Liverpool Through in Champions League, Cristiano Ronaldo Claims New Record

Agencies
December 7, 2017

Dec 7: Philippe Coutinho's hat-trick inspired Liverpool to score seven in their win over Spartak Moscow on Wednesday as they joined Sevilla, Shakhtar Donetsk and Porto in qualifying for the Champions League last 16.

That quartet completed the line-up on the final night of group-stage action that was also notable for another Cristiano Ronaldo goals record in the competition.

The Portuguese superstar scored his ninth in the competition this season in reigning champions Real Madrid's 3-2 win at home to Borussia Dortmund.

In doing so, he became the first player to score in all six Champions League group-stage matches in a season while also equalling his Barcelona rival Lionel Messi's record of 60 group-stage goals in total.

Liverpool have also been prolific this season, and their demolition of Spartak was the second time they had won 7-0 en route to finishing top of Group E -- they beat Maribor 7-0 in October.

Jurgen Klopp's side were 3-0 up inside 19 minutes on a night that saw their 'Fab Four' run riot -- Coutinho got his first hat-trick for the club, Sadio Mane scored twice and there was one each for Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah.

"It's really difficult when we go to the next gear and use the space. It was nice to watch tonight," Klopp told BT Sport after guiding the Reds into the last 16 for the first time in nine years.

As a result, there will be a record five English clubs in next Monday's draw, and they will not be able to face each other.

Spartak's defeat meant Sevilla were through regardless of their 1-1 draw with Maribor in Slovenia.

Maribor captain Marcos Tavares scored the opener, with Paulo Henrique Ganso coming off the bench to equalise for the Spaniards. Spartak go into the Europa League.

Napoli out

Ukrainian giants Shakhtar are through to the last 16 in Group F at the expense of Napoli after beating Pep Guardiola's Manchester City -- who had already won the section -- 2-1 in Kharkiv.

Shakhtar only needed a draw, but took all three points, with Brazilian duo Bernard and Ismaily getting their goals.

Bernard's opener was a beauty, but it was a mistake by City goalkeeper Ederson that allowed Ismaily to make it 2-0.

Sergio Aguero's stoppage-time penalty handed a consolation to City, but this was their first defeat of the season and they have the Manchester derby this weekend.

Napoli had gone in front early on away to already-eliminated Feyenoord through Piotr Zielinski, but Nicolai Jorgensen equalised. Jeremiah St Juste then made it 2-1 at the death for the Dutch champions after they had Tonny Vilhena sent off.

"Now we want to go as far as possible in the Europa League," Napoli captain Marek Hamsik told Mediaset Premium.

Porto also knew a win would take them through in Group G and the two-time European champions ran riot against a hapless Monaco, hammering last season's semi-finalists 5-2.

Vincent Aboubakar scored twice for the Portuguese club, with Yacine Brahimi, Alex Telles and Francisco Soares also netting.

Monaco replied through a Kamil Glik effort and a Radamel Falcao header against his old club, while Porto's Felipe and Rachid Ghezzal for the visitors were sent off after an altercation in the first half.

RB Leipzig were forced to settle for a Europa League spot in their debut European campaign.

They lost 2-1 at home to group winners Besiktas, for whom Talisca scored a last-minute winner after Naby Keita had cancelled out Alvaro Negredo's early penalty opener. Leipzig had Stefan Ilsanker sent off.

Real Madrid were already through before beating Dortmund in a Bernabeu thriller in Group H.

Borja Mayoral put the holders in front and Ronaldo's stunning, record-setting strike came after just 12 minutes.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored a brace to haul Dortmund level, but Lucas Vazquez won it for the hosts as the Germans drop into the Europa League.

"The Champions League is a competition that I love to play and score in, as you can see," Ronaldo told UEFA.com.

Group H winners Tottenham Hotspur eased to a 3-0 win at home to APOEL, with Fernando Llorente, Son Heung-min and Georges-Kevin N'Koudou scoring at Wembley.

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News Network
January 28,2020

Hamilton, Jan 28: No one sits on the seat that Mahendra Singh Dhoni made his own in the team bus, revealed India leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, saying that the talismanic former skipper is missed by the side.

In a video shot inside the team bus while it was on its way to Hamilton for the third T20 International against New Zealand, Chahal is seen talking to several members of the squad including Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul.

Towards the end of the video, he moved to the rear of the bus and pointed to an empty seat which, he said, was the former captain's preferred spot before he went on a sabbatical last year.

"Yeh woh seat hai jahan ek legend baithate the. Mahi bhai. Abhi bhi yaha koi nahi baithata. Hum unhe bohot miss karte hai (This is the seat that used to be occupied a legend. MS Dhoni. No one sits here now. We miss him a lot)," Chahal said in the video posted on 'bcci.tv'.

The-38-year-old Dhoni has not played a competitive game since the World Cup semifinal loss to New Zealand on July 9. Earlier this month, Dhoni was dropped from the BCCI's list of centrally contracted players, raising fresh doubts on his future.

However, on the same day, Dhoni returned to training, batting fluently in the Jharkhand team nets.

Head coach Ravi Shastri has hinted that the celebrated wicketkeeper-batsman might retire from ODIs soon but will be in contention for a T20 World Cup berth provided he does well for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL.

The Indian team lead the five-match T20 series against New Zealand 2-0.

Virat Kohli's men will take on the hosts in the third T20 here on Wednesday.

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News Network
June 13,2020

Mumbai, Jun 13: Vasant Raiji, who was India's oldest first-class cricketer at 100, died in Mumbai in the wee hours of Saturday.

Raiji was 100 years old and is survived by his wife and two daughters.

"He (Raiji) passed away at 2.20 am in his sleep at his residence in Walkeshwar in South Mumbai due to old-age," his son-in-law Sudarshan Nanavati told PTI.

Raiji, a right-handed batsman, played nine first-class matches in the 1940s, scoring 277 runs with 68 being his highest score.

He made his debut for a Cricket Club of India team that played Central Provinces and Berar in Nagpur in 1939.

His Mumbai debut happened in 1941 when the team played Western India under the leadership of Vijay Merchant.

Raiji, also a cricket historian and chartered accountant, was 13 when India played its first Test match at the Bombay Gymkhana in South Mumbai.

Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar and former Australian skipper Steve Waugh had paid a courtesy visit to Raiji at his residence in January when he had turned 100.

It has been learnt that the cremation will take place at the Chandanwadi crematorium in South Mumbai on Saturday afternoon.

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Agencies
August 1,2020

Colombo, Aug 1: Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has expressed his interest in playing the inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL), scheduled to start from August 28.

Pathan is among 70 foreign players to have shown interest in playing the LPL, ESPNcricinfo reported.

It is believed that Pathan has taken permission from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to take part in the competition. 

BCCI doesn't allow active players to participate in other T20 leagues but Pathan announced his retirement in January this year.

Former swashbuckling all-rounder Yuvraj Singh also played in a foreign league last year. He played for Maratha Arabians in the T10 League in Abu Dhabi.

According to ESPNcricinfo, Pathan will now be put in a player draft unless one of the five franchises choose him to be a marquee player. The details of the draft, and the franchise owners, are yet to be finalised and announced. 

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is also waiting on some government clearances even as it decides on franchise owners. The five franchises will represent Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Dambulla and Jaffna.

On Monday, SLC Executive Committee granted approval for the tournament.

"The 23 match League will be played on the four international venues of R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium, Rangiri Dambulu International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium and Suriyawewa Mahinda Rajapakse International Cricket Stadium. Five teams named after the cities of Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Dambulla and Jaffna will participate in the League," SLC said in a statement on Monday.

Sri Lanka has controlled the spread of COVID-19 better than many other cricket-playing nations.

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