Sports

Messi returned to training on Tuesday before the first leg at the Camp Nou on Wednesday, despite feeling discomfort in his thigh during Barca's draw with Valencia on Sunday.

The next 30 days could make or break for Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Sudan-born striker Ali scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick after just 12 minutes before Abdelaziz Hatim curled in a superb second and Akram Afif converted a VAR-assisted penalty to give the 2022 World Cup hosts a famous victory in Abu Dhabi.

Bhupathi said home comfort and the X-factor of Calcutta South Club's grasscourts hold India in good stead in the tie.

Win at home to Leicester at Anfield on Wednesday and Jurgen Klopp's men will have a seven-point lead over City with just 14 games left to negotiate.

United manager Solskjaer is most famous for scoring the winning goal for the Old Trafford club in the closing seconds of the 1999 Champions League final against Bayern Munich.

The player himself was upbeat about the move when journalists spoke to him at the airport in Italy.

The world number one won 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 6-3 and will face Japan's eighth seed Kei Nishikori for a place in the semi-finals.

The pair's only previous meeting in the mixed team Hopman Cup earlier this month was a tight affair where Federer had won courtesy of two tiebreaks.

Madrid began the day 10 points adrift of leaders Barcelona, a gap that will be restored if the Catalans defeat Leganes on Sunday, but this victory should inject a timely shot of confidence.

Almoez Ali bagged a double in Abu Dhabi, where the Qatari national anthem was drowned out by boos from a pro-Saudi crowd and the 2022 World Cup hosts were jeered every time they attacked.

The Spaniard, who cut short his 2018 season to have surgery on a foot injury, raced through the tie in just 116 minutes.

The two sides went toe-to-toe in an open game but while both teams had multiple chances, United goalkeeper David de Gea proved the difference, making a string of phenomenal saves.

Mauricio Pochettino hailed Tottenham's growing maturity as Harry Kane fired them a step closer to the League Cup final with a 1-0 win over Chelsea in the semi-final first leg on Tuesday.

Chhetri, who made his India debut in 2005, said his side did not expect to win against Thailand by such a big margin.

Former Boca Juniors boss Guillermo Barros Schelotto was unveiled as the new head coach of the Los Angeles Galaxy by the franchise on Wednesday.