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Rayo Vallecano are finally in a position to dream of La Liga survival. Photograph: Javier Etxezarreta/EPA In the middle of Rayo Vallecano's dark days, when they'd been beaten 15 times in 20 games and the goals were flying in; when they'd let in five from Atlético Madrid, five from Málaga, five from Villarreal, four from Espanyol, four from Sevilla, four from Barcelona, three from Madrid, three from Osasuna, and three from Valladolid; when they plummeted to 19th and stayed there for 11 long weeks; when the only reason they didn't fall further was that Betis were even worse; when even a glimmer of hope, a 4-1 win over Málaga, immediately gave way to a six-goal hammering; and when relegation wasn't an "if" but a "when"; there was a phrase that got repeated over and over: Paco Jémez will die with his ideas. Paco Jémez, though, had other ideas. Not because Rayo's coach was going to back down on his principles - "any club that signs me knows what it's getting," he insisted - but because he didn't have any intention of dying at all. Even when Rayo were a disaster, Jémez had his defenders. Off the pitch, that is. Last season, only two teams in Europe had the ball more than Rayo did: Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Early this season, when Rayo played Barcelona, they had more possession than them, the first team to manage it in 316 games. They threw men into attack, they were fun to watch, and parading the touchline in a dizzying array of multicoloured elbow patches and waistcoats, pink shirts and purple ties, Jémez urged them forward, always. In a country that values the aesthetic, or in which some do, he was eulogised for the way his teams played de tú a tú: as equals. Rayo didn't simply defend - sometimes they didn't defend at all - but instead they went for it. And, mostly, they lost. Rayo took the ball off Barcelona and Jémez declared himself "very proud". But they were beaten 4-0. They went to the Camp Nou where they were praised by Barcelona's

Red Bull Salzburg take the slight upper hand into their Europa League last-16 second-leg clash at home with Basel. The Austrian outfit settled for a 0-0 stalemate in their away leg in Switzerland and hold a perfect record at home in the Europa League this season. The draw at Basel halted Salzburg's 16-match winning streak in all competitions, although Roger Schmidt's men bounced back with a 5-0 win over Wolfsberger AC in the Austrian Bundesliga. Similarly, Basel enjoyed a 5-0 league win over Aarau to find their feet after the home stalemate. Salzburg's form at home extends beyond their five wins in the tournament this season, as they have been beaten just once at their Red Bull Arena fortress since August 2012. They have won 14 in succession at home, including European wins over Zalgiris (5-0), Elfsborg (4-0), Standard Liege (2-1), Esbjerg (3-0) and Ajax (3-1). Conversely, Basel have not won an away fixture in the Europa League in their past 10 outings in the second-tier continental competition, but they travel to Austria in the knowledge a score draw would see them progress to the quarter-finals. Murat Yakin's Basel have had success away from home in the Champions League, chalking up wins at Ludogorets and Chelsea earlier this season, before they bowed out in the group stage to join the Europa League knockout rounds. They began their journey in the last-32, dispatching of Maccabi Tel Aviv 3-0 on aggregate, as they look to at least emulate their semi-final appearance from the previous campaign. It will be a tough task against home-town favourites Salzburg, though, who have been the highest scoring side in the competition this term with 21 goals. Firing in a third of those has been tournament top-scorer Jonatan Soriano, who has recently had to refute suggestions he was Salzburg's equivalent of Lionel Messi. Salzburg's Kevin Kampl and Alan are tied for the most assists, with four apiece.

Andy Murray on Sunday won his first ATP title since returning to action from hip surgery. Murray won the European Open after beating Stan Wawrinka in the final 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. Murray's last ATP title win came in 2017, following which he underwent hip surgery and returned to action in January 2019.

The Sri Lankan cricket squad won the battle over India by slapping 2 wicket win over the 'men-in-blue' in the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium.

Outshining national and international players in the auction for the mega event of IPL, Yuvraj Singh topped the list who will join the camp of Delhi Daredevils since this franchise won him for Rs. 14 crore. Amid bidders for eight franchises, the grand bidding took place in the heart of Karnataka, i.e. Bangalore.

The maiden international century of Umar Akmal while clashing with the debuting nation Afghanistan led Pakistan to win on Thursday in Asian cup. Although the debutants confronted Pakistan but the way they crippled their veteran rivals, who won eventually, was liable to get 'hats off'.

The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam did not end with a standing ovation or a celebration in honor of a hard-fought match. This one ended with surprise, bewilderment and real controversy as Taker tapped out yet still won in the end. While fans attempt to make sense of it all, WWE moves on, and this feud will see yet another chapter written. SummerSlam has expertly set up a third match between The Deadman and The Beast Incarnate.

Lionel Messi beat Cristiano Ronaldo to take home the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award on Thursday. Handed out during the UEFA Champions League group stage draw, the Argentine superstar beat Ronaldo and Barcelona teammate Luis Suarez to take home the silverware. To decide the winner, 54 votes from European journalists were tallied up. Messi received 49 votes, while Suarez had 3 and Ronaldo 2. Messi had 58 goals and 28 assists last year for his club, while Ronaldo had 61 goals and 22 assists. It comes as no surprise that Messi won, as the attacking superstar led his club to the treble last season.

The first Grand Slam tennis tournament of the year, the Australian Open, begins tomorrow and the pre-tournament jousting has begun. Andy Murray, having won the "World Championships" (an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi) and the Qatar Open already, is the form player on the tour just now, and he has certainly been the centre of attention out in Melbourne, but it would be foolish to rush to conclusions on the evidence of those events.Andy Murray

Sporting contests at all levels are often won and lost by the smallest of margins, and confidence can make all the difference to performance.

The history of football world cups started in 1930. The first world cup was hosted and won by Uruguay beating another South American football nation-Argentina. In 2010, 19th Fifa world cup is being held in South Africa. In the last 18 world cups following teams have won most football world cup titles.

Pakistan is one team which has all the ability to defeat the strongest team on any turf at ICC World Cup but over the years Pakistan has always faltered with its consistency. Pakistan is the Group B of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 and the first schedule match that they play in the World Cup is against India on Sun Feb 14 2015 . Pakistan has never won a match against India in the ICC World Cup of any format.

Ashwin's statement came after India's second warm-up match against West Australia XI at WACA, Perth. India has won the match 64 runs. Ashwin has taken two wickets.

All extreme sportsman feel fear, whether they are involved in rock climbing, mountaineering or moutainbiking. The psychology of managing this fear to allow us to fulfill our potential is complex and hard won often through difficult personal experience. This film uses the words of the mountaineer and alpinism legend Mark Twight, taken from his book Extreme alpinism which gives a fantastic insight into overcoming fear in climbing mountains.

23-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams continued her push for a record 24 titles after booking a semi-final berth at the US Open 2018. Serena, who lost in the finale of the 2018 Wimbledon, could now push for glory. Sloane Stephens was knocked out. Men's world number 3 Juan Martin del Potro won.

WrestleMania, the biggest event in all of professional wrestling, is the stage where a wrestler is sure to cement his legacy. Where some wrestlers have won dramatic matches, some have regularly lost at the grandest stage. Here is a list of 5 superstars with most WrestleMania losses.

All-round India beat Pakistan, in a rather one-sided battle, in the ongoing Asia Cup 2018. India won by 8 wickets to show their dominance over their arch-rivals and lead the Asia Cup tally by a 7-5 margin. Batting first, Pakistan managed just 162 runs, before India chased down the target.