Sports
Madrid on path to winning third consecutive UEFA Champions League
Reigning European champions Real Madrid moved into their third successive Champions League final as they edged out Bayern Munich in a thrilling semi-final second leg.
Trailing 2-1 after the first leg in Germany, Bayern needed a win at the Bernabeu to reach the final but it finished 2-2 as Real clinched a 4-3 aggregate victory.
Joshua Kimmich scored early on for the German champions from six yards out, before Karim Benzema headed in for Real from Marcelo’s fine left-wing cross eight minutes later.
A second for Benzema, after a horrendous mistake from Bayern goalkeeper Sven Ulreich, put Real in control, although Bayern’s on-loan James Rodriguez then scored against his parent club to set up a dramatic finale.
Bayern had chances to win it, but Corentin Tolisso and Thomas Muller’s efforts were saved by Keylor Navas and Mats Hummels headed wide as the Spanish side held on.
Real will face either Liverpool or Roma in the final in Kiev, Ukraine, on 26 May with Jurgen Klopp’s side leading 5-2 before Wednesday’s second leg in Rome.
Under-pressure Zidane takes Real to the final again
It has been a difficult season for Real boss Zinedine Zidane, whose future has been questioned as Barcelona have run away with La Liga, wrapping up the Spanish title with four games to go, while Real are only third, 15 points behind.
But the Champions League has increasingly looked like Zidane’s salvation. They only finished second in their group, losing 3-1 to Tottenham at Wembley in November, but wins in the knockout stages against Paris St-Germain, Juventus and now Bayern have kept them on course to become European champions for the 13th time.
Zidane restored Benzema to the starting line-up after the Frenchman, who had only scored once in his previous 12 games, had been a substitute for the first leg. That meant Gareth Bale started on the bench despite scoring in Real’s 2-1 league win over Leganes on Saturday.
But the decision proved to be the right one as Benzema’s two goals took Real into their fourth Champions League final in five seasons.
After Kimmich’s early goal had made it 2-2 on aggregate, the Frenchman leapt high to head home powerfully from Marcelo’s excellent delivery.
However, there was a huge slice of luck for Real and Benzema’s second. In the first minute of the second half, there appeared to be no danger as Tolisso rolled the ball back towards Ulreich.
But the goalkeeper thought about picking up the backpass, realised he could not, and saw the ball go under his arm to leave Benzema with a simple tap-in.
That did not prove the end of the drama though. Rodriguez pulled one back for Bayern, leaving them needing one more to progress on away goals. But Zidane’s men held on to move into the final; now only Liverpool or Roma stand between him and his third Champions League title in three years.
Bayern fall short in Europe once more
Bayern played their part in an enthralling clash at the Bernabeu, and shocked a capacity crowd by scoring after only three minutes to make it 2-2 on aggregate.
Sergio Ramos made a mess of his attempted clearance at the near post from Thomas Muller’s right-wing delivery and the ball fell kindly for Kimmich to score for the second time in the tie after he had also opened the scoring at the Allianz Arena.
Benzema’s double looked to have killed off Bayern’s hopes, before Rodriguez made it 2-2 on the night, shooting through Navas’ legs after the goalkeeper had saved his first shot.
Bayern, who had been the better team for the majority of the match, had 27 minutes and injury time to score the goal that would have taken them through on away goals.
But Tolisso and Muller were both denied by excellent reflex saves by Navas, and Hummels should have hit the target when unmarked at the back post in injury time but headed wide.
Bayern have dominated domestically this season, winning the Bundesliga with five games to spare and sitting 24 points clear of second-placed Schalke.
However, this was another failure at the highest level of European competition and they have now gone out in the semi-finals in four of the past five seasons since lifting the trophy in 2013.
.BBC
Sports
QNET and Man City Mark 10th Anniversary of their Partnership
Man City counts 28 trophies in the last 10 yearsQNET, an Asian direct selling giant and Manchester City, a top Football club in and outside England, are celebrating 10 years of partnership with great results.
The anniversary was part of the 26th V-Malaysia Conference (VCON) at Penang in Malaysia.
The long-standing partnership will see QNET continue as Official Direct Selling Partner for City’s men’s and women’s teams, according to Techeconomy report.
This partnership marked a significant milestone in May 2018 when City welcomed QNET as the first sleeve partner in the Women’s Super League.
Throughout the next phase of this partnership QNET will continue to provide City-led football clinics to communities around the world, as well as engaging with consumers and distributors through this relationship with City.
In a message to the leaders of QNET and the 8,000 VCON participants from over 30 countries, Ferran Soriano, the chief executive officer of Manchester City FC, said they are pleased to achieve great milestones that would not have been possible without the support and the commitment of everybody at QNET, “and every single one of you. I do remember back in 2014 when I met the leadership of QNET for the first time, and we discussed our plans, our ambitions, and we promised a lot.
“We promised that Manchester City would be a great football team, and that they would play beautiful football. Now, 10 years since then, we hold 28 trophies. I have to be honest and say that when we promised we were going to do well, we didn’t think we were going to win 28 trophies.
“We’re excited now we’re starting a new season, and guess what? We want to win again, and if we do, it would be another record. Maybe we can win the fifth Premier League in a row. Obviously, something that hasn’t happened before. I can promise that we will fight for all the trophies like you fight for all your objectives. Manchester City and QNET have the incredible power to engage people from every country, create a sense of community and empower individuals and teams to achieve their aspirations”.
He promised Manchester City’s support to the QNET brand to achieve even more successes in the coming years.
Trevor Kuna, the CEO of QNET said that the partnership with Manchester City has made positive impacts on the business.
QNET’s grass-roots business model enables ordinary people from all walks of life to start their own business with minimal overhead.
With hard work and dedication, QNET distributors, known as Independent Representatives (IRs) have the opportunity to become economically self-sufficient, raising the standard of life for their families and communities.
QNET is driven by two important philosophies: RYTHM (Raise Yourself to Help Mankind) and InService.
Meanwhile, the highlight of the QNET and Manchester City celebration was the presentation of a 10-year partnership anniversary plaque by John Kirton, senior partnership marketing manager, Manchester City Football Club to the QNET team.
Sports
Robinho To Serve A 9 Year Jail Term Over Gang Rape
Former Manchester City and Real Madrid striker Robinho will reportedly serve a nine-year jail sentence for gang rape – Imposed on him by an Italian court — in Brazil, judges in Brasilia has ruled.
The 40-year-old was found guilty in Italy in 2017 and according to Globo, Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice (BSCJ), made the ruling on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.
The former Premier League player, whose real name is Robson De Souza, was one of six men who were found guilty of a§§aulting an Albanian woman in an Italian nightclub in January 2013.
In January 2022, the Supreme Court in Rome dismissed his final appeal against the conviction, according to the report.
Robinho claims he is innocent and has been living in Brazil for the past seven years. It came after nine of the court’s 15 ministers had voted in favour of the decision to incarcerate the footballer in Brazil.
Globo also claims that the ex-footballer, who also spent time at AC Milan and Real Madrid, will now be arrested in Santos, where he currently resides.
Robinho, who was 28 and was playing for AC Milan at the time, admitted during his appeal to having ‘contact’ with the woman, but the Brazilian insisted it was consensual.
The Milan Court of Appeals found Robinho had ‘belittled’ and ‘br¥tally h¥miliated’ the victim as it upheld his original sentence in December 2020.
Intercepted phone calls between the Brazilian and those allegedly involved in the assault were used as key evidence in his initial conviction.
Sports
Former Tennis Champion, Tania Okpala Returns To Tennis After Rehabilitation
Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo, has revealed that former tennis champion, Tania Okpala, has resumed playing on the courts.
This development follows Soludo’s assurance that she would undergo rehabilitation after a video surfaced online showing her in distress on the streets of Awka, pleading for assistance.
In an update on his social media handle on Thursday, Soludo expressed his satisfaction with Okpala’s return, stating, “Tania Okpala is back on the courts!
“A few months ago, social media was flooded with a viral video showing Ms. Tania in a distressing state on the streets of Awka. I am pleased to report that we have successfully restored Tania to her winning ways.”
Okpala, who hails from Anambra and has a Belarusian mother, represented Nigeria in the 1990s.
Here are pictures of her in the tennis court.
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