FOOTBALL
Champions League: Porto upset Milan, Ajax hammer Borussia, Messi delivers
Porto picked up a deserving 1-0 victory over AC Milan, condemning the Italian giants to their third successive defeat in the Champions League group stage.
Luis Diaz broke the duck in the 65th minute before the home side missed a host of chances.
Dias himself had hit the post earlier on with a low drive. Iran international Mehdi Taremi also squandered a few opportunities, which kept the scoreline respectable from Milan’s perspective.
Ajax demolish Dortmund
Ajax vs Borussia Dortmund at the Johan Cruyff Arena appeared to be one of the most competitive fixtures of the evening before kick-off, but it turned out to be a rather one-sided affair.
The Dutch side were in cruise control as they hammered their Bundesliga opponents 4-0.
Borussia’s misfortunes began in the 11th minute as Dusan Tadic’s free-kick took a big deflection from Marco Reus and found the back of the net.
Daley Blind made it 2-0 14 minutes later as the former Manchester United man’s volley rattled the net.
Thanks to some incredible saves from Gregor Kobel in the Borussia goal, the visitors kept the margin unchanged till the interval.
But, Ajax reaped the reward for their domination as they scored the third goal of the night in the 57th minute. Antony, who had just received his first Brazil call-up, found the target with a curled left-footed effort.
Borussia Dortmund were all over the place defensively, and the hosts made no mistake to punish them for their indiscipline.
In the 72nd minute, Sebastien Haller jumped unopposed to meet a Daley Blind cross and head it past Kobel into the net.
Messi excels
Lionel Messi scored a second-half brace as PSG edged RB Leipzig 3-2 in the most thrilling encounter of the night.
Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring after Julian Draxler directed a Marquinhos long pass towards him.
The 22-year-old deceived his marker with a sensational dummy and fired the ball into the net.
RB Leipzig were prompt to respond. The German side had a great start to the game and forced Keylor Navas into making multiple saves within the first 10 minutes of the match.
Leipzig’s morale did not go down after conceding, and eventually, they found the equalizer.
Andre Silva had hit the woodwork only a minute before he scored from an Angelino cross. At 27 minutes, the game stood at 1-1.
Leipzig were the dominant side in the first half and Cristopher Nkunku almost grabbed the second goal for them.
Jesse Marsch’s team did go ahead in the second half as Nordi Mukiele got his name on the score sheet, courtesy of another brilliant Angelino assist.
Despite playing in front of their home crowd, PSG were on the back foot.
They struggled to match the intensity of the away side, but they were handed a lifeline in the 67th minute.
Mbappe took full advantage of a poor Tyler Adams back pass and teed up Lionel Messi for a tap in. The Argentine did not pass up the golden opportunity to score.
In the 74th minute, Messi made it 3-2 from the spot after Mohamed Simaken fouled MBappe inside the box.
The Parisians got another penalty later in the match, which Mbappe failed to convert. Nonetheless, they did enough to secure all three points.
Liverpool prevail over Atletico
Liverpool visited the Wanda Metropolitano to take on Atletico Madrid, and they returned with a 3-2 victory over the La Liga heavyweights.
Mohamed Salah has made a habit of scoring miraculous goals ignoring the barrage of numerous defenders.
He shrugged off four defenders before his shot hit Geoffrey Kondogbia and deflected into the Atleti net.
In the 12th minute, Naby Keita fired a stunning volley towards Jan Oblak, which the Slovenian failed to keep out.
Atletico Madrid pulled one back in the 20th minute when Greizmann scored from close range.
14 minutes later, the Frenchman left Virgil van Dijk for dead and calmly guided the ball into the net.
The home side finished the first half on a high note as Thomas Lemar and Joao Felix saw their efforts being denied by Alisson Becker.
The balance of the tie tipped towards Liverpool’s favour in the second half, when Griezmann was shown a direct red for rising the foot dangerously high.
Mario Harmoso’s foul on Diogo Jota got Liverpool a penalty, and Salah expectedly made use of the opportunity.
Atletico Madrid got a penalty themselves later on but the referee overturned the decision after checking the incident on the pitchside monitor.
A Sebastian Coates double kept Sporting CP’s hope alive for knock-out qualification. The Portuguese champions beat their Turkish counterparts 4-1.
Man City too strong
Manchester City enjoyed a comfortable night as they won 5-1 against Club Brugge at the Jan Breydel Stadium.
Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden were the best performers of the night, even though the latter could not score a goal.
Mahrez scored a brace, while Kyle Walker, Joao Cancelo, and Cole Palmer scored one goal each.
Real Madrid picked up an uplifting 5-0 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk ahead of their El Clasico clash on Sunday.
The win followed Los Blancos embarrassing 2-1 defeat to newcomers Sheriff.
Sheriff, who had picked up shock wins in their first two matches against Shakhtar and Real, tasted their first Champions League defeat as Inter beat them 3-1.
It was Inter’s first victory on the group stage, having won one and lost one previously.
FOOTBALL
WATCH: Georgina Rodriguez makes huge claim on Cristiano Ronaldo’s retirement in Football
Georgina Rodriguez made a huge claim on the future of her husband and star player, Cristiano Ronaldo, in Football. In a brief interaction with a host recently, Rodriguez was asked about the time left for Cristiano to make an impact at the highest level. Georgina looked honest in her approach to the question of the host and claimed something the fans would not love to hear.
Georgina claimed that the Portugal star has maybe one year more from him at the highest level. She felt that Ronaldo might play two more years before retiring and not more than that. She was however not sure if he would play for just one or two years and added that the Al Nassr star could also play more than that.
Watch the video of Georgina Rodriguez here –
🚨🎙️| Georgina Rodriguez on Cristiano Ronaldo’s future at Paris Fashion Week yesterday:
“Cristiano one more year, then it’s over. Maybe two, I don’t know.”
(via @ArobaseGiovanny)pic.twitter.com/4dxw2j5DuC
— Pubity Sport (@pubitysport) March 3, 2024
“Cristiano one more year, then it’s over. Maybe two, I don’t know,” said Rodriguez in the little chat she had with the host. The video has gone viral on X and the fans have started sharing it on different platforms. Some of the fans feel that Georgina might be right, while others feel that she could be wrong, given the fitness and longevity of the star player.
Legacy of Cristiano Ronaldo
On the 5th of February, Ronaldo celebrated his 39th birthday. He is currently one of the oldest players in the world. In the past, players at this age would have retired way back. But the fitness and consistency of Ronaldo make him play the sport as long as he wishes. In his career so far, Ronaldo has won many major leagues for Portugal and league teams like Real Madrid, Al Nassr, and Manchester United.
With United, Portugal won some major leagues like the FA Cup and the Champions League. With Real Madrid, the 39-year-old won the leagues like the UCL, Copa Del Rey and La Liga. He won it three consecutive times for Real Madrid. For Portugal, Cristiano had a huge contribution to Portugal. He has the most number of appearances and goals for an international team and won the Euro 2016 with Portugal.
FOOTBALL
Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham slapped with Red Card as he argued with referee
England and Real Madrid player Jude Bellingham was slapped with a Red Card during the La Liga game against Valencia. In the game, the home team, Valencia was leading by 2-0 after 30 minutes before Madrid scored in the injury time of the first half. Vinicius Junior opened the scoring for Madrid while Hugo Duro (27′) and Roman Yaremchuk (30′) scored a goal each.
In the 76th minute, Junior scored an equalizer to keep the team in the game. However, in the injury time of the second half, Bellingham was given a red card as he argued with the referee against calling it a full-time before he could score. In reply, the match official decided to slap the England international with a Red Card. The team coach Carlo Ancelotti wasn’t happy with the verdict as the Three Lions player was making a pass at the time.
Jude Bellingham verbally abusing officials and other footballers at the slightest provocation needs to be talked about more. It’s embarrassing he gets applauded by Real Madrid Fans.
Mason Greenwood should’ve allowed La Liga to deal with this simp. pic.twitter.com/ixYSw6YxaC
— Herman Facundo© (@hermanfacundo_7) March 3, 2024
“I think what’s just happened is unprecedented. It’s never happened to me,” Ancelotti told reporters.
“We had possession of the ball and the match should have been finished when Valencia had the ball.
“What bothers us is the red card for Bellingham because he didn’t say anything insulting. He was frustrated of course,” said Ancelotti, adding that Bellingham had used a common English swearword when telling the referee it was a goal.
We are annoyed with Jude Bellingham’s Red Card: Carlo Ancelotti
“We were annoyed with Bellingham’s red card. He didn’t say any insults. He said in English ‘it’s a f—ing goal,’ but he was just saying what we were all thinking … [The referee] allowed play to continue. I think he made a mistake.”
“[Bellingham] was clear in what he said,” Ancelotti added. “He was quite vehement [in his reaction] but that’s normal, after what happened. It wasn’t an insult, not at all.”
FOOTBALL
PL 2023-24: MCFC vs MUFC Dream11 Prediction, Playing XI, Fantasy League Today’s Captain, Vice-Captain, and more for Manchester derby
Super Sunday is set to witness the Manchester Derby in the Premier League 2023-24. The match between Manchester City (MCFC) and Manchester United (MUFC) is set to take place in Etihad Stadium, the home ground of Manchester City. The two teams have had a contrasting journey in the league till now. The fortunes of City changed ever since Pep Guardiola took over the club as the manager.
While the home side are placed in the second position in the points table currently, United are in the sixth place in the points table. In their previous encounter, City hammered Luton Town by 6-2 in the FA Cup. United have shown massive improvements in the last few weeks after not having a good start to their campaign. United were involved in a thrilling game where they beat Nottingham Forrest by 1-0 in their last game.
Both teams feature some of the best players in the world. The likes of Julian Alvarez, Erling Haaland, Marcus Rashford, Kevin De Bruyne, Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro, and others would be taking part in the match. Manchester City will start the match as the favourites, given their record in the ongoing league so far and the match taking place in their home. United with their improved record can challenge the home side.
MCFC vs MUFC – Match Details
Match – Manchester City (MCFC) vs Manchester United (MUFC), Premier League 2023-24
Venue – Etihad Stadium, Manchester
Date and Time – 3rd March 2024, 21:00 IST
Live Coverage – Star Sports Network and Disney plus Hot Star
MCFC vs MUFC – Head-to-Head
Both the teams from Manchester have a rich history in the sport. they have been up against each other in 191 instances. In as many games, Manchester United have been historically the better side with 78 wins to their name. City have managed to win 60 wins, as 53 games ended in a draw. In the last five games between the two sides in the Premier League, City have won four of the five games.
MCFC vs MUFC – Likely XI
Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Ake, Akanji, Rodri, De Bruyne, Silva, Alvarez, Haaland, Foden
Manchester United: Onana, Dalot, Varane, Lindelof, Amrabat, Casemiro, Manioo, McTominay, Fernandes, Rashford, Garnacho
MCFC vs MUFC – Fantasy XI
Grand League Team
Goal Keeper – E Moraes
Defenders – M Akanji, K Walker, H Maguire
Mid Fielders – Kevin De Bruyne, B Fernandes, R Hernandez, Casemiro
Forwards – E Haaland (VC), J Alvarez, M Rashford (C)
Head-to-Head Team
Goal Keeper – S Ortega
Defenders – M Akanji, K Walker, R Varane
Mid Fielders – K De Bruyne (C), B Fernandes (VC), B Silva, Casemiro
Forwards – E Haaland, J Alvarez, M Rashford
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