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Liverpool and Real Madrid Meet Again in the Champions League

Real Madrid's Uruguayan Fede Valverde celebrates after scoring the 0-1 during the Spanish La Liga match between CA Osasuna and Real Madrid at El Sadar stadium in Navarra, Pamplona, northern Spain, 18 February 2023. (EPA)
Real Madrid's Uruguayan Fede Valverde celebrates after scoring the 0-1 during the Spanish La Liga match between CA Osasuna and Real Madrid at El Sadar stadium in Navarra, Pamplona, northern Spain, 18 February 2023. (EPA)
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Liverpool and Real Madrid Meet Again in the Champions League

Real Madrid's Uruguayan Fede Valverde celebrates after scoring the 0-1 during the Spanish La Liga match between CA Osasuna and Real Madrid at El Sadar stadium in Navarra, Pamplona, northern Spain, 18 February 2023. (EPA)
Real Madrid's Uruguayan Fede Valverde celebrates after scoring the 0-1 during the Spanish La Liga match between CA Osasuna and Real Madrid at El Sadar stadium in Navarra, Pamplona, northern Spain, 18 February 2023. (EPA)

Champions League royalty go head-to-head on Tuesday when Liverpool hosts holder Real Madrid at Anfield.

The two giants of European football meet in a repeat of last year's final and the standout match of the round of 16.

While Liverpool and Real Madrid share 20 Champions League titles between them, Manchester City continues its quest to win the trophy for the first time and Napoli has emerged as a surprise contender after an outstanding start to the season.

Liverpool’s revenge mission

Liverpool has the chance to avenge the 1-0 loss to Real in the final in Paris last May and goes into the first leg in much-improved form after back-to-back wins against Everton and Newcastle in the Premier League.

It has been a season of struggle for a team that was competing for an unprecedented quadruple of trophies last year. So much so that, up until the past week, winning the Champions League looked like its best chance of qualifying for next season's competition.

But there have been encouraging signs in those morale-boosting wins that leave Jurgen Klopp's team just six points off the top four and a Champions League-qualifying spot.

Real is aiming to be crowned champion of Europe for a record extending 15th time and is fresh from winning the Club World Cup earlier this month.

But it faces a fight to hold onto its Spanish league title, with Barcelona leading the way at the top of the standings.

Man City’s year?

The Champions League is the one major trophy City has failed to win since being taken over by Abu Dhabi's ruling family in 2008.

While the arrival of Erling Haaland last summer looked like a potential game-changer in Europe, question marks hang over Pep Guardiola's team in the Premier League.

A 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest on Saturday saw Arsenal overtake City at the top of the table and highlighted vulnerabilities that have been evident for much of the season.

But City has looked strong in the Champions League, cruising through the group stages and is the overwhelming favorite to win when it travels to RB Leipzig on Wednesday.

But Guardiola's time in charge at City has been punctuated by surprise exits in Europe, so the potential for an upset is real.

The City manager is still waiting to win his first Champions League title with a team other than Barcelona featuring Lionel Messi, having lifted it twice with the Catalan club in 2009 and 2011.

The surprise package

Napoli was the most impressive team of the group stages and is racing away at the top of the Italian league, leading by 15 points. It faces Eintracht Frankfurt away on Tuesday on the back of a five-game winning run.

Striker Victor Osimhen looks unstoppable in front of goal, with 19 this season and nine in his last nine games.

His performances have seen him linked with a summer move to Manchester United and he can further enhance his reputation as the Champions League returns.

Based on form, Napoli looks like one of the leading contenders to win the trophy and will take some stopping if it can maintain it.

Lukaku’s back

Inter Milan, which is the closest challenger to Napoli in Italy, is also in action in the Champions League this week when it hosts Porto on Wednesday.

If it is to stand a chance of going far in the competition, much could rely on Romelu Lukaku staying fit and getting his goal-scoring form back.

In that sense, it was encouraging to see him score for the first time since October in Inter's 3-1 win against Udinese on Saturday - even if it did come from the penalty spot.

World Cup winner Lautaro Martinez has been lethal in front of goal since returning from Argentina's success in Qatar, scoring eight in his last 10 games.

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Sports

Tennis Australia Defends Prize Money amid Player Complaints

USA's Coco Gauff waits to receive serve from Uzbekistan's Kamilla Rakhimova during their women's singles match on day two of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 19, 2026. (AFP)
USA's Coco Gauff waits to receive serve from Uzbekistan's Kamilla Rakhimova during their women's singles match on day two of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 19, 2026. (AFP)
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Tennis Australia Defends Prize Money amid Player Complaints

USA's Coco Gauff waits to receive serve from Uzbekistan's Kamilla Rakhimova during their women's singles match on day two of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 19, 2026. (AFP)
USA's Coco Gauff waits to receive serve from Uzbekistan's Kamilla Rakhimova during their women's singles match on day two of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 19, 2026. (AFP)

Governing body Tennis Australia (TA) has defended the amount of prize money on offer at the Australian Open as twice Grand Slam champion Coco Gauff warned that ​players would raise the pressure if their demands were not met.

The Australian Open hiked prize money to A$111.5 million ($74.56 million) for the current tournament, bringing it ahead of last year's French Open ($65.42 million) and Wimbledon ($71.60 million) but short of the US Open's purse ($90 million).

The world's top players wrote to the Grand Slams calling for significant improvements in prize money in ‌April last year, ‌and a number have expressed dissatisfaction ‌with ⁠the ​situation ‌at Melbourne Park in recent days.

Tournament director Craig Tiley, however, said no players had approached him with any complaints about the Australian Open.

"I've also spoken to the players directly, not through third agents, and they are very happy with the Australian Open," Tiley told the Australian Financial Review (AFR).

"Not one of them has shown any ⁠dissatisfaction to me about what we are doing. And I’m not really concerned ‌with what’s said because I know the ‍facts.

"As I said from the ‍beginning, I believe the players should continue to be ‍paid more and more players paid more, we have 128 in the main draw and 128 qualifying (men and women), so we are supporting over 500 players financially each Grand Slam."

The AFR reported that agents of ​the world's top 10 men's and women's players had met in Melbourne over the weekend and agreed ⁠to take further action seeking a bigger share of the Australian Open revenue.

American world number three Gauff told reporters on Monday she had not heard concrete plans for action over pay but said players would raise the pressure if their demands went unmet.

"I feel like that will have to be a collective decision that we would all have to talk about," she said after her 6-2 6-3 win in the first round over Kamilla Rakhimova.

"I do know players are going to put more pressure on ‌the Slams if certain things aren't being met to where we see it."

Sports

Warhorse Wawrinka Stays Alive at Farewell Australian Open

Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland celebrates after defeating Laslo Djere of Serbia in their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP)
Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland celebrates after defeating Laslo Djere of Serbia in their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP)
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Warhorse Wawrinka Stays Alive at Farewell Australian Open

Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland celebrates after defeating Laslo Djere of Serbia in their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP)
Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland celebrates after defeating Laslo Djere of Serbia in their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP)

Former champion Stan Wawrinka lived to fight another day with a gutsy four-set victory to kick off his final Australian Open campaign on Monday.

The three-time Grand Slam winner, 40, is playing his last season before retiring and gave his all to down Serbia's Laslo Djere 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) in front of a Kia Arena crowd willing him to victory.

But he made life hard for himself, working 18 break points but only converting three of them in a draining 3hr 20min battle.

"It was amazing today, so thank you so much," said Wawrinka, who made his debut at Melbourne Park in 2006.

"It is my last year. It's been too long that I'm coming back, but the passion is still intact.
"But I'm not young any more, so I need to be careful also.

"It's my last time and I'm trying to enjoy it," he added. "But in the same time as I'm trying to compete. I'm always going to fight."

The Swiss stalwart, ranked 139, bounced back from losing the opening set to overwhelm the 92nd-ranked Djere in the second.

Defying his age, he then took the third before an energy-sapping fourth went to a tiebreak where the veteran's experience came into play.

"He's a great player. Last time we met, he beat me so I expected a tough match today," he said.

"But I'm happy with the discipline I put on myself, to keep staying with him, to keep fighting, trying to be a bit more aggressive, trying to find a way."

Wawrinka won the first of his majors at Melbourne in 2014, a season during which he peaked at world number three, and reached two other semi-finals.

Along with that title, he won the French Open a year later and the US Open in 2016.

The triumphs all came at a time when Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were dominating men's tennis.

Wawrinka has 16 career ATP titles although the last came in Geneva in 2017.

He won Olympic gold in doubles alongside Federer at Beijing in 2008 and helped deliver a first Davis Cup triumph for Switzerland in 2014.

Sports

Mane Leaves Cup of Nations Stage at the Top

Sadio Mane of Senegal celebrates holding the trophy after winning the CAF Africa Cup of Nations after the final match between Senegal and Morocco in Rabat, Morocco, 18 January 2026. (EPA)
Sadio Mane of Senegal celebrates holding the trophy after winning the CAF Africa Cup of Nations after the final match between Senegal and Morocco in Rabat, Morocco, 18 January 2026. (EPA)
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Mane Leaves Cup of Nations Stage at the Top

Sadio Mane of Senegal celebrates holding the trophy after winning the CAF Africa Cup of Nations after the final match between Senegal and Morocco in Rabat, Morocco, 18 January 2026. (EPA)
Sadio Mane of Senegal celebrates holding the trophy after winning the CAF Africa Cup of Nations after the final match between Senegal and Morocco in Rabat, Morocco, 18 January 2026. (EPA)

Senegal talisman Sadio Mane emerged with more than ​just the Player of the Tournament award after Sunday’s Africa Cup of Nations final, earning widespread respect for persuading his aggrieved side to complete the match against Morocco.

It was Mane who convinced teammates to return to the pitch in Rabat after their coach Pape Bouna Thiaw ordered them off in protest at a penalty awarded against them deep in stoppage time.

The decision, after the referee had consulted ‌VAR, handed Morocco ‌a last-gasp chance to win their first ‌title ⁠in ​50 years ‌but was squandered by Brahim Diaz after a 14-minute delay.

Senegal went on to win 1-0 in extra time for a second Cup of Nations title in the last three editions, after which Mane said it was his last African championship.

"My last Afcon? Yes, I think I've said it, I'll stop here,” the 33-year-old told reporters. “I think the next generation is ⁠ready, they'll do the job, I'll be their 12th man."

The two-time African Footballer of the ‌Year looked reluctant to leave when his ‍coach angrily stormed onto the pitch ‍and gestured for his players to leave.

Amid arguing from both camps, ‍Mane spoke to French coach Claude Le Roy, a veteran of a record nine Cup of Nations, who was pitchside working for French television.

"Sadio came to ask me what I would do in his place, and I told ​him quite simply, 'I would ask your teammates to come back',” said Le Roy, who had previously coached Senegal.

WORLD CUP MAY ⁠BE MANE'S FINAL BOW

Mane has played in six Cup of Nations with two winners’ medals in 2021 - when he was also named best player - and on Sunday. He was also a runner-up in 2019.

In total, he has scored 11 goals in 29 finals appearances.

Mane is widely expected to quit international football altogether after Senegal compete in the World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the US in June.

But before Sunday’s final, his coach insisted Mane might stay on.

"The decision is not his to make," Thiaw said in a press conference. "The people want to see him continue, ‌and I think he made a rash decision. The country doesn't agree, and as the coach, I don't agree."