Beşiktaş 'settle score' with Liverpool

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A crowd of 63,324 – the second-highest in UEFA Europa League history – watched Beşiktaş JK spoil Liverpool FC's return to the scene of their 2004/05 UEFA Champions League triumph, with goalkeeper Cenk Gönen sure that accounts have been settled after the Black Eagles' shoot-out victory.

The Reds beat AC Milan on penalties at Atatürk Olimpiyat Stadium in 2005, but the big result in the eyes of the Beşiktaş players was clearly their predecessors' 8-0 defeat at Anfield in the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League group stage – Beşiktaş's heaviest European defeat, and indeed the heaviest loss suffered by any club in the UEFA Champions League (group stage to final).

Cenk Gönen celebrates at full time
With the tie going to penalties after the teams traded 1-0 wins, the first nine spot kicks were scored before Dejan Lovren blazed Liverpool's fifth over. "We had a history with Liverpool and I think we have settled the score now," said Cenk. "It was important for the team, for the club, for the fans. [For Lovren's penalty] I waited until the very last moment before he shot. I did not move and I think it played a part in making him miss."

Austrian midfielder Veli Kavlak was overwhelmed by the emotion of the occasion and proud that his side had showed their courage under pressure. "We are so happy, I am speechless," he said. "It is a very beautiful night for the club. This happiness we feel is indescribable. Before the shoot-out, coach [Slaven Bilić] came to us and said he was proud of us – that we had dominated 120 minutes of play and that we had nothing to lose. Then he asked: 'Who wants to take one?' and everybody raised their hand."

Serdar Kurtuluş, the only member of the current Beşiktaş side who was involved in the 2007/08 meetings with Liverpool, knew the magnitude of the occasion more than most. "It was a really important game for us," he said. "We got the first goal by playing really well and we could have finished the job in 90 minutes. We had a missed chance in the last minute but that was how it was meant to be. We did it the hard way but what mattered is that we won. Thank God – we are incredibly happy."

Liverpool's Kolo Touré, meanwhile, did his best to put a brave face on things. "A win would have been really, really good, but that's football," he shrugged. "We could have won, but we didn't. We just need to forget about tonight, learn from the defeat, and be ready for the Manchester City game on Sunday. Was the atmosphere tough for the younger players? Definitely. The atmosphere here was unbelievable – I think it was the best I ever played in. Honestly."

Source: http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/season=2015/matches/round=2000588/match=2014604/postmatch/quotes/

India vs United Arab Emirates, ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 Match 21: Watch Free Live Streaming and Telecast on Star Sports

Watch the free live cricket streaming as India (IND) is set to take on United Arab Emirates (UAE) at WACA Ground in Perth on Saturday. The Group B Match 21 of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 is being telecast on Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 1 HD. The match is set to start at 12 noon Indian Standard Time (IST). Viewers can also watch the match on Star Sports 3 for Hindi commentary. You can also watch the free live streaming of the IND v UAE match online on the official website of Star Sports ie starsports.com here.

India after thumping wins against Pakistan and South Africa will look to stay unbeaten as they face United Arab Emirates. India will be seeking one more big win, so that they finishing as table topers in Group B. With Mohammad Shami ruled out of match there is a possibility either Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Stuart Binny might get to play their first World Cup match. India may also bring in Axar Patel in place of Ravindra Jadeja for this game. Also Read- IND vs UAE Match Preview

On the other hand, UAE will be hopeful of a decent show against defending champions India. Despite losing against Zimbabwe and Ireland, UAE produced some fine moments of cricket. Playing in World Cup is surely an experience to cherish for UAE boys and facing World Champions India will further add to it. Also Read- India vs United Arab Emirates: 3 key battles to watch out for

Squads:

India: MS Dhoni (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Mohammad Shami, Stuart Binny, Umesh Yadav.

UAE: Mohammed Tauqir (C), Khurram Khan, Swapnil Patil, Saqlain Haider, Amjad Javed, Shaiman Anwar, Amjad Ali, Nasir Aziz, Rohan Mustafa, Manjula Guruge, Andri Berenger,Fahad Al Hashmi, Muhammad Naveed, Kamran Shahzad, Karate Krishnachandran

Source: http://www.india.com/icc-cricket-world-cup-2015/india-vs-united-arab-emirates-icc-cricket-world-cup-2015-match-21-watch-free-live-streaming-and-telecast-on-star-sports-299090/ 

How the Europa League winners will enter the Champions League

The UEFA Europa League is down to the last 16 and today the clubs will find out their next step in a journey they hope ends in glory in Warsaw on 27 May.

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But lifting the famous old trophy is not the only incentive clubs have this season. One new and well-documented element to this year's competition is that the winners will qualify for the 2015/16 UEFA Champions League.
This has some ramifications for clubs' entry into the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, and at which stage of the competition.
UEFA.com runs through the fundamental points and possible scenarios which could affect clubs' European football participation next term.

©Getty Images

Sevilla celebrate their 2014 UEFA Europa League win

Where the winners enter
• The UEFA Champions League winners will be entered in the UEFA Champions League group stage as normal.
• The UEFA Europa League winners will be entered in the UEFA Champions League (at a minimum level of the play-offs).
• The UEFA Europa League winners will be elevated into the group stage if the UEFA Champions League winners qualify directly for the UEFA Champions League group stage via their domestic league programme – something which has happened every year since the turn of the century bar
Maximum of five
• No more than five clubs can enter the UEFA Champions League from one national association (this is an increase on the previous maximum of four).
How it impacts associations' allocations
• It is now theoretically possible for a country with three UEFA Champions League places (i.e. Italy, Portugal or France) to up this number to five, a country with two places (e.g. Netherlands, Turkey or Czech Republic) to increase to four, or a country with one place (e.g. Denmark, Scotland or Romania) to up it to three. This can only happen if the association in question has two clubs who win both major European club competitions but that also do not qualify via their own league.*

©Getty Images

The National Stadium in Warsaw will stage this season's final

• Regarding the top three associations (i.e. Spain, England and Germany*): if two clubs from one of these countries win the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, and neither finish their domestic league in a position that qualifies them for the UEFA Champions League, the following will happen:
– The club that won the UEFA Champions League will go straight into the group stage
– The UEFA Europa League winners will go into the UEFA Champions League play-offs
– The club that had qualified for a UEFA Champions League play-off spot via their domestic league competition (i.e. finished fourth) will transfer into the UEFA Europa League
What else?
Other changes in the qualification for the UEFA Europa League, including an increased number of teams being automatically placed in the group stage, can be seen
*Please note that all countries mentioned are based on the 2015/16 access list – the associations' allocation of places may change in subsequent seasons depending on their

Source:  http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/news/newsid=2215121.html

Round of 16 first leg facts and figures

• Real Madrid CF's win at FC Schalke 04 was their tenth in a row in the UEFA Champions League, matching the all-time competition record set between April and November 2013 by FC Bayern München.
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• It was also the Spanish team's fifth successive away win – two short of the competition high, held jointly by Bayern and AFC Ajax.

• Madrid are appearing in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League for a record 19th time. They have never failed to progress from the group stage and are currently on a record run of 18 consecutive knockout phase appearances. The next best-placed clubs in that category are Arsenal FC (12) and FC Barcelona (11), both of whose runs are also ongoing.

• Barcelona's 2-1 victory at Manchester City FC came in their 200th UEFA Champions League match. They are just the third side to have reached that milestone – after Manchester United FC (200) and Real Madrid (207).

• The goal scored by City's Sergio Agüero in Manchester was also the 200th Barcelona have conceded in the competition. Only Madrid (224) have let in more.

• City's reverse against Barcelona means they have now lost more UEFA Champions League games than they have won (10 wins; 11 defeats). Three of the other round of 16 participants also have a negative balance sheet – Bayer 04 Leverkusen (31; 34), FC Shakhtar Donetsk (25; 29) and FC Basel 1893 (14; 20) – while Schalke (22; 22) will join them should they lose their second leg in Madrid.

• In taking the field against Shakhtar Donetsk in Lviv, Bayern's Xabi Alonso became the 25th player to register 100 UEFA Champions League outings.
©Getty Images

Barcelona marked their 200th UEFA Champions League match in style

• The Spanish midfielder marred the occasion, however, by receiving a red card, the 15th shown to a Bayern player in the competition. Just two teams – Juventus (20) and FC Internazionale Milano (17) – have picked up more.

• There were landmark goals on matchday seven for two Argentinian strikers as Agüero took his all-time UEFA Champions League haul to 20 (the 38th player to achieve that total) and Carlos Tévez, with his strike for Juventus against Borussia Dortmund, lifted his tally to ten (the 125th to get to double figures).

• History suggests that elimination for Schalke, Manchester City and Arsenal is imminent as only two sides have ever won a UEFA Champions League knockout phase tie after losing the first leg at home. Indeed, new ground will have to be broken if any of them is to join that select band as no club has ever advanced after conceding more than one goal in a first-leg home defeat. In both of those previous comebacks – Ajax against Panathinaikos FC in the 1995/96 semi-final and Internazionale against Bayern in the 2010/11 round of 16 – the first-leg result was 0-1.

Source: http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/newsid=2215185.html

Heineken House Lagos, ushers 'Season of Surprises' in UEFA Champions League

In its ninth year of sponsoring the Champions League, Heineken is redefining the match viewing experience with live interactive Twitter sessions anchored by legends

As the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League entered its second week, Heineken unveiled exciting new packages of promotions to delight Nigerian football fans.

An innovative new SMS-based giveaway, 90 fabulous prizes are to be won in 90 minutes on every UEFA Champions League match night: one prize for every minute of regulation football match time starting on March 17th.

Consumers will simply enjoy their Heineken, look under the crown cork of their opened bottle of Heineken, and send the unique code to a number which will be specified when the promo starts

At a packed press conference on Tuesday, the Corporate Adviser, Nigerian Breweries, Mr. Kufre Ekanem announced this amongst several other offerings under Heineken's new campaign, "Champion The Match".

In its ninth consecutive year of sponsoring the UEFA Champions League, Heineken is also now redefining the premium match viewing experience with live interactive Twitter sessions, anchored by surprise global UEFA Champions League football legends and celebrity guests.

Every UEFA Champions League match week, Heineken's #ChampionTheMatch is hosted from a beautiful setting in a different global city. In recognition of Heineken's stature and popularity with Nigerians, Lagos has been selected as one of only nine cities to host the series this season.

At the luxurious Heineken House Lagos in Ikoyi, which is open on every UEFA Champions League match night to invited Heineken fans, guests enjoy thrilling football action.

In the company of special guests such as popular musician, Tuface Idibia, and football legend Victor Ikpeba, fans watched as Barcelona asserted their superiority over reigning English champions, Manchester City. Even though Lionel Messi missed a penalty kick, Luis Suarez's brace was enough to ensure that the Catalans returned to Spain with a 2-1 victory.

Incidentally, courtesy of Heineken, Spain is also the exotic location where several Nigerian consumers will experience this season's Champions League finale. Every year, Heineken has rewarded Nigerian fans with once-in-a-lifetime trips to watch the finals, live in Europe.

This season, Nigerians will join fans from 35 other countries for Heineken’s world-famous Ibiza Final, where Heineken creates the ultimate match night in a way only Heineken can.

On a night that was full of surprising twists on-and-off the football pitch, it was revealed that Nigerian journalists would not be left out as lucky Heineken fans board the flights to Heineken's dream UEFA Champions League finale experience.

Source: http://www.goal.com/en-ng/news/4074/champions-league/2015/02/27/9318462/heineken-house-lagos-ushers-season-of-surprises-in-uefa

Afghanistan Vs. Scotland Cricket Streaming Live Online: Watch The 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup Match

Both Afghanistan and Scotland are without a victory in the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup, and they’re hoping one will come soon. Well, the chances are that one of them will leave this week’s match against the other with a victory, but no-one is quite sure who will pull it out. You will be able to watch it streaming live online from the University Oval, so don’t miss a moment of the action.

Scotland’s first match in the tournament was against New Zealand, and they ended up losing by three wickets. Their second match didn’t bring much success, either, as they were defeated by England by 119 runs.

Afghanistan has not been doing much better. In their opening match, they were defeated by Bangladesh by 105 runs. After that, they faced off with Sri Lanka, who ended up winning the match by four wickets.

Even with Afghanistan in an 0-2 hole, ICC-Cricket has let it be known that they are in the World Cup to fight. They’re not going to just lay down and let teams walk all over them, but Scotland is preparing to give it their all.

Scotland captain Preston Mommsen was gracious in defeat after their last match, but knows they can win.

    “We’ve qualified. We actually have to work harder. We have to go through the whole process of playing in a pressurized tournament to win eight games in a row to qualify for a World Cup.”

Even with just one week down in the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup, there are many that believe one of these squads will pull off a big upset at some point or another. Fans think that these two teams and Ireland are going to really make some noise.

The match between Afghanistan vs. Scotland is scheduled to begin at 11:00 local time (22:00 GMT) on Thursday, February 26, at the the University Oval in Dunedin.

ESPN will begin online streaming at 4:30 p.m. E.S.T. on Wednesday, February 25, but that is just one option to watch Afghanistan vs. Scotland live. ESPN does charge a fee to watch all of the matches in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, so be aware of that.

Some of the other options include CricHD, PTV Sports, Sky Sports 2, or Star Sports, and these will be good to check out Afghanistan vs. Scotland in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. You will be able to enjoy any of these streaming options to watch the match live and not miss a moment of the action.

Source: http://www.inquisitr.com/1871223/afghanistan-vs-scotland-cricket-streaming-live-online-watch-the-2015-icc-cricket-world-cup-match/

Sri Lanka Vs. Bangladesh Cricket Streaming Live Online: Watch The 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup Match

The 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup is in full swing, and teams are already beginning to separate themselves from one another in both pools. Sri Lanka has a split record of 1-1 so far, while Bangladesh won their opening contest, but then didn’t even get a chance to play in their second. Now, they will face each other and you can watch it streaming live online.

Sri Lanka played in the opening match of the Cricket World Cup, and ended up losing by 98 runs to New Zealand. They rebounded in their second match and defeated Afghanistan by four wickets.

As for Bangladesh, they won their opening match against Afghanistan in an impressive fashion by 105 runs. They were set to take on Australia in their second match, but it was abandoned without a ball bowled due to the weather.

India.com has reported that it won’t be easy for either squad — they both suffered injuries before their match.

Sri Lanka’s Jeevan Mendis, a left-handed batsman and right-arm leg-spinner, was taken to the hospital with a serious hamstring injury. It’s possible that he could end up being out for the rest of the Cricket World Cup.

For Bangladesh, former captain and wicket keeper Mushfiqur Rahim was also taken to the hospital after being hit on the right thumb by a ball from a teammate. The hospital visit was a precaution, and some x-rays were taken.

“Rahim felt pain in the thumb so we wanted to get it checked-up,” team manager Khaled Mahmud said.

Things seem more serious for Sri Lanka, but if either player is out, then it could spell trouble for their team.

New Zealand is already leading Pool A with three victories in their first three matches. They also have a tough Australian team in their pool, and it won’t make it any easier to get extra victories.

The match between Sri Lanka vs. Bangladesh is scheduled to begin at 14:30 local time (03:30 GMT) on Thursday, February 26, at the the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

ESPN will begin online streaming at 10 p.m. E.S.T. on Wednesday, February 25, but that is just one option to watch Sri Lanka vs. Bangladesh live. ESPN does charge a fee to watch all of the matches in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, so be aware of that.

Some of the other options include CricHD, PTV Sports, Sky Sports 2, or Star Sports, and these will be good to check out Sri Lanka vs. Bangladesh in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. You will be able to enjoy any of these streaming options to watch the match live and not miss a moment of the action.

Source: http://www.inquisitr.com/1871528/sri-lanka-vs-bangladesh-cricket-streaming-live-online-watch-the-2015-icc-cricket-world-cup-match/