Messi warns Barcelona against complacency
Madrid, March 20: Fourtime World Player of the Year Lionel Messi has warned his teammates not to take Real Madrid lightly, despite their contrasting form ahead of Sunday’s crucial La Liga clash at the Camp Nou.
Barca go into the game still on course to win the treble for just the second time in the club’s history after a 17th win in 18 games over Manchester City on Wednesday secured their place in the last eight of the Champions League for the eighth consecutive season.
By contrast, Madrid have lost five of their 16 games in 2015 so far with some of the Los Blancos faithful rounding on star players Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, as well as coach Carlo Ancelotti.
“We have a lot of respect for them. When Madrid are like this is when they are at their most dangerous,” said Messi, whose brilliant form has been the catalyst for Barca's rise in recent months.
Messi has struck 20 times in his last 17 games to usurp Ronaldo as La Liga’s top scorer this season by two goals. “They have a great team full of brilliant individuals. We will try to face the game like we do every match, to play our game and win,” added Messi.
— AFP Madrid, March 20: With Real Madrid in fully-blown crisis mode following back-to-back defeats and a trip to Barcelona on the horizon, last weekend’s 2-0 win over lowly Levante should have been a cause for celebration around the Santiago Bernabeu. For one of their under-fire stars, at least, it was.
Gareth Bale responded to the fiercest criticism he has faced in his 20-month spell in the Spanish capital with his first two goals in nine games. Bale reacted to his first strike by covering his ears to mock the boos and whistles his own fans had greeted him with five days previously in a shock 3-4 defeat by lowly Schalke. Yet not everyone was thrilled.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s response to Bale firing home after his initial effort had been headed off the line by Ivan Ramis was more in tune with watching the opposition score than his own teammate. Ronaldo could barely hide his frustration once more when Bale was then credited with Real’s second goal. — AFP New Delhi, March 20: In a departure from the norm, it’s not going to be the Chinese but Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal and All England champion Carolina Marin who will be fighting it out for the numero uno ranking in badminton, in the India Super Series starting next week.
Both Saina and Carolina will have the opportunity to grab the coveted numero uno status and snap the four-year long Chinese domination when they compete in a strong field at the $275,000 India Open starting at the Siri Fort Sports Complex from Tuesday.
The last time a non-chinese achieved the World No.1 status was in December, 2010 when Denmark’s Tine Baun had claimed the honour and it would also be a historic first for both India or Spain player to be ranked No.1.
Currently ranked World No.2 with 74381 points behind China’s Li Xuerui (79214 points), Saina has everything in her favour to become the new queen of shuttle sport.
Saina participated in 13 tournaments in the last 52 weeks compared to Li’s nine. Even if the Indian were to withdraw, her tally would be 74,381, which would catapult her above the Chinese.
— PTI