Cheeky Messi magic keeps Barcelona 10 points clear in Spain

Agencies
March 31, 2019

Madrid, Mar 31: Lionel Messi continued his remarkable run of form as his second-half double, including an impudent free-kick, helped Barcelona continue their march towards the La Liga title with a 2-0 win over Espanyol.

The visitors gave their city rivals a tough game at the Camp Nou, but Messi's chipped free-kick over the wall from 19 yards and a late second kept the reigning champions 10 points clear of second-placed Atletico Madrid, who thrashed Alaves 4-0.

Messi has now netted eight times in his last four games for Barca, and leads the way in the La Liga scoring charts with 31 goals, 13 ahead of teammate Luis Suarez.

"I had no idea he would hit (the free-kick) like that," said Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde.

"I would love to say that we had planned it, but it's not true, it's up to him. He didn't need my opinion and he scored." 

It was a fitting way for the Argentinian to mark his 675th Barcelona appearance, which moved him ahead of Andres Iniesta into second on the club's all-time list -- 102 adrift of Xavi Hernandez.

He made a low-key return to international action in midweek as Argentina lost a friendly to Venezuela, but Valverde was delighted it did not affect Messi on Saturday.

"Messi is the same player no matter what team he is playing in," he said. "He would be the same if he played in Australia... We are delighted to have him, it's a luxury for me to coach him." 

Barca struggled to break down Espanyol early on, with Messi, Suarez and Ivan Rakitic all wasting half-chances in the first period.

Barcelona saw a penalty appeal waved away by both the referee and VAR on the stroke of half-time, and Malcom was denied just after the hour mark by away goalkeeper Diego Lopez as the Catalan giants grew frustrated.

But Messi has been consistently unplayable this season, and he dinked in a wonderful effort from a set-piece despite Victor Sanchez's best efforts to clear off the line.

The three points were sealed in the 89th minute as Malcom ran clear on the breakaway, before cutting the ball across for Messi to sweep a trademark finish low into the bottom corner.

Barcelona next visit Villarreal on Tuesday with a second successive title looking even more like a mere formality after a sixth straight victory extended their unbeaten league run to 17 matches.

Atletico at least did not give up further ground to Barcelona as Diego Costa scored for the first time since November in an impressive win at fifth-placed Alaves.

The Spanish international has struggled for form and fitness this season, but grabbed his second league goal of the campaign with a magnificent 11th-minute strike from the edge of the area, six minutes after Saul Niguez had put Atletico in front.

Costa was replaced by Thomas Lemar at half-time, but the Frenchman sent Alvaro Morata through on goal to put the game to bed just before the hour mark.

The on-loan Chelsea striker has now scored four goals since joining Diego Simeone's men in January.

Thomas Partey added extra gloss to the scoreline late on with a fine 20-yard strike into the top corner.

Earlier on Saturday, fourth-placed Getafe missed the chance to solidify their spot in the Champions League places as they slumped to a 2-0 home defeat by Leganes.

Uruguayan Michael Santos and Spaniard Juanfran scored in the second half for Leganes to leave Getafe just two points ahead of Alaves, with Valencia and Sevilla both also within six points with a game in hand.

Celta Vigo gave their survival hopes a massive boost as Iago Aspas scored twice in a dramatic comeback from two goals down to beat fellow strugglers Villarreal 3-2 and move within a point of their 17th-placed opponents and safety.

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Agencies
February 12,2020

Mumbai, Feb 12: Former Indian greats Kapil Dev and Mohammad Azharuddin have been left disappointed by the behaviour of the Under-19 team after the World Cup final where they were involved in an altercation with their Bangladeshi counterparts.

After Bangladesh won the final beating India by three wickets (via DLS) at the Senwes Park on Sunday, the players of the two teams were seen engaging in an exchange of words and even some pushing and shoving on the field.

"I would like to see the board (BCCI) take some strict action against the players to set an example. Cricket is not about abusing the opponent. I am sure there is enough reason for these youngsters to be dealt with firmly by BCCI," Kapil was quoted as saying by The Hindu.

"I welcome aggression, nothing wrong in it. But it has to be controlled aggression. You can't cross the line of decency in the name of being competitive. I would say it was unacceptable that youngsters put up such an obnoxious display on the cricket field," he added.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has sanctioned five players, including three from Bangladesh -- Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain and Rakibul Hasan --and two from India --Akash Singh and Ravi Bishnoi for the scuffle.

Azharuddin also reiterated what Kapil said, insisting that players need to be disciplined.

"I would take action against the errant Under 19 players, but I also want to know what role has the support staff played in educating these youngsters. Act now before it is too late. The players have to be disciplined," Azharuddin said.

Earlier, Bishan Singh Bedi has lashed out at the Priyam Garg-led team, saying their behaviour was disgusting and disgraceful.

"You bat, bowl and field badly�happens, but there's no excuse for behaving badly. The behaviour was disgusting and most disgraceful. The innocence of that age was not visible at all," Bedi told Mid Day.

Bedi, who represented India in 67 Tests and 10 ODIs, said the behaviour of the Bangladesh cricketers is not our problem.

"Look, what Bangladesh do is their problem, what our boys do is our problem. You could see that there was abusive language used," he said.

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News Network
March 12,2020

New Delhi, Mar 12: No foreign player will be available for this year's IPL till April 15 due to visa restrictions imposed by the government to contain the novel coronavirus threat, a top BCCI source told PTI on Thursday, casting fresh doubts on the fate of the event.

"The foreign players who play in the IPL come under the Business Visa category. As per the government's directive, they can't come till April 15," a BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

The government issued fresh advisory with a ban on all existing foreign visas, except a few categories like diplomatic and employment, till April 15 in the wake of new positive cases of novel coronavirus in the country.

India has reported 60 positive cases in the outbreak which has led to over 4,000 deaths globally.

The fate of the IPL itself will be decided on March 14 at the event's Governing Council meeting in Mumbai. "All decisions will be taken by the GC in Mumbai," the source said.

Having the IPL, starting March 29, played in empty stadiums is an option being explored.

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News Network
January 10,2020

Jan 10: Australian cricketer Shane Warne’s prized 'baggy green' cap raised more than A$1 million ($686,000) on Friday for bushfire relief efforts after the former leg-spinner donated it for auction.

Twenty-seven people have been killed and thousands made homeless in recent months as huge fires scorched through more than 25.5 million acres of land, an area the size of South Korea.

The baggy green is presented to Australian players when they make their Test debut and they receive just one for their entire career. The Aussie cricketer donated the cap to an online auction site on Monday. The auction closed at 10 a.m. on Friday (2300 GMT Thursday) with a final public bid of A$1,007,500.

"Unbelievable … so generous from everyone. Totally blown away," Warne said on Twitter shortly before the auction closed.

The auction attracted global interest and the price eclipsed the A$425,000 achieved by the late Don Bradman's baggy green when it was sold in 2003.

"We have been overwhelmed and it is a fantastic result," Marc Cheah, head of marketing for auctioneers Pickles, said.

"Other baggy greens have been auctioned and Don Bradman’s got $425,000 about 15 years ago, but the Don is the Don. He’s the greatest cricketer that ever lived," Cheah said in relation to the widely held recognition Bradman was the best batsman the game has produced.

"But Shane is also right up there and that drove a lot of traffic and momentum, while the cause is also very worthwhile."

Warne, 50, is one of many local and international athletes to support the fundraising for bushfire victims with several cricketers promising to donate a sum based on the number of sixes they hit in Australia’s Big Bash Twenty20 competition.

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