Messi and Suarez fitness doubts,The Impossible Games And More Sports Highlights

Like most sports, athletics came to a stand still at the behest of the COVID-19 crisis.All events were cancelled and athletes turned to competing in their gardens.But slowly thing are getting better. The Impossible games, an unprecedented Diamond  League competition, brought some of the best track and field athletes together virtually and in-person amid the COVID-19 pandemic. And Thursday’s competition in Oslo, Norway saw several records fall despite smaller competition sizes and virtual match ups.The two-hour competition featured live action in Oslo, Norway and Nairobi, Kenya, in addition to pole vault attempts from 2012 Olympic gold medalist Renaud Lavillenie that were recorded on Tuesday from his garden in France.The men’s 2,000 meters featured a unique matchup where Team Ingebrigtsen (brothers Jakob, Filip, and Henrik Ingebrigtsen plus training partners Narve Gilje Nordas and Per Svela) and Team Cheruiyot (Timothy Cheruiyot plus training partners Elijah Motonei, Vincent Kibet Keter, Edwin Melly, and Timothy Sein) competed live from their respective tracks in Oslo and Nairobi.Facing wind, rain, and higher altitude in Nairobi, Timothy Cheruiyot—the 2019 world champion in the 1500 meters—finished the 2,000-meter race in 5:03.05. His teammate Manangoi finished second in 5:18.63.

“Cheruiyot was our main competitor,” Jakob told meet officials. “It’s not easy beating a world champion, but we did it!”

Hotspur midfielder Dele Alli received a one-match ban for mocking the coronavirus, meaning he will miss the Spurs vs Man United clash.

The Premier League will resume on June 17 and just two days later, Man United travel to London to take on Jose Mourinho’s Spurs but Dele Alli will be a miss for that game thanks to his mistake.

On February 6th, the England international posted a video on Snapchat wearing a mask in an airport lounge and then focusing on an Asian man, with the caption “Corona whattttt, please listen with volume”.

The video was deleted from the player’s Snapchat story soon after but by the next day, this video had gone viral. And now, almost four months later, the FA have handed him a one-match ban for the insensitivity. Alli has also been handed a £50,000 fine and must attend an educational course.Sevilla’s Lucas Ocampos was once again the star of the show on Thursday as the Spanish top-flight returned following a three-month pause due to the coronavirus pandemic, scoring a penalty and setting up a goal for Fernando in a 2-0 win over Real Betis in a fan-less Seville derby.The derby win could probe huge for Sevilla in their race for Champions League football, though. Before the league resumed, they sat third, but just two points separated them, Real Sociedad, Getafe and Atletico Madrid. A win over their rivals, celebrated at full-time in front of empty stands, provided the perfect return and a timely morale boost.Barcelona head coach Quique Setien has confirmed that both Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez are fit to start Sunday’s Primera Division encounter with Mallorca on Sunday, though he has warned that the latter is unlikely to play the duration of the encounter.

While Messi has had a minor muscular complaint in the build up to the fixture, Suarez has been sidelined since January because of knee surgery that was expected to end his season. Barca will return to action on Sunday, but they should be able to play with two of their key men, according to Setien.“Suarez is ready to be a starter, but he will not be able to play for the full 90 minutes,” he indicated at a virtual press conference.We’ll not take risks with him after five months, but it will be good for him to play and he will need games to be as strong as before his injury. Messi is there to play, he is perfectly fine. He has trained well and there is no problem.”