Aleksey Miranchuk scored late to give Atlanta a 2-2 Major League Soccer draw against Inter Miami on Wednesday, with Lionel Messi unable to conjure any magic as a late substitute for the visitors. Also Read: Spurs register come-from-behind win Eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi had dazzled in his return from a lengthy injury absence on Saturday, scoring two goals in the space of four minutes in Miami’s 3-1 victory over Philadelphia. But coach Gerardo Martino said he would be careful not to overwork his superstar in a three-match week, and Messi was held out of the starting line-up. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
20 September,2024 08:27 AM IST | Miami | AFPTottenham needed two late goals from Djed Spence and Brennan Johnson to beat second-tier Coventry 2-1 and avoid a shock League Cup exit on Wednesday. Also Read: Arsenal’s Odegaard faces lengthy injury absence Spurs were headed to a third consecutive defeat when Brandon Thomas-Asante fired the Championship side into a deserved lead after 63 minutes. Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou had responded to criticism after Sunday’s 0-1 defeat to Arsenal in the north London derby by insisting he will continue his record of winning silverware in his second season at multiple clubs. As Postecoglou was facing up to a second consecutive early exit in this competition, his blushes were spared when Dejan Kulusevski linked up with Spence, who prodded home for his first Spurs goal in the 87th minute. Tottenham sensed their moment and in the second minute of stoppage time Rodrigo Bentancur played in Johnson, who rolled home the winner. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
20 September,2024 08:25 AM IST | London | AFPArsenal captain Martin Odegaard will be out “for a while” with an ankle injury he suffered on international duty with Norway, manager Mikel Arteta said on Wednesday. Also Read: Jhingan slams age fraud issue in Indian sport Odegaard twisted his ankle in Norway’s Nations League match against Austria earlier this month. His national team doctor had suggested he would be sidelined for a “minimum of three weeks”. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
20 September,2024 08:23 AM IST | Bergamo (Italy) | AFPIndia and FC Goa defender Sandesh Jhingan opened up about his experience with age fraud and the challenges it brought. He termed as damaging to players’ confidence since it stems self-doubt at a critical stage of their overall football development. Also Read: It was a very intense game: City’s Dias after 0-0 Inter draw Jhingan recounted personal experiences to highlight the negative impact of playing against overage footballers during the inaugural Stay Your Age U-15 football tournament, which took place between September 12 to 18 in Navi Mumbai. “This needs to stop. Age fraud has been the elephant in the room for so many years. During my younger days, in the U-15 and the U-17 levels, we always knew there was someone older playing in our age group. I have many times felt that I was not good enough, because that boy was stronger, faster, and more mature than me, but it was only because he was older than me,” Jhingan said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
20 September,2024 08:21 AM IST | Mumbai | IANSManchester City made a sluggish start to their Champions League campaign as they drew 0-0 against Inter Milan on Wednesday. Pep Guardiola’s side have won all four of their Premier League games this season, but failed to break down Italian champions Inter in a repeat of the 2023 final won by City. City lost Kevin De Bruyne to injury at half-time and Phil Foden fired straight at Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer with their best chance as Erling Haaland was kept quiet on a night he was chasing his 100th goal for the English club. Also Read: Gittens scores brace as Dortmund win “It was a very intense game against a strong opponent. We knew what was coming, they are a top team as well and they are used to winning, so we were not going to have an easy job,” City defender Ruben Dias told TNT Sports. Henrikh Mkhitaryan could have won it for Inter when he blazed over 15 minutes from time, allowing City to extend their unbeaten run in the competition to 24 matches—one off the record set by Manchester United between 2007 and 2009. It is just the second time in 42 home Champions League games under Guardiola that City have failed to score. “Our plan was to show that we’re not scared to play here,” said Inter midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu. Meanwhile, Bologna drew 0-0 at home to Shakhtar Donetsk in the Italian team’s first ever Champions League match. Lukasz Skorupski saved an early penalty from Shakhtar’s Georgiy Sudakov. Sparta Prague swept Red Bull Salzburg aside 3-0 with goals from Kaan Kairinen, Victor Olatunji and Qazim Laci, as the Czech champions won for the first time in the competition proper since 2003. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
20 September,2024 08:19 AM IST | Paris | AFPEnglish winger Jamie Gittens came off the bench to score twice in the final 15 minutes to seal Borussia Dortmund a 3-0 win at Club Brugge in their UCL opener on Wednesday. Last year’s finalists, who lost to Real Madrid at Wembley in June, got off to a fast start in the new-look league stage. New Dortmund coach Nuri Sahin brought Gittens on as a substitute with 22 minutes remaining and the game goalless. Also Read: ‘Got lucky with that goal’ The 20-year-old scored shortly after, his right-foot shot looping over the head of Club Brugge goalkeeper Simon Mignolet with the aid of a deflection. Again coming off the left flank, Gittens blasted a low shot into the net to score his second with four minutes remaining, snuffing out Brugge’s chance of a comeback. Serhou Guirassy won and converted a penalty in injury time to add gloss to the final score. “We won the game and [scoring] two goals is really good,” said Gittens. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
20 September,2024 08:17 AM IST | Bruges (Belgium) | AFPParis Saint-Germain were grateful to a last-minute howler from goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga as they snatched a 1-0 win over European debutants Girona in their opening game of the new-look Champions League on Wednesday. PSG had over 60 per cent possession and 24 attempts on goal but looked set to be left frustrated by their opponents at the Parc des Princes until a low Nuno Mendes cross squirmed under Gazzaniga and into the net in the 90th minute. It was a harsh ending to their Champions League bow for Girona, who qualified for Europe for the first time in their history after a historic third-place finish in La Liga last season. Also Read: Golkuldham boys defend to win! Luis Enrique PSG missed chance after chance in the second half and looked set to draw another continental blank, just like in their semi-final defeat by Borussia Dortmund last season when they somehow failed to score in either leg. However, the late goal allowed Luis Enrique’s team to continue their perfect start to the campaign as they aim to go further than last season’s run to the semis and win European football’s biggest prize for the first time. ‘Girona defended very well’ “Girona defended very well and showed why last season they led La Liga for so long. They are a better team than many in the second or third pot of seeds, even in the first pot,” said Luis Enrique. “But we were much better in the second half. We got a bit of luck with the goal but I think we deserved the victory.” The Champions League has been radically changed by UEFA, with all clubs in the new league phase now playing eight matches against eight different opponents. The top eight will advance to the last 16, with clubs finishing from ninth to 24th in the standings going into a play-off round to decide the remaining last-16 spots. PSG’s next game will be away to Arsenal, while later opponents include Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich and Manchester City, with Luis Enrique insisting his team have the toughest fixtures of any in the competition. Girona, meanwhile, will go on to a home clash against Feyenoord with reason to believe they can make an impact after a battling performance here. “The goal at the end hurts but I think we gave a good account of ourselves,” said Michel, the Girona coach. “I am sad about the result, but we are a humble club, this was our first Champions League game and we showed that we were up to it.” Post Mbappe era Paris had enjoyed a smooth start to life since the departure of talisman Kylian Mbappe during the close season, winning their first four Ligue 1 outings and scoring 16 goals in the process. But a Girona side that was well beaten last weekend by Barcelona and lost several key players after last season made life difficult for long spells. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
20 September,2024 08:14 AM IST | Paris | AFPDefying pre-match predictions, Gokuldham High School (Goregaon) showed great character and fighting qualities in a resolute defensive performance as they stunned an in-form Holy Family High School (Andheri) 5-4 via tie-breaker to win the boys U-16 second division MSSA inter-school football title at the St Francis D’Assisi ground, Borivli, on Thursday. Gokuldham did well to keep a clean sheet in regulation time despite playing second fiddle for to their much superior opponents for a large part of the game. Golkuldham however, showed their prowess in the tie-breaker, having won their semi-final match in identical fashion. Both teams earn promotion Gokuldham’s Shubham Sahoo, Dhanush Nair, Sanidhya Pawar, Aarav Lad and Neil Vardam were on target in the final shootout. For Holy Family, who enjoyed the better of the exchanges throughout and had more possession, Dhairya Tank, Aarav Karale, Rachit Madhav and Zac Pinto converted in the tie-breaker. Both teams qualified for the first division next season. Also Read: Playing against Rafa is a nightmare: Alcaraz It was a cagey start for both teams but soon Holy Family began to control the midfield and looked the more threatening of the two with their build-up play, but their work in the final third was not clinical enough. The Gokuldham defence meanwhile were well organised, kept it simple and quickly cleared their lines whenever their opponents neared the danger area. Holy Family were unlucky not to snatch the winner in the closing stages when Dhairya’s fine strike from inside the box found the crossbar. Holy Family coach unhappy “I’m happy with the way my team played today, but we could have attacked a lot better. Overall, our defence was very disciplined and stuck to the game plan,” Gokuldham’s Nigerian coach Constantine Egbele told mid-day. Holy Family coach, Lindon Pinto rued his team’s missed chances. “We had our chances in the game, both in open play and in set-piece situations, but were not able to take them. Our passing needed to be much sharper, especially in the final third. We were also unlucky to hit that post towards the end of the match,” said Pinto.
20 September,2024 08:12 AM IST | Mumbai | Neeraj AnandManchester United crushed Barnsley 7-0 as troubled winger Antony scored his first goal this season and Marcus Rashford struck twice to extend his revival in the League Cup third round on Tuesday. While United ran riot, Fulham made unwanted history as the Premier League club were beaten by second-tier Preston 16-15 on penalties after the tournament’s longest ever shoot-out. Also Read: Italy’s 1990 WC star Schillaci no more Languishing in 10th place in the Premier League after two defeats in their first four games, United were never in danger of an upset against their third-tier opponents at Old Trafford. Rashford, Antony and Alejandro Garnacho all netted before half-time to effectively seal United’s second successive victory after Saturday’s Premier League win at Southampton. Rashford and Garnacho each scored again after the interval and Christian Eriksen’s double wrapped up United’s biggest win since boss Erik ten Hag arrived from Ajax in 2022. “It is the first time this team is playing together. Once we found our patterns we scored some great goals,” Ten Hag said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
19 September,2024 08:21 AM IST | London | AFPFormer Italy striker Salvatore “Toto” Schillaci, most famous for being top scorer at the 1990 World Cup, died on Wednesday at the age of 59. Juventus were among Italy’s football clubs to pay tribute to Schillaci, who became an icon for his unexpected goalscoring exploits at his country’s home World Cup, simply saying “Ciao Toto” on social media with a picture of him in a Juve shirt. Also Read: We stayed calm: Liverpool’s Van Dijk after victory Italian media report that Schillaci died at Palermo’s Civico hospital after suffering from bowel cancer. The country’s football federation (FIGC) said that all matches played in Italy between now and the end of the coming weekend would have a “minute of reflection” before kick-off. “His goal celebrations, in which his face became the symbol of a collective joy, will remain forever part of Italian football heritage,” FIGC chief Gabriele Gravina said in a statement. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
19 September,2024 08:18 AM IST | Milan | AFPVirgil van Dijk saluted Liverpool’s “calm” response to conceding an early goal against AC Milan as they bounced back to win 3-1 in their Champions League opener. Also Read: ‘Bit of a crazy game’ Liverpool captain Van Dijk had admitted his side looked like they had no plan during a shock 1-0 home defeat against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League last weekend. And the Netherlands centre-back was concerned again after Christian Pulisic gave Milan the lead after just three minutes in the San Siro. To the defender’s relief, Liverpool stuck to boss Arne Slot’s game-plan and equalised through Ibrahima Konate before Van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai scored to wrap up the victory. Asked if it was the perfect response to the Forest game, Van Dijk said: “No, not after three minutes. But after three minutes I think it was very good in so many ways. We stayed calm, played how we wanted to play rather than running around looking like we have absolutely no plan like we did, especially in the last 20 to 30 minutes in the second half of the last game, when you can play for another hour and you won’t score.” Van Dijk, 33, insisted he was never worried about the criticism that accompanied the Forest defeat, which came after Liverpool had won the first three games of the Slot era without conceding a goal. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
19 September,2024 08:15 AM IST | London | AFPADVERTISEMENT
