Category: Football

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) survived a second half onslaught to beat Aston Villa 5-4 on aggregate and reach the Champions League semi-finals despite a 3-2 defeat on Tuesday.

The French champions were cruising towards the last four when full-backs Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes struck in the first 27 minutes to add to their 3-1 first leg lead.

Youri Tielemans pulled a goal back for the English side before half-time, and two goals in two minutes from John McGinn and Ezri Konsa transformed the tie early in the second period.

PSG were thankful to goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma for keeping Unai Emery’s men at bay and preventing another famous collapse in the Champions League knockout stages.

“At the end, we got them suffering like we did,” said Emery. “To get this level is the next step forward that I want to try to build with Aston Villa.”

Villa boss Emery was in charge of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) when Luis Enrique’s Barcelona overturned a 4-0 first-leg deficit with a dramatic 6-1 win in 2017.

Luis Enrique again emerged victorious over his compatriot, but this tim, he was the one who watched his team almost blow a seemingly unassailable lead.

“I have to say that match for us is something that allows us to grow up and try to compete even better,” said Luis Enrique. “On the whole two matches we deserved to win and we are very happy because it’s the second year in a row in the semi-finals.”

Aston Villa had not experienced a European night like this since 1983, and there was an embarrassing moment for the hosts before a ball was kicked as the Europa League anthem was played instead of the famous pre-match hymn of the Champions League.

Luis Enrique’s surprise decision to start Bradley Barcola ahead of Desire Doue was justified just 11 minutes in when he sprinted down the left, and Emiliano Martinez spilled his cross into the path of Hakimi, who fired home the opener.

Another blistering break from the visitors cut Villa open as Ousmane Dembele squared for left-back Mendes to stroke in his fourth Champions League goal of the season and second of the tie.

Villa’s refusal to give up the fight was rewarded when Tielemans’ deflected effort pulled a goal back before half-time.

Villa fanatic Prince William and his son George were among the home support that were in raptures as what seemed an impossible fightback came closer to reality.

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McGinn’s deflected effort flew into the top corner to restore parity on the night at 2-2.

Emery’s decision to start with Marcus Rashford up front ahead of top scorer Ollie Watkins was a controversial one before kick-off.

Rashford has been reborn since a January loan move from Manchester United.

The England international was denied a goal by a stunning save from Donnarumma.

But from the resulting corner, Rashford nutmegged Fabian Ruiz, skipped past Vitinha and cut the ball back for Konsa to slot in at the near post.

A Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) side that looked imperious in the first 45 minutes were suddenly all at sea as Villa missed a series of chances to take the game to extra time.

Donnarumma produced more brilliant saves to deny Tielemans and then Marco Asensio against his parent club.

Willian Pacho blocked Ian Maatsen’s goalbound effort in stoppage time to deny Villa at the death.

But they have surpassed expectations in their first experience of the elite level of European football for over four decades.

For PSG, their quest to win the competition for the first time goes on and they have rarely had a better opportunity to end that wait.

Arsenal are their likely semi-final opponents as the Gunners take a 3-0 quarter-final, first leg advantage away to holders Real Madrid on Wednesday.

On the other half of the draw Barcelona will face either Inter Milan or Bayern Munich in a heavyweight clash.

But Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) are arguably the continent’s form side, and with the Ligue 1 title long since sewn up, can focus entirely on conquering Europe in Munich on May 31.

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Bayern Munich and Harry Kane head to Inter Milan on Wednesday needing a victory to reach the semi-finals and keep their dream of playing in a home Champions League final alive.

Inter’s 2-1 win in Munich puts the Italians in the box seat to reach the Champions League semis for the second time in three years.

Despite a bulging injury list, Bayern had enough chances to win the first leg but failed to make their dominance show on the scoresheet.

It has been a familiar story recently for the German giants, and in particular, star striker Kane.

In Saturday’s 2-2 draw against rivals Borussia Dortmund, Vincent Kompany’s men failed to make a glut of chances count.

If the German giants are to reach the Champions League showpiece at their Allianz Arena home at the end of May, Harry Kane and the forward line will need to find their lost killer instinct.

In their past two games, Bayern Munich have scored three times from 46 shots on goal.

Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, centre-backs Dayot Upamecano and Hiroki Ito and wing-back Alphonso Davies will all miss the trip to Milan, hollowing out Bayern’s defence. Midfield creator Jamal Musiala will also be absent.

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Under-pressure central defender Kim Min-jae, who was hooked shortly after a mistake leading to Dortmund’s first on Saturday, is still nursing an Achilles injury but looks set to play on Wednesday.

Against Dortmund, Bayern finished with one fit centre-back on the field: English veteran Eric Dier.

Given the defensive woes, the need to convert chances becomes even more important.

Bayern Munich and Harry Kane had no trouble in the last 16 against Bayer Leverkusen when the England captain scored three goals across the two-game tie.

The 31-year-old has 10 goals in 12 games this Champions League season.

Kane told reporters on Saturday his side were “dominant” but “were a bit wasteful with our chances” against Dortmund, as they had been against Inter in Munich.

“We just have to be more clinical. On another day we would have got three or four against them (Inter). It gives us confidence because we know we can create chances against them,” Harry Kane said.

Bayern Munich are chasing the romance of winning the title on home soil and hoping to exorcise the ghosts of their 2012 final loss to Chelsea in Munich. To reach the semi-finals, Bayern will need a two-goal win, or victory by one followed by a triumph on penalties.

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Real Madrid and Croatia midfielder Luka Modric has joined Swansea as an investor and co-owner, the Championship club announced on Monday.

The 39-year-old Croatia captain has spent the past 13 seasons with Real Madrid and helped them win six Champions League titles after a spell at Tottenham earlier in his career.

Swansea failed to disclose how much Modric, who won the Ballon d’Or in 2018, had invested, but he expressed excitement at the chance to use his knowledge to help the Welsh club, who play in the second tier of the English league.

Modric said on the club’s website: “This is an exciting opportunity. Swansea has a strong identity, an incredible fanbase and the ambition to compete at the highest level.

“Playing at the highest level, I believe I can provide my experience to the club.

“My goal is to support the club’s growth in a positive way and to help to build an exciting future.”

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The immediate focus of Luka Modric is on Real Madrid’s Champions League quarter-final second leg at home to Arsenal on Wednesday, with his team trailing 3-0 after the first leg. His contract at the Bernabeu is set to expire at the end of this season.

Modric’s decision to invest in a football club follows teammates Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior doing the same at Ligue 2 outfit Caen and Portuguese side FC Alverca, respectively.

“I am excited that Luka has come on board as an investor and co-owner,” said Swansea chief executive Tom Gorringe.

“There is no better role model in the game for our players, from the academy right through to the first team.”

Swansea are currently 12th in the Championship.

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Inter Miami failed to score for the first time this season in Major League Soccer (MLS) as they were held to a goalless draw by the Chicago Fire on Sunday.

A club-record crowd of 62,358 packed into Soldier Field for the visit of Lionel Messi and his Inter team to witness a gutsy display from the home side.

Chicago, coached by former USA boss Gregg Berhalter, limited Messi and his former Barcelona strike partner Luis Suarez to just a handful of opportunities.

The best effort from Messi, who played the full game, came in the third minute when he unleashed a snap shot from outside the box, which was denied by a fine, diving save from Fire keeper Chris Brady.

There was no sense of Chicago being overawed by the big crowd at the stadium they share with the NFL’s Bears, and they went close twice in the opening half with Mauricio Pineda forcing Oscar Ustari into a full stretch save and then Philip Zinckernagel striking the outside of the post from a narrow angle.

Suarez had a great chance to put Miami ahead just before the break when Noah Allen floated a ball in, but the Uruguayan put his shot over the bar.

After the break, Chicago enjoyed plenty of pressure, with much of the creativity coming from former Lille winger Jonathan Bamba.

The Fire should have grabbed all three points in the 88th minute when Bamba’s shot was parried out by Ustari, but Maren Haile-Selassie put the follow-up shot wide.

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Bamba was denied again by Ustari moments later, but in a frantic finale, Miami also could have stolen a win, but from a promising position, Tadeo Allende dragged his shot wide.

Inter Miami had looked tired after their midweek exertions in their CONCACAF Champions Cup win over Los Angeles FC on Wednesday, and coach Javier Mascherano appeared relieved they had picked up a point.

“We came with a very, very big load not only physically, but also mentally. So not losing is always important, too,” he said.

“I’ll take the positives, which is that we didn’t concede a goal. We’d been conceding goals for three games, and today, we kept a clean sheet. … Now, luckily, we have a long week of work, which is a bit of a break for us, after the start of the season we’ve had,” he said.

Former Miami coach Phil Neville saw his improving Portland Timbers team enjoy a 4-2 win at Sporting Kansas City with Venezuelan forward Kevin Kelsy scoring twice.

Portland are unbeaten in five games and move up to fourth in the Western Conference. The Columbus Crew fought back from a goal down to enjoy a 2-1 win at St.Louis City.

Brazilian Joao Klauss opened the scoring for the home side before Crew defender Steven Moreira levelled with a side-footed volley.

Uruguayan Diego Rossi secured the win with a low drive from outside the box in the 55th minute.

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Liverpool are making progress on talks over a new contract for Mohamed Salah, and the Premier League leaders are increasingly confident he will stay at Anfield next season, according to reports on Wednesday.

The 32-year-old Egypt international, along with Liverpool teammates Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold, is out of contract at the end of this season.

While Alexander-Arnold has been linked strongly with a free transfer to Real Madrid, Van Dijk said after Sunday’s 3-2 loss to Fulham that negotiations were progressing over a much-discussed new deal for the club captain.

It is understood that no agreement has yet been struck, but Salah and Van Dijk are optimistic that they will extend their contracts.

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Salah is the top scorer in the Premier League this season with 27 goals and has netted 243 times in 394 appearances for the Reds since joining the club from Roma in 2017.

He has won the Champions League with Liverpool and helped the club end a 30-year English title drought in 2020, lifting eight trophies in total during his time on Merseyside.

The two-time African Footballer of the Year has been linked with a lucrative move to Saudi Arabia but has always made it clear his preferred option was to remain at Liverpool.

In November, Mohamed Salah said he was “probably more out than in” at Liverpool before suggesting a deal was “far away” a month later.

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Paris Saint-Germain clinched the Ligue 1 title on Saturday with a 1-0 win at home against Angers as they prepare for a Champions League quarter-final showdown with Aston Villa.

PSG needed just a draw in front of their own fans to be confirmed as champions again, having started the day a huge 21 points clear of nearest challengers Monaco with seven matches left.

Desire Doue’s strike early in the second half decided the game in PSG’s favour, allowing Luis Enrique’s team to take the title with six matches still to play.

It is a fourth consecutive Ligue 1 title for the club from the French capital and their 11th in the last 13 seasons, highlighting the extent to which they have dominated domestically since being taken over by Qatar Sports Investments in 2011.

“Our ambition is to win everything,” said captain Marquinhos, who has now won 10 titles since joining the club in 2013, to broadcaster beIN Sports.

“It is a nice feeling. It is the reward for the work we have put in throughout the season, for our consistency, and the team deserves it,” added the Brazilian centre-back, who will be suspended for the first leg against Villa.

PSG’s overall tally of 13 French league titles is three more than Saint-Etienne, who are the next most successful club with 10 but have not been champions since 1981.

Marseille have won nine titles, while Nantes and Monaco have each been champions on eight occasions.

The extent to which winning the French league has become a routine exercise for the Parisian outfit helps explain why celebrations were far from excessive on a beautiful spring day in the city.

However, Luis Enrique was raised aloft by members of his coaching staff while the PSG players undertook a lap of honour of the Parc des Princes pitch.

The trophy ceremony will take place at a later date, with PSG maintaining their focus on the European clash with Villa, who visit the Parc des Princes for the first leg of their quarter-final on Wednesday, before the return in England on April 15.

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However, PSG have another objective in their sights in the league, one which would make this title triumph stand out above all others.

They remain undefeated after 28 matches, with 23 wins and just five draws, and are on course to become the first team to complete a Ligue 1 campaign without losing a game.

The closest any French side has come to an unbeaten season remains Nantes, who went undefeated through their first 32 matches before losing their only game on the way to winning the title in 1994/95.

That was a 38-game season, while PSG will only play 34 matches in this campaign, with the league having recently been reduced from 20 clubs to 18.

They will not play again in Ligue 1 until a home meeting with Le Havre on April 19, with next week’s trip to Nantes postponed to April 22 in order to allow PSG to recover in between the two legs of their tie against Villa.

Ousmane Dembele, PSG’s top scorer with 32 goals in all competitions this season, was rested at kick-off against Angers, having netted twice in the 4-2 midweek win over second-tier Dunkerque in the semi-finals of the French Cup.

Bradley Barcola, the team’s second-top marksman on 18 goals, was also left out of the starting line-up and it was far from a vintage performance by the home side.

They were perhaps fortunate early on when Angers forward Esteban Lepaul ran through on goal before being outmuscled by Willian Pacho, the challenge a fair one in the eyes of the referee.

Doue was on hand to convert from a Khvicha Kvaratskhelia cross 10 minutes into the second half as he scored his 11th goal in all competitions since signing from Rennes at the start of the season.

That proved enough for PSG to win the game and take the title, maintaining Luis Enrique’s record of having won every domestic trophy since he took over prior to last season.

Elsewhere on Saturday, Brest scored in injury time to beat Monaco 2-1, meaning Marseille can go above the principality club into second with a win on Sunday against Toulouse.

Lyon came from behind to beat Lille 2-1 in Saturday’s other Ligue 1 game, a key encounter in the fight for Champions League qualification.

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Bayern Munich legend Thomas Mueller confirmed on Saturday that the club will not offer him a new contract, bringing an end to his 25-year career with the Bundesliga giants at the end of the campaign.

The 35-year-old, whose contract was set to expire in the summer, said in a post on social media that the decision was made by the club and “not what I would have wished”.

Mueller said he did not like how the contract saga played out “back and forth in public” in recent months, but he “felt the appreciation from everyone involved after my long time with Bayern”.

“The special connection to the club and our fantastic fans will always remain,” he said.

Mueller came through the Bayern junior system and has won two Champions Leagues, along with 12 Bundesliga titles.

His focus was now on “bringing the league title back to Munich” as well as reaching this season’s Champions League final, which will be held in Bayern’s Allianz Arena home.

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Later on Saturday, Bayern issued a statement saying Mueller would be honoured with a testimonial match and that the midfielder would play at the Club World Cup in July.

“Thomas Mueller had the definition of a Bavarian fairytale career,” club president Herbert Hainer said.

Mueller was born in the nearby Bavarian town of Weilheim and joined the club aged 10, making his debut under coach Jurgen Klinsmann in 2008 against a Hamburg side featuring current Bayern coach Vincent Kompany.

A one-club player, Mueller’s 743 matches for Bayern in all competitions is the most in the team’s history. He has registered 247 goals and 273 assists for the club in that time.

In recent seasons, Mueller has started from the bench more regularly, leading to growing speculation that he could leave the club.

The midfielder did not reveal where he would play next season, although German media has speculated he could make a late-career move to the United States of America (USA) to play in the MLS.

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Manchester City were dealt a major blow on Monday with leading scorer Erling Haaland set for a spell on the sidelines after suffering an ankle injury as the season reaches its climax.

The 24-year-old Norwegian was injured in Sunday’s 2-1 FA Cup quarter-final win at Bournemouth.

Having just scored his 30th goal of the season to level the tie, he was then hurt in a challenge with Bournemouth midfielder Lewis Cook.

The Premier League champions did not provide a timescale for the player’s return.

“The expectation is that Erling [Haaland] will be fit in time to play a further part in the remainder of this season, including this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup,” said a club statement.

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“Erling underwent initial tests in Manchester on Monday morning and will now seek specialist consultation to confirm the full extent of the injury.

“Assessment remains ongoing to ascertain a full prognosis.”

City are currently fifth in the Premier League and battling to ensure a spot in the Champions League next season.

Pep Guardiola’s side face matches against Leicester and Manchester United this week.

They then have a visit from Crystal Palace and a trip to Everton before their FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest, at Wembley on April 26.

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Bayern Munich are facing the prospect of battling for both the league title and the Champions League without key players Dayot Upamecano and Alphonso Davies, who returned from international duty injured, the German giants said Wednesday.

Canadian international Davies, 24, a key presence in midfield for Bayern, tore the ACL in his right knee during their 2-1 win over the United States on Sunday in the CONCACAF Nations League.

Bayern said he would definitely be out for the rest of the season and could be sidelined for six months.

Defender Upamecano, meanwhile, will be out for “several weeks” after suffering a left knee injury during France’s 2-0 win against Croatia in the Nations League quarter-finals on Sunday.

Despite the injury, the 26-year-old scored the decisive penalty in the shoot-out, and the match finished 2-2 on aggregate, to take them through to the semi-finals and a meeting with European champions Spain.

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“Unfortunately, there’s always the risk of players returning from international breaks with injuries — this time we’ve been hit particularly hard,” Bayern Munich board member for sport Max Eberl told the club website.

“The absence of Alphonso Davies and Dayot Upamecano weighs heavily on FC Bayern.

“We have a strong squad and will compensate for these absences.

“We’ll now grow even closer together. The quality is there to continue pursuing our big goals.”

Bayern are six points head of Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga — with eight matches remaining — and face Inter Milan in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

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Saudi Arabia battled to a 0-0 away draw with already-qualified Japan on Tuesday to keep their fading hopes of an automatic place at the FIFA World Cup 2026 alive.

The Saudis went into the game in Saitama in third place in Asian qualifying third round Group C, one point behind Australia.

The top two teams qualify directly for the FIFA World Cup 2026 in the United States of America (USA), Canada and Mexico, with those placing third and fourth going into another qualifying round.

Runaway group leaders Japan locked up their place last week, and the Saudis made sure they stayed in contention with two games remaining after a dogged defensive effort.

The Saudis travel to face Bahrain in June before they host what could be a decisive clash against Australia.

Saudi Arabia coach Herve Renard was missing several players through injury but his team were coming into the game fresh from beating China 1-0 for their first win in five qualifiers.

Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu made six changes from the side that beat Bahrain 2-0 to clinch qualification, with winger Kaoru Mitoma, striker Ayase Ueda and midfielder Hidemasa Morita all ruled out with injury.

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Daizen Maeda started up front, and the Celtic man hit the post in the ninth minute as Japan took control from the kick-off.

Maeda had another chance 10 minutes later but could only shoot weakly after stumbling over the ball when clean through.

Muhannad Al Shanqiti headed over the bar soon after with the Saudis’ first attack of the game.

Takefusa Kubo, Japan’s man of the match against Bahrain, went close twice before half-time, before Maeda fluffed another effort shortly after the interval.

Moriyasu’s substitutions changed the game against Bahrain and he rolled the dice again, bringing on Junya Ito and Ritsu Doan shortly after the hour mark.

But Ito curled a shot over the bar with Japan’s best chance of the second half as the Saudis escaped with a point.

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