TEHRAN (Iran News) The win is an early boost to East Bengal’s quarter-final hopes with defending champion Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC next up for the Indian team.

East Bengal hit the ground running and took the lead as early as the fourth minute after two blocked attempts by Fazila Ikwaput saw the ball falling kindly to Shilky Hemam, who struck a low shot into the bottom right corner from just above the box.

The early strike set the tone for the remainder of the half as the Indian side dictated the tempo, limiting Iran side Bam Khatoon to long-range efforts, with Sara Didar and Fatemeh Geraeli both trying their luck.

East Bengal doubled its advantage in the 32nd minute following a slick build-up which involved Amnah Nababi threading a perfectly-timed through ball to Ikwaput, who showed good ball control before slotting past Raha Yazdani.

Bam Khatoon almost conceded again three minutes later when Soumya Guguloth set up Resty Nanziri nicely inside the six-yard-box but the Ugandan midfielder skied her effort. “Champions League”

The Iranian outfit barely troubled Elangbam Panthoi Chanu at the other end but that changed in the closing minutes with Geraeli testing the keeper from distance with a tame effort in the 39th minute.

The continuous waves of attacks finally yielded a goal for Bam Khatoon after Jyoti Chouhan’s handball led to Mona Hamoudi to score from the spot in first half stoppage time.

Bam Khatoon emerged after the break with renewed intent, with Fatemeh Pasandideh testing Panthoi from outside the area before Geraeli saw her free-kick attempt at the hour mark sail over the bar.

East Bengal turned up the intensity in the closing stages with Ikwaput striking the right post in the 79th minute from inside the box, while Yazdani kept out the Ugandan’s effort in the 84th minute with a low save.

Any hope of a Bam Khatoon fightback was extinguished three minutes later after Nanziri launched a spectacular effort from distance which bent over Yazdani before settling into the back of the net to seal the win.

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In unprecedented scenes, the clash was halted in the 16th minute after Webo was a shown red card before both sets of players surrounded the officials amid allegations of a racist term being used.

The former Cameroon international was heard protesting: “Why did you say n*gro, why did you say n*gro?” after being dismissed, leading to a mass confrontation on the touchline.

Following lengthy and exceptionally heated discussions that involved former Chelsea and Newcastle striker Demba Ba, the players opted to leave the field in protest after consulting with one another –
with audible shouts of “respect” heard as they eventually disappeared off down the tunnel.

Superstar PSG duo Kylian Mbappe and Neymar were among those vocal in their support of leaving the field, with the latter immediately saying that “we can’t play” after hearing what the fourth official had allegedly said.

UEFA had harbored hopes that the game would resume with the fourth official removed from the touchline, swapping roles with the official appointed VAR for the night. However, with PSG’s players in the tunnel, Istanbul failed to re-emerge at 21:00 GMT, the time thought to have been agreed upon.

A subsequent statement from European football’s governing body announced an investigation into the incident will take place, reiterating that both teams had initially agreed to restart under the revised officiating terms.

It was eventually confirmed that the game would not be resumed on Tuesday night, and instead, the remaining minutes of the game will be played on Wednesday at 18:55 (17:55 GMT) with a completely new set of match officials.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has tweeted a message of support for Istanbul Basaksehir, their backroom staff, and Webo in particular, stating that the country is “unconditionally against racism and discrimination in sports and all areas of life”; a sentiment shared by the overwhelming majority on social media.

The game was goalless when play was stopped, with PSG hoping to seal qualification for the last 16 at the expense of either RB Leipzig or Manchester United.

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Real Madrid were the headline act, clawing back a late, late point from 2-0 down against Borussia Monchengladbach. Elsewhere, there were wins for the Premier League’s Liverpool and Manchester City, while Bayern Munich managed three points of their own in one of the early kick offs.

Here’s your roundup of Tuesday’s action…

We have to start with Real. They fell 3-0 down in the first half of their opening game against Shakhtar, and failed to find their way back, though you’d have been forgiven for thinking they may have found their footing again for their trip to Germany after a weekend Clásico win over Barcelona. For a long time on this night, you’d have been wrong. Two goals either side of half time from Marcus Thuram gave Gladbach a deserved lead, though Real left it very late to avoid two consecutive group stage defeats. Karim Benzema gave them some hope with minutes to play, before Casemiro hit an injury time equalizer.

Real still sit bottom of Group B after two games, with a double header against Inter next up…

Inter themselves haven’t enjoyed the greatest start, taking their second consecutive draw. They failed to score away at Shakhtar in an early kick off, despite the fact they rattled the bar a couple of times in the first half. Their trip to Madrid next week will be very interesting.

“Champions League Roundup”

Ferran Torres scored the 600th Manchester City goal under Pep Guardiola early in their Group C clash away at Marseille, and it was a relatively easy ride for the former Premier League champions.

Ilkay Gundogan and Raheem Sterling scored second half goals to seal their second straight win in the group, and it puts them in a commanding position. Porto and Olympiakos met in the other fixture in the group, with the former running out 2-0 winners.

It’s not difficult to see City sailing through this group.

“Champions League Roundup”

Reigning champions Bayern made it two wins out of two in Group A, but it wasn’t quite as easy a night as they’d have hoped. Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich scored the goals to sweep Lokomotiv Moscow aside, though the German champions’ high line was exposed by the pace of Ze Luis on a number of occasions. Anton Miranchuk had equalised before Kimmich hit a sweet winner.

Elsewhere in the group, Atletico Madrid edged a thriller against RB Salzburg at the Wanda Metropolitano, with Joao Felix’s second half double ensuring they turned around a 2-1 deficit.

Marcos Llorente had given them the lead early on before Dominik Szoboszlai and Mergim Berisha turned the tables, with Diego Simeone’s side – led by their most expensive signing – fighting back to claim their first win. It could’ve been even better for Felix had an outrageous bicycle kick not cracked off the bar in the first half.

“Champions League Roundup”

Diogo Jota scored Liverpool‘s 10,000th goal in a 2-0 win over FC Midtjylland of Denmark, with Mohamed Salah scoring a late penalty to seal the win. It wasn’t all good news though, as Fabinho was substituted off with a suspected injury to make their crisis in personnel in central defence even worse. They’re already without Virgil van Dijk for the season.

They are, however, top of their group, as Atalanta and Ajax battled out an open and entertaining 2-2 draw in Bergamo. The visitors didn’t quite manage 13 goals this time but were still 2-0 up at the break, with a penalty from Dusan Tadic and a scrappy one from Lassina Traore putting them in control.

Atalanta being Atalanta though fought back, scoring twice in six minutes through Duvan Zapata to earn a point.

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Cristiano Ronaldo v Virgil van Dijk

Ronaldo leads the Champions League goalscorers charts for the sixth consecutive season with 15, but will come up against the world’s most expensive defender in £75 million ($100 million) Dutchman Virgil van Dijk in Kiev.

Van Dijk already looks worth the massive price Liverpool paid Southampton for his services in January, as much for the improvement he has inspired in those around him as his own performances.

“I feel also personally much more confident when you know you have a really good partner next to you,” said Liverpool centre-back Dejan Lovren.

“He’s a leader, he takes control,” added right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold. “He’s really got authority.”

Marcelo v Mohamed Salah

Salah exploited the gaps left by the Brazilian on numerous occasions when Roma were eliminated by Madrid from the Champions League two seasons ago, when Salah lacked the killer finishing touch he has demonstrated this season to take his chances.

Bayern Munich right-back Joshua Kimmich scored in both legs of this season’s semi-final against Real with Marcelo caught out of position.

However, the Madrid vice-captain, now in his 11th year at the Bernabeu, makes up for his defensive liabilities by bombing forward at every opportunity to wreak havoc at the other end.

“I know exactly how I have to play,” insisted Marcelo on Friday.

The flying full-back has scored against Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and Bayern on route to the final, and also has plenty of positive experience in Champions League finals having netted in 2014 and 2016, in a penalty shootout, against Atletico Madrid.

Sergio Ramos v Roberto Firmino

Described as a cross between a goalscoring number nine and creative number 10 by Brazil coach Tite, Liverpool will hope Firmino’s movement can drag another Madrid Champions League specialist in Ramos out of position.

Madrid captain Ramos embodies this Real side as he tends to save his best for the big occasion.

The Spaniard started Real’s recent run of European dominance with a stoppage time equaliser against Atletico in the 2014 final and also scored against Real’s local rivals two years later in another all-Madrid showpiece.

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