লিওনেল মেসি গত রাতে নিজের ফোনটা বের করে জাতীয় দলের সতীর্থ মার্কাস আকুনিয়াকে ধন্যবাদ দিয়ে একটা খুদে বার্তা পাঠিয়েছেন কি না কে জানে।

পাঠালেও তাতে দোষের কিছু নেই। কিছুদিন আগেও লিগের দৌড়ে যে আতলেতিকোকে ধরাছোঁয়ার বাইরে বলে মনে হচ্ছিল, আকুনিয়ার কল্যাণে সে আতলেতিকোই এখন সম্ভাব্য লিগ শিরোপার দৌড়ে পিছিয়ে পড়ার শঙ্কায়। এই আর্জেন্টাইন লেফট মিডফিল্ডারের গোলে গত রাতে আতলেতিকোকে ১-০ গোলে হারিয়েছে সেভিয়া। আর তাতেই নিশ্চিত হয়েছে, দ্বিতীয় ও তৃতীয় স্থানে থাকা বার্সেলোনা ও রিয়াল মাদ্রিদের চেয়ে আতলেতিকোর ব্যবধান কমে আসা। আজ রিয়াল ভায়াদোলিদের বিপক্ষে হাতে থাকা ম্যাচটা জিতলেই আতলেতিকোর মাত্র এক পয়েন্ট পিছে থাকবে বার্সেলোনা। ওদিকে নগরপ্রতিদ্বন্দ্বীদের চেয়ে মাত্র তিন পয়েন্ট পিছিয়ে আছে রিয়াল। মৌসুমের শুরুটা বাজে হওয়ার পর শিরোপার সুবাসটা এবার বেশ ভালোভাবেই পাওয়া শুরু করেছেন মেসিরা। আকুনিয়াকে ধন্যবাদ বার্তা তিনি দিতেই পারেন! 

অবশ্য ম্যাচের শুরুর দিকে আরেক আর্জেন্টাইন সতীর্থ মেসির মন খারাপ করে দিয়েছিলেন হয়তো। সাত মিনিটের মাথায় আতলেতিকোর স্প্যানিশ মিডফিল্ডার সল নিগেজ পেনাল্টি বক্সের মধ্যে ফেলে দিয়েছিলেন সেভিয়ার সাবেক বার্সা মিডফিল্ডার ইভান রাকিতিচকে। সেখান থেকে পাওয়া পেনাল্টিটাকে কাজে লাগাতে পারেননি সেভিয়ার আর্জেন্টাইন উইঙ্গার লুকাস ওকাম্পোস। আটকে দিয়েছিলেন আতলেতিকোর স্লোভেনিয়ান গোলকিপার ইয়ান ওবলাক। এই নিয়ে মৌসুমে দুটি পেনাল্টি আটকালেন বিশ্বের অন্যতম সেরা এই গোলকিপার।

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Joel Embiid's extended absence from knee injury likely to cost him shot at winning MVP despite dominant season

 Philadelphia 76ers All-Star focus Joel Embiid got back to activity this end of the week in the wake of missing the previous 10 games with a bone wound in his left knee. Embiid's return is clearly extraordinary information for a Sixers crew amidst a tight fight for season finisher situating at the highest point of the Eastern Conference and that needs a sound Embiid to make such a genuine altercation the postseason. Tragically for Embiid, however, his all-encompassing nonappearance probably cost him his shot at winning the MVP grant this season. 

Before the injury took him down and out in mid-March, Embiid was in post situation in the MVP race. He involved the best position in NBA.com's MVP power rankings, and he was the agreement top pick among numerous public intellectuals. His lead was thin, however, and games missed could at last be a deciding variable in a race that is amazingly close in any case. 

Embiid has played in 32 of Philadelphia's 49 games so far this season, as he additionally missed a few games preceding the bone wound. The Sixers have 23 ordinary season games staying on their timetable. Along these lines, if Embiid plays in each and every game for the rest of the current mission, he will play in 55 all out games. That would be the least number of games at any point played by a MVP victor, other than Karl Malone, who played in 49 out of 50 complete games for the Utah Jazz during the lockout-abbreviated 1998-99 season. 

Outside of Malone, Bill Walton holds the record for the most un-number of games played by a MVP, as he showed up for the Trail Blazers in the 1977-78 season and still won the honor. Other than those two, no MVP victor has at any point showed up in under 60 games during the season that they won the honor. It likewise should be thought about that Embiid will probably miss a couple more games this season, for rest in anticipation of postseason play, at any rate. 

To win in spite of playing in less games than any past MVP, Embiid would need to be the runaway top pick for the honor, and that simply isn't the situation. Indeed, even before he was harmed, Nikola Jokic and LeBron James (who is presently similarly situated as Embiid as he is sidelined with a lower leg injury) were breathing directly down his neck in the honor race, and since he went down different players like Damian Lillard, James Harden and ruling double cross MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo have arisen as real up-and-comers. While Embiid has missed 17 games, Jokic has showed up in each and every game for the Denver Nuggets and Antetokounmpo has just missed a small bunch of games for Milwaukee. It would be credulous to imagine that grant citizens will not consider that.

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NBA: Embiid returns as 76ers beat Minnesota, Jazz down Magic with record 3-point night

 LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Joel Embiid scored 24 focuses in his get back from a 10-game physical issue nonattendance to lift the Philadelphia 76ers to a 122-113 believer the Minnesota Timberwolves inside the National Basketball Association (NBA) on Saturday (April 3). 

Embiid added eight bounce back and three squares in his first game since enduring a wounded left knee during the 76ers 127-101 believer the Washington Wizards a month ago. 

"It felt extraordinary," said Embiid who played along with his knee intensely swathed. 

"Simply attempting to ask my mood back. I'm having the chance to fault the support I used to be wearing. I just felt like I didn't have my cadence all game. It seemed like I wasn't smooth. I disdain the support." 

Tobias Harris scored a group high 32 focuses, Shake Milton and Ben Simmons each had 14 focuses and Seth Curry added 13 for the 76ers, who have won 12 of their last 15 challenges. 

The 76ers beat the Timberwolves for the eighth successive time, shooting 42% from past the curve and 50 percent from the area . 

Still lead trainer Doc Rivers was unsettled. 

"We won the game , however I wasn't excited how we played," he said. 

"It was one among those messy, monstrous games. We got various opportunities to put the game away, however we would make an effort not to that this evening." 

Karl-Anthony Towns counted 39 focuses and 14 bounce back for the Timberwolves, who have lost seven of their last nine games. 

Anthony Edwards contributed 27 focuses. 

In Salt Lake City, Donovan Mitchell scored 22 focuses, including six threes, in light of the fact that the group driving Utah Jazz beat the Orlando Magic 137-91. 

Joe Ingles and Bojan Bogdanovic each scored 17 focuses, while Jordan Clarkson fell off the seat to achieve 15 on the grounds that the Jazz won their 10th in a row and 22nd during a line gathering . 

Utah set a NBA precedent with 18 three-pointers inside the half , outperforming the 2018 California Warriors.

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