Champions League: Barca cruise past Inter without Messi

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Rafinha replaced Lionel Messi and helped Barcelona win without him as the Brazilian scored the opener in a 2-0 Champions League victory over Inter Milan on Wednesday.
With Messi out for three weeks and Real Madrid next up at the Camp Nou on Sunday, the question was whether Barca could cope without their star player and captain.
The answer may not have been resounding — they lacked some punch before Jordi Alba added a late second — but this controlled performance will certainly send them into the Clasico with a spring in their step.
Luis Suarez, Arthur and Philippe Coutinho were all excellent in Messi’s absence.
Victory all-but secures Barcelona’s passage to the Champions League last 16 too. They have nine points from three games and now sit top of Group B.
Messi was watching in the stands with his son Ciro and his fractured right arm in a sling. As soon as the ball left the centre circle, the fans sang his name.
Barca had drawn with Athletic Bilbao in the only other match this season he had not started, and that could have been a defeat were it not for him setting up the equaliser.

Even the club had posted an article on its website this week entitled “no need to panic”, detailing their “not so bad” record without him.
Rafinha, who was playing on loan at Inter only five months ago, was a surprise replacement. Ousmane Dembele was the one expected to come in and the fact the Frenchman remained on the bench until the end does not speak well of his current status
Messi was 22 when Barcelona last played Inter, a 3-2 aggregate win for the Italians in the 2010 semi-finals that remains arguably the peak of Jose Mourinho’s career.
As well as Rafinha, Coutinho spent five years at Inter while Mauro Icardi started out in Barca’s academy, ironically leaving in part due to Rafinha.
Icardi was quiet but had the first chance, beating Marc-Andre ter Stegen to Ivan Perisic’s low cross but stabbed his finish over.
Clement Lenglet’s header was denied by the feet of Samir Handanovic before Rafinha combined nicely with Suarez but failed to finish.
It was a warning, because the same pair connected again for the opening goal. Rafinha started the move, the ball spilling out of a midfield tussle and into his path. He sent it right to Suarez, whose chipped cross reunited with Rafinha, who had continued his run and sidefooted home

Arthur departed to a standing ovation soon after and with eight minutes left, Alba finally made sure of the win.
He pushed Ivan Rakitic’s ball past Milan Skriniar and drove into the far corner. There was there still time for one more Messi chant before the final whistle blew.




SPORTS

Nigerian wrestlers crash out in Budapest

Published


Idris Adesina
It is not the best of outings for Nigeria at the ongoing 218 World Wrestling Championships in Budapest, Hungary, after the four wrestlers representing the country crashed out in their various categories.
The competition holds from October 21 to 28. Odunayo Adekuoroye, Blessing Onyebuchi, Blessing Oborududu and Aminat Adeniyi represented the country in the women’s wrestling at the tournament. Adekuoroye competed in the 57kg while Onyebuchi did battle in the 76kg as Oborududu competed in the 68kg and Adeniyi crashed out in the 62kg. There was no male wrestler on the team.
Adekuoroye defeated Japan’s Katsuki Sakagami 11-6 in her first match but lost 7-6 to India’s Pooja Dhanda to crash out while Adeniyi exited her category in the round of 32 with an 8-0 loss to Yukako Kawai of Japan.
For Onyebuchi, she lost in the round of 32 to Estonia’s Epp Mae by fall while Oborududu crashed out in the round of 16 after a 6-4 loss to China’s Zhou Feng. She had won her first match 12-2 over Anna Schell of Germany.
President of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation Daniel Igali, who is in Budapest for the United World Wrestling congress, said the wrestlers gave their best, adding that the country needed more investment in the sport to beat the best in the world.
He said, “As a board, we have been working very hard on sponsorship but I think we still need to do more. It was a tough challenge for the federation to get the 


    

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SPORTS WRESTLER




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