Barca bolster Liga title bid by winning match they didn’t want to play

MADRID: Arsenal staved off Champions League holders Real Madrid’s superstars and rich history of unlikely comebacks to snatch a 2-1 victory on Wednesday and reach the semifinals with a superb 5-1 aggregate triumph.
The Gunners’ 3-0 quarter-final first leg triumph last week gave them a vital cushion in the Spanish capital as they made the final four for the first time since 2009, where they will face Paris Saint-Germain.
Bukayo Saka, who missed a first-half penalty, sent Arsenal ahead and although Vinicius Junior levelled the 15-time winners were never close to making up the deficit.
Gabriel Martinelli rubbed salt in their wounds with a stoppage-time winner for Arsenal, who have never lifted the Champions League trophy.
Los Blancos, far more brittle than when they won a Champions League and La Liga double last season, were convinced they could turn the game around but created too little against Arsenal’s tight defense.
The Premier League side held their nerve to reach the semifinals for only the third time in their history.
Kylian Mbappe chested home in the opening stages but was clearly offside, with the forward gesturing to the crowd to turn up the volume to create the fabled aura which helps Madrid pull off near-impossible feats at the Santiago Bernabeu.
David Alaba was booked for hacking down Saka as Madrid tried to add the grit they badly lacked in their first leg demolition in London, and the Arsenal winger also had a drive fielded well by Thibaut Courtois.
Arsenal were awarded a penalty seemingly out of the blue when the VAR booth instructed French referee Francois Letexier to review an incident from an earlier corner.
Raul Asencio pulled back Arsenal forward Mikel Merino in the area and Letexier pointed to the spot, to the bemusement of the home crowd.
Saka stepped up to take it but his poorly-executed Panenka, skewing off to the left, was saved by Courtois.
It spurred Real Madrid on and soon they had a penalty of their own, when Mbappe hit the turf after Declan Rice tussled with him.
However after a lengthy VAR review Letexier was called to take a second look and he then decided Arsenal’s two-goal first leg hero Rice had not fouled the French superstar.
The breaks in play, along with Arsenal’s dallying at every opportunity, disrupted Madrid’s momentum and they struggled to threaten Gunners stopper David Raya.
For all of Madrid’s bluster the goalkeeper did not need to make a save in the first half, while Courtois stopped three shots, including a Martinelli effort from a tight angle in added time, of which there was plenty after the VAR reviews.
On the hour mark Carlo Ancelotti took action with a triple change, including replacing the quiet Rodrygo with teen starlet Endrick, and bringing on Dani Ceballos against his former side.
Martin Odegaard, also facing his former employers whom he joined as a ‘wonderkid’ a decade ago, helped forge Arsenal’s opening goal after 65 minutes.
The Norwegian linked with Merino, who slipped Saka in behind and the Englishman made amends for his penalty blunder with an ice-cool dinked finish.
Four goals ahead in the tie Arsenal thought their work was done, with defender William Saliba not concentrating on the edge of his box in possession.
Vinicius stole the ball away from him and beat the out-of-position Raya to level, two minutes after Saka’s opener.
Madrid’s increasingly slim hopes were dashed when Mbappe limped off with an ankle problem with 15 minutes remaining, and Martinelli made sure with a cool finish after Merino set him up.

NEW DELHI: Delhi Capitals edged out Rajasthan Royals in IPL’s first Super Over of the season after pace bowler Mitchell Starc defended nine off the last over to end the match tied on Wednesday.
Left-arm quick Starc kept Rajasthan down to 188-4 in response to Delhi’s 188-5 and then returned to bowl another disciplined over at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground.
Rajasthan managed just 11 runs from their Super Over after Shimron Hetmyer and Riyan Parag hit a boundary each but both got run out on ball four and five and the innings ended with those two wickets.
Needing 12 to win, KL Rahul started with a double and then hit a boundary before Tristan Stubbs finished off with a six on the fourth ball from Sandeep Sharma.
Delhi, led by Axar Patel, got back to winning ways and returned to take top spot in the 10-team table with five victories and just one defeat on six matches.
Rajasthan, who have been chasing the IPL title since their inaugural triumph in 2008 under late Australian hero Shane Warne, slumped to their fifth loss in seven matches.
Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and Nitish Rana hit 51 each to set up Rajasthan’s chase of 189, but wickets at regular intervals kept Delhi in the hunt.
Australia’s Starc dismissed Rana in the 18th over before Dhruv Jurel hit back in his 26 and the left-handed Hetmyer made 15 not out.
Starc’s 20th over was on target as it was just singles and twos in the six balls and with two needed to win on the last delivery Jurel was run out while attempting a second run and the teams prepared for one-over eliminator.
Earlier Rajasthan raced to 50 in five overs with Jaiswal on fire and skipper Sanju Samson switched gears but retired hurt after his 19-ball 31 as he felt some pain in his ribs.
Left-handed Jaiswal raised his third fifty of the season before being dismissed by left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav but Rana kept up the batting surge.
Rana survived a reprieve on 20 when Stubbs dropped the batter on the ropes for the ball to go for six and the batter made the most of it but the batting effort was not enough.
Delhi rode on Abhishek Porel’s 49 and 34 each from Patel and Stubbs.
In-form Rahul made 38 and put on 63 runs with the left-handed Porel.
Later Axar put on 41 runs off 19 balls with South African Stubbs as the two hit the ball to all parts of the ground much to the delight of the home crowd as Delhi managed 77 runs from the last five overs.