Stuttgart beat Leipzig to reach German Cup final

MILAN, Italy: Inter Milan reached the semifinals of the Champions League on Wednesday after drawing 2-2 with Bayern Munich to win a pulsating last-eight tie 4-3 on aggregate.
Italian champions Inter will face Barcelona in the semis after goals in the space of three minutes from captain Lautaro Martinez and Benjamin Pavard canceled out a Harry Kane strike for Bayern which levelled the tie in the 52nd minute.
Eric Dier’s looping header in the 75th minute earned Bayern a draw on the night in soaking and blustery Milan but that wasn’t enough for Vincent Kompany’s side to continue their bid to be crowned Kings of Europe for a seventh time.
Simone Inzaghi’s side came through in awful conditions at the San Siro where a combination of heavy rain and driving winds affected both teams’ ability to play their best football, but added uncertainty and tension to an already highly-charged occasion.
Inter are still on for a repeat of the Serie A, Champions League and Italian Cup treble won under Jose Mourinho in 2010, as they are also three points ahead of Napoli in Italy’s top flight and face AC Milan in the semifinals of the domestic cup.
And Wednesday’s win showed that Inter are more than capable or reaching the final of Europe’s elite club competition, as they did two years ago when they were narrowly beaten by Manchester City.
Bayern had won all three of their previous Champions League away matches at Inter, but after Pavard crashed home his first goal for the club in the 61st minute there was no way back for the injury-hit Bundesliga leaders.
Inter will also benefit from playing the second leg of their showdown with Barca, who they beat in the semifinals on their way to victory in Madrid 15 years ago, at the San Siro.
The hosts didn’t come alive until their fans, who had been sat and stood in silence for the first 20 minutes in protest at ticket prices, burst loudly in song.
By that time the wind had picked up so much that one Inter cross almost swung back out of the penalty box, but even with the wind in their faces the hosts were on the up.
Thuram just failed to get a touch on Francesco Acerbi’s scuffed finish in the 29th minute, and moments later Hakan Calhanoglu crashed powerful shot just wide of the upright.
Bayern reacted and pushed Inter back into their own area for the final minutes of the opening half, but a combination of the conditions, desperate defending and poor finishing kept the match scoreless at the break.
Inter started the second half the stronger but Kane levelled the tie with a brilliantly taken goal, shifting onto his right and drilling a low shot through Federico Dimarco’s leg’s and past Yann Sommer.
Just moments before Kane had rookie Bayern goalkeeper to thank for stopping him scoring an own goal, but not long afterwards Martinez re-established Inter’s advantage when he controlled Dimarco’s corner and lashed home.
And Pavard decided the tie three minutes later with a bullet header against his former club from another corner, sending the San Siro wild with delight.
That wasn’t it though as Dier moved Bayern back to within a goal of extra-time, but when Sommer smothered Kane’s header in stoppage time Inter’s treble dream was kept alive.

JEDDAH: Jeddah Gov. Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Jalawi conducted a field tour of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit to inspect security preparations and arrangements for the STC Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The governor was accompanied by Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal, chairman of the Saudi Automobile & Motorcycle Federation and Saudi Motorsport Company.
They toured the teams’ pitlane, paddock area, operations room, track and met team representatives, wishing them luck in the upcoming race, which begins on Friday.
The Jeddah Corniche Circuit, known as the fastest street circuit in the calendar, is hosting the race for the fifth consecutive year from April 18-20. It is one of the most distinctive circuits, with 27 corners, more than any other circuit in the championship. The track extends over a distance of 6.176 km, and drivers face 16 left-hand turns and 11 right-hand turns while racing at astonishing speeds of up to 322 km per hour.
The circuit is famous for its streamlined design and narrow track, with three DRS zones that enhance the intensity of the competition and increase the excitement of the race.
Lewis Hamilton won the inaugural 2021 race but Red Bull have won the following three thanks to Max Verstappen in 2022 and 2024, and Sergio Perez in 2023.