Sports
Man City Beat Sevilla On Penalties To Win UEFA Super Cup
Manchester City has won the UEFA Super Cup for the first time on Wednesday but needed penalties to beat Sevilla after a 1-1 draw in Athens.
Youssef En-Nesyri’s towering first-half header gave the Spaniards the lead.
European champions City were far from their slick best, but hit back to force the game to penalties through Cole Palmer’s header.
City were then perfect from the spot and prevailed 5-4 in the shootout after Sevilla defender Nemanja Gudelj smashed against the bar.
Pep Guardiola has bemoaned his side’s lack of preparation for the new season and it showed under the baking heat in the Greek capital.
City badly missed the creative presence of Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva through a combination of injury and illness.
A four-month absence for De Bruyne due to a serious hamstring injury has exacerbated the loss of firepower offered by Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez since last season.
West Ham’s Brazilian international Lucas Paqueta has been linked with a move to the Etihad and this performance may serve as further proof City need to strengthen before the end of the transfer market.
Sevilla began their La Liga season with a disappointing 2-1 home defeat to Valencia.
But just as they did last season in lifting a seventh Europa League despite a 12th-placed league finish, they rose to the big occasion.
Sevilla goalkeeper Yassine Bounou was playing what is expected to be his final game for the club before a move to Saudi side Al Hilal.
The Moroccan international denied City a perfect start when he clawed away Nathan Ake’s powerful header that was destined for the bottom corner.
But Guardiola’s men soon became ponderous in possession and were punished on 25 minutes.
AFP
Real Madrid attacker, Vinicius Jr has said that he is at his best right now.
The Brazilian is in the midst of a decent season with Los Blancos, having scored 17 goals and 12 assists in 35 games across competitions.
Nine of those goals and seven assists have come in 20 La Liga outings.
“I’m at my best right now. I had injuries. With so many games you can’t be 100% in all of them,” he told the press ahead Real Madrid clash with Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League Round of sixteen at Santiago Bernabeu.
The Real beat their neighbours 2-1 to take a slim advantage into the second coming up next week .
“Playing 80 games you can’t always be at your best. You’re not always in your head and you’re not always physically fit.
A lot of players are playing with injuries.
“I think my season is going well. It’s normal that people demand more from me and want more from me.
But now comes the decisive moment of the season and at Madrid we play better at this stage of the season,” he added.
Real Madrid were defeated 2-1 by Real Betis in the La Liga at the weekend.
Everton midfielder, Toni Payne, is excited to be nominated for the English Women’s Super League, WSL, Player of the Month for February.
Payne is one of the five nominees for the award.
It’s the first time the Nigeria international has been nominated for the individual prize.
“It definitely feels good. You know, it’s my first time in the league and the WSL.
I definitely knew it was going to be a struggle in the beginning, but I think I’m finally catching my stride here,” the Nigeria international told the club’s official website.
The 27-year-old registered two assists in three league appearances for Everton in February.
Recall that Payne joined Everton on a free transfer last summer.
Sports
BREAKING: Arsenal route to Champions League final confirmed as Mikel Arteta learns round of 16 opponents
Arsenal will face PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League round of 16, it has been confirmed.
The draw for the last-16 was held in Nyon, Switzerland on Friday, with the Gunners one of eight seeded teams after they finished in the top eight of the league phase.
With the Champion League now using a bracket system, just like in major international tournaments, Arsenal and the 15 other clubs still in the competition now know their possible route to the final, which will be played in Munich on May 31.
Arsenal were drawn on the silver side of the draw and will face PSV in the last-16. The Dutch side knocked Juventus out 4-3 on aggregate in the play-off round so will be a stern test for Mikel Arteta’s Squad.
Elsewhere in the round of 16, Aston Villa were drawn against Club Brugge, Borussia Dortmund were drawn against Lille, Atletico Madrid were drawn against Real Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen were drawn against Bayern Munich, Feyenoord were drawn against Inter, PSG were drawn against Liverpool and Barcelona were drawn against Benfica.
With Arsenal on the silver side of the draw, the Gunners know that they will face one of Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid in the quarter-final, should they progress past PSV. The first leg of the quarter-final would be played at Emirates Stadium. Arsenal’s possible semi-final opponents include one of Liverpool, PSG, Club Brugge or Aston Villa.
As Arsenal were seeded for the draw, they will play at home in the round of 16 second leg. The first legs of the round of 16 will be played on March 4 and March 5, and the second legs will be played on March 11 and March 12.
Each club plays once on a Tuesday and once on a Wednesday.
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