Sports

Real Madrid Edge Atletico 2-1 In Champions League Derby Clash

Published

10 months ago

March 5, 2025

Real Madrid claimed a small edge on city rivals Atletico Madrid with a tight 2-1 Champions League last 16 first-leg win on Tuesday.

Julian Alvarez levelled for Atletico after Rodrygo Goes sent the hosts ahead, but Brahim Diaz stroked home the winner for the record 15-time winners to delight the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.

Diego Simeone’s Atletico, who lost in the 2014 and 2016 finals against their bitter rivals, kept stars Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe quiet but still came up short.

The Rojiblancos played it safe in the final stages, seeming to accept their one-goal disadvantage for the second leg derby clash at home next week.

Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti opted for Morocco international Diaz in midfield to replace the suspended Jude Bellingham and selected Fede Valverde at right-back after he was passed fit to play.

The Italian had demanded his side show a better attitude and more commitment than during their La Liga defeat by Real Betis on Saturday and his charges delivered.

Rodrygo pounced after just four minutes, slipping inside Javi Galan to collect Valverde’s teasing pass before firing home with his left foot across Jan Oblak and inside the far post.

It was the Brazilian winger’s fifth strike of the tournament, habitually shining on the European stage for Madrid, where he boasts 25 goals in 61 appearances.

Rodrygo wanted a penalty when Galan appeared to hold him back in the area but his appeals were waved away.

His compatriot Vinicius came close to netting Madrid’s second as he surged into the box but Jose Gimenez blocked his shot well.

Atletico began to create danger of their own and Valverde hacked away Giuliano Simeone’s whipped ball from under his own crossbar under pressure from Samuel Lino.

Alvarez levelled with a brilliant individual goal, dancing away from Eduardo Camavinga on the left of the box and curling his shot past Thibaut Courtois into the top corner.

The former Manchester City striker has been in sublime form in the past few weeks, notching 10 goals in 14 matches and proving why Atletico made him their second most expensive signing of all-time last summer.

Antoine Griezmann and Rodrigo De Paul helped Atletico keep control for long periods, with Madrid finding it hard to take the ball back from their rivals.

That made it all the more surprising when Diaz restored Los Blancos’ lead in the 55th minute.

The midfielder left Gimenez on the floor with some quick footwork and carved out the space for a tidy low finish, before leaping into the crowd to celebrate.

Griezmann fired wide and Gimenez over as Atletico looked for a response and Ancelotti brought on 39-year-old midfielder Luka Modric in search of more control.

The Croatian delivered just that and neither side threatened in the final half hour of the match until stoppage time, when Madrid might have secured a third.

Mbappe’s cut-back from the right was behind Vinicius who was waiting for a tap-in, and Oblak saved from Modric in the aftermath.

Atletico host Real Madrid next week at the Metropolitano stadium, with the winner facing Arsenal or PSV Eindhoven in the quarter-finals.

AFP

Sports

JUST IN: Dembélé Named FIFA Best Men’s Player, Bonmatí Wins Women’s Award

Published

6 days ago

December 16, 2025

Editor

Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembélé has been awarded the FIFA Best Men’s Player for 2025, following a season in which he contributed significantly to both his club and the France national team.

Dembélé, known for his pace, creativity, and goal-scoring ability, played a central role in Paris Saint-Germain’s campaigns across domestic and European competitions. His performances for the national team also helped France secure notable results in international fixtures.

Speaking on the recognition, Dembélé said, “It is a great honour to receive this award. I could not have achieved this without my teammates at PSG and in the national team, whose support has been invaluable.”

In the women’s category, Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmatí was named FIFA Best Women’s Player for 2025. Bonmatí was influential in Barcelona’s domestic and European campaigns, providing leadership, vision, and creativity in midfield. She also played a key role in Spain’s international successes.

“This award reflects the hard work of my teammates and coaches,” Bonmatí said. “I am grateful for their guidance and support throughout the season.”

The announcements reaffirm FIFA’s recognition of individual excellence in football while highlighting the contributions of players to both club and country.

Sports

Court Fixes Date To Hear Sala Compensation Dispute

Published

2 weeks ago

December 9, 2025

Editor

A commercial court examining the long-running dispute between Cardiff City and French club Nantes over compensation for the death of Emiliano Sala in a plane crash said Monday it would give its decision on March 30 next year.

Sala, a 28-year-old Argentine striker, died when the light aircraft taking him to the Welsh capital came down in the English Channel on January 21, 2019, two days after he had signed for the then-Premier League side. He and pilot David Ibbotson were killed.

The Welsh club took the case to the Nantes commercial court in 2023 to claim compensation for loss of income and other damages suffered by the club as a result of the player’s death.

Following an analysis conducted by an expert appointed by Cardiff City, the club estimated their losses at over 120 million euros ($139.5 million). Lawyers for both clubs made their cases at Monday’s hearing.

The Welsh club argue that Nantes, through their intermediary, agent Willie McKay, were the organisers of the private flight on which the footballer was travelling and that, if the transfer was effective at the time of the accident according to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), it is the organisation of this flight that is at issue.

Cardiff City’s lawyer, Olivier Loizon, told the court Monday, Willie McKay “could not have been unaware of the illegality of the flight”, and argued that the agent had acted with “negligence”.

“Whatever the ultimate cause of the accident, (Sala) should not have been on the flight,” he added.

Nantes’ lawyer, Jerome Marsaudon, insisted Monday the only agent authorised by the club in connection with the transfer was Mark McKay, the son of Willie McKay.

The elder McKay “was simply helping his son, given his extensive experience”, the lawyer said.

“It is sad to see that Cardiff have exploited this tragedy and turned it into a genuine legal farce,” he added. “Nothing in this case justifies holding FC Nantes liable.”

Prior to the start of the hearing, a Nantes representative said the club “have no doubt that Cardiff’s claims will be rejected outright, just like all the others”.

In another case related to the dispute between the two clubs, CAS ruled in 2022 that Sala’s transfer had definitely been finalised at the time of his death.

In 2023, world football’s governing body FIFA ordered Cardiff to pay Nantes the balance of Sala’s transfer fee, which at the time amounted to just over 11 million euros out of a total of 17 million euros.

Sports

Salah A ‘Disgrace’ For Liverpool Outburst – Carragher

Published

2 weeks ago

December 9, 2025

Editor

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher labelled Mohamed Salah “a disgrace” on Monday after the Egypt star’s stunning outburst at Reds boss Arne Slot.

Salah said he had been “thrown under a bus” and had no relationship with Slot after he was left on the bench for last Saturday’s 3-3 draw at Leeds.

It was the third successive game that Salah had been kept out of the starting line-up by Slot amid the forward’s loss of form this season.

In response to Salah’s astonishing rant to reporters, Liverpool axed the 33-year-old from the squad for Tuesday’s Champions League clash at Inter Milan.

Speaking on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, Carragher, a 2005 Champions League winner with Liverpool, said: “I thought it was a disgrace what he did after the game.

“Some people have painted it as an emotional outburst. I don’t think it was. I think whenever Mo Salah stops in a mixed zone, which he has done four times in eight years at Liverpool, it’s choreographed with his agent to cause maximum damage and strengthen his own position.

“He’s chosen this weekend to do this now, and he’s waited I think for a bad result… everyone involved with the club (feeling) like they’re in the gutter, and he’s chosen that time to go for the manager and maybe try to get him sacked.”

Salah is a two-time Premier League champion with Liverpool and has also won the Champions League during his iconic eight-year spell at Anfield.

But, although he only signed a new contract in April, Salah hinted he might have played his last game for Liverpool as he prepares to jet off to the African Cup of Nations after their Premier League clash with Brighton at Anfield on Saturday.

Salah has been linked with a lucrative move to the Saudi Pro League and and Carragher added: “What he’s done off the pitch, I think the club have made the right decision in terms of him not going abroad. Whether he will play for Liverpool again, I don’t know.

“I hope he does, because he’s one of the greatest players we’ve ever had, but if you continue like that, and statements like that, if he doesn’t play, who knows.”