Sports
Argentina beat Canada 2-0 to reach Copa America final
Argentina beat Canada 2-0 to reach Copa America final
Defending champions Argentina reached the final of the Copa America after goals from Julian Alvarez and Lionel Messi gave them a 2-0 win over Canada in Tuesday’s semi-final in New Jersey.
Argentina have won a joint-record 15 Copa titles and reached the final six times in the past eight editions but Canada caused them problems in the opening 20 minutes, Jacob Shaffelburg twice shooting wide from promising positions.
After soaking up the early pressure Argentina went ahead when Rodrigo De Paul played through Alvarez, who ghosted in between two defenders to score with a tidy finish in the 22nd minute.
The 2022 World Cup winners Argentina gradually took control of the match and Messi had a chance to double their lead in the 44th minute as he created space in the box with silky footwork before lashing his effort wide.
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Canada nearly snatched an equaliser against the run of play in first-half stoppage time as Jonathan David sneaked in ahead of his marker to get on the end of a long throw, but his close-range shot was hit straight at goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
Messi then scored Argentina’s second in the 51st minute when he stuck out a boot to divert Enzo Fernandez’s shot from the edge of the area past Canada goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau.
The goal moved Messi to joint fifth in the all-time Copa America scoring charts, level with Peru’s Paolo Guerrero and Chile’s Eduardo Vargas on 14.
The 37-year-old’s 109th goal for his country also saw him surpass Iran’s Ali Daei on the all-time international scoring charts. Messi is second behind Cristiano Ronaldo, who has scored 130 goals for Portugal.
Despite their two-goal cushion, Argentina had a nervy finish to the match as Canada substitute Tani Oluwaseyi tested Martinez with a crisp shot in the 89th minute before directing a glancing header wide a minute later.
Argentina will take on either Uruguay or Colombia, who meet on Wednesday, in the Copa America final in Florida on Sunday.
Argentina beat Canada 2-0 to reach Copa America final
Sports
Kane scores again as Bayern thrash Hoffenheim to go top
Kane scores again as Bayern thrash Hoffenheim to go top
Harry Kane scored one and assisted another as Bayern Munich thrashed Hoffenheim to restore their four-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga table.
The Bavarians were awarded a 26th-minute penalty after a Kane header was blocked by the arm of a defender and the England captain buried his spot-kick, sending the keeper the wrong way.
Kane, 31, had earlier assisted defender Raphael Guerreiro with a one-two to set up the Bavarians’s second.
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Bundesliga top scorer Kane has now scored 16 goals and created eight assists in 15 appearances in the division so far this season.
With the game won, he was substituted midway through the second half.
The Bavarians opened the scoring in the sixth minute through Leroy Sane, and the former Manchester City forward added his side’s fourth just after half-time.
Serge Gnabry completed Bayern’s scoring by adding a fifth in the 66th minute.
Kane scores again as Bayern thrash Hoffenheim to go top
Sports
Police probe abuse of Havertz’s wife after Arsenal star’s woes
Police probe abuse of Havertz’s wife after Arsenal star’s woes
Police have launched an investigation into social media abuse aimed at Arsenal forward Kai Havertz’s wife after his latest poor performance.
Havertz missed a penalty in Arsenal’s shootout defeat against Manchester United in the FA Cup third round on Sunday.
Following Arsenal’s second successive loss, the Germany international’s wife, Sophia, reposted two abusive messages she had received on Instagram.
A police spokesman told Britain’s Press Association: “Officers have received a report of malicious communications towards a Hertfordshire resident on Sunday 12 January. Enquiries are under way.”
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Speaking on Tuesday, on the eve of Arsenal’s Premier League match against Tottenham, Gunners manager Mikel Arteta flagged the “terrible consequences” of online abuse.
“It’s something that we really have to eradicate from the game, because it’s so cynical as well,” he said.
Havertz has scored 12 goals in 27 matches for Arsenal this season.
But his woeful finishing in the United game and the preceeding 2-0 home defeat to Newcastle in the League Cup semi-final first leg has reopened criticism of the German.
Havertz, who scored the Champions League final winner for Chelsea in 2021, has endured an erratic spell with Arsenal since moving across London in 2023.
But Arteta said there is no excuse for the abuse, saying: “We can accept it and say ‘that’s our job’, but there are certain limits and the line has to be drawn. It cannot happen. That’s it.”
Police probe abuse of Havertz’s wife after Arsenal star’s woes
Sports
Man City coach, Guardiola, splits from wife after 30 years
Man City coach, Guardiola, splits from wife after 30 years
Manchester City boss, Pep Guardiola and his wife Cristina Serra have reportedly separated after 30 years together.
News of their split was first reported by the Spanish outlet, Sport.
The couple, who met in 1994, had been living apart for more than five years after Serra moved back to Barcelona with one of their two daughters, Valentina, 17, while Guardiola remained in Manchester.
Guardiola, 53, and Serra married in an intimate ceremony on the outskirts of Barcelona in 2014 but have now decided to part ways.
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They have two other children together: Maria, 24 and Marius, 22.
Guardiola and Serra, a Brazilian journalist and writer, had remained a couple despite not living in the same city and have regularly been pictured together in the years since.
Sport reports that the decision to end their marriage was made in December, with only members of their inner circle aware of the split. Their trusted friends and family have also been told not to disclose further information.
Sport added that their relationship is ‘totally cordial, stable and friendly’ despite their split.
Man City coach, Guardiola, splits from wife after 30 years
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