Chelsea beat Man City to win Women’s League Cup

Chelsea edged past Manchester City in the Women’s League Cup final to win their first trophy under Sonia Bompastor and keep their bid for a historic quadruple alive.

Bompastor has exceeded expectations since succeeding Emma Hayes as head coach last May, winning 26 of her 28 games.

Mayra Ramirez netted an early opener for Chelsea, bundling in a rebound that bounced off City skipper Laia Aleixandri at Derby County’s Pride Park.

Aoba Fujino levelled after the break with a stunning strike, but an own goal by Yui Hasegawa restored Chelsea’s lead and ended their three-year losing streak in League Cup finals.

“It feels great, for sure. I’m really happy,” Bompastor said.

“From the beginning of the season we said we are going to be ambitious and when you have the opportunity to win a first title that is always really positive so I am really happy for that reason and I am really proud of my players.”

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City, who were playing their first game under interim boss Nick Cushing following Gareth Taylor’s sacking five days ago, dominated play after Chelsea’s opener.

But they were unable to find a way through during the first half as Chelsea’s solid centre-back paring of Millie Bright and Nathalie Bjorn stood firm, limiting City’s chances to ambitious efforts from the edge of the box.

Chelsea appeared to regain control after the interval, but Fujino’s powerful strike flew past Hannah Hampton and into the roof of the net before Hasegawa’s own goal handed momentum back to Bompastor’s side.

They remain in the hunt for the Champions League and FA Cup, while they have all but secured a sixth successive Women’s Super League (WSL) title, sitting eight points clear at the top of the table with six games remaining.

This final marked the start of an intense 12-day battle, with Chelsea and City playing each other four times in a row.

Chelsea beat Man City to win Women’s League Cup

Osimhen scores hat-trick as Galatasaray demolish Antalyaspor

Nigerian forward Victor Osimhen scored a hat trick as Galatasaray defeated Antalyaspor 4-0 on Friday night.

Álvaro Morata scored from the penalty spot, completing the overwhelming victory.

Osimhen opened the goal at Rams Park in the 30th minute, completing Morata’s assist.

Morata scored a penalty in the 45th minute, followed by Osimhen’s second goal assisted by B. Yılmaz three minutes later.

The Nigerian striker completed his hat trick in the 52nd minute, with an assist from Y. Akgün.

The Nigerian striker completed his hat trick in the 52nd minute, with an assist from Y. Akgün.

This hat trick brings Osimhen’s season total to 20 league goals in 22 appearances, making him the leading scorer in the Turkish Süper Lig.

Since joining Galatasaray on loan from Napoli following the fourth game of the season, Osimhen has 26 goals and 5 assists across all competitions in 30 appearances.

Galatasaray’s strong performance cements their place at the top of the Süper Lig.

Prior to this match, they lead the rankings with 68 points from 26 matches, having won 21 and drawn 5.

Their closest competitors, Fenerbahçe, have 61 points after 25 games.

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With this victory, Galatasaray expands their lead to 71 points, increasing their bid for the league championship.
According to a post-match statement on the club’s website, this was Okan Buruk’s 100th game as head coach.

“Galatasaray faced Onvo Antalyaspor in the 28th week of the Trendyol Super Lig. Our team won the match played at Ali Sami Yen Sports Complex RAMS Park with a score of 4-0.

“Our goals came from Victor Osimhen (30′, 45+3′, 52′) and Alvaro Morata (45+2′).

“Continuing their undefeated lead, the team increased its points tally to 71 and increased it to 10 with two games more than its opponent.

“Before the match, our coach Okan Buruk was presented with a plaque to commemorate his 100th match as a coach at Galatasaray,” it read.

Yunus Akgün, Lucas Torreira, and Victor Osimhen were replaced by Roland Sallai, Dries Mertens, and Mario Lemina in the 68th minute.

Muslera blocked Van de Streek’s kick for Antalyaspor in the 73rd minute.

This was Antalyaspor’s only attack in the second half, according to the club’s statement.

Kaan Ayhan replaced Davinson Sanchez in the 77th minute. In the 79th minute, Kaan Ayhan attempted to score from a free kick, but his shot was saved by custodian Piric.

In the 83rd minute, Berkan Kutlu replaced Barış Alper. In the remaining portion, we will travel to Beşiktaş with a 4-0 victory, as the positions we found with Morata and Sara yielded no results.

Osimhen scores hat-trick as Galatasaray demolish Antalyaspor

Fernandes nets hat-trick in Man United big win over Real Sociedad

Man United skipper Bruno Fernandes scored a hat-trick to lead his side to victory against 10-man Real Sociedad at Old Trafford and book a Europa League quarter-final encounter with French club Lyon.

Needing a victory to keep alive their hopes of marking Ruben Amorim’s first year in charge with silverware and knowing the tournament is their only realistic chance of securing European football next season, Man United got off to the worst possible start as Mikel Oyarzabal scored from the spot after being brought down by Matthijs de Ligt.

Thankfully for the hosts, the were level within six minutes as Fernandes kept his cool after Igor Zubeldia had taken Rasmus Hojlund down as the Dane was bearing down on the Sociedad goal.

Remarkably, it took a third penalty of the night to get United’s noses in front.

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Aritz Elustondo complained long after it was ruled he had fouled Patrick Dorgu. It made no difference, and for the third time, the goalkeeper went the wrong way as Fernandes found the net for from the spot for his 14th goal of the season.

The Spanish visitors’ last chance seemed to disappear midway through the second half when Jon Aramburu was sent off for hauling down Dorgu, who would have been through.

But just for good measure, Man United struck twice more before the end.

Fernandes completed his second hat-trick for the club with a low finish across goal and into the far corner before fellow Portugal international Diogo Dalot drilled home a fourth in stoppage time.

Fernandes nets hat-trick in Man United big win over Real Sociedad