DORTMUND: Borussia Dortmund hit the woodwork and had a penalty saved before drawing 0-0 with Barcelona in their Champions League Group F opener on Tuesday, with Lionel Messi making his first appearance of the season for the Spaniards. Barca’s in-form 16-year-old Ansu Fati became the club’s youngest player to feature in a UEFA competition when he started but failed to make any real impact before being replaced by fit-again Messi just before the hour mark. Even with the Argentine on the field it was the Germans who were more dangerous after captain Marco Reus’ 57th minute penalty was saved by Marc Andre ter Stegen. Reus was denied twice more by Ter Stegen and Julian Brandt rattled the crossbar with a thundering shot in the 77th. Finding space in or around the box was virtually impossible for either side in the first half and the expected fireworks between two sides known for their attacking game never materialised. Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho was subdued while Fati showed none of the scoring form that has turned him into the latest football sensation in Spain. Messi’s introduction on the hour in the forward’s first game since his pre-season injury, gave the Spaniards more pace and he made some darting runs but did not create enough for a goal.
Months after a witty, holier-than-thou, jack-of-all-trades caretaker government retreated from the executive, repeated horrors from…
For all those hoping to see matured Pak-India relations enter a new chapter of normalisation,…
Narendra Modi is seeking the premiership of the country for the record third time. The…
The ASER 2023 report findings further indicate that the highest level of learning for Urdu…
Another major theme of the populists' strategy is to deliberately invoke hate and social schism…
Leave a Comment