football

Agencies Kylian Mbappe's injury-time strike saw PSG beat Real Madrid 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday. According to media reports, PSG had appeared to be heading for a frustrating goalless draw in the French capital after Lionel Messi saw his 62nd-minute penalty saved by Thibaut Courtois. The visitors' giant Belgian goalkeeper guessed correctly and dived low to his left to turn Messi's spot-kick behind for a corner in what looked like being the pivotal moment of the tie. All this after Mauricio Pochettino's side had dominated most of the clash, only for Mbappe to twice be denied by excellent Courtois stops in each half, before Messi was given the chance to break the deadlock from the spot after Dani Carvajal had foo...

Agencies The Champions League last 16 starts with Paris St-Germain v Real Madrid and Sporting Lisbon v Manchester City on Tuesday. According to the BBC, this is the first time in 18 years that Barcelona are not in the Champions League knockout stages. Instead of competing for club football's most prestigious trophy, they will be facing Napoli (who finished above Leicester) in a play-off for a place in the Europa League last 16. The last time they were not in the Champions League last 16 was in 2004 when they lost to Celtic in the Uefa Cup. On the other hand, there are at least four English teams in the Champions League last 16 for the fourth time in five seasons - all getting there with a game to spare this time. And three of them are among the four bookmakers' favou...

By a Staff Reporter Kathmandu - Ruslan Three Star Club has bid farewell to defender Ananta Tamang, who is all set to play in the Indian Super League (ISL). Tamang, who is also a vital member of the national football team of Nepal, was given a farewell by Three Star Club’s officials amid a function on Tuesday. The club officials wished for his success in the Indian league. Tamang is leaving for India at 1 pm on Wednesday. He joined ISL side SC East Bengal last week. Tamang has become the first Nepali player to join ISL. Three Star had released him after he got an opportunity to play for the Indian team. The club has signed Tamang for the rest of the current season. Although he will be playing in the ISL for a short period, the club had been chasing him since a long time. East ...

Agencies Luuk de Jong scored a dramatic late equaliser as Barcelona drew 2-2 at Espanyol in a pulsating La Liga derby on Sunday. According to the BBC, Pedri volleyed in an early opener but the hosts levelled just before half time when Sergi Darder curled in. Raul de Tomas ran through to drive Espanyol in front in the second half. Gerard Pique and Nico Melamed were sent off after a clash in added time before substitute De Jong headed in an Adama Traore cross to grab a point that moves Barca above Atletico Madrid in fourth. Manu Morlanes, who had come on in the 62nd minute only to go off eight minutes later because of an injury, was also shown a red card at the end of the game. It was an agonising result for the hosts after they came within seconds of a first derby win ov...

By a Staff Reporter Kathmandu - Three more teams have been added in the second edition of Nepal Super League (NSL) which to be organized by Nepal Sports and Events Management (NSEM) after two months. There are now altogether 10 teams in the league. There were 7 teams in the first edition of the league that concluded eight months ago. During a press meet on Sunday, organizer NSEM announced that three new teams have been added for the event. The new teams include Jhapa Xi, Sporting Ilam The Mechi and Birgunj United FC. The first leg of the NSL will be held in Pokhara from April 9 to May 21. The second leg will be held in Kathmandu. However, the organisers have said that the event can be held in  one city considering the threat of Covid-19 at that time. The first e...

By a Staff Reporter Kathmandu - Nepal APF Football Club shared the spoils with Sankata Club with a goalless draw in their Qatar Airways Martyrs Memorial A Division League match on Sunday. Both the teams created some chances to score in the competitive match held at the Dasharath Stadium but lacked clinical finishing to take home all three points. APF’s Korean goalkeeper Yuya Kuriyama made a diving save to deny a goal to Fode Fofana in the 11th minute. Five minutes later, Pradeep Lama made an attempt to clear a corner kick from Laxman Ruchal but it landed in Amit Tamang’s way. However, Tamang was unable to score as his shot skied off. APF failed to take lead in the 34th minute when header by Armond Winong in a corner kick from skipper Navin Lama went above the bar. In the 6...

By a Staff Reporter Kathmandu - New Road Team (NRT) and Himalayan Sherpa Club played a goalless draw in their Qatar Airways Martyrs Memorial  A Division League match at the Dasharath  Stadium on Sunday. Neither of the teams were able to create much chances during the match that lacked excitement. NRT had chance to score in the 19th minute when Stefan Samir met a cross from Sanam Limbu in the penalty box. But Samir failed to control the ball and his shot was easily saved by Himalayan Sherpa’s goalkeeper Deep Karki. A 20-yard shot by Himalayan Sherpa skipper Bishwas Shrestha in the 25th minute was punched away by NRT goalkeeper Ajit Prajapati. Six minute later, Shrestha’s shot missed the post narrowly. He had got an opportunity to shoot after Saroj Tamang failed to clear the ba...

By a Staff Reporter Kathmandu - Suman Aryal scored an injury-time goal to salvage a 1-1 draw for Tribhuvan Army Club against Jawlakhel Youth Club during their Qatar Airways Matyrs Memorial A Division League Match on Friday. The late goal avoided defeat for the departmental team which is in the race for a top-four finish in the ongoing league. Jawlakhel were forced to share points as they lost their composure in the fading moments of the game. Rajiv Gurung made an attempt to score in a pass from Jagjeet Shrestha in the sixth minute of injury time but it was unmarket Aryal who gave the final touch to score the goal. Onguna Nikege had scored a goal for JYC in the 53rd minute. He had utilized a back-heel pass from Rup Bahadur Lama and hit a shot in between three defenders ...

By a Staff Reporter Kathmandu - Nepal has climbed two spots in the latest FIFA rankings published by the world football governing body. Nepal managed to climb to 167th position in the new rankings released by FIFA on Thursday for the month of February. Last month, Nepal was in the 169th position. Nepal had registered victories in two friendly matches against Mauritius held in the home ground at Dasharath Stadium earlier this month. In the first match held on January 29, Bimal Gharti Magar scored the winner as Nepal defeated Mauritius 1-0. In another match on February 1, Sujal Shrestha helped Nepal register a 1-0 win against the visitors. India is the highest ranked country in FIFA rankings among the SAARC nations. India is ranked 104th in the FIFA rankings followed by the Mal...