BEB Weekend Sports:News!

Messi to miss El Clasico with fracture


Lionel Messi will miss El Clasico after being ruled out for three weeks with a fractured arm as Barcelona beat Sevilla 4-2 to go top of La Liga.

The Argentine was left writhing in agony after landing heavily on his right arm after colliding with Franco Vazquez.

He was still in obvious discomfort as he left the field in the 26th minute.
Just moments earlier the Barcelona captain had scored a sublime goal to put Barcelona 2-0 up.

Messi had also set up Philippe Coutinho for the opener on two minutes.

Barcelona confirmed after the game that the 31-year-old suffered a "fracture of the radial bone in his right arm" and is set to miss the Champions League tie against Inter Milan in midweek and the clash with Real Madrid next Sunday.

Despite the injury to Messi, Barcelona extended their lead in the second half through a Luis Suarez penalty.

Pablo Sarabia's deflected long-range effort brought Sevilla back into the game before Barcelona had goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen to thank for a wonderful double stop to deny first Sarabia and then Wissam Ben Yedder.

Ivan Rakitic's fine volley made it 4-1 and although substitute Luis Muriel curled home an impressive effort of his own, Barcelona held on to secure their first win in five La Liga matches.

The result also puts them one point clear of Alaves at the top of the table before next week's huge game at the Nou Camp against rivals Real.

While Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde will be relieved to see his side end their four-game winless run in La Liga, there will be concern for the fitness of star forward Messi.

The Argentine looked in scintillating form in the opening stages, setting up one goal before scoring a fine second to take his tally for the season to 12 in as many matches.

Mourinho in touchline melee as Chelsea score late to draw with Man Utd


Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho was involved in a furious touchline bust-up after Ross Barkley's 96th-minute equaliser rescued Chelsea's unbeaten Premier League start at Stamford Bridge.

Mourinho's side looked on course for an outstanding win over his former club after two goals from Anthony Martial overturned the first-half lead given to the hosts by Antonio Rudiger's 21st-minute header.

He bowed his head in disappointment as Barkley scored in the dying seconds after a goalmouth scramble, but then reacted angrily as Chelsea technical assistant Marco Ianni celebrated in front of him before then pumping his fists in Mourinho's direction again.

The Portuguese jumped from his seat and was then held back by a mixture of stewards and Manchester United staff as he attempted to get down the tunnel at Ianni.

It was a dramatic conclusion as Mourinho saw victory snatched away after he had replied to the taunts of Chelsea fans by holding up three fingers to remind them of the three Premier League titles he won while in charge at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues looked in control when Rudiger took advantage of Paul Pogba's poor marking to head home Willian's corner, but United responded superbly after the break and Martial's double - a smart, swivelling finish and a composed, low effort - put the visitors on the brink of three points until that frantic finale.

Hamilton on the brink of history


Lewis Hamilton stands on the brink of history in Sunday's US GP as the Mercedes driver closes in on a fifth world championship.

Hamilton will start the race from pole position after just edging out Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel by less than a tenth of a second.

The Mercedes driver will be crowned champion if he out-scores Vettel - who will be demoted to fifth on the grid - by eight points or more.
"I've just got to go out and do what l love doing," reflected Hamilton.
Only two drivers - Michael Schumacher and Juan Manuel Fangio - have previously secured a fifth championship in the history of F1.

But despite standing on the cusp of a landmark achievement, Hamilton has maintained a calm and relaxed demeanour since his arrival in Texas.
"I don't know why that is the case. In some respects it is kind of scary," Hamilton told reporters. "But the experience definitely helps - l am the third-oldest driver here. 
"I know what l need to do when l get out there."
The Englishman is also wary of the threat posed by a Ferrari team which has rediscovered its pace and poise.
"They were obviously very quick," said Hamilton. "This weekend, we're pretty much on a par performance-wise. 
"As Seb said, they've gone back on some of their potential updates and the car is better in the sweet spot and for us, we've not brought updates here so we're on max downforce level here. 
"That's great to see us so close and still I'm hopeful for the future to have more teams, more qualifyings like that, that are closer, but with more cars involved, that's got to be the ultimate goal for Formula 1."
Were Hamilton to convert pole position into a fifth US GP win in succession, Vettel would need to finish at least second to take the title fight on to Mexico next week.

The German's grid penalty has complicated that task, but Mercedes remain adamant that the championship is far from won yet. The United States GP race begins at 7.10pm tonight.

LeBron James impresses but Lakers lose NBA opener


LeBron James scored 26 points on his NBA debut for the LA Lakers who slipped to a 128-119 loss by the Portland Trail Blazers in their season opener.

The four-time MVP's total, the second highest scored by a Lakers debutant, included 12 rebounds and six assists.

Damian Lillard scored 28 points for Portland and Nik Stauskas matched his career high with 24, on his debut.

This was Portland's 16th successive win over the 16-time NBA champions, dating back to 2013.

James, who led Cleveland to their first NBA championship in 2016 after returning to the team from the Miami Heat, is playing for a Western Conference franchise for the first time in his career.

The 33-year-old signed a four-year deal with the Lakers in the summer, earning a reported $154m (£118.2m) over the term.

from Bola Esho's Blog

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