UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE THRILLS WITH GOALS GALORE; DJOKOVIC THROUGH, KEYS OUT; VONN SHINES
A look back at Sunday night's sporting action which saw riveting international football in Europe as well as big names at the Miami Open
The Uefa Nations League produced a night for the ages with the quarter-final second legs.
Two of the four ties went to penalties, one to extra time and the other saw a side come from 3-0 down on the night to draw 3-3 yet still face elimination.
So as we round up Sunday's night's sporting action, let's start there.
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Pure entertainment
Who had the Nations League quarter-finals as the exciting football event of 2025?
Well, to that extremely small minority who did, I doff my cap off to you. What a night.
European champions Spain welcomed the Netherlands, having drawn 2-2 in the first leg, and shared six goals in Valencia. Mikel Oyarzabal twice gave the hosts the lead in normal time, only to be pegged back on each occasion by Memphis Depay and then Ian Maatsen with 11 minutes remaining.
Lamine Yamal then put Spain 3-2 ahead before Xavi Simons equalised with the third penalty of the match.
And so it went to spot kicks and misses from Noa Lang and Donyell Malen allowed Pedri to seal it 5-4 in sudden death.
France lost 2-0 in Croatia and last night beat them by the same scoreline at the Stade de France: Michael Olise and Ousmane Dembele scored in the second half.
And so another tie went to penalties. Croatia had become spot-kick experts at World Cups in recent years, but on the wrong end here as Les Blues eventually won 5-4 after a total of five misses.
In Lisbon there were seven goals in Portugal's clash with Denmark, who led 1-0 from the first leg - and it was 3-2 after 90 minutes with Cristiano Ronaldo among the goal scorers.
On this occasion, however, the hosts added another two in extra time to earn a 5-2 victory and a place in the semi-finals.
Arguably the most entertaining match of the night was the only one competed in 90 minutes as Germany, 2-1 up from the first leg, blew a 3-0 half-time lead to draw against Italy and sneak through to the final four, which they will now host.
Further down the Nations League pyramid, Belgium produced a comeback of their own as they beat Ukraine 3-0, having lost the first leg 3-1, to avoid relegation to League B.
While Scotland, who won 1-0 in Greece, lost 3-0 at home and were demoted.
In other football news, Juventus sacked Thiago Motta as manager, with former defender Igor Tudor the favourite to replace him until the end of the season.
More history
Novak Djokovic won a record 411th ATP Masters 1000 match, overtaking Rafael Nadal.
The Serb beat Argentine Ugo Carabelli 6-1, 7-6 to reach the last-16 of the Miami Open.
Elsewhere, Stefanos Tsitsipas was beaten 7-6, 6-3 by Sebastian Korda and Grigor Dimitrov battled to a 6-7, 6-4, 7-5 win over Karen Khachanov.
There was a huge shock on the women's side as Australian Open champion Madison Keys was stunned by 19-year-old Filipino wild card Alexandra Eala 6-7, 6-2.
"Growing up it was tough," she said. "You didn't have anyone from where you're from to pave the way. Of course you had many people to look up to around the world, but I think - I hope this takes Filipino tennis to the next step," Eala said in her on-court interview.
Meanwhile, the Professional Tennis Players Association has accused the ATP of attempting to coerce players and is seeking a court order barring such conduct.
Back home
An emotional Lindsey Vonn declared, "I belong on the podium", after clinching the first top-three finish of her comeback in the World Cup Final women's super-G race.
The 40-year-old American alpine ski star completed the course in 1 minute, 13.64 seconds to finish second, 1.29 seconds behind Swiss winner Lara Gut-Behrami, who captured her record sixth World Cup title in the discipline with the triumph.
But it was Vonn who swiped the spotlight with her best showing since returning from retirement and knee replacement surgery, a result that sets the stage for her to compete next February at the Winter Olympics in Italy.
Vonn had not managed a World Cup podium since 2018.
"With all that pressure, I just wanted to ski my best and I did," Vonn said. "I still could have skied better. I know for next year that I belong on the podium. I know I belong on the podium right now.
"It was nice for me to be able to solidify what I already knew was possible. It helps that I don't have people talking so much (negatively) about me all the time.
"I answered a lot of people's doubts today. And I never doubted myself. But that's the only reason why I'm on the podium today is because I always believe in myself."
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2025-03-24T00:44:00Z
