10/02/2026

SPORTS TUESDAY | FEB 10, 2026

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K YLIAN MBAPPE scored his 23rd goal of the season in La Liga to help Real Madrid claim a battling 2-0 win at Valencia yesterday and close the gap to leaders Barcelona to one point. Third-place Atletico Madrid slumped to a 1-0 defeat at home to Real Betis, three days after thrashing the Andalusian side in the Copa del Rey , falling further away from the top two. After Spanish champions Barca had beaten Mallorca on Sunday, Alvaro Arbeloa’s Madrid eked out a tight victory at Mestalla to keep the pressure on their arch-rivals. Missing suspended forward Vinicius Junior and injured midfielder Jude Bellingham, Los Blancos lacked sparkle but did enough to claim three points on Spain’s east coast. Alvaro Carreras put the visitors ahead midway through the second half and Mbappe struck late on to seal their win. “It was going to be a game where we had to have a lot of patience. I

Real edge Valencia Madrid stay on Barca’s tail, Atletico slump

a hefty 5-0 win at Betis on Friday, but this was a far closer affair at Atletico’s Metropolitano stadium. “It’s a tough defeat to take after the great game we had in the cup. We weren’t as good as the other day,” admitted Atletico captain Koke to Movistar. “They set up a lot tighter at the back … We had very few chances and they played a great game.” Betis coach Manuel Pellegrini made five changes to the team which crumbled at home and his side were determined to prove a point in the Spanish capital. “I’m very happy for the goal and even more so for the victory – it’s been a very difficult week,” said Antony, who curled home after 28 minutes, beating Jan Oblak at his near post. “We had to change, there was no other option … we’re sorry (to the fans) for the game in the cup.” Elsewhere, Athletic Bilbao beat Levante 4-2, Sevilla and Girona shared a 1-1 draw, and Getafe won 2 0 at Alaves. – AFP

situation, headed for the exits with Los Che 17th, one point above the drop zone. “It’s normal that (the fans) are nervous, I would be too,” admitted Valencia captain Jose Gaya to DAZN . Antony’s first-half strike helped Betis win at Atletico, earning his side revenge for their cup mauling, and leaving Atletico 13 points behind leaders Barcelona. Betis, fifth, continued their push towards the top four, now trailing fourth-placed Villarreal by four points, although they have played two more matches than the Yellow Submarine. Diego Simeone’s Atletico waltzed into the Copa del Rey semifinals with

Brahim Diaz teed up La Liga’s top scorer Mbappe to finish from close range. “Right now he’s the best player in the world, for what he’s showing day after day and game after game,” said Arbeloa, who reiterated that Mbappe could live up to his boyhood idol Cristiano Ronaldo’s legacy at Real Madrid. “As I’ve said before, it seemed like Cristiano was something alien, impossible to equal, and that nobody would get close, but Kylian is on a good path … it’s not easy, obviously, but if anyone can, it’s Kylian.” Valencia’s fans, some of whom had waved white handkerchieves during the match in protest at the club’s

think it was a win that came because of how solid we were, and our focused performance,” said Arbeloa. “I think that we were fair winners.” England international Trent Alexander-Arnold made his return after injury as a substitute in the sec ond half of Madrid’s victory. Arda Guler and Mbappe had chances in the first half, while Madrid rightback David Jimenez, from the club’s youth academy, came closest to scoring but was denied by goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski. Midway through the second half, Carreras conjured a goal out of noth ing to give Madrid the lead. Madrid eventually secured the three points in stoppage time as

Diaz helps Bayern crush Hoffenheim

Bayern’s Luis Díaz (right) in action with Hoffenheim’s Vladimir Coufal during the Bundesliga match at the Allianz Arena yesterday. – REUTERSPIC

LUIS DIAZ hit a hattrick as Bayern Munich thrashed 10-man Hoffenheim 5-1 yesterday to restore their six-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga. Borussia Dortmund’s shaky win at Wolfsburg on Sunday drew the chasers to within three points but Diaz, unplayable at times, was the difference maker as Bayern deliv ered an emphatic response. Harry Kane converted two Bayern penalties, both won by Diaz, to move up to 24 league goals for the season and 38 in all competitions. “There was a lot of noise around the team after two winless games. It was important to stay calm,” Kane said to DAZN . “We’re heading towards the end of the season, a stage where every three points matters. We saw the gap can be cut quickly – the real season starts now.” Relegation battlers last cam paign, third-placed Hoffenheim came to Munich as the Bundesliga’s form team, with 11 wins and just one loss in their past

14 games.

Bayern have scored 79 goals in 21 Bundesliga games this cam paign. Earlier, goals in each half from Christoph Baumgartner lifted RB Leipzig to a 2-1 win at Cologne and up into fourth. “It’s incredibly tight up there – we can’t afford to make any mis takes,” Baumgartner said of the top-four battle. Stuttgart’s loss to St Pauli on Sunday, their first defeat since early December, left the door to the top four ajar and Leipzig obliged, winning for just the sec ond time in five outings. Austria midfielder Christoph Baumgartner has emerged as Leipzig’s most potent creative threat since the departure of Xavi Simons to Tottenham in August. He has eight goals and seven assists in 20 league games this season. The victory will boost Leipzig ahead of their trip to Bayern in the quarterfinals of the German Cup on Thursday. – AFP

Reed continues Gulf romp PATRICK REED continued his

Gotterup prevails in playoff to win Phoenix Open CHRIS GOTTERUP won the PGA Tour Phoenix Open yeserday, topping Hideki Matsuyama with a birdie at the first playoff hole as the Japanese major-winner found the water just moments after surrendering the outright lead at the 72nd hole. His waywardness finally caught up with him, as he was in the church pews bunker left the fairway on the way to his first bogey of the day. That saw him close with a three under par 68 and join Gotterup on 268, and when they returned to 18 for the playoff Matsuyama was left again and in the water. danger out there. “I just figured I would stay loose. I didn’t think this would happen, especially after Friday and Saturday but here we are,” added Gotterup. “It’s disappointing, a shock,” Matsuyama admitted, adding he’d “just get back up on the horse next week.

pair were tied at the top. Finn Oliver Lindell caught and passed them after making six birdies and two bogeys in the first eight holes. Lindell bogeyed 12 and 13 as Reed picked up shots on 10 and 11 to move two ahead again. “It wasn’t looking very good there on the front nine,” said Reed. “To lose the lead like that and then to be able to kind of flip the switch there on the back nine obviously felt amazing.” Calum Hill, who finished in a tie for second with Reed a week earlier, claimed second again. Olesen and American Johannes Veerman shared third. Padraig Harrington was under par in every round to finish five under in a tie for 34th. – AFP

impressive cruise round the Gulf as he won the Qatar Masters by two strokes yesterday. The American, who won the European Tour event in Dubai two weeks ago and was tied for second after a three-way playoff in Bahrain last week, led from the first round in Doha. “This little run I’ve had, two wins and a second, it’s awesome,”said Reed. “It’s special, to come out here especially to get two wins early on in the season.” Reed started the final round two shots ahead of Jacob Skov Olesen and the two were paired. After the Dane birdied the first hole and Reed bogeyed the second the

Gotterup, who started the day four shots behind third-round leader Matsuyama, fired nine birdies in a seven-under par 64 at TPC Scottsdale, picking up five shots in the last six holes to post a 16-under total of 268. Matsuyama meanwhile, endured a nervy round in which he hit just three of 14 fairways but arrived at the 72nd hole in the lead at 17 under.

“I was grinding all weekend,” he said. “Didn’t have my best stuff but hung in there.” World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler came up short in his bid for another epic Phoenix Open comeback. And American Michael Thorbjornsen was unable to hang on after briefly taking the lead with an eagle at 15, bogeying the next two. – AFP

Gotterup had put himself in position to strike with a late surge that included birdies at 13, 14 and 15 and another pair at 17 and 18 – where his shot out of the right rough left him a three-foot birdie putt. “I knew I needed to make birdie on 18 but you never know,”Gotterup said. “Hideki was playing great, 17 is birdieable but there’s also some