Sports
UCL: Man Utd Holds Bayern At Old Trafford …Barca Denies Atletico At Camp Nou
Manchester United gave David Moyes arguably the best result of his reign yesterday as they drew 1-1 with European champions Bayern Munich.
Moyes has endured a rocky debut season, but his United side showed their defensive steel despite coming under intense pressure from Bayern in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final at Old Trafford.
The hosts were under the cosh for almost the entire match but captain Nemanja Vidic grabbed the opening goal 13 minutes into the second half as Europe’s premier club competition continued to represent a bright spot in United’s otherwise troublesome campaign.
Despite their fall from grace domestically, the Premier League champions had won all four of their European ties at Old Trafford this season prior to yesterday and that run looked set to continue when Vidic produced a header of the highest quality from Wayne Rooney’s corner.
Vidic, departing for Inter at the end of the season, gave United the platform for victory but they were unable to build on it as the recently-crowned German champions equalised through Bastian Schweinsteiger just eight minutes later.
The away goal will make life that bit harder for United when they make the trip to Munich, with Pep Guardiola’s side holding a slight advantage as the Spaniard looks to replicate predecessor Jupp Heynckes in securing a treble.
However, Guardiola will be without Schweinsteiger for the second leg after the midfield lynchpin picked up a second yellow card late on for a foul on Rooney.
In Spain, Neymar’s composed finish cancelled out Diego’s wondergoal as Barcelona rescued a 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League.
It appeared as though the visitors would take a slender lead from the quarter-final encounter at Camp Nou after Atletico’s Brazilian midfielder struck.
Diego had started on the bench, but was called upon in the first half when Diego Costa – who overcame a knee injury to start the match, had to exit play.
And he duly lit up a match that proved every bit as tight as their respective positions in La Liga suggested with a rasping drive from 25 yards.
However, Brazil international Neymar ensured Gerardo Martino’s side would not head into the return leg at Vicente Calderon with a deficit when he curled past the otherwise excellent Thibaut Courtois with just under 20 minutes remaining.
Diego Simeone’s men will still have the advantage of an away goal in that fixture, but the tie remains nicely poised after the first encounter.
The visitors showed no signs of being fazed by a boisterous home crowd in the opening exchanges, home goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto showing the biggest display of nerves, but former Barca man David Villa failed to punish his weak clearance, inexplicably missing the target from eight yards after being found by Arda Turan.
Centre-back Gerard Pique was forced off in the 10th minute after falling heavily in an aerial challenge, Marc Bartra replacing him.
Despite the setback, Barcelona started showing glimpses of their free-flowing best and Lionel Messi showed superb footwork to escape Miranda before his throughball was collected by Andres Iniesta who was denied by a great block from Diego Godin.
Atleti were hit with an injury blow of their own as Costa limped off and a subsequent lack of physical presence in their attack helped Barcelona dictate the tempo, but Messi’s tame five-yard header was the closest they went before the break.
Indeed, Martino’s men were almost caught on the counter, Villa’s curling effort from the edge of the box forcing Pinto into a smart low save on the stroke of half-time.
Barcelona were met with a dogged Atleti display in the second half, and their tenacity paid dividends in the 56th minute.
Diego skipped cleverly past Iniesta before drilling an unstoppable drive which swerved past Pinto and into the top right-hand corner.
Barcelona sought a quick response, and Sergio Busquets’ well-controlled volley from 20 yards almost provided one shortly after the hour mark, but Courtois was equal to the task.
However, there was nothing the Belgian could to stop Neymar levelling matters in the 71st minute.
Iniesta’s exquisite outside-foot throughball found the 22-year-old on the left-hand side of the area and he curled a fine strike past a despairing Courtois.
The equaliser buoyed Barcelona, and the visitors had Courtois to thank for ensuring a fourth draw of the season between the two sides, the Chelsea loanee making impressive saves from Iniesta and Messi, the latter of which was a fine diving stop to prevent the Argentina international’s superb free-kick finding the net.
Sports
Inter Best Juventus To Maintain Serie A Lead
Andrea Cambiaso scored at both ends during the first half of Saturday’s Derby d’Italia, before Pierre Kalulu’s red card forced Juventus to play the entire second half a man light.
Substitute Francesco Pio Esposito got Inter back in front with a bullet header, then Manuel Locatelli’s pinpoint finish looked to have salvaged a point for the Bianconeri, before Zielinski struck on the cusp of stoppage time.
Juventus made the brighter start, but they were masters of their own downfall in the 17th minute, when Cambiaso deflected Luis Henrique’s cross beyond Michele Di Gregorio.
Cambiaso atoned within nine minutes, catching Henrique on his heels when Weston McKennie’s cross squirmed through to the back post and applying a side-footed finish.
But after Bremer cleared Zielinski’s dinked effort off the line, Juve’s hopes were damaged when Kalulu received his second yellow card for a 42nd-minute pull on Alessandro Bastoni, though the Inter centre-back appeared to go down theatrically.
Di Gregorio made a remarkable stop to thwart Hakan Calhanoglu, but as Juventus dropped ever deeper, they were punished when substitute Esposito guided Federico Dimarco’s searching cross into the far corner with 76 minutes on the clock.
It looked like Inter would have to settle for a point when Locatelli whipped a wonderful finish into the bottom-left corner in the 83rd minute, but Zielinski had the final say as his 20-yard drive fizzed through Locatelli’s legs and beat Di Gregorio.
Sports
Szoboszlai’s Real Madrid Dream Sparks Concern At Liverpool
A cloud of uncertainty has settled over Liverpool after comments from Hungary head coach Marco Rossi reignited speculation about Dominik Szoboszlai and Real Madrid.
Rossi, who has worked closely with Szoboszlai since his teenage years, revealed that the midfielder’s lifelong ambition is to play for the Spanish giants.
“Because of the very close and direct relationship I’ve had with Dominik since he was a child, Real Madrid has always been his dream,” Rossi said.
For a Liverpool side building around Szoboszlai as a centerpiece of Arne Slot’s project, those words landed hard.
Within hours of Rossi’s remarks, Szoboszlai interacted on social media with two Real Madrid players, applauding posts from Vinicius Junior and Trent Alexander-Arnold following Madrid’s win over Real Sociedad.
His reaction to Vinicius’ post drew particular attention. The exchange with Alexander-Arnold, his former Liverpool teammate, was seen as less surprising.
Still, in the hyper-connected world of elite soccer, even a digital thumbs-up can carry weight. On Merseyside, fans and pundits quickly began dissecting the meaning behind the interactions.
Szoboszlai, Hungary’s captain, has become one of Liverpool’s most influential players. That status is precisely why Rossi’s comments triggered such an intense reaction in England.
The midfielder had just delivered on the field as well, scoring in Liverpool’s 3-0 FA Cup fourth-round victory over Brighton & Hove Albion at Anfield.
After the match, Mohamed Salah heaped praise on his teammate, calling Szoboszlai “the best player in the world.” Slot struck a slightly more measured tone but echoed the sentiment.
“I think there are many elite players in the world, but I definitely agree with Mo that he is one of them,” Slot said. “He is very important for us.”
Szoboszlai is under contract at Liverpool through 2028. However, the club is reportedly eager to open extension talks in the coming months to secure his long-term future.
The player himself addressed the situation recently with notable candor.
“There’s nothing yet, to be honest. Nothing from now on. It’s not in my hands. That’s how it works,” he said. “There’s no progress, but if the right offer comes, we’ll see.”
He was equally clear about his affection for Liverpool.
“We’ll see what happens. Hopefully everyone will be happy in the end. Of course I want to stay. I like the city, I like the club, I like playing with these guys. I love Anfield, I love the fans. Let’s see what the future brings. It’s not my fault. I’d love to stay. We’ll see.”
Inter’s dramatic victory boosted their lead over rivals AC Milan to eight points, ahead of the Rossoneri hosting Como on Wednesday. Juventus, meanwhile, could drop out of the top four as Roma visited Napoli last night.
The last four Serie A matches between Inter and Juventus have produced a total of 21 goals (an average of 5.25 per game), compared to just nine in the previous six (1.5 per game).
Cambiaso became the first player in Derby d’Italia history to score and put through his own net in the same match between these old rivals, but it was Zielinski’s fifth Serie A goal of the season that proved decisive.
Inter will argue they were deserved victors after amassing 21 shots and 1.88 expected goals (xG), while Luciano Spalletti’s visitors mustered 10 shots and 0.92 xG – though the Bianconeri actually attempted six of their shots while down a man in the second half.
Sports
Wolves Beat Man Utd Conquerors
Premier League strugglers Wolves overcame resolute Grimsby Town in challenging conditions at Blundell Park to reach the FA Cup fifth round at the expense of the side that eliminated Manchester United in the last round.
Santiago Bueno scored from Wolves’ only shot on target with an hour played, diverting Joao Gomes’ cross past goalkeeper Jackson Smith with his thigh to end the League Two club’s resistance.
Unrelenting rainfall caused heavy ground underfoot and one penalty area in particular- that of Grimsby’s Smith in the first half – was already a quagmire before kick-off.
Charles Vernam shot narrowly wide from the edge of the box with just 43 seconds on the clock as Grimsby sought to catch their top-flight visitors cold.
Wolves had to wait until the 17th minute for their first opportunity of note, forward Tolu Arokodare firing over with a first-time attempt.
The white paint of the pitch markings soon blended and blurred with the mud as the surface rapidly deteriorated, and both sides struggled to stitch together cohesive attacks as passes travelled unpredictably across the sodden ground.
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