The super stars duo of Lionel Messi (Barcelona) and Ronaldo (Juventus) will no longer be in action in the money spinning UEFA Champions League as the competition enters the crucial quarterfinal stage. Messi and his band of underperforming teammates were disgraced out of the competition by star studded PSG while Ronaldo’s Juventus were surprisingly shown the exit door by Portuguese side FC Porto. Barcelona had after a shambolic showing at their Camp Nou home where they lost 1-4 to PSG managed a 1-1 draw in Paris midweek. The Catalan giants thus exited the competition on a 2-5 aggregate. Ronaldo and Juventus on their part were not just lucky as they bowed out via a painful away goals rule after settling 4-4 on aggregate with hard fighting Porto. Porto came to Turin clutching a 2-1 lead which Juventus cancelled out in Turin. Juventus won the return leg that went into extra time by 3-2, and given the away goals rule, Porto had to advance into the quarterfinals.
The match in Turin was nothing but a thriller. Despite playing for the most part of the second half with only 10 men after the sending off of Medhi Taremi, Porto defended with everything they had and succeeded in keeping Juventus at bay. It would be noted that Juventus last season also lost by the same away goals rule to French side Olympic Lyon. For Ronaldo, the defeat was nothing but a nightmare as it once again shattered his dream of leading the Old Ladies (the nickname of Juventus) to rule Europe. It would be noted that Juventus had specifically signed Ronaldo to help them actualize their dream of lifting Europe’s most prestigious diadem, the UEFA Champions League again after doing so way back in 1985 and 1996. Ronaldo has won the trophy five times, first with Manchester United (2008) and then four times with Real Madrid
CAFCC: Enyimba target away win against Pirates
After making a good start to the group stage of their CAF Confederation Cup campaign with a 2-1 home win against Libya’s Ahly Benghazi, Enyimba coach Fatai Osho says his team would seek to consolidate when they go away midweek against South African side Orlando Pirates. Osho who spoke moments after the game against Benghazi said attention would shift fully to the game against Pirates insisting that there is nothing to celebrate especially against the backdrop of how wasteful his team was against Ahly Benghazi. “We should have won by a wider margin today given the several chances we created. We need to improve on our goal scoring abilities…we need to improve to get a result in South Africa and our target is to come out of the Pirates game unscathed,” Osho said. Osho while further x-raying the performance of his team against Benghazi gave kudos to his captain Oladapo who he noted is using his experience to lift the team. He also gave a pat on the back to Samson Obi who was a surprise inclusion in the squad. “Oladapo is an experienced player, he has been with the team for four years now and he is playing his captain’s role well. Apart from scoring our first goal, I must give him kudos for Organising the team well. Samson Obi also played to instruction…we gave him a specific role and he executed it well,” Osho said. Pirates, it would be noted held Algerian side ES Setif to a goalless draw in the other match of the group decided at a neutral ground at the Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra, Ghana. Setif had to move the game to the Ghanaian capital, no thanks to Covid-19 restrictions.
EPL: Cavani faults dad, dismisses talks of Manchester United exit
Edinson Cavani says he is proud to wear the Manchester United shirt after his father had suggested the striker could be set to quit the club and move back to South America to be closer to his family. Cavani uploaded a photo of himself playing in February’s 3-3 draw with Everton to his Instagram on Tuesday, along with the caption “Proud to wear this shirt @manchesterunited.” The 34-year-old joined the Red Devils on a free transfer last summer and has hit seven goals in 25 appearances so far this season. The Uruguayan originally signed a 12-month deal at Old Trafford, with the option to extend the agreement by a further year. But there are now suggestions he is ready to reject an additional season with United, with his father, Luis Cavani, claiming the striker does “not feel comfortable”. “There is a 60% chance that Edinson will come to South America,” Luis Cavani told the TyC Sports network. “We are very anxious. We have always been to visit him, he has been in very beautiful places where people have received him very well. “He has made himself loved, he has made many friends, but today he does not feel comfortable where he is,” Cavani Sr added. “He has been thinking for more than two years that he wants to be closer to his family and that is the reason why I think Edi is going to end up playing for a team from here in South America.” Cavani’s father went on to suggest a move to Argentinian outfit Boca Juniors could be on the cards in the future. “I would like him to go to play for a team that has a chance of winning something,” he added.
