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SCMP Sport

There’s very little chance of getting away from the Champions League at the moment, although Pep Guardiola could be forgiven for wishing he’d rather be anywhere else at the moment.
A collapse of almost England cricket proportions leaves Manchester City on the brink of not making the next stage, while Celtic, for all the jokes about Scottish football, are actually into the play-offs.
Speaking of England’s cricketers, they have been living up to their 1990s stereotype, while football fans hoping to return to simpler times might want to try supporting a club in Norway, where the fightback against VAR has begun in earnest.
Paris though is where we’re going to start our journey through what happened while you were sleeping.

Who needs Mbappe anyway?
Paris Saint-Germain have hardly set the world alight this season, but neither have Manchester City, and both desperately needed to win with time running out to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League.
City took control with Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland both scoring early in the second half for the visitors. However, Ousmane Dembele pulled one back and Bradley Barcola equalised on the hour mark for PSG, who then went in front through a Joao Neves header on 78 minutes and wrapped up the win in stoppage time when Goncalo Ramos put the icing on a 4-2 victory at the Parc de Princes.
PSG move above City in the standings, leaving Guardiola’s team 25th out of 36 teams with eight points from seven games. Only the top 24 go through.
“I don’t know what happened,” Grealish said. “It’s weird because in every other season we’ve been so good in those moments, managing the game. I don’t know if it’s a confidence thing, for most of this season we’ve not been at the levels we know we can be.”
A place in the sun
Arsenal’s chances of winning the Premier League may have lessened considerably in the past few weeks, but a 3-0 thumping of Dinamo Zagreb at the Emirates Stadium – courtesy of goals from Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard – has put them within touching distance of the last 16, and boss Mikel Arteta said if they do he’d take the players for a mini-break.
The Gunners sit third in the Champions League standings and need just a point from next week’s trip to Girona to be certain of automatic qualification for the last 16 via a top-eight finish.
If they manage that, Arteta has suggested he would take his squad on a warm weather training camp during the time when other teams are in play-off action.
“If we earn the right to do that, it would be great,” he said about the potential for a winter getaway. “Obviously it has been a super-busy schedule, a lot of demands and with things that have happened, even more demands, especially on the players. If we can achieve that it would be great.”
A little bit of history repeating

Celtic secured a place in the Champions League knockout stage for the first time in 12 years as Loris Benito’s late own goal earned a dramatic 1-0 win over Young Boys.
The Scottish champions had a first-half penalty saved, three goals disallowed and ended with 10 men after Daizen Maeda saw red, but held on to ensure they will finish in the top 24 of the 36-team table and reach the play-off round. Celtic climb to 18th ahead of next week’s trip to Aston Villa.
“It’s a little bit of history created, we haven’t been in the knockout stages for a long time. For the supporters it’s an amazing night,” Brendan Rodgers, the Celtic boss said. “We kept going, kept fighting, kept believing and got the points.”
Not all progress is good
Norway could become the first country in Europe to abandon VAR after a vote Wednesday by the country’s top football clubs.
Nineteen clubs voted against continuing the use of video referees, while 13 voted for keeping it, according to a statement by Norsk Toppfotball, the organisation that represents the 32 teams in Norway’s top two divisions. A decision on the future of VAR will be made by the Norwegian football federation in March.
“We see that the technology has potential but through today’s discussion and subsequent vote we see that a majority of our clubs believe that the current version of VAR does not work well enough,” Cato Haug, the chairman of Norsk Toppfotball, said.
Norwegian fans have criticised the system, saying it ruins the flow of the game. Neighbouring Sweden has refused to introduce VAR amid similar objections. In England, Premier League clubs voted to keep the system earlier this year.
They still can’t play spin
England cricket teams not being able to play spin is nothing new, and so India’s crushing seven-wicket win in the first T20 international should hardly come as a surprise.
Spinner Varun Chakravarthy and fast bowler Arshdeep Singh shared five wickets between them as India bowled out England for 132 in Kolkata.
Left-hander Abhishek Sharma then came out firing and smashed a 20-ball fifty to steer the team to victory in 12.5 overs and a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.


PSG comeback stuns Manchester City, Norway clubs vote to ditch VAR, and India thrash England

Liverpool stay perfect, Barcelona win 9-goal thriller, and Japan’s Suzuki makes MLB history

Chelsea up to fourth, City spend US$42 million on defence, Lion Johnson to become a Bear

City roar, United whimper, Eagles fly and snooker’s Murphy rediscovers winning feeling

While you were sleeping

Goncalo Ramos (bottom left) is mobbed by his teammates after scoring  celebrates with teammates after scoring PSG’s fourth against Manchester City. Photo: AP

Manchester City’s head coach Pep Guardiola is having a tough time of things this season. Photo: AP

Young Boys captain Loris Benito (left) scores an own goal. Photo: EPA-EFE

Zac Purton breaks Douglas Whyte’s all-time record for Hong Kong wins at Happy Valley

Zac Purton and wife Nicole after the champion jockey broke the all-time record for Hong Kong wins at Happy Valley on Wednesday night. Photos: Kenneth Chan 

Douglas Whyte and Zac Purton after the latter equalled the former’s all-time record on Wednesday night.

Zac Purton with the specially-designed trophy after his historic achievement.

Zac Purton poses for a photo with fans at the Valley on Wednesday night.

HKJC

Guangdong-Hong Kong Cup: city’s battling recovery in vain as mainlanders triumph

Hong Kong forward Kyle Lau shoots during Wednesday’s second leg against Guangdong. Photo: Elson Li

Hong Kong’s Raphael Merkies (left) challenges for the ball at Hong Kong Stadium. Photo: Elson Li

Sport

Football

Pep Guardiola’s side are in danger of not making the knockout stages of the Champions League after throwing away a 2-0 lead in Paris


Pep Guardiola’s side are in danger of not making the knockout stages of the Champions League after throwing away a 2-0 lead in Paris.


Uefa Champions League