Connect with us

UK News

Chelsea v Port Vale: FA Cup quarter-final – live | FA Cup

Published

on


Key events

“The Port Vale manager, Jon Brady, left Australia as a 17-year-old to chase his dream of playing in the United Kingdom. Spells at Brentford, Swansea and Wycombe did not make a first-team debut a reality. The sacrifice would not be wasted as determination to make a career in England grew stronger, becoming a non-league stalwart, but always with an eye on what came next.

“Like Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final opponent, Chelsea’s head coach Liam Rosenior, Brady plotted a route to the dugout from early on, earning his B licence at the age of 23. Twenty-eight years later, he has managed more than 500 league games, in charge of Brackley and Northampton before joining League One’s bottom club in January, and embarking on a surprising Cup run…”

Share



Source link

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

UK News

European football: Real Mallorca hand Barcelona a gift with shock win over Real Madrid | European club football

Published

on


Real Mallorca dealt a major blow to Real Madrid’s title aspirations as Vedat Muriqi struck an added-time winner to seal a shock 2-1 win for the hosts, leaving Real four points behind Barcelona before the leaders play Atlético Madrid later on Saturday.

The hosts withstood Real’s pressure early in the game, the goalkeeper Leo Roman denying Kylian Mbappé with two diving saves, before Mallorca took the lead from their first shot on target in the 42nd minute as Manu Morlanes converted Pablo Maffeo’s cross.

Éder Militão, playing for the first time since his hamstring injury in December, equalised for Real in the 88th minute but Muriqi, the second-highest scorer in La Liga this season after Mbappé, sealed Mallorca’s win with a strike three minutes later. The victory – their first over Real in three years – moved them two points above the bottom three.

Muriqi, who was panned for his lacklustre performance when Kosovo failed to qualify for the World Cup with a loss to Turkey on Tuesday, broke down in tears after the final whistle, and said later: “Sometimes the emotions get the better of you, you can’t keep the tears in.

“Losing what was a final for us to reach the World Cup, then we’re winning and [Real] equalise. Then, the late goal … I’m just happy to repay the supporters, we want to stay in this division for them.”

In Germany, Bayern Munich scored three times in the last nine minutes as the Bundesliga leaders came from two goals behind to snatch a 3-2 victory at Freiburg. Tom Bischof fired in almost identical shots from the edge of the box to draw them level before Lennart Karl tapped in with almost the last kick of the game to earn three points for Bayern, who were without their injured top scorer, Harry Kane. Bayern travel to Real Madrid on Tuesday for their Champions League quarter-final first leg.

Freiburg, the only German team along with Bayern to still be in the German Cup as well as a European competition, went in front a minute into the second half when Johan Manzambi whipped a sensational shot from about 25 yards out past Manuel Neuer. The hosts, who face Celta Vigo in the Europa League last eight on Thursday, then twice came agonisingly close to a second goal as they dominated early on after the break, keeping 40-year-old Neuer busy.

Lennart Karl celebrates after putting Bayern Munich 3-2 up against Freiburg. Photograph: Ronald Wittek/EPA

Freiburg doubled their lead in the 71st minute with a Lucas Hoeler volley after Neuer spilled a corner into his path, but the visitors cut the deficit 10 minutes later when Bischof threaded a shot past Noah Atubolu as the visitors upped the pressure late in the game. He did it again in stoppage time before Karl scored the winner in the dying seconds.

“We actually feel unbeatable at the moment,” said the 18-year-old Karl, whose meteoric rise this season, featuring five league goals, has made him a serious candidate for Germany’s World Cup squad. “I’m very happy. It’s an unbelievable feeling.”

Borussia Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi and Julian Brandt scored deep in second half stoppage time to snatch a 2-0 victory at VfB Stuttgart. The result kept second-placed Dortmund, on 64 points, nine behind Bayern, while Stuttgart dropped to fourth on 53, behind RB Leipzig on goal difference.

The Ruhr valley club had not beaten Stuttgart across all competitions in the previous seven matches and had to wait until the end to strike. The hosts, battling to secure a Champions League spot next season, had the upper hand and the better chances in the first half and Dortmund remained largely toothless after the break until Adeyemi found enough space outside the box to rifle in for the lead in stoppage time. Brandt then made the most of a fine cross by Fabio Silva to double their lead two minutes later.

Meanwhile in Italy, Massimiliano Allegri, the Milan coach, said on Saturday he has not given any thought to the vacant Italy manager’s job as he focuses on getting his Serie A team back into the Champions League, despite being linked with the post. Gennaro Gattuso left the Italy job on Friday after his side’s World Cup playoff loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina on penalties, a third straight missed qualification for the four-times champions, with Giuseppe Gravina stepping down as chief of the Italian football federation.

The 58-year-old Allegri, who won five league titles at Juventus, was asked in the buildup to Monday’s Serie A game at Napoli if he would rule out coaching Italy, now or in the future. “I started a journey last year with Milan, now we have to be focused on finishing the season well and reaching the Champions League,” Allegri said. “I haven’t thought about it yet. I’m fine at Milan and I hope to stay at Milan for a long time. It’s been a few years since I have taken part in the Champions League, if we were to qualify and I were still Milan’s coach, I’d have to get used to it again.”



Source link

Continue Reading

UK News

Amber wind warning issued as Storm Dave set to hit parts of UK

Published

on



Yellow wind warnings will cover parts of all four UK nations by Saturday evening.



Source link

Continue Reading

UK News

Southampton v Arsenal: FA Cup quarter-final – live | FA Cup

Published

on


Key events

Preamble

Their unfortunate no-show at the League Cup final apart, Arsenal have taken some stopping this season. Liverpool, Aston Villa and Manchester United required dramatic late goals to best them in the Premier League and … er … that’s it. So on the face of thing, this should be a shoo-in for the leading club in England against second-tier opposition. Especially as Arsenal have won 45 of their last 48 FA Cup ties against teams from lower divisions; they’ve won 14 of their last 16 quarter-finals; tonight’s opponents Southampton have lost all of their last five quarter-finals against top-flight opposition; and Arsenal are four from five against the Saints in the FA Cup, a record that includes victory in the 2003 final.

But nothing’s ever that simple in the FA Cup. Arsenal may have that 80 percent record against Southampton in this competition, but it’s Saints who won the last meeting, 1-0 in January 2021. And while Arsenal are this season’s form team in England, Saints aren’t on a bad roll either, unbeaten in 14 games, having won six of their last seven. Fold in the fact that Arsenal’s victory at St Mary’s on the final day of last season was only their seventh win in 18 visits, at a venue where they’ve tasted defeat six times, and suddenly things aren’t quite so crystal clear.

You’d still expect the quadruple- treble-chasing Premier League leaders to prevail tonight; of course you would. But the FA Cup is fond of the odd surprise, and Arsenal have a crucial trip to Sporting Club coming up in three days’ time, so you just never know how this will pan out. The story begins at 8pm BST. It’s on!

Share



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending