Paris St Germain are hoping their Parc des Princes crowd will help them overturn a 3-1 deficit in their Champions League last-16 return leg against Real Madrid as they try to cope without the injured Neymar. The talismanic Brazilian forward was ruled out of the game on Tuesday after undergoing foot surgery, but PSG coach Unai Emery is confident the home fans will play a key role.

Lionel Messi in full flow is one of the most exhilarating sights in football and a threat that puts defences on red alert, but the Barcelona talisman has become just as dangerous from dead ball situations too. With a perfectly-placed dipping free kick from 23 metres out on Sunday, Messi beat Atletico Madrid s wall and towering goalkeeper Jan Oblak to earn Barcelona a vital 1-0 win over their La Liga title rivals at Camp Nou.

Runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City beat champions Chelsea 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday to extend their lead to 18 points and leave the London side further adrift from the Champions League qualification spots. After Chelsea s defensive approach resulted in a first-half stalemate, City went ahead 33 seconds into the second period when Bernardo Silva turned in a low cross from David Silva.

Marwan Mohsen, who struggled with a year-long injury, scored his first goal in 14 months as Ahly moved one victory away from a third straight Egyptian Premier League triumph after beating Dakhleya 3-0 on Wednesday. Coming on as a second-half substitute, the Egypt striker broke the resistance of a brave Dakhleya side after scoring a fortuitous goal five minutes past the hour mark before laying off the third for the league s top scorer Walid Azaro with four minutes remaining.

Zamalek recorded their biggest victory yet under Ihab Galal and extended their winning run to six matches after crushing Talae El-Geish 3-0 at Cairo Stadium on Tuesday. First-half goals from midfielder Mahmoud Abdel-Aziz, defender Mahmoud Alaa and striker Kabongo Kasongo gave Zamalek all three points, in a game that saw in-form keeper Ahmed El-Shennawi block a Geish penalty.

Zamalek are set to face Talae El-Geish in the 27th matchday of the Egyptian Premier League on Tuesday, a week before kicking off their CAF Confederation Cup campaign. "The El-Geish match is very important. It s a good warm-up ahead of very tough domestic and continental games," the Cairo-based club s coach Ihab Galal was quoted as telling players during training.

Skipper Hossam Ghaly, a darling of Ahly supporters, confirmed that he would retire at the end of the season, bringing the curtain down on an 18-year career that is equally marked by controversy and brilliance on the pitch. In a lengthy interview with Al-Ahram s daily newspaper, Ghaly said he had decided to hang up his boots and embark on an administrative career, although he declined to confirm if his new role will be at boyhood club Ahly, where he came across as a promising youngster in 2000.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has praised the performance of Egypt s winger Mohamed Salah after he equalled Harry Kane s 23 goals at the top of the English Premier League (EPL) scoring charts on Saturday, breaking the league s record. Salah caught up with Kane on Saturday by scoring and providing an assist in Liverpool s 4-1 rout of West Ham United at Anfield.

Ahly moved within touching distance of a third straight Egyptian Premier League title after a late goal from Junior Ajayi gave them a 2-1 win over El-Entag El-Harby at Cairo Stadium on Saturday. The Nigerian forward atoned for an earlier stunning miss when he drilled home on the rebound with 13 minutes remaining as the irresistible Red Devils grabbed a 13th consecutive victory to move a step closer towards retaining their title. Winger Ahmed Hamoudi, who was taken off before halftime after picking up an injury, put Ahly ahead after 10 minutes with a fine chip but Khaled Kamar converted a penalty signaled by the additional assistant referee to restore parity a few minutes later.

Canadian skier Chris Del Bosco suffered a suspected broken pelvis in a brutal 100-foot fall in the men s ski cross.

After suffering a 0-1 defeat at Burkina Faso the Gabon champions have hit back scoring two goals at the d Angondjé stadium, winning 2-1 on aggregate.

During a long interview to the official FIFA website on Wednesday, Egypt winger Ahmed Elmohamady praised his national team coach Hector Cuper and teammates striker Mohamed Salah and goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary for their efforts in ending 28 years of Egypt s absence from the World Cup finals. "Cuper is one of the greatest coaches we ve ever had in the national team. Also, I think the experience in the team is important. You see the goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary -- he s 45. In the camps, in the games, he s talking to the players and giving all of his experience to his teammates," Elmohamady said.

Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea added another heart-stopping save to his collection as his team held a highly impressive Sevilla side to a goalless draw away from home in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday. The Spain international foiled the home side s Colombian striker Luis Muriel from point-blank range at the end of the first half not long after tipping over an overhead kick from Argentine defender Gabriel Mercado as the Spaniards created far more chances than Jose Mourinho s side.

Barcelona talisman Lionel Messi finally opened his account against Chelsea with a 75th-minute equaliser to earn his side a 1-1 draw in a fascinating Champions League last 16, first leg duel at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday. Willian s superb 62nd-minute effort looked like giving Chelsea a precious advantage for the second leg in Spain but they undid all their good work by handing Messi an equaliser.

Bayern Munich, helped by two typical Thomas Mueller goals and two from Robert Lewandowski, romped to a 5-0 win over Besiktas in their Champions League tie on Tuesday after the Turkish champions played nearly the whole match with 10 men. Besiktas defender Domagoj Vida was given a straight red card for tripping Lewandowski outside the penalty area in the 16th minute, the defining moment in the round of 16, first leg tie.

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is hopeful that some of his key players will recover in time for Wednesday s Champions League last-16 first leg tie at Sevilla. United beat Huddersfield Town to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals on Saturday with Marcus Rashford, Ander Herrera, Marcos Rojo, Phil Jones, Antonio Valencia, Daley Blind, Marouane Fellaini and Zlatan Ibrahimovic out injured and Paul Pogba ill.

Egypt s winger Mohamed Salah has heaped praise on Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp, insisting that the German tactician helped him a lot in delivering outstanding performances before the goal with the Premiere League club this season. “With the boss here, I play a little bit closer to the goal, more so than at any other club or more than any of my other coaches have asked me to,” Salah told the Liverpool Echo on Monday.

Al Ahly invited their fans on Thursday to attend the Men s and Women s African volleyball Clubs Championships for free.

The fifth time was the charm for Aljona Savchenko, a Ukrainian who has skated in five Olympic Games for two different countries and with three different partners. In PyeongChang, she finally realized her Olympic dream of winning gold.

Almost four months ago, Walid Azaro was vilified by Ahly s demanding supporters for being a "flop signing" as he struggled in front of goal, wasting numerous clear-cut chances. Coach Hossam El-Badry, who blessed his signing from Morocco s Difaa El Jadida for $1.4 million last summer, kept faith with the 22-year-old and he is now repaying his trust with a series of clinical displays.

Egypt s champions Ahly have settled on 6 March as the date of their first match in the 2018 CAF Champions League, the Cairo giants announced on Tuesday. The Reds will be facing the winner of the match between Gabon s CF Mounana and Burkina Faso s Rail Club du Kadiogo in the prestigious African tournament round of 32.