SOCCER
COVID-19: The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the Barcelona squad swelled to 10 on Thursday, potentially jeopardizing the team’s return to league play after Spain’s winter break of nearly two weeks.
Meanwhile, in England, Saturday’s match between Leicester and Norwich in the Premier League was postponed because Norwich did not have the required numbers to play as a result of COVID-19 cases and injuries. It is the 17th match to be called off in the league in the past month.
• French club Angers asked the soccer league to postpone its home game against Saint-Etienne on Jan. 9 because of a high number of coronavirus cases.
Angers said there were 19 confirmed cases among its squad of 30 players and that more than 10 will not be authorized to play again until Jan. 10. Angers added that a further five staff members have the virus.
PREMIER LEAGUE: Cristiano Ronaldo scored a fourth goal in his last five Premier League games to help Manchester United beat Burnley 3-1 on Thursday for its biggest win under recently hired manager Ralf Rangnick.
Ronaldo grabbed the third of United’s first-half goals, tapping into an empty net in the 35th minute after Scott McTominay’s long-range shot was tipped onto the post by Burnley goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey.
McTominay, with a curling shot from the edge of the area, and an own-goal by Ben Mee had set United on course for victory to bounce back from a disappointing display in a 1-1 draw at Newcastle on Monday.
FIGURE SKATING
CANADA CHAMPIONSHIPS: Canada’s figure skating championships will have no fans in attendance as the national federation adapts to surging COVID-19 numbers.
This change aligns with the Ontario government’s decision Thursday to limit attendance at sporting and other event venues. The government capped crowd size for indoor venues at 1,000 spectators or 50% capacity, whichever is less. The new capacity limits will go into effect Friday when the NBA’s Toronto Raptors are scheduled to host the Los Angeles Clippers.
Skate Canada will offer refunds for all purchased tickets for the skating event at Ottawa’s TD Place Arena from Jan. 6-13. The competition helps Canada decide who will represent it at the Beijing Olympics in February.
SKIING
MEN’S WORLD CUP: A men’s World Cup super-G scheduled for the Stelvio course on Thursday was called off because of warm weather.
With the temperature forecast to reach 45 degrees, organizers were concerned that conditions would not be safe enough. The race was originally scheduled for Lake Louise, Alberta, in November but had been postponed because of weather issues at the Canadian resort. It was not immediately clear if the race would be postponed to a later date again or canceled altogether.
The race would have been the final event of the calendar year. The men open 2022 with a slalom in Zagreb, Croatia, on Jan. 5.
TENNIS
COVID-19: French Open finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has tested positive for COVID-19, casting doubt on her place in the Australian Open beginning Jan. 17. The 30-year-old Russian confirmed she has the coronavirus and is isolating after arriving in Australia on Tuesday.
“I was fully vaccinated and was preparing for the start of the season in Dubai,” Pavlyuchenkova said on social media Thursday.
Pavlyuchenkova is coming off one of her best seasons. After making her first Grand Slam final in June – a loss to Barbora Krejcikova at Roland Garros – Pavlyuchenkova is now ranked a career-high 11th. She led Russia to the Billie Jean Cup, formerly the Fed Cup, in November, and in August teamed 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, starting on Sunday.
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