Sports
Messi Misses Club ‘s Defeat After Father’s Death
Lionel Messi missed Inter Miami’s Leagues Cup defeat by Monterrey on Saturday night after the death of his father, as his team-mates led tributes before and during the match.
Jorge Messi died on Saturday at the age of 68 following a long illness.
Jorge, who had also been the Argentina forward’s agent since he was 14, passed away in a hospital in his hometown of Rosario, Argentina.
Messi flew in a private jet back to Argentina from Miami later that evening with his wife and three children.
A private funeral took place on Sunday at a cemetery in the town of Perez, on the outskirts of Rosario.
Miami paid tribute to Messi’s father with a minute’s silence before kick-off, while players wore black armbands and Jorge’s name was displayed on the big screens at Nu Stadium.
The club added a black ribbon to their social media profile pictures, and in a statement said: “Our hearts are with our captain, Leo, and the entire Messi family.”
Messi’s Argentina team-mate Rodrigo de Paul celebrated scoring the opening goal of the 2-1 defeat by taking off his shirt to reveal Messi’s.
Fans held up handmade signs offering their support to Messi and paying tribute to his father.
Miami striker Luis Suarez, who missed the match through suspension, wrote on Instagram that Jorge will continue to watch over his son “with pride, as he always did”.
Messi’s former club Barcelona observed a moment of silence before their 1-0 friendly win against Nottingham Forest in Udine, Italy.
In 2000, Jorge accompanied his 13-year-old son to Catalonia and played a key role in persuading the club to sign him.
Barcelona thanked Jorge “for his commitment to our club, for entrusting us with the beginnings and the most glorious years of his son Leo’s football career”.
Fans left flags and flowers outside Messi’s childhood home in Rosario, while Argentine giants Boca Juniors and River Plate both held periods of silence before their matches.
Barcelona forward, Lamine Yamal, has admitted that Victor Osimhen’s disallowed goal could have made their Champions League clash with Galatasaray more difficult.
Osimhen thought he had made it 2-0 to the Turkish champions in the first half.
However, his powerful header was chalked off following a VAR review.
Barca then fought back and overpowered Galatasaray, scoring four goals to take all three points.
But Yamal has claimed that if Yellow and Red had gone two goals up, their job would have been harder than it became.
“If Galatasaray’s second goal hadn’t been disallowed, our job in Istanbul would have been very tough,” Yamal said per Le Marca Sports.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored as Al-Nassr won an AFC Champions League match which was delayed by an hour because of a missile alert.
Ronaldo scored Al-Nassr’s second goal as the Saudi Pro League champions beat Uzbekistan’s Neftchi Fergana 3-1 on Monday.
Kick-off was delayed after Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defence issued a safety warning just 15 minutes before the scheduled start time in Riyadh, the capital city which has been the target of missiles fired from Yemen-based Houthis.
Following attacks on Riyadh’s airport, explosions were heard in the capital on Monday night. The Saudi-led military coalition said a ballistic missile had been intercepted and destroyed.
Future sporting events could be affected by the regional conflict, including Formula 1 races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
Once Al-Nassr were able to get under way, Ange Postecoglou’s team went ahead through Angelo in the 33rd minute and Ronaldo doubled their lead before half-time.
Uzbekistan champions Neftchi pulled a goal back, but they were reduced to 10 men after 65 minutes and an own goal 13 minutes later sealed a first Group B victory for the hosts.
Nigeria international Frank Onyeka made a good account of himself as Coventry City defeated Newcastle United 4-1 in Monday night’s Premier League fixture.
Despite seeing just 12 minutes of action, Onyeka came in and impressed as Coventry made it back-to-back win in the English topflight this season.
It was Onyeka’s fifth appearance in the Premier League this season for newly promoted Coventry.
His Nigerian teammate Taiwo Awoniyi was not in action for Frank Lampard’s side due to suspension.
Early goals at the start of each half from Jack Rudoni and Sidiki Cherif put Coventry City in course for their first brilliant Premier League win at the CBS Arena.
Although the Magpies pulled one back 20 minutes from time, super subs Ellis Simms and Stephen Mfuni scored in the 81st and 86th minutes to secure a huge three points for the Sky Blues.
The win took Coventry up to 14th place on six points while Newcastle, on eight points, are in 11th in the league table.
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