UK News
European football: Betis and Bellerín deny Real Madrid, Eta’s Union lose at Leipzig | European club football
Héctor Bellerín struck deep into stoppage time to earn Real Betis a 1-1 draw against Real Madrid on Friday, dealing another blow to the visitors’ fading title hopes.
Álvaro Arbeloa’s side appeared on course for a narrow win after taking the lead in the 17th minute. Federico Valverde let fly from outside the box and the Betis goalkeeper, Álvaro Valles, could only parry the ball into the path of Vinícius Júnior, who reacted swiftly to guide a neat finish just inside the right post.
Jude Bellingham nearly made it 2-0 soon after, but Betis gradually grew into the contest and began to threaten. Andriy Lunin kept the visitors ahead before half-time with three sharp saves to deny Cedric Bakambu and Antony. Madrid resumed control after the break but were wasteful in front of goal.
Kylian Mbappé endured a frustrating evening, blazing over from a Trent Alexander-Arnold pass and later seeing a goal ruled out for offside. Lunin continued to shine, producing a stunning one-handed save to deny Cucho Hernández in the 65th minute and another fine stop from Natan nine minutes later.
Vinícius squandered a gilt-edged chance after a dazzling run from the left as Madrid failed to put the game beyond reach, and they paid the price in the 93rd minute. Ferland Mendy lost possession to Antony inside the box and the ball broke kindly for Bellerín, who drove a low effort through a forest of legs and into the net.
“In situations like this, there’s not much to think about. I’m not one for shooting from distance; I look for the cross. Amidst all the legs, it went in,” Bellerín told Dazn. “I think we were in control for most of the match and deserved more than just a point. They’re a brilliant team, but we had plenty of chances.”
Real Madrid sit eight points behind leaders Barcelona, who could stretch their advantage to 11 points with victory over Getafe on Saturday. Barça could seal back-to-back titles against their bitter rivals in the clásico at Camp Nou on 10 May.
RB Leipzig defeated Union Berlin 3-1 in the Bundesliga on Friday, handing coach Marie-Louise Eta her second defeat in as many games in charge. Max Finkgräfe, Romulo and Ridle Baku scored as Leipzig earned a fifth straight victory, in a game overshadowed by sexism allegations over a social media post.
Eta, who is the first female coach in the Bundesliga, has been the subject of a torrent of sexist abuse on social media. Leipzig were accused of joining in on Thursday when they responded to a post on X from Union saying it was a “nice city”.
RB Leipzig’s account posted photos of Eta posing with former Leipzig coach Marco Rose and former players Dominik Szoboszlai and Emil Forsberg. The caption read: “Your head coach didn’t just find the city pretty nice …”
Finkgräfe opened the scoring in the 22nd minute by thumping Leopold Querfeld’s headed clearance inside the right post. Brazilian forward Romulo shrugged off Querfeld’s weak challenge to score three minutes later, and Union suffered another blow when keeper Frederik Rønnow had to go off injured, replaced by Carl Klaus.
Though her team improved after the break, Eta made three changes around the hour mark, only for Yan Diomande to set up Baku for the third. Danilho Doekhi scored Union’s consolation with a header in the 77th minute, and substitute Ilyas Ansah thought he scored another in stoppage time, only to have it ruled out for offside.
In Ligue 1, Lens came back from 3-0 down at mid-table Brest to rescue a 3-3 draw, but still handed reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain an advantage in the title race.
Last week, Lens allowed two early goals against Toulouse but bounced back to win 3-2; this time Pierre Sage’s side gave themselves an even bigger mountain to climb. A seventh-minute opener from Daouda Guindo was followed by goals from Lucas Tousart and Junior Dina Ebimbe as the hosts went into the break in total command.
Lens have shown impressive resilience this season to launch an unexpected title title, and substitute Florian Thauvin pulled them back into the game on the hour mark. Abdallah Sima added a second four minutes later and Allan Saint-Maximin completed the comeback in stoppage time when he curled in a dramatic equaliser.
PSG hold a three-point advantage over Lens with a game in hand; the two sides meet at Stade Bollaert-Delelis in a delayed title showdown on 13 May.
Napoli cruised to a 4-0 win at home to Cremonese on Friday, a result which means Serie A leaders Inter will have to wait another week to secure the title.
Napoli are second in the standings on 69 points, nine behind Inter who are away to Torino on Sunday. Cremonese remain deep in relegation trouble, level on 28 points with Lecce, who travel to Verona on Saturday.
Scott McTominay opened the scoring early on, collecting Kevin De Bruyne’s pass and taking a touch before rifling a low shot into the bottom corner of the net for his ninth league goal of the season. Napoli doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time with an own goal, Rasmus Højlund’s shot deflecting in off Filippo Terracciano.
Antonio Conte’s side finished the game off in first-half stoppage time, with McTominay making an acrobatic pullback from the byline to keep the ball in play before De Bruyne drilled his shot beyond Audero. Alisson Santos added a fourth in the 52nd minute, finishing from the edge of the area after a long solo run.
UK News
Driver killed in Bedford train crash named
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
Source link
UK News
Spain v Saudi Arabia: World Cup 2026 – live | World Cup 2026
Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
UK News
CCTV shows moments leading up to arrest in anti-Muslim attacks probe
A topless man can be seen driving erratically in Edinburgh before abandoning his car and attacking a black man and a delivery rider.
Source link
-
Business & Technology3 weeks agoHSBC UK & Visa test AI shopping with live payments
-
Business & Technology4 weeks agoMouser warns against viral hacks to cool overheating phones
-
Business & Technology3 weeks agoValarian lands USD $50 million backing for sovereign AI
-
Business & Technology4 weeks agoSNP & Palantir launch AI tools for SAP transformations
-
Oxford News4 weeks agoDWP now checking bank accounts for Universal Credit and Pension Credit
-
Oxford Events4 weeks agoHenley Festival 2026 highlights: Five nights of unforgettable performances and festival moments
-
Business & Technology4 weeks agoOde launches free AI voice service for poem recommendations
-
Oxford united FC3 weeks agoOxford United three players who be kept after transfer ban
