United News of Bangladesh

Barcelona entered the pitch at Balaídos aware that Real Madrid had dropped points against Rayo Vallecano. They successfully capitalized on the situation, closing the gap on La Liga summit to three points. The Catalans secured an important 4-2 victory over Celta Vigo on Sunday night thanks to a hat-trick from Robert Lewandowski. Lamine Yamal netted the other goal, while Marcus Rashford provided two assists. Despite falling behind twice, Celta fought back each time before succumbing after Barcelona’s third goal. Lewandowski gave Barcelona the lead with a perfect spot-kick in the 10th minute after Marcos Alonso of Celta handled the ball in the box. However, Sergio Carreira took no time to equalize for the hosts through a counterattack. The Polish striker scored again in the 37th minute to make it 2-1, but defensive lapses haunted Hansi Flick’s side as Borja Iglesias restored parity six minutes later. Barcelona regained the lead before halftime when young sensation Lamine Yamal scored a superb goal. Barcelona resumed the second half with greater composure, controlling the tempo and piling pressure on Celta’s defense. Lewandowski sealed the victory in the 72nd minute, heading home a well-placed corner from Rashford with a spectacular back-header. The victory was slightly marred as Frenkie de Jong received a red card late in the match, ruling him out of the next game. Barcelona head into the international break sitting in second place with 28 points from 12 matches, three behind leaders Real Madrid. After the break, the Catalan giants will host Athletic Bilbao at Camp Nou on November 22.

Manchester City celebrated Pep Guardiola’s 1000th match as a manager with a commanding 3-0 win over defending champions Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday. With the victory, the Citizens moved up to second in the Premier League table, closing the gap with leaders Arsenal to four points. Liverpool came into the with a midweek Champions League victory against Real Madrid, but lost rhythm immediately after kick-off. Aside from an early penalty save, Arne Slot’s men struggled to create anything meaningful, while City stretched the lead through Erling Haaland, Nico González and Jérémy Doku. City earned a penalty in the 9th minute when Doku weaved past two defenders and went down after contact with goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili. Following a VAR review, the referee pointed to the spot, but Mamardashvili dived to his left to deny Haaland. With Mamardashvili’s save, City have now failed to score from four of their last five penalties against Liverpool. In contrast, no goalkeeper in Europe’s top five leagues has saved more penalties than the Georgian shot-stopper (6) since the start of the 2023-24 season. The miss did not keep City waiting long. In the 29th minute, Matheus Nunes whipped in a cross from the right and Haaland headed in to break the deadlock. The 25-year-old Norwegian, the league’s top scorer, has now netted 14 goals in 11 Premier League matches, and 28 in 18 games across all competitions for club and country this season. His league tally now stands at 99 goals in 108 matches.

Real Madrid tasted their first defeat of the season in all competitions on Tuesday in the Champions League, losing 1-0 to Liverpool. Just three days later, they dropped points in La Liga against Rayo Vallecano. Xabi Alonso’s men were held to a goalless draw on Sunday in Vallecas after a colourless performance. With this result, their grip on the La Liga summit loosened as arch-rivals Barcelona can move within reach again with a win away at Celta Vigo. Los Blancos attempted a total of 21 shots with 54 percent possession but managed only five on target, while Rayo registered only two on target from 13 attempts. Arda Güler tested Batalla early with a 3rd-minute strike from outside the box. In the 20th minute, Andrei Ratiu missed a golden chance for Rayo, shooting straight at Thibaut Courtois despite having an unmarked teammate in front of goal. Two minutes later, Vinicius Junior’s dipping effort was kept out by Batalla’s sharp reflexes. Raul Asensio then failed to convert a close-range header in the 23rd minute. Neither side produced notable chances afterward in the first half. The tempo increased after the break. Jorge de Frutos’ shot went wide from a tight angle in the 50th minute, while Güler missed by inches three minutes later. In the 55th, Jude Bellingham’s near-post effort was denied by Batalla again. Real kept pressing but struggled to create clear openings inside the box. Fede Valverde’s 69th-minute long-range strike was pushed away by Batalla, and Éder Militão’s 87th-minute header was also gathered by the Rayo keeper. Güler’s final attempt in added time deflected wide. With the draw, Real Madrid still remain top with 31 points from 12 matches. Villarreal sit second with 26 from 12, while defending champions Barcelona are third with 25 from 11. They will play against Celta Vigo with an eye to narrowing the gap at the top.

Five people were killed and 12 others injured in a car accident in eastern Myanmar's Shan state on Sunday, an official from the Myanmar Fire Services Department said. The accident occurred at around 1:20 p.m. local time after the car's brakes failed, causing it to plunge into a roadside ditch in Kalaw township, the official said. Of the 17 people on board, two males and three females died, while six males and six females were injured, he said. The car was en route from Taunggyi to Mandalay when the accident took place, the official said. Local fire service personnel and rescue organizations rushed to the scene and transported the deceased and the injured to Kalaw People's Hospital, he added.

Lionel Messi was unstoppable as Inter Miami cruised past Nashville SC 4-0 on Saturday, securing a spot in the Eastern Conference semifinals of the MLS playoffs. Messi scored twice and assisted two more goals in the decisive Game 3 of the first-round series, which Inter Miami won 2-1. Tadeo Allende added a brace in the second half, both set up by Messi, helping the third-seeded Herons dominate Nashville, outscoring them 8-3 across the series. Messi was involved in all eight goals, scoring five and assisting three. Inter Miami will face FC Cincinnati in a single-elimination semifinal on Nov. 22 or 23. The teams split their regular-season meetings, with Cincinnati winning 3-0 at home and drawing 0-0 in Fort Lauderdale. “This is the first time Inter Miami has advanced this far in the playoffs,” said coach Javier Mascherano, praising a near-perfect team performance. Messi’s brilliance has propelled the club to uncharted territory in South Florida’s MLS history. Manchester United earn a deserved point after stoppage-time drama Messi, MLS’ leading scorer and Golden Boot winner, recently signed a three-year contract extension through 2028 and is the frontrunner for a second consecutive MVP award. The Eastern Conference final will feature the Inter Miami-Cincinnati winner against either Philadelphia Union or NYCFC, with the MLS Cup final set for Dec. 6. Source: AP

Kyle Jamieson bowled a tense final over as New Zealand held on to defeat the West Indies by nine runs in the third Twenty20 International on Sunday, taking a 2-1 lead in the three-match series. All three matches in the series have been decided in the final over. New Zealand had won the second T20 by three runs, while the West Indies claimed the first by seven runs. Batting first at Saxton Oval, New Zealand managed 177-9, with Devon Conway scoring 56 off 34 balls, overcoming a lean run of form. Despite a late collapse, losing six wickets for 31 runs in the final five overs, they set a competitive target. Pakistan seal ODI series 2–1 after Abrar Ahmed routs South Africa for 143 The West Indies struggled early, falling to 88-8 in the 13th over, but a late rally by Romario Shepherd (49 off 34) and Shamar Springer (39 off 20) brought them close, needing 14 runs from the last over with one wicket remaining. Jamieson held his nerve, conceding just two runs before dismissing Shepherd on the fifth ball to clinch victory. Spinner Ish Sodhi took 3-34 and was named player of the match. West Indies captain Shai Hope praised his team’s fight, saying it was “unfortunate we didn’t come out on top in the last two matches.” Source: AP 

Leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed flummoxed inexperienced batters of South Africa with career-best 4-27 and led Pakistan to series-clinching seven-wicket victory in the third and final ODI on Saturday. South Africa, which finally won its first toss on the tour of Pakistan after losing seven-in-a-row across formats, was bowled out for 143 in 37.5 overs, losing its last eight wickets for just 37 runs. Opening batter Saim Ayub then hit a belligerent 77 with 11 fours and a six that carried Pakistan to 144-3 in just 25.1 overs for a 2-1 victory in the series. Pakistan won the first game narrowly by two wickets and South Africa bounced back with the help of Quinton de Kock’s unbeaten century to win the second game by eight wickets in Faisalabad, which hosted its first international games after 17 years. South Africa drew the two-test series 1-1, but Pakistan fought back to beat the Proteas 2-1 in the T20 series with back-to-back wins in Lahore. Ahmed spins out Proteas The left-handed opening pair of de Kock and Lhuan-dre Pretorius gave South Africa its third successive 70-plus start before the Proteas got strangled against the spinners on a tricky wicket. The pair started cautiously against Pakistan captain Shaheen Shah Afridi’s left-arm pace and off-spinner Ayub before cutting lose against fast bowler Haris Rauf. Rauf, who returned after serving two-match ban for violating ICC code of conduct during the Asia Cup in late September, was smashed for three boundaries in his first over and de Kock got his first runs with two back-to-back boundaries against Afridi as the pair put on 72 runs. Off-spinner Salman Ali Agha provided the breakthrough when he had Pretorius caught at long-on for 39 and shortly afterwards Tony de Zorzi chipped away an easy catch at extra cover. De Kock became the second-fastest South African batter to complete 7,000 ODI runs in 158 innings after Hashim Amla and raised his half century with a reverse sweep against the left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz. However, only two balls later he tried to slog sweep Nawaz and was out lbw for 53 off 70 balls that triggered a spectacular South African collapse. Abrar picked up three wickets in his two overs as he beat debutant Rubin Hermann with a googly and clean bowled the left-hander; knocked back the leg stump around the legs of Donovan Ferreira and then hit the off stump of Corbin Bosch of a delivery that kept very low. South Africa batters paid heavily for going onto the backfoot against the spinners as Bjorn Fortuin was out plumb leg before wicket against Nawaz, who finished with 2-31. Afridi then finished off tailenders with two wickets in two balls as South Africa, playing without seven front-line white-ball players in the ODI series, got bowled out with more than 12 overs to spare. “Not enough runs, we were probably looking at 250,” South Africa captain Matthew Breetzke said. “It was tough conditions and unfortunately we lost too many wickets there … Abrar bowled really nicely. Unluckily I got out in his last over. I was looking to be more positive after that, but yeah there was variable bounce.” Ayub cruises Pakistan Pakistan wobbled early when Fakhar Zaman fell for his second successive duck and was clean bowled by Nandre Burger off his second ball. Ayub survived a close lbw against Burger but cut close against the pace as he raced to his half century off 39 balls with Babar Azam (27) also showing signs of returning back into batting rhythm with his trademark cover drives. Both added better than run-a-ball 65 for the second wicket stand before Babar got run-out while going for the third run, but couldn’t beat the throw of Bosch from third and was short of his crease. With only 14 required for victory, Ayub holed out to long-on to give left-arm spinner Fortuin consolation wicket as Mohammad Rizwan (32 not out) and Agha finished off the game with nearly half the overs to spare. “It has been teamwork and we have worked very hard across the formats so credit goes to the players,” Afridi said after leading Pakistan to victory in his debut series as ODI skipper. “We didn’t get so much help in the first five-six overs but when the spinners came in, they made it tough. When you play international cricket, you have to be ready for all situations, so every player who came in took their chances.”  

Richarlison thought he had clinched a victory for Tottenham in the first minute of stoppage time, but the drama was far from over. Five minutes later, in the penultimate minute of the match, Matthijs de Ligt silenced the home fans with a stunning header to earn Manchester United a well-deserved point. The Red Devils drew 2-2 with Tottenham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday. The visitors took the lead when Bryan Mbeumo, who was named Premier League Player of the Month on Friday, came back to haunt his former manager Thomas Frank, guiding in Amad Diallo’s cross in the 32nd minute. That was the only shot on target for either side in the first half, although the hosts dominated possession with 55 percent. After the break, Tottenham piled pressure on the United defence, creating chances one after another. However, Ruben Amorim’s men stayed well-organised, denying all attacks and looking for a second goal whenever they regained possession. But it was Mathys Tel who found the equaliser for Tottenham six minutes before time. Richarlison then thought he had won it for the hosts with a clever flicked header a minute into stoppage time, but de Ligt ensured the Red side of Manchester would return with at least a point from north London. With the result, United stretched their unbeaten run to five matches, while Tottenham have now gone eight games without defeat against United. The draw saw Tottenham move up to third place with 18 points from 11 matches, seven points behind leaders Arsenal ahead of the rest of the weekend fixtures. United also have 18 points but sit seventh due to an inferior goal difference. The Premier League will pause for the international break over the next fortnight. When it returns, Tottenham will face leaders Arsenal on Sunday, November 23, while United will host Everton the following evening.

The final T20I between India and Australia at the Gabba was abandoned due to heavy rain, with only 4.5 overs possible, handing India a 2–1 series victory. Australia captain Mitchell Marsh had opted to bowl on a green surface, but India’s openers Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma quickly showed there were runs to be made. Gill looked fluent, striking four consecutive boundaries off Ben Dwarshuis during his brisk 29 off 16 balls, while Abhishek mixed aggression with fortune, surviving two dropped catches early in his innings. During his short stay, Abhishek hit a personal milestone, becoming the fastest batter among Full Member nations to reach 1,000 T20I runs — reaching the mark in just 528 balls. Play was halted just 21 minutes into the match, with ground staff rushing to cover the pitch amid lightning warnings. Spectators were moved from the lower stands as a safety precaution, and after a two-hour delay, officials called off the game due to persistent thunderstorms. It marked India’s fifth T20I series win in Australia in the past three years.  

Nicolás Fernández scored twice in stoppage time while Alonso Martínez added another as New York City FC defeated Charlotte FC 3-1 on Friday night, winning the decisive third match of their best-of-three first-round MLS Cup playoff series. With the victory, fifth-seeded NYCFC advanced to face top-seeded Philadelphia Union away in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The date and time for the match are yet to be announced. Fernández, a 25-year-old midfielder in his debut season, broke the deadlock with an unassisted goal in first-half stoppage time to give New York a 1-0 lead at the break. Just five minutes into the second half, Martínez doubled the advantage, converting a pass from Maxi Moralez. It was Martínez’s second goal of this postseason and his third in seven playoff appearances, while the assist marked Moralez’s first in 21 playoff outings — all with NYCFC. Charlotte FC, seeded fourth, pulled one back in the 81st minute through first-year forward Idan Toklomati, who netted his maiden postseason goal off assists from Archie Goodwin and Harry Toffolo. Fernández sealed the victory with his second goal of the night in the 10th minute of stoppage time, assisted by Hannes Wolf, who recorded his first playoff assist in seven appearances.   NYCFC goalkeeper Matt Freese, making his seventh postseason start, did not face a shot on target. Charlotte’s Kristijan Kahlina made four saves in his seventh playoff start, but his team struggled to recover momentum after losing Pep Biel to a season-ending injury during the Leagues Cup. Source: AP