Sports
Real Madrid to play Benfica, PSG face Monaco in Champions League play-offs
Real Madrid were handed a quick rematch with Jose Mourinho’s Benfica in the draw for the Champions League play-off round on Friday, while reigning European champions Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) will face domestic rivals Monaco.
Benfica beat Real 4-2 in their final game of the league phase on Wednesday, with a 98th-minute goal by goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin proving decisive in allowing the Portuguese side to snatch the last play-off spot ahead of Marseille, who were eliminated altogether.
The defeat also nudged Madrid out of the top eight places in the league standings, which gives direct access to the last 16, forcing them into this extra round.
Benfica staged a remarkable recovery to take a play-off place — they finished 24th in the 36-team league phase, the last qualifying spot — by winning three of their last four matches after losing their opening four games.
Mourinho, 63, returned to the Lisbon giants for a second spell as coach in September. He was in charge of Real from 2010 to 2013 and won one La Liga title and one Copa del Rey while also taking them to the Champions League semi-finals in each of his three campaigns.
The clubs played each other in the 1962 European Cup final, with Benfica winning 5-3 to claim the last of their two titles to date.
PSG slipped out of the top eight after winning only one of their last five outings in the league phase and finishing in 11th place.
They will go to Monaco for the first leg and will be wary of the principality side, who beat them there in Ligue 1 in November.
However, 2004 Champions League finalists Monaco have been in poor form, with just one win in six games since the turn of the year.
They are 10th in Ligue 1, 21 points behind leaders PSG. However, a 0-0 draw with Juventus on Wednesday allowed them to secure a play-off place in Europe.
PSG also beat French opposition in the play-off round last season, hammering Brest 10-0 on aggregate before going on to lift the trophy for the first time in their history.
Elsewhere, Newcastle United will be strong favourites against surprise packages Qarabag of Azerbaijan, with the first leg to come in Baku.
Bodo/Glimt, Norwegian champions in four of the last six years, were also surprise qualifiers for this stage and have been rewarded with a tie against last season’s runners-up Inter Milan.
Juventus will take on Galatasaray, while Atletico Madrid face Club Brugge.
Borussia Dortmund play Atalanta, and Bayer Leverkusen were drawn against Olympiacos.
The two-legged play-off ties will take place in February, with the winners advancing to the last 16 in March.
The Pakistan cricket team on Monday arrived in Sri Lanka for the T20 World Cup, which is set to begin on February 7.
In a post on X, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said that a 15-player squad had arrived in the country.
“The 15-player national squad includes Captain Salman Ali Agha, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Naeef, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan, and Usman Tariq,” the PCB said in an earlier post, the informed of the squad’s department for the global event’s venue.
In the latest update about the aquad’s arrival in Colombo, the board said the team would rest on Monday and Tuesday.
“The team will play a warm-up match against Ireland on Feb 4,” PCB added.
The T20 World Cup, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, is set to begin on Feb 7.
On Sunday, the government gave the go-ahead for Pakistan’s participation in the tournament, but barred it from playing against arch-rival India on February 15.
The announcement came amid uncertainty regarding a possible boycott of the tournament over Bangladesh’s withdrawal following tensions with India.
A government source told Dawn that Pakistan had refused to play against India to express solidarity with Bangladesh. According to the government source, the primary reason for boycotting the match with India was the ICC’s “biased decision” towards Bangladesh.
BULAWAYO: India completed the semi-final line-up for the ICC Under-19 World Cup with a comprehensive 58-run win over Pakistan in Bulawayo on Sunday.
The victory in the final Super Six match at the Queens Sports Club means the Indian colts head into the knockouts unbeaten and as Group 2 toppers.
After a late surge helped them to 252 in 49.5 overs, India put in a clinical performance in the field to dismiss Pakistan for 194 in 46.2 overs.
India joined Australia, England and Afghanistan into the final four. The Ayush Mhatre-led side face Afghanistan in the semi-finals in Harare on Wednesday. The first semi-final, between Australia and England, takes place in Bulawayo on Tuesday.
Put into bat, India powered past 250 thanks to the acceleration provided by the lower order in the last 10 overs.
With a spot in the semi-final on line, India were expecting another blockbuster innings from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Though the left-hander gave the team a brisk start, striking five fours and a six as he motored to 30, he was living dangerously. After two close calls, Sooryavanshi fell to a shorter delivery from Mohammad Sayyam, with a bottom-edge carrying to wicket-keeper Hamza Zahoor.
Starting with Sooryavanshi, India lost three and in the space of four balls. While Sayyam also dismissed India captain Ayush Mhatre, Abdul Subhan bowled over opener Aaron George to reduce India to 47-3.
In their previous match in Bulawayo, India had scored a mammoth 352-8 against Zimbabwe. But on Sunday, the ball wasn’t coming on to the bat as well and stayed low. Vedant Trivedi led India’s fightback with 68. His 62-run fourth-wicket partnership with Vihaan Malhotra (21) helped steer India clear of immediate trouble. Trivedi also put on handy stands with Abhigyan Kundu and RS Ambrish.
After the middle order had kept the scoreboard ticking, the lower order provided the late flourish. Kanishk Chouhan (35 off 29) and Khilan Patel (21 off 15) helped India notch 71 runs in the last 10 overs, lifting the score to 252.
For Pakistan, Subhan dismissed Chouhan and Patel to finish with 3-33 in 9.5 overs.
To qualify for the semi-final at India’s expense, Pakistan needed to chase down the target within 33.4 overs; otherwise, if the innings ended with a six to reach 258, they had until 34.3 overs to get there.
Pakistan showed some early intent, scoring 13 runs off the second over. It seemed their chances hinged on Sameer Minhas, but India were able to send the star opener back fairly quickly. He was trapped leg before wicket by Henil Patel.
Following the early setback, Pakistan never showed any urgency to make a run for the semi-final spot. Hamza Zahoor (42), Usman Khan (66) and captain Farhan Yousuf (38) hung in there gamely even as runs slowed down to a trickle.
Chouhan conceded 30 runs off his 10 overs and claimed the wicket of Zahoor and was named the player-of-the-match. Skipper Mhatre claimed three wickets for 21 in his overs while Khilan Patel got 3-35.
Published in Dawn, February 2nd, 2026
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