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Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti says rising star Arda Guler will stay at the club next season despite transfer links with AC Milan, among others.

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Guler impressing for Real MadridScores winner at Real SociedadAncelotti says he is going nowhereWHAT HAPPENED?

Los Blancos signed the Turkish talent from Fenerbahce last summer for a reported £25.4 million ($32m) but the 19-year-old has found game time hard to come by. However, after scoring on his first La Liga start in a 1-0 win over Real Sociedad on Friday, manager Ancelotti says the attacking midfielder isn't going anywhere.

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He told reporters on Friday: "There's no doubt he'll [Guler] stay here next year. I think they did very well. They've performed well on the pitch. He's battled, he's fought. He's staying next year, there's no doubt about it. He is very young. Little by little he will have his role. It's quite clear that he has scored more goals than minutes played. That's the gift he has."

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Guler, who has been nicknamed the 'Turkish Messi', has made just eight appearances in all competitions for Madrid and his lack of minutes led to links with Milan, Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen. Despite that, the youngster, whose contract expires in 2029, is more than content to be at the Spanish giants. He told Madrid's website on Friday: "This is the best club in the world and scoring is one of the best feelings. I'm very happy to be here and to have scored. I'd like to thank everyone."

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Guler, who helped Madrid inch closer to a La Liga title with his goal against La Real, will hope to feature more in their last five league games of the season. Los Blancos need just four more points to claim the title.

Ravi Thodge, a retired lieutenant general, joins Rai and Edulji, while Justice DK Jain takes over as board’s final adjudicating authority

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Feb-2019The Committee of Administrators (CoA), which is currently overseeing the functioning of the BCCI, has a new third member: Ravi Thodge, a retired lieutenant general of the Indian army. The Supreme Court made the appointment on Thursday, during a hearing of various issues related to the Justice Lodha Committee’s recommendations.Thodge’s appointment comes after months of heated and public disagreement over several issues between the two existing members of the CoA: Vinod Rai, the former Comptroller and Auditor General of India, and Diana Edulji, the former India women captain.During the hearing, Justice SA Bobde expressed his displeasure at Rai and Edulji airing their differences in public, and asked the amicus curiae PS Narasimha to instruct them not to do so. Narasimha suggested that reconstituting the CoA to an odd number could help solve potential deadlocks, and Bobde wondered aloud if there should be five members. In the end, the court settled on three, making its decision in chambers.It is not yet known if Thodge will be part of the BCCI meeting on Friday, where top-level officials including Rai and Edulji are set to discuss – among other issues – whether to send the ICC a draft letter asking for Pakistan to be banned from the upcoming World Cup.The court has also appointed Justice DK Jain, a retired Supreme Court judge, as the BCCI’s ombudsman, the board’s final adjudicating authority under its new constitution.The post had been vacant since Justice AP Shah finished his term in late 2016 and the Committee of Administrators (CoA) had been asking the court for directions on a new appointment since Justice Shah’s departure.One of the first issues Justice Jain is likely to deal with is the recent suspension of Indian players Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul. The pair had been suspended pending an inquiry into their offensive comments on an television chat show, which the CoA concluded had violated the Code of Conduct. The players were eventually allowed to continue playing, subject to the case reaching its conclusion upon the appointment and adjudication of an ombudsman.When Justice Bodbe asked the amicus what the hurry was to appoint an ombudsman, Narasimha replied that the ombudsman was the dispute resolution mechanism, and there were quite a few issues where he could help. When the judge asked for an example, the amicus pointed to the alleged misconduct of the CEO Rahul Johri, an issue that was settled after an independent panel cleared him of sexual harassment allegations by 2-1 majority.It was a contentious verdict, with Edulji and two of the three BCCI office bearers disagreeing with it. It is likely that Justice Jain would need to study the final report of the independent panel before taking any fresh step.

Thomas Tuchel named two Arsenal players who could prove to be dangerous for Bayern Munich in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final.

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Tuchel pinpoints Arsenal's strengthsFirst leg ended in a 2-2 drawOdegaard picked up an injury against Aston VillaWHAT HAPPENED?

The Bayern Munich boss identified two Arsenal players who are capable of posing maximum threat to his side in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final clash. After a 2-2 draw in the first leg last week, the Gunners are set to face the Bundesliga giants at Allianz Arena on Wednesday.

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Speaking to reporters ahead of the game, the German coach said, "I think with Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard they always attack on the right, at least the beginning of an attack. They try to create an overlap there to get through or to switch sides. We didn’t learn anything new from the league game on Sunday [when Arsenal lost to Aston Villa].

"It’s all very flexible, the transitions are very fluid. Most of the time everything happens, they’re not a team that commits to one formation. You can recognise a lot of automatic, but also free-running moves."

He added: "We played very attentively in the first leg. They play a very attractive style. They play at the highest level. We did well in the first leg, but it’s only half-time. We need everything again and hope that the home game will be the deciding factor."

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Odegaard was forced to leave the pitch during the club's 2-0 defeat against Aston Villa during the weekend due to a leg injury. However, reported that the captain was seen on the training pitch on Tuesday and is expected to start against the Bavarian club.

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After meeting Tuchel's side in Europe, Mikel Arteta's men will be next seen in action in the Premier League on Sunday as they take on Wolves in a vital encounter.

Saurashtra stutter to 58 for 5 in their second innings, still 148 runs away from the target

The Report by Shamya Dasgupta06-Feb-2019Last ball of the ninth over of the Saurashtra second innings. Cheteshwar Pujara leans forward to defend a flighted delivery from Aditya Sarwate on off and middle. He plays for the turn from the left-arm spinner, but there isn’t any, and he is trapped plumb in front for a five-ball duck.Sarwate sets off, his team-mates in hot pursuit while also high-fiving each other, before he stops and lets out a roar. It is, after all, the big moment, and Sarwate has done it two times in two innings.He has done much more than that, actually. After picking up five wickets in the Saurashtra first innings, Sarwate winkled out three top Saurashtra batsmen inside nine overs, leaving them 22 for three in a chase of 206. First-innings centurion Snell Patel – check. Harvik Desai – check. And Pujara, the big fish – check. Not ideal from Saurashtra’s point of view as they looked to avoid making it three final losses in seven seasons, but perfect for Vidarbha, the defending champions.It got worse for Saurashtra as Arpit Vasavada was done in by Umesh Yadav’s pace, sending a regulation catch behind the stumps. Then Sheldon Jackson, very early in his innings, stepped out to Akshay Wakhare and attempted to send the ball out of Jamtha. The ball kept low, and snaked it to hit the stumps.Vishvaraj Jadeja, composed but not overly cautious so far in his innings, went to stumps unbeaten on 23, and had for company Kamlesh Makvana on two.Dharmendrasinh Jadeja completed a six-wicket haul•PTI Earlier, after they started on 55 for two, Vidarbha batted two sessions, added 145 runs, and lost their eight remaining wickets, four of them to Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, who completed a six-for in the process.Ganesh Satish and Wasim Jaffer were in the middle when proceedings began, but Dharmendrasinh found Jaffer’s edge in the eighth over of the morning with one that didn’t bounce much, and substitute wicketkeeper Avi Barot pouched the catch.The scoreboard read 71 for three at that stage, and it was 73 for five in almost no time as Dharmendrasinh trapped Satish in front for 35 and Jaydev Unadkat got a full-pitched delivery to straighten and go past Akshay Wadkar’s defensive prod and hit timber.Vidarbha needed a fightback, and they got a bit of it from Mohit Kale and Akshay Karnewar, the two adding 32 runs before Makvana caught Karnewar’s edge on the drive and Desai clung on at slip.Kale battled on to make a valuable 38 on a pitch that was turning big by that stage, but the big contribution came from Sarwate, who top-scored in the innings with 49 before becoming the last wicket to fall, having given himself and his bowling mates more to bowl at than looked likely at one stage.Umesh also chipped in with a 12-ball 15 as the last three Vidarbha wickets added 66 runs – it has been a trend in the game, the last three wickets had put up 116 in Vidarbha’s first dig and 123 in Saurashtra’s reply. Saurashtra will hope Vishvaraj and Makvana, and next-man Prerak Mankad, don’t leave the tail with too much to do, but it might well be the case if Sarwate & Co. have it their way on the fifth morning.

Lamar Jackson has made no secret of his interest in soccer, and the 2023 NFL MVP has now been showcasing his skills during a visit to Munich.

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Ravens quarterback is a soccer fanNFL heading back to Germany in 2024Jackson has got his shooting boots onWHAT HAPPENED?

The Baltimore Ravens quarterback recently posted on social media that he “could’ve been Lionel Messi” had he pursued a different form of football, with a mocked-up image seeing him transformed into a USMNT star.

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Jackson has now been trying to prove that he is as capable with his feet as he is with his hands. The American football superstar has been in Europe putting on a flag clinic in Germany – with it revealed that the NFL International Series will be heading to Munich in 2024.

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Jackson has teamed up with Bayern Munich, when paying a visit to their training complex, and has rubbed shoulders with Canada international Alphonso Davies. He has also got his shooting boots on, with a couple of well-struck efforts fired into the back of an unguarded net.

The captain himself failed to deliver in Australia and could only pick out Sri Lanka’s slip catching as the single positive from two heavy defeats

Melinda Farrell in Canberra04-Feb-2019Dinesh Chandimal, the Sri Lanka captain, has urged his players to work harder during the next leg of their three-country tour in South Africa. He could only name a single positive – slip fielding – in their performances against Australia after losing the second Test by 366 runs.The two Test defeats in Australia follow a 1-0 loss to New Zealand in a two-Test series and defeats in all four limited-overs matches on that tour. While Sri Lanka have been plagued by an injury list that includes Angelo Mathews and four of their first choice fast bowlers, Chandimal admitted to concerns about the form of the batsmen.Sri Lanka must now regroup for their stint in South Africa, which comprises two Tests, five ODIs and three T20s.”We were outplayed as a team in all three departments,” said Chandimal. “Credit goes to Australia, they have played some outstanding cricket throughout the series. They deserved to win like this.”We just need to work harder than what we are doing. It’s always tough playing in Australia against a good bowling attack but we all know before we come here it’s always challenging. As a batting unit we have to step up. That’s the one area we have concern. I’m sure the boys will come good in South Africa.”The only positive is the slip catching for our fast bowlers and that’s one positive we can take from this series. I don’t want to talk about the negatives and sure the boys we can learn from it and come good in South Africa.”Chandimal has had a challenging tour personally with scores of 5, 0, 15 and 4. But he remains optimistic that hard work will pay off in South Africa, despite being disappointed by his own form in Australia.”Really disappointed,” said Chandimal. “But I work hard in the nets and I work hard on my game and I work hard on my game plans but I couldn’t get what we want. It is tough and I always putting my heart and soul when the practices come. I’m sure it will come in South Africa.”This is our transition period and now as a team and players we have to step up. In our young group [only] some of the players have played more than 30 Test matches so they are still young and in the international arena are really experienced. Now this is the time to face your game and play for your team. We couldn’t get the best combination because of the injuries.”While Sri Lanka have had to deal with a swag of injuries, including two of their batsmen – Kusal Perera and Dimuth Karunaratne – retiring hurt after being struck by bouncers in Canberra, there have also been off-field rumblings in the form of a public spat between ODI allrounder, Thisera Perera and the wife of ODI captain Lasith Malinga. In addition the coach, Chandika Hathurusingha, was dumped as an on-tour selector before the second Test. Chandimal backed the team management’s handling of the situations.”They put their heart and soul and they give good advice,” he said. “You can’t control what happens back home and just control what you can control. That’s one area we are focusing on as a team.”

Real Madrid have seen a request to play their Champions League home fixture against Manchester City under a closed roof granted.

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Madrid to play under closed roofUEFA grant permissionFace Man City in Champions LeagueWHAT HAPPENED?

According to , Madrid asked UEFA for permission to conduct the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final under a closed roof at Santiago Bernabeu. The club have introduced a retractable roof in their newly renovated home ground and believe closing it will allow for a better atmosphere in the all-important clash against the reigning European champions.

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UEFA have now made a final call on the matter after a pre-match technical meeting that saw designated match referee Francois Letexier consulted. As reports, Real have been granted permission to seal the stadium again, four weeks after playing under a closed roof in the second leg of their last-16 tie against RB Leipzig.

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City have travelled to Madrid for the vital fixture without two of their first-team defenders Kyle Walker and Nathan Ake. The duo have been omitted from the 21-man matchday squad due to injuries.

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR REAL MADRID?

After hosting Pep Guardiola's side at home, Carlo Ancelotti's men will be back in action in La Liga on Saturday as they face Mallorca, where a victory would see them close in on the title.

The India allrounder coming back from injury has the chance to influence a tight game with his bowling on the last day at Wankhede stadium

Ankur Dhawan in Mumbai16-Dec-2018The IPL has done funny things to Indian cricket, particularly the fan. How else do you explain lusty cheering for Mumbai Indians Baroda allrounder Hardik Pandya as he tried with all his might to thwart Mumbai’s chances of securing a vital first innings lead at Wankhede stadium? Sure, there is merit in the theory that he is an India player, but MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli apart, not many have such a hold over crowds across the country.If it was a case of conflicted emotions – although there was no sign of it as the small crowd chanted his name like an anthem – they got the best of both worlds. Pandya obliged with a 137-ball 73 but Mumbai clung on to the cliff edge, securing a 29-run lead that may just keep them afloat in the Ranji Trophy.Pandya may have missed a maiden Ranji Trophy hundred, but it was his first major contribution with the bat in red-ball cricket since a whirlwind 93 at the start of the year in Cape Town. (He’d made a fifty against Afghanistan in between, but that came after India’s total had already gone past 300)Baroda had other heroes as well. Aditya Waghmode batted in mode to make 114 off 304 balls and Vishnu Solanki produced a more free flowing 133 to give Pandya the time he needed to find his feet, both literally and figuratively. At lunch he was batting on 3 off 29, struggling for rhythm but untroubled by the bowling as such.Match situations, though, can be fickle, and after cruising for 121 overs and looking set to surpass Mumbai’s 465 by a significant margin, wickets fell, as though through a series of trapdoors. A comfortable 351 for 3 became 378 for 6 when tea was taken, and two overs post resumption Baroda had slipped to a precarious 379 for 7. At that stage, it seemed like they were running out of luck, exemplified by Solanki’s questionable lbw decision earlier in the day, but soon enough Pandya was bowled off a no-ball and it became a level playing field once again.Reprieved on 41, he brought his side within 29 runs of Mumbai’s total before being pinned in front by Royston Dias as he tried to steal a single off the last ball of the over. It was not unlike the position he was in a few months ago at Edgbaston, when India needed 32 to win and Pandya was left with the awkward job of refusing singles when the field was spread, and scampering across when it came up. Eventually he was led to play a shot that wasn’t meant to fetch him runs or protect his stumps and he was dismissed.The difference here is that there’s an innings left and Pandya could enjoy the perks of who he is – an allrounder – and influence the result. While Mumbai would have undoubtedly been the happier side, having taken the lead, given the lack of time left in the game, they were also the only ones left in a position to throw it away – a tendency common among teams batting without purpose on final days. With his two quick wickets before stumps, Pandya has stoked that possibility.

Phil Foden joined an exclusive club as he bagged a hat-trick for Manchester City in the much-needed win over Aston Villa.

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Foden joins exclusive club of players in EuropeBecomes fifth player to score 20+ goals and record 10+ assistsNetted second hat-trick of the season against VillaWHAT HAPPENED?

With a scintillating performance against the Villans that saw Foden score his second hat-trick of this season, the England international has now joined an elite group of players who have scored 20+ goals and provided 10+ assists in the current 2023-24 campaign while playing in the top five leagues in Europe, per Opta.

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The exclusive group of players is thoroughly dominated by English stars as it features four Three Lions stars – Foden, Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Ollie Watkins – while Liverpool's Mohamed Salah is the fifth member.

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After Wednesday's clash, the 23-year-old now has 14 league goals to his name this season, the most he has scored in a single Premier League campaign with the second-highest tally being 11 during the 2022-23 season.

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The England and City star is likely to feature for his club on Saturday as Pep Guardiola's side take on Crystal Palace in another important Premier League fixture in the title race.

Isobel and Cecelia, who played for nearly two decades in the international circuit, announced their retirements after Ireland’s loss in their final group-stage match in the World T20

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Nov-2018Ireland’s Joyce twins, Isobel and Cecelia, announced their retirement from international cricket after Ireland’s eight-wicket loss to New Zealand in their final group-stage match in the World T20. It was also the last international game for their team-mates, Clare Shillington and Ciara Metcalfe, who had, in May this year, announced that the tournament would be their last. All four have been in the international circuit for nearly two decades, with 37-year-old Shillington having debuted in 1997.While Shillington and Metcalfe received a guard of honour from players of both teams before taking the field, the Joyces informed their decision to their team-mates only during the post-match huddle.

BREAKING: @izzyjoyce and @CeceliaJoyce44 have announced they are retiring from international cricket alongside @CiaraJMetcalfe and @ShillersC.

Thanks for the memories, and best of luck for your post-playing careers! pic.twitter.com/UwOZRtODB2

— ICC World Twenty20 (@WorldT20) November 17, 2018

Allrounder Isobel, who made her Ireland debut in 1999, has played 79 ODIs and 55 T20Is, while opening batsman Cecelia, who entered the international circuit two years later, has played 57 ODIs and 43 T20Is. Isobel had also led Ireland in 62 games before stepping down as captain following the World T20 in 2016.”I can’t thank them enough for what they’ve done for us. The next 10-12 months will be about transitioning the team as we don’t have any international fixtures coming up,” Laura Delany, the Ireland captain, said.Earlier this year, their brother Ed Joyce, who has represented both Ireland and England, announced his retirement from professional cricket, following Ireland’s inaugural men’s Test match against Pakistan in Dublin. Five Joyce siblings have represented Ireland in all – Dom, who played three ODIs in 2006-07, and Gus, who played one first-class game for Ireland in 2000.Post-retirement, all four players are set to stay involved in the game, with Cecelia focusing on her role as vice-president of Ireland’s player association and the other three taking up coaching roles.