Angel Di Maria delivered a near-perfect performance, scoring two and setting up another as runaway leaders Paris St Germain beat 10-man Olympique de Marseille 3-1 at home on Sunday.
World champions France had eight players, one less than former holders Spain, in international players' association FIFPro's 55-name shortlist for its World XI of 2018 award.
Switzerland made sure of a place in the last 16 of the World Cup, but had to survive some anxious moments in Wednesday's 2-2 draw with Costa Rica before finishing second behind Brazil in Group E.
Barcelona's fourth defeat of the season left them seventh in the standings on 14 points after 10 games, 12 points behind leaders Atletico.
That was also Messi's 500th goal for Barcelona.
It was not an outing to remember for the Venky's Mumbai Fighters as they lost 1-4 to Astana Arlans in their last group A match of the World Series Boxing Season 2011-12 in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Liverpool thrashed Atalanta 5-0, Real Madrid boosted their chances of reaching the Champions League knockout stages with a 3-2 home victory over Inter Milan and Bayern Munich came from behind to crush RB Salzburg 6-2.
'It may serve the interests of the rule of law if the Supreme Court were to appoint the UNHCR as amicus curiae in the CAA case,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Sevilla joined holders Real Madrid in the last 16 of the King's Cup when a quick-fire Iago Aspas hat-trick helped secure a crushing 11-2 aggregate victory over second-division Sabadell on Wednesday.
Novak Djokovic deserves a "little star" next to his name for a spectacular 2015 season that saw him win three grand slams among his 11 titles but the men's game is not simply a matter of the Serb versus the rest, Roger Federer said.
Wimbledon champion Andy Murray says he is unlikely to play in Britain's Davis Cup quarter-final clash in Serbia this weekend but could travel to Belgrade in support of the team.
Makes us wonder how these cyclists don't fall short of breath as they pedal to the finish line. Here's a glimpse of the tricky but beautiful terrain that outlines the Tour de France...
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Images from the Nations League matches.
Former European champions Red Star Belgrade, Ajax Amsterdam and Celtic all made it comfortably through to the third qualifying round of the Champions League on Wednesday after surviving away legs.
Soni is a soft treatment of a very complex subject, feels Sreehari Nair.
Paco Alcacer enjoyed a rare outing for Barcelona by scoring twice in the club's 2-1 La Liga win over Sevilla at the Nou Camp on Saturday.
Ivan Lendl could be the missing piece to Andy Murray's Grand Slam puzzle, says the Briton's former-coach Darren Cahill, who helped pick his new mentor.
Capping off a great day for India, Sania Mirza advanced to the third round of both the women's and mixed doubles events, while Rohan Bopanna and Purav Raja also won their respective mixed doubles matches at the Wimbledon in London.
John McEnroe was surprised when Andy Murray named Ivan Lendl as his new coach but thinks his old rival may prove to be the missing ingredient the Briton needs to take his career to the next level.
For tennis aficionados it is something to look forward to. Going strictly on face value, it seems a perfect combination.
Japanese qualifier Go Soeda shocked Croatia's fifth seed Ivan Dodig 7-6(6), 6-3 in the men's singles second round of the Aircel Chennai Open 2012 on Wednesday.
As 2012 takes its first steps there's much to hope for, says Ivan Crasto. This time it's more than just two wishes, though there's just one from cricket.
Valverde said he was concerned about the team's away form after they were comprehensively beaten 2-0 by promoted Granada
India's Rohan Bopanna and his Romanian partner Florin Mergea were knocked out of the French Open men's doubles event after being handed a straight-set defeat in the quarterfinals in Paris on Wednesday. Bopanna and Mergea, seeded sixth, went down 4-6 4-6 to third seeds Ivan Dodig of Croatia and Marcelo Melo of Brazil. In a lopsided contest, Bopanna and Mergea struggled to handle Dodig and Melo's fine service game. The Indo-Romanian combine was broken once in the opening set and failed to convert either of the two break points it earned. Bopanna and Mergea also committed a couple of double faults.
Levante claim that Barcelona's teenage defender Chumi Brandariz, who played in the first leg, was ineligible to take part in the match because he was suspended.
Substitute Sergio Araujo struck a late equaliser as Las Palmas held Real Madrid to a 2-2 draw and left them with a one-point lead over Barcelona at the top of La Liga on Saturday.
Indian tennis legend Leander Paes celebrated his 40th birthday with a victory in the men's doubles first round at the Aegon International in Eastbourne, England, on Monday.
The Indian Olympic Association has been fined $10,000 for withdrawing teams from the Asian Games at a late stage, but All India Tennis Association chief Anil Khanna is hopeful that the penalty would be withdrawn.
Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele scored twice and produced a mesmerising display to fire his side to a 5-1 win over Villarreal on Wednesday which stretched the champions' unbeaten run this season to 36 games with two remaining.
List of US Open men's singles champions since the Open Era began in 1968:
He possessed an IQ of 180, higher than Albert Einstein's, but his life and career took unexpectedly bizarre routes. Dhruv Munjal salutes the strange genius of Bobby Fischer.
Roger Federer will aim to finish an off key year on a high note by winning a record sixth title at the ATP World Tour finals which start on Sunday at London's O2 Arena, a venue more famous for staging the biggest acts in the music business.
Sania Mirza entered the women's doubles semi-finals and set up a high-intensity clash against Leander Paes in the mixed doubles after both the Indians made the quarter-finals with their respective partners in the Australian Open in Melbourne.
Wolverhampton Wanderers beat Wigan Athletic 3-1 to secure their first Premier League victory since August and leave their opponents rooted to the foot of the table on Sunday.
Britain's Andy Murray has said he is amazed by the criticism of his decision to appoint Amelie Mauresmo as his coach.
Playing in a "false nine" role, Messi capped a disappointing tournament with another subdued display at Kazan Arena as Argentina bowed out of the last 16 with a 4-3 defeat.
After scoring one of the goals of the tournament and upstaging Lionel Messi by leading his team to the top of their group, Croatia captain Luka Modric hopes to fulfil a dream that began when he watched his nation record a best ever World Cup showing.
They can now dream of going one better than their third-place finish in 1998, which marked their first participation in the World Cup finals as an independent nation.
Marin Cilic relied on a dominant serve to beat fellow Croat Ivan Ljubicic 6-4, 6-3 and reach the China Open final on Saturday.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances