CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
The carrot of qualifying for the last 16 of Europe’s premier club competition is dangling in front of some of the biggest teams involved in this year’s Champions League.
But finishing top of their groups is another incentive enticing the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool, Inter and Atletico Madrid ahead of today’s penultimate round of group games.
Of the 16 teams in action, only two — Barcelona and Sporting Lisbon — have qualified for the knockout phase.
For the teams in the three other groups, things are more open.
Chelsea lead Roma and Bordeaux by just a point in Group A, Cypriot surprise package Anorthosis are hoping to pip Panathinaikos to join virtually qualified Inter from Group B and Liverpool and Atletico have virtually sealed the top two spots in Group D.
With 10 points from four games Barcelona need only a draw away to Sporting Lisbon to retain the lead of Group C ahead of their final group game at home to Shakhtar Donetsk.
Barcelona beat Sporting 3-1 in their opening group fixture, but the possible absence of injured Argentine Lionel Messi and Barcelona’s unexpected 1-1 Spanish league draw at home to Getafe may have given hope to Sporting.
While Shakhtar host FC Basel hoping to hold on to third place and a UEFA Cup spot, Barca coach Pep Guardiola says he can cope with losing a key player such as Messi.
“He is a special player that is key for us but I have others,” Guardiola said.
Atletico and Liverpool are also battling for top spot, in Group D — and it could all come down to who scores the most goals.
Both sides are eyeing victory today with Atletico, who lead Liverpool only on goal difference, welcoming PSV Eindhoven while Rafa Benitez’s Reds host UEFA Cup-bound Marseille.
Group A is far more open and Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc will be hoping for an off-night from Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka, his former France teammate during Les Bleus triumphant Euro 2000 campaign.
Defeat for Chelsea would be prove disastrous for Luiz Felipe Scolari’s Blues, who have qualified for the knockout phase for the past six successive seasons, and would split the group wide open.
In Group B victory for Inter against resurgent Panathinaikos in Milan would guarantee they go through as group winners.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
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