PSG Get Real, Man Unt vs. Atletico in Revised Champions League Last-16 Draw

UEFA Deputy General Secretary Giorgio Marchetti draws out the card of Paris St Germain during the UEFA Champions League 2021/22 Round of 16 Draw at the UEFA headquarters, Nyon, Switzerland, Dec. 13, 2021. (Reuters)
UEFA Deputy General Secretary Giorgio Marchetti draws out the card of Paris St Germain during the UEFA Champions League 2021/22 Round of 16 Draw at the UEFA headquarters, Nyon, Switzerland, Dec. 13, 2021. (Reuters)
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PSG Get Real, Man Unt vs. Atletico in Revised Champions League Last-16 Draw

UEFA Deputy General Secretary Giorgio Marchetti draws out the card of Paris St Germain during the UEFA Champions League 2021/22 Round of 16 Draw at the UEFA headquarters, Nyon, Switzerland, Dec. 13, 2021. (Reuters)
UEFA Deputy General Secretary Giorgio Marchetti draws out the card of Paris St Germain during the UEFA Champions League 2021/22 Round of 16 Draw at the UEFA headquarters, Nyon, Switzerland, Dec. 13, 2021. (Reuters)

Paris St Germain will face Real Madrid in a titanic clash in the last 16 of the Champions League while Manchester United take on Atletico Madrid after UEFA declared the original draw void due to a technical error in the process on Monday.

Earlier, United were mistakenly drawn with Villarreal, even though both teams had already faced each other in the group stage while the Premier League side's ball was not added to the bowl as a potential opponent for Atletico Madrid.

United were eventually drawn with PSG, Real drew Benfica, while Atletico drew Bayern Munich before the draw was scrapped after the Spanish side complained and UEFA admitted the error caused by a "technical problem with the software".

"It was surprising, unfortunate and very difficult to understand what happened... Millions of people were waiting for the draw," Real Madrid director Emilio Butragueno told the club's television channel.

"Having said that, we go into this tie with a lot of excitement... We're also aware of the difficulties, with the quality of players (PSG) have. We believe the team will play two great games, they'll be fantastic for football."

PSG's initial draw with United was a much anticipated battle between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi -- the competition's two top goal scorers and winners of 12 of the last 13 Ballon d'Or awards, with Messi leading 7-5 after victory in 2021.

Instead, Messi will now face a familiar opponent in Real Madrid, against whom he has scored 26 times in all competitions when he was at Barcelona.

Real Madrid had also attempted to prise French forward Kylian Mbappe from PSG in the close season but ultimately failed after the Ligue 1 side rejected their bids.

United's Ronaldo, meanwhile, will relish a tie against Spanish champions Atletico having scored 25 goals against them for Real and Juventus.

'They had to do it again'

Liverpool take on Inter Milan with another trip to the San Siro after Juergen Klopp's side beat AC Milan twice in the group stage.

"I had to wait 54 years to play at the San Siro for the first time... and now it'll be twice in three months, so that's good news," Klopp told the Liverpool website.

"Of course, it is a tough draw, definitely. They are the league leaders in Italy; a good team in a good moment."

Klopp added UEFA did the right thing in redoing the draw.

"I saw it live and I thought, 'You cannot let it stand like this, there's no chance.' Definitely, they had to do it again."

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola also agreed a redraw was the right course of action.

"I think it's fair," he said. "It was a mistake and these kind of things sometimes happen... (a redraw) makes sense so there are no suspicions."

Last year's runners-up City face Sporting Lisbon while Juventus, who topped their group above Chelsea, face Villarreal.

Holders Chelsea will face French champions Lille, just as they were drawn in the original draw, while six-times champions Bayern Munich will now face RB Salzburg -- the first Austrian side to qualify for the knockout stages.

Benfica will now play high-flying Ajax Amsterdam who impressed in the group stage by winning all six matches.

UEFA also experienced technical issues while conducting the third-tier Conference League draw later.

The botched process was reminiscent of the 1982 World Cup draw where then-FIFA general secretary Sepp Blatter attempted to prevent any of the four South American qualifiers from being placed in the same group.

However, FIFA did not stick to the procedure they had outlined and placed teams drawn in the wrong groups, leading to confusion among those assembled at the Madrid venue.

One of the spinning cages used to mix the balls also broke down during the redraw and caused further embarrassment.



For 3rd Consecutive Time, Turki Alalshikh Tops the List of the Most Influential Figures in Boxing

Chairman of the Board of Directors of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority (GEA) and President of the Saudi Boxing Federation Turki Alalshikh. (General Entertainment Authority)
Chairman of the Board of Directors of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority (GEA) and President of the Saudi Boxing Federation Turki Alalshikh. (General Entertainment Authority)
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For 3rd Consecutive Time, Turki Alalshikh Tops the List of the Most Influential Figures in Boxing

Chairman of the Board of Directors of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority (GEA) and President of the Saudi Boxing Federation Turki Alalshikh. (General Entertainment Authority)
Chairman of the Board of Directors of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority (GEA) and President of the Saudi Boxing Federation Turki Alalshikh. (General Entertainment Authority)

Chairman of the Board of Directors of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority (GEA) and President of the Saudi Boxing Federation Turki Alalshikh has topped Boxing News magazine’s list of the 50 most influential figures in boxing for 2026, securing the No. 1 spot for the third consecutive year.

The ranking reflects his influential role in the global boxing landscape over recent years, through contributing to the staging of some of the sport’s biggest fights, bringing together leading boxing stars in major international matchups, and strengthening collaboration with prominent promoters and organizations across the industry.

This growing presence has also helped establish Riyadh as one of the world’s leading boxing destinations, attracting major fights, top-tier athletes, and fans from around the world, alongside the continued expansion of Riyadh Season’s presence on the international sporting stage.

Boxing News is one of the world’s longest-established publications specializing in boxing. Founded in the United Kingdom in 1909, the magazine publishes the annual BN50 list, which ranks the most influential figures in the sport.


Lewis Hamilton’s Ordeal Continues with Brake Failure at Formula 1’s Spanish GP

 Formula One F1 - Spanish Grand Prix - Madring, Madrid, Spain - September 13, 2026 Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton in action during the race. (Reuters)
Formula One F1 - Spanish Grand Prix - Madring, Madrid, Spain - September 13, 2026 Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton in action during the race. (Reuters)
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Lewis Hamilton’s Ordeal Continues with Brake Failure at Formula 1’s Spanish GP

 Formula One F1 - Spanish Grand Prix - Madring, Madrid, Spain - September 13, 2026 Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton in action during the race. (Reuters)
Formula One F1 - Spanish Grand Prix - Madring, Madrid, Spain - September 13, 2026 Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton in action during the race. (Reuters)

It was another disappointing race weekend for seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton.

The Ferrari driver had to retire seven laps into Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix because of a brake failure. The setback came a week after he finished sixth at the Italian GP following an early dust-up with teammate Charles Leclerc that sparked some in-house spats.

“I hit the brake, the car started stopping and then the pedal took a step and all of a sudden the car didn’t de-accelerate as fast a normal,” Hamilton said. "I ended up carrying a lot of speed in and just brushed the barrier. After that the pedal came back and then a few corners later, the pedal went long. I don’t really know where that’s come from.”

The setback dropped Hamilton 101 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli, who won Sunday's race in Madrid.

“We’ve had a pretty decent car, a good car this weekend and I think we will continue to try and improve it and I think we have better results coming in the future,” Hamilton said. “I think the team’s done an amazing job, so I’m sad for them today that they couldn’t get max points. I think we had the car to fight for a win today, and unfortunately, it just didn’t work out.”

The weekend in Madrid started with Ferrari showing good pace behind Mercedes. Hamilton was fourth in the first practice session on Friday and third in the second. But he crashed during the final practice on Saturday, couldn't get a clean lap in qualifying and started fourth on the grid.

Hamilton hasn’t finished on the podium since a third-place result at the British GP. He won in Barcelona — his first victory with Ferrari — and was second in both Monaco and Canada.

He and Leclerc said this weekend that they had discussions about what happened at Monza, and Leclerc took responsibility for the incident that hurt Hamilton’s chances there. Hamilton praised his teammate’s “maturity” and said these issues were normal in F1.

Leclerc finished fourth on Sunday.


Mbappe Scores Brace as Real Madrid Get 4-1 Victory Over Rayo Vallecano

Real Madrid's French forward #10 Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring his his team's fourth goal during the Spanish league football match between Real Madrid CF and Rayo Vallecano de Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid on September 12, 2026. (AFP)
Real Madrid's French forward #10 Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring his his team's fourth goal during the Spanish league football match between Real Madrid CF and Rayo Vallecano de Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid on September 12, 2026. (AFP)
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Mbappe Scores Brace as Real Madrid Get 4-1 Victory Over Rayo Vallecano

Real Madrid's French forward #10 Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring his his team's fourth goal during the Spanish league football match between Real Madrid CF and Rayo Vallecano de Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid on September 12, 2026. (AFP)
Real Madrid's French forward #10 Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring his his team's fourth goal during the Spanish league football match between Real Madrid CF and Rayo Vallecano de Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid on September 12, 2026. (AFP)

Kylian Mbappe ‌scored twice as Real Madrid enjoyed a 4-1 victory over Rayo Vallecano in LaLiga at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday.

Mbappe got his sixth goal of the season in the 14th minute, from a penalty, after Rayo defender Florian Lejeune fouled Alvaro Carreras in the box.

Three minutes later Carreras exchanged passes with Mbappe, after Lejeune had gifted the ball to Vinicius Junior, and sent a shot into the net.

Wingers Vinicius and Yan Diomande, making his first start for Real since joining in August, found ample space to operate ‌in and after ‌34 minutes the Brazilian raced down the ‌left ⁠before picking out ⁠Jude Bellingham, just inside the box, who side-footed into the bottom corner with minimal fuss.

Mbappe hit the post late in the first half but the only danger to Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois's clean sheet came from a long-range strike by Andrei Ratiu which the Belgian pushed away.

The lack of tension was evident early ⁠in the second period, with Rayo's Pedro Diaz ‌hitting the post. The visitors pulled a ‌goal back after 51 minutes when, after a cheap giveaway, Sergio Camello ‌sneaked the ball through Ibrahima Konate's legs and into ‌the corner of the net.

Rayo were now enjoying comfortable possession in the Real Madrid half and were keeping Courtois busy. On the Real Madrid bench, manager Jose Mourinho's anger was mirrored by whistles from the ‌crowd.

With 13 minutes to go, Real's Denzel Dumfries drew a spectacular save from goalkeeper Emil ⁠Audero after ⁠connecting with substitute Arda Guler's cross.

Real Madrid closed out the game with a second goal from Mbappe on the counter-attack in the 91st minute, moving him on to seven goals in six games in all competitions.

The result put Real Madrid on 12 points, level with leaders Barcelona who play Levante on Sunday.

Espanyol beat Osasuna 2-0 with an early brace from Roberto Fernandez, while Racing Santander came from behind to defeat in-form Alaves 2-1.

Elche went ahead at San Mames through a second-half penalty from Facundo Buonanotte, but Athletic Club captain Inaki Williams found an equalizer with 11 minutes remaining and the game finished 1-1.