Sports
Arsenal beat Chelsea to reach the League Cup final after Kai Havertz scored a stoppage-time winner against his former club.
Bayer Leverkusen beat FC St. Pauli 3-0 to reach the DFB-Pokal semifinals, with goals from Martin Terrier, Patrik Schick and Jonas Hofmann.
Barcelona beat Albacete 2-1 at the Carlos Belmonte to reach the Copa del Rey semifinals, with Lamine Yamal and Ronald Araújo scoring.
Panathinaikos defeated Real Madrid 82–81 in Athens in a EuroLeague game when Jerian Grant hit a buzzer‑beating shot with two seconds remaining.
Premier League clubs dominated the winter transfer market, spending about €450–470 million, while LaLiga spent roughly €75.5 million and Atlético concentrated most Spanish outlay.
Spanish figure skater Tomàs Guarino Sabaté was allowed to perform to Minions film music at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics after the rights holder reversed its earlier denial following public backlash.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino urged that Russia be reinstated into international football, prompting sharp rebukes from Ukrainian officials who called his remarks "morally degenerate."
International curling authorities introduced a mandatory mustard-yellow plastic broom cover to curb "super-brooms," a move that revived concerns about further equipment controversies in the sport.
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Aleksander Kilde, a Norwegian speed skier, withdrew from the Winter Olympics and ended his season, saying his mind and body were not functioning as needed.
Cristiano Ronaldo missed Al‑Nassr’s Saudi Pro League match, multiple outlets said, in what they described as a protest against the club’s transfer dealings and Benzema’s arrival.
Albert Riera was presented as Eintracht Frankfurt’s new head coach, warned he would not tolerate backward passes or shirking responsibility, despite not speaking German and lacking managerial experience.
Lindsey Vonn said she would race the Olympic downhill in Cortina d'Ampezzo on Sunday despite suffering a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in a crash last week.
The Milan–Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will open Friday in northern Italy, with events spread across roughly 8,500 square miles — a layout likely to complicate travel and logistics.
