Sports

Barca advance to Champions League semis despite Guirassy hat-trick

Published

10 months ago

April 16, 2025

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Barcelona are through to the Champions League semi-finals with a 5-3 aggregate win, despite losing 3-1 at Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday with Serhou Guirassy hitting a hat-trick.

Holding a 4-0 lead after a dominant performance in Catalonia, the visitors were made to sweat as Dortmund and Guirassy nearly pulled off a stunning turnaround.

Guirassy put Dortmund in front with a Panenka from the spot with 11 minutes gone and headed them two goals clear early in the second half.

Dortmund sensed a sensation but Barcelona hit back, Fermin Lopez forcing Ramy Bensebaini into an own goal with just over half an hour remaining.

Guirassy reignited Dortmund’s belief with a third on the 76th-minute mark and the final stages may have been different had Julian Brandt not been offside before scoring with 11 minutes remaining.

Despite losing their first competitive game in 2025, Barcelona are through to the semis, keeping their dream of a remarkable treble alive, 10 years after last completing the feat by winning the Champions League in Berlin.

Barcelona, considered title favourites, will face either Inter Milan or Bayern Munich in the final four.

Clearly outclassed in the first leg, Dortmund will take inspiration from Tuesday’s performance, not least the goalscoring form of Guirassy.

The 29-year-old Guinean, who has spent most of his career bouncing between the first and second divisions in Germany and France, now has 13 Champions League goals this season, more than any other player.

Despite a big first-leg lead, Hansi Flick made good on his pre-match pledge to continue attacking, opting against resting any of his attacking trident of Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal or Raphinha.

With coach Niko Kovac admitting Dortmund needed a “miracle” to reach the semis after the debacle in Catalonia, the hosts’ task got a little harder when captain and centre-back Emre Can was ruled out with injury just before the match.

But Dortmund raced out of the blocks, Guirassy and strike partner Maximilian Beier going close inside the opening 10 minutes before Pascal Gross was the victim of a clumsy foul in the box by Wojciech Szczesny.

Guirassy stepped up to the spot and was nerveless, calmly unleashing a Panenka to get the hosts underway.

Dortmund sliced Barcelona open repeatedly without reward until half-time but made it count four minutes into the second-half, Guirassy heading in a Ramy Bensebaini assist from a corner.

With Dortmund’s 81,355-strong Westfalenstadion smelling blood, Barcelona’s familiar response was to send their attack down the right and the move paid off almost immediately.

After Yamal’s cross was half-cleared, Fermin Lopez found himself in the teenager’s channel, whipping a pass towards Lewandowski which Bensebaini hit into his own net.

With Barcelona content to control possession as the clock wound down, Guirassy relit the hosts’ hopes when he scored his third in the final quarter of an hour, blasting in from close range after some delightful dribbling from teenage winger Julian Duranville.

The home fans erupted when Brandt scored three minutes later, but the midfielder was offside, allowing Barcelona a breather.

Barcelona managed to hold on despite waves of energetic Dortmund attacks in the final stages to remain on track for the treble.

AFP

Sports

See full draw for 2026-2027 UEFA Nations league

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1 day ago

February 13, 2026

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The full draw, match schedule and format for the 2026-2027 UEFA Nations League have been confirmed, with Europe’s top national teams set for another highly competitive edition of the tournament.

The league phase draw for the fifth edition of the UEFA Nations League took place on Thursday 12 February 2026 in Brussels at 18:00 CET, revealing several heavyweight clashes across the four leagues.

In League A, France, Italy, Belgium and Turkey were drawn together in Group A1, while Germany, the Netherlands, Serbia and Greece make up Group A2. Spain, Croatia, England and the Czech Republic will compete in Group A3, and Portugal, Denmark, Norway and Wales form Group A4.

League B features Scotland, Switzerland, Slovenia and North Macedonia in Group B1. Group B2 contains Hungary, Ukraine, Georgia and Northern Ireland. Israel, Austria, the Republic of Ireland and Kosovo meet in Group B3, while Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania and Sweden are paired in Group B4.

League C sees Albania, Finland, Belarus and San Marino in Group C1. Montenegro, Armenia, Cyprus and Gibraltar or Latvia make up Group C2. Kazakhstan, Slovakia, the Faroe Islands and Moldova are in Group C3, while Iceland, Bulgaria, Estonia and Luxembourg or Malta compete in Group C4.

League D includes Gibraltar or Latvia, Luxembourg or Malta and Andorra in Group D1, with Lithuania, Azerbaijan and Liechtenstein placed in Group D2. Gibraltar and Latvia, as well as Luxembourg and Malta, will face play-offs in March to determine their final league placements.

The league phase will begin in September 2026, with Matchday 1 scheduled for 24 to 26 September and Matchday 2 from 27 to 29 September.

Matchday 3 runs from 30 September to 3 October, followed by Matchday 4 between 4 and 6 October. The final two rounds take place in November, with Matchday 5 set for 12 to 14 November and Matchday 6 from 15 to 17 November.

UEFA has noted that Wednesday, 30 September 2026 is not part of the regular international window but may be used to accommodate fixtures.

The quarter-finals, along with League A/B and League B/C promotion and relegation play-offs, are scheduled for 25 to 30 March 2027. League C/D play-offs will follow in March 2028, while the final tournament will be held between 9 and 13 June 2027, although the host nation has yet to be announced.

The UEFA Nations League was introduced to replace low-profile international friendlies with more meaningful and balanced competitive matches. Teams are grouped based on rankings and performance, with promotion and relegation ensuring a dynamic and evolving competition structure.

The 2026 to 2027 edition will feature an extended international window from 24 September to 6 October 2026, during which teams are expected to play up to four matches in a short period.

The tournament is also expected to play a role in qualification for UEFA EURO 2028 in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, offering some teams a potential second route into the final tournament through play-offs.

After the league phase concludes in November 2026, the top teams in League A will progress to quarter-finals in March 2027, with the winners advancing to a four-team finals event.

Additional promotion and relegation play-offs are also expected, continuing the format used in the previous edition.

Previous UEFA Nations League finals have seen Portugal defeat the Netherlands 1-0 in Porto in 2019, France beat Spain 2-1 in Milan in 2021, Spain edge Croatia on penalties after a 0-0 draw in Rotterdam in 2023, and Portugal overcome Spain on penalties following a 2-2 draw in Munich in 2025.

Below is the 2026-2027 UEFA Nations League draw, covering all four leagues and groups.

League A

Group A1:
France
Italy
Belgium
Turkey

Group A2:
Germany
Netherlands
Serbia
Greece

Group A3:
Spain
Croatia
England
Czech Republic

Group A4:
Portugal
Denmark
Norway
Wales

League B

Group B1:
Scotland
Switzerland
Slovenia
North Macedonia

Group B2:
Hungary
Ukraine
Georgia
Northern Ireland

Group B3:
Israel
Austria
Republic of Ireland
Kosovo

Group B4:
Poland
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Romania
Sweden

League C

Group C1:
Albania
Finland
Belarus
San Marino

Group C2:
Montenegro
Armenia
Cyprus
Gibraltar or Latvia

Group C3:
Kazakhstan
Slovakia
Faroe Islands
Moldova

Group C4:
Iceland
Bulgaria
Estonia
Luxembourg or Malta

League D

Group D1:
Gibraltar/Latvia
Luxembourg/Malta
Andorra

Group D2:
Lithuania
Azerbaijan
Liechtenstein

*Gibraltar and Latvia, and Luxembourg and Malta, will contest play-offs in March to determine who will play in Leagues C and D.

Sports

Ademola Lookman Scores As Atletico Madrid Humiliate Barcelona In Copa Del Rey Semi-Final

Published

1 day ago

February 13, 2026

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Atletico Madrid hammered Copa del Rey holders Barcelona 4-0 on Thursday in the first leg of their semi-final clash.

After an Eric Garcia own goal sent Diego Simeone’s side ahead early on, Antoine Griezmann, Ademola Lookman and Julian Alvarez struck to give Atletico a landslide lead by half-time.

Barca defender Garcia was sent off in the final stages, with Atletico maintaining their significant advantage on the record 32-time winners, which they will take into the second leg at Camp Nou on March 3.

Sports

EPL: Man City thrash Fulham 3-0 to close gap on Arsenal

Published

2 days ago

February 12, 2026

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Manchester City ramped up the pressure on Premier League leaders Arsenal by strolling to a 3-0 win over Fulham on Wednesday to cut the gap at the top to three points.

Pep Guardiola has sought solutions to his side’s second-half slumps that have cost them precious points in the title race.

But City had the job done by half-time as three goals in 15 first-half minutes from Antoine Semenyo, Nico O’Reilly and Erling Haaland secured a 20th consecutive win over Fulham in all competitions.

Arsenal can stretch their lead back to six points when they visit in-form Brentford on Thursday.

But the Gunners’ advantage has reduced from nine points to three in four days to give City hope of denying them a first league title in 22 years.

City had to build on the momentum of a dramatic late fightback to beat Liverpool 2-1 for a rare win at Anfield on Sunday.

The January signings of Semenyo and Marc Guehi have added firepower up front and steel at the back to reignite City’s title charge.

Semenyo swooped for his fifth goal since joining from Bournemouth after Sander Berge inadvertently turned Matheus Nunes’ cross towards his own goal.

The Ghana international then turned provider for O’Reilly to coolly chip over Bernd Leno at the end of a lightning counter-attack.

Haaland kept his cool to score from the penalty spot in stoppage time for City’s first win at Anfield in front of a crowd since 2003 on Sunday.

But the Norwegian said he had to improve after netting just once from open play in his previous 13 matches.

Haaland scored his first non-penalty Premier League goal since December 20 when he drilled into the bottom corner from outside the box on 39 minutes.

Guardiola then took the chance to hand Haaland a rare rest from the second period as he was replaced by Omar Marmoush.

Fulham nearly came from 5-1 down in a 5-4 thriller when the sides last met in December.

City again failed to maintain their first-half intensity in the second period, but this time without any consequence as they laid down the gauntlet to Arsenal.

AFP