Category: International Sports

Liverpool completed one of the biggest smash and grabs in Champions League history to come away from their last-16 first leg against Paris St-Germain with a win.

PSG completely dominated the game, with 27 shots, and Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson had to make nine saves.

But the hosts could not find an opener – and the Reds scored with their second shot of the night in the 87th minute.

Harvey Elliott netted with his first touch, after replacing Mohamed Salah, when he was picked out by Darwin Nunez.

Luis Enrique’s side were shell shocked – and how they failed to score will go down as a mystery. Well, an Alisson-shaped mystery.

PSG forwards Ousmane Dembele and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in particular were unplayable at times. Kvaratskhelia had a fine goal in the first half rightly disallowed by the video assistant referee (VAR) for offside. The VAR again sided with Liverpool, more controversially, when Ibrahima Konate avoided a red card despite shoving Bradley Barcola over just outside the box. Liverpool will host the second leg next Tuesday.

Raphinha was once again Barcelona’s hero as they claimed a narrow win over Benfica in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, despite going down to 10 men.

The Brazilian capitalised on a defensive error to drive forward and slot in the bottom corner in the 61st minute, notching his 25th goal of the season and ninth in the Champions League campaign.

Raphinha also came to the rescue for five-time winners Barca in January when the two sides met in the league group phase, scoring a 96th-minute winner in a nine-goal thriller.

Meeting again at this knockout stage of the competition, Barcelona had to play with 10 men from the 22nd minute after teenager Pau Cubarsi brought down Benfica striker Vangelis Pavlidis on the edge of the penalty box but, as the last man, received a straight red card.

The Portuguese hosts thought they had a penalty in the 82nd minute after the otherwise faultless Wojciech Szczesny brought down Andrea Belotti, but the spot-kick was overturned for offside in the build-up. Barcelona held on to take a narrow lead to the Camp Nou for the second leg on Tuesday 11 March (17:45 GMT).

Brahim Diaz scored a brilliant winner to give Real Madrid a slender advantage over city rivals Atletico after the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.

Rodrygo put the hosts ahead inside four minutes in the Bernabeu when he sprinted past Javi Galan and chopped inside before bending a wonderful hit past Jan Oblak.

Atletico, though, quickly settled into the game and levelled in the 32nd minute with another wonderful goal.

The in-form Julian Alvarez picked up the ball on the left side of the box, wrongfooted Eduardo Camavinga and whipped a spectacular curling strike around Thibaut Courtois and in off the post.

It was the Argentine striker’s seventh goal in nine appearances in the competition.

But it was Diaz, another former Manchester City player, who claimed the decisive goal in an electric Madrid derby. The Spaniard sent Atletico defender Jose Gimenez to the floor as he skilfully waltzed into the box before driving a low shot into the far corner in the 55th minute. The 25-year-old midfielder had stepped up in Jude Bellingham’s absence, with the England international serving a one-game suspension after picking up his his third yellow card in the competition against Manchester City earlier this month. Bellingham will be available for the defending champions when they make the short trip to the Riyadh Air Metropolitano for the return leg on Wednesday, 12 March (20:00 GMT).

Kyrie Irving suffered a left knee sprain Monday night and shot free throws for the Mavericks — with tears rolling down his cheeks — before leaving the floor in obvious pain late in the first quarter of Dallas’ 122-98 loss to the Sacramento Kings.

Irving was fouled by DeMar DeRozan on a drive to the basket and his right foot landed on the foot of the Kings’ Jonas Valanciunas. He lost his balance and then landed awkwardly on his left leg, and his knee appeared to hyperextend before he fell to the floor.

The Mavericks provided no postgame updates on the nature of Irving’s injury.

“Just unlucky,” coach Jason Kidd said. “I hope that he’s healthy, that it’s not serious.” After he was hurt, Irving grabbed his leg and remained on the floor for multiple minutes. Injured forward Anthony Davis was among those helping Irving to the locker room before Kidd spoke to Irving, who then returned to take two free throws. After converting both to pull Dallas within 23-18, Irving was helped into the tunnel, and the Mavs quickly ruled him out for the rest of the night. A nine-time All-Star, Irving came in averaging 25.0 points per game and has become Dallas’ primary outside shooting threat following the trade of superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 1.

Ruben Amorim responded to Wayne Rooney’s suggestion that he’s “naive” to say his goal at Manchester United is to win the Premier League by telling the former club captain that it’s “easy” to be a pundit.

Amorim said his main aim at Old Trafford is to win the title as he reflected on his disappointment at United’s FA Cup exit to Fulham on Sunday.

Rooney, working as a pundit for the BBC, said the claim was “naive,” but Amorim hit back by telling the former United striker it is was “easy” to speak from the safety of a television studio.

“[The Premier League] is the goal,” said Amorim. “Being naive is to think we are going to do it this season or be the best contender next season. So I know that in this moment everybody knows everything. I know that and it’s really easy — I was a pundit when I finished my career. I know it’s really easy. Fulham knocked United out of the cup on penalties after a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford. Calvin Bassey gave Fulham the lead on the stroke of half-time before Bruno Fernandes equalised in the second half. It leaves United needing to win the Europa League to save their season ahead of their last-16 first leg tie against Real Sociedad in Spain on Thursday.

Luka Doncic had 29 points and nine assists, LeBron James added 17 points and the Los Angeles Lakers hung on to beat the Los Angeles Clippers for the second time in three days, 108-102 on Sunday night.

Rookie Dalton Knecht scored 19 points for the Lakers, who won their sixth straight game despite playing without injured starters Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura. The Lakers have won 16 of 19 overall.

Kawhi Leonard scored a season-high 33 points for the Clippers, who erased most of a late 21-point deficit before falling short in their fifth loss in six games.

Norman Powell scored four points in the first quarter before leaving with right hamstring soreness. The Clippers’ leading scorer was making his return from a five-game absence with a left knee injury.

Two days after the Lakers held off the Clippers 106-102, their second meeting also came down to the wire. Leonard’s 3-pointer trimmed the Lakers’ lead to 107-102 with 1:40 to play, but the Clippers missed their final six shots. Clippers: They looked downright terrible while failing to score in the final 7:35 of the first half, missing 10 straight shots with three turnovers. Their late rally was encouraging, but Powell’s absence hurts.

Lakers: Something special might be brewing. Doncic looks more comfortable by the day, and they continue to get impressive results despite major injuries and a brutal schedule. They’ve jumped into second place in the Western Conference at 38-21.

In a dramatic FA Cup fifth-round encounter at St. James’ Park, Danny Welbeck’s extra-time strike secured a 2-1 victory for Brighton & Hove Albion, knocking Newcastle United out of the competition.

Newcastle started strong, taking the lead in the 22nd minute when Alexander Isak confidently dispatched a penalty-his 57th goal in 98 appearances across all competitions. However, Brighton responded just before halftime, with Minteh Yakubu finding the net in the 44th minute to bring the game level. The second half was a tense, hard-fought battle, with both teams desperate to gain the upper hand. Tariq Lamptey and Carlos Baleba received yellow cards, and Lamptey’s second booking saw Brighton reduced to ten men. Newcastle soon suffered the same fate when Anthony Gordon also picked up a second yellow, leaving both sides with ten men for the final stretch.

Newcastle thought they had found the winner when Fabian Schär scored, but his effort was disallowed; mirroring an earlier denied goal for Isak. With the match seemingly destined for penalties, Brighton found their hero in extra time. Danny Welbeck stepped up in the 114th minute, rifling home the decisive goal to send the Seagulls into the next round, crushing Newcastle’s hopes of FA Cup glory.

Manchester United’s FA Cup dreams came to a crushing end in the fifth round as they were eliminated by Fulham in a dramatic penalty shootout at Old Trafford.

The 13-time winners-second only to Arsenal’s 14 triumphs; failed to capitalize on home advantage, bowing out in heartbreaking fashion.

The match saw a tense first half, with Fulham’s Nigerian defender Calvin Bassey breaking the deadlock in first-half stoppage time. The center-back reacted quickest after a double-header sequence inside the box, rifling his effort past André Onana to give the visitors a crucial lead.

United pushed for an equalizer in the second half and finally found a breakthrough in the 71st minute when captain Bruno Fernandes produced a stunning low shot from outside the box, leaving Bernd Leno with no chance. Despite late pressure from both sides, the game remained deadlocked through extra time, forcing a decisive penalty shootout.

With both sides unable to find a winner in extra time, the match was decided from the penalty spot, where Fulham emerged victorious, sealing their place in the quarter-finals and handing Ruben Amorim side a bitter defeat. Fulham’s victory secured their first FA Cup quarter-final appearance in nine years, while Ruben Amorim’s side saw their last realistic hope of silverware this season slip away in agonizing fashion.