BARCELONA, Spain: Barcelona travel to Inter Milan for an exciting second leg of the Champions League semi-final early Wednesday morning, with Raphinha’s final contribution ensuring it was tied 3-3 after the first leg.
For once this season, the statistics did not reflect the Brazilian’s contribution to Barcelona’s third goal when his powerful shot hit the crossbar and bounced off the head of Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer before hitting the net and scoring his own goal.
Despite this, his numbers in the Champions League are impressive and prove Raphinha’s greatness in the attacking machinery of Hansi Flick’s team.
Raphinha scored 12 goals in 13 European matches and assisted nine goals, if you include his assist for Sommer’s own goal, 21 goals – while Inter’s opponents scored 22 goals as a team throughout the competition.
The 28-year-old’s goal tally even surpassed Lionel Messi’s best record of 19 direct goal involvements with the Catalan giants in the Champions League campaign.
Throughout the season, the former Leeds winger scored 31 goals and provided 25 assists in 52 appearances in all competitions, as Barcelona targeted a potential quadruple, with the Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup already within reach.
Barcelona’s success on the brink of the Champions League final is proven by the sudden rise of Raphinha in his third season at the club.
On the other hand, he said the Brazilian winger’s rise was due to coach Flick.
“The fact is he practically changed everything for me,” Raphinha said.
“I wanted to leave the club before the season started, it was very important for the coach to change my mind, for me to stay at this club.
“He gave me the confidence to do what I do, he changed everything, he basically changed my career.
“I had my best, best season since I started playing and I owe it to him.”
LONDON: Nuno Espirito Santo said Nottingham Forest are excited to be in the race for a place in the Champions League and FA Cup semi-finals after they beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 away from home early this morning.
Forest have reclaimed third place and are in a good position among the five clubs competing for a Champions League spot behind Liverpool and Arsenal.
“We are in a fight that no one expected, including ourselves,” said Nuno.
“We did well against the big teams and it makes us proud. We also accept this challenge,” said the former Spurs manager.
Forest took a two-goal lead in the first 16 minutes through Elliot Anderson and Chris Wood before absorbing Tottenham’s pressure.
They conceded in the 87th minute when Richarlison headed in, but managed to hold on to win.
Forest’s excellent season could be even better this weekend when they face Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-finals.
“We have a big week ahead of us. We’re going to Wembley against a giant team and there are a lot of games ahead of us. As long as we continue this approach, competing well, you never know.”
MADRID: Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe was suspended for one La Liga match early this morning after being shown a red card against Alaves.
The France captain made a harsh tackle on Antonio Blanco during Madrid’s 1-0 league win on Sunday before being sent off.
Mbappe will miss Madrid’s La Liga clash with Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, as Carlo Ancelotti’s side try to catch up with leaders Barcelona.
The Spanish football federation’s disciplinary committee’s interpretation of Mbappe’s offence was that it occurred “in the game” and not an incident of violent conduct, which could lead to a harsher punishment.
LIVERPOOL, England: Liverpool manager Arne Slot said he did not agree with the offside rule that saw Diogo Jota’s goal confirmed to beat Everton 1-0 early this morning, but stated that the right decision had been made.
Jota struck the only goal just before the hour mark at Anfield as Liverpool moved 12 points clear at the top of the Premier League table.
Luis Diaz was in an offside position when James Tarkowski blocked a pass intended for the Colombian.
However, Diaz grabbed the rebound before passing it to Jota to score his first goal since January.
Everton boss David Moyes said he was disappointed to lose the clash with his neighbours on a “clearly offside goal.”
However, Slot said the officials made the right decision because of the rules after Tarkowski grabbed the ball.
“It’s not offside, according to the rules,” Slot said.
“Do I like the rule? No, I don’t like the rule. I hate the rule but the implementation of the rule was lucky for us today because it was done well in that situation.”
The goal was the second most controversial decision of the match after Tarkowski escaped a red card after just 11 minutes following a dangerous tackle on Alexis Mac Allister.
The Everton captain was only shown a yellow card by referee Samuel Barrott, who was not directed by VAR to review his original decision.
TURIN, Italy: Thiago Motta was fired as Juventus coach last night after less than a season in charge, with former player Igor Tudor replacing him, the Italian giants announced.
“Juventus FC announces the dismissal of Thiago Motta from his duties as coach of the men’s first team,” a Juventus statement said.
“The club would like to thank Thiago Motta and all the staff for the level of professionalism and the work they have carried out in recent months with great passion and dedication.
“Juventus also announced that the team will now be led by Igor Tudor, who will conduct his first training session tomorrow, Monday, March 24.”
The decision to sack Motta follows a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Atalanta – their biggest home defeat since 1967 – and a 3-0 defeat at Fiorentina in the club’s last two matches, leaving Juve fifth in the Italian top flight.
Following the defeat, the club’s directors used the international break to discuss with Motta, leading to the decision that he was no longer suitable for the role.
But doubts at the club had arisen since before March.
After guiding Bologna to the Champions League last season, Motta, 42, arrived to a roaring welcome in Turin in July last year. But his honeymoon was short-lived.
His team has rarely impressed and has drawn 13 times in the league, while expensive summer signings including Douglas Luiz and Teun Koopmeiners have failed to live up to expectations.
The situation was made worse by Motta’s erratic decisions regarding his starting line-up – he used 39 different formations in his 42 matches in charge.
Last month, Juventus were knocked out of the Champions League by PSV Eindhoven in the last-16 play-offs and lost to Empoli in the quarter-finals of the Italian Cup, of which they are the defending champions.
LONDON: Chelsea have reached an agreement with Sporting Lisbon to sign Geovany Quenda and Dario Essugo in deals worth 74.4 million euros, the Portuguese club said on Thursday.
The English Premier League club has agreed to pay up to 52 million euros for Quenda, 17, who has also attracted interest from Manchester United because he was coached by Ruben Amorim while at Sporting.
The Guinea-Bissau winger, who turns 18 in April, will join Chelsea next year.
The 20-year-old Essugo, currently on loan at La Liga club Las Palmas, will move to Stamford Bridge for 22.2 million euros.
The Portuguese became Sporting’s youngest ever player, making his professional debut in 2021 aged 16.
LEICESTER, England: Manchester United players Rasmus Hojlund and Alejandro Garnacho ended their goal drought while Bruno Fernandes struck again to secure a 3-0 victory at struggling Leicester City in the English Premier League campaign, early this morning.
Eyeing back-to-back wins in all competitions for the first time since late January, United took the lead in the 28th minute through Hojlund’s first goal since mid-December.
The hosts never threatened to equalise, with Garnacho finishing the game in the 67th minute – the first time the Argentina international had found the net since late November in all competitions.
Fernandes completed the scoring with a third late in the game as United recorded a victory that lifted Ruben Amorim’s team to 13th place while 19th-placed Leicester edged closer to relegation.
“I think you can see some progress,” Fernandes told Sky Sports. “But it has to continue. We have some important games.
“I want to score as many goals as possible because it’s a big part of my game and I need to pass the ball to my teammates. I need to be at the edge of the penalty box and score goals because it’s one of my qualities.
“Very happy and very important to carry out today’s task.”
United came into the match looking to redeem themselves following a disappointing campaign that saw them stranded at the bottom of the league table.
For Leicester, relegation looked almost certain as they became the first team in English top-flight history to lose seven consecutive home games without scoring a goal.
They are in second place, bottom with 17 points from 29 matches, nine points above the safe zone.
“I think in both penalty boxes the difference in quality is clear,” said Leicester boss Ruud van Nistelrooy. “The effectiveness of finishing chances and also defending key moments in the game.”
LEVERKUSEN: Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane was praised by manager Vincent Kompany after he scored a goal and assisted another in a 2-0 win at Bayer Leverkusen.
The victory took Bayern into the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a 5-0 aggregate win after winning 3-0 in the first leg of the last 16.
Kane, who leads the Bundesliga scoring charts with 21 goals, scored his 10th Champions League goal of the season in the 52nd minute before setting up Alphonso Davies’ goal in the 71st minute.
The 31-year-old England captain is the first English player to score 10 goals in a single European Championship season.
“It helps when you have big name players who want to run and fight for the team like the youth players.
“I played against him and he’s getting better as he gets older. He has a way of improving his performances.
“I believe in his consistency and how he prepares himself for games,” Kompany said.
Kane, who struck twice in the first leg against Leverkusen, helped Bayern reach the quarter-finals against Serie A leaders Inter Milan.
LONDON: Andre Onana is believed to have decided on his future at Manchester United following criticism of his shaky performances in goal for the Red Devils.
The former Inter Milan goalkeeper arrives ahead of the 2023-24 season after being brought into the squad by his former Ajax manager, Erik ten Hag.
Although Onana struggled in the first half of the season, there were some standout moments in his early campaign and he managed to retain the number 1 jersey.
But the Cameroon international’s second season has not been easy, with a number of recent errors stealing the spotlight following the team’s poor campaign in the 2024-25 season.
Onana was criticised for his performance against Ipswich last week by former professional player Robbie Savage and Rio Ferdinand for his role in Jaden Philogene’s opening goal for the visitors, with both commentators condemning his poor performance.
The 28-year-old, however, made amends for his mistake yesterday during the FA Cup match against Fulham, making two important saves during the match, but was unable to prevent his team from being eliminated on penalties.
Although there are opinions that Onana looks capable of returning to his best form far away from Old Trafford, staying at the club is his priority.
His desire to stay, however, runs counter to head coach Ruben Amorim’s plans, with the Portuguese manager believed to be eyeing the opportunity to sign a new goalkeeper in the upcoming summer transfer window.
In the current squad, the number two goalkeeper behind Onana is Turkiye international Altay Bayindir with veteran Tom Heaton another in the reserves.