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Barcelona presidential candidate Jordi Farre has claimed that Lionel Messi wants to stay at the club and that, should he win the elections, the Argentine will sign a new contract.

The 33-year-old's current deal at Camp Nou ends in 2021, with Messi having exclusively revealed to Goal that Barca had previously blocked a move away from the club.

Messi, who has been strongly linked with a move to Manchester City, will be able to discuss a free-transfer switch to a foreign club when the January transfer window opens although Farre is convinced that he wants to stay.

He told Onda Cero: "Messi wants to stay at Barca. That’s what I know. His family wants to stay at Barcelona and we’re going to work for it.

"I would go as far to say that if we win the elections, Messi will renew his deal. His renewal would be incurred automatically on January 25 if I win the elections the day previous."

Farre also gave his thoughts on the possible signing of Neymar and suggested that he would seek to bring back the Paris Saint-Germain striker, who departed the club in 2017, should he be elected.

While the Catalans have been crippled by financial pressures that have seen them slash their wage bill by close to 50 per cent, Farre believes that a deal can be worked out for the Brazilian.

"Neymar’s signing will be cheap because the investment will be greater than the outlay," he added.

The subject of Neymar’s future has grown increasingly important in Barcelona after he stated that he has a burning desire to play alongside Messi once again, having previously done so during his time at Camp Nou.

The comments subsequently sparked rumours that Messi may move to PSG in the summer, with Brazil international Neymar revealing on Wednesday that he was happy in Paris.

Farre, meanwhile, is one of the outside candidates to win the presidential elections at Barca.

There are five men up for the role, including Joan Laporta, who has held the position between 2003 and 2010.

The other candidates are Victor Font, another one of the front runners, as well as Lluis Fernandez and Agusti Benedito.

Simba SC coach Sven Vandenbroeck is satisfied with the 2-0 win his team managed to get in the Tanzania Mainland League game against Ruvu Shooting on Wednesday.

The champions were not involved last weekend as they were featuring in the Caf Champions League, and they came into the league match having won the last one 7-0 against Coastal Union. 

It was Zambian midfielder Clatous Chama who sealed the points for Simba, as he notched a double after coming on as a second-half substitute. 

The Belgian tactician concedes it was not an easy outing considering the defensive discipline of the administrative side.

"In general we possessed the ball and dominated the proceedings and at the end, we managed to win a tough game," Vandenbroeck told reporters after the game.

"If you look at Polisi, they have not conceded many goals but we have managed to score two and create many scoring opportunities as well. I am satisfied with the general performance of every player involved."

Meanwhile Ruvu Shooting captain Pato Ngonyani has explained what might have contributed to their loss. He has further conceded the quality of Wekundu wa Msimbazi is good and that they lost to the best team.

"The main problem was concentration lapses, we lost concentration and were punished," the skipper told reporters.

"But we all know Simba is a team with undoubted quality and we respect them. We have lost against the best team. It is a fact that cannot be changed, they are a good team."

After shaking off an injury sustained in Nigeria during their Champions League match against Plateau United, Kenya defender Joash Onyango was drafted back into the Simba squad alongside midfielder Francis Kahata, who has been warming the bench for the better part of this campaign.

With striker John Bocco dropping into the bench, Ivorian defender Pascal Wawa was given the armband to lead the side while Rwandan star Meddie Kagere also picked a rare start after recovering from injury.

Simba knew very well a win will keep them in touch with rivals Young Africans (Yanga SC) at the top of the 18-team league table and they started the match on a high note with Kagere forcing the Polisi keeper with a nice save from a well-taken header.

However, they were forced to wait until the 64th minute when midfielder of the year Chama came on after replacing Yassin Mzamiru, and with his first touch of the ball, he side-stepped the Polisi defenders to slice the ball home for the opening goal.

Chama was at it again with 90 minutes on the clock when he sealed the points for Simba with a sublime finish from outside the box.

From 108th in December 2019, the Indian national team are ranked 104th in the latest release of the FIFA Rankings, on Thursday.

India stayed put at 108th in the world throughout the Coronavirus pandemic period with the exception of dropping by a spot in the September edition of the rankings, only to regain a place in the subsequent month before gaining four spots in November 2020.

Stimac's men were to host Qatar in March 2020 before facing Bangladesh and Afghanistan in the remainder of their 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup joint qualification matches from Group E. However, amid the Coronavirus pandemic the fixtures, after initially being postponed to October, now are set to take place in March and June 2021.

Qatar are currently ranked 56th (three spots up), Bangladesh at 186th (two spots down), while Afghanistan (150) remain unmoved. 

India are set to host Qatar in March and Afghanistan in June. They will also have to play Bangladesh away from home in June next year. 

Globally, Belgium lead the rankings for the third year in a row, and are followed by France, Brazil, England, Portugal and Spain - in that order. Argentina, Uruguay, Mexico and Italy consistute the top 10 spots.

Simba SC captain John Bocco has dismissed reports there is bad blood between him and Meddie Kagere.

Bocco has hit out to unnamed individuals who he claims are just coming up with stories which are entirely misleading about his relationship with the strike partner.

During their match against Polisi Tanzania, coach Sven Vandenbroeck chose to start with Kagere as Bocco was benched. The Tanzanian, who has scored seven goals so far, had been the most preferred striker although Kagere had been sidelined with an injury in the recent past.

“I have no problem with [Meddie] Kagere at all. We are very okay,” Bocco said in an Instagram post . “What people have been saying is just about what they feel and that is how they go about trying to get news.

“That is how they end up making up news that does not have either the head or the legs. I have no problem with Kagere and he has no problem with me. We do not have any issue within our team at all.”

When the season began there was speculation Kagere and coach Vandenbroeck were not seeing eye to eye but the club’s spokesperson Haji Manara denied such rumours and insisted the Rwandan, alongside Clatous Chama who had been linked with Yanga SC, were not going to leave the club.

“A lot has been discussed regarding the situation of Kagere and Chama at Simba,” Manara said in an earlier interview .

“The good thing is that the two players have shown a keen interest to continue playing for Simba, they want to stay and we are ready to keep them, we want them to stay beyond the coming two seasons.”

Manara continued: “We want to have a good squad, we want to keep our squad intact and we don’t want to lose our key players, so I want to assure our fans that no player will leave the club unless the club wants the player to leave.”

Chama, Kagere and Bocco have been key players for Wekundu wa Msimbazi as they have dominated the local scene in the last three seasons and are expected to play huge roles in the ongoing campaign both in domestic and continental duties.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s sister Elma Aveiro has posted a picture of Lionel Messi worshipping her brother following Juventus’ 3-0 win over Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Ronaldo scored twice from the penalty spot in that encounter to help the Turin side to an emphatic victory that saw them overhaul Barcelona at the top of the standings and qualify in first place.

The Portuguese subsequently claimed that he has never seen the Argentine as a rival, but his sibling clearly does as she took to her social channels to praise her brother.

"My king. The best ever. The pride of my life," she posted, alongside a picture of Messi bowing at the feet of the Juve ace.

The rivalry between Messi and Ronaldo peaked when the pair were playing for Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively.

They have dominated the world game for over a decade, with Ronaldo having claimed five Ballons d’Or in comparison to Messi’s six.

The Portuguese, however, has the edge in terms of Champions League titles won, having won five, including a quartet at the Santiago Bernabeu, compared to Messi’s four.

Ronaldo has also enjoyed greater success on the international stage, having famously led Portugal to the European Championship title in France back in 2016. Messi has not won a major crown with Argentina.

Tuesday’s match at Camp Nou was the first time that the pair had taken to the field together since Ronaldo left Spain in the summer of 2018.

Barca’s fortunes have plunged since that time, with Ronald Koeman’s side struggling in the middle part of the Liga table and suffering from financial difficulties.

While Ronaldo remains settled at Juventus, Messi’s future at Barcelona appears far less certain. The Argentine’s contract is up at the end of the season and the presidential election in January could be pivotal in terms of his next move.

Manchester City have been linked with the player as a potential reunion with Pep Guardiola is touted.

Neymar, however, has said that he wants to team up with Messi again next season, which has sparked speculation that the Barca star could make a free move to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer months.

Ghana ends the year 2020 as the 52nd best men's national football team in the world, according to the latest Fifa Rankings.

Released on Thursday on Fifa's official website, the new table sees the Black Stars, sandwiched between Greece (51) and Costa Rica (53), locked on their position from last month, also with no change in the total accumulated points.

The lack of movement, which was generally the case of all other nations on the ranking, is a result of the team's activity since the last ranking was announced in November.

Ghana produced a mixed bag of results in their last set of international assignments, beating Sudan 1-0 in the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier in Cape Coast courtesy of an Andre Ayew double but fell 1-0 away in the reverse fixture in Omdurman as Mohamed Abdelrahman struck late to win all three points for his side.

The scores saw the CK Akonnor's side drop down by four places on the November edition of the rankings.

At continental level, Ghana still hold eighth position, just above Mali (57) and Burkina Faso (58) in Africa's Top 10. Senegal (20) continue to lead the pack, followed by Tunisia (26), Algeria (31), Morocco (35), Nigeria (35), Egypt (49) and Cameroon (50).

The mixed results against Sudan also saw Ghana move from sixth to eighth on the continent in the November ranking.

Back on the world table, there was no change among the top 57 countries due to the only two recognised international matches played across the globe since the last update.

Belgium are still top of the table, their third straight time of finishing the year as leaders, while France, Brazil, England and Portugal hold the second, third, fourth and fifth positions respectively. Spain, Argentina, Uruguay, Mexico and Italy, in that order, sit sixth to tenth.

Ghana returns to action on March 2021 with an Afcon 2022 qualifying double-header against South Africa (away) and Sao Tome and Principe (home) to conclude the series. The 2022 World Cup qualifiers will then take centre stage for the rest of the year.

According to Fifa, the next edition of the world rankings will be announced on February 18, 2021.

Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinze Rummenigge has praised the contribution of striker Robert Lewandowski to his team over the past year, saying the club do not need to consider signing Erling Haaland from rivals Borussia Dortmund while they already have the deadliest No.9 in world football.

The Poland international striker scored 55 times in 47 matches last season as Bayern dominated both the domestic and European scene. He has continued that remarkable form into the 2020-21 campaign, with 15 goals coming in 15 games plus five assists.

His efforts have led Bayern to a succession of titles, including the Champions League, which was sealed with a 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain.

Haaland, meanwhile, has burst onto the scene as another of Europe's top attacking talents, first with Red Bull Salzburg and then with Dortmund in the Bundesliga and Champions League.

It is likely that Haaland will eventually leave Dortmund at some point in his career and while Rummenigge is a big admirer of the young Norwegian, he says the presence of their Polish front man means they won't be in the market for the 20-year-old just yet.

Rummenigge told Tuttosport of Lewandowski: "We don’t need Haaland as we have Lewandowski, but he’s an animal, he’s scoring a lot of goals, he deserves the Golden Boy [award]."

Lewandowski joined Bayern in 2014 from Dortmund and has since established himself as a club legend by scoring 261 times in 304 games for the Allianz Arena club.

Rummenigge is worried the coronavirus crisis, which caused the cancellation of the Ballon d’Or this year, will overshadow the forward’s achievements.

"Robert was the best of them all in 2020," he said. "He scored a lot of goals and won five trophies. It was really impossible to do better than him.

"I called Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, and point out that it’s not nice that in 2020, without the Ballon d’Or, there will be a hole in the roll of honour for the best player in the world.

"The most important leagues, despite the coronavirus, have come to an end and the strongest players have made a difference even during the time of Covid-19. Lewandowski most of all."

Rummenigge also moved to play down suggestions that Juventus forward Paulo Dybala is another target to strengthen Bayern's attacking options.

He said: "We’ve never opened talks with Dybala’s agent. I’ve heard some rumours but it’s false. We’re not working to sign Dybala from Juventus."

Bayern remain the team to beat as 2020 draws to a close. They are top of the Bundesliga, having suffered a single defeat in their first 10 matches of the season, while they cruised through in the Champions League, sealing top spot in their group after just four matches.

The 2020-21 Champions League group stage has concluded, paving the way for the highly-anticipated knockout round to take place in a few months.

This year's Champions League group stage saw some mouth-watering ties, with Barcelona facing off against Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain clashing with Manchester United.

Some sides confirmed their spots in the Champions League last 16 early, while others needed results on the last day of group fixtures to seal their fate.

With the draw for the last 16 round nearing, Goal rounds up everything you need to know about when the draw takes place, how to watch it, which teams are involved and more.

Contents

When is the draw for the Champions League last 16?

The draw for the 2020-21 Champions League knockout phase will take place on Monday December 14, 2020 at 11am GMT / 6am ET.

It will be held at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

Group winners will be seeded and the runners-up will be unseeded.

Teams from the same group cannot be drawn against each other, while clubs from the same national association (such as the Premier League or La Liga) cannot be drawn against one another.

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How can I watch the Champions League last-16 draw in UK & US?

The draw for the Champions League last 16 will be livestreamed online for free on UEFA's official website.

You can also follow the draw livestream taking place on Goal or follow Goal's official Twitter pages for all comprehensive updates.

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When will the Champions League last-16 games take place?

The last 16 round will take place over two legs, with the first legs played February 16 & 17 and the second legs played on March 9 & 10, 2021.

Which teams have qualified for the Champions League last 16?

The likes of Bayern, Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea all qualified relatively early as their respective group winners.

They have been joined as by Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain, who all won their groups.

Barcelona finished second to Juve in group G, while Atletico Madrid took the runners-up spot in group A behind Bayern. Borussia Monchengladbach, Porto, Atalanta, Sevilla, Lazio and RB Leipzig are the other qualified teams.

In terms of representation, the 16 teams hail from England, Spain, Germany, Italy, France and Portugal. There are three Premier League clubs, four from the Bundesliga, four from La Liga, three from Serie A, one from Ligue 1 and one from Primeira Liga.

Group winners will be seeded, while runners-up will be unseeded.

There were some shock eliminations from the competition, including Manchester United, who finished third in Group H and will now enter the Europa League. Antonio Conte's Inter finished bottom of their group, with Shakhtar Donetsk progressing to the Europa League instead.

Nigeria’s senior national team has ended 2020 as the 35th best football playing country in the world.

Gernot Rohr’s Super Eagles remain unmoved in December’s ranking released by Fifa on Thursday morning.

The three-time garnered a total of 1474 points to stay as the fifth-best team in Africa behind Senegal, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.

In a year inundated by the coronavirus pandemic which crippled football-related activities global, Nigeria played four games. Their first match of 2020 ended on a 1-0 defeat to Algeria in an international friendly. This was followed up with a 1-1 draw against Tunisia in another international warm-up game staged at the Jacques Lemans Arena, Austria.

Nigeria’s double-header Africa Cup of Nations qualifier versus Sierra Leone ended 4-4 and 0-0 respectively.

Senegal are ranked first in the continent and 20th in the world with 1558 points, while the Carthage Eagles are 26th in the world and second in Africa after amassing 1503 points.

Belgium claimed the team of the year for the third consecutive time having won six of their eight matches played in 2020.

Their three immediate chasers – France (2nd), Brazil (3rd) and England (4th) – retain their respective rankings. The only change in the top five compared to 2019 is the appearance of Portugal in fifth place.

The team with the most progress in 2020 were Hungary (40th), after a gain of 44 points and 12 places allowed them to end the year in the top 50. In eight matches played in 2020, the Magyars lost just once (to Russia), a sequence of results that enabled them to secure a berth at Uefa Euro 2020.

Other notable climbers include Ecuador (56th, + 41 points compared to December 2019), Malta (176th, + 32 points), Brazil (3rd, + 31 points), and Equatorial Guinea (134th, + 31 points). Burundi (138th), meanwhile, picked up 29 points and made the most significant move in terms of places, ascending 13 positions.

2022 Fifa World Cup hosts, Qatar boast of a striking 1391 points over the course of a year to finish fifth in Asian and 58th in the world.

The next Fifa/Coca-Cola World Ranking will be published on 18 February 2021.

The team that will be called FAM-MSN Project Squad will be competing in the 2021 Premier League as Football Association of Malaysia looks to the reincarnation of ‘Harimau Muda’, a youth national team project that was discontinued in 2015.

This collaboration will see former Kelantan head coach Yusri Che Lah being given the task of manning the team to compete against 10 other teams in the second tier of the professional league in Malaysia. A total of 30 players will be selected from the National Football Development Programme (NFDP) graduates, Youth Cup as well as President’s Cup players.

“This was a fruitful program in the past that was stopped not least because of financial reasons. This is a formula that we see can help us to unearth players for the national team. When these NFDP players graduate, a lot of them will be secured by clubs but there are also a lot of who left by the wayside and this presents a second chance for them in football.

"If we look at the results in the past with Harimau Muda, that was the springboard for us to win the SEA Games gold medal in 2009 and subsequently the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup. But even when the program was disbanded, we have showed that at age-group level, we can beat teams like South Korea (2018 Asian Games).

"So hopefully the revival of this program can give us the same impetus and eventually these players can rise to the occasion and take the senior national team to an even greater level," said Dato’ Sri Subahan Kamal, the Deputy President of FAM during the launch on Thursday evening.

The team will be based at the National Sports Council (NSC) where they will be provided accommodation with FAM serving as the technical voice within the partnership. The players will also be given a chance to pursue higher education in institutions that will be decided later.

Aiming to breach the gap between NFDP and the professional game and more than most, acting as a second lifeline to the players that have not been picked up by the professional teams, the project squad will consist of Under-20 players to start with. However FAM is adamant that the team need to be considered separately from the current Malaysia U-19 squad.

"We are doing this to create more teams and that means more choice for the players. With the team competing in the Premier League, we hope to see many more experience players coming out from the project in a few years time. They will be separate from the U19 team that will compete in the AFC U19 Championship in Uzbekistan as that is only a one-off tournament," explained Dato Hamidin Mohd Amin, the president of FAM.

There are still details to be ironed out for this project squad, such as the home venue of their matches and those information will be released in due course.

Simba SC forward John Bocco and Ruvu Shooting head coach Boniface Mkwasa have been picked as November best player and best coach respectively.

The duo has been awarded after seeing off rivals in a contest that was decided by the Premier League Competition’s Committee on Thursday.

Bocco won the award that was also being contested by Deus Kaseke of Young Africans (Yanga SC) and Abdulrahman Mussa of Ruvu Shooting.

Mkwasa, on the other hand, saw off competition from Mecky Maxime of Kagera Sugar and Flugence Novatus of Gwambina FC.

Under Mkwasa, Ruvu Shooting picked points that saw them rise from the 10th position to the fourth position during the month as they won three matches and picked draws in another two.

The club registered more points in that period than any other side in the league.

Prince Dube of Azam FC, who is now injured, and Mukoko Tonombe of Yanga are the players who won the September and October player of the month awards respectively.

Before November, Aristica Cioaba then of Azam, and Cedric Kaze of Yanga won the coach of the month awards in September and October respectively.

Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) has been organising the monthly awards for players and coaches and will also conduct another ceremony at the end of the season to award outstanding individuals.

The Mainland Premier League has now seen 14 matches played by the majority of the clubs since it started in September.

Yanga are the only side yet to be defeated and are leading with 34 points. Azam started off with some good performances but faltered before the eighth matchday. The deteriorating results saw the club make some technical changes which saw Cioaba mutually leave as the head coach.

Cioaba was replaced by the former Yanga and Zesco United coach George Lwandamina who was recently handed a one-year deal.

Simba have lost two games that came in the hands of Ruvu Shooting and Tanzania Prisons.

The consecutive losses forced Wekundu wa Msimbazi to sack the team manager Patrick Rweyemamu and the goalkeeping coach Muharami Mohamed.

JKT Tanzania, Mwadui FC and Ihefu FC are at the bottom of the table. The three clubs are yet to register a single win as the season edges closer to the half-way mark.

Manchester United may have to sell Paul Pogba but he "won't be a miss" if he carries on playing like he has started the 2020-21 season, according to former Red Devils striker Dimitar Berbatov.

Pogba’s agent Mino Raiola offered an explosive interview on Monday as he declared his client’s time at the club was over. United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer then started the midfielder from the bench in their crucial Champions League clash with RB Leipzig the following day, which they lost 3-2.

The French midfielder has long been linked with leaving Old Trafford, and Berbatov feels now is the time to cut ties after Raiola's "embarrassing" intervention.

Berbatov told Betfair: "Mino Raiola's comments about Paul Pogba being unhappy were very poorly timed, right before a massive match in the Champions League. That isn't ideal and I'm sure it would have been felt in the dressing room before the game.

"I don't think Pogba would have known what Raiola was about to say, which is embarrassing for the player. At the end of the day the agent is working for the player, so the agent should do what the player tells him, it doesn't matter who you are - you work for the player.

"It was the wrong way to do things, it created a big fuss which was totally unnecessary before a match. On the other hand, if Pogba did tell his agent to say those things then it's obvious that something isn't quite right.

"I can understand if Paul is not happy, I bet he isn't because he isn't playing, it's obvious, when he comes on as a sub and has very little game time he won't be happy.

"If this situation continues then I think it's best if they part ways because, in the last few games, Solskjaer's lack of confidence in Pogba has been clear.

"At the same time, we do have to take into account that he is coming back into the team after testing positive for coronavirus, so this could also be a factor, but if he is genuinely unhappy and he continues to be left out of the starting XI, then I think it's best for him to move on.

"If he is in his best condition and in his best form then United will miss him, but if he continues in the form he is in then he won't be a miss at Old Trafford."

The loss in Leipzig leaves United in the Europa League, a competition they won in 2017. Berbatov feels they should not regard it as a lesser trophy.

He said: "For me that competition should be up there with the others in their list of priorities. They are sixth in the league now, although they are climbing up the table and still have a lot of games to play. They have a chance to surprise people by making good on what they have in front of them to play for.

"People should take the Europa League seriously because at the end of the day it's a trophy that a team can win, I'm sure when United won it last time the feeling was great."

The final result did not depict the real story of the match as Mumbai City FC edged out Chennaiyin FC 2-1 in an Indian Super League (ISL) 2020-21 clash at the GMC Stadium in Bambolim on Wednesday. It was a lucky escape for the Islanders as poor refereeing decisions played a huge role in their fourth consecutive win of the season.

Chennaiyin FC came with a proper game plan, pressing with intensity upfront and stifling Mumbai City's efforts to pass out from the back. Sergio Lobera's side, which loves to be on the ball and orchestrate quick transitions, were left without time and space to do so with regularity. 

Germanpreet Singh and Deepak Tangri, deputising in midfield, showed good energy as Chennaiyin put a lid on the Mumbai midfield. Credit also must go to the front four of Jakub Sylvestr, Rafael Crivellaro, Lallianzuala Chhangte and Fatkhullo Fatkhuloev for pressing with purpose and forcing plenty of mistakes from the likes of Mourtada Fall. 

They fashioned quite a few chances in the first half, only for poor decisions and wayward finishing to let them down. Chennaiyin FC were dealt with a major blow in the first-half when Enes Sipovic was sidelined due to an injury. This, however, had no effect on the flow of the game as Chennaiyin continued to enjoy the upper hand. 

Chennaiyin FC were finally rewarded for their efforts in the 40th minute as Chhangte made a brilliant solo run down the right flank to beat the Mumbai City FC defenders and lay it on a platter for Sylvestr. 

But a lapse in concentration towards the end of a first-half they dominated gave Mumbai City a foothold in the game. Vishal Kaith made an almighty mess of an innocuous corner, unnecessarily flying out to claim it only to miss and allow Hernan Santana to head into an empty net. 

Credit must also go to Mumbai City here for staying in the game despite being not at their best. They did have occasional chances like when Hugo Boumous sent Adam le Fondre clear in the first half whose eventual shot was saved by Kaith. But it was nowhere near the standards we have come to expect from Lobera's teams. 

Chennaiyin should have been more clinical in front of the goal from the kind of start they got. They came to rue those chances in the second half. It did not help that several major refereeing decisions went against them, including a few penalty shouts. 

However, they would concede another goal from a set-piece situation when they failed to deal with a ball into the box. Boumous won the second ball and Le Fondre was on hand to turn it in. Chennaiyin have been guilty of poor set-piece defending in the early stages of the competition and this was just another instance. 

This does augur well for Lobera who has seen his team find ways to score goals despite the flow of the game going against them. They have shown that they are not just about beautiful football but can also grind out results. 

While Mumbai City deserve a lot of credit for the way they hung in despite being second best and extracted a result, Chennaiyin should not be too disheartened. Csaba Laszlo's game plan was perfect and his team executed it well, only for individual errors and several refereeing decisions to scupper the plans. 

While one can highlight the officiating, the fact remains that it is beyond your control. Chennaiyin should focus on what they can do and that is putting away your chances when you are on top. The team has the quality to do so and Laszlo will hope a bit of luck also goes his way in the upcoming matches. 

Christy Ucheibe got sent off in Wednesday's Uefa Women's Champions League first leg, Round of 32 encounter as 10-woman SL Benfica suffered a 5-0 loss at home to Chelsea.

The Nigerian midfielder was first cautioned in the 31st minute for a foul on Fran Kirby before receiving a second yellow card for a bookable offence against Erin Cuthbert in the 74th minute.

Having squeezed past POAK and Anderlecht to the Round of 32, the Portuguese champions hosted the English giants at the Benfica Stadium with the ambition of boosting their next round chances.

The hosts made a false start in the encounter when Fran Kirby opened the scoring for the visitors after just two minutes. 

In the 29th minute, Guro Reiten set up Millie Bright to double the lead for Chelsea before Reiten bagged her brace of assists, teeing up Kirby four minutes later to extend their lead to three.

A minute from the half time break, Reiten made it a third assist, providing Pernille Harder with a pass to net the fourth.

Nine minutes after the restart, Reiten secured her quadruple of assists in laying up Bethany England for the fifth to hand the visitors a massive first-leg lead going into the reverse fixture in London. 

Besides Ucheibe, Cape Verde's Jolina Amani was an unused substitute for Benfica against Chelsea as the absence of the former Nigeria youngster will be a huge blow for the Portuguese giants. 

Despite the heavy defeat at home, Luis Andrade's team is expected to face Chelsea in the second leg of the Round of 32 at Kingsmeadow stadium on December 16.

Posta Rangers captain Joseph Mbugi has stated his team is close to regaining league momentum after putting in an improved performance in their latest outing against Kakamega Homeboyz. 

It was a massive improvement after a 3-0 loss to KCB FC in their first round of the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Premier League game. The experienced midfielder believes his charges will soon get to their best and consistently grind out positive results.

"The game against KCB was the first one for us after about eight months, it was not easy," Mbugi told Goal on Thursday.

"Yes, we gave our best in the game but could not do much, we ended up losing the game. However, we bounced back and managed to get a draw away to Kakamega Homeboyz.

"It was a motivating result considering the quality of the team. We all know Homeboyz are currently one of the top teams we have in the league, and getting a draw away means we are getting where we want to be."

Wazito FC are next for the Mailmen; the former opened their account with a 4-0 loss to Kariobangi Sharks before bouncing back with a 3-1 win over promoted Vihiga United.

"This will be a very tough game but we are prepared to ensure we stand a chance of getting the result we want," Mbugi added.

"Of course it will not be an easy game because every team wants victory. However, with what I am seeing with my colleagues, I am optimistic we can go all the way and get three points."

The Rangers' skipper noted this is a game everyone has to be involved in for the team to get back to winning ways.

"It is a collective responsibility because if a certain department does not work well, it means there will be a burden in the team.

"For good balance, every player has to work for the team and achieve the objective together."  

Wazito have never beaten Posta Rangers in their past four league games. They have suffered two losses and as many draws. The mailmen have scored six goals and conceded two.