Messi, Suarez inspires Barca to 3-1 comeback victory over Real Vallecano

Agencies
March 10, 2019

Madrid, Mar 10: Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez might have been rested but instead both played and scored as Barcelona came from behind to beat Rayo Vallecano, ahead of their crunch Champions League second leg against Lyon.

Raul de Tomas' scintillating strike gave struggling Rayo a surprise lead at the Camp Nou but Messi converted a penalty and Suarez finished a brilliant passing move to seal a 3-1 win, after Gerard Pique had headed in an equaliser on Saturday.

When Barca kicked off, Atletico Madrid had just completed their own 1-0 victory over Leganes, although Diego Simeone was more cautious, resting Antoine Griezmann, Alvaro Morata and Saul Niguez, with Tuesday's trip to Juventus in mind.

"It is normal when there is an important game on Tuesday," said Simeone, who substituted Griezmann at half-time.

"He was not injured, he had just given all that he had to give." There was always a risk that La Liga's top two might take their eye off the ball, given Barcelona's last 16-tie with Lyon hangs in the balance after a goalless draw in France, while Atletico hold a 2-0 lead over Juve but can expect an onslaught in Turin.

"We have a crucial match on Wednesday," Ernesto Valverde said.

"We know the importance it has for many reasons -- because of the opponent, the competition and because we have seen what has happened to other big teams already."

Yet both avoided slip-ups to leave Real Madrid even further adrift in La Liga before they play away at Real Valladolid on Sunday. Barca stay seven points clear of Atletico and, temporarily at least, move 15 ahead of Real.

Even with a two-goal cushion for the final eight minutes, Ernesto Valverde kept Messi and Suarez on until the end, which may have surprised some, given he was accused of exhausting key players last season at the expense of success in Europe.

Messi's appearance was his 443rd for Barcelona in La Liga, moving him ahead of Andres Iniesta and behind only Xavi Hernandez, on 505, in the club's all-time list.

Samuel Umtiti started his second match in three months after recovering from a knee injury.

"Little by little he is reaching his level," said Valverde.

Entirely forgettable

But Philippe Coutinho was underwhelming again, despite being picked ahead of Ousmane Dembele.

He poked an early chance wide after a Messi cross and De Tomas put Rayo in front soon after, driving at Pique before unleashing a sizzling shot past Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Pique headed one Messi free-kick wide and then another in at the near post, nipping in front of Rayo goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski to nod in his sixth goal of the season.

Dembele came on for Arthur Melo at half-time and Coutinho dropped deeper, but it was right-back Nelson Semedo that earned the penalty, after a foul from Jordi Amat. Messi made no mistake.

Rayo's belief, and energy, melted away and Barca's third was their best of the night. Suarez freed Dembele down the right and he found Suarez again with a pull-back. Instead of shooting, Suarez bounced the ball off Ivan Rakitic in the area before finally tapping home.

There was nothing as free-flowing at the Wanda Metropolitano where perhaps the greatest show of creativity came from Leganes, whose players wore shirts with the name of their mothers on their backs to celebrate International Women's Day on Friday.

The first half was almost entirely forgettable but despite the absence of attacking punch, Griezmann came off at half-time for Thomas Lemar, with no visible sign of an injury.

Griezmann would have taken the penalty soon after, won by Angel Correa with some quick feet in the area, which lured Kenneth Omeruo into a clumsy challenge. Saul stepped up and missed, but tucked in the rebound after Andriy Lunin could only push the ball back into his path.

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News Network
July 24,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 24: Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who was earlier banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for breaching the Anti-Corruption Code, on Friday, said that people are bound to make mistakes and the important thing is that how well they make a comeback.

Shakib was banned from all forms of cricket on October 29 last year after he accepted the charges of breaching the ICC's Anti-Corruption Code. He will be able to resume international cricket from October 29, 2020.

"You have to be honest. You just can't lie to the people and pretend different things. Whatever happened has happened. People are bound to make mistakes. You are not 100%. The important thing is how well you can comeback from those mistakes. You can tell other people not to make those mistakes. Tell them the path so that they never take those paths," Shakib told Deep Dasgupta in a videocast hosted by ESPNcricinfo.

The 33-year-old all-rounder said he has seen many controversies ever since he was first made captain in 2009. He had trouble with the board chief, selectors and the media, mainly about selectorial decisions and not being made permanent captain between 2009 and 2010.
He believes those experiences have changed him as a person over time.

"I think [it's] combination of both [controversy following him, and vice versa]. I got the responsibility so early in my career, I was bound to make mistakes. I was captain when I was 21. I made a lot of mistakes, and there are so many things that people think about me. Now I realise that it was my fault in some areas, and in some I was misunderstood. But I get it completely. It is part and parcel in the subcontinent," Hasan said.

"Of course I will try to minimise [my mistakes] as much as I can, but by the time I got married, and now I have two kids, I understand the game and life better. It has made me a calmer person than I was in my twenties. I have changed quite a lot. People won't see me doing a lot of mistakes now. My two daughters changed my life completely," he added.

Shakib is likely return to international cricket during Bangladesh's proposed Test series against Sri Lanka in October. 

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News Network
April 6,2020

London, Apr 6: As the coronavirus brings the international sports calendar to a grinding halt, news agency Sport looks at three long-standing habits which could change forever once competition resumes.

Saliva to take shine off swing bowling

It's been a tried and trusted friend to fast bowlers throughout the history of cricket. But the days of applying saliva to one side of the ball to encourage swing could be over in the aftermath of Covid19.

"As a bowler I think it would be pretty tough going if we couldn't shine the ball in a Test match," said Australia quick Pat Cummins.

"If it's at that stage and we're that worried about the spread, I'm not sure we'd be playing sport."

Towels in tennis - no touching

Tennis players throwing towels, dripping with sweat and blood and probably a tear or two, at ball boys and girls, has often left fans sympathising for the youngsters.

Moves by officials to tackle the issue took on greater urgency in March when the coronavirus was taking a global grip.

Behind closed doors in Miki, ball boys and girls on duty at the Davis Cup tie between Japan and Ecuador wore gloves.

Baskets, meanwhile, were made available for players to deposit their towels.

Back in 2018, the ATP introduced towel racks at some events on a trial basis, but not everyone was overjoyed.

"I think having the towel whenever you need it, it's very helpful. It's one thing less that you have to think about," said Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas when he was playing at the NextGen Finals in Milan.

"I think it's the job of the ball kids to provide towels and balls for the players."

Let's not shake on it

Pre-match handshakes were abandoned in top football leagues just before the sports shutdown.

Premier League leaders Liverpool also banned the use of mascots while Southampton warned against players signing autographs and stopped them posing for selfies.

Away from football, the NBA urged players to opt for the fist bump rather than the long-standing high-five.

"I ain't high-fiving nobody for the rest of my life after this," NBA superstar LeBron James told the "Road Trippin' Podcast".

"No more high-fiving. After this corona shit? Wait 'til you see me and my teammates’ handshakes after this shit."

Basketball stars were also told not to take items such as balls or teams shirts to autograph.

US women's football star Megan Rapinoe says edicts to ban handshakes or even high-fives may be counter-productive anyway.

"We're going to be sweating all over each other all game, so it sort of defeats the purpose of not doing a handshake," she said.

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News Network
January 24,2020

Auckland, Jan 24: K L Rahul and Shreyas Iyer smashed quick-fire half-centuries, while skipper Virat Kohli made 45 as India defeated New Zealand by six wickets in the first T20 International to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series here on Friday.

Chasing a challenging 204-run target, Rahul smashed 56 off 27 balls and together with Kohli shared 99 runs for the second wicket to lay the foundation for the chase.

Later, Iyer (58 not out off 29 balls) and Manish Pandey (14 not out) remained unbeaten as India chased down the target with an over to spare.

Earlier, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor smashed scintillating half-centuries to power New Zealand to a challenging 203 for five.

Opener Munro blasted six fours and two sixes in his 42-ball 59, while skipper Williamson treated the Indian bowlers with equal disdain, hitting them out of the park four times in his 26-ball 51.

Taylor then clobbered an unbeaten 54 off 27 balls. His innings was laced with three sixes and as many fours.

Opener Martin Guptill also chipped in with a 19-ball 30.

Earlier, India skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and decided to field.

For India, Jasprit Bumrah (1/), Shardul Thakur (1/44), Yuzvendra Chahal (1/32), Shivam Dube (1/24) and Ravindra Jadeja (1/18) snapped one wicket each.

Brief Score:

New Zealand: 203 for 5 in 20 overs (Colin Munro 59, Kane Williamson 51, Ross Taylor 54; Jasprit Bumrah 1/31).

India: 204 for 4 in 19 overs (Shreyas Iyer 58 not out, K L Rahul 56, Virat Kohli 45; Ish Sodhi 2/36).

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