International

By a Staff Reporter Messi was scoring goals for fun until the end of last season. He had 31 goals and 27 assists last season in all competitions. Despite his best efforts, Barcelona went trophyless after a long time. Messi on his best days surpassed Gerd Muller’s 85 goals for club and country in a single calendar year. Even after that Messi didn’t mean to stop. He then partnered with Neymar and Suarez to win the treble and the trio is up there among the list of best-attacking front ever. But since the restart, Messi has dipped in form like never before. Messi has scored 3 goals in the last 5 matches but all coming from the penalty spot. The Argentine has scored just once in four La Liga matches. Odd to hear Messi hasn’t scored from open play in 5 matches. Reeling from the ...

With a 2-1 victory over Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, RB Leipzig collected three huge points in Champions League Group H. The win moved Leipzig to second with Istanbul Basaksheir winning 2-1 against Manchester United. Di Maria opened the scoring for the Paris side after just 6 minutes, thanks to Moise Kean’s pass. It didn’t start as expected for the German’s side as after few minutes Upamecano gifted PSG with a penalty. Moise Keane’s shot was blocked by Upamecano’s hand. Di Maria stepped up to take the spot-kick but Pete Gulacsi stopped the shot easily and kept Leipzig in the game. Leipzig pulled level four minutes before half-time and PSG were forced to suffer after Di Maria's failure. Angelino teed up former PSG youth Academy graduate Nkunku, whose shot deflected past Keyl...

Brazilian duo Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior came off the bench to rescue real as Real Madrid secured first win of the season in the Champions League beating Inter Milan on Tuesday. With Real losing a two-goal lead, Rodrygo scored off Vinicius late on to secure a thrilling 3-2 victory at Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano. Real Madrid started the match in a must-win situation and the hosts took the lead through Karim Benzema after both sides exchanged early chances. Nicolo Barella struck the crossbar for the Italians and Inter failed to build on its chances early on. In the 10th minute, Martínez hit the crossbar and missed from a close range five minutes later. Benzema put the hosts ahead after a defensive error by Inter right-back Achraf Hakimi, a former Madrid star. Hakimi's return pass ...

German outfit RB Leipzig is set to welcome French champions Paris Saint-Germain to the Red Bull Arena on Wednesday with both sides desperate to win after faltering against Manchester United in the Champions League. On matchday two, Man Utd at Old Trafford ruthlessly demolished Julian Nagelsmann 's side, losing 5-0 after a rudderless display which saw substitute Marcus Rashford scored a second-half hat-trick. That performance was followed by a narrow defeat in the league to Borussia Monchengladbach. Meanwhile Thomas Tuchel 's side also suffered a loss to Man Utd himself, but in a much more marginal way. Rashford once again proving himself decisive with his late winner securing a 2-1 victory at Le Parc des Princes. His side unlike their German opponents, are in a good run of form ...

Real Madrid is hosting Italian giants Inter Milan in a UEFA Champions League Group B match on Tuesday, which could turn into a make or break game for both these European giants. After playing Shakhtar Donetsk and Borussia Monchengladbach, Real Madrid is at the bottom of the group with just one point. Inter Milan on the other hand have two points after drawing against the same oppositions and lies third. With each game, the problems only seem to escalate for Zinedine Zidane. The Frenchman has as many as five first-team stars on the sidelines due to injuries and other concerns ahead of Tuesday's encounter. He will not have the services of Eder Militao, Nacho Fernandez, Martin Odegaard, and Dani Carvajal, whereas Alvaro Odriozola, due to a calf injury, remains a doubt. Although Vaz...

In a battle of Premier League’s bitter rivalries, Arsenal beat rivals Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford with Pierre- Emerick Aubameyang scoring the only goal of the contest. After 29 unsuccessful attempts in the English top-flight, Arsenal’s Gabonese striker Aubameyang's penalty secured the Gunners first away victory over 'big six' opposition. The match also marked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s 100th game in charge. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta opted for a back 4 for the second time this season as Rob Holding was back from injury. Arsenal started brightly against Man Utd side who were flying high after their 5-0 thrashing of RB Leipzig. Aubameyang nearly brought Gunners ahead as he was within a whisker of getting contact on Bellerin's low cross, but he couldn’t capitalize it. Sudde...

Barcelona (Agency) - Spanish Club Barcelona won Chapecoense 5-0 in the Joan Gamper Trophy on Sunday. Gerard Deulofeu had given Barcelona the lead in the 6th minute of the match following Ivan Rakitic's good move inside the box. Sergio Busquets then doubled the lead in the 10th minute with a 25-yard long shot straight into the top corner. Then, Lionel Messi made the score 3-0 in the 28th minute. Barcelona further added two goals in the second half. Luis Suarez scored in the 55th minute while substitute Denis Suarez scored the final goal for Barcelona. This was Barcelona's 40th Joan Gamper Cup win out of 52 edition played so far. The match was played as a tribute to the 71 people from Chapecoense who had lost their lives in a plane crash in November. Chapecoense had accepted Barcelona's ...