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Juventus director Fabio Paratici weighed in on the just-beginning Paul Pogba transfer saga, admitting "we love him very much" in the aftermath of Mino Raiola's bombshell claims on Monday.

Raiola, the French midfielder's agent, revealed on Monday that his client wants to leave Old Trafford, saying: "It’s over for Paul Pogba at Manchester United."

The famous agent went on to add that Pogba is "unhappy" with his current club because he is "no longer able to express himself in the way that he would like and as he is expected to."

Pogba has flirted with the idea of heading to Real Madrid several times, having previously admitted his interest in the club, but Raiola personally floated the idea of a return to Juventus for his longtime client.

The midfielder previously played for Juventus from 2012-16, emerging as one of the world's most in-demand midfielders before heading to Manchester United in 2016 for what was then a world-record transfer fee of £89 million ($119m).

Following Raiola's revelation, Paratici admitted that the club still has admiration for its former player, but he wasn't ready to commit to any pursuit just yet.

“That is not the right question, I think it’d be rather costly," he told Sport Mediaset. "We love him very much, we know he is a great player, but right now he is at Manchester United.”

Pogba started Tuesday's clash with RB Leipzig on the bench, which Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insisted was a tactical decision and not a response to Raiola's revelations.

However, the midfielder came on in the second half, scoring Manchester United's second goal in the eventual 3-2 loss that sent the club to the Europa League.

After the game, Solskajer was unwilling to discuss the Pogba situation, insisting that Pogba must speak for himself.

“As soon as Pogba's agent realises it is a team sport the better," he said. "I don’t want to spend energy on that.

"You have to ask Paul if he is happy or not, I’m not going to speak for him. Paul is focused on doing his best for the team.”

Manchester United are set to face Manchester City this weekend in a crucial Premier League clash while Juventus, who topped Barcelona 3-0 on Tuesday, will take on Torino.

Paris Saint-Germain stars Kylian Mbappe and Presnel Kimpembe alongside African football icons Mutiu Adepoju plus Roger Milla have shown support to Pierre Webo after he was allegedly racial abused during Tuesday’s Champions League clash.

Istanbul Basaksehir assistant manager Webo was involved in a furious exchange with the fourth official Sebastian Coltescu, who had instructed the referee to send Webo off after he protested a call on the pitch. 

The Turkish club accused the fourth official of racial abuse in how he identified the Basaksehir assistant to the match referee. 

With the game now moved to Wednesday after both teams walked off the pitch, Mbappe and notable football figures took to social media, expressing solidarity with Webo.

Cristiano Ronaldo says Juventus have "nothing to fear" after their dominant 3-0 win over Barcelona.

Ronaldo converted a penalty in each half as his great rival Lionel Messi toiled in vain - the margin of victory enough for Juve to pip Barca to top spot in Champions League Group G.

After numerous memorable battles at Camp Nou in the white of Real Madrid, the 35-year-old revelled in the most impressive moment of Juventus' fledgling Andrea Pirlo era.

"Always great to return to Spain and to Catalunya, always hard to play in Camp Nou against one of the best teams I ever faced," Ronaldo tweeted.

"Today we were a team of Champions! A true, strong and united family!

"Playing like this, we have nothing to fear until the end of the season… Let's go!"

Coach Andrea Pirlo, who has endured mixed fortunes during his debut season on the bench in Turin, was delighted to see Ronaldo star against his old La Liga rivals, while singling out the veteran's work ethic for particular praise. 

“Ronaldo was very motivated to put in a good performance here against his eternal rival, so when you’re that motivated, it becomes simple,” he explained to Sky Sport Italia  after the final whistle.

“There are many games in a season and it’s easier to get fired up for fixtures like this, but we mustn’t lose sight of the real target, which is Serie A, so we have to be this concentrated and committed there too.

“It was important for our journey that we pick up where we left off in the derby. When you start with that focus, concentration and determination, then the quality emerges.

“We had prepared the match to create superiority in midfield with three against their two, the midfielders like McKennie able to push up, as we knew they had difficulty stopping them pushing up through the middle.

“The tactical plan worked and then the players did really well to make the most of the scoring opportunities.”

Juve are back in action on Sunday, when they visit Genoa in Serie A.

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer criticised his team's slow start as they crashed out of the Champions League after a 3-2 loss to Leipzig on Tuesday.

The Red Devils needed at least a draw at Leipzig's Red Bull Arena to progress to the knockout stages but found themselves down 2-0 inside their first 13 minutes via goals to Angelino and Amadou Haidara.

Solskjaer's team pushed forward hard in the second half to get back in the game but conceded a third through Justin Kluivert with 20 minutes to play.

Despite Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba clawing two goals back leaving United a glimmer of hope, the Red Devils were left to rue their slow start once again - conceding the first goal in their fourth consecutive match.

"We started too late," Solskjaer said to BT Sport. "Great spirit and comeback again.

"It's different to the Premier League, you can't give a team a three-goal lead and expect to come back. We were unlucky towards the end and you almost thought it was in at the last minute there.

"Of course you can't say we were good enough, we weren't. In a difficult group of course, the big defeat for us was the one away to Istanbul - that's where we lost the points we should have had.

"Today we were close but we knew we had to defend crosses and balls into the box and we just couldn't clear them.

"As a footballer, you can't feel sorry for yourself. You feel sorry for a few minutes tonight and then we focus on a massive game on Saturday."

Solskjaer was asked about Pogba's future following comments from the player's agent Mino Raiola suggesting his career was finished at Old Trafford .

However, the Norwegian refused to shed light on the saga, insisting that Pogba should be questioned about his own future.

"You have to ask Paul if he is happy or not, I won't speak for him," Solskjaer said.

"He's working hard in training and he needs to focus on his performances. Now is not the time to discuss transfers."

United were stunned in only the second minute as former Man City wing-back Angelino arrived in space at the back past to rifle home a fine drive.

And when Angelino picked out an unmarked Haidara at the back post, who belted in a crisp, volleyed finish, the battle for the Red Devils to qualify looked almost insurmountable.

Man Utd kept coming, dominating possession and chances, but were hit on the break in the 69th minute when Kluivert slipped into the six-yard box to poke past David de Gea.

Extraordinarily, United got themselves back into the contest through a Fernandes penalty after Mason Greenwood was fouled in the area, and Pogba's header that flashed into the net via a deflection with eight minutes to play

But the Leipzig defence held off United's late charge with the Germans and PSG qualifying for the knockout stage, regardless of the result between the French and Istanbul Baseksehir, with that match suspended after claims of racism against a match official .

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hit back at Mino Raiola after his Manchester United side were dumped out of the Champions League on Tuesday.

Paul Pogba’s agent did an explosive interview with Tuttosport   on Monday declaring his client’s time at the club was over. 

Solskjaer started the midfielder on the bench  at Leipzig but insisted his decision had nothing to do with the comments from Raiola the previous day.

Pogba came off the bench and scored in the 82nd minute as United attempted a late comeback, but the Red Devils fell to a 3-2 defeat that saw them crash out of the Champions League. 

Pushed after the game on if Raiola's comments had had any impact on the team Solskjaer replied: “Squad is fine, they’re a team and they stick together. As soon as Paul’s agent realises this is a team sport and we work together the better, and that’s maybe the last thing I’ll say about that, I don’t want to spend energy on that.”

It is not the first time Raiola has been vocal about his client’s desire to leave but Solskjaer would not indicate if he had spoken to the Frenchman about the incident.

“You’ve got to ask Paul if he’s happy or not, I’m not going to speak for him,” the United manager said on BT Sport. “He’s focused on doing his best for the team when he’s here, he’s working hard in training and he just needs to focus on his performances. Now is not the time to discuss transfer targets or ins and outs of the club.”

Solskjaer lamented his side's slow start to the game at Leipzig, as United were down two goals within the first 13 minutes.

“Today we never got going and as I said before the other games we conceded the first goal, we started and played pretty well, but today we didn’t start until 2-0,” Solskjaer explained.

“That’s something we need to address even more. Of course we have addressed it and spoken about it and talked about it, especially Leipzig what they will do early on in the game, we need to manage that one and we didn’t manage it well enough definitely.”

Julian Nagelsmann has hailed his players following their Champions League win over Manchester United, saying that RB Leipzig's stars were "machines" to emerge victorious from an intense game on Tuesday.

RB Leipzig took down the Red Devils on Tuesday, emerging with a 3-2 win to continue their Champions League run.

Semi-finalists last season, Leipzig stunned Manchester United early on a goal from Angelino, who fired the German side into the lead within two minutes. 

Amadou Haidara doubled that lead in the 13th minute while Justin Kluivert made it three with a second-half finish of his own.

However, RB Leipzig were forced to hold on to that lead due to a pair of late Manchester United goals.

Bruno Fernandes gave Manchester United hope, firing from the penalty spot in the 80th minute.

And, just two minutes later, Paul Pogba netted from a set piece, although the play was reviewed by VAR before eventually being confirmed.

But hold on RB Leipzig did, leaving Nagelsmann proud of his team's strength as they sealed their spot in the knockout rounds at the expense of Manchester United.

"It was a very intense final minutes of the game," he said. "We played a good game for a long time.

"We should not concede the penalty, we have to defend it better. For me, it's not a definite penalty, but a normal duel.

"On the second goal, I also believe that Harry Maguire's hand went to the ball. I've seen four perspectives, it's hard to see, but I think it was handball and shouldn't have counted either.

"It doesn't matter now, though. We're through, the boys fought. The boys are machines, they showed that again today."

RB Leipzig currently sit third in the Bundesliga, to points behind league-leaders Bayern Munich and one point behind second-place Bayer Leverkusen.

Last season's semi-finalists will have to wait and see where they finish in their Champions League group, though, as Paris Saint-Germain's clash with Istanbul Basaksehir was pushed back to Wednesday after the Turkish side stormed off the field early in the first half, alleging that the club's assistant coach had been racially abused by the fourth official.

Harry Maguire says that Manchester United will need to look inward and take the blame for Tuesday's shocking Champions League elimination.

Needing just a point to seal their spot in the knockout rounds, Man Utd were knocked out of the competition thanks to a 3-2 loss to RB Leipzig.

The game started off on a sour note with Manchester United conceding a goal to Angelino within two minutes.

Making matters worse was a finish from Amadou Haidara 11 minutes later, while a second-half goal from Justin Kluivert seemingly sealed Man Utd's fate.

The Red Devils fought back to score two late goals via Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba, but it wasn't enough to overcome their dismal start as Manchester United slumped to third place and a spot in the Europa League last 32.

And Maguire, who was at least partially to blame for Leipzig's third goal, says Manchester United must take responsibility for their failings throughout the evening and the group stage as a whole.

"We started the game too slow. It wasn't good enough. The first 20 minutes we weren't at it. They put two balls in the box and we failed to deal with them," he told BT Sport.

"We have to look at ourselves, we gave ourselves too much to do. You've seen how close we came at the end but we started too slow and we can't keep falling behind.

"We said on Saturday at half-time, 2-0 down, the next goal is crucial and we said it again tonight. They made it 3-0 and the task becomes even bigger. The third goal proved to be the crucial one but even three down we came close at the end.

"I don't want to look at excuses. We have to go out and be aggressive, win balls. That's the basics. If you can't defend crosses you're going to lose games. I don't want to look at shape - it's not an excuse.

"It's a tough group but we felt we should get through. That's the standards of this club. I'm gutted for everyone, we worked so hard to reach this competition. No matter what group we got it would be tough. We have to do more."

Manchester United will have little time to rest as Maguire and the Red Devils must now look ahead to a Manchester derby this weekend. 

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been fined ten thousand US Dollars ($10,000) by the Confederation of African Football for publishing “offensive and degrading material” that “dents image of the African football ruling body”.

The punishment was meted out to the Arsenal star for slamming Caf after being made to feel like a “hostage”, having been forced to sleep in an airport alongside his teammates ahead the Group D Africa Cup of Nations qualifier versus Gambia.

“Mr. Pierre Emerick Emiliano Francois Aubameyang has publicly published offensive and degrading material that undermines the honour and image of the Confederation of African Football,” a statement from Caf read.

“In terms of the Caf Statutes & Regulations, in terms of Articles 10, 11, 43.1, 46, 82 of the Disciplinary Code, the Caf disciplinary board decided to impose a fine of 10,000 USD for breach of the values of sportsmanship and integrity on the Gabonese Football Federation for the regrettable behaviour of the player.”

Patrice Neveu's Gabon were billed to play the West African country in Bakau on Monday, but they arrived at the Banjul International Airport late on Sunday night.

Upon their arrival, the Panthers were delayed at the airport with reports indicating their passports were seized despite providing their coronavirus results to the immigration officers for checks.

Owing to their exasperating ordeal, the 31-year-old who was named African Player of the Year in 2015 took to Instagram in the early hours of Monday to post videos and photographs initially of his team-mates lounging around having had their passports taken from them by security.

As the hours passed, the photos started to show the majority of the squad attempting to sleep on the floor of the airport, using their luggage as pillows.

Having arrived at 23:30 local time, Aubameyang began to show his frustration after waiting for three hours, posting a video at 02:31 that was accompanied by a caption that read: "Still waiting to enter Gambia, and we play at 4 pm. Nice."

Neveu’s side lost the game 2-1 courtesy of goals from Modou Barrow and Musa Barrow at the Independence Stadium.

On a positive side, the Gabonese skipper can challenge this decision before Caf’s appeal board within the next three days.

Jorginho scored from the penalty spot as Chelsea came from behind to draw 1-1 with Krasnodar in their final match of the Champions League group stage on Tuesday.

Frank Lampard's side had already qualified for the knockout phase as winners of Group E and marginally had the better of a low-key fixture at Stamford Bridge.

Remy Cabella put Krasnodar ahead with a crisp low finish before Jorginho equalised from the penalty spot a few minutes later.

Tammy Abraham twice went close for Chelsea in open play but despite his tireless efforts up front the Blues could not find a winner.

Krasnodar began brightly with Tonny Vilhena's swerving half-volley whistling just over the crossbar and Viktor Claesson striking a shot just past the post from a good position.

The visitors deservedly took the lead after some slick build-up play which culminated in Cristian Ramirez's cutback for Claesson, who fed it to Cabella and the former Newcastle United man arrowed it into the bottom-left corner.

Chelsea got themselves back on terms shortly afterwards when Abraham was impeded by Brazilian defender Kaio as he attempted to turn inside the penalty area.

Jorginho placed the penalty into the corner of the net, deceiving Krasnodar goalkeeper Evgeni Gorodov with his trademark hop-then-shoot spot-kick style.

The penalty was Chelsea's 10th in all competitions this season, which is more than any other Premier League side, having successfully converted eight of them (level with Leicester City and Manchester United).

Abraham skipped clear of the Krasnodar defence just before the half-hour after being found by Kai Havertz, but he could only strike his shot wide of the post.

Chelsea looked the more threatening after half-time as Lampard's side played with greater tempo, although it did not translate to clear goalscoring chances.

Abraham pinched the ball off Ramirez inside the box but Gorodov improvised with his heel to keep out the Chelsea striker's low shot.

Timo Werner upped the energy levels when he came on as a 74th-minute substitute for the ineffectual Havertz, and the German struck a low angled shot just beyond the far post.

But that was as close as Chelsea went in the closing stages as the match petered out.

What does it mean? Chelsea miss out on CL landmark

Victory for Chelsea would have given them their highest ever points total in a single Champions League group stage (16), but they fell short of the milestone.

Lampard also gave some of his squad players a run out as he made 10 changes from Saturday's win over Leeds United, but only a few of his second-string players caught the eye during a subdued game with nothing at stake.

Energy and ambition from Abraham

The striker has had fewer opportunities since Chelsea splashed the cash on expensive attacking options in the last transfer window, but Abraham rolled his sleeves up and put himself about against the Russian outfit.

Abraham attempted five shots – more than any other player on the pitch – and had 10 touches inside the box as he held the ball up, tried to provide a goalscoring threat and won the penalty for Chelsea's equaliser.

No clean sheet for Kepa

Kepa Arrizabalaga, the world's most expensive goalkeeper, made his first Champions League start of the season having lost the number spot to Edouard Mendy following his arrival in September.

There was little he could have done for Krasnodar's goal, and he was generally solid, but with seven goals conceded in four appearances this term he has still let in as many as Mendy and Willy Caballero have in 15 matches combined for the Blues.

Key Opta Facts

- Chelsea are unbeaten in six Champions League games (W4 D2), their longest run without defeat in the competition since September 2015 (9, W5 D4).
- Krasnodar have suffered just one defeat in their past four European games on the road (W1 D2), after losing three of the four before that (W1).
- Chelsea finished the group stage with a haul of 14 points, their highest tally at this stage of the competition since 2014-15 (14).
- Faustino Anjorin is the ninth youngest player to debut for Chelsea in the Champions League (19y 15d) and the youngest since Callum Hudson-Odoi in October 2019 (18y 329d).
- Cabella netted his first goal in the Champions League in his ninth appearance in the competition.

What's next?

Chelsea come up against former manager Carlo Ancelotti on Saturday when they face Everton at Goodison Park. Krasnodar host Lokomotiv Moscow in the Russian Premier League on Sunday.

Cristiano Ronaldo picked up right where he left off at the Camp Nou on Tuesday as he terrorized Barcelona once again at their home stadium.

Ronaldo made his long-awaited return to the stadium on Tuesday as he faced Barcelona for the first time since leaving Real Madrid in 2018.

During his time in La Liga, Ronaldo proved one of Barcelona's all-time great rivals as the Portuguese's Real Madrid frequently did battle with Lionel Messi's Barcelona.

That historic rivalry moved into another chapter when Ronaldo opted to head to Juventus, but the Portuguese star showed just how little has changed with a vintage performance on Tuesday.

Ronaldo fired two goals in what ended as a lopsided 3-0 Juventus win as he was joined by Weston McKennie on the scoresheet.

The former Real Madrid star's first came in the 13th minute came via a penalty while his second, which was scored in the 52nd minute, was also fired from the spot.

With the goals, Ronaldo has scored 14 goals at the Camp Nou in all competitions, more than at any other away stadium in his club career - while the double also put him past the 650 mark overall.

Additionally, Ronaldo became the first player in the history of the Champions League to convert twice from the spot at Barcelona's home ground.

In terms of their Champions League standing, Tuesday's loss harmed Barcelona, who finished second in the group with Juventus finishing top.

The two giants finished level on 15 points, having only lost to one another throughout this group stage run.

However, Juventus have gone top on head-to-head results, despite their 2-0 loss to Barca in their first clash.

Both will move on to the knockout stages, although Barca will do so on the heels of a historic loss, which saw them concede two goals in the first 20 minutes of a Champions League home game for the first time ever.

With Tuesday's result, Juventus became the first Italian side ever to score at least three goals at the Camp Nou in UEFA competition.

Next up for Juventus is a visit to Genoa on Sunday while Barcelona will now look ahead to their match against Levante at the Camp Nou.

RB Leipzig held off a dramatic late fightback from Manchester United at the Red Bull Arena to win 3-2 and qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League at their opponents' expense.

United won the reverse fixture 5-0 in October and only needed a point on Tuesday to advance from a tight Group H but found themselves two goals down inside 13 minutes.

Manchester City loanee Angelino fired in an early opener for Leipzig and then set up Amadou Haidara as the hosts took apart United's five-man defence with ease.

Justin Kluivert added a third but Bruno Fernandes' penalty and substitute Paul Pogba's header 135 seconds later gave the visitors hope.

But last season's semi-finalists Leipzig held on to move a point above their opponents and progress, with Paris Saint-Germain – whose game with Istanbul Basaksehir was halted due to allegations of racist remarks by the fourth official – also now set to qualify.

Leipzig were ahead inside 109 seconds – the earliest goal United have conceded in the competition in over eight years – as Marcel Sabitzer's cross went right the way through for Angelino to drill past returning keeper David de Gea.

United have made a habit of recovering from a goal behind in domestic away matches but they were two down 11 minutes later, Angelino this time turning provider by picking out Haidara at the back post to thump in first time.

Only once before, against Juventus in the semi-finals in 1998-99, had United trailed by two goals earlier in a Champions League game and they were fortunate a third did not follow before half-time.

Emil Forsberg fired wide from a glorious position shortly before Willi Orban had a goal chalked off by VAR, the defender clearly offside when poking the ball over the line after Ibrahima Konate's header came back off the post.

It took until the 66th minute for United to test opposition keeper Peter Gulacsi for just a second time, with Fernandes' dipping shot being turned away.

Fernandes went even closer with a free-kick that crashed back off the crossbar, 62 seconds before Kluivert profited from some hesitant Harry Maguire defending to beat De Gea with a clipped finish.

Gulacsi again had to be alert to deny Scott McTominay but Fernandes did find a way past the Hungary keeper from the penalty spot following Konate's challenge on Mason Greenwood.

Pogba, left out of the line-up a day after his agent reiterated the midfielder wants to leave United, headed the ball in off Maguire to set up a tense finale but there was to be no dramatic equaliser.

What does it mean? United crash out after dominant start

United were in control of Group H after beating PSG away and thumping Leipzig at home in their opening two games, only to then lose three of their final four matches, including a shambolic loss away to Istanbul Basaksehir that now looks even more costly.

Leipzig were picked apart by United six weeks ago but it was roles reversed here, the German side's three shots on target in the first 13 minutes more than they managed in the whole game at Old Trafford.

Julian Nagelsmann's men were a lot more reserved in a second period that saw them have just 38 per cent of the ball and their tactic of sitting back almost proved costly. But it is they who will be playing Champions League football post-Christmas, with United in the Europa League again.

Angelino inspires Leipzig

If being knocked out of the Champions League in the group stage was not painful enough for United, the fact the Leipzig win was inspired by an on-loan Man City player will surely hurt even more.

The wing-back had 74 touches of the ball in his 87 minutes on the pitch – only Nordi Mukiele (75) had more among Leipzig players – and he has now had a hand in six goals in six appearances in this season's competition.

United's tactics exposed

Solskjaer made a big call going with wing-backs and the gamble could scarcely have gone worse. Luke Shaw in particular was caught out for Leipzig's first two goals, seemingly not knowing who to pick up.

Shaw gave the ball away 16 times, second only to playmaker Fernandes (29) among visiting players, as his 150th appearance for United ended in a defeat that will see the pressure increase on manager Solskjaer.

What's next?

United have four days to pick themselves up from this defeat before taking on rivals Manchester City in the Premier League. Leipzig, who can look forward to next Monday's last-16 draw in Nyon, face Werder Bremen on their return to Bundesliga action on Saturday.

Cristiano Ronaldo's first Champions League goals against Barcelona helped Juventus to a stunning 3-0 away win to top Group G.

The Bianconeri had lost 2-0 in Turin in the reverse fixture as an absent Ronaldo recovered from coronavirus, meaning they would have to improbably better that result at Camp Nou to leapfrog their hosts.

But Barca's recent defensive woes continued on Tuesday and two Ronaldo penalties - one contentious, the other routine - and a Weston McKennie volley carried Juve to a deserved victory.

Ronaldo had not previously netted in five European matches against the Blaugrana yet delighted in piling further pressure on under-fire home coach Ronald Koeman, whose side are ninth in LaLiga.

The Portuguese - meeting Lionel Messi for the first time as a Juve player - stuck to the script as he made the most of a generous early penalty award after Ronald Araujo appeared to get his body between man and ball in the box, dispatching his spot-kick down the centre of the goal.

It was two after just 20 minutes - the earliest Barca have ever conceded twice in a home Champions League game - with the defence this time afforded no excuse.

McKennie moved the ball wide to Juan Cuadrado and was allowed to meet the subsequent cross completely unimpeded with a close-range scissor kick.

Half-time then disrupted an improving home display and Barca were dealt a further blow five minutes after the restart as Clement Lenglet was deemed to have handled, following a VAR check, and Ronaldo was again clinical from 12 yards.

Messi's free-kick was nodded onto the top of the crossbar by Antoine Griezmann, who was denied a penalty due to offside as pressure again built on the Juve goal and Matthijs de Ligt dived in rashly.

A VAR call belatedly went Barca's way when Ronaldo bundled the ball onto an offside Leonardo Bonucci, seeing a fourth goal struck off, but it did not impact an eye-catching result.
 

What does it mean? LaLiga troubles translate

This was a standout win for Juventus, who are the first Italian team to score three times away from home against Barcelona, but the undoubted story was the continuation of the Blaugrana's problems.

Such issues had previously been restricted to the league - they could have become just the eighth team ever to win all six Champions League group games on Tuesday - yet this result undid their earlier impressive work in Europe.

A tricky last-16 draw is not what Koeman needs right now, although recent performances would suggest he will do well to make it that far.

Juve front two terrific

There are unlikely to be many more Messi v Ronaldo meetings, and CR7 was determined to steal the show, scoring with two of his three shots - all of which hit the target - as well as teeing up a further chance.

But strike partner Alvaro Morata was similarly impressive, providing a nuisance factor up front. The number nine contested a joint-team-high 13 duels and won three fouls.

Meanwhile, Messi had 11 shots without scoring.

Defensive difficulties

Barca's league defeats have come courtesy of defensive errors, with Lenglet the latest to fall foul of such a mistake in last weekend's defeat to Cadiz as he committed his first error leading to a goal in LaLiga since swapping Sevilla for Camp Nou.

Individual mistakes were the least of the hosts' concerns at the back this time, though, with the whole defence all over the place. Both Lenglet and Araujo were out of position for the second, while a lack of discipline was evidenced by Jordi Alba's booking for dissent.

Key Opta Facts

- Juventus have won 10 of their last 11 Champions League group stage games, while only Chelsea (10) have scored more away goals in the competition this season than the Old Lady (9).

- This is the first time Barcelona failed to top their Champions League group since the 2006-07 campaign, when they were eliminated in the round of 16 by Liverpool.

- This was just the fifth time Barcelona had conceded three or more goals in a Champions League home game – the first since May 2013 (0-3 vs Bayern Munich) and the first in the group stage since December 2008 (2-3 vs Shakhtar Donetsk).

- Messi had all seven of Barcelona's shots on target in this match – since 2003-04, it's the most shots on target a player has had in a single Champions League match without scoring. His 11 shots in total was his most in a game without scoring in the competition.

- In his club career, Ronaldo has scored more away goals against Barcelona than he has vs any other opponent (14).

- Buffon has now played in 17 different seasons of the Champions League, with only Iker Casillas (20), Ryan Giggs (19) and Cristiano Ronaldo (18) appearing in more.

What's next?

Barca host Levante in LaLiga on Sunday as they aim to belatedly get their campaign up and running. Juve also have work to do in Serie A as they visit Genoa earlier the same day.

Paris Saint Germain's final Champions League group game was suspended on Tuesday when both they and Istanbul Basaksehir walked off the pitch in protest at alleged racial abuse directed at a member of the Turkish side's coaching staff. 

The match was thrown into turmoil after the first-half incident, with Basaksehir walking off the pitch first and then followed in solidarity by PSG.

What did the referee say?

Assistant coach Pierre Webo claimed that the fourth official addressed him with a racist slur during the first half of the Group H game, played in tandem with Manchester United's clash against RB Leipzig. 

Webo was additionally sent from the field after his exchange with the referee in the 13th minute, to the disbelief of the Basaksehir squad. 

What did Demba Ba say?

Demba Ba, the veteran ex-Chelsea and Newcastle United striker, was among the visiting players who remonstrated with officials over their treatment of the Cameroonian. 

“You never say, ‘This white guy’, you say, ‘This guy’," the 35-year-old was heard on camera as saying following Webo's expulsion.

"So why when you mention… listen to me… so why when you mention a black guy [do] you have to say, ‘This black guy’?”

Why did the players walk off?

The match was halted as Basaksehir continued to protest the decision, and 10 minutes later the Turkish side opted to leave the field in order to register their disgust at the officials' behaviour. 

PSG in turn decided to support their opponents' stance and returned to the dressing rooms too, leaving the Parc des Princes deserted. 

Presnel Kimpembe was also overheard exclaiming, “What? What? Is he serious?" in reference to the official's actions.

“We are heading in. That is it, we are heading in.”

Kimpembe would later post a picture on Twitter saying: "No to racism."

PSG star Kylian Mbappe also chimed in on Twitter, saying: "SAY NO TO RACISM. M.WEBO WE ARE WITH YOU"

When did the match restart?

UEFA initially attempted to restart the match at 10pm CET (9pm GMT), with PSG's players warming up in the entrance to the pitch tunnel in anticipation. 

The VAR official had been slated to take over fourth-official duties, with the fourth official moved into the video room. 

Basaksehir, however, were unhappy with that decision and insisted he be removed from officiating responsibilities altogether before the match could continue. 

The match was eventually postponed, set to resume with new officials on Wednesday at 6:55pm local time from the 14th minute, with the score at 0-0.

Speaking on RMC, ex-Manchester United striker Louis Saha slammed UEFA's apparent "ultimatum" to the away side. 

"What upsets me that the players are the [only] ones to take a stand. UEFA didn’t," he fired. 

"Now UEFA are making ultimatums about restarting the match ... it’s like they’re in denial ... there’s no sign they are ever going to take this problem seriously."

Club Brugge have been knocked out of the 2020-21 Champions League following Tuesday’s 2-2 draw with Lazio.

Heading into Group F’s last game, Philippe Clement’s men were ranked third on the log – needing a win to scale through.

Against the Eagles, the Belgians who played a man less for most of the game following the dismissal of Eduard Sobol in the first-half showed character, yet they could not progress past the group phase.

Lazio took the lead in the 12th minute after Joaquin Correa scored from close range after goalkeeper Simon Mignolet parried Luis Alberto’s strike into his path.

Brugge equalised three minutes later courtesy of Ruud Vormer who punished goalkeeper Pepe Reina for fumbling a tame short from Noa Lang.

In a goal-laden first-half, Ciro Immobile put the hosts ahead in the 27th minute – converting from the penalty spot following Clinton Mata’s awkward challenge on Immobile inside the goal area.

Things got worse for the visitors in the 39th minute after Sobol was given his marching orders by the referee for a second bookable offence.

The Belgian top-flight outfit came out stronger in the second half but they could not find their bearings in the final third.

Nonetheless, the moment of redemption came in the 76th minute as Hans Vanaken headed Vormer’s cross past Reina.

Despite a late rally from Clement’s team in search of the winner, the game ended on a no winner, no vanquished note which saw them crash out of the championship early, although their consolation will be a place in the Europa League.

Cote d'Ivoire midfielder Jean-Daniel Akpa-Akpro played for 15 minutes after replacing Luis Alberto in the 75th minute, while Morocco's Sofian Kiyine was an unused substitute.

For Club Brugge, Cote d’Ivoire’s Odilon Kossounou was on parade from start to finish while Angola’s Mata and Senegal’s Krepin Diatta came off for Ignace Van Der Brempt  and David Okereke respectively with six minutes left to play as Nigeria’s Emmanuel Dennis was an unused substitute.

Unbeaten in their last four games across all competitions, Brugge travel to the Bosuilstadion for Sunday’s clash with Royal Antwerp.

Mabel Okoye continued her goalscoring form as she inspired Madrid CFF to a 3-0 victory over Kholosa Biyana's Sporting Gijon in Tuesday's rescheduled Spanish Reto Iberdrola game.

The Nigerian-born Spanish youngster had opened her goal account in her side's 2-0 win over Pozuelo Alarcon on November 21 and went on to lead her side to a third win of the season, at home.

On the other hand, South Africa midfielder Biyana was handed her fifth appearance as Sporting Gijon eyed a first win of the season following a fourth consecutive draw at Pozuelo Alarcon.

The hosts went into the tie on the heels of a recent 1-1 draw at Friol as they aimed to return to winning ways, and the 19-year-old striker provided the opening goal of the match after 20 minutes.

After the restart, Victor Manuel's ladies built on their impressive start as Irene Osorio Bosqued beat goalkeeper Oihana Aldai Aranzabal to double the lead in the 52nd minute.

Hopes for a comeback were dashed when the hosts won a penalty inside the visitors' box and Paula made no mistake to guarantee the victory in the 66th minute by converting from the spot.

Okoye featured for the duration of the match and has now scored two goals in six matches this season for Madrid CFF.

On the other hand, South Africa's Biyana played from the start to the finish but could not rescue Sporting from a first defeat this term.

The result means Tenerife moved to the top of the log with 11 points from six matches on superior goals despite being tied with Atletico Madrid.

Leaders Madrid will hope to maintain their winning form against Parquesol on Sunday, while seventh-placed Sporting will welcome sixth-placed Friol on the same day.

Former Australia and Everton attacker Tim Cahill has expressed how the 2010 World Cup in South Africa holds a special place in his heart.

The first World Cup held in Africa, the gathering churned out one month of exciting football, with Spain beating the Netherlands in a thrilling final in front of 84,490 fans in Johannesburg.

The Aussies, though, did not have the best of tournaments as they suffered first round elimination after a mixed bag of results, including a 1-1 matchday two draw with Ghana.

"During my playing career, I was lucky enough to represent Australia at four World Cups. Each tournament was special in its own way, but I’ll never forget South Africa in 2010," Cahill, an ambassador for the 2022 World Cup, recounted in a personal feature looking ahead to the next tournament in Qatar.

"Football is a truly global sport and as a player it was always inspiring to see the passion of the fans in different parts of the world."

The Socceroos opened the competition with a disappointing heavy 4-0 loss to Germany.

In the final group game, Cahill was on the score sheet as his side registered a 2-1 triumph over Serbia but the win was not enough to secure a passage to the next round.

"On the pitch, the tournament didn’t go exactly as we wanted as we didn’t progress past the group stage and I was sent off against Germany in the opening game, but on a personal note I was proud to score a header against Serbia in a 2-1 victory in our last group match," said the 41-year-old.

"Off the pitch, the tournament was massively exciting as it was the first World Cup held in Africa and an incredible opportunity to play in a new part of the world.

"Before we went to South Africa in 2010 there was a lot of talk about security and how it was a risk but for me and my family it was one of the best World Cups because of the warmth of the people and the amazing opportunities to enjoy new experiences away from the pitch, such as visiting the safari parks.

"It was an incredible celebration of football and set an important precedent for the future of the competition by hosting it in a new territory."

Cahill, who also featured at the 2006, 2014 and 2018 World Cup tournaments, made over 100 appearances and scored about 50 goals for Australia. 

Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha has been named in Premier League Team of the Week.

The Ivory Coast international delivered an impressive performance against West Bromwich Albion to help his side secure a 5-1 victory on Sunday.

The 28-year-old scored twice to inspire Palace to their fifth victory of the season which saw them move to 11th spot on the league table.

The forward has been rewarded for his eye-catching display in the encounter, having been included among the best performing players in the English top-flight in the week under review.

Newcastle United legend and anchor of the programme Alan Shearer also picked Zaha’s teammate Christian Benteke in the star-studded team, which also included Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Eric Dier and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.

Also in the list is Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope, Liverpool’s Fabinho, Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes, Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne and Chelsea’s Reece James.

Zaha has been a consistent performer for Crystal Palace over the years, helping them to maintain their Premier League status.

The forward has featured in more than 195 appearances across all competitions for Palace, scoring 42 goals, amid other dazzling displays.

In the current campaign, the winger has bagged seven goals and provided two assists in only nine Premier League games.

His consistent form has caught the attention of Palace’s English top-flight rivals but the Eagles have managed to tie down their influential forward.

Zaha will hope to continue his blistering performances for Roy Hodgson’s men when they take on Tottenham Hotspur on December 13.

Paul Pogba was dropped from the Manchester United starting line-up for Tuesday's crucial Champions League clash with RB Leipzig.

The midfielder started the 3-1 Premier League win at West Ham on Saturday, scoring his side's first goal as they came from behind to take all three points at London Stadium.

However, Pogba was left out of the team for the trip to the Bundesliga side just a day after his agent, Mino Raiola, claimed he is unhappy at Manchester United and should be sold in the next transfer window.

"I can say that it’s over for Paul Pogba at Manchester United," Raiola told Tuttosport.

He added: "Paul is unhappy with Man United as he is no longer able to express himself in the way that he would like and as he is expected to. Paul needs a new team, a change of air.

"He is under contract for the next 18 months and it will expire in the summer of 2022."

Ahead of Tuesday's match, Solskjaer said that Pogba's exclusion was tactical, saying he simply preferred Scott McTominay and Nemanja Matic.

“Nothing," he told BT Sport when asked what Raiola's impact was. "You prepare for a game as if it's your last one – we have Man City on Saturday but we are focused on this one. The preparation is good.

“My decision is tactical. We made a team decision way before this game as we decided to play Scott and Nemanja in midfield.”

The outspoken Raiola added that Pogba could return to Juventus, having left the Italian club to head back to Manchester United in 2016 for what was then a world-record transfer fee of £89 million ($119m).

Pogba has also been linked with Real Madrid, having said several times in recent years that he could see himself playing for the Spanish giants.

The France international, whose season has been impacted by injury and struggles with coronavirus, has made 13 appearances in all competitions in 2020-21.

Pogba was one of five changes made by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer from the win at West Ham, with David de Gea and Luke Shaw returning from injury to feature, the latter set to make his 150th appearance for the club.

Nemanja Matic, Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford were also recalled to the starting XI.

United need a draw to guarantee their place in the last 16, while Leipzig need a win to progress.