Sports Digest: COVID-19 continues to impact football in Europe

FOOTBALL

COVID-19[FEMALE:[FEMININE: The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the Barcelona squad rose to 10 on Thursday, potentially jeopardizing the team’s return to the league after Spain’s almost two-week winter break.

Meanwhile, in England, Saturday’s game between Leicester and Norwich in the Premier League has been postponed as Norwich did not have the required numbers to play due to COVID-19 cases and injuries. This is the 17th game canceled in the league last month.

• French club Angers have asked the football league to postpone their home game against Saint-Etienne on January 9 due to a high number of coronavirus cases.

Angers said there were 19 confirmed cases among its squad of 30 and more than 10 will not be allowed to play again until January 10. Angers added that five other staff members have the virus.

FIRST LEAGUE: Cristiano Ronaldo has scored a fourth goal in his last five Premier League games to help Manchester United beat Burnley 3-1 on Thursday for their biggest win under recently hired manager Ralf Rangnick.

Ronaldo netted United’s third of the first half goals, dipping into an empty net in the 35th minute after Scott McTominay’s long-range shot was knocked over the post by Burnley goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey.

McTominay, with a curling shot from the edge of the box, and an own goal from Ben Mee had put United on the winning streak to rebound after a disappointing performance in a 1-1 draw at Newcastle on Monday.

FIGURE SKATING

CANADIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: The Canadian figure skating championships will not have fans in attendance as the national federation adjusts to the increase in the number of COVID-19.

The change aligns with the Ontario government’s decision on Thursday to limit attendance at sports venues and other events. The government has capped crowd size for indoor venues at 1,000 spectators or 50% of capacity, whichever is less. The new capacity limits will take effect on Friday when the NBA’s Toronto Raptors are scheduled to host the Los Angeles Clippers.

Skate Canada will be offering a refund of all tickets purchased for the skating event at the TD Place Arena in Ottawa from January 6 to 13. The competition helps Canada decide who will represent it at the Beijing Olympics in February.

SKI

MEN’S WORLD CUP: A Men’s World Cup super-G scheduled for Thursday at the Stelvio course has been called off due to hot weather.

With the temperature expected to reach 45 degrees, organizers feared conditions were not safe enough. The race was originally scheduled for Lake Louise, Alta., In November, but had been postponed due to weather issues at the Canadian station. It was not immediately clear whether the race would be postponed again to a later date or canceled altogether.

The race would have been the last event of the calendar year. The men open 2022 with a slalom in Zagreb, Croatia on Jan.5.

TENNIS

COVID-19[FEMALE:[FEMININE: Roland Garros finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has tested positive for COVID-19, casting doubt on her place at the Australian Open from January 17. The 30-year-old Russian confirmed she has the coronavirus and is isolating herself after arriving in Australia on Tuesday.

“I was fully vaccinated and getting ready for the start of the season in Dubai,” Pavlyuchenkova said on social media Thursday.

Pavlyuchenkova has just had one of her best seasons. After playing her first Grand Slam final in June – a loss to Barbora Krejcikova at Roland Garros – Pavlyuchenkova is now ranked 11th, a career high. She led Russia to the Billie Jean Cup, formerly the Fed Cup, in November, and in August, she teamed up with Andrey Rublev to win mixed doubles gold for Russia at the Tokyo Olympics.

The opening event of the women’s season is the WTA 500 in Adelaide, which starts on Sunday.

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