Category: Football (Soccer)

Football (Soccer) News

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Champions League roundup: PSV’s Ryan Flamingo dumps out Juventus

  • PSV beat Juventus 3-1 after extra time in playoff
  • PSG and Borussia Dortmund stroll into last 16

Ryan Flamingo scored in extra time to give PSV Eindhoven a 3-1 home win on Wednesday in the second leg of their Champions League knockout phase playoff against Juventus, overturning a first-leg deficit and putting them into the last 16.

The tie was level at 3-3 on aggregate after 90 minutes and went into extra time before Flamingo poached a 98th-minute winner as Juventus became the third Italian side eliminated from the competition, after Milan and Atalanta on Tuesday.

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Doubts raised over US travel system during 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics

  • US will host 2026 tournament with Canada and Mexico
  • Report raises concern about visas and infrastructure

The United States is unprepared for the burdens placed on its air travel system when the country hosts the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, according to a report released on Wednesday.

The US Travel Association, a non-profit that represents the travel industry, commissioned a report written by former government officials and industry experts. The report raises concerns about visas, creaking infrastructure and poor security technology.

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Atalanta’s Lookman hits out at manager’s ‘hurtful’ jibe after penalty is saved

  • Gasperini calls him ‘one of the worst penalty takers’
  • Striker’s spot-kick saved as side were beaten by Brugge

The Atalanta striker Ademola Lookman said comments by his coach, Gian Piero Gasperini, describing him as “one of the worst penalty takers” he had ever seen after Tuesday’s Champions League exit were “deeply disrespectful” and hurtful.

Club Brugge stunned Atalanta 3-1 in the second leg of their playoff to dump the Italian side out with a 5-2 aggregate win and reach the last 16. Lookman pulled back one goal for Atalanta when they were 3-0 down. However the London-born Nigeria forward, who has scored 15 times this season, then had a penalty saved by Simon Mignolet, after which Gasperini said Lookman was not supposed to take the spot-kick.

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World Cup winner Olivier Giroud victim of reported $500,000 burglary in LA

  • LAFC striker was not at home during break-in
  • Athletes in US have been targeted by burglars

Los Angeles FC striker Olivier Giroud’s home was the target of a burglary earlier this month, police said.

Los Angeles police said they responded on 5 February to a report that a window had been smashed at a home in west LA. Giroud and his family were not home when the incident occurred. Burglars entered the residence through the window, and when Giroud’s wife came home to find items – including 10 luxury watches – missing, she called police, according to reports by ESPN and TMZ Sports. The burglars are reported to have taken valuables worth $500,000 during the break-in.

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Bayern Munich 1-1 Celtic (agg: 3-2): Champions League playoff round, second leg – as it happened

An heroic Celtic performance ended in heartbreak when Alphonso Davies settled the tie with 30 seconds remaining

“Speaking of Father Ted,” begins Matt Emerson, “I see that Tom from Craggy Island has swapped his ‘I Shot JR’ T-shirt for an Ipswich Town kit and is going by the name of ‘Liam Delap’.”

That’s a sensational spot.

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Milan and Atalanta dumped out of playoffs by Feyenoord and Club Brugge

  • Feyenoord edge past Milan after Hernandez red card
  • Club Brugge beat Atalanta 5-2, Benfica edge Monaco

Milan were left to rue Théo Hernandez’s sending-off following a dive as Feyenoord pegged them back on the night and advanced 2-1 on aggregate to the Champions League last 16 with a 1-1 draw in the second leg of their playoff.

Hernandez earned his second yellow card for the seven-time European champions for a dive in the 51st minute when Milan were dominating. The Italian side had cancelled out their first-leg deficit almost immediately, with forward Santiago Giménez striking against his former team in the first minute at San Siro.

From a short corner move, Christian Pulisic floated a pass towards the far post where Malick Thiaw placed a header back across goal and Giménez nodded the ball over the line. The Mexican declined to celebrate against the club he left in January, and soon after played in João Félix who put his effort over the bar.

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The Chris Whyte experiment: when Arsenal played a centre-back up front

Mikel Merino excelled as a striker for Arsenal on Saturday. Chris Whyte did not have as much joy 40 years ago

By Steven Pye for That 1980s Sports Blog

You didn’t need to be a genius to work out what was coming. Going two transfer windows without signing a centre-forward was always going to be a gamble for Arsenal, especially considering that their one remaining option was clearly out on his feet in recent weeks. The injury to Kai Havertz was depressingly inevitable.

Mikel Arteta had a dilemma before the Leicester match at the weekend. With no strikers available, he opted to play Leandro Trossard through the middle. When that didn’t work, Mikel Merino came on and scored both goals in the 2-0 win. Merino’s timely goals have temporarily halted the debate but, if all else fails, Arteta could throw Riccardo Calafiori up front and get the ball into the mixer.

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