Sports

Wasteful Chelsea bow 0-1 to Man City in FA semi-final

Published

9 months ago

April 21, 2024

Wasteful Chelsea bow 0-1 to Man City in FA semi-final

Manchester City defeated a wasteful Chelsea side 1-0 in the semi-final of the FA Cup on Saturday, bouncing back from their agonising Champions League exit at the hands of Real Madrid.

But the loss meant the London side would end the season trophyless.

Bernardo Silva scored the only goal six minutes from time at Wembley as Chelsea were made to pay for a series of wasted chances by Nicolas Jackson.

Pep Guardiola’s side were second best for long periods of the semi-final, but Chelsea wasted a string of chances before Silva delivered the knockout blow six minutes from full-time.

Shaken by their Champions League quarter-final loss against Real Madrid on penalties in midweek, City took a while to shake off the gloom from the end of their treble bid.

They were hampered by the absence of Norway striker Erling Haaland after he suffered a knock against Real, with Julian Alvarez unable to make an impact as his replacement.

City were bailed out by Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson’s profligacy and Guardiola will hope the hard-fought success provides a timely lift as they chase a Premier League and FA Cup double.

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City face Manchester United or Coventry, who meet on Sunday, in the final on May 25 and will retain the Premier League title if they win their last six games.

It will be City’s 13th final in the competition and potentially a repeat of last year’s 2-1 win over United in the Wembley Manchester derby.

Beaten by Liverpool in the League Cup final in February, Chelsea’s wait to win their first domestic trophy since the 2018 FA Cup goes on for another season.

It was a bitter blow for Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino, who has endured a difficult first season in charge and remains without silverware in England.

The semi-final was billed as in-form Chelsea forward Cole Palmer’s chance to punish his old club for selling him to the Blues in September.

Guardiola said Palmer was asking to leave City for two years before he eventually joined Chelsea, where he has scored 23 goals in all competitions this, including 11 in his last six games.

Palmer, who scored four times in Monday’s 6-0 rout of Everton, was a constant threat for Chelsea, but ultimately it was his team’s lack of killer instinct that proved decisive.

Guardiola relief

Palmer’s pin-point pass sent Jackson racing into the City area early on, but his strike lacked the accuracy to beat Stefan Ortega in a miss that foreshadowed Chelsea’s fate.

Jackson wasted a golden opportunity to give Chelsea the goal their dominance deserved.

Enzo Fernandez’s pass split the City defence, but Jackson opted to go around Ortega rather than shoot and the chance was gone as Nathan Ake scurried back to clear.

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Playing with more purpose and quality than City, Pochettino’s team threatened again as Palmer cleverly shimmied past Rodri for a low drive from 12 yards that was well saved by Ortega.

It was the first time lethargic City had failed to muster a first half shot on target since a game against Everton in February.

Jackson, in the midst of a terrible debut season, was put clean through on goal by Conor Gallagher immediately after the interval.

But the much-maligned striker’s shot was palmed away by Ortega, who clawed away a close-range header from Jackson seconds later.

City finally tested Djordje Petrovic through Phil Foden’s snap-shot, but the Serbian was equal to his powerful strike.

Chelsea appealed in vain for a penalty when Jack Grealish’s arm blocked Palmer’s free-kick, while Moises Caicedo was fortunate to escape a second booking for a crunching tackle that forced Grealish to limp off.

Grealish’s replacement Jeremy Doku drew an immediate save from Petrovic with a near-post blast.

Doku’s presence lifted City and the Belgian played a part as they stole the victory in the 84th minute.

Advancing with intent towards the Chelsea area, Doku slipped a pass to Kevin de Bruyne, whose low cross was pushed out by Petrovic to Silva for a close-range finish that deflected home as Guardiola punched the air in relief.

Wasteful Chelsea bow 0-1 to Man City in FA semi-final

AFP

Sports

Barcelona thrash Real Madrid 5-2 in Spanish Super Cup

Published

3 hours ago

January 13, 2025

Trends Admin

Barcelona thrash Real Madrid 5-2 in Spanish Super Cup

Barcelona came from an early goal down to beat Real Madrid 5-2 in the Spanish Super Cup final on Sunday, scoring four goals in a dominant first half and surviving having their goalkeeper sent off to clinch a record-extending 15th trophy.

Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Alejandro Balde were all on target before halftime, after French forward Kylian Mbappe put Real in front in the fifth minute. Raphinha grabbed another in the second half while Rodrygo scored for Real.

Barcelona put in a clinical display to lift their first trophy in more than a year, having no silverware to show for last season.

“A goal for big clubs is always to win titles, that’s why we work hard. But now we have to show it in the next games,” Hansi Flick told a press conference after winning his first trophy as Barca coach.

“Real made many mistakes, and we knew how to take advantage of them to control the match.”

Barca prevented Real from winning their third title of the campaign, after they won the European Super Cup against Atalanta and beat Mexico’s Pachuca to the Intercontinental Cup last month.

“In the first half we didn’t play football, we hit long balls and that wasn’t the idea,” Real coach Carlo Ancelotti said.

“I told the players that they can lose games, but not in the way we played in the first half.”

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Mbappe earned an early advantage for the Spanish champions, finishing a solo run from around the halfway line with a shot inside the far post.

But what looked like a dream start quickly turned into a nightmare for Ancelotti’s men when Yamal levelled for Barca in the 22nd minute. Striker Lewandowski gave them the lead 14 minutes later from a penalty awarded for Eduardo Camavinga’s foul on Gavi.

Raphinha increased the advantage with a stunning header from a brilliant long cross by Jules Kounde in the 39th minute, and left back Balde added a fourth for Barca deep into stoppage time after nine minutes were added to the first half.

Yamal released Raphinha with a precise pass following Real’s miserable corner kick, before the Brazil forward left the ball to Balde who scored with a simple finish to restore Barcelona’s healthy lead.

Real started the second half with Rodrygo hitting the bar, sparking hopes of the hectic clash taking another turn.
But Raphinha quelled any sniff of a comeback when he made it 5-1 three minutes after the break, having slalomed past the Real defence.

Barca were left with 10 men when goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was sent off for fouling Mbappe in the 56th minute and Rodrygo beat substitute keeper Inaki Pena from the resulting free kick.

But Real, who hold a five-point advantage over Barca in LaLiga after 19 games, had no shots on goal after the penalty until Mbappe’s effort was denied by Pena in stoppage time.

Barcelona also lost defender Inigo Martinez before the half-hour mark through injury, with Ronald Araujo stepping in.

Barcelona and Real met in the competition’s final for third consecutive time, with Ancelotti’s side prevailing last year while Barca lifted the trophy in 2023.

Barcelona booked their spot in the final by winning 2-0 against current Spanish Cup holders Athletic Bilbao in the semi-finals before Real beat last year’s Copa del Rey finalists Mallorca 3-0.

Barcelona thrash Real Madrid 5-2 in Spanish Super Cup

Sports

10 Man United beat Arsenal on penalties in FA Cup

Published

3 hours ago

January 13, 2025

Trends Admin

10 Man United beat Arsenal on penalties in FA Cup

Joshua Zirkzee scored the winning penalty as a 10-man Manchester United, Man United beat Arsenal in a thrilling encounter to reach the fourth round of the FA Cup.

Man United had to play with 10 men for nearly an hour after Diogo Dalot was shown a second yellow card, having mistimed a tackle on Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino.

Man United took the lead through an excellent Bruno Fernandes goal in the 52nd minute, after Alejandro Garnacho took advantage of a Gabriel slip and crossed for Fernandes to curl the ball into the top corner.

Dalot was sent off in the 61st minute after his clumsy tackle and Arsenal were level just two minutes later when centre-back Gabriel volleyed in from inside the area.

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The Gunners then had a massive chance to take the lead when Kai Havertz was adjudged to have been brought down by Harry Maguire in the box and referee Andrew Madley awarded a penalty.

There was a delay in the spot-kick being taken after a melee in the box in which Maguire, Havertz and Gabriel were all booked.

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard then stepped up but Altay Bayindir dived to his left to push away the ball and keep the scores level.

Mikel Arteta’s side had big chances through Declan Rice and Havertz again to win the game but could not beat the impressive Bayindir.

Man United were made to defend throughout extra time as Arsenal looked for ways to take the lead with their numerical advantage.

But Arteta’s side could not find a way through and Havertz had his penalty saved by Bayindir before Zirkzee sent David Raya the wrong way to win the shootout.

The result means Arsenal have exited the FA Cup in the third round for the third time in four seasons.

10 Man United beat Arsenal on penalties in FA Cup

Sports

10-man Man United knock Arsenal out of FA Cup

Published

15 hours ago

January 12, 2025

Trends Admin

10-man Man United knock Arsenal out of FA Cup

Manchester United on Sunday knocked Arsenal out of the English FA Cup on penalties to reach the fourth round.
The United were down to 10 for over an hour but several wasted chances cost Arsenal as Kai Havertz missed in the shoot-out.
After a subdued first half, Bruno Fernandes sparked the tie into life with a brilliant first-time finish on the counter-attack, but United’s advantage was short lived as Diogo Dalot was sent off for a second yellow card.
Dalot’s error was punished by an immediate Arsenal equaliser through Gabriel.
The Gunners missed the chance to take the lead as Martin Odegaard saw a penalty saved by goalkeeper Altay Bayindir.
Arsenal missed several chances to win in normal time, with Bayindir making key saves.

Again in the penalty shoot-out, Bayindir saved another spot-kick, this time from Havertz.
The defending champions thus advanced to the fourth round draw.