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Barcelona Trumps Napoli: La Masia Talents Display Tiki-Taka Style Towards the End

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The landscape at FC Barcelona has undergone significant changes over the past decade. Qualifying for the UEFA Champions League used to be a straightforward task, but fast forward to 2024, even reaching the last eight has become a challenging ordeal for the Catalan giants. The post-Lionel Messi era has ushered in a difficult period for Barca, as they navigate through a transitional phase without their star player. Unfortunately, their journey seems to be mired in uncertainty as they come to terms with life after Messi.

In 2021, Barcelona failed to extend Messi’s contract due to financial constraints. Now, three years later, for the first time since his departure, the team has made it to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League. While the club continues its quest to find Messi’s successor, two young talents from the La Masia academy have emerged and played crucial roles in Barcelona’s recent victory over Napoli in the round of 16.

Barcelona created history by fielding two players aged 17 or under in their lineup, making them the first team to do so in a UCL knockout game. Pau Cubarsi (17 years, 50 days) and Lamine Yamal (16 years, 243 days) played pivotal roles in Barcelona’s impressive 3-1 win over Napoli in the second leg, securing a 4-2 aggregate victory at the Estadi Olímpic Lluis Companys. Despite Napoli scoring a goal through Victor Osimhen in the 75th minute, Barcelona displayed superiority throughout the match.

This match marked the first time since the 2019 semi-final against Liverpool that Barcelona played a UCL knockout game in front of their home fans. Although not at the Camp Nou due to renovations, the Estadi Olímpic Lluis Companys witnessed a massive turnout as fans rallied behind Xavi’s squad.

The game started evenly, but Barcelona took the lead in the 15th minute when Raphinha and Joao Cancelo combined on the left flank to set up Fermin Lopez for a goal. Two minutes later, Cancelo found the net again, doubling Barcelona’s lead to 2-0. However, Napoli’s Amir Rrahmani scored shortly after to keep the match alive at 1-2.

Despite missing key midfielders due to injuries, Barcelona delivered a stellar performance. Xavi employed a high defensive line and utilized long balls, albeit with less intensity in midfield pressing. Ilkay Gundogan stood out with his composure, while Cubarsi’s defensive skills complemented Araujo’s efforts.

Jules Kounde’s performance at right-back contained Napoli’s creative force, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Despite their defensive brilliance, Barcelona faced numerous attempts from Napoli, and Sergi Roberto’s introduction in the 60th minute helped regain midfield control.

Lamine Yamal, at just 16 years old, shone in Barcelona’s attack, showcasing glimpses of a future superstar. Despite the convincing victory, Barcelona still faced challenges, from defensive lapses involving Cancelo to Raphinha’s finishing and an aging Lewandowski. With Xavi set to leave at the end of the season, addressing these issues will be a daunting task as Barcelona progresses in the Champions League.

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Actor Aayush Shah lodges a complaint against the founder of an OTT platform regarding bounced cheques

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Actor Aayush Shah and his business partner have accused the founder of an OTT platform of sending them checks totaling over Rs 1 crore that have been returned, and they have lodged numerous complaints against him in this court.

Aayush Shah and his business partner, Mausam Shah, co-founders of the PR firm Maars Communicates, recently filed complaints in a magistrate court under the provisions of the Negotiable Instruments Act.

The accusations concern a number of checks that the Shah pair received from Akshay Bardapurkar, the proprietor of the OTT platform.

Bardapurkar had given Aayush and Mausam nine signed checks under the complaints. When the checks, totaling Rs 1,14,30,400, were presented, they were refused.

Bardapurkar owes Aayush Shah Rs 87 lakh of the total, and Mausam Shah the remaining sum. Since May 2024, interest of Rs 3,61,500 has been payable each month.

According to their attorney Krishnagopal S. Tripathi, Aayush Shah has lodged three complaints against Bardapurkar and the Planet Marathi Seller Services firm. He stated that Mausam Shah had lodged a single complaint against the defendant.

He stated that the two plan to sue Bardapurkar in civil court to get damages and more accountability.

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Actor Aayush Shah files complaints against OTT platform founder over bounced cheques

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Mumbai: Actor Aayush Shah and his business partner have filed multiple complaints in a court here against the founder of OTT platform  for allegedly issuing them cheques of more than Rs 1 crore which have been dishonoured.

The matter will be heard in due course.

Aayush Shah and his business partner Mausam Shah, co-founders of the Maars Communicates PR agency, filed the complaints before a magistrate court a earlier this month under relevant provisions of the Negotiable Instruments Act.

The complaints pertain to a series of cheques issued by the OTT platform’s founder Akshay Bardapurkar to the Shah duo.

As per the complaints, Bardapurkar had issued nine signed cheques to Aayush and Mausam. The cheques, with a total amount of Rs 1,14,30,400, were dishonoured upon presentation.

Out of the total amount, Bardapurkar owed Rs 87 lakh to Aayush Shah and the remaining to Mausam Shah, with a monthly interest of Rs 3,61,500 accruing since May 2024.

Their lawyer Krishnagopal S Tripathi said Aayush Shah has filed three complaints against Bardapurkar and the Planet Marathi Seller Services company. Mausam Shah has filed one complaint against the accused, he said.

The duo also intend to file a civil case against Bardapurkar to seek damages and further accountability, he added.

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Another setback for Paytm: Shares fall 9% on Sebi notice to Vijay Shekhar Sharma

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Paytm shares drop 8.88% as Sebi investigates IPO compliance; stock down 18.17% this year.

Paytm share price today: A QR code for the Paytm digital payment system at a store in Mumbai.(Bloomberg)

Paytm share price plunged to the day’s low ₹505.55 per share on the NSE today (August 26) after company’s founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma and board members faced show-cause notices from Sebi over IPO breaches.

The markets regulator issued show-cause notices to Vijay Shekhar Sharma and board members who served during its initial public offering (IPO) in November 2021 for alleged misrepresentation of facts, Moneycontrol reported.

One person in the know told the outlet, “Sebi is taking the view that Sharma should have been classified as a promoter, and it was also the fiduciary duty of board members of the company to verify the accuracy of the claims made by the founder and attest the same.”

The source added, “Although Sebi has gone after directors of a company in the past, they have been mostly cases of financial fraud. This is one of the rare cases where Sebi is trying to hold the directors responsible for a potential compliance lapse, which was also not pointed out either by bankers or statutory auditors.”

Paytm share price dropped 8.88 per cent to ₹505.55 apiece on the NSE.

This year, Paytm’s stock has dropped 18.17 per cent as per BSE. In the last one year, it gave negative returns of 41.20 per cent.

This comes after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed restrictions on PPB due to “persistent non-compliance and ongoing significant supervisory concerns” on January 31 this year. The RBI directed PPBL to close most of its operations, including deposits, credit products, and digital wallets, by March 15 this year.

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