Digest

SOCCER

De Bruyne puts City in control against Madrid

Kevin De Bruyne orchestrated a dramatic Manchester City comeback on Wednesday as the English club stunned Real Madrid 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu to put one foot in the Champions League quarterfinals.

Madrid looked on course to edge a cagey contest after Isco's smart finish early in the second half, but De Bruyne teed up Gabriel Jesus in the 78th minute and then tucked away a penalty five minutes later.

A pulsating finish saw Sergio Ramos sent off for preventing Jesus from going clear and Madrid's captain will now be banned for the second leg at Etihad Stadium on March 17.

City's two away goals makes it favorite to go through, even if manager Pep Guardiola was quick to discourage complacency.

"It's still not over," he said. "If there is one team that can overcome this it is this club (Madrid) with their experience and their history."

"We know the situation," said Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane."We have to go there and win."

Lyon edges to first-leg lead over Juventus

A rare goal from combative midfielder Lucas Tousart gave hardworking Lyon a 1-0 home win against a lethargic Juventus in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday.

Tousart, who was sold to German side Hertha Berlin last month but loaned back for the rest of the season, netted in the 31st minute with a neat volley from a cross by midfielder Houssem Aouar.

"We heard before the game we weren't favorites, and rightly so. But we played very well," Aouar said."We're going over there (for the return leg) with a lot of confidence."

Italian champion Juventus is bidding to end a 24-year-wait to win the Champions League, but woke up too late in this match.

"We were second to every ball in the first half, I don't know why. Something went wrong with our approach, I could sense from before kickoff something had not switched on," Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci said.

Tottenham's Alli faces ban for virus post

Tottenham and England midfielder Dele Alli has been charged with misconduct by the Football Association over a social media post related to the coronavirus outbreak.

Alli posted a video on Snapchat in relation to the deadly virus, while also singling out an Asian man in an airport prior to going on holiday during Spurs' winter break.

An FA statement read: "The post constitutes an "aggravated breach", which is defined in FA Rule E3(2), as it included a reference, whether express or implied, to race and/or color and/or ethnic origin and/or nationality."

Alli quickly deleted the post and apologized."It wasn't funny and I realized that immediately and took it down. I let myself down and the club," Alli wrote on Weibo.

According to FA rules, he faces a ban of up to six games, but Spurs manager Jose Mourinho believes Alli's remorse should mean he escapes suspension. "I feel that (a ban) would be unnecessary," said Mourinho earlier this month.

GOLF

China Open postponed due to coronavirus

The 2020 China Open golf tournament in Shenzhen, originally scheduled to be held from April 20-26, has been postponed, the China Golf Association has announced.

A statement from the organization revealed that the event would be delayed in order to help contain the spread of COVID-19, with a new timetable to be decided later.

Founded in 1995, the China Open was the first international professional golf event to be staged in the Chinese mainland, and remains one of the highest-profile events in the country.

Many sporting events in China have been postponed since the virus outbreak, including soccer's 2020 Chinese Super League season and Asian Champions League matches involving Chinese clubs, as well as the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix.

BASEBALL

Bregman latest Astros player struck by pitch

Houston's Alex Bregman was hit on the back by a breaking ball from St. Louis reliever Ramon Santos on Wednesday, the seventh Astros player plunked in five spring training games.

"It was a splitter," Bregman said."It just got away from him."

Some opposing players have called for retaliation against the Astros following Major League Baseball's finding that Houston broke rules against electronic sign-stealing en route to its 2017 World Series title and again in 2018.

Dustin Garneau was hit on Sunday against Washington, and Jose Altuve was grazed on Monday against Detroit, when Osvaldo Duarte and Alex De Goti also were hit. Aledmys Diaz and Jake Meyers were hit on Tuesday by Miami.

Santos' 1-0 pitch in the fifth inning struck Bregman on the left shoulder blade.

BASKETBALL

NBA fines Embiid for obscenity, profanity

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid was fined $25,000 by the NBA on Wednesday for making an obscene gesture on the court and uttering a profanity during a live post-game television interview.

The 25-year-old Cameroonian 7-footer (2.13m) received a higher fine than normal for the violations for what the league called "multiple prior violations of acceptable on-court decorum".

The violations took place on Monday, when Embiid scored a career-high 49 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in Philadelphia's 129-112 home victory over Atlanta.

With 17 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Embiid had the ball stolen by the Hawks' Kevin Huerter, prompting a middle-fingered response from the 76ers star.