PARIS: Federico Valverde scored an unlikely hat-trick as Real Madrid trounced Manchester City 3-0 in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday, while holders Paris St-Germain rout Chelsea 5-2.

Elsewhere on Wednesday, Premier League leaders Arsenal snatched a 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen to preserve their unbeaten record in Europe this season, while Bodo/Glimt continued their fairytale run with a 3-0 win over Sporting Lisbon.

Alvaro Arbeloa’s record 15-time European champions avenged their loss to City in the league phase as Valverde struck three times in the first half to hand Real full control of the tie despite the absence of the injured Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and several others.

“(It was) incredible, you dream of nights like this,” Valverde told Movistar. “It’s been a long time since I enjoyed a game like this.

“We’ve shown that when the team works together we can achieve big things.”

Valverde ran onto a long kick from Thibaut Courtois and dribbled past Gianluigi Donnarumma to slot home and give Los Blancos the lead at the Santiago Bernabeu against City as the teams met in a knockout tie for the fifth season running.

The Uruguayan midfielder arrowed a low drive into the far corner to double Real’s advantage and then completed his hat-trick with a sublime touch and finish after linking up with Brahim Diaz.

“Valverde becomes a legend,” wrote Madrid newspaper AS. “Following Valverde’s lead, (the team) opted for a heroic defence of the club badge and anthem, of the traditional, generous team, all nerve and heart, to accomplish a feat that might well be historic without even needing a comeback.”

Real defender Trent Alexander-Arnold called Valverde the “most underrated footballer on the planet”.

City could have suffered an ever heavier defeat but Donnarumma saved a second-half penalty from Vinicius after the City goalkeeper brought down the Brazilian.

“I had a feeling that we were better than the result said… but the result is here,” City boss Pep Guardiola told TNT Sports, refusing to write off his team’s chances next week. “In football you never know. We will try.”

Meanwhile, PSG put one foot in the quarter-finals after two late goals from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia at the Parc des Princes.

Bradley Barcola fired PSG in front but Malo Gusto’s scruffy effort skipped past Matfei Safonov to bring Chelsea level.

Ousmane Dembele finished off a clinical counter to restore the lead for the hosts before half-time, only for Enzo Fernandez to reply once more for Chelsea after excellent work from Pedro Neto.

A mistake from Filip Jorgensen saw Vitinha lob the Chelsea goalkeeper to put PSG on top for the third time, with Kvaratskhelia hammering in a superb fourth and then potentially applying the fatal blow for Luis Enrique’s side in stoppage time.

“It is a special moment because we are maybe not quite as precise as usual…” said Luis Enrique, whose team have struggled to consistently replicate last season’s form.

“There are all the comparisons with last year but it is impossible to be at that level… we are very resilient, I think that is a word which defines our team.”

Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior admitted his team paid the price for losing their composure late on.

“A very disappointing result in an evening where for so much of the game I was really happy. The last 15-20 minutes were crazy,” he said.

“We need to be better with setbacks and we need to stay calm and we didn’t.”

Arsenal leave it late

Despite an unprecedented six English teams featuring in the last 16, not a single one won and only two avoided defeat in Europe this week.

Arsenal needed an 89th-minute penalty from Kai Havertz against his former club to snatch a draw away to Bayer Leverkusen.

Robert Andrich headed in a corner for Leverkusen moments into the second half to leave Arsenal, who won all eight of their league phase matches, staring at defeat in Germany.

But Havertz came off the bench to warm applause in the 74th minute and tucked the penalty past Leverkusen goalkeeper Janis Blaswich after a foul on Noni Madueke to ensure Arsenal remain favourites to reach the quarter-finals.

“Penalties in the last minutes are not always easy. The time between the whistle and taking the penalty felt like eternity. But in these moments you need to be present,” Havertz told reporters. “These are the moments I’ve worked for for years, to be there in moments like that.

“I know the stadium and I’ve already converted many penalties from this spot. Of course I’m sorry for Leverkusen, but that’s football.”

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta called Havertz’s last-minute penalty an “extraordinary” tale.

“Football writes crazy stories,” Arteta told reporters. “It’s of course extraordinary that Kai returns here after so many years and converted the penalty. It’s a great story.”

Bodo/Glimt enjoyed another remarkable Champions League night as they swept Portugal’s Sporting aside 3-0 to register their fifth win in a row in the competition.

Sondre Brunstad Fet put Bodo ahead from the penalty spot just after the half-hour mark and Ole Didrik Blomberg made it two in first-half injury time.

Kasper Hogh scored his fifth goal in as many European games with 19 minutes remaining to spark wild celebrations for the Norwegian underdogs.

For Bodo/Glimt coach Kjetil Knutsen, their triumph was just another step in their amazing Champions League journey.

Asked if the result would send shockwaves through European football, Knutsen was his usual sanguine self, never letting an individual result affect how he sees the progress his club is making.

“I think we’re on a great journey now, and I don’t think we should reflect too much on that right now — I think we should evaluate the game, what was good, what was less good, and then we should work on it,” he told reporters.

“It’s easy to be satisfied when you get to where we are now, and that’s not a trap we should go into. We’ll evaluate what was good and what was less good, and that’s really what we’ve done in good and bad periods,” he added.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2026

DHAKA: A new-look Pakistan face an unusual do-or-die situation on Friday in the second One-day International against Bangladesh who stunned the tourists in the opening match of the three-match series.

Fast bowler Nahid Rana, 23, starred with a career-best show of 5-24 as Bangladesh demolished the Shaheen Shah Afridi-led Pakistan in the opening ODI at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Wednesday.

Shaheen has backed his young team to make a comeback despite the eight-wicket drubbing in the series opener, and will definitely be eyeing to level the series at the same venue today.

Pakistan are featuring in an ODI series in Bangladesh after a long gap of 11 years. The last time when Pakistan played a 50-over rubber in Bangladesh under the captaincy of Azhar Ali, they suffered a 3-0 sweep.

With ample time left before the ICC 2027 World Cup is staged in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia during October-November, Pakistan, which have struggled in ICC events since their 2017 Champions Trophy triumph, will certainly look to develop a side that can face top-tier opponents in the ODI showpiece. The current Bangladesh series is only the starting point of that build-up campaign.

Four Pakistan players — Abdul Samad, Maaz Sadaqat, Sahibzada Farhan and Shamyl Hussain — made their ODI debut on Wednesday after the tourists dropped experienced pros like Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman and Shadab Khan and aggressive opener Saim Ayub for the series. Other than Fakhar, the remaining three players flopped in the T20 World Cup held in India and Sri Lanka during February-March.

But the move to include did not work at all for Pakistan, at least in the opening game, as they were shot out for a paltry 114 – their highest-ever ODI total against Bangladesh — with 19.2 overs to spare.

The hosts completed the modest chase without any fuss in just 15.1 overs as opener Tanzid Hasan smashed a 42-ball 67 not out.

The worrying factor for Pakistan is that their batting crumbled against Rana who, before Wednesday’s game, had claimed just five wickets in his very short career comprising five ODIs.

Moreover, in the bowling department, Pakistan’s pace trio comprising Shaheen, Faheem Ashraf and Mohammad Wasim failed to make any impact as they looked to defend a scanty total.

On the other hand, Bangladesh will be looking to seal the series on Friday before the last game.

While the hosts’ bowling showcased their promise in the opener, their batters may well be tested fully today after chasing a modest 115 in the first game.

Though Pakistan hold a clear edge over Bangladesh in the head-to-head ODI record against Bangladesh – with 34 wins and six losses – the pumped-up hosts under Mehidy Hasan Miraz will certainly be looking to improve that record when they take the field at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium today.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2026

NEW DELHI: Indian cricket fans were stumped to discover that star all-rounder Shivam Dube could have been travelling incognito on a train with them, fresh from delivering a record third T20 World Cup crown.

Dube, who slammed an unbeaten 26 off just 8 balls in Sunday’s final against New Zealand, was left stranded in Ahmedabad on Monday when flights to Mumbai were booked solid.

It meant he took a berth in a shared sleeper train for a seven-hour journey home — something almost unheard of in India, where top cricketers are major celebrities and often mobbed by fans when they appear in public.

Dube told the Indian Express on Wednesday that he went to great lengths to get back to his son, 4, and daughter, 2, cobbling together a disguise to avoid detection from fellow passengers.

“I wore a cap, a mask, and a full-sleeved t-shirt,” the 32-year-old told the newspaper.

As he snuck onto the train with his wife and a friend in tow, Dube clambered onto the top bunk of his assigned carriage and wrapped himself in a blanket to remain concealed for the duration of the trip.

His cover was nearly blown however when an unwitting ticket collector asked if he’d just spotted the T20 hero, before being distracted by Dube’s wife.

As the journey finished Dube said he was escorted by police so “things were easy and the exit was smooth”.

“They thought I was landing at the airport, but were surprised when I told them that I was travelling by train.”

Published in Dawn, March 12th, 2026