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Juventus held to scoreless home draw in Turin derby

TURIN, Italy: Juventus largely dominated but were unable to get the better of neighbors Torino in a 0-0 home draw on Saturday, dealing a blow to Luciano Spalletti’s side’s hopes of gaining ground in the Serie A title race. The hosts had won their last two Serie A games since sacking manager Igor Tudor, one of those victories coming in Spalletti’s first game in charge, but a largely toothless derby display left the crowd frustrated. Juve are fifth in the standings on 19 points from 11 games, two points behind Inter Milan, AC Milan and AS Roma, who all have a match in hand, with leaders Napoli on 22 points ahead of Sunday’s game at Bologna. Torino are in 11th place on 14 points. The opening half may have been mostly one-way traffic but Juventus struggled to create any real opportunities against their neighbors, any half-chances that came their way inspired by Francisco Conceicao. The Portuguese winger played a decent ball into Dusan Vlahovic just outside the six-yard area but Torino defender Guillermo Maripan did well to get ahead of the Serbian striker to clear the danger. Conceicao also had a shot from a wide angle go narrowly the wrong side of the upright.

Rybakina beats No. 1-ranked Sabalenka to win WTA Finals

RIYADH: Elena Rybakina won the WTA Finals after beating No. 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 7-6 (0) on Saturday. The sixth-ranked Rybakina struck eight aces and converted the sole break of the match on the indoor hardcourt in Riyadh. It was a second loss in the final of the season-ending tournament for Sablenka after the four-time Grand Slam winner lost to Carlone Garcia in the 2022 title match. Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion from Kazakhstan, was playing her first title match in her third consecutive WTA Finals appearance. She collected $5.23 million after going 5-0 at the event featuring the top eight women.

Kane nets late equalizer but Bayern winning run ends with draw at Union

BERLIN: Harry Kane headed in a stoppage-time equalizer to avoid Bayern Munich’s first defeat of the season but a 2-2 draw at Union Berlin ended their record winning start across all competitions. Union thought they had won it with Danilho Doekhi’s second goal in the 83rd minute but Kane headed in the leveller. Bayern top the Bundesliga on 28 points, six ahead of RB Leipzig, who lost 3-1 at Hoffenheim.

India clinches 2-1 T20 series victory over Australia after another washout

BRISBANE: Shubman Gill’s India squad will take confidence out of a rain-marred 2-1 series win over Australia ahead of the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup it is co-hosting with Sri Lanka early next year. India raced to 52 without loss in 4.5 overs in Game 5 before lightning forced players and officials off the field at the Gabba on Saturday night. The rain set in soon after, and the match was called off more than two hours later without a further ball being bowled. Shubman Gill plundered the bowling, stroking six boundaries as he scored 29 off 16 deliveries. Abhishek Sharma had two reprieves and was 23 off 13, including a flat-batted six over mid-wicket. It was the second washout of the series, after Game 1 in Canberra was abandoned after 9.4 overs on Oct.

Man Utd have room to ‘grow’, says Amorim after Spurs setback

LONDON: Ruben Amorim said Manchester United are “in the beginning of becoming a very strong team” after extending their unbeaten run to five Premier League games with a dramatic 2-2 draw at Tottenham. The Red Devils looked set to go second in the table as they led through Bryan Mbeumo’s first-half header for nearly an hour. However, Spurs struck twice in seven minutes to turn the game on its head through Mathys Tel and Richarlison. Despite going down to 10 men as Benjamin Sesko limped off after Amorim had made his five allotted substitutions, the visitors still fought back to rescue a point through Matthijs de Ligt’s towering header in the 96th minute. Amorim praised his side’s resilience, but believes they should have gone on to win after bossing the first half. “During the game you feel that the three points were there,” said the Portuguese. “If you look to the game and if you feel the environment, we have so much to grow as a team because today was our day to win this game.” Amorim added: “If we have um a a little bit more bravery, we can kill this game.” A share of the points leaves United down in seventh and they could even drop out of the top half before the end of the weekend if other results go against them. But Amorim sees progress during his longest unbeaten streak since taking charge at Old Trafford just over a year ago. “I understand that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

‘Passion for bat and ball’: Baseball United and PTV Partner to bring professional baseball to Pakistan

DUBAI: Baseball United, the first professional baseball league focused on the Middle East and South Asia, announced a partnership with the Pakistan Television Corporation on Saturday.

Flick demands more Barca ‘fight’ amid injury crisis

BARCELONA: Barcelona coach Hansi Flick called on his players on Saturday to show more fight while the club battles an injury crisis and struggles to reach their top level. The Catalan giants drew 3-3 at Club Brugge on Wednesday in the Champions League and are five points behind La Liga leaders Real Madrid before facing Celta Vigo on Sunday. After winning a domestic treble last season Barca have struggled for consistency in Flick’s second term as they try to cope with several absences. They will be without Raphinha, Pedri, Joan Garcia and Gavi among others at Balaidos, while Flick said Jules Kounde was also a doubt for the game. “It’s not an excuse, it’s a fact — we have a lot of injured players. They are huge players, some of our key players,” Flick told a news conference. “I know, we all know, the players know we have to play much better.

Luis Enrique not rushing to recruit despite key PSG trio’s absence

The trio will be out for several weeks after sustaining injuries in Tuesday’s bruising 2-1 Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich“We are always open to transfer opportunities, but there’s no rush, no need to hurry,” Enrique saidPARIS: Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique insisted Saturday there was “no rush” to recruit during the winter transfer window despite injuries to key players Ousmane Dembele, Achraf Hakimi, and Nuno Mendes.The trio will be out for several weeks after sustaining injuries in Tuesday’s bruising 2-1 Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich.Ballon d’Or winner Dembele picked up a calf injury and needs a “few weeks” of treatment, the European champions said.Hakimi was diagnosed with a severely sprained left ankle and faces several weeks out too, while Mendes sprained his left knee.Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain are on the road at Lyon on Sunday.“We are always open to transfer opportunities, but there’s no rush, no need to hurry,” Luis Enrique told a pre-match press conference.The trio’s absence adds to a growing injury list that already included Desire Doue, who was stretchered off with a thigh problem in a Ligue 1 game at Lorient last week.“Everything has to be planned,” the coach continued.“There’s no problem, they’re injuries of course, but all teams have them.

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Arabnews.com Sport News

Juventus held to scoreless home draw in Turin derby

Rybakina beats No. 1-ranked Sabalenka to win WTA Finals

Kane nets late equalizer but Bayern winning run ends with draw at Union

India clinches 2-1 T20 series victory over Australia after another washout

Man Utd have room to ‘grow’, says Amorim after Spurs setback

‘Passion for bat and ball’: Baseball United and PTV Partner to bring professional baseball to Pakistan

Flick demands more Barca ‘fight’ amid injury crisis

Luis Enrique not rushing to recruit despite key PSG trio’s absence