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Sunday's result leaves Los Blancos five points shy of their rivals at the summit and their manager insists that they will compete for the crown.
Zinedine Zidane has vowed that Real Madrid will "fight until the end" against Atletico Madrid after they snatched a late point against the leaders in La Liga to keep the title race ticking over.
Karim Benzema struck late in the second half to cancel out Luis Suarez's early opener, ensuring the spoils were shared in El Derbi at Wanda Metropolitano.
The result leaves Los Blancos five points shy of their cross-city rivals at the summit, albeit with one more game under their belt, and Zidane says that the champions will contest their crown all the way through to the end of the season.

It was all here - the intensity of the high press, the raw pace on the
break, the bruising defensive blocks.

The way Luke Shaw rampaged from left-back like a latter-day Roberto Carlos.

The way Fred harassed Kevin De Bruyne like a crazed stalker.

And the way Harry Maguire stuck in that famous over-sized bonce of his
time after time.


United’s victory is surely too late to re-open a title race, but it
evaporated the idea of City strolling imperiously towards a quadruple
and it went a long way to ensuring Champions League football at Old
Trafford next term.

Bruno Fernandes netted a second-minute penalty and Shaw netted a
brilliant second, with a helping hand from keeper Dean Henderson, who
looked far better than an understudy.

Even in these behind-closed-doors days, derby matches can be formbook-shredders.

United had failed to score in their last six Premier League meetings
with ‘big six’ rivals and City had been tearing it up relentlessly
until this.


United have delayed City’s coronations in the past - most memorably
when Jose Mourinho roared back from two-down to win here in 2018.

Indeed, United have now won on four of their last five visits to the
Etihad but none have been as impressive as this.

The Catalan coach has Manchester City closing in on another crown, but he insists the re-writing of history has never been a priority for him

Pep Guardiola is proud to be in a position where he can become the first manager since Sir Alex Ferguson to regain the Premier League title across one spell at any given club, but the Catalan insists records have never been a priority for him.

Simeone Suarez Felix Atletico Madrid GFX
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ATLÉTICO MADRID

PRIMERA DIVISIÓN

LUIS SUÁREZ

ATLÉTICO MADRID V REAL MADRID

REAL MADRID

FEATURES & OPINIONS

JOÃO FÉLIX
Diego Simeone's side head into Sunday's derby with Real Madrid still in control of their own destiny but seemingly having lost all momentum

“Shut your f*cking mouth!” screamed Joao Felix towards someone on Atletico Madrid’s bench after rattling in a 20-yard strike against Villarreal on Sunday.

Team-mate Renan Lodi, who had been on the Portugal international's back about his recent lack of goals, was suggested as a possible target.

But it could well have been coach Diego Simeone who was being singled out by the former Benfica starlet after the Argentine coach benched the forward, only brought him on for the injured Thomas Lemar at half-time.

While Man City are far and away the best team in the land, Thomas Tuchel's side are on a 10-game unbeaten streak and made light work of Klopp's men

Match statistics: Liverpool 0-1 Chelsea

They are still far away from Manchester City but Chelsea are at least proving they might end up being the best of the rest after dominating a fragile Liverpool at Anfield over a full 90 minutes.

Jurgen Klopp may have his selection problems ahead of this Premier League encounter but the Blues showed no mercy with Mason Mount's goal proving the difference in a comfortable 1-0 win.

The American's loan move to Turin has been made permanent for €18.5m, underlining just how quickly he has become a key part of Andrea Pirlo's plans

When Juventus made the decision to sign Weston McKennie on a loan deal last summer, they did so because of his obvious potential.

The U.S. men's national team midfielder wasn't quite one of the most heralded youngsters in the world but, after several years in Schalke's first team, he was close enough.

Juve felt he was one for the future – but capable of contributing to the present. McKennie, though, has quickly become more important than even Juventus could have imagined.

Chelsea are still monitoring Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma's situation at AC Milan, and may potentially make a move if the 22-year-old does not sign a new contract with the Serie A club. (Eurosport)

Borussia Monchengladbach and Germany midfielder Jonas Hofmann, 28, has hinted Chelsea - managed by his former Borussia Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel - are interested in signing him. (Ruhr Nachrichten via Mail)

Barcelona presidential candidate Joan Laporta says Argentine forward Lionel Messi, 33, will leave the club if he does not win the 7 March election. Messi's current deal expires in the summer. (Marca)

Barca and Atletico Madrid have been ordered to make massive salary cuts as the cost of Covid continues to hit La Liga. (Sun)

Manchester United must "move heaven and earth" to sign Borussia Dortmund's 20-year-old striker Erling Braut Haaland or Paris St-Germain's 22-year-old forward Kylian Mbappe, says former Red Devils defender Rio Ferdinand. (Mirror)

Dortmund are lining up Sevilla's Moroccan striker Youssef En-Nesyri, 23, as a potential replacement for Norway forward Haaland. (Eurosport)

England manager Gareth Southgate says it "would be an amazing experience for everyone" if the UK and Republic of Ireland won the right to host the 2030 World Cup. (Talksport)

The Emir of Kagara in the Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State, Alhaji Salihu Tanko, has died.

Niger state governor, Abubakar Sani- Bello, released a statement on Tuesday, March 2, to mourn him while describing his death as a great shock and a loss to the Kagara Emirate and the North Central state in general.

Bello, who is the Chairman of North Central Governors Forum, said: "We have lost a First Class Emir, a member of the State Council of Traditional Rulers, an Octogenarian and an Elder Statesman whose wise counsel has been of immense value to this administration and those before it in the state."

Kagara was in the news last month when bandits abducted over 40 students and members of staff of Government Science College, Kagara.

The Kagara abductees were later freed.

Edinson Cavani Man Utd 2020-21
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MANCHESTER UNITED

PREMIER LEAGUE

EDINSON CAVANI

CRYSTAL PALACE V MANCHESTER UNITED

PAUL POGBA
The Red Devils boss gave an update on his squad's availability ahead of their Premier League clash at Selhurst Park on Wednesday night

Edinson Cavani should be fit enough to make Manchester United’s trip to Crystal Palace on Wednesday night but Paul Pogba is still not available.

The Uruguayan has missed the last two league games with a muscle injury but could be in line to return for the midweek trip to Selhurst Park.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is going to have to wait a little while longer for Pogba to be available again, however, as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury he sustained in the draw with Everton.

The Juventus star's goalscoring run is unmatched across Europe's top-five leagues

Cristiano Ronaldo continued to raise the bar on Tuesday as he fired Juventus to a 3-0 win over Spezia.

The Portuguese goalscorer was joined on the scoresheet by Alvaro Morata and Federico Chiesa as Juve ran rampant as they looked to keep pace in the Serie A title race.

And, with his 83rd-minute goal, Ronaldo made history once again as one of the game's greatest-ever goalscorers.

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GARETH BALE
Bale: I've been happy all season at Tottenham
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GARETH BALE

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

BURNLEY

PREMIER LEAGUE

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR V BURNLEY
The 31-year-old struck twice and set up another as his side got the better of Burnley on Sunday

Gareth Bale says he has been happy since his return to Tottenham after the winger scored twice in his side's 4-0 win against Burnley on Sunday.

The 31-year-old struck just two minutes into the match before setting Harry Kane up for Spurs' second in the 15th minute. After Lucas Moura made it 3-0 shortly after the half-hour mark, Bale rounded off the scoring early in the second half when he met a pass from Son Heung-min and fired beyond Nick Pope.

Bale had started just two of his eight Premier League appearances and had scored just once before he helped fire his side to victory against Sean Dyche's men.

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MANCHESTER UNITED
Shaw claims referee Attwell told Maguire that Hudson-Odoi's handball against Man Utd 'was a penalty'
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Callum Hodson-Odoi Mason Greenwood Chelsea vs Man Utd Premier League 2020-21
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PREMIER LEAGUE

CHELSEA V MANCHESTER UNITED

CHELSEA
Referee Stuart Attwell declined to award a spot-kick after viewing the incident on the VAR monitor

The decision not to award Manchester United a penalty against Chelsea after Callum Hudson-Odoi handled in the area prompted a confused reaction from Red Devils defender Luke Shaw.

Blues star Hudson-Odoi touched the ball with his hand in the area while tussling with Mason Greenwood for possession during the first half.

After consulting with VAR, however, referee Stuart Attwell determined that the contact was not grounds for a penalty, to the chagrin of the visitors.

The Blues duo may both have a big decision to make this summer, if the club goes all out to land the most coveted young forward in football right now

Chelsea's interest in signing Borussia Dortmund superstar Erling Haaland may be exciting for supporters but it only creates further uncertainty in the minds of the club's current strikers.

Olivier Giroud, for example, was the Blues matchwinner in Tuesday's Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid in Bucharest. His acrobatic overhead kick secured a deserved 1-0 victory that puts Thomas Tuchel's side in an excellent position ahead of a second leg at Stamford Bridge on March 17.

However, the 34-year-old has now entered the final five months of his contract but is unwilling to discuss a renewal until the end of the season. And it's easy to understand why.

Elsewhere, Rangers will take in a meeting with Slavia Prague while Roma have been paired with Shakhtar Donetsk

Manchester United will face AC Milan in the last 16 of the Europa League, while Arsenal have been paired with Olympiacos, and Tottenham will take on Dinamo Zagreb.

Steven Gerrard’s Rangers must overcome Slavia Prague in order to prolong their continental adventure and Serie A giants Roma face a tough task against Shakhtar Donetsk.

The standout fixture in the last-16 draw is unquestionably Manchester United’s meeting with AC Milan.

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ALISSON
Liverpool's Alisson suffers death of father in tragic drowning
Stephen Darwin
Last updated 8 hours ago
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ALISSON

LIVERPOOL

INTERNACIONAL

PREMIER LEAGUE
The Brazil international's former club Internacional has confirmed the passing of the player's father, Jose Agostinho Becker, near his holiday home
Internacional have confirmed that the father of Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker has died after drowning in a lake in a tragic accident.

The news was released on the Brazilian club's official Twitter account in the early hours of Thursday morning, with Internacional offering their strength and support to the family and friends of Jose Agostinho Becker.

ESPN Brasil reports that, after consultation with the Fire Department of Cacapava do Sul and the Civil Police of Lavras do Sul, the body of Alisson's 57-year-old father was found after he had been reported as missing.

The Gunners boss claims to have no complaints with a striker who has hit 11 goals this season and remains an important part of future plans

Mikel Arteta has shrugged off claims that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is “past his best” and “lost his superpower”, with the Arsenal boss adamant that the Gunners’ club captain still has an important role to play at Emirates Stadium.

Questions have been asked of a Gabonese frontman throughout the 2020-21 campaign, with a 31-year-old tied to a lucrative contract proving to be less prolific than he has been in recent times.

Aubameyang does, however, have 11 goals to his name across all competitions and retains the full support of his manager, regardless of what others might think.

Lewandowski Guardiola gfx
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MANCHESTER CITY

BORUSSIA M'GLADBACH V MANCHESTER CITY

BAYERN MÜNCHEN

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

LAZIO V BAYERN MÜNCHEN
The Manchester City manager says he doesn't regard his side as the frontrunners in European competition

Pep Guardiola says that he believes that Bayern Munich are favourites to win the Champions League despite the praise for Manchester City in recent weeks.

With Wednesday's 2-0 triumph over Borussia Monchengladbach, City have now won 19 consecutive matches in all competitions,

However Guardiola doesn't believe that his side's winning run makes them favourites given their history in the Champions League.

Pep Guardiola's side has now won 12 consecutive matches away from the Etihad, setting an English record
Manchester City's dominance away from home continued on Wednesday as Pep Guardiola's side took down Borussia Monchengladbach in Germany.

Bernardo Silva and Gabriel Jesus fired the goals, leading the way in a 2-0 win for the Premier League leaders.

The victory moves Manchester City one step closer to the quarter-final round of the Champions League as they continue their bid for a first-ever triumph in the competition.
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The left-back netted a spectacular late winner for Zinedine Zidane's side as they secured a crucial 1-0 win over Atalanta in the Champions League
Match statistics: Atalanta 0-1 Real Madrid

Real Madrid had all of the chances and most of the ball, yet came within four minutes from leaving Italy frustrated after a toothless display against 10-man Atalanta.

The truth is, without Karim Benzema, the Blancos are a blunt knife, and it took a bolt from the blue from left-back Ferland Mendy, on his weaker right foot, to finally break the deadlock.

Tottenham return to Premier League action at the weekend, hosting Burnley on Sunday. Wolfsberger face Rheindorf Altach in their next Austrian Bundesliga contest at home on the same day.
Tottenham advance to the round of 16 of the Europa League with a dominant performance against Wolfsberger, securing a 4-0 win this evening and 8-1 overall in the tie. Dele Alli began the rout with a brilliant overhead kick before supplying further goals in the second half for Carlos Vinicius and Gareth Bale. Vinicius notched his second to put the icing on the cake after good work from substitute Dane Scarlett.

CHELSEA
'We had strong intentions to win' - Chelsea deserved Champions League victory over Atletico, says match winner Giroud
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Giroud Chelsea Atletico 2021
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CHELSEA

ATLÉTICO MADRID V CHELSEA

OLIVIER GIROUD

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

ATLÉTICO MADRID
The French star fired his side to victory with a spectacular overhead kick, sealing a massive advantage heading into the second leg

Olivier Giroud says Chelsea came into Tuesday's clash with Atletico Madrid with their eyes on winning, even if it was an away leg at a neutral site.

Giroud scored the game's lone goal, a stunning second-half bicycle kick that gave Chelsea a massive advantage heading into the second leg.

The Frenchman says that was always Chelsea's intention, as the Blues were looking to have an edge heading into the second leg at Stamford Bridge.

The Poland international pounced on a sloppy pass from a Lazio centre-back and got around Pepe Reina for an easy finish early in the game

Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski became the third-top scorer in Champions League history with his opening goal against Lazio on Tuesday.

The striker opened the scoring just nine minutes into the first leg of the last-16 tie in Rome when he intercepted a pass from Lazio defender Mateo Musacchio.

The Polish forward rounded goalkeeper Pepe Reina and knocked the ball into the empty net as Bayern took control of the tie in the early stages.

Another defeat by Manchester City on Sunday leaves the Gabon star and his teammates facing a fight to feature in Europe altogether next season

Arsenal’s 11th loss in this strange Premier League season leaves them at a crossroads over which competition to prioritise for the remainder of the campaign.

The 1-0 defeat at the Emirates Stadium to an in-form Manchester City wasn’t helped by an early concession to Raheem Sterling, who netted a free header in the second minute. While Mikel Arteta will question how a 170cm forward was left unmarked in the six-yard box, the fact Arsenal were largely kept at arm’s length by the Cityzens was bothersome.

In isolation, losing to Pep Guardiola’s men is no humiliation; however, Sunday continued a worrying trend under the green Gunners boss in which they have failed to mount any significant challenge after falling behind.

The Uruguayan forward has been scoring freely for Atletico Madrid since leaving Barcelona

Luis Suarez has revealed the most disappointing aspect of his departure from Barcelona was that the club said he was too old to perform at the highest level.

Suarez left Barca for Atletico last September, in a transfer Camp Nou icon Lionel Messi described as ‘crazy’, and he has gone a long way to proving the club were hasty in their actions by firing his new team to the summit of La Liga.

The 34-year-old Uruguayan is happy in his new surrounds, despite admitting it was tough to uproot his family, but is still irked by being billed as too old.

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The midfielder became the latest academy starlet to graduate to senior status at Old Trafford, the latest in a promising trend seen in recent years

Marcus Rashford has paid tribute to debutant Shola Shoretire after the teenager made his first senior appearance for Manchester United on Sunday, saying the club's willingness to hand youth stars opportunities was "in our DNA".

Shoretire, wearing No. 74, became the latest academy product to graduate to senior status at Old Trafford when he was broughout on as a late second-half substitute by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the Red Devils' 3-1 win over Newcastle in the Premier League.

The 17-year-old followed in the footsteps of several other young United starlets handed chances to shine in recent years on the bigger stages, including Rashford himself, and the striker was quick to both praise his team-mate and the club's approach to handling junior talent.

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The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has declared an “immediate industrial action” in some states that have failed to pay the N30, 000 new national minimum wage.


NLC lamented that about half the states in the country were yet to conclude negotiations on payment of the minimum wage.

The Congress’s directive was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the National Executive Council, NEC, and was jointly signed by the NLC President, Mr Ayuba Wabba and General Secretary, Mr Emma Ugboaja.

NLC insisted that the refusal of states to pay the minimum wage was an act of criminality, and a betrayal of their oath of office.


“The NEC also resolved to view the refusal to pay the new national minimum wage by state governments as demanded by the law as an act of criminality, betrayal of the oath of office sworn by state chief executives and a dangerous adventure in anarchy.

“The NEC-in-Session directed all states where the national minimum wage of N30,000 is yet to be paid to immediately proceed on industrial action,

The 18-year-old winger only made a brief appearance in the Europa League win but could be handed his maiden start in the coming weeks

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says Amad Diallo is close to making his first start for Manchester United after the winger made his debut as a substitute in the 4-0 win against Real Sociedad on Thursday.

The 18-year-old joined United from Atalanta in January and has been playing for the club's reserves while he adapts to his new surroundings.

Diallo featured for the final seven minutes of the Europa League last 32 first-leg match against Sociedad after replacing Mason Greenwood and Solskjaer says he will be given a bigger role in the near future.

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) says it is against ethnic profiling of crime and criminality in the country.

The NGF Chairman, Gov. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, gave this indication when he briefed State House correspondents after an emergency meeting of the forum at the State House Banquet Hall.

The meeting, in which the governors comprehensively reviewed the state of security across the states, started at 9 pm on Wednesday and lasted until midnight.

“And some of the issues that were reviewed included, but not limited to the farmers/herders conflict, banditry and kidnapping, militancy and sea piracy, cultism, youth protests and insurgency.

“And the following recommendations firmly came out of our meeting:

“Governors are irrevocably committed to the protection of lives and property in our states and we are full of sympathy with those who have lost lives and property.

“The governors’ forum has gone ahead also to provide some financial support to victims of the conflict experienced in Oyo and Ogun States where our delegation visited last week.

“Nigerian governors also said in very clear terms, that crime and criminality should comprehensively be prosecuted wherever they may occur without ethnic, religious or any other colouration; governors are totally opposed to ethnic profiling of crime; knowing what has transpired in other parts of the world.’’

He cited the ethnic profiling of Jews in Germany which led to the Second World War and that of Tutsis which led to the genocide experienced in Rwanda.

According to him, the NGF does not believe that crimes are associated with a particular ethnic group; and to that extent, it unreservedly condemns any attempt to profile any ethnic group on account of a particular crime.


He said the governors were also totally opposed to the proliferation of fake news and the abuse on social media.

Liverpool will be financially backed to sign Kylian Mbappe this summer even if PSG hold out for €200 million, according to Le Parisien.

PSG want the giant fee for Mbappe, who is wanted by the biggest clubs across Europe, who this week offered the latest reminder of his immense talents with a hat-trick in their 4-1 Champions League win at Barcelona.

However the Reds are reportedly in a position to afford Mbappe due to shareholder investment and have made him their top transfer target.

The Dortmund star has made Sevilla's defence his playground in the last-16

Erling Haaland became the first player in Champions League history to score at least 17 goals in his first 13 appearances - but he didn't stop there.

Minutes after putting Dortmund ahead of Sevilla in the last-16 of the Champions League, the 20-year-old Dortmund striker struck again with a composed low finish to the far post with his lethal left foot.

On a stage that has minted so many attacking superstars in its history, Haaland has so far stood above the rest in terms of finding the net