Real Madrid, Atletico into Champions League last 16 as PSG win suspended game – Newstrends
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Real Madrid, Atletico into Champions League last 16 as PSG win suspended game

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4 years ago

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Karim Benzema sent Real Madrid through to the last 16 of the Champions League on Wednesday alongside their rivals Atletico, while Neymar scored a hat-trick as Paris Saint-Germain beat Istanbul Basaksehir in a match that was delayed for 24 hours over a racism row

Real Madrid are Europe’s most decorated club with 13 European Cups but they needed to beat Borussia Moenchengladbach in Madrid to be sure of making it through the group stage of the Champions League for a 24th straight year.

Benzema was their hero, easing the pressure on coach Zinedine Zidane with two fine back-post headers in the first half securing a 2-0 win in a game played behind closed doors at the Alfredo di Stefano Stadium.

“Each match is a final and I think that if we always play how we did today, no team can hurt us,” said Benzema, who has played in four Champions League final wins with Real in the last seven seasons.

The Frenchman also hit the bar in the second half and in the end it was a result that suited both teams, with a 0-0 draw between Inter Milan and Shakhtar Donetsk allowing Real to top Group B and Gladbach, former European Cup runners-up, to go through as runners-up.

Players from the German club gathered around smartphones and laptops after fulltime in Madrid to follow events in Milan, where a winner for either team would have knocked Gladbach out.

They celebrated wildly when their qualification was confirmed.

“Moments like that live long in the memory. It was absolutely incredible and the joy was uncontainable,” said Gladbach midfielder Christoph Kramer.

INTER FAIL AGAIN

Shakhtar go into the Europa League while Inter finish bottom of their group, failing to reach the last 16 for a third season running.

Meanwhile Atletico needed to beat Red Bull Salzburg in Austria to qualify as runners-up in Group A behind Bayern Munich, and did so with Mario Hermoso and Yannick Carrasco scoring in a 2-0 victory.

“I think in the nine years we’ve been here, we have reached the last 16 eight times,” said Atletico coach Diego Simeone.

“I enjoy looking back at that. Lots of people will say it’s just normal for us but I don’t think it’s normal.”

Salzburg now go into the Europa League while reigning European champions Bayern completed the group stage unbeaten as Niklas Suele and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting gave them a 2-0 win over Lokomotiv Moscow.

ATALANTA THROUGH

The other team to clinch qualification on Wednesday was Atalanta, whose 1-0 win away to Ajax secured second place in Group D behind Liverpool and a last-16 spot for the second year running.

Luis Muriel scored a late winner for Atalanta in Amsterdam after Ryan Gravenberch was sent off for the hosts, who drop into the Europa League.

Already through, Liverpool were able to give a chance to several younger players in their 1-1 draw with Midtjylland in Denmark, where Mohamed Salah put the 2019 winners ahead early on but Alexander Scholz’s penalty gave the hosts an honourable draw.

NEYMAR HAT-TRICK

PSG had wrapped up their qualification for the last 16 on Tuesday thanks to Manchester United’s defeat at RB Leipzig, despite their own game being suspended after an unprecedented walkout.

Both sets of players refused to continue after a row erupted over an alleged racist remark by the fourth official aimed at Basaksehir’s assistant coach, Pierre Webo.

With a new set of officials, the game restarted in the 14th minute on Wednesday and an irresistible Neymar scored a hat-trick while also winning a penalty converted by Kylian Mbappe.

That was Mbappe’s first Champions League goal in 12 months, and he scored again later on after Mehmet Topal pulled one back. With their 5-1 victory, PSG go through as group winners.

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City made it five wins and a draw in Group D as they eased to a 3-0 victory against Marseille with Ferran Torres and Sergio Aguero getting second-half goals before an Alvaro Gonzalez own goal.

Also already qualified, Porto beat Olympiakos 2-0 in Piraeus courtesy of Otavio’s early penalty and a Matheus Uribe goal. The Greeks, who ended with 10 men, finish third in the section.

The draw for the last 16 is on Monday.

– supersport.com

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Real Madrid outclass Pachuca to win FIFA Intercontinental Cup

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2 days ago

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December 19, 2024

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Real Madrid outclass Pachuca to win FIFA Intercontinental Cup

Kylian Mbappe’s first-half strike at Lusail Stadium – the venue where he scored a hat-trick in the World Cup final exactly two years ago – set Real Madrid on their way before Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr scored after half-time.

Mbappe gave Madrid the lead late in the first half, tapping home from close range after Vinicius had rounded Carlos Moreno in the Pachuca goal.

Rodrygo doubled Madrid’s lead seven minutes into the second half with a sublime curling striker from the edge of the box.

The goal stood following a pitchside monitor review, with referee Jesus Valenzuela deciding that Jude Bellingham had not interfered with play while standing in an offside position.

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Pachuca captain Salomon Rondon had Thibaut Courtois stretching to save a long-range free-kick, before the former West Brom and Everton striker, 35, sent a header narrowly over the crossbar.

A day after being named men’s player of the year at the Fifa Best awards, Vinicius added a third from the penalty spot after Lucas Vazquez was brought down by Oussama Idrissi.

The inaugural edition of the Intercontinental Cup – essentially a replacement for the Fifa Club World Cup, which will instead take place next summer – involved the winners of five continental club competitions taking part in a straight knockout tournament.

Pachuca, winners of the Concacaf Champions Cup, defeated Caf Champions League holders Al-Ahly of Egypt to reach the final. Uefa Champions League winners Madrid did not take part in the previous rounds.

 

Real Madrid outclass Pachuca to win FIFA Intercontinental Cup

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Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr. crowned FIFA Player of the Year

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3 days ago

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December 18, 2024

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Vinicius Jr

Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr. crowned FIFA Player of the Year

Vinicius Jr, the electrifying Real Madrid and Brazil winger, has soared to football’s pinnacle, clinching the coveted FIFA Men’s Player of the Year award at the prestigious ceremony in Doha.

The 24-year-old maestro, who famously skipped the recent Ballon d’Or gala after missing out to Manchester City’s midfield dynamo Rodri, turned the tide with this glittering accolade.

It’s a triumph well-earned—Vinicius dazzled in Real Madrid’s sensational Champions League and La Liga double-winning season, netting 24 goals and crafting 11 assists in the 2023-24 campaign.

Draped in glory, Vinicius reflected on his meteoric rise with heartfelt humility: “It seemed impossible when I played barefoot in the streets of São Gonçalo, and now I’m here.”

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The moment carried added sweetness for Vinicius, marking his first-ever FIFA Best award—a golden consolation following Real Madrid’s bold boycott of the Ballon d’Or.

Meanwhile, Barcelona’s midfield magician Aitana Bonmatí claimed the Women’s Player of the Year title for the second consecutive year, further cementing her dominance on the global stage.

According to BBC, The award, recognising performances from August 2023 to August 2024, was decided through a mix of votes—public input, a journalist from each country, and the captains and coaches of national teams. Each group’s vote carried equal weight, blending opinion and expertise.

Rodri, the architect of Spain’s Euro 2024 success, settled for second place, while Real Madrid’s sensational England star Jude Bellingham completed the podium in third.

 

Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr. crowned FIFA Player of the Year

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Rashford hints at Man United exit

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3 days ago

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December 18, 2024

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Rashford hints at Man United exit

Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford appears set to leave the club after claiming he is “ready for a new challenge.”

Rashford was controversially dropped from the squad that faced rivals Manchester City on Sunday fueling speculation over his future.

In a wide-ranging interview published on Tuesday, he told Henry Winter that “personally, I think I’m ready for a new challenge and the next steps.”

“When I leave it’s going to be ‘no hard feelings’,” he said. “You’re not going to have any negative comments from me about Manchester United. That’s me as a person.

“If I know that a situation is already bad I’m not going to make it worse. I’ve seen how other players have left in the past and I don’t want to be that person.

“When I leave I’ll make a statement and it will be from me.”

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Rashford made his senior debut in 2015 after rising through the club’s academy and has scored 138 goals in 426 appearances.

He has won two FA Cups and the Europa League for the Red Devils but his form has suffered over the past 18 months, scoring only 15 goals in all competitions since the end of the 2022/23 season.

He was also frozen out of the England squad for Euro 2024 and was reportedly put up for sale on Monday.

“I’m halfway through my career,” he added. “I don’t expect my peak to be now. I’ve had nine years so far in the Premier League and that’s taught me a lot, that’s helped me grow as a player and as a person.

“I don’t have any regrets from the last nine years. I won’t have any regrets going forward because I take things day by day and sometimes bad things happen, sometimes good things happen. I just try and keep a fine balance.”

When asked if the best is yet to come, Rashford replied: “100%. That’s my mentality.”

 

Rashford hints at Man United exit

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