Author: Anjishnu Roy

Ibrahima Konate, Sadio Mane, and Luis Diaz got on the scoresheet as SL Benfica succumbed to a 3-1 loss to Liverpool in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal. Darwin Nunez was the only scorer for the home side at the Estadio da Luz. The Reds side took the lead in the first half through Konate and Mane. Although in-form Uruguayan striker Nunez pulled one back for the Portuguese outfit just after the first half, Nelson Verissimo’s men lost the game late, with former Porto winger Diaz putting the final nail in their crown. However, there was controversy involved in the…

In an interview with Polish media outlet NaTemat, Antoni Piechniczek has labelled Lionel Messi as a ‘grandfather of the forest.’ The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner has hardly looked the same ever since his tumultuous move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in August 2021. Whether it is due to the fact that he has never played professional football for any club other than Barcelona before or because of Mauricio Pochettino’s questionable tactics, Messi has looked extremely underwhelming with the Parisians in Ligue 1. Credit: Getty Images The Argentine has scored only three goals in the French league this season. He was also a bystander as PSG suffered yet another…

In an interview with the Evening Standard, Arsenal full-back Cedric Soares has highlighted how he has been impressed by Brazilian attacker Gabriel Martinelli. The defender stated that Martinelli has a tendency to attack space in a similar manner as his national compatriot Cristiano. “Gabi has this aim for goal. He likes to attack the space, like Cristiano [Ronaldo]. He likes to score goals, like everyone does. But Gabi has this willingness to fight. Even when he doesn’t play, he keeps working the same way. He is an easy young kid to talk with. You talk and you can see he…

While it was taken for granted that Kylian Mbappe will be moving to Real Madrid once his contract with PSG expires in the summer, the French forward’s own latest admission has thrown a curve-ball. In his recent interview with Prime Video, the striker revealed that he hasn’t made up his mind about his future and anything, including renewing and remaining at Parc des Princes, is possible. Although the World Cup winner has previously expressed his desire to move to Real Madrid very publicly and several European outlets already take his signing with Los Blancos for granted, Mbappe has shed more doubt following…

BVB right-back Thomas Meunier has revealed that Spanish giants Barcelona wanted to sign him in the January transfer window. However, Borussia Dortmund were not interested in letting him leave and therefore, the move eventually broke down. The Blaugarana were very active in the winter transfer window this time around. They completed a flurry of signings. The Catalans brought back former full-back Dani Alves for a free, signed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the deadline day from Arsenal for free as well. They paid 55 million euros to Manchester City for the services of Ferran Torres and also completed a six-month loan deal for Wolves’ Adama Traore. Credit: Getty Images The winter signings have all…

Paganese midfielder Fernando Tissone, who played alongside Mauro Icardi at Sampdoria, has advised his compatriot to leave PSG as in the presence of Lionel Messi, Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Angel di Maria, the striker hardly sees any game time in the Parisian outfit. Icardi’s career has seen a steep decline ever since his exit from Inter Milan. The forward is now unwanted at PSG after moving to the club in 2020. He has been on the receiving end of several injuries and has also struggled for minutes in Paris. Credit: AFP The arrival of Messi effectively relegated him to the bench…

Maurizio Sarri’s men showed grit and perseverance to bounce back from their 3-0 loss in the Rome derby. They defeated Sassuolo 2-1 and are still involved in the race for the European places. Midfielders Manuel Lazzari and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic scored two goals in two halves to seal the win and take Sarri’s side to the fifth spot in the Serie A table. “We showed from the first minute that this was not the same team we saw in the derby. “We want to finish in the top four, I know it will be difficult but we’re going to try.”Milinkovic-Savic told DAZN.  Credit: U.S.…

Los Blancos bounced back from the 0-4 hammering that they had received at the hands of Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu with a 2-1 win over Celta Vigo in La Liga. The table-toppers were without their head coach Carlo Ancelotti who had tested positive for COVID-19. His son, Davide, took charge of the team instead. Four changes were made to the Real Madrid lineup that started against Barcelona, with star striker Karim Benzema returning to the fold after the international break. Ferland Mendy, Lucas Vazquez and Marco Asensio all started the game as well. The match saw a busy start as Iago Aspas’s shot was deflected wide while Benzema’s…

Brentford’s Christian Eriksen got on the scoresheet at Stamford Bridge as his side recorded as first win over Chelsea since 1939. Liverpool, meanwhile, defeated Watford 2-0 to keep up the pressure on leaders Manchester City in the title race, whereas Manchester United drew against Leicester City at home. With the first half seeing no goals, the Stamford Bridge crowd was sent into a frenzy as Chelsea centre-back Antonio Rudiger, who is out of contract in the summer, found the back of the net with a long-rage strike just after half-time. However, that goal proved to be nothing more than a consolation…

Josep Bartomeu’s time as Barcelona chairman was widely marked by corruption scandals and financial ruin. In an interview with Spanish media outlet Sport, the club’s veteran Gerard Pique has criticised the former president for lying to the players about several important matters. Bartomeu’s reign as Barcelona president (2014-2020) brought about widespread financial ruin for the club, the consequences of which it is still suffering. The new board, led by Joan Laporta, has been toiling hard to secure new sources of revenue and lines of credit to assuage the financial crisis. https://twitter.com/beINSPORTSUSA/status/1321175720706609154 The Blaugrana even had to part ways with Lionel Messi in the…