United News of Bangladesh

Real Madrid issued a formal apology after mistakenly featuring a photo of the wrong footballer in a video tribute to the late Diogo Jota and his brother, André Silva. The video, which was displayed during the Spanish club's ordinary general assembly, incorrectly showed a photograph of Elche and Portugal international forward André da Silva, 30, instead of André Silva, the 25-year-old brother of the late Liverpool player, Diogo Jota. Diogo Jota, 28, a forward for Liverpool and Portugal, tragically died in a car crash in July alongside his brother, André Silva, who was a professional footballer for Portuguese second-tier club Penafiel. Madrid president Florentino Pérez said after the match: “There was an error in the institutional video. We apologize; it was a human error.” The club later issued a statement addressing the error on X. “Real Madrid CF apologises to Elche CF and its player André da Silva for having mistakenly included his image in the obituary of an institutional video instead of that of André Silva, the brother of Diogo Jota, the Liverpool player,” Real Madrid said. “We regret this incident.” Elche striker André da Silva, who has 53 caps for Portugal, is a well-known figure who previously played for clubs including Porto, AC Milan, and RB Leipzig. His side played Real Madrid to a 2-2 draw in a La Liga match on Sunday.      

Cristiano Ronaldo once again reminded the football world why he is regarded as one of the greatest of all time, scoring a breathtaking bicycle kick at the age of 40 as Al Nassr defeated Al Khaleej 4-1 in the Saudi Pro League on Sunday. The match was already decided, with Al Nassr leading comfortably, but Ronaldo’s late strike, in the sixth minute of added time in the second half, added a spectacular flourish to the home victory. Nawaf delivered a precise cross from the right, and Ronaldo timed his leap perfectly, executing a powerful bicycle kick in mid-air. Despite the goalkeeper’s desperate attempt to reach the ball, it soared into the net. The Portuguese star then sprinted to the corner flag to celebrate with his trademark ‘Siuuu’ celebration, much to the delight of the fans. Ronaldo’s goal was the latest addition to a career filled with memorable strikes. It drew comparisons to a similar bicycle kick he scored seven years ago while playing for Juventus, demonstrating that even at 40, his fitness, technique, and vision remain exceptional. Earlier in the match, Al Nassr had taken the lead through João Félix, Wesley Ribeiro, and Sadio Mané, before Ronaldo added the cherry on top. On the path toward 1,000 career goals, Ronaldo now has 954, including 10 goals in nine Saudi Pro League matches this season. He sits just behind club teammate João Félix, who leads the league’s scoring charts by a single goal. Al Nassr remain top of the league table this season with a perfect record of nine wins from nine matches, accumulating 27 points. Title holder Al Hilal follow in second place with 23 points from the same number of games.

Inter Miami stormed into their first-ever Eastern Conference final with a dominant 4-0 victory over FC Cincinnati on Sunday, powered by a sparkling display from Lionel Messi and a trio of Argentine scorers spanning three generations. Messi opened the scoring in the 19th minute with a trademark header from a cross by 19-year-old Mateo Silvetti, before providing three assists in the second half as Silvetti doubled the lead with a composed finish. Inspired by the duo, 26-year-old Tadeo Allende struck twice in quick succession, both set up by sublime through-balls from Messi, to seal a commanding win for Javier Mascherano’s side. Allende’s pace and power overwhelmed the Cincinnati defence, while Miami goalkeeper Rocco Ríos Novo made key early saves to keep the hosts at bay. Miami threatened further late on, but Rodrigo De Paul squandered a golden opportunity from another clever Messi pass. Messi, who is on course for back-to-back MLS Most Valuable Player awards after 29 goals and 19 assists in the regular season, has now contributed six goals and six assists in the playoffs, setting a new MLS playoff record with 12 goal contributions. Inter Miami finished the regular season in third place and will host fifth-seeded New York City FC in Saturday’s Eastern Conference final. NYCFC advanced earlier with a 1-0 win over Supporters’ Shield winners Philadelphia Union.  

Real Madrid extended their winless streak to three matches after being held to a 2-2 draw at Elche on Sunday, despite twice coming from behind in a tense La Liga encounter that further tightened the title race. Xabi Alonso’s side, who had led Barcelona by five points just two rounds ago, now see their advantage reduced to a single point after dropping two more valuable points on the road. The Catalans routed Athletic Bilbao 4-0 on Saturday in their return to the renovated Camp Nou Stadium. Elche opened the scoring in the 53rd minute through Aleix Febas, finishing off a sharp passing move with a low tap-in past Thibaut Courtois. Real equalised in the 78th minute when Dean Huijsen fired home from close range after a corner fell inside the box. But the home side struck again in the 84th minute. Álvaro Rodríguez unleashed a powerful effort from outside the area to restore Elche’s lead and put Madrid under pressure once more. Three minutes later, Jude Bellingham rescued the visitors for a second time. His initial effort was parried by goalkeeper Iñaki Peña, but Kylian Mbappé recovered the rebound and squared the ball back for the England midfielder, who converted at the second attempt to secure Real’s second equaliser of the night. The Spanish goalkeeper suffered a nose injury during the sequence but continued after receiving brief treatment. In a match filled with missed chances, Elche had the first major opportunity in the 17th minute when Rafa Mir was denied by Courtois from close range. Mbappé later squandered two promising openings for Madrid, and Rodrygo forced a strong save from Peña early in the second half. Real entered the match having beaten Valencia 4-0 earlier this month but followed that result with a 1-0 Champions League loss at Liverpool and a 0-0 La Liga draw with Rayo Vallecano, and extended their winless streak to three matches. After 13 matches, Real sit top of the league on 32 points, with Barcelona close behind on 31. Xabi Alonso’s men will host Olympiakos in the Champions League on Wednesday to seek a return to winning ways.    

Lanus captured their second Copa Sudamericana title on Saturday, defeating Brazil’s Atletico Mineiro 5-4 in a tense penalty shootout, thanks to a stunning performance from goalkeeper Nahuel Losada, who stopped three spot-kicks. Lanus, champions previously in 2013, are now the sixth club to lift the Sudamericana trophy twice. In the shootout, Carlos Izquierdoz, Sasha Marcich, Dylan Aquino, Agustín Cardozo and Franco Watson all converted for the Argentine team. Losada, 32, delivered the decisive edge by denying efforts from Hulk, Gabriel Texeira and Vitor Hugo. Barcelona celebrate Camp Nou return with 4–0 win over Bilbao Argentine clubs have now claimed 10 Sudamericana titles overall, with Racing Club most recently taking the 2024 crown after overcoming Cruzeiro in the final. Lanus booked their place in this year’s final by edging Universidad de Chile 3-2 on aggregate in the semifinals. They earlier knocked out Fluminense with a victory at Rio de Janeiro’s Maracanã in the quarterfinals and eliminated Central Córdoba on penalties in the round of 16. Source: AP 

Barcelona could not have scripted a more poetic homecoming. After 909 days of exile, the Catalans returned to their beloved Spotify Camp Nou on Wednesday night and marked the occasion with a resounding 4-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao — a win that briefly lifted them to the summit of La Liga ahead of Real Madrid. The night belonged to history, emotion, and a team rediscovering its rhythm. Robert Lewandowski, wearing the captain’s armband for the first time in what was his 160th appearance for the club, carved his name into Camp Nou folklore by scoring the first goal at the renovated stadium. For Ferran Torres, this new era started with a flourish. The forward struck twice, both assisted by Yamal, who justified every bit of the hype surrounding him with a dazzling display of vision and composure. And as if to reaffirm Barcelona’s renewed strength, goalkeeper Joan García, back from injury, delivered a commanding performance to keep Bilbao at bay. Barca needed less than five minutes to trigger a new chapter in their storied home. Yamal drove forward with characteristic fearlessness before slicing open Bilbao’s defence with a brilliant through-ball. A quick series of passes followed, and Lewandowski, gliding into space, unleashed a powerful strike into the net to ignite the stadium. But the visitors refused to be mere spectators. Bilbao answered instantly with waves of attack, dominating nearly ten minutes and testing Barcelona’s defensive structure. In the 20th minute, Fermín’s low shot forced Unai Simón into action, and Dani Olmo sent the rebound narrowly wide. Four minutes later, Ferran Torres found the net but was denied by the offside flag. Bilbao’s biggest chance of the half arrived in the 36th minute when Unai Gómez failed to beat Joan García from close range. Moments later, Gómez’s long-range effort sailed over the bar, and in the 41st minute Nico Williams miscued his attempt from just outside the six-yard box. Then, just before the interval, Barcelona struck again. A counterattack led by Yamal set Ferran free, and although Simón got a hand to it, the ball rolled in to make it 2-0 at halftime. The second half began with Barcelona pouncing on a defensive error, allowing Fermín to coolly slot home their third goal of the night. Bilbao’s hopes unraveled further in the 54th minute when Oihan Sancet saw red for a reckless challenge on Fermín. Initially shown a yellow, the card turned red after VAR intervention. With a man advantage, Barcelona dominated possession and tempo, while Bilbao retreated into damage-control mode. Olmo came within inches of scoring in the 65th minute, but it was Ferran who completed the rout in stoppage time. Yamal once again orchestrated the move, and after a brief offside scare, VAR confirmed the goal. The victory took Barcelona to 31 points from 13 matches — level with Real Madrid but temporarily ahead on goal difference. Madrid, however, can reclaim the lead with at least a draw in their 13th-round fixture against Elche on Sunday, while a win would take them three points clear. Barcelona now shift their focus to Europe, travelling to London to face Chelsea in the Champions League on Tuesday. They will return home next Saturday for a La Liga fixture with Deportivo Alavés.  

Chelsea overcame a slow start to secure a comfortable 2-0 win over Burnley on Wednesday, narrowing the gap at the top of the Premier League with Arsenal. Pedro Neto opened the scoring in the 37th minute with a well-placed header from a cross, giving Chelsea the breakthrough after a period of sustained pressure. Enzo Fernández sealed the result in the 88th minute, firing home to ensure a third consecutive league victory for Enzo Maresca’s side. Chelsea controlled the game with 59% possession and 15 attempts on goal, four of them on target. Burnley, meanwhile, managed eight shots, two of which tested the goalkeeper. The win lifts Chelsea to 23 points from 12 matches, while Arsenal remain top with 26 points and a game in hand. The Gunners will face Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. The Blues are set to meet Barcelona next Tuesday in the Champions League before returning to league action against Arsenal on November 30.

UEFA has imposed a three-match suspension on Bayern Munich forward Luis Díaz following the red card he received during his side’s Champions League victory over Paris Saint-Germain earlier this month. Diaz scored twice in Bayern's 2-1 win over defending champions PSG on November 4, but he was sent off shortly before the interval for a dangerous tackle on Morocco defender Achraf Hakimi. The challenge left Hakimi with a severely sprained left ankle, and he has been sidelined ever since. UEFA stated that Díaz was punished for “serious rough play,” handing the winger a three-game ban. As a result, the Colombia international will miss Bayern’s away match against Arsenal on Wednesday, followed by home games against Sporting CP on December 9 and Union Saint-Gilloise on January 21. Earlier on Friday, Bayern manager Vincent Kompany said he had expected Díaz to receive only a one-match suspension. Bayern currently lead the Champions League standings with 12 points from four matches, ahead of Arsenal and Inter Milan on goal difference. Since joining from Liverpool in the summer, Díaz has scored three goals in four Champions League appearances for Bayern this season and added six goals in 10 Bundesliga games.    

Italy, a four-time World Cup champion, faces yet another daunting path to qualification after Thursday’s FIFA playoff draw set up a challenging route for the Azzurri, who have missed the last two editions of the tournament. Italy, knocked out by Sweden in 2018 and stunned by North Macedonia in 2022, will host Northern Ireland in a single-elimination semifinal on March 26. The winner will then travel to face either Wales or Bosnia-Herzegovina for a place at the expanded 48-team World Cup, to be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. Northern Ireland is expected to pose a test similar to North Macedonia, which survived heavy pressure in Palermo in 2022 before delivering a stoppage-time winner that eliminated Italy. European Playoff brackets In another playoff bracket, Ukraine will host Sweden, with the winner earning a home final against Poland or Albania. Ukraine, unable to host qualifiers at home amid the ongoing Russian invasion, played its group-stage games across three Polish cities and could potentially host Poland again — in Poland. Sweden, which finished last in its qualifying group won by Switzerland, reached the playoffs through last year’s Nations League. Ukraine, meanwhile, has playoff pedigree: they beat Scotland in a delayed 2022 semifinal before falling to Wales in the final. Europe’s newest football nation, Kosovo, begins its historic bid for a first World Cup appearance with an away tie at Slovakia. The winner will host Turkey or Romania in the playoff final. Kosovo, recognized by UEFA and FIFA in 2016 alongside Gibraltar, declared independence from Serbia in 2008. Ireland, buoyed by remarkable back-to-back wins over Portugal and Hungary, with all five goals scored by Troy Parrott, will travel to face the Czech Republic. The winner will host Denmark or North Macedonia. Denmark dropped into the playoffs after a dramatic 4-2 defeat in Scotland on Tuesday, sealed by a stoppage-time turnaround that eclipsed Ireland’s own late comeback in Budapest. Intercontinental Playoffs FIFA also conducted the draw for the six-team intercontinental playoffs. Seeded Iraq will face either Bolivia or Suriname in a one-game qualifier next March. Congo, seeded in the other bracket, will meet the winner of a single-match semifinal between New Caledonia and Jamaica. All six intercontinental matches will be played in Mexico between March 23 and 31, at venues in Guadalajara and Monterrey, both of which will stage World Cup games next June.

Achraf Hakimi has been crowned the CAF Men’s Player of the Year for 2025, becoming the first Moroccan in 27 years to win the honour and only the second defender ever to claim the award. The Paris Saint-Germain right-back edged past Egyptian star Mohamed Salah and Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen at the awards ceremony held in Rabat on Wednesday. Hakimi now follows in the footsteps of Mustapha Hadji, who last won the award for Morocco in 1998, and Congolese defender Bwanga Tshimen, who claimed it in 1973. Hakimi’s latest milestone caps a standout season in which he played a crucial role in PSG’s treble-winning campaign, helping them secure the UEFA Champions League, Ligue 1 and Coupe de France, along with lifting the UEFA Super Cup. In international duty, he also played his part in helping Morocco qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. In his acceptance speech, Hakimi said the honour represented a “truly proud moment,” dedicating the achievement to those who supported him throughout his journey. “It’s really an honour for me to be here today, and I’m proud to win such a prestigious trophy,” Hakimi said, thanking his family, teammates, and Morocco head coach Walid Regragui. “This trophy is not just for me — it’s for all the strong men and women in Africa who have dreams, especially those who dream of becoming footballers.” The Morocco skipper had been shortlisted in both 2023 and 2024, while last year’s title went to Nigeria’s Ademola Lookman. Earlier in May, Hakimi also claimed the Marc-Vivien Foé Award, given to the best African player in Ligue 1. Morocco enjoyed further success on the night. Ghizlane Chebbak was named Women’s Footballer of the Year, while Al-Hilal goalkeeper Yassine Bounou won the men’s Goalkeeper of the Year award. Nigeria’s Chiamaka Nnadozie was voted Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year for the third consecutive year, shortly after completing her move to Brighton & Hove Albion in the Women’s Super League. Cape Verde coach Bubista took home the Coach of the Year award after guiding the island nation to their first-ever World Cup qualification, with the tournament set to take place next year across the United States, Mexico and Canada.