Category: Football

BARCELONA: Franck Kessie scored a stoppage-time winner as Barcelona snatched a 2-1 Clasico win over Real Madrid on Sunday at Camp Nou and moved 12 points clear of the arch-rivals at the top of La Liga.

The thrilling victory strengthened Barca’s chances to win the title for the first time since 2019 as Madrid’s hopes to defend the championship had been effectively dented with only 12 games of the season left.

The visitors took the early lead through a freak own goal from Ronald Arujo in the ninth minute but Barcelona rebounded strongly when Sergi Roberto struck the equalizer on the stroke of half-time.

Both teams created chances in the second half and Marco Asensio tucked home for Real but ht effort was ruled for offside after a long VAR check.

Instead, Alejandro Balde set up Kessie in the second minute of additional time who sent the ball past goalkeeper Rudiger into the bottom left corner.

The intensity from the crowd was phenomenal as Kessie wrapped up Barcelona’s 100th win against arch-rivals Real Madrid.

Earlier, Getafe beat Sevilla 2-0 as they jumped past the opponents to 13th place in the standings.

Meanwhile, Villareal wreaked havoc on Osasuna as they sealed a commanding 3-0 win thanks to a brace from Jose Luis Morales and Samuel Chukwueze’s early goal.

Real Sociedad came out on top against Elche with a 2-0 win after Takefusa Kubo and Ander Barrenetxea hit goals each.

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BARCELONA: Real Madrid president Florentino Perez will not travel to Camp Nou to watch the Clasico in La Liga on Sunday, a Barcelona club source told AFP. 

The Catalans will not hold a traditional pre-game lunch between directors of both clubs either, the same source confirmed.

Tensions between the clubs have risen in the past week because of the corruption charge levelled at Barcelona by Spanish prosecutors for paying a former refereeing chief 7.3 million euros ($7.9 million) between 2001 and 2018.

Real Madrid confirmed last weekend they would appear in the case as an “injured party” to defend their interests, once proceedings move forward.

Barcelona host Real Madrid looking to increase their nine point advantage on their rivals at the top of La Liga, which they are aiming to win for the first time since 2019.

Spanish newspaper AS report that it is the first Clasico at Camp Nou Perez has not attended “in 20 years”.

Relations between the two rival clubs seemed to be improving of late, as they looked to launch a European Super League project together in 2021 and remain set on the idea.

MADRID: Antoine Griezmann, Yannick Carrasco and Thomas Lemar scored goals to give Atletico Madrid a commanding 3-0 win over Valencia on Saturday and extend their unbeaten run in La Liga to 10 games. 

The home side at Metropolitano Stadium dominated the opponents completely and registered its third consecutive win in the Spanish League.

Griezmann opened the scoring in the first half, slotting home from a close range before Carrose doubled the lead after the break.

Substitute Lemar wrapped up Atletico’s win in the 67th minute, finishing eloquently from Alvaro Morata’s cross as Diego Simeone’s side produced another contest on high note.

Following the victory, Atletico jumped to 51 points and strengthened their claim on third place in the standing, six points ahead of fourth-placed Real Sociedad, who face Elche on Sunday.

However, Valencia are left on the edge of the relegation zone, equal on 26 points with Almeria and Getafe.

Earlier, Celta Vigo breezed past Espanyol 3-1 as goals from Gabri Viega, Iago Aspas and Carles Perez took the side to 10th place.

Almeria held Cadiz to a 1-1 draw after Gonzalo Merelo scored the equalizer on a penalty deep into the stoppage time.

Rayo Vallecano ended on a 2-2 draw against Girona.

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SEVILLE: Sporting Lisbon sent Arsenal crashing out of the Europa League with a penalty shoot-out triumph after Pedro Goncalves’s stunning equaliser, while Manchester United and Juventus eased into the quarter-finals on Thursday.

Sporting trailed when Granit Xhaka put Premier League leaders Arsenal ahead at the Emirates Stadium.

But Portugal midfielder Goncalves forced extra-time when he caught out Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale with a breathtaking strike from 46 yards out.

With reality television star Kim Kardashian and her Arsenal fan son Saint among the spectators, the match ended level at 1-1 on the night and 3-3 on aggregate, requiring penalties to settle the tie.

Sporting emerged with a shock 5-3 victory in the shoot-out as Gabriel Martinelli’s effort was saved by Antonio Adan and Nuno Santos dispatched the winning kick.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said the result was “a huge blow” and blasted his side for wasting chances.

“There were moments in the first 75 minutes where we weren’t at our level. We gave every ball away and we didn’t have the capacity to take the game,” the Spaniard said.

“There were chances to win it in extra-time. There was a lot of uncertainty with the pens. It was a very difficult game.”

It was a far calmer night for Manchester United as Marcus Rashford’s swerving strike from distance earned a 1-0 win at Real Betis and a 5-1 aggregate success.

Joaquin hit the post for Betis and Juanmi spurned two clear chances for the hosts as they started well, desperately trying to overturn their three-goal deficit at the lively Benito Villamarin stadium.

However Rashford’s brilliant goal early in the second half killed off the tie.

“Once you score the first goal the game is gone, and they don’t have the belief anymore,” said Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag.

“That is another step (forward) we made mentally, a winning attitude, to deal with that.”

– Juventus advance with ease –

Three-time champions Juventus earned a 2-0 win over 10-man Freiburg to progress 3-0 on aggregate, with goals from Dusan Vlahovic and Federico Chiesa.

Juventus, leading Freiburg by a goal from the first leg, thought they had taken the lead when Vlahovic struck from close range, but it was ruled offside by VAR.

The Serbian forward then broke the deadlock just before the break from the penalty spot after Manuel Gulde handled in the box and was shown his second yellow card.

With Juventus fully in control and Freiburg at a numerical disadvantage, the tie was as good as over and Chiesa wrapped up the win late on.

Sevilla, the record six-time winners of this competition, suffered a nervy 1-0 defeat at Fenerbahce as Enner Valencia netted from the spot, but still qualified 2-1 on aggregate.

Jorge Sampaoli’s Sevilla, struggling badly in La Liga, suffered defeat in Turkey but had done enough at home to progress against Fenerbahce and continue their charge.

Michy Batshuayi went off injured for the hosts early on, damaging their comeback bid, but Jorge Jesus’s team took the lead when Alex Telles handled in the box.

Veteran Ecuador striker Valencia drilled home his 24th goal of the season for Fenerbahce.

Sevilla held out to progress despite pressure from the hosts in the second half, as they looked for a second goal to force extra-time.

Feyenoord thrashed Shakhtar Donetsk 7-1 on the night at De Kuip to progress to the last eight 8-2 on aggregate.

Jose Mourinho’s Roma drew 0-0 at Real Sociedad to advance 2-0 on aggregate, while Bayer Leverkusen won 2-0 at Ferencvaros to clinch a 4-0 aggregate success.

In the UEFA Conference League last 16, Fiorentina thrashed Sivasspor 4-1, triumphing 5-1 on aggregate, but fellow Serie A side Lazio were knocked out, losing 2-1 at AZ Alkmaar on the night and 4-2 on aggregate.

West Ham thrashed AEK Larnaca 4-0 to complete a 6-0 aggregate stroll, with Anderlecht beating Villarreal 2-1 on aggregate after a 1-0 victory in Spain.

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KIGALI: Gianni Infantino has been re-elected as president of FIFA until 2027 after standing unopposed at the congress of world football’s governing body on Thursday.

The 52-year-old Swiss lawyer, who succeeded the disgraced Sepp Blatter in 2016, was waved in for a third term by acclamation, just as he was four years ago, by delegates from the 211 member federations.

“To all those who love me, and I know there are so many, and also those who hate me, I know there are a few: I love you all,” Infantino told delegates in the Rwandan capital, where the voting system did not register the number of dissident voices.

While FIFA statutes currently limit a president to a maximum of three four-year terms, Infantino has already prepared the ground to stay until 2031, declaring in December that his first three years at the helm did not count as a full term.

Infantino, who staunchly defended Qatar’s hosting of last year’s World Cup as the Gulf state’s treatment of migrant workers, women and the LGBTQ community came under the spotlight, has overseen the expansion of the men’s and women’s World Cup and huge increases in FIFA revenues.

Norwegian Football Federation president Lise Klaveness had said she would not support Infantino and tabled a proposal to discuss at the congress “FIFA’s responsibilities to remedy human rights abuses” in relation to the Qatar World Cup and future tournaments.

On Wednesday, the German FA president, Bernd Neuendorf said the organisation would not back Infantino for re-election, citing lack of transparency from FIFA and insufficient explanations of “why certain decisions are made and who was involved in them”.

However, Infantino’s mainly European-based opponents were not able to put forward a candidate to stand against the man who was once Michel Platini’s number two at UEFA.

Infantino’s re-election followed a long speech in which he triumphantly listed his achievements since taking office, alternating smoothly between English, French, Spanish and German.

“There is a lot to be looking forward to,” Infantino said as he turned thoughts to the next four years and declared the 2026 World Cup, the first edition to be enlarged to 48 teams, will be “the most inclusive World Cup ever”.

FIFA announced on Tuesday that the tournament in North America will feature 104 matches, a huge increase from the 64 at the most recent World Cup, as it will start with 12 groups of four teams.

The upcoming Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand later this year will be the first to feature 32 teams, up from 24 teams at the last edition in 2019.

Infantino is also planning to introduce a new, expanded Club World Cup to be played every four years starting in 2025 and featuring 32 teams.

“We need more, not fewer, competitions worldwide,” he told delegates at the 73rd FIFA Congress.

Infantino has also announced projected income of $11 billion in the four years up to 2026, compared to $7.5 billion in the last four-year cycle ending in 2022.

But he said that figure did not include revenues generated by the Club World Cup, suggesting the final amount will be even greater.

Those improved financial results allow FIFA to keep on increasing the amount of money it provides in subsidies to federations, in turn helping ensure many of them will continue to back Infantino.

In order to make football “truly global”, as Infantino says, at a time when leading European clubs are able to hoard talent and wealth, FIFA distributes money evenly.

And so the likes of Trinidad and Tobago and Papua New Guinea receive the same amount as Brazil, and each has one vote at the congress.

As long as the FIFA president keeps on his side the 35 Central American nations, including numerous Caribbean islands, or the 54 African federations, he need not worry about upsetting the powerful European nations.

That is why failed plans for a biennial World Cup, or the decision to ban rainbow-themed “One Love” armbands promoting LGBTQ rights at the World Cup in Qatar, did not stop Infantino eyeing a new term.

Yet the fractures in football show no sign of healing as long as Infantino’s expansion plans continue.

For example the World Leagues Forum, bringing together 44 leagues worldwide, has complained that FIFA did not consult with them before announcing plans for the new Club World Cup, which will be shoehorned into an “already overloaded” calendar.

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STOCKHOLM: AC Milan’s veteran striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic was named on Thursday in Sweden’s squad for this month’s Euro 2024 qualifiers, when he could break Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff’s age record.

Ibrahimovic, 41, last featured for his country 12 months ago and will beat Zoff’s Euro qualifier milestone of 40 years and 90 days set in 1983 if he features in games against Belgium on March 24 or Azerbaijan on March 27.

He has played just three game for Milan this season after recovering from a knee issue.

“Zlatan has made three slightly longer substitutions now in Milan and feels fit and in decent shape even though he has been away for a while,” coach Janne Andersson said in a statement.

“From that perspective, I think he can contribute. Especially on the pitch, but also off the pitch,” Andersson added.

Should Sweden make it all the way to next year’s competition in Germany, Ibrahimovic could also beat the record set by Hungary’s Gabor Kiraly, who played in the 2016 edition aged 40.

After Sweden failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup Zlatan said last year that he will “continue as long as I can,” and he has said he is “panicking” at the prospect of retiring.

The three countries are all in the qualifying group F, together with Estonia and Austria, with the top two reaching the finals.

SAO PAULO: Three Brazilian footballers, including Nottingham Forest midfielder Gustavo Scarpa, say they have fallen victim to a multi-million-dollar cryptocurrency scam, according to local media reports.

Scarpa, his former teammate Mayke at Sao Paulo club Palmeiras, and Willian Bigode of Rio de Janeiro club Fluminense all claim to have lost huge sums to a crypto firm called Xland, which promised investors returns of up to five percent a month on their money, according to the reports.

“I’ve always seen stupid people fall victim to pyramid schemes and scams. Finding myself in a situation like that is horrible,” Scarpa, 29, said in a WhatsApp audio message aired Sunday by Brazil’s biggest broadcaster, TV Globo.

Scarpa, who was named Brazilian league player of the year in 2022, and 30-year-old defender Mayke filed complaints with police in November, shortly after winning the league title with Palmeiras.

Scarpa says he invested 6.3 million reais ($1.2 million) in Xland. Mayke says he invested around four million reais ($762,000).

Both say they were persuaded to invest in the company by Willian Bigode, a former Palmeiras teammate.

But Bigode, 36, says he is also a victim.

“I’m not a scammer, I didn’t take anyone’s money. I’m a victim, too, because I haven’t gotten my own money back to this day,” he said on Instagram.

He put his losses at 17.5 million reais.

Lead investigator Vinicius Salva told TV Globo there was “strong evidence” of a scam.

But Brasilia-based Xland denied running a pyramid scheme and said it would pay back its clients.

It said it had suffered huge losses from the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which declared bankruptcy in November.

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MANCHESTER: Erling Haaland equalled a Champions League record with a five-goal haul to ease Manchester City into the quarter-finals at RB Leipzig’s expense with a 7-0 win on Tuesday. 

Haaland also set a new club record for goals in a season of 39 in the process as Pep Guardiola’s men reached the last eight for the sixth consecutive season with an 8-1 aggregate victory.

“My super strength is scoring goals,” said Haaland. “A lot of it is being quick in the mind and trying to put it where the goalkeeper is not.”

Abu Dhabi-owned City are yet to go all the way in the Champions League, but they have never had a striker of Haaland’s quality to make the difference in the latter stages before.

At just 22 he now has 33 goals in 25 appearances in Europe’s premier club competition.

“Firstly, I’m proud to play in this competition, I love it,” added Haaland. “Five goals! To win 7-0 is amazing.”

The snowy weather was more akin to Haaland’s homeland, but City did not freeze under the pressure and kept their Champions League dreams alive.

The tie was delicately balanced after a 1-1 draw in eastern Germany three weeks ago, but a Leipzig side depleted by injury never looked like a match for their star-studded opponents.

“That was an incredible performance,” said Leipzig coach Marco Rose.

“They didn’t allow us to control the game at all, at no stage of the game. The bottom line is disappointing for us but they really deserved it.”

Guardiola had kept Kevin De Bruyne in reserve for City’s 1-0 win at Crystal Palace in the Premier League at the weekend and on his return to the starting line-up, the Belgian was back to his best.

Ilkay Gundogan should have opened the scoring after just three minutes from De Bruyne’s inviting cross.

There was some fortune surrounding City’s opener as VAR spotted a handball against Benjamin Henrichs that led to a penalty that neither the City players nor the crowd even noticed.

– Denied record chance –

Haaland fired low to Janis Blaswich’s left to maintain his perfect record from the spot for City with his sixth penalty of the season.

Two minutes later it was 2-0 as Haaland teed up De Bruyne, who smashed a shot against the bar, and then showed his speed and strength to power home a header from the rebound.

Haaland had three before half-time as Ruben Dias rose highest to head Jack Grealish’s corner onto the post and Amadou Haidara’s attempted clearance ricocheted off City’s number nine into the net.

Gundogan’s classy finish into the far corner four minutes into the second half rubbed more salt into Leipzig’s wounds before Haaland started rewriting the record books.

Firstly, he hammered home at the second attempt after Blaswich parried his initial header to match Tommy Johnson’s record of 38 goals for City in the 1928-29 season.

Haaland set a new mark with still three months of the campaign to go when he snaffled up another rebound after Blaswich saved from Manuel Akanji.

In the process, he moved level with Lionel Messi and Luiz Adriano’s record of scoring five goals in a Champions League game.

But Guardiola denied his star striker the chance of another record as he replaced him with Julian Alvarez with 25 minutes remaining.

“If he achieves all these milestones at 22 his life would be boring,” joked Guardiola on making the change.

Instead, it was left to De Bruyne to have the final say as he curled a superb strike into the top corner in stoppage time.

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GIRONA: Alvaro Morata scored a late winner to help Atletico Madrid beat Girona 1-0 on Monday to tighten their claim on third place in the La Liga standings.

Atletico now move to 48 points, three ahead of fouth-placed Real Sociedad, which drew 1-1 against Mallorca on Sunday. Girona, however, are in 12th place with 30 points, four points above the relegation zone.

Leader Barcelona top the standing on 65 points, nine points clear of arch-rivals Real Madrid.

Attleico had a fortunate day at Montilivi as they snatched the win in stoppage time following some tense moments when substitute Morata’s effort was initially disallowed but after a VAR check, the visitors were finally handed the lead.

The Spanish striker registered his 10th goal of the season with that last-gasp strike

Atletico Madrid next host relegation-threatened Valencia on Saturday, while Girona face Rayo Vallecano in an away game.

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BARCELONA: Barcelona claimed a fortunate 1-0 away win over Athletic Club on Sunday, thanks to Raphina’s stand-alone goal which powered them nine points ahead of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga. 

Amid a dramatic week off the field, the former champions found a moment of cherish with a narrow 1-0 victory over hosts Athletic Club that propelled them nine points clear of arch-rivals Madrid despite their resounding 3-1 win over Espanyol.

The visitors started off strongly in a crucial clash which almost paid them in terms of an early lead but Ferran Torres’ strike passed just wide of the left post.

The hosts then looked to turn things around as Williams sneaked through a bunch of Barcelona defenders and managed to create the shooting pace only for his side-footed effort to be tipped wide by Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Garcia then stole a header from the subsequent corner and it appeared to have dodged Ter Stegen all along, but the ball thud back off the crossbar.

With the first half coming to its closure, Raphinha buried the ball into the nets which, however, was initially deemed offside.

After a VAR check, however, it was determined that there was no offside amid the passage of play and thus the Brazilian’s goal was termed legal.

Barcelona’s star player Robert Lewandowski then had a vital chance to double his side’s lead in the 55th minute but the Polish striker botched it wide.

Both sides then made desperate efforts in the closing minutes of the game but failed. Athletic Club’s Gorka Guruzeta and Yuri Berchiche came close to firing the equaliser for their side but the visitors, somehow, managed to hang on.

In another La Liga fixture on Sunday, Valencia stunned eighth-placed Osasuna 1-0 to escape the relegation zone, just ahead of Getafe on goal difference.

Later, Mallorca held fourth-placed Real Sociedad for a 1-1 draw while Villarreal and Real Betis drew an alike outcome from their clash.

Furthermore, in another Sunday fixture, Sevilla recovered to claim a 2-1 victory over Almeria, who failed to escape the relegation zone, sitting in 19th place.

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