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In the world of football, Barcelona are set to face Napoli in the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League, while the defending champions Manchester City will take on Copenhagen. Roy Keane slammed Virgil van Dijk and called him “arrogant” for suggesting that only Liverpool tried to win the Premier League clash against Manchester United. Bengaluru SG Mavericks defeated Bengal Wizards to become champions of Tennis Premier League 2023. Tiger Woods spoke about competing well in the PGA Tour after returning to golf from a major surgery.
Read below to learn details about these top stories and other happenings in the sporting world in the last 24 hours.
Football
Barcelona to face Napoli in marquee UCL round of 16 clash
The draw for the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League 2023-24 saw Barcelona get Napoli in the marquee clash, which will be played either on February 13 or 14 next year. In the other UCL round of 16 fixtures, the defending champions Manchester City will compete against Copenhagen and the 14-time champions Real Madrid are going to take on RB Leipzig, apart from Porto vs Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain vs Real Sociedad, Inter Milan vs Atletico Madrid, PSV Eindhoven vs Borussia Dortmund, and Lazio vs Bayern Munich being the remaining ones.
Roy Keane slams Vir gil van Dijk after Manchester United held Liverpool to a 0-0 draw in Premier League
After Virgil van Dijk suggested that Liverpool were the only team trying to win their Premier League match against Manchester United, which ended in a 0-0 draw, Roy Keane called him “arrogant” in his post-match analysis on Sky Sports. The Manchester United legend was quoted as saying, “There's a lot of arrogance coming out of him, dissing Manchester United like that. He (Virgil van Dijk) needs reminding that he is playing for a club that has won one title in 30-odd years.”
AIFF mulls plan to host few matches of the FIFA World Cup 2034
As per the internal circular of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), the national footballing body is mulling a plan to host a few matches of the FIFA World Cup 2034, which is currently scheduled to be held in Saudi Arabia. Kalyan Chaubey, the President of the AIFF reportedly spoke to the executive committee members last month about India needing to “think or plan to work towards being a co-host for the World Cup in 2034.”
Carlo Ancelotti hints at signing new players after David Alaba joins injury list
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti hinted at signing new players in the January transfer window after David Alaba suffered a knee injury at the Santiago Bernabeu on the weekend during their 4-1 win against Villarreal. In the ongoing season, Real Madrid have been at the receiving end of a lot of player injuries, which led to their manager Carlo Ancelotti saying, “It's the only way we can replace all the important players who've suffered injuries. We'll see in the next few days if we can do something (in January).”
Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips open to transfer to Juventus: Reports
Kalvin Phillips, the Manchester City midfielder, is reportedly open to a transfer to Juventus, and the general agreement between both parties could also be close, as per the Tuttomercatoweb.com. The details have emerged that Juventus are relentless in the pursuit of talks with Manchester City and the entourage of Kalvin Phillips, who hasn’t played much football at the English club this summer in favour of other top players in the squad.
Major results in football:
International Friendlies
Mexico 2-3 Colombia
Premier League 2023-24
Arsenal 2-0 Brighton
Brentford 1-2 Aston Villa
Liverpool 0-0 Manchester United
La Liga 2023-24
Real Sociedad 0-0 Real Betis
Real Madrid 4-1 Villarreal
Bundesliga 2023-24
Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 Eintracht Frankfurt
Bayern Munich 3-0 VfB Stuttgart
Serie A 2023-24
AC Milan 3-0 Monza
Bologna 2-0 Roma
Lazio 0-2 Inter Milan
Ligue 1 2023-24
Marseille 2-1 Clermont
Lille 1-1 Paris Saint-Germain
Eredivisie 2023-24
Ajax 2-2 PEC Zwolle
AZ Alkmaar 0-4 PSV Eindhoven
Tennis
Bengaluru SG Mavericks become champions of Tennis Premier League 2023
The final of the Tennis Premier League 2023 saw Bengaluru SG Mavericks become champions after defeating Bengal Wizards in season five of the tournament. Ramkumar Ramanathan, Vishnu Vardhan, and Arina Rodionova played a key role for Bengaluru SG Mavericks in clinching three out of four games in the final, which was enough for them to reach the magical mark of 41 points.
Karolina Pliskova calls Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams huge personalities in tennis
The former world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova talked about how Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams were huge personalities, both on and off the tennis court, which the current players can’t be compared with. She was quoted as saying, “I guess not only I feel that it's not entirely ideal, even though each of today's top girls has something to offer. I won't comment on the tennis aspect, but charisma plays a role too. Sharapova and Serena were huge personalities, even in the marketing world. You can't compare today's girls with them.”
Golf
I know I can still do it: Tiger Woods looks forward to compete well on PGA Tour
Tiger Woods, the 15-time major champion, spoke about competing well on the PGA Tour with plans to play one event a month in 2024 after undergoing ankle surgery earlier this year. After carding 61 in the final round of the PNC Championship alongside his 14-year-old son Charlie, Tiger Woods said, “If I'm able to practise and do the things I know I can do, and prepare, I know I can still do it.”
F1
Ferrari became first team to officially reveal 2024 car launch date
The Italian manufacturer Ferrari became the first team to officially reveal their 2024 F1 car launch date, February 13, which is just eight days before the start of the three-day pre-season testing in Bahrain. Although the F1 team revealed the launch date of the car, they haven’t released any specific details about their launch plans yet.
