Man United into FA Cup semifinals after 3-1 win over Fulham in emotion-laden match

Man United into FA Cup semifinals after 3-1 win over Fulham in emotion-laden match
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Referee Chris Kavanagh gestures as he sends off Fulham's Aleksandar Mitrovic, Willian, and manager Marco Silva, during the match between Manchester United and Fulham at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, on March 19, 2023. (AP)
Man United into FA Cup semifinals after 3-1 win over Fulham in emotion-laden match
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Fulham's striker Aleksandar Mitrovic (R) argues with referee Chris Kavanagh and gets himself sent off during the English FA Cup quarter-final football match between Manchester United and Fulham in Manchester on March 19, 2023. (AFP)
Man United into FA Cup semifinals after 3-1 win over Fulham in emotion-laden match
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Fulham's Aleksandar Mitrovic and teammates react after he is shown a red card by referee Chris Kavanagh. (REUTERS)
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Updated 20 March 2023

Man United into FA Cup semifinals after 3-1 win over Fulham in emotion-laden match

Man United into FA Cup semifinals after 3-1 win over Fulham in emotion-laden match
  • Game turned upside down as the visitors were reduced to nine players and had their manager sent off 
  • Fulham's Aleksandar Mitrovic faces 3-game ban for barging into referee, a move that also earned him a red card

MANCHESTER, England: It was all set up for a famous FA Cup upset as Fulham led treble-chasing Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.
But in the space of seven chaotic second-half minutes, the visitors were reduced to nine players, had their manager sent off and conceded twice.
It was a meltdown of epic proportions and United capitalized on it in ruthless fashion to advance to the semifinals with a 3-1 win that keeps its three-pronged trophy pursuit on track.
There is also the prospect of a mouthwatering FA Cup final against Manchester City after the rivals were kept apart in the draw for the last four.
Thoughts of an all-Manchester showdown at Wembley on June 3, however, looked in serious doubt after Aleksandar Mitrovic fired Fulham ahead in the 50th minute of the quarterfinal match.
That was before the game was turned upside down as Fulham’s players and manager Marco Silva lost control.
Emotions boiled over after Willian blocked Jadon Sancho’s goal-bound shot in the 70th and VAR instructed referee Chris Kavanagh to review the incident on the touchline monitor.
Before the official could even make a decision, he had shown a red card to Silva for remonstrating furiously in the dugout.
Replays showed Willian had clearly used his hand and was sent off as a result. That sparked outrage from Mitrovic, who barged into Kavanagh and was also shown red.
All three dismissals came over a period of 40 seconds.
“Even if I haven’t done something special, I have to control myself,” Silva said afterward. “I didn’t say anything special to the ref, he didn’t listen and showed me the red card. It is a moment to control my emotions. The game was decided in the moment.”
All that was left was for Bruno Fernandes to dispatch his penalty and even the score in the 75th.
Two minutes later Marcel Sabitzer put United in front and nine-man Fulham was on its way out.
Fernandes scored a second to make it 3-1 in the sixth minute of stoppage time and set up a Wembley semifinal game against Brighton.
Manager Erik ten Hag has already led United to victory in the League Cup this season and his team is also into the quarterfinals of the Europa League where it faces Sevilla.
“One thing is important — don’t think too far ahead,” Ten Hag said. “Go from game to game.
“We see the progress in the team, but this team has a strong character, strong belief, strong determination to win games. Today was an example of it. When you have difficult period in a game, stay in the game and turn the game.”
Mitrovic faces ban
Mitrovic will receive at least an automatic three-game ban for his sending off, which had echoes of an infamous incident involving Paulo di Canio from 1998.
The then Sheffield Wednesday striker was banned for 11 games after shoving referee Paul Alcock to the ground during a match.
“I saw the image and I spoke with Mitro, it is a moment for him to control the emotions,” Silva said. “He pushed the referee, but I did not see that in so bad, bad way like you are saying to me. But I hope the people who are going to decide (do so) with fairness.”
Arsenal extend EPL lead
Knocked out of Europe on Thursday, Arsenal’s sights are now solely fixed on winning the Premier League title for the first time in 19 years.
And that elusive prize edged closer as a 4-1 win against Crystal Palace moved Mikel Arteta’s team eight points clear at the top of the table.
There was no sign of a hangover after the penalty shootout loss to Sporting Lisbon in the Europa League as Arsenal underlined its title credentials.
Gabriel Martinelli, who missed the decisive spot kick in that match, quickly put that disappointment behind him by opening the scoring against Palace.
“There is always the question,” Arsenal manager Arteta said. “But I asked him yesterday how he was and he said: ‘I want to be in the team.’
“We were really determined and focused and left Thursday in the past.”
Arsenal still has to play second-place Manchester City and Liverpool before the end of the season. But the London club is in impressive form having won six in a row in the league.
Bukayo Saka provided the pass for Martinelli and became the first player in the league to reach double figures for goals and assists this season. He then went on to score two more himself.
Granit Xhaka got Arsenal’s other goal, while Jeffrey Schlupp scored for Palace, who fired manager Patrick Vieira this week.
Doyle ruled out
Manchester City prospect Tommy Doyle fired Sheffield United into the FA Cup semifinals and then learned he will have to miss out on the biggest game of his young career.
The 21-year-old midfielder is on loan at Sheffield and due to competition rules is ineligible to play against his parent club after the Blades were drawn against Man City in the next round.
It means Doyle will be a spectator for the match at Wembley, when Premier League champions City will be favorites to advance to the final.
Doyle struck in the first minute of second-half stoppage time as Sheffield beat Blackburn Rovers 3-2 in a thrilling quarterfinal clash between the two second-tier sides.
Blackburn had twice taken the lead through Ben Brereton and Sammie Szmodics.
Sam Gallagher’s own-goal and Oliver McBurnie evened the score on each occasion before Doyle’s late winner.
But he barely had time to enjoy his celebrations before learning Sheffield had been drawn against City.
Fairy tale ends
Grimsby’s FA Cup fairy tale is over after the fourth-tier team was routed 5-0 by Premier League Brighton.
Grimsby was the lowest-ranked team left in the competition and had reached the quarters for the first time since 1939, having knocked out top-flight Southampton in the last round.
But there was no danger of another upset against Brighton, which scored four goals in the second half at Amex Stadium.
Deniz Undav fired the home side in front after just six minutes. Evan Ferguson scored twice after the break, with Solly March and Kaoru Mitoma completing the rout.


Man City and Inter target Champions League glory in Istanbul final

Man City and Inter target Champions League glory in Istanbul final
Updated 08 June 2023

Man City and Inter target Champions League glory in Istanbul final

Man City and Inter target Champions League glory in Istanbul final
  • A victory for City will see them complete the treble after they claimed a fifth Premier League title in six seasons
  • Inter Milan have won the European Cup twice in the 1960s and this is their sixth final altogether

ISTANBUL, Turkiye: Manchester City are hoping to get their hands on the Champions League trophy at last, and complete a historic treble, when Pep Guardiola’s team face outsiders Inter Milan in Saturday’s final in Istanbul.

City have been building toward winning Europe’s elite club competition since the Abu Dhabi-backed takeover of 2008 which transformed them and helped reshape the sport on the continent.
They came agonizingly close to Champions League glory in 2021, losing narrowly to Chelsea in the final, before being denied in last year’s semifinals by a remarkable Real Madrid comeback.
Having exacted revenge on Madrid, the holders, in this season’s last four with a 5-1 aggregate triumph, they are now expected to complete the job at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium.
“We have all been working for this for a long time,” City goalkeeper Ederson, at the club since 2017, said this week.
“The whole team have seen a lot of victories but also defeats as well. The players who have been here for five or six years who have seen these sorts of defeats, we have learnt from them so that helps us to grow as a team.”

The Champions League trophy is shown at Besiktas' Vodafone park stadium in Istanbul, Turkey, on June 6, 2023. (AP)

A victory for City will see them complete the treble after they claimed a fifth Premier League title in six seasons and then lifted the FA Cup last weekend, beating Manchester United 2-1 in the final.
United were the last English club to achieve the treble, in 1999.
Ilkay Gundogan was City’s goal hero in the FA Cup final, as Erling Haaland drew a rare blank, but the Norwegian has scored 52 times for his club this season.
His goals appear to have taken City to another level, and Guardiola seems poised to finally win a third Champions League, 12 years after claiming a second in three seasons with Barcelona.
“If we want to make a definitive step as a big club, we must win in Europe,” Guardiola, who joined City in 2016, told UEFA.com.
“We have to win the Champions (League). That’s something you can’t avoid.”

Simone Inzaghi’s Inter may have something to say about that, however, and perhaps being the underdog will suit the Nerazzurri.
They are one of Europe’s grand old names, having won the European Cup twice in the 1960s.
This is their sixth final altogether, and first since Jose Mourinho’s team triumphed in 2010, completing a treble of their own.
No Italian club has lifted the trophy since.
Money talks more than ever in football, and City topped this year’s Deloitte Football Money League with revenue of over 700 million euros ($749m).
Their revenue was more than double that of Inter, a club swimming in enormous debts. Nevertheless, their proud history means Inter will be in Saturday’s final to win it.
“We are a big club and we have a lot of expectation,” said goalkeeper Andre Onana.
“When Inter gets into a final they have to win. We’re all big players, we know how to play finals.”
Inter, who finished third in Serie A and won the Coppa Italia, could have had a harder run to this stage, beating Porto, Benfica and neighbors AC Milan in the knockout rounds.
However, they did qualify from a difficult group ahead of Barcelona.

Curiously, City’s first ever appearance in the old European Cup came against Istanbul club Fenerbahce in the 1968/69 first round, and ended in a 2-1 defeat.
That team, featuring Francis Lee, Colin Bell and Mike Summerbee, was City’s last great side before Abu Dhabi’s arrival.
City did not return to Europe’s top table until 2011, by which time former Inter coach Roberto Mancini was at the helm.
The Ataturk Olympic Stadium has hosted a Champions League final between English and Italian clubs before.
This year’s match will need to go a long way to equal the drama of 2005, when Rafa Benitez’s Liverpool recovered from a three-goal half-time deficit to draw 3-3 with Carlo Ancelotti’s Milan before winning on penalties.
The 72,000-seat stadium, located around 25 kilometers west of central Istanbul, now finally gets the chance to stage the showpiece game again.
It was supposed to be the venue for the 2020 final, only for the pandemic to force UEFA to move the latter stages of the competition to Lisbon.
Plans to hold the final there in 2021 again had to be changed, with the match between City and Chelsea eventually taking place in the Portuguese city of Porto.
 


West Ham beat Fiorentina to win Europa Conference League

West Ham beat Fiorentina to win Europa Conference League
Updated 08 June 2023

West Ham beat Fiorentina to win Europa Conference League

West Ham beat Fiorentina to win Europa Conference League

PRAGUE: Jarrod Bowen’s dramatic 90th-minute goal secured West Ham their first major European trophy since 1965 with a 2-1 win over Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final on Wednesday.
It is the second European trophy for West Ham after they won the now defunct Cup Winners’ Cup 58 years ago with a team including England World Cup heroes Bobby Moore and Geoff Hurst.
Bowen picked up a superb through ball from Lucas Paqueta, before sending a low shot past a helpless Pietro Terracciano in the Fiorentina goal.
“I obviously dreamed of scoring but to score the winner in the last minute. It’s what you always say you want to do,” Bowen told BT Sport.
“To do it in front of these fans. I thought I was going to cry. I’m just happy.”
Said Benrahma had opened the scoring for West Ham in Prague as he blasted a penalty past Terracciano on 62 minutes after VAR had caught Cristiano Biraghi handling the ball trying to stop Bowen in the box.
Giacomo Bonaventura levelled five minutes later, beating West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola with a fine, low right-footed effort.
Bonaventura capitalized on a superb header back from Nicolas Gonzalez who had leapt over West Ham full-back Emerson.
The champions’ name will be the second ever on the Conference League trophy following Roma, who won the maiden edition of the competition last year.
West Ham have also clinched a spot in next season’s Europa League with the win, while Fiorentina will miss out on European competition after finishing eighth in the Serie A.
West Ham’s previous major trophy was back in 1980 when they won the FA Cup.
They spent most of the last season battling the prospect of relegation, finishing 14th in the Premier League in the end.
“We had a dream, we haven’t had the best season, myself included, but to give these fans this moment, I’m over the moon,” Bowen said.
“This is the biggest game of my career. The emotion, there was time for one more chance. I’m just so happy.”
The game got off to a slow start, although Michail Antonio tested Terracciano with a low shot on 40 seconds.
Fiorentina dominated possession and looked more organized in a largely uneventful first half.
But they did not came close until injury time when Christian Kouame headed against the post from Gonzalez’s cross.
Fiorentina striker Luka Jovic then tapped the ball across the line on a rebound but his goal was ruled out for offside.
Declan Rice’s 13th-minute shot from outside the box whizzed just past the post in the Hammers’ best chance of the first half.
Rice may have played his last game for the East Londoners as he is being courted by the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United.
The game changed with the goals as both sides suddenly looked far more lively, earning corners and creating chances.
But Rolando Mandragora sent his shot just wide and Sofyan Amrabat was denied by Areola, while Tomas Soucek’s header was saved by a diving Terracciano.
Before the game, Prague police said they had detained 16 people as Fiorentina fans attacked West Ham supporters in a bar in central Prague. Three people sustained light injuries.


Lionel Messi: ‘I’ve decided to go to Inter Miami’

Lionel Messi: ‘I’ve decided to go to Inter Miami’
Updated 07 June 2023

Lionel Messi: ‘I’ve decided to go to Inter Miami’

Lionel Messi: ‘I’ve decided to go to Inter Miami’

BARCELONA: Lionel Messi will sign for Major League Soccer side Inter Miami, the player said Wednesday in interviews with Spanish media, choosing the United States as his next destination over a Barcelona reunion or blockbuster deal to play in Saudi Arabia.
The Argentine forward, 35, has spent the last two seasons at Paris Saint-Germain, playing his final game for the club on Saturday, after moving from Barcelona in 2021, where he spent the majority of his career.
Messi said that he did not want to have to wait for Barcelona to find a formula to be able to sign him given their financial situation — they were unable to keep him before his move to PSG, leading to a tearful departure.
“I was afraid that it would happen again,” Messi told Spanish newspapers Diario Sport and Mundo Deportivo.
“I’ve taken the decision that I am going to Miami, I don’t have (the deal) 100 percent sealed or maybe there’s something left to do, but we decided to continue our path there.
“(I decided) to leave Europe, it’s true that I had offers from another European team but I didn’t even think about it because in Europe, my idea was only to go to Barcelona.
“After winning the World Cup and not being able to go to Barca, it’s time to go to MLS to live football in a different way and enjoy my day to day life more.
“Obviously with the same responsibility and desire to win, and to do things well, but with more calm.”
Messi is a seven-time Ballon d’Or winner and is expected to earn the individual accolade once more after leading Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar in December 2022.
The football world was eagerly awaiting Messi’s decision after PSG confirmed this week the playmaker, widely considered the best player in the history of football, was departing.
Inter Miami, co-owned by former England international David Beckham and founded in 2018, sacked coach Phil Neville last week with the team bottom of the Eastern Conference — with Argentine Javier Morales taking over on an interim basis.
The romance of a Barcelona return and prospect of eye-watering riches in Saudi Arabia fell by the wayside as Messi opted to join MLS, with sun-soaked Miami a city he has holidayed in on previous occasions.
Some reports say key MLS sponsors including sportswear brand Adidas and Apple TV, who own the league’s domestic broadcasting rights, may be contributing to his deal.


Kyle Walker: Manchester City one step away from ‘invincibility’

Kyle Walker: Manchester City one step away from ‘invincibility’
Updated 07 June 2023

Kyle Walker: Manchester City one step away from ‘invincibility’

Kyle Walker: Manchester City one step away from ‘invincibility’
  • Pep Guardiola’s team face will complete a glorious treble if they beat Inter Milan in Saturday’s Champions League final
  • “I think that United team, along with the Invincibles, is probably up there with the best Premier League teams of all time,” said Walker

LONDON: English football player Kyle Walker says Manchester City are a step away from invincibility and matching football’s greatest sides.
Having won the Premier League and FA Cup, Pep Guardiola’s team will seal a treble if they beat Inter Milan in Saturday’s Champions League final.
Only Manchester United, back in 1999 under Sir Alex Ferguson, have ever achieved that feat among English clubs.
Walker says United and Arsenal — who went through the entire 2003-04 Premier League season unbeaten and were known as the Invincibles — are the standard-bearers in the modern era for the best English clubs.
Now, he hopes City will confirm their status among them with success in Istanbul.
“I think that United team, along with the Invincibles, is probably up there with the best Premier League teams of all time,” said Walker, who joined City from Tottenham Hotspur in 2017 for £50 million ($62 million).
“(United) have got the big Champions League trophy that we can never say we have got.”
Inter Milan, he added, also “need to be considered as a great team.”
While City have enjoyed domestic success — they have now won five of the last six Premier League titles — they crave European glory.
But Walker, 33, added: “It doesn’t define what this squad has achieved over the last six years. It doesn’t define us if we go on and win this or not.
“It helps massively to say that we can be put in that category of probably one of the best Premier League teams of all time, but we don’t win five Premier Leagues in six years if we are not a good team.
“We … know we are a good team, but to be recognized globally as one of the best teams, you need to win the Champions League.
“We are not beating around the bush with that; we know this is now a great opportunity. We have a second chance definitely with Pep and the group of players who have stayed around, and we need to put right the wrongs we did against Chelsea.”
That 1-0 defeat to Chelsea came in the 2021 Champions League final in Porto, where City were below par.
Walker, John Stones and Phil Foden then went on to lose the European Championship final with England against Italy at Wembley to cap a painful period for club and country.
“I didn’t really have much time to get over the 2021 final as I had to tune back into England and go and compete in a tournament for my country,” he added.
“It was hard seeing all the Chelsea boys there. You say congratulations to them because they are your teammates now, but it was tough.
“Then I experienced a loss against Italy in the final and I had to pick myself up again and get ready for the season.”
Walker says it is part and parcel of football to experience such disappointment.
“I don’t think any great team goes straight to the final and wins it,” he said. “I think you always have to go through setbacks … Hopefully big things are around the corner.”
Walker has endured a frustrating season with injuries forcing him on the sidelines and then Guardiola preferring Stones, Manuel Akanji and teenager Rico Lewis in the right-sided position, where players have moved into midfield during games.
The City boss felt Walker was not capable of playing that role, saying he did not have the “educated movements” of Stones.
While the criticism hurt, the defender said he did not let it affect him, and he has responded with impressive displays to be a starter again.
“No, it’s his opinion,” said Walker. “He’s my manager and I have to listen to him. If his opinion is right or wrong — it’s not my decision.
“He’s the boss of this club and makes the decision of who goes onto the field, and I have to accept that, right or wrong, get my head down, do my extra work in the gym, make sure I am putting in performances on the training field so when I am called upon, he’s not saying, ‘That’s why I was dropping you, because you are not playing well.’
“When I have got the chance, I have tried to do what I do, play good football and defend well, and hopefully that will give him the confidence to carry on picking me in the big games.
“I wasn’t playing at the start of the season, but things change in football.”
Walker’s upbringing has helped him cope with setbacks. He grew up on a Sheffield estate where he witnessed a fatal arson attack and the dead body of a person who had committed suicide next to his front door.
“When I say certain things about it, people look at me thinking, ‘What actually happened?’, but that was my upbringing,” he said. “It has channeled me into this path where I am now. Do I think I can overcome certain things when the going gets tough, can I stand my heels in the ground and then keep moving? I think I can do that.
“That is just the way I have been brought up, especially in England where people bring (you) up to pull you back down.”


Saudi and Somali football authorities team up to develop the sport at grassroots and youth levels

SAFF President Yasser Al-Misehal poses with Somali counterpart Ali Abdi Mohamed. (SAFF)
SAFF President Yasser Al-Misehal poses with Somali counterpart Ali Abdi Mohamed. (SAFF)
Updated 07 June 2023

Saudi and Somali football authorities team up to develop the sport at grassroots and youth levels

SAFF President Yasser Al-Misehal poses with Somali counterpart Ali Abdi Mohamed. (SAFF)
  • Somalia has made great strides in the sport recently, including victory at the regional qualifying tournament for the 2023 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations

RIYADH: The Saudi Arabian Football Federation and Somali Football Federation have signed a memorandum of understanding to work together to help grow the game in both countries.

The collaboration between the governing bodies for the sport in their respective countries will focus on technical exchanges and the development of grassroots football, and provide additional opportunities for youth national teams to play overseas.

“We are pleased to cooperate with the Somali Football Federation, a country with a young population and a great passion for the beautiful game,” said Yasser Al-Misehal, president of the Saudi federation.

“Despite facing challenging circumstances, Somali football has made remarkable progress recently, as evidenced by their participation in the U-17 AFCON (Africa Cup of Nations) 2023 in Algeria.”

Ali Abdi Mohamed, the president of the Somali federation, said: “We feel very proud to strengthen our cooperation with SAFF and benefit from their expertise across Asian and global football. We look forward to us working together to contribute to the development of Somali football.”

Somali football has made great strides lately, including a historic victory at the 2022 U-17 Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations tournament in Ethiopia, which served as a qualifier for the U-17 AFCON 2023 tournament in Algeria and earned the young Ocean Stars a place in an official continental competition for the first time.