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However, Liverpool seem to be on a different level and are capable of doing sufficient damage to knock Barcelona out of the competition. Barcelona might be slight favorites as they will play at home, but the Spanish champions need to be very cautious against the Reds. The tie could be decided on away goals as Liverpool are as scary going forward. Hence, a clean sheet and a win is needed for Barcelona in the first leg before their daunting trip to Anfield next week....

As with most of European soccer, though, Champions League will return to complete its tournament. Five months and nine days will have passed between the first legs of Manchester City-Real Madrid and Juventus-Lyon and the Aug. 7 resumption of those series. It’s doubtful there’s ever been anything like this, but at least it’s happening. MORE: Watch Champions League matches live on fuboTV (7-day free trial) Champions League bracket 2020 When the pandemic hiatus began, four teams — Atletico Madrid, RB Leipzig, Paris Saint-Germain and Atalanta — had established themselves as quarterfinalists....

After all, it would be a hard label to justify following the all-Spanish Champions League final and the all-German final for Europe’s top prize in 2013. Instead, people choose to talk to English football’s competitiveness and entertainment factor rather than its quality because the days of the Premier League’s dominance in Europe are long gone. Between 2005 and 2009, England produced finalists every year in the Champions League. Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United all reached the final hurdle and twice Premier League sides conquered Europe....

World champion Patrick Chan fell and stumbled after two big jumps but still dominated the men’s short programme while hosts Japan took the lead after the first day of the World Team Trophy Thursday. With a 5.80-point lead going into the final free skate on Friday, the 22-year-old Canadian was quick to praise the six-nation event as a dry run for a similar team competition due to make its Olympic debut in Sochi next year....

The coming year, by contrast, could be full of thrills. Last week, on the anniversary of his knockdown in Norway, the man who might just have been the best-liked (and most highly regarded) news exec in TVdom limped away from the job he loved. Stringer’s resignation ended an eventful 30-year career, crowned by six years as president of the CBS Broadcast Group. His destination: a New Age media venture set up by a trio of telephone giants–Nynex, Pacific Telesis and Bell Atlantic....

Carrick absence makes Man Utd weaker The Italian deployed a back three in the 3-0 defeat to Premier League leaders Chelsea last weekend and reverted to a four-man defence for Sunday’s trip to Southampton. However, Ranieri used a midfield diamond and saw his side slip to another 3-0 loss, and he held his hands up to take the blame. “I think the last two matches I changed the shape to try to help my players to play better to find the right solution....

The lines at the stadium were way longer than prudent. The line to enter stagnated, resulting in fans missing out on the action. “This MCG fence is absolutely ridiculous. Arrived almost an hour before the game and will miss the first ball. Surely there is a better way?” cricket fan Jake Bourke said. It would have perhaps worked smoother if the officials had planned the logistics beforehand, anticipated the massive turnout and planned accordingly....

A jet carrying Brazilian club Chapecoense to the first leg of their Copa Sudamericana final against Atletico Nacional came down with 72 passengers and nine crew on board, leaving only five survivors. As the football community united behind Chapecoense, it emerged that the Albiceleste had been travelling on the same aircraft before and after their 3-0 World Cup qualfiying defeat to Brazil on November 10. The Lamia BAE-146 transported Lionel Messi & Co....

Los Angeles has added an extra kicker exclusively to handle kickoffs. PATRIOTS VS. CHARGERS: SN staff picks, odds for divisional-round game The Chargers finally found a reliable kicker for field goals this season in Michael Badgley. He’s 15 of 16 on field-goal kicks through 10 games and has made 27 of 28 extra-point kicks. But Badgley has struggled on kickoffs, creating touchbacks just nine of 54 times. That equates to 16....

During a news conference, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that his office has filed federal charges against Louisville Metro Police Department’s former Detective Joshua Jaynes and Sergeant Kyle Meany, as well as against Detective Kelly Goodlett and former Officer Brett Hankison. The Louisville Courier Journal reported Thursday that the police department has begun termination proceedings for Meany and Goodlett. “Among other things, the federal charges announced today allege that members of LMPD’s Place-Based Investigations Unit falsified the affidavit used to obtain the search warrant of Ms....

Barkley, who was born in Leeds, Alabama, spoke to AL.com’s Outbreak Alabama: Stories from a Pandemic podcast on Tuesday about COVID vaccinations and vaccine hesitancy. Trump was booed by some of his supporters at an event in Cullman, Alabama on Saturday when he suggested they should get vaccinated against the virus. He also told the crowd he believed “totally in your freedoms.” Barkley will headline a pro-vaccine rally at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama this Saturday, August 28....

We’ll let you be the judge. MORE: Stop vilifying Bill Self, Sean Miller for tough love Here’s his rendition of Luther Vandross’ “One Shining Moment” — the song that accompanies the montage in the moments after the confetti has fallen at the national championship game.

Woodson doubled up his total for the season by picking off Manning once in each half with acrobatic plays. It’s the reason his Raiders were trailing Manning’s Broncos only 9-7 after three quarters. MORE: Scoreboard | Worst of Week 5’s performances | Top 10 cornerbacks in the NFL Their 18-year NFL careers, both stone-cold leadpipe locks for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, were to bound to intersect like this at this some point after how their college careers ended....

McAvoy did not return to the game against the Canadiens. He left the ice 37 seconds into his shift before going down the tunnel and into the locker room. Bruce Cassidy provided a vague statement about defenseman’s injury and status after the Bruins’ 2-1 overtime win against Montreal. While no specific injury was announced, Gallagher appeared to slash down on the top of McAvoy’s skate before he fell to the ice....

There's little doubt he can deliver the first. The second part will determine whether he can revive a dormant program back and push it back among the national elite where the Longhorns are desperately longing to be. HAYES: Is Strong ready for what Texas job brings? | Top 10 coaching jobs "It's time to put the program back on the national stage," Strong said Monday at his introductory news conference....

While fans are anxiously awaiting Denji’s reappearance in the series’ second part, the introduction of these new characters has certainly helped to keep the fans occupied. Although it may seem difficult to keep up with all of Chainsaw Man Part 2’s new faces, there are a few key factors about each one of them which readers should keep in mind. Here is everything you need to know about every new character in Chainsaw Man Part 2....

Ajax managed to take a slender lead over Tottenham through Dutch midfielder Donny van de Beek after working around the Spurs defense with slick passing. They were then able to hold on to their lead after withstanding a barrage of attacks by the English club who were without key players in captain and star striker Harry Kane and Heung Min Son. On the other hand, a clinical Barcelona side led by captain Lionel Messi left Liverpool needing a miracle during the second leg at Anfield after securing a 3-0 victory at the Nou Camp....

Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds benefited from an injury time own goal at St Andrew’s, Wes Harding turning Luke Ayling’s low cross into the net to settle a post-Christmas cracker. The visitors had previously let slip a lead on three occasions during a see-saw contest, though by finding a late winner they leapfrog West Brom, who lost for just the second time in the league this season. Fulham are up to third after a 1-0 triumph over Stoke City, with Brentford slipping back a spot in the standings after going down to Aiden O’Brien’s eighth-minute goal at in-form Millwall....

Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds side had won just one in four previous league outings, but Ezgjan Alioski’s strike seven minutes before half-time at Elland Road lifted them back to the summit. At the opposite end of the table, Huddersfield got off the mark under Danny Cowley - appointed as Jan Siewert’s successor last month - thanks to a late 1-0 victory over Stoke at the bet365 Stadium. Juninho Bacuna scored from Huddersfield’s first shot on target to end a winless run spanning 19 league matches, a result that leaves Stoke at the foot of the table and with the pressure well and truly on boss Nathan Jones....

The draw ceremony took place Friday evening in at Sofitel Rabat, Morocco. Hosts Morocco got zoned in Group A against Guinea, Sudan and Mauritania. Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions were landed in a genuine ‘Group of Death’ where they will be facing Angola, Congo and the Stallions of Burkina Faso in Group C. Debutants Namibia were handed a tricky pool in the draw, having been bracketed with Uganda, Zambia and Cote d’Ivoire in Group B....