Category: Football

MADRID: Luka Modric turned the tie and Karim Benzema settled it as Real Madrid held off a sensational fightback from Chelsea on Tuesday to win an enthralling Champions League quarter-final 5-4 on aggregate.

Chelsea wiped out Madrid’s 3-1 lead from the first leg in stunning fashion at the Santiago Bernabeu as Mason Mount, Antonio Rudiger and Timo Werner put Europe’s reigning champions on the brink of an incredible victory.

But the 36-year-old Modric intervened with another moment of genius to add to the very best of his glittering career, a sumptuous pass with the outside of his right foot setting up Rodrygo to volley in and sending a nerve-shredding contest into extra time.

After scoring a hat-trick at Stamford Bridge, Benzema then stepped forward to claim the winner, the Frenchman capitalising on a Rudiger slip to head in, a 3-2 defeat enough to see Madrid into the semi-finals.

At the final whistle, Modric and Benzema dropped to the floor, their combined 70 years of age belying another two vintage contributions that have dragged Real Madrid in sight of a 14th European Cup.

They will face either Manchester City or rivals Atletico Madrid in the last four.

After being thrashed by Brentford and then outplayed by Madrid in the first leg last week, Chelsea came in rejuvenated after putting six past Southampton in the Premier League last weekend.

Thomas Tuchel said on Monday they would need a “fantastic script” to pull off this comeback and they certainly delivered that, their only failing an inability to prevent Modric and Benzema from doing what they have done so many times before.

Mount’s goal in the 15th minute set the tone, Madrid was immediately consumed by tension and Chelsea was given early hope.

Mateo Kovacic had been key in the build-up but it was Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s quick pass into Werner that caught Madrid cold, the German steering the ball with his knee into the path of Mount, who advanced and fired past Thibaut Courtois.

For 20 minutes, Chelsea were dictating, Madrid pegged back. Reece James was doing a fine job restricting Vinicius Junior, blocking Madrid’s escape route.

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VALENCIA: Luuk de Jong headed in a 92nd-minute winner on Sunday as Barcelona prevailed in a five-goal thriller against Levante to return to second in La Liga.

De Jong’s late goal, his sixth in the league for Barca, proved the decisive moment in a 3-2 victory in Valencia but it was the introduction of the 19-year-old Pedri off the bench that turned the momentum of the contest.

Asked if the team are too reliant on Pedri, Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez said: “I wouldn’t put it like that but he is an extraordinary player. I don’t hold back any praise, he is a player who excites people and makes a difference.”

A frantic 11 minutes early in the second half saw Levante score one penalty in the 52nd minute through Jose Luis Morales before missing a second in the 55th, this time Roger Marti stepping up, only to be denied by Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Pedri came off the bench in the 56th minute and three minutes later Barcelona equalised, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang heading in Ousmane Dembele’s cross to score his 10th goal for his new club.

Then in the 63rd minute, Pedri fired Barca in front with a first-time finish into the corner, only for Levante to level again after being awarded a third penalty, Gonzalo Melero this time making no mistake.

Levante looked set to claim a point but De Jong snatched the win, meeting Jordi Alba’s cross and heading in at the near post.

Barca climb back above Sevilla into second, still, 12 points behind Real Madrid, who eased to a 2-0 victory over Getafe on Saturday.

Xavi’s side has a game in hand over Real Madrid, Sevilla and Atletico Madrid, with Atletico three points behind in fourth after losing on Saturday away at Mallorca.

Pedri scored a brilliant winner against Sevilla last weekend and while the midfielder was initially rested against Levante, Barcelona were transformed after he came on.

Aubameyang, meanwhile, continued his own rich vein of form since leaving Arsenal in January. The Gabon striker now has 10 goals in 14 games for his new club.

Levante were all over Barcelona early on and Morales was thwarted by an excellent, goal-line clearance by Eric Garcia after his finish at the end of a weaving run that looked to be spinning in. Garcia scrambled back to hook away.

Ferran Torres twice went close but the mayhem began shortly after half-time when Dani Alves leant into Son to prevent him from retrieving a one-two and Morales scored from the spot.

Three minutes later, Levante had another penalty after the ball cruelly dropped down onto the arm of Garcia. Morales left this spot-kick to Roger but his low shot to the left was palmed away by Ter Stegen.

Levante knew an opportunity had been squandered and Barca played quicker with Pedri on the pitch, the teenager playing the key pass out to Dembele, who crossed in for Aubameyang to nod in.

Five minutes later, Barcelona were in front as Gavi nipped between two Levante defenders and squared for Pedri, who bent the ball the first time into the far corner.

Levante, though, came again and when Melero fired in their third penalty of the night after Dani Gomez was clipped by Clement Lenglet, they looked to have secured a point.

De Jong, on for Aubameyang, had other ideas, dashing into the area in the 92nd minute and Alba’s curving cross finding him. De Jong headed the ball inside the post.

MANCHESTER: The home side Manchester City and Liverpool played out a compelling 2-2 draw in their Premier League summit meeting on Sunday that leaves the title race too close to call.

Goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Gabriel Jesus either side of a Diogo Jota strike put leaders City 2-1 up at half-time but Sadio Mane levelled seconds after the restart to change the tone of the match.

Jurgen Klopp’s visitors, who had been on a 10-match winning run in the league, threatened to cut through again in the early minutes of the second half before City recovered their composure.

But neither side could find a winner, leaving Pep Guardiola’s defending champions just a point ahead of Liverpool with seven games to go.

Klopp compared the contest in Manchester to a bout between two prizefighters.

Billed as one of the biggest matches in Premier League history — between two of the finest sides English football has seen — the contest at a crackling Etihad lived up to the hype.

After a cagey opening, the game burst into life.

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker raced off his line to deny Raheem Sterling, who was set up by Jesus as the home side attacked in earnest for the first time.

But the Brazil international was powerless to prevent De Bruyne’s wickedly deflected opening goal in the fifth minute after he was fed by a quick free-kick.

The Belgium midfielder skipped past Fabinho and fired in a shot that hit defender Joel Matip and went in off the far post.

A steward had to remove a blue flare from the pitch as home fans celebrated and the momentum was all with City, chasing a fourth league title in five years.

But their wild celebrations were cut short just eight minutes later when Jota scored his 15th Premier League goal of the season.

Andy Robertson crossed to the far post where fellow full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold cut the ball to the Portugal forward, who made no mistake.

Suddenly the Liverpool fans in one corner of the packed ground were in full voice.

Midway through the first half, City goalkeeper Ederson almost paid for an astonishing lapse in concentration, allowing a tame back pass to dribble within centimetres of crossing the line, with Jota sliding in.

City were shading possession and had the better of the openings but Liverpool posed a constant threat down the right through Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah.

The home side was back in front less than 10 minutes before halftime when Joao Cancelo picked out the deep run of Jesus, who lifted the ball over Alisson from the edge of the six-yard box.

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SEVILLE: Rafa Mir and Papu Gomez struck late as Sevilla bounced back from last week’s defeat to Barcelona with a 4-2 win over Granada on Friday to go second in La Liga.

Julen Lopetegui’s side had looked ready to settle for a point after Granada captain Victor Diaz levelled 2-2 for the visitors with two minutes to go in the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium.

But in a late flurry, Mir grabbed his team’s third goal three minutes into injury time with Gomez adding a fourth six minutes later.

After losing last weekend to their direct rivals Barca, Sevilla now have 60 points, three ahead of both the Catalans who have played two games fewer and Atletico Madrid.

On Friday, Granada started brightly with Darwin Machis scoring after 23 minutes as his side looked to move clear of the relegation zone.

But Diego Carlos pulled Sevilla back eight minutes later getting his head to a Jesus Navas cross.

Lucas Ocampos bundled in for the hosts after 66 minutes following a poor clearance from Granada keeper Luis Maximiano.

Mir had a goal ruled out after a VAR review before Diaz rekindled Granada’s hopes with a powerful header off a corner.

Sevilla made the most of nine minutes of time added on with Ivan Rakitic setting up Mir, unmarked at the far post, for the key third goal.

Sevilla achieved just their third win in their last 11 games and move nine points behind leaders Real Madrid.

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NEWCASTLE: Chris Wood scored from the penalty spot as Newcastle took a huge step towards staying in the Premier League with a 1-0 win at home to the Wolves on Friday.

The New Zealand striker was on target in the 72nd minute, with his second goal for the Magpies since his transfer-window move from Burnley helping Newcastle move 10 points clear of the relegation zone with seven games to play.

Newcastle kicked off at St James’ Park on the back of a 5-1 loss away to Tottenham Hotspur, their third successive league defeat.

But they are now on the brink of being assured of their place in the top flight next season, which will be a huge boost to the Saudi-backed consortium that bought the northeast club in October.

For Wolves, defeat was a blow to their hopes of European football, with the visitors still two points adrift of sixth-placed West Ham having played two more games than the London club.

Bruno Guimaraes was handed a first start at St James’ Park by Howe as the Brazil international and Emil Krafth replaced the injured Joe Willock and Javier Manquillo in the team which started last weekend’s loss at Spurs.

Lage also made two changes, with Hwang Hee-chan and Luke Cundle coming in for Leander Dendoncker and Daniel Podence.

Newcastle thought they had broken the deadlock in the 24th minute when Wood shot home after Guimaraes had exchanged passes with substitute Miguel Almiron and crossed, only for his effort to be ruled out for offside following a VAR review.

Although Newcastle had the better of the game, the Wolves had chances in an increasingly open second half.

Hwang had a close-range effort blocked and Joao Moutinho drilled a cross across the face of the goal.

Newcastle, however, finally went ahead 18 minutes from time when Wood ran onto Joelinton’s pass only to be upended by Jose Sa as the Wolves goalkeeper rushed off his line.

Referee Peter Bankes pointed to the spot and, following a VAR check, the penalty stood.

Wood took the spot-kick himself, calmly sending Sa the wrong way, to the delight of the Newcastle faithful.

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LONDON: Karim Benzema’s scored a brilliant hat-trick as he fired Real Madrid to a 3-1 win against Chelsea that put the Champions League holders on the brink of elimination after Wednesday’s quarter-final first leg.

Benzema produced a masterclass at Stamford Bridge as the France striker netted twice in the first half with two perfectly-taken headers.

Kai Havertz reduced the deficit before the interval, but Benzema punished a woeful mistake from Chelsea keeper Edouard Mendy in the second half to complete his treble.

It was the sublime Benzema’s second successive Champions League hat-trick after he single-handedly inspired their epic comeback against Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16-second leg.

Ancelotti’s side is in pole position to advance to the semi-finals as they return to Madrid for the second leg on April 12.

After losing to Chelsea in last season’s Champions League semi-finals, Real will have the opportunity to exact revenge at the Bernabeu.

Real won the last of their 13 Champions League titles in 2018 and, while they may not be favourites in this year’s tournament, their ruthless victory in west London was a significant statement of intent from the La Liga leaders.

With 11 goals this term, Benzema has scored more times than any other Frenchman in a single European Cup campaign, moving past Just Fontaine’s 10-goal haul in 1958-59.

“They’re magic nights. Today we came out to win, to show we’re Real Madrid,” Benzema said.

“We played well from the first minute to the last. They’re very important goals.”

Chelsea were a shadow of the supremely organised side that marched to their second Champions League crown last year and won six successive games in all competitions before the recent international break.

In another quarterfinal, Villarreal edged past Bayern Munich by 1-0 as Arnaut Danjuma netted one in the opening minutes of the game.

The defeat ended Bayern’s record run of 22 matches unbeaten away from home in the Champions League.

It was a sequence dating back to September 2017 and a 3-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain, at the time coached by current Villarreal boss Unai Emery.

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BURNLEY: Maxwel Cornet scored five minutes from time as Burnley beat Premier League rivals Everton 3-2 in a see-saw clash at Turf Moor on Wednesday.

Victory saw Burnley remain in the relegation zone but move to within a point of Everton.

Burnley took an early lead through Nathan Collins’ first goal for the club but fell behind before half-time as Richarlison twice scored from the penalty spot.

Jay Rodriguez equalised in the 56th minute before Cornet’s first goal since his return from the Africa Cup of Nations in January gave Burnley their first win in six games.

It was also just the Clarets’ fourth win in 29 league games so far this season, with Burnley having lost their last four games without scoring a goal.

The result meant Everton had now suffered six straight away defeats in the Premier League and facing the prospect of playing second-tier football for the first time in 68 years, with manager Frank Lampard’s dismay visibly evident at full-time.

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LONDON: Arsenal dealt a significant blow to their bid to finish in the Premier League’s top four as Crystal Palace thumped the former by 3-0, here on Tuesday.

Arteta’s side was destroyed by first-half goals from Jean-Philippe Mateta and Jordan Ayew at Selhurst Park on Monday.

Unable to muster a revival after the break, Arsenal’s second defeat in their last three league games was sealed by Wilfried Zaha’s late penalty.

Arsenal had gone into the weekend in fourth place, but Tottenham’s 5-1 win against Newcastle on Sunday piled pressure on the Gunners and their response could not have been any less convincing.

The battle to qualify for next season’s Champions League via a top-four finish is heating up and Arsenal are in danger of wilting.

They sit in fifth place, behind Tottenham on goal difference having played a game less than their north London rivals.

West Ham and Manchester United, both three points behind Arsenal, will also fancy their chances after a result that blew the top-four battle wide open.

It was an especially painful result for Arsenal fans given the presence in the Palace dug-out of Eagles boss Patrick Vieira, a Gunners legend after his trophy-filled playing career with the club.

How they could have done with the kind of tenacious performance that was Vieira’s hallmark in midfield during Arsenal’s glory days.

Vieira comfortably out-witted Arteta, who was voted the Premier League’s manager of the month for March after masterminding his side’s climb into contention for a top-four berth.

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DOHA: Following the results from Friday’s final draw here, all eight groups for the upcoming 32-team Qatar FIFA World Cup 2022 have been determined.

In the final draw, a total of 29 teams were allocated to eight different groups, while three teams are yet to be confirmed for the mega event.

The hosts of the upcoming world cup – Qatar have been placed in Group A, alongside Ecuador, Senegal, and the Netherlands.

Whereas, the defending champions France have got themselves placed in Group D with Denmark and Tunisia and the winner of the Intercontinental Play-offs champion.

On the other hand, Group E comprises two former champions — Germany and Spain, alongside Japan with one team yet to be confirmed.

Taking to Twitter, FIFA shared the results of the draw.

The #FIFAWorldCup groups are set 🤩

We can't wait! 🏆#FinalDraw pic.twitter.com/uaDfdIvbaZ

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) April 1, 2022

 

It is pertinent to mention here that the 32-teams mega event will roll into action on November 21 with the Netherlands taking on Senegal in the curtain-raiser at Al Thumama stadium.

Whereas, the final of the mega event will be played on December 18 at Lusail stadium.

DOHA: The chairman of the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF)’s Normalization Committee – Haroon Malik met the president of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Gianni Infantino to discuss the country’s future in the sport.

According to the details, Haroon met FIFA president Infantino, to discuss the future of the country in the sport. Whereas, the FIFA president expressed his desire for a speedy return of Pakistan football on track.

Furthermore, Haroon also met the president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa. After the meeting, the AFC expressed its willingness to support the revival of the sport in the country and also assured full support to NC.

Later, the PFF delegation also participated in the luncheon hosted by Qatar Football Association President Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa and also considered various possibilities for promoting football ties between the two countries.

It is pertinent to mention here that the NC delegation, which travelled to the country to attend the 72nd FIFA Congress, comprises Shahid Khokhar and Haris Azmat under the presidency of Haroon.

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