Lyon and Chelsea stay perfect in Women’s Champions League

Lyon and Chelsea stay perfect in Women’s Champions League
Lyon's Canadian defender #21 Vanessa Gilles (C) celebrates scoring his team's third goal during the Women Champions League football match AS Roma vs Lyon at the Tre Fontane stadium in Rome on November 13, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 14 November 2024
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Lyon and Chelsea stay perfect in Women’s Champions League

Lyon and Chelsea stay perfect in Women’s Champions League

PARIS: Lyon beat Roma 3-0 to maintain their 100 percent record in Group A of the Women’s Champions League on Wednesday, while Wolfsburg thrashed Galatasaray to pick up their first points.
In Group B, Chelsea came from behind against Celtic to preserve their perfect record and Real Madrid put seven past Twente.
Record eight-time winners Lyon traveled to the Italian capital with both sides level at the top of the group on two wins apiece.
Melchie Dumornay’s first-half brace put the French side firmly in control, her second coming three minutes before the interval via an audacious chip from inside the center circle.
Vanessa Gilles poked in from close range in the 52nd minute to rubber-stamp an authoritative performance by Joe Montemurro’s side.
Wolfsburg, the 2013 and 2014 Champions League winners, started their latest campaign with back-to-back defeats against Lyon and Roma — leaving them third in Group A with no goals scored and in real danger of elimination.
Their 5-0 win in Istanbul keeps them third place, three points behind Roma in second.
“We want to get out of the group by working hard and doing our best for the (three) remaining matches,” said Wolfsburg forward Rebecka Blomqvist.
“We are in a very tough group. But we also have the power to achieve this.”
Defender Joelle Wedemeyer’s 24th-minute header from a corner gave the Germans the lead. Blomqvist tapped in on 63 minutes to double the advantage.
The Swedish striker stroked home a third for the team with 13 minutes remaining and then rounded off her hat-trick six minutes into added time.
Vivien Endemann smashed home a fifth for Wolfsburg in the 97th minute.
“We are very happy with the result,” added Blomqvist. “I am proud to show my best out on the pitch. It’s great to contribute to the team.”
A third successive defeat in three outings leaves the Turks bottom of the table with just one goal scored and 14 conceded.
At Parkhead, Chelsea moved to nine points with a 2-1 victory over winless Celtic.
The hosts took a surprise lead with just over 20 minutes gone when Murphy Agnew raced through and lifted a finish past goalkeeper Zecira Musovic.
It took the English champions only six minutes to respond, first through Maika Hamano in the 28th minute and then Ashley Lawrence tucked home a rebound four minutes later.
Chelsea were unable to kill off the match in the second half but succeeded nonetheless in holding Celtic at arm’s length to see out a narrow victory, despite Aggie Beever-Jones picking up a second yellow card deep in injury time.
Real Madrid strolled past Dutch side Twente with a 7-0 win in Spain.
Signe Bruun opened the scoring in the third minute, before center-half Maria Mendez nodded in her first goal in European football 13 minutes later.
Naomie Feller guided in a third on 50 minutes and Caroline Weir soon after curled an unstoppable free-kick over the wall and into the top corner.
Mendez then doubled her tally in the competition with a second header from a corner three minutes after the hour, before Oihane Hernandez and Carla Camacho completed the rout.
The Spaniards sit second in the group with six points.


Juan Soto looking at baseball ‘dynasty’ after blockbuster Mets deal

Juan Soto looking at baseball ‘dynasty’ after blockbuster Mets deal
Updated 13 December 2024
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Juan Soto looking at baseball ‘dynasty’ after blockbuster Mets deal

Juan Soto looking at baseball ‘dynasty’ after blockbuster Mets deal
  • Soto said at his formal unveiling on Thursday that he opted for the Mets after being impressed by the team’s long-term vision and determination to challenge for championships
  • The Mets’ billionaire owner Steve Cohen, meanwhile, said Soto’s signing was a statement of intent as the team attempts to improve on last season’s surprise run to the National League Championship Series

NEW YORK: Juan Soto said Thursday the prospect of being part of a “dynasty” with the success-starved New York Mets had prompted his record-breaking $765 million move to the club.

Free agent Soto stunned the baseball world earlier this week after agreeing to a 15-year deal with the Mets in what is the richest contract in the history of North American sport.

The New York Yankees had hoped to re-sign the 26-year-old Dominican, who helped the Bronx Bombers reach last season’s World Series, while the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers had also been in pursuit of the star outfielder.

But in the end Soto opted to join the Yankees’ cross-town rival Mets, whose last Major League Baseball championship victory came in 1986.

Soto said at his formal unveiling on Thursday that he opted for the Mets after being impressed by the team’s long-term vision and determination to challenge for championships.

“The Mets are a great organization, and what they have done in the past couple of years — showing all the ability to keep winning, to keep growing a team, to try to grow a dynasty — is one of the most important things,” Soto said.

“The future that this team has, it had a lot to do with my decision. What they showed me, and how the organization runs things, and how they’re gonna manage things, and how they look at their future — that was one of the things that opened my eyes a little bit more.

“How hungry they are to win a championship, to want to make a dynasty with the New York Mets.”

Soto batted .288 last season for the Yankees with 41 home runs, 109 runs batted in and 129 walks.

The Mets’ billionaire owner Steve Cohen, meanwhile, said Soto’s signing was a statement of intent as the team attempts to improve on last season’s surprise run to the National League Championship Series.

“It’s obviously a huge move,” Cohen said. “It just puts an accent on what we’re trying to do. It accelerates our goal of winning championships.

“But more importantly, my goal was to change how the Mets were viewed. And I think we’re really on the path of changing that.

“We’re never gonna stop. We’re always in a constant state of improvement. But that’s my goal.”


China jails former Premier League star Li Tie 20 years for corruption

China jails former Premier League star Li Tie 20 years for corruption
Updated 13 December 2024
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China jails former Premier League star Li Tie 20 years for corruption

China jails former Premier League star Li Tie 20 years for corruption
  • A court in central Hubei province said Friday that Li had been sentenced to “fixed-term imprisonment of 20 years” after being found guilty of a string of offenses relating to giving and receiving bribes
  • The 47-year-old is one of China’s biggest football names, serving as national team coach from January 2020 to December 2021, after racking up nearly 100 international caps and playing as a midfielder for English Premier League side Everton

BEIJING: China on Friday jailed former Premier League star and men’s national coach Li Tie for 20 years for bribery, snaring one of the country’s greatest football figures in a sweeping government crackdown on corruption in sport.

President Xi Jinping has waged an unrelenting campaign against deep-seated official corruption since coming to power over a decade ago.

Anti-graft authorities took aim at the sport industry in 2022 and have announced a string of convictions for former football administrators this week.

In the highest-profile case to date, a court in central Hubei province said Friday that Li had been sentenced to “fixed-term imprisonment of 20 years” after being found guilty of a string of offenses relating to giving and receiving bribes.

The 47-year-old is one of China’s biggest football names, serving as national team coach from January 2020 to December 2021, after racking up nearly 100 international caps and playing as a midfielder for English Premier League side Everton.

But state broadcaster CCTV said he used his status as China coach to extract nearly 51 million yuan ($7 million) in bribes in return for selecting players for the national team or helping them sign for clubs.

Li also “asked others to help him” become the national coach in 2019 and handed the unnamed people one million yuan the following year, according to CCTV.

During his tenure at now-defunct Chinese Super League (CSL) side Wuhan Zall, Li also colluded with club chiefs to hand out bribes in an effort to secure the national team job, the broadcaster said.

It also listed other accusations that Li and his previous clubs had paid the equivalent of millions of dollars in bribes to seal player transfers and fix match results stretching back to 2015.

A photograph of Li published by CCTV showed the disgraced sportsman in the court dock, wearing a black hooded sweater and flanked by two police officers.

China’s legal system is tightly controlled by the ruling Communist Party and courts have a near-100 percent conviction rate in criminal cases.

Li’s conviction seemed certain after he pleaded guilty earlier this year to accepting over $10 million in bribes.

He also featured in a documentary aired by CCTV in January about widespread corruption in Chinese football.

CCTV occasionally airs confessions by criminal suspects before they have appeared in court, a practice widely condemned by rights groups.

In the program, Li said he had arranged nearly $421,000 in bribes to secure the head coach position and helped fix CSL matches.

“I’m very sorry. I should have kept my head to the ground and followed the right path,” said Li during the show.

“There were certain things that at the time were common practices in football.”

Chinese authorities have announced a spate of corruption convictions this week, and state media said the sentencing of the former vice-chief of the national sport administration was also expected on Friday.

On Wednesday, Liu Yi, who was secretary general of the Chinese Football Association (CFA), was handed an 11-year sentence and fined 3.6 million yuan ($495,000) for taking bribes.

The same day, the former head of the CFA’s referees management office Tan Hai was given six and a half years and a 200,000-yuan fine for the same crime.

And on Tuesday, Qi Jun, the CFA’s ex-chief of strategic planning, was sentenced to seven years and slapped with a 600,000-yuan penalty.

Former CFA chief Chen Xuyuan was jailed for life in March for accepting bribes.

Proponents of Xi’s corruption crackdown say the policy promotes clean governance, but others say it also serves as a means for him to purge political rivals.

Xi is a self-proclaimed football fan who wants China to host and win the World Cup one day, but the men’s national team has long failed to impress.

FIFA currently ranks China 90th in the world, one place above the tiny Caribbean island of Curacao.


Pakistan Test team head coach Gillespie resigns

Pakistan Test team head coach Gillespie resigns
Updated 13 December 2024
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Pakistan Test team head coach Gillespie resigns

Pakistan Test team head coach Gillespie resigns
  • Gillespie refused to join  squad on tour of South Africa over disagreements with country's cricket board
  • Pakistan, with history of sacking coaches, have had six different coaches in all formats in the last four years 

KARACHI: Jason Gillespie resigned from his role as coach of the Pakistan Test team on Thursday after refusing to join the squad on their tour of South Africa over disagreements with the country's cricket board.

The former Australia bowler was appointed head coach on a two-year deal in April, with former South Africa opener Gary Kirsten named white-ball coach.

Kirsten resigned in October for similar reasons.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed Gillespie's resignation.

"The PCB has named former Pakistan paceman Aaqib Javed as interim red-ball head coach following the resignation of Gillespie," a PCB statement said.

Aaqib, who also replaced Kirsten as interim white-ball coach, will now oversee the two-Test series in South Africa, starting in Centurion from December 26.

The second Test will be played in Cape Town from January 3-7.

Pakistan's white-ball squad is currently in South Africa for a three-match T20 series and three one-day internationals.

Gillespie was removed from the selection panel following Pakistan's 2-0 whitewash at the hands on Bangladesh in September and losing the first Test by an innings against England a month later.

Pakistan won the next two Tests against England, taking the series 2-1, on sharply spinning pitches.

Gillespie did not hide his sentiments, saying he was frustrated.

"I think there's always frustrations from time to time," Gillespie said, in an interview with Sky Sports during the second England Test.

"It wasn't what I signed up for, I'll be completely honest."

After the England series, Gillespie served as white-ball coach on Pakistan's tour of Australia but was not given the job for the series in Zimbabwe.

Gillespie was reportedly not happy after the contract of his assistant Tim Nielsen was not renewed by the PCB.

Pakistan have a history of sacking coaches in the recent past. They have had six different coaches in all formats in the last four years.

 

 


Hojlund scores twice for Man United to beat Viktoria Plzen 2-1 in Europa League, Tottenham held 1-1

Hojlund scores twice for Man United to beat Viktoria Plzen 2-1 in Europa League, Tottenham held 1-1
Updated 13 December 2024
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Hojlund scores twice for Man United to beat Viktoria Plzen 2-1 in Europa League, Tottenham held 1-1

Hojlund scores twice for Man United to beat Viktoria Plzen 2-1 in Europa League, Tottenham held 1-1
  • Fisayo Dele-Bashiru and veteran Pedro Rodriguez scored one each for Lazio in the second half to defeat Ajax 3-1 in Amsterdam and move to the top of the standings with 16 points
  • Anderlecht beat Slavia 2-1 in Prague to move into third place

Rasmus Hojlund scored twice after coming off the bench and Manchester United rallied to beat Viktoria Plzen 2-1 in the Europa League on Thursday.

The Denmark striker netted in the 88th minute after collecting Bruno Fernandes’ pass off a free kick to seal the victory and put United into the top eight of the standings.

Hojlund replaced Marcus Rashford in the 56th and scored an equalizer six minutes later after Amad Diallo’s shot was deflected by goalkeeper Martin JedliCka into his path for an easy finish.

The 21-year-old Hojlund also scored twice in the previous round, when United beat Norwegian team Bodo/Glimt 3-2, and has five goals in his six appearances in the second-tier competition.

“It feels good to have scored two goals but I am more happy with the win,” Hojlund said. “My instructions? Go out there and score two goals! Just to use my qualities, run the channels and be assertive in front of goal.”

United had come off two straight losses in the English Premier League, 2-0 away to Arsenal, and 3-2 at Old Trafford to Nottingham Forest that left the club 13th and eight points adrift of the top four as progress looked slow under new coach Ruben Amorim.

Matej Vydra, who previously played for Burnley and Watford, opened the scoring three minutes into the second half.

United have 12 points from six games after three wins and three draws in Europa League play — good enough for seventh place.

The top eight qualify directly to the Round of 16. The teams placed No. 9 to No. 24 go into a two-legged playoff.

Tottenham continued to show inconsistent form in a 1-1 draw at Rangers, leaving the north London team in ninth place. The Scottish side is eighth.

Substitute Dejan Kulusevski was fed by fellow substitute Dominic Solanke to score 15 minutes before time and salvage a point at Ibrox Stadium.

Spurs were held 2-2 at home by Roma in the previous round and lost 3-2 to Galatasaray before. The draw came after losing 4-3 to Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday.

Hamza Igamane netted for Rangers at the start of the second half off a cross from James Tavernier in what was a return to Glasgow for Spurs coach Ange Postecoglou, who led Celtic for two seasons.

Fisayo Dele-Bashiru and veteran Pedro Rodriguez scored one each for Lazio in the second half to defeat Ajax 3-1 in Amsterdam and move to the top of the standings with 16 points from six games. Bilbao are level on points but in second on goal difference.

Anderlecht beat Slavia 2-1 in Prague to move into third place.

Lyon jumped to fourth by beating Eintracht Frankfurt 3-2. The German team are fifth.

Among other results, substitute Sergio Peña equalized in stoppage time for Malmo to hold unbeaten Galatasaray 2-2. The Turkish club is sixth in the standings. PAOK routed Ferencvaros 5-0.

Roma showed signs of improvement by beating Braga 3-0 for a second straight victory that came after the struggling club earned its first win under new coach Claudio Ranieri, 4-1 over visiting Lecce in Serie A.

Braga goalkeeper Matheus received a red card in the 68th with the score 2-0.

Conference League

A youthful Chelsea lineup made the most of a long trip to Kazakhstan by beating Astana 3-1 to stay perfect in the UEFA Conference League.

Marc Guiu struck twice within five minutes early in the first half. The 18-year-old forward opened the scoring on a solo effort in the 14th and added his second after meeting a cross from Pedro Neto from the right in freezing conditions in the city of Almaty.

Guiu, who joined Chelsea from Barcelona this summer, has scored three in the competition.

Renato Veiga, who is 21, headed home the third before Marin Tomasov scored for the hosts late in the first half.

Neto was the only player to remain from the squad that beat Tottenham 4-3 on Sunday to move to second in the Premier League.

Chelsea have 15 points atop the standings of third-tier competition with one more game to play in the league phase.

Fiorentina crushed LASK 7-0 and Legia Warsaw lost 2-1 at home to Lugano. Swedish team Djurgarden beat Vikingur 2-1 in Iceland.


Holders Barcelona cruise into Women’s Champions League quarter-finals

Holders Barcelona cruise into Women’s Champions League quarter-finals
Updated 13 December 2024
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Holders Barcelona cruise into Women’s Champions League quarter-finals

Holders Barcelona cruise into Women’s Champions League quarter-finals

PARIS: Barcelona wrapped up the last quarter-final berth in the Women’s Champions League on Thursday as Ewa Pajor netted twice in a 3-0 victory over Hammarby in Sweden.
The three-time European champions were effectively already through before kick-off, leading Hammarby by six points in Group D with two games to spare and with an all but insurmountable head-to-head record after thrashing the Swedes 9-0 in October.
But a fourth straight Champions League win since an opening loss to Manchester City mathematically confirmed Barca’s place in the last eight, joining City, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Lyon and Wolfsburg in progressing through the group stage.
“It feels amazing,” Barcelona’s Swedish international Fridolina Rolfo told uefa.com.
“I’m really happy that we’re here on Swedish soil and performing like this, winning away.
“It feels great, I’m happy to be back seeing my friends and family, and playing here in Sweden.”
Polish star Pajor pounced on some slack defending to slot in a seventh-minute opener.
She doubled the visitors’ lead five minutes before the break after a corner was completely missed by several defenders and Hammarby goalkeeper Anna Tamminen.
Women’s Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati completed the scoring with 10 minutes remaining with a deflected strike that dribbled past Tamminen.
Group leaders Man City maintained their three-point advantage over Barca ahead of their clash at the Olympic Stadium next week with a 2-0 win against St. Poelten.
However, City captain Alex Greenwood was stretchered off with an apparent knee injury.
Earlier, Arsenal kept alive their hopes of snatching top spot off Bayern in Group C thanks to a 3-1 win at Valerenga in which England striker Alessia Russo scored a brace.
Bayern stayed one point ahead of the Gunners before their meeting in London by thumping Juventus 4-0.