Conor Benn says he thanked Chris Eubank Jr. for choosing to fight him, referred to the fight as a “family affair” and stressed the value of maintaining a close relationship with his father rather than boxing.
Jules Kounde’s powerful extra-time strike gave Barcelona a 3-2 victory over rival Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey Clasico final.
The Catalans won the first major trophy of Hansi Flick’s tenure as coach on Saturday in a dramatic manner, aiming for a quadruple this year.
Barcelona equaled with two Real Madrid goals in seven second-half minutes, scored by Pedri and scored by Pedri at La Cartuja.
However, Kounde fired home in the 84th minute to make it a winner for the LaLiga leaders after Ferran Torres scored to make it a winner in extra time.
Antonio Rudiger, a substitute for Antonio Rudiger at Madrid, was shown the yellow card in the final seconds for making an appearance to throw objects onto the field in front of the referee.
After suffering an ankle injury, Madrid started with top scorer Mbappe on the bench. Left-back Ferland Mendy suffered a thigh injury, which set him up for the first six weeks of play.
Fran Garcia was hired by Carlo Ancelotti to hang Lamine Yamal, Barcelona’s dazzling teenage winger, in place.
As Barca kept getting closer to Thibaut Courtois’ goal, the 17-year-old Spain star, who dyed his hair blond for the game, burst past him quickly.
The Catalans controlled the ball, which won the LaLiga and the Spanish Super Cup the first two times this year and scored nine goals in the process.
After 28 minutes, Pedri drilled the ball into the top corner with precision and power from the edge of the box.
A clever Pau Cubarsi interception in his own half gave the offence.
Yamal cut inside and held the ball up until the Canary Islander reached the box with a sight of goal as Pedri spread the play out to him on the right.
Barcelona’s opener broke Madrid’s defense, which had already been a goal, and also allowed Mbappe to recover from the bench to warm up.
Vinicius Junior would have won a penalty if Jude Bellingham had started and finished a strong move but he was offside as a result of Inigo Martinez’s hacked him down and he had also sped off in the build-up.
With Dani Olmo’s corner evading several players and bouncing off the far post, Barcelona could have doubled their lead, but Cubarsi was unable to reach him as Dani Ceballos held him back.
Madrid referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea was lenient with some heated tackles, perhaps as a result of Friday’s drama, in which the Spanish champions wept at his pre-game remarks criticizing the club’s television channel’s conduct.
At half-time, Madrid sent Mbappe for Rodrigo Goes, and they soon started working on Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, with Vinicius and Mbappe coming close.
In the 70th minute, Mbappe almost equalized for Madrid.
Frenkie de Jong brought the striker down on the edge of the box after he advanced forward. Mbappe fired a low effort into the post after taking the free kick on himself.
Tchouameni found space for himself to head home from Arda Guler’s corner past the helpless Szczesny after seven minutes as Madrid took the lead.
When Yamal played a delicious pass over the top to Torres, which attracted both Courtois and Rudiger, the Spaniard got there first and headed home.
Unsurprisingly, conflict appeared before the game entered extra time.
When Rudiger appeared to have brought down Torres, Barcelona clamored for a penalty before Raphinha’s pressure-assisted penalty fell to Raul Asencio, who was then awarded one last time in stoppage time.
However, the Brazilian was given a diving penalty by the referee after VAR called to review the incident.
Barcelona gained momentum as they searched for a potential winner in extra time.
When Kounde intercepted a strangely loose Luka Modric pass and beat Courtois with a powerful low effort from outside the box, which sparked wild celebrations, they eventually discovered it.
The teams meet again in LaLiga in May in a match that could decide the title race because of Rudiger’s dismissal and Madrid’s pre-match histrionics regarding the refereeing team.
After extra time, Barcelona won the thrilling 2025 Copa del Rey final against Real Madrid, beating Barcelona 3-2 with Jules Kounde’s late strike.
The Catalans won the first major trophy of Hansi Flick’s tenure as coach, breaking the record for the 32nd Spanish Cup, and achieved a quadruple this year.
Barcelona equaled with two Real Madrid goals in seven second-half minutes, scored by Pedri and scored by Pedri at La Cartuja.
However, Kounde fired home in the 84th minute to make it 2-0 for the La Liga leaders with a strike in Ferran Torres’ 84th minute.
Antonio Rudiger, a substitute for the Madrid defender, was sent off in the final seconds for making an appearance to throw an object onto the pitch toward the referee, and Lucas Vázquez, who was also substituted, was dismissed for a second protest.
The Champions League semis are coming, Torres told La 1 after Barca hosted Inter Milan on Wednesday. “We have to enjoy it but without forgetting that,” Torres said.
Flick, who has won all seven championship finals with his coaching, told Movistar, “They can make a party … for today, it’s OK.”
READ MORE: Crystal Palace Defeats Aston Villa to Reach FA Cup Final
Mbappe, who had an ankle injury, and Ferland Mendy, who had a thigh issue early in the game, were the starting players for Madrid.
Fran Garcia was hired by Carlo Ancelotti to hang Lamine Yamal, Barcelona’s dazzling teenage winger, in place.
The Spain star, age 17, led the attack on Thibaut Courtois’ goal by dyeing his hair blond for the game.
The Catalans controlled the ball, which won the first two Clasicos this year in La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup while also netting nine goals.
After 28 minutes, Pedri drilled the ball into the top corner with precision and power from the edge of the box.
A clever Pau Cubarsi interception in Pau’s half gave the offence.
Yamal cut inside and held the ball up until the Canary Islander reached with a sight of goal as Pedri spread the play out to him on the right.
A defensive Madrid emerged from their shell with the opening goal from Barcelona, and it also featured Mbappe off the bench to warm up.
Vinicius Junior would have won a penalty if the excellent Jude Bellingham had hit him down but he had also sped off in the build-up.
With Dani Olmo’s corner evading several players and bouncing off the far post, Barcelona could have doubled their lead, but Cubarsi was unable to reach him as Dani Ceballos held him back.
Madrid referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea was lenient with some heated tackles, perhaps as a result of Friday’s drama, in which the Spanish champions wept at his pre-game remarks criticizing the club’s television channel’s conduct.
At half-time, Mbappé and Vinicius worked on Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, who Madrid sent on for Rodrygo Goes.
In the 70th minute, Mbappe almost equalized for Madrid.
The striker fired the free kick past the post as the striker advanced and was brought down on the edge of the box.
Tchouameni found space for Arda Guler’s corner before the helpless Szczesny in the seventh minute to take the lead.
When Yamal sent a delicious pass over the top to Torres, which both drawn Rudiger and Courtois, the Spaniard pipped them there and fired home.
Unsurprisingly, conflict appeared before the game entered extra time.
When Rudiger appeared to have brought down Torres, Barcelona clamored for a penalty before Raphinha’s pressure-assisted penalty fell to Raul Asencio, who was then awarded one last time in stoppage time.
However, the referee’s decision was overturned when VAR called to review the incident.
Barcelona gained momentum as they searched for a potential winner in extra time.
When Kounde intercepted a strangely loose Luka Modric pass and beat Courtois from outside the box, causing wild ovations, they eventually discovered it.
The teams meet again in La Liga in May, which could decide the title race, and Rudiger’s dismissal and Madrid’s pre-match histrionics about the refereeing team will ensure that the repercussions continue.
With a 4-0 win over the Memphis Grizzlies in their best-of-seven series, the Oklahoma City Thunder were the first team to advance from the first round of the NBA play-offs.
In a 117-115 victory over the Thunder to advance to the Western Conference play-off semi-finals, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a career-high 38 points.
The Thunder won 68 games during the regular season with an average of more than 32 points per game.
Despite Scotty Pippen Jr equaling his career-high score with 30 points for the Grizzlies, who were without injured star guard Ja Morant, the Thunder held the lead for almost the entire second half.
The Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers will face off against the West’s top seeds in the postseason.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, the top team in the Eastern Conference, earlier thwarted the Miami Heat with a 3-0 series lead.
The Heat’s worst play-off loss in franchise history came with a score of 124-87.
Six Cavs players reached double figures, with Jarrett Allen scoring 22 points and D’Andre Hunter adding 21.
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35 years after his father defeated Nigel Benn, Chris Eubank Jr. won the battle of his family name.
There were plenty of fantastic images to choose from on a night full of emotion and an unexpected appearance from Eubank Sr.
After a pulsating 12-round slugfest, both fighters came out loud and went toe-toe in front of 65,000 spectators at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, scoring 116-112.
The conflict between Chris Eubank Sr and Nigel Benn, the sons of former world champions, and Chris Eubank Sr and Benn, who had previously met twice in the 1990s, was called off in 2022 when Benn tested positive for trace amounts of the fertility drug clomifene.
I simply needed to demonstrate that to myself. He was not the person I anticipated him to be, Eubank told DAZN.
The soul in you is brought out by our fathers’ previous actions.
He [Benn] had what he had in him, I did not know. I anticipated breaking him early. I didn’t do that in my training. ”
32 years after their most recent conflict, both fathers were present and embraced in the ring before the bell rang out.
The fathers’ generation’s dominance of the scraps that their fathers produced rolled back through the years in sheer aggression and energy.
Benn later said, “It was close. I must rewatch it,” she said. I believed I had won. I might have spent too much time on the ropes. It was a big welcome homecoming for me, and I enjoyed it.
We are always aware of Chris’s strong fighting style and approach. ”
Benn had increased his weight in response to a fierce adversary outside the ring.
On reflection, Benn said, “I think I can go back down a weight and win a title.”
Promoter Eddie Hearn made it clear that a rematch between the pair is required under their contract.
I was unable to divide them. Hearn told DAZN, “I initially believed Benn was winning the fight, but we lost in the final two rounds.”
Although it is what it is, Eubank didn’t manage to win by four games.
Benn rose to the position of the people’s champion. He took the kitchen sink when he rose to challenge a middleweight. He fought unabated until he won the fight.
One of the most dramatic fights I’ve seen was it.