TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2018 15

Messi hat-trick restores Cottrell, Hope guide Barcelona’s La Liga lead Windies to victory Cottrell and his fellow West Indies pacers bowled out Bangladesh for just 129 runs

AFP | Sylhet, Bangladesh Bangladesh eft-arm pacer Sheldon Tamim Iqbal c Brathwaite b Cottrell 5 Cottrell delivered a ca- Liton Das c Brathwaite b Thomas 6 reer best 4-28 before Shai L Soumya Sarkar c Powell b Cottrell 5 Levante’s midfielder Enis Bardhi vies with Lionel Messi Hope struck a half-century as Shakib Al Hasan c&b Cottrell 61 AFP | Madrid West Indies crushed Bangla- Mushfiqur Rahim run out 5 and had a chance that hit the desh by eight wickets in their Mahmudullah c Hope b Cottrell 12 woodwork,” said Valverde. Twenty20 series opener yes- Ariful Haque c Pooran b Allen 17 ionel Messi continued his Levante started the game terday. Mohammad c Pooran b Brathwaite 1 Lsublime form by netting brightly and visiting goalkeep- West Indies raced to 130-2 Mehidy Hasan c Hope b Paul 8 his 31st La Liga hat-trick as er Marc-Andre ter Stegen was in just 10.5 overs after Cottrell Abu Hider not out 1 Barcelona thrashed Levante forced into an early save by and his fellow pacers bowled Mustafizur Rahman b Paul 0 5-0 on Sunday to regain their Ghanaian Emmanuel Boateng. out Bangladesh for 129 runs in Extras (b4, lb2, w1, nb1) 8 three-point lead at the top of But Barca did not take long Sylhet. Total (all out; 19 overs) 129 the table. to start moving through the Bangladesh skipper Shakib West Indies The 31-year-old Argentini- gears, with Messi curling wide Al Hasan scored 61 off 43 balls E. Lewis c Ariful b Saifuddin 18 an arrived in Valencia having from long range before testing for the home side but could not S. Hope c Mustafizur b Mahmudullah 55 scored two free-kicks in last Oier Olazabal in the Levante stave off a thumping defeat. N. Pooran not out 23 weekend’s derby thumping of goal with a free-kick. Hope accelerated the West K. Paul not out 28 Espanyol. He took his goals Just seconds after Boateng Indies’ run chase with 55 off 23 Extras ( lb 5, w1) 6 tally for the season to 20 af- hammered a left-footed strike balls that included six sixes and Total ( two wickets; 10.5 overs) 130 ter a virtuoso display, while against the crossbar, the reign- three fours. Result: West Indies win by eight also teeing up Luis Suarez’s ing Spanish champions broke Victory never looked in doubt wickets 35th-minute opener and the deadlock as Messi jinked as he struck spinner Mehidy Gerard Pique’s late fifth. through a mesmerised home Hasan for three sixes and a four Barca were under pressure defence and picked out Suarez in just the second over of the Bangladeshi cricketer Mohammad Mahmudullah plays a shot after Atletico Madrid and sec- who volleyed home. innings, yielding 23 runs. ond-placed Sevilla had both But Levante, who had ended Spinner Mahmudullah Riyad Bangladesh, who opted to bat nerships of 25 and 30 respec- moved level on points with the Barcelona’s dreams of going dismissed Hope after medium first, at the start of their innings. tively with Mahmudullah Riyad Catalan giants. through last season’s La Liga pacer Mohammad Saifuddin Openers Tamim Iqbal and and Ariful Haque to lift the side But after resting his key campaign unbeaten with a re- KNOW WHAT broke a 51-run opening stand Liton Das, as well as Soumya briefly. stars for their final Champi- markable 5-4 victory in the with Evin Lewis, who fell for 18. Sarkar, all fell for single-figure “Everything (fell) apart from ons League group-stage match penultimate game, came close But Nicholas Pooran and scores to short-pitch deliveries. the toss. Batting failed and then against Tottenham in mid- to a quick response as Jose Keemo Paul ensured West In- In-form Mushfiqur Rahim the bowling also obviously went The West Indies lost week, coach Ernesto Valverde Luis Morales fired over. dies cruised to their target, with was run out for five, leaving wrong,” Shakib said after the their Test and one- saw his refreshed side cruise The match was all but ended quickfire innings of 23 and 28 Bangladesh on 48-4 before six match. day international to a third straight league win as a contest when Messi bore respectively. overs of batting power play had “Was a good pitch, should series 2-0 and 2-1 without conceding a goal. down on goal two minutes be- Cottrell and fellow pacer Os- elapsed. have probably got about 180 on respectively against “At the beginning it was fore half-time and drilled low hane Thomas earlier choked Shakib put on two small part- the board.” Bangladesh difficult, they squeezed us into the net. Liverpool draw Bayern as United face Shaqiri revels in beautiful feeling in putting Man PSG in Champions League last 16 United to the sword AFP | Nyon, Switzerland a first ever meeting with PSG AFP | London trailing Premier League lead- game. iverpool will take on fellow ers Liverpool by 19 points fol- “Of course the style, how Lfive-time winners Bayern lowing Sunday’s 3-1 defeat at herdan Shaqiri says scor- they play, it’s for me too,” he Munich in the last 16 of the Anfield, and face a formidable Xing a double in the 3-1 win said. Champions League, while Jose task against a side featuring over Manchester United on “I have to go on the pitch Mourinho’s struggling Man- Neymar and Kylian Mbappe -- Sunday for Liverpool was a and perform and I have qual- chester United face French gi- the world’s two most expensive “beautiful feeling” and puts ities to be in the team, to have ants Paris Saint-Germain. players. him on course for his most an impact, to decide games. Holders Real Madrid were Lyon coach Bruno Genesio prolific Premier League cam- “I’m very happy at the mo- paired with Ajax in yesterday’s says his team can draw on their paign. ment with my performances. draw in Nyon as the Spaniards group stage displays against The 27-year-old “It was a beautiful feeling to attempt to lift the trophy for the City -- a 2-1 win and 2-2 draw Swiss international score two goals against Man- fifth time in six seasons, while -- ahead of their clash with midfielder came off chester United, an important Lionel Messi and Barcelona will five-time European champions the bench to take his game against a big rival for play Lyon. Barca. tally to five goals in Liverpool.” Both Liverpool and Bayern “We’ll need to pull off two big 13 league appearanc- Shaqiri, who have a rich tradition in the com- Bayern Munich’s Polish forward Robert Lewandowski (L) heads the ball with performances, in the first leg es, meaning he signed for Liver- petition, each winning it five Ajax’s Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt (C) during a Champions League match and in the return, but we can do is already just pool in the summer times and Liverpool were beat- (file photo) it. We did it against City,” said three shy of his when they trig - en finalists last season. Genesio. best previous gered a £13.5 mil- Liverpool are the current ter City take on German side champions Porto. “It’s tough. They are a team total in the Pre- lion ($17 million) form side of the two and sit top Schalke 04 while Atletico Ma- “We’ve already met them that Lyon has already played mier League for release clause in his of the Premier League while drid, beaten finalists in 2014 (Tottenham) twice. A strong against but never beaten. Bar- Stoke last season. contract with rele- Bayern, under new coach Niko and 2016, come up against Cris- opponent, the chances are at ca are more experienced and His double re - gated Stoke, says be- Kovac, have been far short of tiano Ronaldo and Italian heav- 50-50. The team has top play- stronger but over two matches stored Liverpool to ing on the bench is their own high standards in the yweights Juventus. ers. We are also strong, it will anything is possible,” Gerard the top of the table, not ideal but it only Bundesliga this season. “A very difficult match, with be interesting,” Dortmund CEO Houllier, who holds an adviso- one point clear of motivates him to “That’s the team of the hour, few goals,” Juve vice-president Hans-Joachim Watzke told Sky. ry role at the French club, told champions Man- prove himself like the league leaders in England, Pavel Nedved predicted. Meanwhile, United go into RMC Sport. chester City. he did on Sunday. they are playing really good “No doubt Cristiano is the Champions League last 16 draw Shaqiri, who is “For me, I just football, very physical, really man of the Champions League, seeking to prove want to im- stepping it up. We are looking he has always shown that, with Schalke 04 v Manchester City he is up to play - prove, I’m 27, forward to it,” Bayern sporting goals and victories. Our team is Atletico Madrid v Juventus ing for a big club my best age to director Hasan Salihamidzic very strong and we can be calm Manchester United v Paris Saint-Germain having failed at perform at a said of the tie with Liverpool. and confident.” Tottenham Hotspur v Borussia Dortmund Bayern Munich high level, so I “A tough cookie, but that’s Bundesliga leaders Borussia Lyon v Barcelona and Inter Milan, hope the best something to look forward to Dortmund will meet Tottenham Roma v Porto puts his good form Xherdan times are com- as a player.” Hotspur for the second season Ajax v Real Madrid down to Liverpool Shaqiri ing,” said Sha- in a row, having faced each other Liverpool v Bayern Munich manager Jurgen qiri, who spent Ronaldo awaits in last year’s group stage, while Teams that finished in second place in group stage will host first legs on February Klopp’s philosophy three seasons at Pep Guardiola’s Manches- Roma meet two-time former 12/13 and 19/20 with return matches scheduled for March 5/6 and 12/13 in how to play the Stoke.