Sports Newspapers: 5 things you need to know this Friday morning:

Good morning! Here is today’s summary from Sports Newspapers:

1. Bayer Leverkusen claimed a 2-0 first-leg victory at Roma to take command of their Europa League semi-final on Thursday, thanks to goals from Florian Wirtz and Robert Andrich. In the other semi-final encounter, Marseille played a 1-1 draw against Atalanta in France.
2. Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka produced a stunning comeback against Elena Rybakina to set up a Madrid Open final with Iga Swiatek. The Belarusian second seed fought back from a set and a break down to win 1-6 7-5 7-6 (7-5).
3. West Indies international Devon Thomas has been banned from cricket for five years after admitting seven anti-corruption breaches. The 34-year-old has played 34 times for West Indies across all formats, most recently in 2022.
4. Tiger Woods has accepted a special exemption to play in the US Open at Pinehurst next month. The 48-year-old, a 15-time major winner including three US Opens, does not qualify automatically after his five-year exemption for winning the 2019 Masters ran out earlier this year.
5. Aston Villa were beaten 4-2 by Olympiakos in the first leg of their Europa Conference League semi-final as Ayoub El Kaabi’s hat-trick stunned Villa Park on Thursday. Unai Emery’s side had started the game as favourites to win their first European trophy since 1982 but El Kaabi proved too good as the Greek side defeated the Premier League club, with Ollie Watkins and Moussa Diaby scoring for the home side.