Eddie Howe accepts Newcastle United need to do the near impossible for Champions League progress after Dortmund loss
DORTMUND: Newcastle United and Eddie Howe, it seems, will have to produce the near impossible to ensure Champions League progress.
Russia Sport News
‘We failed’, says Xavi as Barca fall to Shakhtar defeat
HAMBURG: Barcelona slumped to a 1-0 defeat by Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday, spurning the chance to seal early qualification to the Champions League knock-out stages. Danylo Sikan’s dipping header in the 40th minute secured Shakhtar a famous victory as Xavi Hernandez’s flat Spanish champions failed to trouble their Ukrainian opponents. Barcelona still lead Group H ahead of Porto, second, hosting Royal Antwerp later on, with the Portuguese side able to pull alongside the Catalans on nine points with victory. “We can see we’re in a bit of a footballing rut, we have to do a reset,” said Barca coach Xavi. “We played a bad game, we have to admit it.” Xavi said his team had wasted a good chance to progress. “After two years without qualifying for the last 16, today is a missed opportunity,” he continued. “It’s the most inopportune moment.
Talisca hat-trick maintains Al-Nassr’s perfect record in Asian Champions League
RIYADH: Anderson Talisca stepped up on Tuesday night in the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo, scoring a memorable hat-trick as Al-Nassr won 3-2 at Al-Duhail to maintain their 100 percent record in this season’s Asian Champions League and, with two games left to play in the group stage, move within a whisker of securing their place in the knockout rounds.
Sevilla boss Alonso wants to avenge ‘unfair’ Arsenal loss
LONDON: Sevilla boss Diego Alonso has challenged his players to avenge their Champions League loss to Arsenal when the Spanish side meet the Gunners in a crucial Group B clash on Wednesday. Defeat for the reigning Europa League champions would leave their chances of reaching the Champions League knockout stages hanging by a slender thread. Arsenal are top of the group after their 2-1 win at Sevilla a fortnight ago, while Alonso’s men sit four points behind them in third place with three games to play. Alonso believes Sevilla deserved more from their last encounter with Arsenal and he wants his side to prove a point when they face the Premier League title chasers in north London. “We competed well, with an unfair result for me because we did more for the game,” Alonso told reporters on Tuesday. Arsenal have lost two of their three domestic games since beating Sevilla, with Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Newcastle an especially painful result given the controversial nature of the Magpies’ winner. Keen not to rile up Mikel Arteta’s side any further, Alonso was respectful of Arsenal’s quality, rating them as one of Europe’s elite clubs in Europe, “The game at a strategic and football level is complex,” Alonso said. “We are facing the fourth or fifth best team in Europe, they showed it last season, same in this one. “It puts us in difficulties, but it also put us in difficulties two weeks ago.” Sevilla will be without former Real Madrid star Sergio Ramos after the defender was ruled out with a calf injury.
Health needs increasing rapidly due to war – Head of WHO Country Office in Ukraine
Head of the WHO Country Office in Ukraine Jarno Habicht told the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency about operation of the healthcare system in wartime and what disease outbreaks Ukrainians should be prepared for.
Ukrainian league game lasts record time due to air alerts
KYIV: A Ukrainian league match in the central city of Dnipro was interrupted by air alerts several times due to Russia's invasion, reportedly lasting a record almost five hours. Dnipro-1 defeated FC Oleksandriya 1-0 in Dnipro, a city that has been targeted by Russian strikes throughout Moscow's more than 20-month long offensive. Players were called off the pitch several times because of the danger of Russian air attacks. "The match was interrupted several times due to air alerts, but it was finished anyway," Ukraine's football association said in a statement. The Ukrainian sports website Sport.ua said the game "lasted almost five hours", alleging that it was the longest football game in the history of Ukraine's topflight. "This is the first game that was so long for us," Dnipro-1 defender Eduard Sarapiy said. "I wanted to finish the match." Ukraine is holding its domestic season despite the war with Russia. But games are played without fans for security reasons. Dnipro-1 are currently second in the Ukrainian league behind Kryvbas -- a football team from President Volodymyr Zelensky's home city of Kryviy Rig. Ukrainian football was already badly affected by the conflict with Moscow-backed rebels in 2014 and, like the rest of the country, was hard hit by Russia's 2022 invasion. Shakhtar Donetsk have been unable to play at their Donbass Arena home in Donetsk, now occupied by Russia, since 2014. Shakhtar, who have become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance, play their Champions League group games in Hamburg. FC Mariupol, from the port city seized by Russia after a brutal siege last year, has ceased to exist. Another club, Tavriya Simferopol, moved to the Kherson region after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 but disbanded after
CAS registers Russian appeal against Olympic membership suspension
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has registered an appeal filed by the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) against the decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to suspend its membership, the independent judicial body said on Monday (Nov 6).
Barcelona eye Champions league knockout stage as they face Shakhtar
Barcelona will seek to clinch a place in the Champions League knockout rounds for the first time in three seasons when they face Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk in Hamburg on Tuesday.