Real Madrid 0 // Barcelona 2
MADRID // Lionel Messi's brilliant double gave Barcelona a 2-0 win over Real Madrid in a tempestuous Champions League semi-final first leg in which the Real manager Jose Mourinho, the Real defender Pepe and the Barca substitute goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto were sent off.
Messi's two goals, the second a sublime run and shot, settled a scrappy and tense affair at the Bernabeu and gave Barcelona a huge advantage to take back to Camp Nou.
The Argentine met Ibrahim Afellay's low cross from the right to volley through Iker Casillas's legs from close range 14 minutes from time to break the deadlock.
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Messi then netted a wonderful second on 87 minutes when he wove his way into the Real penalty area and slotted past Casillas to give the Catalan side a two-goal cushion to take into Tuesday's return leg back in Barcelona.
Mourinho was sent off for his protestations soon after the defender Pepe was dismissed in the 61st minute by the German referee Wolfgang Stark for a flying tackle on Daniel Alves. It is fourth time in a row that Real have been left with 10 men against their rivals.
Tempers had already flared at half-time with players and officials involved in a melee near the tunnel.
Jose Manuel Pinto, the Barcelona substitute goalkeeper, was sent off for his part in an unsightly fracas.
A confrontation between the Barca midfielder Seydou Keita and the Real defender Alvaro Arbeloa as they left the pitch appeared to spark the trouble, which was quickly ended by security staff and police.
Barcelona tried to capitalise on their extra man with David Villa forcing a fingertip save from Casillas on 68 minutes.
Then on 76 minutes Afellay, the substitute, crossed and Messi converted with a volley at the near post.
It was the first goal Real had conceded at home in the Champions League this season, but the second arrived ten minutes later with Messi running from deep at speed, evading two challenges before sliding a right-footed shot past Casillas.
It leaves Real with a mountain to climb against their arch rivals who have two crucial away goals and have already crushed Real 5-0 at home in the Primera Liga this season.
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
RESULTS
Tottenham 1
Jan Vertonghen 13'
Norwich 1
Josip Drmic 78'
2-3 on penalties
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially