The big news: Arsenal gunned down

Arsenal were outclassed by Bayern Munich 5-1 in their first-leg clash of round-of-16 in Champions League football on Thursday. Arsenal, who have been knocked out from same stage of competition for the past six seasons, saw them have only 25% ball possession as well. But Alexis Sanchez up his own missed penalty to equalise after Arjen Robben’s opener, to make it 1-1.

However, in the second half, it was the Bayern Munich show all the way as four spectacular goals were struck leaving Arsenal in the shambles. Thiago Alcantara scored a brace as Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller scored one goal apiece against a hapless Arsenal defense. Arsenal were literally gunned down in Germany to say the least.

Football:

  • Real Madrid came from a goal down to beat Napoli 3-1 in the first-leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Thursday. Karim Benzema, Toni Kroos and Casemiro ensured an easy Real win in the end. 
  • West Ham mamanger Slaven Bilic and his assistant Nikola Jurcevic have each been fined 8,000 pounds each after admitting to an improper conduct charge during their side’s clash against West Brom. 
  • Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann distanced himself from a Premier League move by saying he is happy at Atletico. Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United are interested in signing the star striker Griezmann over the summer.
  • India captain Sunil Chhetri surpassed Bhaichung Bhutia tally of 89 goals to become India’s all-time highest goal-scorer in league football as Bengaluru FC drew 1-1 with Aizawl FC in the I-League on Wednesday. Chhetri took his tally to 90 with a splendid strike.
  • East Bengal remained on top of the I-League points table even though they were held to a 1-1 draw by Shillong Lajong at the Kanchanjangha Stadium in Siliguri on Wednesday. 
  • Mohun Bagan and Mumbai FC played out a goalless draw at the Cooperarge Ground on Wednesday. Mumbai moved up from the bottom of the table while the Kolkata-based giants moved within three points of arch-rivals East Bengal. 

Cricket:

  • South African pacer Morne Morkel, who according to the doctors would never be able to play cricket again, is attempting to make a comeback from a back injury. “No one was 100% sure of what was going on with my back and to be honest there was a time when I was in doubt about my future‚” Morkel said. The paceman was training with his franchise Titans ahead of their Momentum One-Day Cup match against Dolphins on Friday.
  • Adam Voges, the captain of Prime Minister’s XI, struck an unbeaten 54 off 31 balls in his final match, against Sri Lanka. However, his knock went in vain as Sri Lankan XI chased down the target of 170 with five wickets and 17 balls to spare.
  • Defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad will host runners-up Royal Challengers Bangalore in the opening fixture of the Indian Premier League on April 5. The final will be held at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad on May 21. 
  • India women romped to their fifth straight win in the Women’s World Cup qualifiers on Wednesday, beating South Africa by 49 runs in a low-scoring contest at the P Sara Oval. 

Tennis:

  • Grigor Dimitrov beat Mischa Zverev at the Rotterdam Open on Wednesday. Dimitrov, who captured his second title of the season last weekend in Sofia, won in three sets 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-4. 
  • World No. 81 Donald Young beat No.6 seed Adrian Mannarino 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (4) in the opening round of the Memphis Open. 

Chess:

  • Padmini Rout continued her fine run in the World Chess Championship by holding eighth seed Zhao Xue to a draw in the first game of the second round on Wednesday in Tehran.