Spain

MADRID - Rafa Nadal saved four match points to beat Belgian David Goffin 6-3 5-7 7-6(9) in an absorbing match on Thursday and move into the Madrid Open quarterfinals.

Just as his beloved Real Madrid came back from the brink to reach the Champions League soccer final on Wednesday, 35-year-old Nadal found extra energy in reserve to win a lengthy tiebreak.

The victory was the 1,050th win of his career as he moved into a Masters 1000 quarterfinal for the 99th time and he was lifted by Real's dramatic 3-1 win over Manchester City achieved with the help of two last-gasp goals.

There’s no sequence of words that can accurately describe and recap the magical events that took place at the Santiago Bernabéu on Wednesday. What is certain is that Real Madrid’s miraculous comeback to win 6-5 on aggregate against Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League semifinal would never have happened without Ferland Mendy’s heroic defensive actions in the 87th minute.

Heading into Tuesday's Champions League semifinal return leg at La Cerámica, both Villarreal and Liverpool knew it'd be a far cry from the Reds' 90 minutes of controlled dominance at Anfield.

"The match next week will be very different from tonight's," Villarreal boss Unai Emery said after the first leg. "I think they are going to suffer more next week in our home."

On Monday, Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp delivered a similar take by saying his side had "to be ready to suffer and sit back in moments, but not as a general approach."

The list of soccer free agents 2022 is full of players we've spent an ungodly amount of time speculating over the last few years — Kylian Mbappé, Paul Pogba, Paulo Dybala, Ousmane Dembélé — so it's somewhat strange to see them all leaving their respective clubs on free transfers as out of contract footballers.  

MADRID — Madrid is getting ready for the thousands of fans expected to flock to the city’s Cibeles fountain on Saturday to join Real’s players for a much-anticipated celebration of a LaLiga title that Carlo Ancelotti’s side could clinch at home to Espanyol.

Carlo Ancelotti is now close to becoming the first coach in history to win the top five leagues.

Luck or skill? After Liverpool’s 2-0 victory over Villarreal in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal, Thierry Henry said it was more the former. Based on how the match went, it’s hard to argue with the World Cup and Champions League winner.

An own goal and a Sadio Mané strike two minutes later were all that separated Liverpool and Villarreal at Anfield on Wednesday night. On the CBS postgame coverage, Henry claimed Liverpool should feel fortunate to take a 2-0 advantage into the second leg.