Atletico Madrid are assured of a Champions League berth for the 2020-21 season thanks to Diego Costa’s 74th-minute header against Real Betis on Saturday.
Atleti played with 10 men from the 57th minute after Mario Hermoso was sent off for a reckless challenge, and had two goals chalked off by VAR earlier in the tie.
Real Betis were the superior side in the second half, but Diego Simeone’s team held on for a 1-0 win.
Atletico Madrid are on 66 points after 36 matches, nine points above fifth-place Villarreal, who have a game in hand. Atleti’s spot in the top four is safe due to their head-to-head record against Villarreal; the capital club has registered a win and a draw in La Liga meetings with the Yellow Submarine.
Costa netted his crucial goal when Yannick Carrasco lifted a free-kick into the area. Atletico Madrid are now unbeaten in 14 league outings.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — In an offseason in which Denver Broncos fans have had extra time to mine the wired world for even the smallest of nuggets about the team’s offseason overhaul, rookie wide receiver Jerry Jeudy has become a ray of electronic sun.
His workout videos, usually posted on his social media accounts, have fueled plenty of drive-time discussion in his new football home, making the Broncos’ first-round pick this past April the team’s retweet king over the past two months.
When Jeudy posted a 43-second clip of some footwork drills last month, former six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Chad Johnson simply posted, “Moses parted the Red Sea for feet like this.”
Another 29-second clip Jeudy posted earlier this month showcased his route-running work and made Jeudy the face, and the feet, that launched a thousand emojis.
“I love the way he plays,” is how Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton put it earlier this offseason. “… He’s going to add a lot more pressure to defenses with his speed, his route-running ability. I think it’s going to open up a lot for a lot of the guys on the field.”
The Broncos say Jeudy was the top receiver on their draft board this past April when, in their efforts to rev up one of the league’s lowest-scoring offenses last season, they were more than happy to scoop him up with the 15th pick overall. He was the second receiver selected — his former teammate at Alabama Henry Ruggs III was the first wide receiver selected at No. 12 by the Las Vegas Raiders — and Jeudy is expected to be a walk-in starter for the Broncos whenever the team returns to the field.
His appearances at workouts organized by quarterback Drew Lock in recent weeks had teammates buzzing about his potential in an offense that needed upgrading. The Broncos finished 28th or worse last season in most of the major categories on offense, including scoring, total offense, third-down conversions and red zone scoring. They scored 16 or fewer points nine times last season and went 2-7 in those games.
The NFL has banned jersey exchanges in 2020 as the league attempts to play through the coronavirus pandemic, according to a set of protocols distributed to teams Wednesday and obtained Thursday by ESPN.
Jersey exchanges have gained in popularity in recent years, and their elimination was met with immediate derision from some prominent players on social media. San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman tweeted that it was a “perfect example of NFL thinking in a nutshell,” noting that players will “engage in a full contact game” only to find that it isn’t safe to exchange jerseys. Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson tweeted that it was “DAMN SILLY.”
The NFL Players Association, however, signed off on the policy, which states: “A key component of the NFL and NFLPA’s COVID-19 Protocols is limiting exposure risk to NFL players, coaches, club medical staffs, and other club and league staff.”
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson exchanges jerseys with Texans QB Deshaun Watson on Nov. 17, 2019. Todd Olszewski/Getty Images
All postgame interactions with less than 6 feet of separation are prohibited.
Other highlights of the policy include:
• Coaches and players who aren’t likely to appear in the game are “strongly encouraged” but not required to wear masks on the sideline. Assistant coaches who work in the coaches’ booth must wear a mask as they walk to and from the locker room or field. Other people who have field access, such as broadcast partners and NFL representatives, must wear masks. A maximum of 184 people can be granted field access for a game, not counting players, coaches and other staffers who receive bench access.
• Players and coaches must submit to multiple temperature checks before games and cannot participate if they have a fever of more than 100.4 degrees.
• Every effort must be made to space lockers 6 feet apart in both the home and visitors locker room. Plexiglass partitions are also an option.
• Arrangements must be made to ensure that there are no shared water cups or bottles on the sideline.
• Players are required to spend the night before games at the team hotel, even if they are playing in their home stadium.
These policies will take effect for preseason and regular-season games. The NFL is planning to have two preseason games for each team, but the NFLPA has endorsed a training camp with no preseason games. Rookies and selected veterans can report to training camp as early as July 21, with full teams eligible to report on July 28.
The draw for the remainder of this season’s Champions League was held Friday in Nyon, Switzerland, and offered up potentially tantalizing encounters between some of Europe’s biggest sides.
Due to the pandemic-induced work stoppage, the competition will be completed in Lisbon using a single-game elimination format starting from the quarterfinal stage, as opposed to the usual two-legged affairs that typically lead up to the final.
The matchups, which will be played behind closed doors from Aug. 12-16, are as follows:
Real Madrid or Manchester City vs. Juventus or Lyon
RB Leipzig vs. Atletico Madrid
Napoli or Barcelona vs. Chelsea or Bayern Munich
Atalanta vs. Paris Saint-Germain
There are four round of 16 matchups that were halted halfway through and need to be concluded. The home teams (listed first below) will host those fixtures at their respective stadiums on Aug. 7-8. Complete with scores from the first legs, here’s how those matchups shape up:
Bayern Munich (3) vs. Chelsea (0)
Barcelona (1) vs. Napoli (1)
Manchester City (2) vs. Real Madrid (1)
Juventus (0) vs. Lyon (1)
UEFA also finalized the path to the tournament final by drawing up the semifinal bracket. Those games, which are scheduled for Aug. 18-19, will feature the following clashes:
Real Madrid/Manchester City or Lyon/Juventus vs. Napoli/Barcelona or Chelsea/Bayern Munich
RB Leipzig or Atletico Madrid vs. Atalanta or Paris Saint-Germain
On paper, the potential for a Manchester City-Bayern Munich semifinal encounter catches the eye; the sides are widely viewed as two of the best on the continent, with Bayern’s dominant form after the Bundesliga restart instantly making them one of the tournament favorites.
There’s also the potential for Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to meet in the semis should Barcelona and Juventus advance, respectively.
Meanwhile, PSG will fancy their chances of emerging from the other side of the bracket, though red-hot Atalanta – the darlings of the sport at the moment – will have the backing of neutrals everywhere hoping for a big upset.
