Messi creates both Miami goals in 2-2 draw with Atlanta

Miami, USA: Lionel Messi set up both goals for Inter Miami as the Major League Soccer champions drew 2-2 with Atlanta United on Saturday in the Argentina star's first match since announcing his retirement from international football.

Thunderstorms and lightning delayed the start for 90 minutes, but there were sparks aplenty on the field after with Messi, Argentina's all-time leading goalscorer and most-capped player, at the heart of the action. akupunkturabielsko.pl

Miami grabbed the lead in the 32nd minute when Brazil's Casemiro rose to head home Messi's corner.

Atlanta equalized three minutes later when former Newcastle forward Miguel Almiron blasted home a low shot.

Former Liverpool and Barcelona star Luis Suarez put Miami into the lead with a measured finish on the cusp of half-time after a move down the left started by Messi.

But Swiss striker Breel Embolo struck home an 87th-minute penalty to secure a share of the spoils.

In Toronto, Derrick Etienne scored two minutes into second-half stoppage time to secure a dramatic 4-4 draw in a wild eight-goal thriller against Chicago.

Josh Sargent scored a hat-trick for Toronto, but Chicago's Maren Haile-Selassie scored twice before an own goal and Robert Lewandowski's 63rd minute strike put the visitors 4-3 up.

Philadelphia beat Montreal 2-0 as 16-year-old Cavan Sullivan scored in the 75th minute.

It gave the teenager four goals and seven assists this season, the most scoring contributions by a 16-year-old in a season, eclipsing the mark of 10 by Freddy Adu in 2005.

In Orlando, Antoine Griezmann's goal in the 28th minute gave the hosts a 1-0 home victory over San Diego

Guilherme Biro scored in the seventh minute of second-half stoppage time to secure a 1-1 draw for Austin with San Jose.

أعلن نادي الوعب الرياضي عن تعاقده مع اللاعب أحمد المهندي قادماً من نادي الخور، وذلك في إطار حرص النادي على تدعيم صفوف الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بعناصر مميزة، استعداداً لاستكمال منافسات دوري جيتور للموسم الرياضي 2026/2027.
وحضر أحمد عبد السلام، المشرف العام بنادي الوعب، مراسم التقديم الرسمي للاعب، حيث رحب بانضمامه إلى صفوف الفريق، متمنياً له التوفيق والنجاح، وأن يسهم بخبراته وإمكاناته الفنية في مواصلة الفريق لمسيرته المميزة وتحقيق المزيد من الانتصارات خلال المرحلة المقبلة.

Doha: The Qatar Basketball Federation (QBF) has scheduled the start of the men's general league for the 2026-27 sports season for Oct. 10.

In a statement, the federation announced that the first phase of the tournament will run from Oct. 10 to Nov. 9, featuring nine clubs: Al Khor, Al Rayyan, Qatar SC, Al Sadd, Al Gharafa, Al Ahli, Al Shamal, Al Wakrah, and Al Arabi.

The men's general league this season will consist of two stages. The first phase will feature a single round-robin format, while the second stage will shift to a knockout format to crown the champion.

The opening round will comprise 36 matches spread across nine rounds, according to the schedule approved by the federation, with games hosted at the Al Gharafa and Al Rayyan arenas.

Al Arabi enters the new campaign as the reigning champion of the last three consecutive editions, bringing its total number of general league titles to 11.

Al Rayyan leads the tournament's historical honor roll with 18 titles, followed by Qatar SC with seven. Al Sadd, Al Gharafa, Al Shamal, and El Jaish SC, formerly a club in the competition, have won two titles each, while Al Ahli holds one title, captured in the 2000-01 season.

The first leg of the opening phase begins on Oct. 10, with the ninth and final round of this stage scheduled for Nov. 9.

New York, USA: Defending singles champions Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka sailed into the last 16 of the US Open on Friday as tennis icons Serena and Venus Williams suffered an agonising defeat on their long-awaited return to Grand Slam doubles.

Alcaraz, coming off a four-month injury absence, beat China's Wu Yibing 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 to book his place in the fourth round while Sabalenka was similarly dominant in a 6-3, 6-4 defeat of Kamilla Rakhimova.

Alcaraz will face 20th-seeded American Tommy Paul for a place in the quarter-finals after Paul beat 15th-seeded Alexander Bublik 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (4/7), 6-1, 6-3.

"The way he plays is unbelievable, the rhythm he has on every shot -- forehand, backhand," Alcaraz said of Wu. "His balls skid a lot on the court and, for me, it's really difficult to control sometimes.

"But I think I stayed there. I played aggressive. I played smart in the toughest moments."

Wu recovered an early break in each of the first two sets, but Alcaraz pocketed both with breaks in the final games and after saving a pair of break points in the first game of the third the Spaniard rolled home.

"I think my level is really good," he said. "I've got into the rhythm of the competition. I'm getting there."

World number one Sabalenka didn't face a break point in her dismissal of Rakhimova, firing 29 winners with 10 aces.

The numbers didn't tell the whole tale of a match that saw 92nd-ranked Rakhimova challenge Sabalenka in a second-set slugfest.

Sabalenka, who must repeat as champion to have a chance of remaining number one, next faces Taylor Townsend, the 96th-ranked American who beat 15th-seeded Russian Diana Shnaider 6-2, 6-7 (3/7), 6-3.