Sports
Real Madrid, Man City Draw Thriller In Champions League Quarter-Final
Real Madrid and Champions League holders Manchester City shared a pulsating 3-3 draw in a rollercoaster quarter-final first leg on Tuesday.
Bernardo Silva put City ahead with a low free-kick but Ruben Dias’ own goal and Rodrygo Goes helped Madrid dramatically and swiftly fight back.
Manchester City’s own quick-fire double in the second half through Phil Foden and Josko Gvardiol stunned the record 14-time winners, but they snatched a draw through Fede Valverde’s scorching volley.
The thrilling match was played in the shadow of a threat by Islamic State to target every quarter-final first leg, with a heavy security presence around the Santiago Bernabeu.
Spanish officials said 2,000 police were to be deployed, but the match was played without incident off the field. On it, there was plenty under the closed stadium roof, which produced a thunderous atmosphere.
Guardiola omitted influential playmaker Kevin De Bruyne after the Belgian said he was unwell shortly before the game, opting for Mateo Kovacic in midfield alongside Rodri Hernandez.
The former Barcelona coach also chose Stefan Ortega in goal over the experienced Ederson, only just back from a thigh injury, while Gvardiol overcame a fitness doubt to start.
Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti opted for defensive midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni at centre-back over Nacho Fernandez and an early rash challenge from the Frenchman paved the way for City’s opener.
Tchouameni clumsily hacked down Jack Grealish after 33 seconds and was booked, meaning he will miss the second leg.
From the free-kick Silva punished Madrid further, catching goalkeeper Andriy Lunin out at his near post with a low effort which skidded home.
Lunin was sluggish to react and although he got a hand to the ball he could not keep it out.
Ancelotti, coaching a record 200th Champions League match, claimed his team lacked courage and personality when they were crushed by City in last seasons semis, but they showed mental strength to quickly turn the game on its head.
This kind of feat is Madrid’s wont in the Champions League, and they produced two goals in two minutes, reminiscent of their stunning 2022 semi-final comeback against City thanks to Rodrygo’s brace.
Dias deflected the first into his own net as he tried to block Camavinga’s long-range piledriver, and Rodrygo slipped home the second after Vinicius Junior played him in, aided by another deflection, off Manuel Akanji.
The Brazilian sliced wide at the end of a slick Madrid transition, aided by a Vinicius backheel, as Los Blancos demonstrated how dangerous they are on the counter-attack.
A breathless first 45 minutes was followed by more of the same, in a tie increasingly dubbed a Champions League “Clasico”.
Rodri headed over for the visitors and Vinicius blasted over the top before City sprang their own comeback and extended their unbeaten run to 26 matches.
Foden pulled his team level with a superb strike, arced into the top corner from the edge of the box.
The England international is enjoying his finest goalscoring campaign with this perfectly placed effort his 22nd across all competitions.
With Antonio Rudiger shackling Erling Haaland, City got a goal from an unlikely source to lead five minutes later.
Defender Gvardiol’s ferocious bending effort from distance left Lunin no chance and silenced the Bernabeu — but not for long.
Valverde’s brilliant volley from Vinicius’ cross zipped past Ortega to level the score and leave the game deliciously poised for the second leg on April 17.
AFP
Sports
Champions League: PSG, Dortmund win, Inter Milan hold Man City
Paris Saint-Germain needed a late dose of luck to beat Girona 1-0 in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night.
The Ligue 1 champions toiled against the debutants at home for 88 minutes without finding the back of the net.
However, Nuno Mendes’ low cross was fumbled into his own net by goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga.
England Under-21 winger Jamie Gittens’ double set last year’s Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund on their way to a 3-0 victory at Club Brugge. Serhou Guirassy scored the third from the penalty spot.
Manchester City and Inter Milan played out a goalless draw at the Etihad.
In Scotland, Celtic thrashed Slovan Bratislava 5-1 to record their biggest win in the competition ever.
Sports
Rising Nigerian Football Star, Hadriel Gets Elite X1 Canada Invitation
Eleven year old high rising Nigerian football star Hadriel Chukwuziterem Opara who has been attracting the attention of football coaches and scouts has been selected as one of the 12 players across Canada that will represent Elite X1 Canada in the prestigious NIKE powered Norwich City Mna Cup UK taking place from October 10-14, 2024.
According to the letter of invitation from the organisers, the tournament will enable the players engage in top level competition with 16 academy teams from renowned clubs like Liverpool, Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Sporting Lisbon and Norwich City.
The invitation letter also noted that the players will be exposed to world class facilities at Norwich City FC’s State-of-the – art Lotus training centre featuring advanced training environments like the exclusive Soccer Bot 360 system.
The organisers while stating that the tournament will enable the players showcase their talents on an international stage, assured that all the matches will be filmed, providing a valuable footage that could open doors to future opportunities.
Meanwhile Hadriel a Pepsi Academy product who has not hidden his intention of playing for the National U-15 team noted that he’s humbled by the invitation expressing hope that the programme will help him further improve his football skill.
Sports
Just in: Delta grabs first position at national youth games
WITH 41 gold, 27 silver , and 30 bronze medals totalling 98, Delta State has emerged the winner of the 8th edition of the National Youth Games ( NYG), tagged Asaba 2024.
Latest update of proceedings released on Wednesday night showed that Lagos State has outpaced erstwhile second placed Edo State with a total medals haul of 62, comprising 25 gold, 19 silver and 18 bronze medals respectively .
Edo State is placed third with 17 gold, 12 silver and 24 bronze medals respectively.
Ebonyi and Zamfara States could not land any medal to their credit during the games, according to the medals table update so far.
The NYG is expected to come to a close today (Thursday), with the closing ceremony at the Stephen Keshi international Stadium, Asaba, the Delta, Nigeria.
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