Harry Kane has admitted Bayern Munich are going through a difficult spell and urged his teammates to fight after a 1-0 defeat at Lazio in the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday night.
After a comprehensive 3-0 loss at Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday that saw the champions fall five points off the pace in the title race, Bayern failed to bounce back in Rome, Ciro Immobile's second-half penalty proving the difference in the first leg.
It was another toothless display by the Bavarians in which the visitors didn't have a single shot on target, ultimately increasing the pressure on manager Thomas Tuchel.
"We're in a difficult spell. We have to fight. We have to turn it around. We have big games and big things to fight for," Kane told TNT Sports.
"We're not out of it, we will never give up. We just need to turn it around. One game or spark can turn it around."
Tuchel was less than complimentary about his side's performance and demanded significant improvements.
"In the first half, we had to take the lead. We had three clear chances. We have to do these things," Tuchel said, adding that the second half was "characterised by uncertainty again. It was a bit slapstick."
Bayern were hamstrung by the dismissal of Dayot Upamecano, who was shown a red card for crashing into Gustav Isaksen in the penalty area. Immobile stepped up to score the resulting spot-kick.
"We made a lot of individual mistakes and we conceded a penalty and red card from out of absolutely nothing," Tuchel said. "With the performance, we did everything to lose this game, which was completely in our hands."
Immobile's strike came days after he netted his 200th Serie A goal and allowed a raucous Lazio home crowd to dream of a first quarter-final in Europe's top competition in 24 years.
"We prepared for this match so that we could give Bayern a game. Even if we'd only had a 10 per cent chance the team would have given everything on the pitch," Immobile told Amazon Prime Video.
"We wanted to give our supporters a good night and I think we've done that."
Bayern were on the front foot for most of the opening period, which was light on clearcut chances and featured only one shot on target.
That effort was a weak Alessio Romagnoli header for the hosts, who were lucky to go into the break level as Jamal Musiala shot just over the bar after a slick passing move on the edge of the Lazio area.
Kane lashed over from close range early on while in the 32nd minute Leroy Sane watched his powerful shot fly just wide after a neat free-kick routine.
But right after the break Bayern had Manuel Neuer to thank after he rushed out to stop Gustav Isaksen for giving Lazio the lead after being brilliantly put through by Luis Alberto.
And after a long spell of ineffective Bayern possession, Immobile punished the away side with his 20th goal of the season, won by Isaksen when he was upended by Upamecano.
Bayern were left a goal and man down and from that point had an even harder time threatening the well-organised home defence, allowing Lazio to hold out for a famous win.
PSG in control against Sociedad
Second-half goals from Kylian Mbappe and Bradley Barcola secured Paris Saint-Germain a hard-fought 2-0 win over visitors Real Sociedad in their first leg of the last-16 Champions League.
The Basque club, who arrived at the Parc des Princes unbeaten in this season's competition after topping Group D, were arguably the better side until Mbappe fired home a volley after he pounced onto Marquinhos' corner to give PSG the lead in the 58th minute.
PSG took control of the game and in the 70th minute, Barcola extended their lead as he nudged the ball through the legs of the goalkeeper Alex Remiro.
"We struggled a lot in the first half. We spoke to each other at half time and the coach [Luis Enrique] pulled our strings. He was really upset," PSG captain Marquinhos told Canal Plus.
"Our attitude was much better in the second half. He [Luis Enrique] always tells us the truth, and that's very important for the team.
"He gave us some advice ... and that worked well in the second half. The first part of our objective has been achieved. It's important to win at home."
PSG were lucky to go into the break with the match scoreless as Real Sociedad’s captain Mikel Merino unleashed a thunderous strike that exploded off the crossbar just before half time.
A resilient Mbappe, who missed his club's previous match due to an ankle injury, took advantage of Sociedad being temporarily down to 10 men after defender Hamari Traore was on the sidelines receiving medical treatment.
Barcola extended PSG’s lead in the 70th minute with a fine individual goal as he burst through from the halfway line to net a tidy finish.
PSG had more chances to score but the visitors held on and will have a tough task to fight back from two goals down in the return leg in Spain on March 5.
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 2 (Van Dijk 18', 24')
Brighton 1 (Dunk 79')
Red card: Alisson (Liverpool)
Match info
Costa Rica 0
Serbia 1
Kolarov (56')
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
TEAMS
EUROPE:
Justin Rose, Francesco Molinari, Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Alex Noren, Thorbjorn Olesen, Paul Casey, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Henrik Stenson
USA:
Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Webb Simpson, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau ( 1 TBC)
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Squads
Pakistan: Sarfaraz Ahmed (c), Babar Azam (vc), Abid Ali, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Hasnain, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan, Usman Shinwari, Wahab Riaz
Sri Lanka: Lahiru Thirimanne (c), Danushka Gunathilaka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Avishka Fernando, Oshada Fernando, Shehan Jayasuriya, Dasun Shanaka, Minod Bhanuka, Angelo Perera, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lakshan Sandakan, Nuwan Pradeep, Isuru Udana, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara
WHAT FANS WILL LOVE ABOUT RUSSIA
FANS WILL LOVE
Uber is ridiculously cheap and, as Diego Saez discovered, mush safer. A 45-minute taxi from Pulova airport to Saint Petersburg’s Nevsky Prospect can cost as little as 500 roubles (Dh30).
FANS WILL LOATHE
Uber policy in Russia is that they can start the fare as soon as they arrive at the pick-up point — and oftentimes they start it even before arriving, or worse never arrive yet charge you anyway.
FANS WILL LOVE
It’s amazing how active Russians are on social media and your accounts will surge should you post while in the country. Throw in a few Cyrillic hashtags and watch your account numbers rocket.
FANS WILL LOATHE
With cold soups, bland dumplings and dried fish, Russian cuisine is not to everybody’s tastebuds. Fortunately, there are plenty Georgian restaurants to choose from, which are both excellent and economical.
FANS WILL LOVE
The World Cup will take place during St Petersburg's White Nights Festival, which means perpetual daylight in a city that genuinely never sleeps. (Think toddlers walking the streets with their grandmothers at 4am.)
FANS WILL LOATHE
The walk from Krestovsky Ostrov metro station to Saint Petersburg Arena on a rainy day makes you wonder why some of the $1.7 billion was not spent on a weather-protected walkway.
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi
Director: Kangana Ranaut, Krish Jagarlamudi
Producer: Zee Studios, Kamal Jain
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Ankita Lokhande, Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarni
Rating: 2.5/5
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HWJN
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if you go
The flights
Emirates flies to Delhi with fares starting from around Dh760 return, while Etihad fares cost about Dh783 return. From Delhi, there are connecting flights to Lucknow.
Where to stay
It is advisable to stay in Lucknow and make a day trip to Kannauj. A stay at the Lebua Lucknow hotel, a traditional Lucknowi mansion, is recommended. Prices start from Dh300 per night (excluding taxes).
2024%20Dubai%20Marathon%20Results
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Profile Box
Company/date started: 2015
Founder/CEO: Mohammed Toraif
Based: Manama, Bahrain
Sector: Sales, Technology, Conservation
Size: (employees/revenue) 4/ 5,000 downloads
Stage: 1 ($100,000)
Investors: Two first-round investors including, 500 Startups, Fawaz Al Gosaibi Holding (Saudi Arabia)
Inside%20Out%202
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12%20restaurants%20opening%20at%20the%20hotel%20this%20month
%3Cp%3EAriana%E2%80%99s%20Persian%20Kitchen%3Cbr%3EDinner%20by%20Heston%20Blumenthal%3Cbr%3EEstiatorio%20Milos%3Cbr%3EHouse%20of%20Desserts%3Cbr%3EJaleo%20by%20Jose%20Andres%3Cbr%3ELa%20Mar%3Cbr%3ELing%20Ling%3Cbr%3ELittle%20Venice%20Cake%20Company%3Cbr%3EMalibu%2090265%3Cbr%3ENobu%20by%20the%20Beach%3Cbr%3EResonance%20by%20Heston%20Blumenthal%3Cbr%3EThe%20Royal%20Tearoom%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Race 3
Produced: Salman Khan Films and Tips Films
Director: Remo D’Souza
Cast: Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Bobby Deol, Daisy Shah, Saqib Salem
Rating: 2.5 stars
Silent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
Shubh Mangal Saavdhan
Directed by: RS Prasanna
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Bhumi Pednekar
MATCH INFO
Manchester United v Everton
Where: Old Trafford, Manchester
When: Sunday, kick-off 7pm (UAE)
How to watch: Live on BeIN Sports 11HD