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The Welshman was back on the bench for Wednesday’s 3-1 victory at Leganes, his involvement restricted to a late cameo as Zinedine Zidane’s side claimed a fourth consecutive win. Bale had started in last weekend’s 5-3 success at Betis but failed to impress, having also been left out of the line-up for the 3-1 Champions League win against Paris Saint-Germain. He has not completed 90 minutes since September due to injury and poor form, and the Madrid media appear to have made their minds up – “Bale’s credit has run out”, said the headline in one piece in sports daily Marca on Thursday....

“I want to enjoy myself on the football pitch, like you do when you’re a kid,” Bale was quoted as saying by the BBC on Thursday. “The Welsh side here now, we’re all like brothers. We’re friends, we joke around and play together but, when it comes down to serious business, we all fight for each other. We have fun at the same time. We want to come here and enjoy it and, when you enjoy your football, you play your best,” he added....

The 26-year-old opener completed his nine-month suspension for cheating in late December and has since played Twenty20 cricket for the Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League. But his outing for Western Australia against New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield in Sydney was his maiden first-class match since the infamous ‘sandpapergate’ in Cape Town almost a year ago that rocked the game. Bancroft was a measure of concentration and discipline as he played the anchor role to be 73 not out overnight and completed his patient ton on Sunday, smashing eight fours and three sixes in his 358-ball innings as his team collapsed around him....

Barcelona and Argentina forward Messi won the prize for a record sixth time having scored 41 times in 44 club appearances for Barcelona, with whom he won a 10th LaLiga title last season. Success in the Champions League eluded him, though, as Van Dijk helped Liverpool oust Barcelona in the semi-finals en route to a sixth triumph in Europe’s most premier club competition. Van Dijk’s performances for the Reds in that competition and with Nations League finalists Netherlands ensured he finished second in the voting for the Ballon d’Or, though he had no qualms about being pipped to the prize by Messi....

The European final not only marked the conclusion of the campaign, but it will also prove to be a major deciding factor in the race for the 2019 Ballon d’Or award. Football’s most prestigious award has gone hand-in-hand with the Champions League for the better part of the decade. Eight out of ten times, winners of the Ballon d’Or in the last ten years had won the European Cup in the same year....

It is too early to answer definitively, but the signs are looking good for Brendan Rodgers and his players. The Reds’ trip to White Hart Lane on Sunday was billed as the barometer of their capacity to compete this term following the sale of Luis Suarez to Barcelona and last week’s defeat at Manchester City. The answer was emphatic as Liverpool dismantled Spurs with a dominant 3-0 victory in north London....

The Leeds striker says that goalkeeper Illan Meslier asked for his jersey after a Premier League fixture in order to pass it on to his France U21 team-mate Dembele, who he says is a supporter of the west Yorkshire outfit. Dembele is currently starring in Spain for the Liga giants, but, according to Bamford, he has one eye on the action in England and has grown to support the Elland Road side....

A division bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal sought to know the status of the Aam Aadmi Party government’s notification to ban the Chinese string made of nylon. Noting that the kite-flying festival, celebrated in Delhi on August 15, was around the corner, the court asked the government to inform it by when the notification will be issued. The government told the bench that the notification was pending before Lt....

The opener hit three sixes and eight fours in reaching 138 not out from 358 balls for Western Australia, who were dismissed for 279 in their Sheffield Shield match with New South Wales. Having been banned along with Steve Smith and David Warner in March, Bancroft featured in the Big Bash League for Perth Scorchers when his suspension finished in December. The 26-year-old, who averaged 33.11 in 11 innings for the Scorchers, reminded Australia’s selectors of his quality in the longest format in an Ashes year with his knock on Sunday....

Also read: Indian team shaping up well ahead of Junior Men Hockey World Cup 2016: Coach Harendra Singh The Odisha-born player was assisted by defender Hardik Singh as the vice-captain in the tournament. The duo was part of EurAsia Cup-winning junior team earlier this year. The South Asian neighbor Bangladesh participated in the competition after a long 15 years. Bangladesh started the match on a brighter note as Ashraful Islam found the back of net in the first half....

This past weekend Bannon, the one-time close adviser and confidant of Trump, touted an appearance made by the Florida governor at a postseason NFL game. While praising who many in the GOP believe could be the next president, Bannon also expressed disdain towards his former boss closely unifying with Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican. On January 28, Trump will be joined by Graham and South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster at the Statehouse in Columbia, South Carolina, the Associated Press reported last week....

Baqsimi contains the active ingredient glucagon, a hormone made by the pancreas to regulate blood glucose (sugar) levels. Glucagon is categorized as a glycogenolytic (breaking glycogen in the liver into glucose) agent. Baqsimi increases blood glucose levels by activating hepatic (liver) glucagon receptors, stimulating glycogen breakdown, and releasing glucose from the liver to produce an anti-hypoglycemic effect. In 2019, Baqsimi became the first glucagon therapy approved by the United States (U....

The Prince of Wales, the most high-profile guest set to attend the swearing-in, is scheduled to speak before president-elect Governor General Sandra Mason officially assumes her position. The island of more than 300,000 people elected Mason, one of the queen’s appointees, in a two-thirds majority vote in October. Barbados, a former British colony nicknamed “Little England” in the past, is one of the Caribbean’s wealthier countries with its tourism, manufacturing and finance industries, the AP reported....

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Barcelona’s poor run away to Real Sociedad continued when the champions were held to a 1-1 draw at Anoeta on Sunday and slipped six points behind La Liga leaders Real Madrid before next week’s ‘Clasico’ against their arch rivals. Former Real Madrid academy player Willian Jose headed Real Sociedad ahead in the 53rd minute after a torrid first-half performance by Barca but Lionel Messi levelled in the 59th following a magnificent display of skill by Neymar....

Barca came from behind to beat Eibar 4-2, but their victory was immaterial as Madrid claimed a 2-0 win at Malaga to clinch the trophy for the first time since 2012. The Copa del Rey final on Saturday is now Barca’s only chance of success in Luis Enrique’s final season in charge, with the Catalan club having been knocked out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals. Luis Enrique told reporters: “We have recovered fast after a difficult opening few minutes and the truth is we haven’t been consistent enough to win LaLiga, especially in our home matches and in the end we have paid the price....

A pair of goals from Luis Suarez and a late strike from Paulinho were enough to grind out an 11th win from 12 games and stretch their lead at the LaLiga summit to seven points. 12/5 for draw in Madrid derby Daunting trips to Juventus in the Champions League and second-placed Valencia next week now await and Valverde knows his side will have to improve if they are to get anything out of them....

The La Liga Champions had started their preparation for the new season in style, winning both of their pre-season games so far. Napoli had been impressive themselves, also winning both their ties against Liverpool and Olympique Marseille in preseason. The Serie A side represented a different proposition for Ernesto Valverde, who was keen to assess his options ahead of the new season. The Spaniard was still missing Lionel Messi, who was recovering from injury, but managed to name a competitive first eleven for the tie....

Following a keenly contested first half with few chances created, the game exploded to life virtually from the restart, with captain Koke putting Diego Simeone’s men ahead with a close range finish after being played in by Angel Correa. Atletico’s lead, however, lasted for just six minutes, with a familiar scourge in Lionel Messi drawing the Catalans level after the Argentine international scored his 31st goal against Los Colchoneros. Barcelona then went 2-1 up after Antoine Griezmann headed home against his former side....

Prior to the global pandemic, Barcelona had the largest wage bill in La Liga at €671 million. However, according to the new rules, the salary cap currently stands at €382.7 million. This could prevent the Catalan giants from registering Messi, whose most recent deal was worth well over €500 million. However, Tebas believes Barcelona can get out of this sticky situation and re-sign Lionel Messi if they can restructure their finances....