For the first time in its history, Bayer Leverkusen was crowned German football champion. In basketball, the Villeneuve-d’Ascq women’s team reached the Euroleague final, before being beaten by Fenerbahçe. Stade Toulouse secured a place in the semi-finals of the rugby Champions Cup by crushing the English team from Exeter.
The sporting events that should not be missed, the summary of the five major football championships and the image of the weekend… Here is the France 24 sports recap.
Villeneuve-d’Ascq’s fine run in the Euroleague: short of exploits, the Villeneuve-d’Ascq basketball players collapsed on Sunday April 14 in the Euroleague final (106-73), overwhelmed by the Turkish title holders Fenerbahçe. The first French team to reach the final of the queen of European competitions for twenty years, the Northerners only resisted the Istanbul club for half time, led by the former coach of the France team Valérie Garnier.
Toulouse rugby players mercilessly against Exeter: hanging on for a period, Stade Toulousain then let loose to crush the English of Exeter (64-26), with nine tries scored, and reach the semi-finals of the Champions Cup for the sixth time in a row. This will be the 16th time that Toulouse have reached the last four on the European scene. A record that they will break on May 5 at the Stadium against other Englishmen, those of Harlequins, qualified the day before on the pitch at Bordeaux-Bègles (42-41), again after a festival of tests (twelve, six each).
Oldest men’s world record falls : the young Lithuanian Mykolas Alekna (21 years old) threw the discus to 74.35 m on Sunday in Ramona (Oklahoma, United States), beating the oldest men’s world record in athletics, the 74.08 m of the German Jürgen Schult who had held for almost 38 years. Mykolas Alekna, son of double Olympic discus throw champion Virgilijus Alekna (2000 and 2004), far exceeded the mark of Schult, then East German thrower, whose world record was set on June 6 1986 in Neubrandenburg (Germany).
WORLD RECORD 👀
🇱🇹’s Mykolas Alekna breaks the oldest men’s world record* as he produces a monster discus throw of 74.35m in Ramona.
Jürgen Schult’s record stood for almost 38 years 🤯
*subject to the usual ratification procedures pic.twitter.com/ZtHqgRNtOU
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) April 14, 2024
The Blues are hot on the heels of the English in the Six Nations Tournament: the French continued their flawless performance by defeating Italy without batting an eyelid (38-15) on Sunday in Paris during the third day of the 2024 Six Nations Tournament, and remained in the same league as the English. After dominating Ireland (38-17) and Scotland (15-5), the Blues have a third success in a row. The French XV, however, remains second with 14 points behind the untouchable English (15 points), five-time title holders, who made short work of the Scottish (46-0) the day before.
Victory for Briton Tom Pidcock in the classic Amstel Gold Race: the Briton Tom Pidcock (Ineos-Grenadiers) won the classic Amstel Gold Race by sprinting ahead of the Swiss Marc Hirschi and the Belgian Tiesj Benoot, Sunday in Valkenburg, in the Netherlands. The Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel, favorite at the start of the race after dominating the Flandrian races, finished 22nd in a pursuit group a dozen seconds behind the winner.
Olympique Lyonnais beat Brest after a crazy match
Seven goals, two expulsions and a penalty after 16 minutes of added time: Lyon beat Brest 4-3, runners-up in Ligue 1, at the end of a crazy match, Sunday evening at home, during the 29th day. Thanks to this success, Les Gones provisionally enter the top 7 in the ranking, while Brestois remain second, a step ahead of AS Monaco, who have one game in hand. At the bottom of the ranking, Nantes won a capital victory (1-0) in the fight for maintenance, Sunday in Le Havre. Later in the day, Montpellier also took a step closer to maintaining by obtaining a draw on the lawn of the red lantern, Clermont (1-1).
Inter Milan see title
Inter Milan, held in check by Cagliari (2-2) on Sunday, will still have a first title shot next weekend thanks to a new misstep by AC Milan during a 32nd day marked by Evan Ndicka’s discomfort which led to the match between Udinese and AS Roma being stopped. Inter, with its 14 points lead over AC Milan, remains well on course to win the 20th title in its history, but Simone Inzaghi’s team will have to win the derby on April 22 to be crowned from the 33rd daytime.
Bayer Leverkusen crowned
For the first time in its history, Bayer Leverkusen, created in 1904, won the German championship! The Rouge-et-Noir largely dominated against Werder Bremen (5-0), in a jubilant BayArena. Victor Boniface (25th), Granit Europa and National Cup. In front of more than 30,000 spectators – who invaded the pitch at the end of the match – Jeremie Frimpong’s teammates also put an end to Bayern Munich’s series of 11 titles and definitively entered the club’s history.
Arsenal and Liverpool defeated, Manchester City still leader
The title race experienced an unexpected development on Sunday in the Premier League with the slips of Arsenal and Liverpool, beaten respectively 2-0 by Aston Villa and 1-0 by Crystal Palace, to the delight of Manchester City, leader at six days to go. Pep Guardiola’s armada did the job on Saturday against Luton (5-1) and was able to witness with relish the poor performances of its two rivals, now two points behind it and facing a tougher schedule. The Citizens can openly dream of a fourth title in a row in the Premier League, which no team has yet managed to accomplish. On paper, Manchester City has the most affordable schedule between now and the end of the season.
Barça consolidates its place as runner-up
FC Barcelona won on the Cádiz pitch on the 31st day of La Liga (1-0). Victory on the smallest of margins for the Catalans. Joao Félix is the one-night savior for the people of Barcelona. The Portuguese scored the only goal of the match, with a superb acrobatic recovery shortly before half-time (37th). Thanks to this victory and Girona’s defeat against Atlético (1-3) earlier in the day, Barça consolidates its second place in La Liga. Xavi’s men have 70 points after 31 days, compared to 65 for their Catalan neighbor. The Blaugranas are eight points behind Real Madrid, solid leader.
48:29 Le Café des Sports, edition of April 12, 2024. © Screenshot France 24
At 22 years old, university basketball player Caitlin Clark continues to panic the scorers. The Iowa Hawkeyes point guard lost in the NCAA tournament final, but her exceptional play attracted a record 18.7 million viewers in the United States. A figure that exceeds the audience for the men’s NBA finals and even the Football World Cup. Portrait.
French rookie Victor Wembanyama missed the Spurs’ last game of the NBA season on Sunday to preserve a sore ankle after the victory against Denver two days ago.
The 20-year-old, who should undoubtedly be named Rookie (best beginner) of the year in the NBA, ended the season with a prestigious victory against the Nuggets (121-120), reigning champions, during which he scored 34 points (12 rebounds, five assists). His record, for his very first season in the NBA, amounts to an average of 21.4 points per game, 10.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists.
Victor Wembanyama allowed the San Antonio Spurs to win against the defending champions, the Denver Nuggets, by scoring 34 points. Michael Gonzales, Getty Images via AFP
