Man United tops Barcelona 3-1 in International Champions Cup

July 26, 2015

Santa Clara (California), Jul 26: Wayne Rooney scored on a header in the eighth minute off Ashley Young's corner kick, and Manchester United kept the pressure on all afternoon to beat Barcelona 3-1 and stay unbeaten during its preseason tour in the United States.

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Jesse Lingard added the Red Devils' second goal on a cross by Tyler Blackett in the 65th, just two minutes after coach Louis van Gaal subbed out his entire starting 11 to play the second team yesterday.

Adnan Januzaj scored for Man United in the 90th minute, some 30 seconds after Rafinha got Barcelona on the board in the 90th.

The Red Devils improved to 3-0 in the International Champions Cup, this time getting the best of Luis Suarez and Barca while playing under clear skies for a sellout crowd of 68,416 at the USD 1.3 billion home of the San Francisco 49ers.

Rooney raised his arms in delight after his goal, and coach Louis van Gaal got a good look at what he hinted would be his starting 11 for the Premier League opener Aug. 8 against Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford.

Van Gaal subbed his entire team in the 63rd minute as planned. Now, his team will wrap up its preseason tour against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday at Chicago's Soldier Field. UEFA Champions League winner Barcelona will look back on its missed chances.

Luis Suarez hit long shots off each post, and Ivan Rakitic's ball just skimmed the top of the net in the 59th. Suarez had a goal negated for being offside in the 61st, though it appeared he was fouled in the box by Daley Blind moments earlier.

And in the sixth minute, Sergi Roberto went 1-on-1 with Man United goalkeeper David De Gea, who made a charging stop. De Gea returned after missing the first two matches of the tour with an undisclosed injury.

Barca beat the Los Angeles Galaxy 2-1 on Tuesday night in front a record 93,226 at the Rose Bowl in the team's first game of its preseason tour in the U.S. Barcelona will face Premier League champion Chelsea on Tuesday at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland.

The La Liga champion is playing without Lionel Messi and Neymar as both are skipping the three-game tour to be fresh for games that count.

Rooney got away from defender Adriano for an open look on his goal.

Young had fouled early in the match leading to a free kick for Barca. Suarez's ball from 20 yards hit the right post in the fourth minute, then off the left post in the 43rd. De Gea stopped another Suarez shot from about 6 yards just more than a minute later.

In the 28th minute, Young found himself open for a nice look but Barca goalkeeper Marc Andre Ter Stegen blocked the ball away. And the Reds threatened again in the 32nd with a flurry of chances.

Both teams passed well in creating first-half opportunities. Manchester United nearly had another in the 68th minute when Januzaj sent a shot just wide of the left post.

The field received new sod during the past week following a pair of recent concerts.

Levi's Stadium had numerous problems with the grass during the NFL team's inaugural season here last year, and chunks of sod and sand came loose Saturday.

Man United newcomer Bastian Schweinsteiger of Germany sat out with a minor injury van Gaal said he sustained in training.

Schweinsteiger had appeared in the two previous exhibition games as a second-half substitute after joining his new team.

Van Gaal had said expected Angel Di Maria to join the club Saturday but he wasn't on the sideline. Van Gaal had previously said he wouldn't play.

"I have heard that he is not on the plane," van Gaal said without expanding further.

Defender Marcos Rojo also didn't make it as planned but was listed on the roster. Van Gaal said he had "passport issues."

Forward Javier Hernandez did join Man United after receiving time off following play in the Copa America and Gold Cup.

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News Network
June 22,2020

Zadar (Croatia), Jun 22: Grigor Dimitrov took to Instagram to announce that he has tested positive for coronavirus. The tennis star was one of the players who took part in the Adria Tour with the likes Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem among others.

Taking to Instagram, the player wrote: "Hi Everyone-I want to reach out and let my fans and friends know that I tested positive back in Monaco for Covid-19. I want to make sure anyone who has been in contact with me during these past days gets tested and takes the necessary precautions. I am so sorry for any harm I might have caused. I am back home now and recovering. Thanks for your support and please stay safe and healthy."

He also urged those who had come in contact with him over the last few days in Monaco should also get tested for the deadly virus.

Meanwhile, World no.1 Djokovic reached the final of his exhibition tournament in Zadar, Croatia, after easing through the round-robin group stage on the first day. This is the second stage of the Adria Tour with Austrian Dominic Thiem winning the first leg in Belgrade, Serbia.

Djokovic started by saving three set points in his 4-3, 4-1 win over fellow Serb Pedja Krstin. He then beat home favourite Borna Coric 4-1, 4-3 in front of several thousand fans at the Visnjik tennis complex.

The tournament in Zadar is being played on red clay over two days. In the other group, Russian Andrey Rublev is in pole position to advance into the final after wins over 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic and Serb Danilo Petrovic. He faces German star Alexander Zverev in the final round robin match on Sunday who stayed in contention after beating Cilic 4-3, 0-4, 4-3.

Djokovic''s own inconsequential final group match is against Croatian Dino Serdarusic who replaced Grigor Dimitrov after the Bulgarian pulled out of the tournament with sickness following his opening 4-1, 4-1 loss to Coric.

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Agencies
July 28,2020

New Delhi, Jul 28: 'Your character stood out for me than the number of runs you scored," said India skipper Virat Kohli while explaining his decision to give opening Mayank Agarwal a Test debut in the 2018-19 Australia series.

Mayank Agarwal had made his Test debut against Australia in the third Test of the four-match series.

Playing the third Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Agarwal managed to register a half-century in his very first innings in the longest format.

"I had seen you play for RCB, even then you played international bowlers with conviction and you would take them on. You were performing in first-class matches in a dominating way. That is something always stood out with you, I would say your character stood out for me than the number of runs. I knew you would be fearless without having any baggage," Kohli told Mayank Agarwal in a video posted on the official website of BCCI.

In the longest format of the game, Agarwal has managed to score 974 runs from 11 matches at an average of 57.29 with three centuries as an opening batsman.

The Indian skipper also explained as to what makes him notice in a player and added that it is important that guys in the team look to face new challenges and emerge triumphantly.

"For me, the biggest marker is how a person approaches the game, so for example when you opened and we made Vihari open with you. The first opportunity we presented Vihari to open the batting, he said yes to it and that matters me to the most," Kohli said.

"I opened in my first series for India, I said yes to this opportunity and things worked out fine for me. So, a guy who wants to get into tough situations will come out either holding his head high or learning from his mistakes," he added.

Kohli and Mayank would soon be seen in action for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab respectively in the Indian Premier League (IPL) starting from September 19 in the UAE.

The comparisons between Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar keep on growing and many have picked the current Indian skipper to break the records set by Tendulkar.

Tendulkar called time on his career after registering 100 international centuries, while Kohli currently has 70 centuries across all formats.

At present, Kohli is ranked at the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings while he is in the second place in Tests rankings. Kohli has so far played 86 Tests, scoring 7,240 runs with 27 centuries at an average of 53.62.

His knock of 254 against South Africa at Pune in 2019 remains his highest Test score to date. When it comes to ODIs, the current Indian skipper has played 248 matches and has 43 centuries.

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News Network
July 26,2020

Chennai, Jul 26: Indian Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand suffered his fifth straight defeat in the USD 150,000 Legends of Chess online tournament, going down 2-3 to Peter Leko of Hungry.

The former world champion got off to a good start and won the first game of the best-of-four contest. The next two games were drawn before Leko levelled by winning the fourth.

The Hungarian then claimed the Armageddon (a tie-breaker) to ensure Anand remain winless and at the bottom of the points table.

Anand, who is making his maiden appearance on the Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour, had earlier lost to Peter Svidler, Magnus Carlsen, Vladimir Kramnik and Anish Giri.

World no. 1 Carlsen bounced back strongly to avoid an upset, beating veteran Vasyl Ivanchuk 3-2 to stay on top.

Legends of Chess is a unique event where Carlsen, Liren, Nepomniachtchi and Giri, semifinalists at the Chessable Masters (part of the Magnus Carlsen Tour), received an automatic invite and are up against six legends aged 40-52, who have been at the top of world chess at various points in their career.

The tournament is part of the Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour. The winner of this event will qualify for the USD 300,000 Grand Final scheduled from August 9 to 20.

Results of Round 5: Peter Leko beat Viswanathan Anand 3-2; Magnus Carlsen beat Vasyl Ivanchuk 3-2: Vladmir Kramnik beat Ding Liren 2.5-1.5; Anish Giri beat Boris Gelfand 2.5-1.5; Ian Nepominiachtchi beat Peter Svidler 3-1. 

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