Football / Sports

UCL draw: Lionel Messi, PSG to face Man City in group stage; Bayern vs. Barcelona

Manchester City have been drawn against Paris Saint-Germain in group stages of the 2021-22 Champions League, setting up a possible showdown between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Sources have told ESPN that Man City are closing in on a deal for Ronaldo, while Messi will be embarking on his first Champions League campaign away from Barcelona after joining PSG earlier this month.

Man City beat PSG 4-1 on aggregate to reach last season’s final, which they lost 1-0 to Chelsea at the Estadio do Dragao in Portugal. RB Leipzig and Club Brugge were also drawn in Group A.

Meanwhile, Barcelona will face Bayern Munich in Group E. It will be their first meeting since Bayern smashed Barca 8-2 in the semifinals in August 2020.

Holders Chelsea will play Juventus, Zenit St Petersburg and Malmo in Group H, which will see striker Romelu Lukaku make an early return to Italy having made a summer switch to Stamford Bridge.

Manchester United were drawn against Villarreal in Group F in a rematch of last season’s Europa League final, which Unai Emery’s side won on penalties.

Liverpool will return to the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium to face Atletico Madrid in Group B, the site where the English side won the Champions League in 2019. Atletico knocked Liverpool out in the round of 16 the following season.

AC Milan, the second-most successful team in the history of the competition with seven wins, will also play in Group B as they make their return to the Champions League for the first time since 2014.

This season’s final will take place at the Krestovsky Stadium in St. Petersburg, Russia, on May 28.

Chelsea midfielder Jorginho won the best male player of the year award ahead of teammate N’Golo Kante and Man City’s Kevin De Bruyne. Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas beat out teammates Jennifer Hermoso and Lieke Martens to win the women’s award.…

Football / Sports

Euro 2020 Team of the Tournament

GK: Gigi Donnarumma (Italy)

The imminent arrival of Gigi Donnarumma on a free transfer already looked like a sensational bit of business by Paris Saint-Germain – now it is looking like one of the best deals in history.

The 22-year-old was utterly immense as Italy won Euro 2020 in dramatic fashion, with their giant of a goalkeeper saving two penalties in the final, including the decisive spot-kick from Bukayo Saka.

The Arsenal teenager deserves the utmost sympathy for his miss because there is no more intimidating shot-stopper in the world right now, as underlined by the fact that Donnarumma is five for five in terms of shootouts, for club and country.

UEFA’s Player of the Tournament and our obvious choice for the No.1 jersey.

RB: Joakim Maehle (Denmark)

Atalanta have done it again: the masters of the transfer market have unearthed another gem.

Just over six months after signing Joakim Maehle from Genk for just €10 million (£8.5m/$11.9m), the versatile wing-back is now arguably worth three times that amount thanks to his sensational displays for surprise semi-finalists Denmark.

Despite being right-footed, Maehle proved a phenomenon on the left flank, scoring two goals and creating another.

Indeed, the 24-year-old produced the most outrageous assist of the tournament by finding Kasper Dolberg in the area with a stunning outside-of-the-boot cross in the quarter-final win over Czech Republic.

CB: Leonardo Bonucci (Italy)

What was truly incredible about Leonardo Bonucci’s Man of the Match-winning performance in the final was just how ridiculously easy it made it all look.

He was calmness personified. On two separate occasions, he nonchalantly flicked headers back to Donnarumma, even though Raheem Sterling was close by, looking to pounce on any mistake.

Bonucci, though, turned in a flawless, outrageously composed display.

His passing, as always, was sensational, while he was also on hand to score the crucial equaliser when Marco Verratti’s header came back off the post.

Bonucci has sometimes been accused of playing as more of a midfielder than a defender. At Euro 2020, he proved himself one of

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