Portugal & Mexico sail into Semi Finals of FIFA Confederations Cup

  Hosts Russia have been knocked out by Mexico in the FIFA Confederations Cup, after going down 1-2 in the last group match played today. Cristiano Ronaldo led Portugal also qualified after battering New Zealand 4-0, recording 7 points like Mexico and topping their Group A.

Russia had hoped for a miraculous berth in the semi-final if they had beaten Mexico by some goal margin. After conceding the first goal in the 25th minute, Mexico came from behind to beat the hosts. They dominated the possession and piled pressure on Russia such that they made Russian defender Y. Zirkhov earn the first red card of the tournament, after fouling a Mexican player.

In the Portugal-New Zealand match, Ronaldo who was voted Man of the Match for the third time opened scoring via a penalty in the 33rd minute. B. Silva doubled the advantage five minutes later, creating a scare after it appeared he had been injured. A. Silva and Nani increased the tally in the second half.

Both Portugal and Mexico will know their semifinal opponents tomorrow after the Group B matches. Chile and Germany are leading the group with four points each and there are slight doubts any upset can be created by either Cameroon or Australia, their opponents, who have a point each.

London Tower Fire: FA to Donate Community Shield Proceeds to Victims

  Football Association (FA) chairman Greg Clarke on Friday said the proceeds from the 2017 FA Community Shield will be donated to support those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire.

He said football is for all and hopes that in some small way through the Community Shield the association is able to give something back to those who are in need.

Arsenal will play Chelsea on 6 August at Wembley Stadium, and £1.25m could be raised from the match.

According to BBC Sport, the English Football League will also be donating £175,000.

79 people are reported missing or presumed dead in the attack while survivors, the families of the victims and emergency services personnel will all be invited to the game as guests.

Champions Chelsea receive record £150m as pay-out

  English champions Chelsea received a record Premier League pay-out of more than £150 million ($190 million, 172 million euros) this season, nearly £60 million more than their predecessors Leicester, after new TV deals came into force.

The broadcast deals, including a bumper domestic contract, ensured generous end-of-season payments for all 20 Premier League clubs who shared a total of £2.4 billion.

Figures on the league’s website showed Leicester, who earned £93 million after their stunning title success last year, received £116 million this season, when they finished 12th.

Second-placed Tottenham Hotspur earned about £145 million — slightly less than Manchester City and Liverpool owing to the difference in their “facility fees”, awarded for appearances on TV.

Jose Mourinho sets historic record with Man Utd’s Europa League win

  Jose Mourinho has become the first manager to win the Europa League and the Champions League twice after Manchester United beat Ajax in Wednesday’s final.

Manchester United on Wednesday night completed what will be termed a very successful season by defeating Ajax 2-0 to win the UEFA Europa League final, guaranteeing the Old Trafford club a place in next season's UEFA Champions league tournament.



Two goals from Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mhikitaryan was all Jose Mourinho needed to win his third trophy (League Cup, Community shield, Europa league) of the season- a tactical win that showed Man U's experience over Ajax who had more of the possession and more passes.

La liga: It is Madrid’s title to lose – Zidane

  Real Madrid have all they can ask for with just one La Liga game of the season to go and that is the destiny of the title in their own hands, coach Zinedine Zidane said on Saturday.

Madrid lead Barcelona by three points at the top of the table and just need to avoid defeat at Malaga on Sunday to be assured of a first La Liga title in five years.

Barca need to beat Eibar at home to have any chance of leapfrogging their fierce rivals.

“It is in our hands which is important for us,” said Zidane.

“There is just one game to go and we have worked very hard to get to where we want to be.

“We deserve to be in the position we are just now.”

Nadal defeats Djokovic to reach Madrid Open Final

  Four-time champion Rafael Nadal, 30, confirmed his return to form with a long-awaited win over Novak Djokovic and ended a three-year, seven-match losing streak against the Serb to reach the final of the Madrid Open.

The Spaniard won 6-2 6-4 to claim his first victory over the Serb since the 2014 French Open final.

The win is also his 24th victory in 50 career meetings against Djokovic.

Nadal will face Austrian Dominic Thiem in Sunday’s final.

Mourinho accepts Europa final’s make-or-break billing

   Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho accepts the club’s season will be judged a failure if they do not beat Ajax in the Europa League final on May 24.

Mourinho says he has worked “harder than ever” during his maiden United campaign, which has already featured a League Cup triumph and victory over Leicester City in the Community Shield.

But with United needing to beat Ajax to secure a place in next season’s Champions League, he knows he will not be spared by the media if his side succumb to defeat at Stockholm’s Friends Arena.

“I think you, the media, have the right to say (that) and I think it makes sense to say,” he told reporters after United completed a 2-1 aggregate win over Celta Vigo in the semi-finals on Thursday.

Chelsea one win away from EPL Glory

  Chelsea are three points away from their second English Premier League title in three years after a 3-0 defeat of Middlesbrough at Stamford Bridge on Monday night. Following the result, Middlesbrough got relegated to the Championship just a year after gaining promotion.

Diego Costa set them on their way against the doomed visitors in the 23rd minute after the Spaniard scored after a Cesc Fabregas pass. The goal was Costa’s 21st in the league, equalling his career-best total in a Chelsea shirt.

Cristiano Ronaldo scores hat-trick as Real Madrid thrashed Atletico Madrid in Semi-Finals

  Cristiano Ronaldo on Tuesday, became the first player in football history to score back-to-back hat-tricks in the Champions League knockout stages as Real Madrid thrashed Atletico Madrid to close in on a third final in four years.

Real were utterly dominant throughout against their city rivals at the Bernabeu and led after 10 minutes when Ronaldo headed home Casemiro‘s cross.

Ronaldo scored the second after smashing an unstoppable shot from 16 yards past Atletico keeper Jan Oblak, who had made several saves to keep his side in the tie.

And the Portugal captain ensured all the headlines would be his with a second consecutive Champions League hat-trick, having scored five goals in the quarter-final against Bayern Munich. It was his easiest goal of the night, as he controlled Lucas Vazquez‘s cross in plenty of space before firing home.

Atletico only had one shot on target and will need to pull off one of the Champions League’s all-time special performances to stop double-chasing Real from ending their European dreams for the fourth straight season.

English Premier League leading scorers

  Leading English Premier League scorers after the weekend’s matches:

24: Lukaku (Everton)

21: Kane (Tottenham)

19: Costa (Chelsea), Sanchez (Arsenal)

18: Agüero (Manchester City)

17: Alli (Tottenham), Ibrahimovic (Manchester United)

15: Hazard (Chelsea), King (AFC Bournemouth)

14: Benteke (Crystal Palace), Defoe (Sunderland)

13: Mané (Liverpool)

12: Llorente (Swansea), Son Heung-min (Tottenham), Vardy (Leicester)

11: Roberto Firmino (Liverpool)

10: Coutinho (Liverpool), Deeney (Watford), Walcott (Arsenal)

Bayern Munich wins record 5th Straight Bundesliga Title

   It has been another season of domestic dominance for Bayern Munich, who wrapped up their 27th championship with three games to go following a thumping win over Wolfsburg. They thrashed Wolfsburg 6-0 to clinch the Bundesliga for a record fifth straight season and give manager Carlo Ancelotti a title in a fourth top European league.

Ancelotti’s side have lost just twice in the league all season and were never troubled by out-of-sorts Wolfsburg.

Austrian left-back David Alaba fired Bayern ahead from a free-kick with Poland striker Robert Lewandowski scoring twice before half-time while Arjen Robben added a trademark shot after cutting in from the right.

Manchester United to honour Electrocuted Nigerians at Old Trafford

                                    
Manchester United have confirmed that the electrocuted Nigerian fans who lost their lives while watching an Europa League match between Manchester United and Anderlecht in Calabar will be remembered at the Old Trafford when they host Swansea in a league fixture on Sunday.

They had gathered at a popular viewing center when a transformer nearby exploded twice with a high tension wire dropping on the structure built with zinc.

The club announced that Jose Mourinho’s side will wear black armbands to pay tribute to the victims of the tragedy.

“The #MUFC players will wear black armbands on Sunday in memory of the seven fans who lost their lives recently in Calabar, Nigeria,” the club tweeted

Sanchez caps Arsenal fightback, sets Chelsea final date

  Arsenal will play Chelsea in the FA Cup final after battling back to beat Manchester City 2-1 after extra-time in Sunday’s semi-final at Wembley.

Despite trailing to Sergio Aguero’s second half opener, Arsene Wenger’s side staged a gritty revival as Nacho Monreal equalised before Alexis Sanchez netted the winner in the additional period.

Arsenal’s record 20th FA Cup final appearance gives them a chance to end a difficult season by lifting the trophy for the third time in the last four years.

Eden Hazard comes off bench to inspire his team to FA Cup final

                          
Antonio Conte’s Chelsea might not have produced the greatest performances of late, but they certainly know how to deliver a great victory when the pressure is on, and they rarely come much more significant than a win over a bitter opponent in an FA Cup semi-final.

This was one of those days when Tottenham Hotspur’s young players showed that they can compete with the very best but whether they can beat them remains a question still unanswered. Against the side they are chasing for the Premier League title, Mauricio Pochettino’s players controlled much of the match and, in Christian Eriksen, had the game’s best player but they simply could not put the game away.

Instead it is Chelsea for whom the league and Cup double is very much on, and yet another FA Cup semi-final defeat for Spurs – their seventh – since the club last won the competition in 1991. They have had another fine season but it threatens once again to end without a trophy and they will regard this semi-final as a match they really should have won.
The Spurs support had seen enough by the end of the game when Eden Hazard, on as a substitute, and then Nemanja Matic, scored the two deciding goals. The seats emptied in the Spurs end and Wembley Way filled up with fans left wondering when their team will be able to win the games that matter against opposition who have made winning trophies a habit.

Chelsea passed title test with Bournemouth win — Hazard

  Eden Hazard says Chelsea’s 3-1 victory over Bournemouth proved the Premier League leaders won’t crack under the stress of the title race.

Antonio Conte’s side kicked off at Dean Court with their lead at the top cut to four points following Tottenham’s 4-0 thrashing of Watford earlier on Saturday.

But, with the pressure mounting in the closing weeks of the season, Chelsea showed nerves of steel as Adam Smith’s own goal and strikes from Hazard and Marcos Alonso wrapped up a vital win.

Griezmann halts Real Madrid's title charge | Sports , Football The Daily Star - 1 hour ago

  Antoine Griezmann’s classy finish five minutes from time dealt Real Madrid’s La Liga title chances a huge blow as Atletico Madrid rescued a 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Pepe’s towering header early in the second half looked to have Madrid heading five points clear at the top.

However, Barcelona now have a third straight title back in their own hands after Griezmann rounded Keylor Navas to slot home at the near post.

Real lead Barcelona by three points with eight games left, but the two face each other at the Bernabeu on April 23.

Barca can move top later on Saturday with victory at Malaga.

Leicester City Manager Craig Shakespeare says Ahmed Musa will Still Play for the Team

   Leicester City manager Craig Shakespeare has said that Super Eagles forward Ahmed Musa is still in his plans despite the his limited playing time.

Musa has made only 13 starts for Leicester all season, just seven of which have come in the Premier League.

He has scored four goals in all competitions for Leicester this season; two in the league and two in the FA Cup, scoring a brace in a 2-1 win against Everton at Goodison Park.

Ahead of Sunday’s trip away to Everton in the Premier League, Shakespeare played down recent reports of Musa’s domestic row with his wife.

“I have spoken to him and he assured me there wasn’t a lot in it. It was a police matter that has been cleared up,” Shakespeare said on the club’s website on Saturday.

Eden Hazard outwits Manchester City to strengthen Chelsea’s title grip The Guardian - 11 hours ago

  Eden Hazard scored twice as leaders Chelsea beat Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City 2-1 on Wednesday to reassert their control of the Premier League title race.

Chelsea had given the chasing pack hope after crashing to a shock 2-1 loss at home to Crystal Palace on Saturday, but they bounced back to preserve their seven-point lead over Tottenham Hotspur.

Hazard’s early opener was cancelled out by Sergio Aguero, who punished an error by home goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, but the Belgian winger scored the rebound from his own penalty to get Chelsea back to winning ways.

Having won 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium in December, Chelsea became the first team to do a league double over a team managed by Guardiola, whose side had been unbeaten in eight league games.

Ibrahimovic rescues Man Utd with late penalty

  Manchester United’s forward, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, scored from the penalty spot with just a few seconds left on the clock to rescue a late 1-1 draw against Everton at the Old Trafford on Tuesday night.

Champions and Europa League finals set for same week

  European club football’s showcase finals of the Champions League and the Europa League are to be scheduled in the same week as of 2019, UEFA’s executive committee decided on Tuesday.

This season the Europa League final will be contested at Stockholm’s Friends Arena on Wednesday May 24, while the Champions League final is at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff 10 days later on Saturday June 3.

The current schedule has been in place since UEFA’s well-received decision to switch the Champions League final from a Wednesday to Saturday night as of 2010.