It spurred Real Madrid on and soon they had a penalty of their own, when Mbappe hit the turf after Rice tussled with him. However after a lengthy VAR review Letexier was called to take a second look and he then decided Rice had not fouled the French superstar. The breaks in play, along with Arsenals dallying at every opportunity, disrupted Madrids momentum and Raya did not need to make a save in the first half. "We didnt have the accuracy upfront," said Courtois. Martin Odegaard, facing his former employers whom he joined as a wonderkid a decade ago, helped forge Arsenals 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 Sakas opener. Madrids 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. Arteta said he had never been prouder of his team. "Not only because we are in the semi-final, but also for the manner and the way we did it," explained Arsenals coach, still looking for his first silverware since winning the FA Cup in 2020. "I think, overall, it shows the character of this team, of this club, and its a night to be very proud of."
Barcelona Open holder Casper Ruud ousted Hamad Medjedovic 7-5, 7-5 to reach the quarter-finals on Wednesday. The Norwegian, ranked 10th in the world, conceded a break in the first game of the first set but pulled level at 4-4 with one of his own. Ruud survived four break points for a 6-5 lead and then converted his third set point to take the first set. The 26-year-old, a three-time Grand Slam runner-up, once again came from a break down in the second set to triumph, breaking to love against the Serb to wrap up his win. "That was quite fortunate today. Im also happy with my mentality, that I didnt give up, that I tried to hang in there," said Ruud. "It was a little bit too much up and down today for my personal liking." Runner-up to Ruud in 2024, third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas steered into the quarter-finals with a 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 win over American Sebastian Korda. The Greek came up against spirited opposition, with both players strong on their serve, but did not concede a break point in his straight sets win. Tsitsipas will face Frenchman Arthur Fils, who breezed past Spains Pedro Martinez in straight sets 6-3, 6-2. Ranked 14th in the world, Fils conceded just one break point in the match, which the 20-year-old saved. "I think (Fils) is a great competitor, Ive played him twice and had no luck," said Tsitsipas. "Im going to change a few things compared to those two matches." Holger Rune battled back from a set down to beat Sebastian Baez 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. The world number 13 pulled out of Monte Carlo with food poisoning last week but roared back to defeat his Argentine opponent in three sets on the clay after a troubled opening. Baez broke in the first game, consolidating for a 2-0 advantage and served it out to claim the first set, with Rune committing 15 unforced errors to 10 winners. However, the Dane broke three times in the second set to get back on track and did the same again in the decider, converting his third match point. On Thursday world number two Carlos Alcaraz will face Laslo Djere in another second round match, with the Spanish home favourite aiming for his third Barcelona Open title.
Tyler Herro scored 38 points as the Miami Heat cruised past the Chicago Bulls 109-90 to keep their NBA playoff hopes alive on Wednesday. Miami point guard Herro led from the front in a wire-to-wire victory that eliminated Chicago from postseason contention and sends the Heat into a winner-take-all clash against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday. The winner of Fridays Miami-Atlanta game will advance to the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, where they will face No. 1 seed Cleveland. "We just came out in attack mode," Herro told ESPN after Wednesdays win. "We had a couple of days off since the last game -- myself, my teammates and the coaching staff put in a lot of work and it paid off. "Weve got one more to go. The job is not done yet, just to get in the playoffs. So weve got a long way to go. "We have a bunch of guys who come in every day, put their hard hats on and they work. The season hasnt exactly gone how we wanted it to, but we continue to get better. Theres a lot to look forward to." Herro was backed by 20 points from Andrew Wiggins, while Bam Adebayo and Davion Mitchell scored 15 points apiece. Australian international Josh Giddey led Chicagos scorers with 25 points. Wednesdays win marked the third season in a row that Chicago have been eliminated from the play-in tournament by Miami. Miami, who finished 10th in the Eastern Conference regular season standings, were always in control after making a fast start against a surprisingly lackluster Chicago line-up. Herro did most of the early damage, scoring from his first eight attempts to pour in 16 points in a 39-28 first quarter that left Miami in control at Chicagos United Center. A dominant second quarter -- Miami outscoring Chicago 32-19 -- left the Heat leading 71-47 with the Bulls seemingly powerless to halt the flow of Heat scoring. Although Chicago rallied in the third quarter, outscoring Miami 27-17, it was too little too late and the Heat closed out a comfortable win in the fourth.
Teenager Braxton Sorenson-McGee scored two tries as the Auckland Blues beat the New South Wales Waratahs 36-5 in wet and windy conditions to win the inaugural Womens Super Rugby Champions final on Thursday. The 18-year-old fullbacks first-half double gave the hosts a 19-0 lead at the break in appalling weather at North Harbour Stadium and there was no way back for the Tahs. "I just feel so proud right now," said Blues captain Maiakawanakaulani Roos. "Weve worked so hard all season and to have an opportunity to play against our Australian sisters was great and a big step in growing the game." It was the first time that the champions of Australias Super W competition had faced the winners of New Zealands Super Rugby Aupiki for a trans-Tasman crown as the womens game continues to expand. The Waratahs came into the clash having won six of the eight Super W titles since the Australian competition began, and 12 of their last 13 matches. The Blues have been equally dominant in New Zealand, claiming back-to-back Aupiki titles and winning 10 of their last 11 games. "What an honour and what a huge opportunity for Australian rugby and for New Zealand rugby," said Waratahs skipper Emily Chancellor. "As you might be able to tell from the way we played, we havent had a lot of practice in those conditions in Australia this season. "So it was a really difficult game but it was really fun."