Sport

The Morning Sports Briefing

Real beat City to set up derby final, CJ Stander cleans up at IRUPA awards, Sonia O’Sullivan column and Wentworth hit by McIlroy absence

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Real Madrid have reached a second Champions Legue final in three years. Photograph: Afp

Thu May 5 2016 - 08:33

Milan braced for Madrid invasion

Milanis bracing itself for an invasion of Madridistas after Real proved too good for Manchester City at the Bernabeu last night and set up a second European Cup final in three years against city rivals Atletico.

In an almost surreally subdued performance Manuel Pelegrini’s side offered virtually nothing going forward for much of the 90 minutes and Fernando’s own goal from a Gareth Bale cross after 21 minutes ultimately proved enough for the hosts to progress.

City had been dealt a blow when captain Vincent Kompany limped off in the opening stages but it will be their lack of punch in attack - Sergio Aguero failed to register a shot on target for a fifth Champions League game in a row - as they limped towards the exit which will prove most galling.

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CJ Stander clears up at IRUPA awards

CJ Stander has proved a shining light in a difficult year for Irish rugby and last night he was named both the IRUPA Players' Player of the Year and The Irish Times Supporters' Player of the Year at a ceremony in Dublin.

On receiving the awards, he said: “It’s a great honour to be chosen by the players because it means they must like me. You always wonder, especially coming from a foreign country and you walk into a different team, are they going to accept you? Or are you going to be on the outside?”

Sonia O’Sullivan column

In her column today Sonia O'Sullivan reflects on the Castlebar women's mini-marathon, a race which she uses to help set her training parameters and her ideal "cruising pace."

Also in today's Women in Sport section Stephen Findlater speaks to his 106-year-old grandmother Dorothea, who picked up her first Ireland hockey cap 80 years ago, about a trip to Philadelphia with the Ireland team to take on the world.

Blow for Wentworth

Meanwhile the European Tour’s flagship event has been dealt a blow after Rory McIlroy’s decision to not to take part in the PGA Championship as he looks to avoid the schedule congestion of last season.

What to watch out for:

Golf

Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and Padraig Harrington are all in action in the Wells Fargo Championship, with McIlroy looking to defend his title. (SS4 9pm-12am)

Football

Liverpool look to overturn a 1-0 first leg deficit against Villarreal in the Europa League semi-finals. (BT Europe, Setanta, 8.05pm ko)

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