Raissa's Blog - Best of Sports, Culture, and Entertainment

Lionel Messi was in scintillating form at the Finalissima - a contest between the champions of Europe and the champions of South America - as Argentina comfortably beat Italy 3 - 0. Messi, Di Mari and Matrtinez were a constant menace to the Italian defense with the seamless interplay. Messi's eye-catching dplay featured two assist, the first for Lautaro Martinez, who provided an assist for Argentina's second goal through Di Maria, and his second for substitute Paulo Dybala who scored Argentina's third goal in injury time. Since June 2019, Argentina are unbeaten in 32 matches, having won their first Copa America since 1993, qualifying for the World Cup in Qatar, and now, winning the Finalissima. Messi was thrown into the air by his jubilant teammates once the final whistle was blown. After the game, Messi said: "Today was a nice test because Italy are a great team. We knew it was going to be a nice game and a nice setting in which to be champions. "It was a b

For the fourth time in the last five seasons, Manchester City have been crowned Premier League champions. A dramatic 3-2 win over Aston Villa on Sunday saw Manchester City finish a point ahead of second-place Liverpool in the final game of the season.  Manchester City were down 2-0 when they scored three goals in five second-half minutes to secure victory, sending the Etihad stadium into delirium. Aston Villa's goals were scored by Matty Cash and former Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho. City substitute Ilkay Gundogan scored twice, either side of Rodri's goal in an epic five-minute comeback, with only 15 minutes left to the end of the game. Gundogan scored the first in the 76th minute, Rodri scored the second closely after, and the winning goal came from Gundogan in the 81st minute. Had City failed to win, Liverpool would have been champions. The 2021/22 Premier League title is Guardiola's 11th trophy in six years since coming to England. "We are legends. We will

A hat-trick of hat-tricks was the result produced by a scintillating Messi-Mbappe-Neymar trio versus Clermont on Saturday. Neymar and Mbappe each netted three times, with a trio of assists from Messi to achieve a 6-1 victory versus Clermont.  Messi's first assist came from the edge of the penalty area as he made a pass to Neymar who went on to score and give PSG a 1-0 lead. Messi leads the leagues with assists this season, with a total of 13 assists to his name. After the game, Mbappe told Canal Plus France: "The connection on the field with Messi and Neymar, it's a shame it's only happening now."

Argentina captain Lionel Messi who scored in Friday' 3-0 win over Venezuela says 'many things will change' after the winter World Cup in Qatar. The PSG/Argentina forward turns 35 in June. The scorers in the Argentina vs Venezuela encounter were Nico Gonzalez, Angel di Maria and Lionel Messi respectively. He said: "I don't know what I will do after the World Cup. I am thinking about what is coming. After Qatar, I will have to reassess many things." He also made it clear that his doubts had nothing to do with his past frustrations playing for Argentina. "It has been a while that I am happy here, since before winning the Copa. I am thankful for all this they make me feel every time I come to Argentina," Messi said. He was asked about continuing with the national team after Qatar, and said: "I don't know, the truth is I don't know. "I think about that is coming, which is close, Ecuador (on Tuesday). The preparation matches in Ju

Former Inter Milan striker Antonio Cassano recently revealed that five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo sent him a WhatsApp message after the Italian claimed Lionel Messi is superior to him. The former Roma player revealed the contents of Ronaldo's alleged texts during an interview on Bobo TV. “Cristiano wrote to me on WhatsApp asking for more respect after everything he’s won, all the goals he’s scored and for what he represents,” Cassano said. “I’m not afraid to tell the truth, I’ll face the whole world, from the Pope to the last person on earth. I told Cristiano Ronaldo that it’s not disrespect to say that only one Ronaldo exists and it’s the Fenomeno, and that Messi is much better than him. That’s not disrespect. “I was telling the truth, facts, that Messi is much better than him and there’s only one Ronaldo. I called Gigi Buffon and asked him if he had given my number to someone. He confirmed that he gave my number to the press officer [at  Juventus ] and he g

Paris Saint-Germain and Argentina forward Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d'Or for a record seventh time, beating Robert Lewandowski and Jorginho to lift football's most prestigious trophy once more. His previous wins came in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2019 - he had already won the trophy more times than any other player.  The 34-year-old was pivotal in Argentina's success - winning the Copa America - his first international honor, scoring 40 goals in 2021 - 28 for Barcelona, four for PSG and eight for Argentina.  Messi said: “It is incredible to be here again. Two years ago I thought that it was my last year and now I am here again. I am very happy, very excited and wanting to fight for new challenges. “I do not know how long I have left but I hope it will be a long time. I want to thank my teammates from Barcelona and PSG, and especially the Argentina team. I won this award and I had the feeling that I was missing something and this year I was able to achieve it.