Category: Football (Soccer)

Football (Soccer) News

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Europa League playoffs: Roma 3-2 Porto, Galatasaray 2-2 AZ and more – as it happened

Ajax sneaked through despite losing at home, while Shamrock Rovers were eliminated on penalties by Molde

45 min: Roma 2-1 Porto (agg: 3-2) Roma almost scored a third a moment ago, with a shot cleared off the line by Otavio. I didn’t see exactly what happened because THERE IS SO MUCH GOING ON.

Welcome to heaven. AZ Alkmaar are cruising into the last 16 of the Europa League, having done a helluva number on one of the tournament favourties. After a superb run from Ernest Poku, Gabriel Sara’s attempted clearance hit Seiya Maikuma and ricocheted into the net.

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A-Leagues boss Nick Garcia departs in shock mid-season leadership shake-up

  • Stephen Conroy tightens grip on Australian Professional Leagues
  • APL hopes to stabilise domestic competitions take another hit

A-Leagues commissioner Nick Garcia has departed his role in a shock mid-season leadership change at Australian football’s struggling domestic competitions.

Garcia’s departure was confirmed on Thursday, with Australian Professional Leagues chairman Stephen Conroy announced as executive chairman.

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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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