Headlines
Champions League: Mbappe Destroys Barca with Deserved Hat-Trick
A hat-trick from Kylian Mbappe helped Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) hammer FC Barcelona 4-1 at the Camp Nou on Tuesday in the 2020/2021 UEFA Champions League.
Liverpool, just like PSG, are also on course for the quarter-finals of the competition, after having won 2-0 away to RB Leipzig.
The elite tournament resumed with the first knock-out ties of the last 16 in the continental competition played during the coronavirus pandemic.
Barca hosted PSG behind closed doors while RB Leipzig welcomed Liverpool to Budapest as Germany is currently not allowing non-citizens/residents to enter the country from the UK.
Lionel Messi’s penalty kick gave FC Barcelona the lead but Mbappe struck either side of half-time.
Moise Kean added another and Mbappe completed his hat-trick with a superb finish as PSG took control of the tie that was a repeat of the sensational encounter at this stage in 2017.
On that occasion, FC Barcelona overturned a 4-0 first leg deficit 6-1 at home and must now launch a similar comeback attempt – this time in Paris on March 10.
That is when six-time champions Liverpool, last winners in 2019, will expect to finish the job against RB Leipzig at Anfield.
Second half goals from Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane earned them a deserved win in the duel between German bosses Juergen Klopp and Julian Nagelsmann in the Hungarian capital.
On Wednesday, FC Porto meet Juventus and Sevilla host Borussia Dortmund while holders Bayern Munich resume away to Lazio next Tuesday.
Neymar was influential in turning the tie with PSG in FC Barcelona’s favour four years ago but the Brazilian star missed the match with his former club due to injury.
But PSG – with 22-year-old Mbappe almost untouchable – scarcely missed him.
Mbappe’s quick-feet in the penalty box after a nice flick from Marco Verrati levelled the match.
His clinical finish when Marc-Andre ter Stegen could only parry a 65th minute cross put PSG in front.
Ter Stegen had previously denied Mbappe on several occasions and did so again before Kean was given space at a free-kick to head home unchallenged with 20 minutes left.
Barca tried to rally but left themselves exposed and Mbappe curled into the top corner after Julian Draxler raced clear on the counter to cap a glorious night for Maurico Pochettino.
He had coached PSG only since early this year.
PSG, who beat RB Leipzig in the semi-finals last season, were superior even when Messi gave the hosts the lead from the penalty kick spot. That was after Layvin Kurzawa accidentally clipped Frenkie de Jong in the 27th minute.
RB Leipzig too are up against it, having come within inches of the opener at the Puskas Arena when Dani Olmo headed off the post in just two minutes.
Liverpool slowly took control and had already threatened several times before RB Leipzig imploded with two horrific errors early in the second half.
Marcel Sabitzer’s pass inadvertently released Salah to finish well.
And when Dayot Upamecano – who confirmed a move to Bayern Munich this week – fluffed a 58th minute clearance, Mane showed no mercy.
Liverpool, who are riddled with defensive problems and injuries all season, are out of contention to retain their Premier League title but at least one more round in the Champions League looks likely.
The first hostages freed from Gaza under a long-awaited ceasefire agreement are back in Israel. The news sparked jubilant scenes in Tel Aviv where large crowds gathered ahead of their release.
The three freed Israeli hostages – the first of 33 to be released over the next six weeks – are Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari. They are said to be in good health and are receiving treatment at a medical center in Tel Aviv.
In exchange, 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees are set to be released by Israel from Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli military withdrew from several locations in southern and northern Gaza after the truce began earlier on Sunday, an Israeli military official told CNN.
Displaced Gazans have started returning to their homes, while the aid trucks laden with much-needed supplies have crossed into Gaza. Here’s what we know about how the ceasefire deal will work.
Hamas, despite suffering devastating losses, is framing the Gaza ceasefire agreement as a victory for itself, and a failure for Israel.
One of Hamas’ main goals for taking some 250 people during its brazen October 7, 2023, attack on Israel was to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. As Israel pounded Gaza in response, Hamas vowed not to return the hostages until Israel withdrew its forces from the enclave, permanently ended the war, and allowed for rebuilding.
Source: CNN
The leader of UK’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has said she doesn’t want Britain to be like Nigeria that is plagued by “terrible governments.”
Speaking on Thursday at an event organised by Onward, a British think tank producing research on economic and social issues, Badenoch expressed fears that Britain may become like Nigeria if the system is not reformed.
“And why does this matter so much to me? It’s because I know what it is like to have something and then to lose it,” Badenoch told the audience.
“I don’t want Britain to lose what it has.
“I grew up in a poor country and watched my relatively wealthy family become poorer and poorer, despite working harder and harder as their money disappeared with inflation.
“I came back to the UK aged 16 with my father’s last £100 in the hope of a better life.
“So I have lived with the consequences of terrible governments that destroy lives, and I never, ever want it to happen here.”
Badenoch has been in the news of late after she dissociated herself from Nigeria, saying she has nothing to do with the Islamic northern region.
She also accused the Nigeria Police of robbing citizens instead of protecting them.
She said: “My experience with the Nigeria Police was very negative. Coming to the UK, my experience with the British Police was very positive.
“The police in Nigeria will rob us (laughter). When people say I have this bad experience with the police because I’m black, I say well…I remember the police stole my brother’s shoe and his watch.”
