Category World News

Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo scored the opening goals of the first half and a late second to seal the win at the Nou Camp after an early setback. Barcelona defeated Alaves 3-1 in La Liga on Saturday.

The victory moves the reigning champions, who are 34 points clear of Real Madrid, who are playing in Girona on Sunday, for the first time.

After two and a half years of rehabilitation, Barcelona made it through a shaky start amid uncharacteristic pre-game ticket delays that left the stadium half-full at kickoff.

The issue, according to the club, was brought on by technical issues that made thousands of fans unable to access their tickets through the club’s mobile app, leading to lengthy lines at the fan support office, and causing the game to start with wide areas of empty seats.

Pablo Ibanez struck from close range to give the hosts a first-half stunner. Ibanez pounced on the loose ball inside the six-yard box after Marc Bernal’s mistake on a corner, which was made before he could neatly slot it into the net.

Barcelona responded to this however just seven minutes later. Raphinha received a low cross into the box after Alejandro Balde darted down the left flank. To make it 1-1, Yamal, 18, met the ball with a powerful one-touch finish into the top corner.

Olmo, who expertly curled the ball home first-time from inside the box as the Blaugrana advanced, scored another assist in the 26th of the game.

After receiving a brilliant pass from Robert Lewandowski, Yamal was just inches away from double-figure time in the 44th minute, but his effort fell to the post with the gaping goal.

Just before the break, Lucas Boye fired a quick counterattack to almost equalize Alaves.

Olmo seals Barca’s comeback

In the 56th minute, Lewandowski was denied by a spectacular reflex save from Alaves keeper Antonio Sivera, who had already been playing for Barcelona. In the 77th minute, Boye missed a second chance for the visitors when he went wide from inside the box.

In added time, Olmo put the outcome beyond question, finishing with a strong one-two with Yamal, who was left content to slot home with composure inside the box.

Midfielder Pedri, 23, who had a muscle injury for the first time in more than a month, made his comeback at the game.

Before Tuesday’s crucial game against Atletico Madrid, he scored a much-needed boost in the second half.

Diego Simeone’s team are fourth in the La Liga standings with 28 points, which is their first loss since August’s opening game.

In Kyrgyzstan’s snap parliamentary election, allies of President Sadyr Japarov are expected to receive a resounding victory.

No formal parties or organized opposition are present for Sunday’s vote, which will give Japarov more power.

Since 2020, Japarov, a populist and nationalist, has held steady control of Kyrgyzstan, which has traditionally been the most democratic nation in Central Asia.

A victory for his allies would set the stage for a 2027 presidential election, which is expected to elect Japarov to resign.

The vibrant political life in the mountainous nation of about 7 million people was significant after Kyrgyzstan’s independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. In protests against elections that some claimed were rigged, in 2005, 2010, and 2020, Kyrgyz leaders were overthrown, and the region’s media was historically their freest.

However, Japarov has repressed the media and opposition groups since taking office in response to the protests in 2020.

By November 2026, a vote was scheduled, but the parliament decided to dissolve itself for a quick election.

Western-style thinking “did not work”

The president’s popularity, according to Edil Baisalov, Kyrgyzstan’s deputy prime minister and ally of Japarov, was partly due to rejecting the instability of previous decades, which he claimed had not provided stability or improved living standards.

He told the Reuters news agency, “We spent the first 30 years trying to copy.” We believed that our society would live in Western nations and adopt a parliamentary system akin to Westminster. However, it failed and will continue to fail.”

Baisalov claimed that Kyrgyzstan should be protected from what he claimed were negative social media platforms’ propagating of negative sentiments, in which independent journalists have been labeled as “extremists.”

Bolot Ibragimov, an opposition candidate in Bishkek’s capital, predicted that about 80% of the parliament, which is dominated by allies of Japarov, would be re-elected.

Strong economic growth, the fastest in Central Asia, supports Japarov’s support for banning online porn and forbidding the death penalty, despite rising inflation and power shortages that are lowering living standards.

According to economists, Kyrgyzstan’s rise is largely attributable to its status as a major importer clearinghouse due to sanctions brought on by the conflict in Ukraine.

Numerous Kyrgyz banks and cryptocurrency companies have been subject to sanctions by Western nations as a result of their efforts to evade Russian sanctions.

In the run-up to the election, Japarov has embraced ties to Russia, which has military installations in Kyrgyzstan and employs many migrant workers there.

Lionel Messi led Inter Miami to their first Major League Soccer (MLS) Cup final on Saturday, beating New York City FC 5-1. Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano hailed the Argentinian superstar as “extraordinary.”

A revitalized Miami will roar into the championship game on Saturday at their home field in Fort Lauderdale with a Tadeo Allende hat-trick and goals from Mateo Silvetti and Telasco Segovia.

Messi’s 38-year-old assisted in Miami’s third goal, which was scored by Silvetti as New York attempted to equalize despite not being on the score sheet.

Mascherano described his former Barcelona and Argentina teammate as “Leo has accustomed us to the extraordinary.”

“He’s a remarkable person that we’ll never see again,” he said. Perhaps we’re surprised that he didn’t score, but his third goal, an assist only his can see, gave us peace of mind. He almost sealed the outcome.

In the MLS matchup for next Saturday, Miami will host the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Thomas Muller, a former Germany and Bayern Munich star, led Vancouver to victory in the Western Conference championship game on Saturday with a superb 3-1 victory over San Diego.

After another ruthless, high-scoring demolition job that followed from their 4-0 defeat of FC Cincinnati in the previous round, Messi and his teammates will enter the final beaming confidently.

Allende, who scored twice in the victory over Cincinnati, was once more the centerpiece of the Miami attack.

The 26-year-old Argentinian forward cleverly springs the New York offside trap in the 14th minute and scores a superb second to make it 2-0.

In the 37th minute, New York rallied back with a headed goal from Justin Haak and almost equalized when Rocco Rios Novo, a Miami goalkeeper, was forced into a fine one-handed save.

That crucial near-miss had to occur.

Rodrigo De Paul and Jordi Alba combined immediately for 3-1 in the opening push before Messi slipped a pass to Silvetti, who rifled home.

‘Unbreakable’

Before Allende’s hat-trick a minute from time, which sparked outcry, Segovia put an end to any doubt with Miami’s fourth goal in the 83rd minute.

After a season that appeared to be disorganized earlier in the campaign, Miami is now just one win away from completing a remarkable transformation.

It doesn’t matter who starts, Mascherano said, “We strengthened as a team and came to the end of the season with a brotherhood within the team where everyone rallies together,” Mascherano said. The strength of a group is unbreakable because we are a group.

In addition, Vancouver, who defeated Miami 5-1 on aggregrate in the CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinals in April, made it clear that they would be ready to face off against the star-studded Florida outfit with a stellar performance to defeat San Diego.

With Brian White’s stunning eighth-minute winner, the Canadian club took the lead.

Three minutes later, San Diego goalkeeper Pablo Sisniega was forced to score an own goal by more persistent Vancouver pressure, and a second White goal on the stroke of half-time made it 3-0.

Hirving Lozano’s long-range effort in the 60th minute gave San Diego hope for an unlikely comeback.

However, after Vancouver continued to appear to be the more likely team to score, Sisniega was sent off for beating Whitecaps goalkeeper Ryan Gauld.