Sports Burst - The Return Of Messi vs. Ronaldo!
The battle is on in the Champions League with Messi and Ronaldo returning for another chapter in the ultimate footballing contest
by Tim Stannard
Solskjaer warns of "streetwise" Barcelona in Old Trafford as Lionel Messi looks to manhandle Manchester United
Ever since Cristiano Ronaldo decided to ABANDON La Liga last summer...
Scratch that.
Ever since Cristiano Ronaldo decided to RUN AWAY LIKE AN IDDY BITTY SCAREDY CAT from La Liga last summer, the whole Messi v Ronaldo friendly debate on the internet just hasn't been the same.
Sure, whenever the Ballon d'Or comes around there's a half-hearted attempt to relive the glory days but since Messi and Ronaldo are now plying their trades in different countries, different leagues and against different opposition - Messi's being infinitely superior of course - it just hasn't been the same.
Like comparing apples with grapes. Or Avengers with Justice League.
But today, Messi and Ronaldo are playing at the same time, away from home, being all with the figurehead marque player and in the same competition.
Let's start off with Team Messi who is in Manchester to take on the mighty United in Old Trafford in a Champions League quarterfinal first leg. "What kind of plan can you have to stop one of the best players in the world?" opined Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on Tuesday looking ahead to a game when he warned that his team will have to be "streetwise" against the tactics of the opposition and not referring to Luis Suarez at all.
Ronaldo returns to help Juve avoid Ajax scrubbing
Moving onto the other side of the eternal coin of destiny and the question over Cristiano Ronaldo was whether the Portuguese poacher would be fit enough to play at all against Ajax after missing nearly a month with a thigh injury.
The response from Juve boss, Max Allegri, was not only was he in the squad for Juventus to take on Ajax in Amsterdam but that his prized player would start. "He has trained well with the team," revealed Allegri. However Juve is missing Giorgio Chiellini through injury.
Juve is facing a bit of an unknown quantity in Ajax. If the display against Real Madrid in the last round which produced a 4-1 victory on the Santiago Bernabeu is any indication then the Serie A side is in for a rough night. But the complete ineptitude of that Real Madrid performance also needs to be taken into account.
The one uniting factor for Messi and Ronaldo is the hope from both sets of fans that the footballer doesn't suffer the same fate as another star player in the form of Harry Kane who could miss the rest of the season for Tottenham after twisting his ankle in the 1-0 win against Manchester City.
Sports Burst will look ahead to both games in its live show on the beIN SPORTS Facebook page at 12PM ET / 9AM PT while Post to Post has you covered with all the reaction on the same platform at 5:30PM ET / 2:30PM PT.
A Magic announcement and a magic night in NBA
Something unusual broke out in the Miami home of Sports Burst on Tuesday. Miami Heat fans actually had non-negative emotions about their team thanks to Dwyane Wade who played his last home game of his career - and dropped 30 points in the process.
However, there was to be some news-stealing rivalry on the west coast with Magic Johnson announcing that he was stepping down as the president of basketball operations at the Los Angeles Lakers.
"I cried before I came here," admitted Johnson who said that "he wanted to go back to having fun," something that apparently wasn't possible with a brooding LeBron hanging about his office.
In a truly terrible pivot, there should be plenty more drama in South America tonight as the Copa Libertadores Matchday 4 continues. High-flying Cruzeiro kicks things off at 6PM ET / 3PM PT on beIN SPORTS as the channel brings all eight games from the competition across the network. Check your listings for details!