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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Agencies
June 23,2020

Islamabad, Jun 23: Seven more Pakistan cricketers, including Muhammad Hafeez and Wahab Riaz, selected for the tour of England have tested positive for COVID-19, taking the total to 10, the PCB revealed on Tuesday.

The seven who tested positive on Tuesday are Kashif Bhatti, Muhammad Hasnain, Fakhar Zaman, Muhammad Rizwan, Imran Khan, Hafeez and Riaz. Shadab Khan, Haider Ali and Haris Rauf had returned positive tests on Monday.

“It is not a great situation to be in and what it shows is these are 10 fit and young athletes...if it can happen to players it can happen to anyone,” Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) CEO, Wasim Khan told a media conference.

He said a support staff member, masseur Malang Ali, had also tested positive for COVID-19.

Khan said that the players and officials would now assemble in Lahore and another round of tests would be carried out on June 25 and a revised squad would be announced the next day.

The squad has to leave on June 28 for the series scheduled to be held next month, he said.

“It is a matter of concern but we shouldn’t panic at this time as we have time on our hands,” Khan said.

He said the players and officials would be retested on reaching England.

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News Network
March 5,2020

New Delhi, Mar 5: India's men's team skipper Virat Kohli congratulated the Harmanpreet Kaur-led women's side for reaching its maiden final of the T20 World Cup in Australia, saying the outfit's performance is something to be "proud" of.

The Indian women's team advanced to the the summit clash owing to a superior group stage record, after the semifinal clash against England was abandoned without a ball being bowled at the Sydney Cricket Ground due to persistent rain.

"Congratulations to the Indian Women's team on qualifying for the @T20WorldCup final. We are proud of you girls and wish you all the luck for the finals," Kohli tweeted.

Former India opener Virender Sehwag also took to Twitter to wish the Indian side luck for the final which is scheduled to be played in Melbourne on Sunday.

"...A reward for winning all the matches in the group stage. Congratulations @BCCIWomen and wishing you glory this Sunday #T20WorldCup," Sehwag said.

Former India Test specialist VVS Laxman hailed the side for its unbeaten record in the tournament so far.

"Would have been great to see the match, but many congratulations to @BCCIWomen for making it to the finals of the #T20WorldCup . A reward for winning 4 out of 4 in the group stages. Wishing the girls the very best for the finals on #WomensDay"

India have been in red-hot form in the tournament winning all four of their group A matches.

They began with a win over defending champions Australia followed by victories against Bangladesh, New Zealand and Sri Lanka to top group A with eight points from four matches.

The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side will take on the winner of the second semifinal between hosts Australia and South Africa in the summit clash.

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News Network
April 24,2020

New Delhi, Apr 24: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday extended wishes to the "most prolific batsman of all time" Sachin Tendulkar on his 47th birthday.

ICC took to Twitter and wrote: "Happy birthday to Sachin Tendulkar, the most prolific batsman of all time! To celebrate, we will give you the opportunity to vote for his top ODI innings in a bracket challenge! Stay tuned to join the celebrations."

The Maharashtra-born player had an illustrious career in the game, creating several records.
Tendulkar made his debut in Test cricket on November 15, 1989. In the same year on December 18, he played his first ODI match.

The legendary cricketer has the most number of runs in the longest format of the game, amassing 15,921 runs. Along the way, Tendulkar scored 51 Test centuries, most by any player.

Things are no different in ODI cricket as Tendulkar atop the list of most runs in this format as well. He has accumulated 18,426 runs in ODI which includes 49 tons.

Tendulkar represented the country in six World Cups during his career that lasted for 24 years. He was the part of the 2011 World Cup-winning squad.

This year, Master Blaster decided not to celebrate his birthday due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis in the country.

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