UEFA Super Cup: Pedro Rodriguez shines as Barcelona beat Sevilla in nine-goal classic

August 12, 2015

Tbilisi, Aug 12: Barcelona added the UEFA Super Cup to their treble win of trophies last season despite blowing a 4-1 lead with a stunning 5-4 win over Sevilla thanks to Pedro Rodriguez`s extra time winner.

UEFA

Two magnificent free-kicks from Lionel Messi plus goals from Rafinha and Luis Suarez looked to have Barca well on course to claim their fourth trophy of the year after Ever Banega had given Sevilla a shock early lead.

However, Jose Antonio Reyes reduced the arrears before a Kevin Gameiro penalty and a debut strike from Yevhen Konoplyanka forced the game into an extra 30 minutes.

Barca weren`t to be denied, though, and, in what could be his last game for the club, Pedro pounced on the rebound after Beto had denied Messi his hat-trick.

Pedro had been controversially left out of the starting line-up despite the absence of Neymar due to the mumps as he appears set for a move to Manchester United after Barca technical secretary Robert Fernandez admitted he has asked to leave the club.

Sevilla made the brighter start and Javier Mascherano was lucky to avoid further punishment after being adjudged to have brought down Reyes on the edge of the area.

The punishment was still to come for the European champions, though, as Banega clinically curled the resulting free-kick past the helpless Marc-Andre Ter Stegen with an effort his international teammate Messi would have been proud of.

Unfortunately, for Unai Emery`s men the lead lasted only four minutes as Suarez was blocked by Grzegorz Krychowiak and Messi delicately chipped the ball over the wall into the top corner.

The four-time World Player of the Year`s next set-piece was even more spectacular as he this time fired a free-kick in off the inside of the post to move level with Cristiano Ronaldo as the all-time leading scorer in European competitions with 80.

Suarez passed up a huge chance for the third when he fired straight at Beto two minutes before half-time but made immediate amends by collecting the rebound to tee up Rafinha to slot home.

Sevilla`s hopes of a comeback appeared to be over when a shocking pass from Benoit Tremoulinas was intercepted by Sergio Busquets and turned home by Suarez.

Yet, they were given a lifeline when Reyes turned home Vitolo`s excellent cross at the far post to reduce the arrears.

Jeremy Mathieu then pulled down Vitolo inside the area and was also lucky only to see a yellow card before Gameiro fired home the spot-kick.

And a remarkable comeback was complete when two substitutes on their debut combined for the equaliser as Konoplyanka tapped home Ciro Immobile`s low cross.

Pedro was finally introduced three minutes into extra time and just as in the Super Cup six years ago against Shakhtar Donetsk he grabbed the winner by firing into the roof of the net after Beto had parried Messi`s follow-up effort from another dangerous free-kick.

Sevilla still had two great chances to force an incredible match into a penalty shootout but both Coke and Adil Rami fired off target as a relieved Barca hung on.

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News Network
June 10,2020

Kingston, Jun 10: "Enough is enough", said West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo as he opened up on the raging issue of racism and called for "respect and equality" for black people, who have faced discrimination for years.

Bravo joined the likes of his former captain Darren Sammy and Chris Gayle in denouncing racism in the wake of African-American George Floyd's killing at the hands of a white police officer in the USA.

"It's sad to see what's going on around the world. As a black man, we know the history of what black people have been through. We never ask for revenge, we ask for equality and respect. That's it," Bravo told former Zimbabwe cricketer Pommie Mbangwa in an Instagram live chat on Tuesday.

"We give respect to others. Why is it that we are facing this over and over? Now enough is enough. We just want equality. We don't want revenge, war.

"We just want respect. We share love and appreciate people for who they are. That's what is most important."

The 36-year-old, who has played 40 Tests, 164 ODIs and 71 T20Is for West Indies, said he wants the world to know that they are powerful and beautiful people and gave the example of greats such as Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan.

"I just want our brothers and sisters to know that we are powerful and beautiful. And at the end of the day, you look at some of the greats of the world, whether it is Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan we have had leaders who paved the way for us," he said.

Two-time T20 World Cup-winning captain Sammy had earlier alleged that a racist nickname was used to address him during his IPL stint with Sunrisers Hyderabad and demanded an apology.

Sammy said he was called 'Kalu' while he was in India. 'Kalu' is a derogatory word to describe black people.

Gayle, who too plays in the IPL, took to Twitter to back Sammy, saying that racism does exist in cricket.

"It's never too late to fight for the right cause or what you've experienced over the years! So much more to your story, @darensammy88. Like I said, it's in the game!!," Gayle tweeted.

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April 8,2020

London, Apr 8: England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler has raised more than 65,000 pound (USD 80,000) to help fight the coronavirus by auctioning off his World Cup final shirt.

Buttler's shirt, which he wore when completing the last-ball run-out that saw England beat New Zealand at Lord's last year, was sold to raise money for specialist heart and lung centres provided by the Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals in London.

Buttler, who earlier in the showpiece match had hit a fifty and batted in the Super Over, put his long-sleeve keeping jersey up for sale on eBay a week ago.

By the time the auction closed on Tuesday, the shirt had attracted 82 bids with the winner paying 65,100 pound.

Buttler, speaking on Monday, said: "It's a very special shirt but I think it takes on extra meaning with it being able to hopefully go to the emergency cause.

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March 23,2020

Colombo, Mar 23: Sri Lankan batting great Kumar Sangakkara has said he is currently in self-quarantine, following his government's guidelines for those recently returning from Europe, which has now become the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The authorities are concerned over people returning from the most-affected COVID-19 countries in Europe not registering with the police and practising isolation.

"I have no symptoms or anything like that, but I'm following government guidelines," Sangakkara told News First.

"I arrived from London over a week ago and the first thing was there was a news bulletin saying that anyone who had travelled from within March 1 to 15 should register themselves with the police and undergo self-quarantine. I registered myself with the police."

The former captain said this even as the government confirmed there have been at least three cases of recent returnees attempting to hide the novel coronavirus symptoms from authorities.

Both Sangakkara and his former teammate Mahela Jayawardene have been active on social media, urging Sri Lankans to avoid panic and to exercise proper social distancing, as the country went into curfew on Friday evening.

Sri Lanka has so far reported more than 80 active COVID-19 positive cases in the country.

Across the world, the number of infected has crossed three lakh besides a death toll of more than 14,000 people.

Meanwhile, former Australia pacer Jason Gillespie has also gone into a two-week isolation after returning from the United Kingdom.

Gillespie, who is the head coach at Sussex, had been in Cape Town with the team for a pre-season tour, which was cut short as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

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