to make it through,” Medvedev said. “Second set I could have done better on return a few times to maybe make my life easier, but he also played some great points.”

Third-seeded Casper Ruud, former champion Cameron Norrie and 12th-seeded Alexander Zverev all eased into the third round with straight-sets victories.

For Ruud, a 6-2, 6-3 victory over former top-10 Argentinian Diego Schwartzman was a confidence-boosting win in a season in which he had so far failed to advance past the second round in three tour-level tournaments he had played.

For Norrie, however, a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Taiwanese qualifier Wu Tung-lin marked a continuation of the form that saw him reach finals last month in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro, falling to Carlos Alcaraz in the first and beating him in the second.

Germany’s Zverev, attempting to rebuild his career after surgery for ankle ligament damage suffered at the French Open last year, breezed past Argentina’s Pedro Cachin 6-3, 6-1.

MUNICH, Germany — Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting scored against his former club as Bayern Munich ended the Champions League hopes of Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, beating the French club 2-0 in their last-16 second leg to reach the quarter-finals.

Choupo-Moting, who featured for PSG in their 1-0 Champions League final loss to Bayern in Lisbon in 2020, sidefooted the ball home after Thomas Mueller dispossessed Marco Verratti inside his own penalty area.

Substitute Serge Gnabry scored in the 89th minute to wrap up a 3-0 aggregate victory for the six-time European champions.

Bayern reached the last eight for the 13th time in 15 years, while PSG will need to wait at least another season to lift the coveted trophy for the first time.

Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann told DAZN his side “needed the crowd” to help them past PSG’s “brutal quality” in the opening half.

“In the second half we were much better than our opponents and deserved to win.”

Bayern were indebted to a fine goalline clearance by Matthijs de Ligt in the first period, but were otherwise largely untroubled as Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi offered little.

“It worked, you need to say honestly that in a football game you need to have luck on your side,” said captain Mueller.

“If that became a 1-0, you don’t know how the team would react.”

The Qatari-owned French champions’ lack of squad depth was highlighted, despite the return to full fitness of Mbappe after he was limited to a substitute appearance in PSG’s 1-0 first-leg defeat.

Neymar is set to miss the rest of the season with an ankle injury, while they lost defenders Marquinhos and Nordi Mukiele to injuries during this game.

Coach Christophe Galtier lamented PSG’s failure to “make the most of our chances” and conceding “a really stupid goal” through Verratti’s error.

“There is frustration and disappointment in the dressing room,” he said. “We can’t repeat the match, we have to look ahead.”

The best chance of a tight opening half fell to Paris midfielder Vitinha, who won the ball when Bayern goalkeeper Yann Sommer attempted to dribble out of a busy penalty area.

Vitinha was presented with an empty net, but his rolled effort allowed De Ligt to clear the ball off the line.

“It’s incredible how much desire he has to defend,” Nagelsmann said of De Ligt. “Nine out of 10 defenders in the world would have given up.”

PSG lost captain Marquinhos to a rib problem 10 minutes before the break. 

His replacement Mukiele, just back from an Achilles injury, didn’t reappear after the interval, leaving Galtier to introduce 17-year-old centre-back El Chadaille Bitshiabu for the second half.

Bayern start second 

half quickly

Bayern roared out of the blocks after half-time, but PSG were let off by the clumsy feet of Choupo-Moting, who tripped before shooting and then stood in the way of a goal-bound effort from Joshua Kimmich.

The Cameroon striker looked to have redeemed himself in the 52nd minute, but his header from a curling Jamal Musiala cross was chalked off for offside against Mueller.

The Bayern stalwart appeared to not have touched the ball before it nestled in the net, but was adjudged to have been interfering with play.

Bayern continued to push and PSG’s dam broke on 61 minutes, with Choupo-Moting doing the damage.

Mueller robbed the ungainly Verratti in the box, clipped the ball to Leon Goretzka, who squared for Choupo-Moting to double his side’s two-legged advantage.

PSG centre-back Sergio Ramos had a chance to equalise just four minutes later, but his powerful header was brilliantly palmed away by Sommer.

With Mbappe and Messi experiencing off nights, Gnabry put the result beyond doubt, racing onto Joao Cancelo’s pass before firing into the far corner left-footed.

Sadio Mane looked to have scored a third for the home side in injury time, but his effort was ruled out for offside.