The big news: Real stunned

Real Madrid lost their second consecutive match for the first time since November 2015 as Celta Vigo beat them 2-1 in the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarter-final encounter. Madrid, whose 40-game unbeaten run came to a halt against Sevilla on Sunday, were stunned when Iago Aspas smashed his 16th goal of the season.

However, Marcelo immediately equalised to make 1-1 at the Bernabeu. But Castro Otto scored for Celta Vigo in the 70th minute to owing to a quick counter attack after Marcelo’s goal.

With the win, Celta Vigo have a slight edge against Real for next Wednesday’s return leg. Zinedine Zidane’s side only lost twice in their previous 48 matches across all competitions.

Football:

  • Lucas Leiva scored his first goal in seven years to power Liverpool into the fourth round of the FA Cup against Plymouth. Lucas headed home Philippe Coutinho’s corner early in the first half in the 1-0 win.
  • Manchester United generated the most revenue in the football world last season, according to a report published by Deloitte. United dethroned Real Madrid after accumulating a record revenue of €689 million (Rs 5,000 crore) in 2015-’16 season.
  • Manchester United have agreed to sell Memphis Depay to French club Lyon. The deal is expected to be around £21.7 million (Rs 182 crore). Netherlands forward Depay has scored seven goals in 53 appearances since joining United from PSV Eindhoven in May 2015.
  • Bengaluru FC moved to the top of the I-league table with an easy 3-0 win against Mumbai FC at the Krantiveera Stadium. CK Vineeth netted a hat-trick. In another match, East Bengal registered their second consecutive win after beating Churchill Brothers 2-0 in Goa.
  • Bayern Munich’s Xabi Alonso is reportedly set to retire at the end of the season, when his contract ends. The Spanish World Cup winner is not in talks for a contract extension with the German giants. 
  • Southampton’s Shane Long capped his 100th appearance for the club by scoring in a stoppage-time to beat Norwich City in the FA Cup third-round replay.

Cricket:

  • South African talisman AB de Villiers’s future in Test matches seems to be bleak as he ruled himself out of the tour of England later in the year. De Villiers had already pulled out of the upcoming Tests against New Zealand in March.
  • The group of BCCI administrators is expected to be named by the Supreme Court on Friday, January 20, instead of January 19.
  • India will look to win the three-match one-day series against England in Cuttack on Thursday. India won the first one-day game at Pune and have the upper-hand going into the second game with an injury-free squad.         
  • Rachael Heyhoe Flint, the former England women’s cricket captain, has died aged 77. Flint passed away in the early hours of Wednesday after a short illness.

Tennis:

  • Britain’s Johanna Konta reached the third round of the Australian Open with an easy 6-3, 6-2 victory over Japan’s Naomi Osaka. However, British player Kyle Edmund was beaten 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 by Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta.
  • Leander Paes and Andre SA crashed out of the Australian Open on Thursday. Paes and his Brazilian partner lost to Max Mirnyi and Treat Huey 6-4, 6-7, 4-6 in the first round. 

Formula One

  • Formula 1’s governing body the FIA has approved the sale of the sport’s commercial rights to Liberty Media, reported BBC. The United States company is in the process of finalising a purchase of a controlling interest in Formula 1.
  • Lewis Hamilton has backed Mercedes replacing Nico Rosberg with Valtteri Bottas, says team boss Toto Wolff. Mercedes signed Bottas after they decided to buy him out of his Williams contract to replace Nico Rosberg, who retired after winning last year’s world title.