Category: Sport News

Manchester United made hard work of their FA Cup semi-final against Coventry City and needed a penalty shootout to set up a tantalising clash against Manchester City next month.

United took the initiative for the first 60 minutes and worked their way up to a three-goal lead after Scott McTominay, Harry Maguire, and Bruno Fernandes all found the back of the net. Yet there was a twist in the tale as Coventry came from behind to force the match into extra-time.

With 20 minutes to go Ellis Simms scored on the turn to give the Championship club some hope before Callum O’Hare’s deflected strike looped over Andre Onana. A stoppage time penalty was then dispatched by Haji Wright to force an extra 30 minutes. Victor Torp slotted home right at the end of the game but his effort was ruled out for offside and penalties were needed to decide the match.

Bradley Collins saved Casemiro’s first kick but Andre Onana came up with the goods for Man Utd. He kept out O’Hare’s effort then saw Ben Sheaf ping one over the top as Rasmus Hojlund netted the winning penalty.

Bernardo Silva scored an 84th minute winner at Wembley to keep Manchester City’s double hopes alive and punish wasteful Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals.

Just days after missing a penalty in the shootout defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League, Silva struck late on as Pep Guardiola’s side claimed a narrow 1-0 win.


But Chelsea suffered more Wembley heartbreak after Mauricio Pochettino’s side missed several clear chances to take the lead, with Nicolas Jackson spurning three clear opportunities.

Chelsea also saw appeals for a penalty waved away in the second-half when Cole Palmer’s free-kick struck Jack Grealish’s arm in the box, before Silva scored a late winner as City kept their FA Cup defence alive.

Champions League defending champions Manchester City were knocked out by Real Madrid following a penalty shoot out in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal.

The match finished 1-1, and 4-4 on aggregate, following a 3-3 draw at the Bernabeu.

For Manchester City, the double treble has gone and now they have to aim for the domestic double of the Premier League and the FA Cup.


City were clearly the better side, but just couldn’t find a way to settle it in open play and paid a heavy price.

Paris Saint-Germain are through to the Champions League semi-finals after a stunning 4-1 victory over Barcelona on Tuesday.

Kylian Mbappe’s two goals helped the French cause, but it was Ronald Araujo’s red card that turned the tie, as the Blaugrana saw their dreams vanish after that despite an early lead.

A shock 3-2 victory in the first-leg gave Barcelona a fantastic platform to build upon in their clash with PSG.

In beating the La Liga giants, PSG will now face off against Borussia Dortmund for a place in the final played at Wembley on June 1 this season.

As for Barca, attention now turns to trying to restore pride against bitter rivals Real Madrid – which appears to be Mbappe’s next destination – in El Clasico on Sunday.

Cole Palmer became the Premier League’s joint-leading scorer this season as his four goals helped Chelsea crush hapless Everton 6-0 at Stamford Bridge.

The former Manchester City player now has 20 for the campaign and dismantled Sean Dyche’s side almost single-handedly, netting a hat-trick inside the first 29 minutes to breathe genuine momentum into his team’s bid to qualify for Europe.

This was as complete a first half as Chelsea have managed under Mauricio Pochettino, displaying a clinical edge in front of goal that made the insipid attacking displays of earlier in the season feel like a distant memory.

It was also a night for individuals. Moises Caicedo at the base of midfield gave a performance full of guile and maturity; rarely had he looked so in command in Chelsea colors.

Nicolas Jackson, who scored the fourth goal, and Mykhailo Mudryk were superb, further turning the tide of opinion in their favor after slow starts to their careers in blue. Then there was Palmer, Chelsea’s talisman, who is surely now a contender to challenge his former Manchester City team-mate Erling Haaland for the Golden Boot.

Bayer Leverkusen cruised to their first ever Bundesliga title, confirming their crowning as German champions with a win against Werder Bremen.

Alonso’s team remain unbeaten in all competitions this season having broken Bayern Munich’s German record of 32 games without a defeat in all competitions in February. The run now stands at 43 in all competitions.

The result means Bayern’s run of 11 consecutive Bundesliga titles has come to an end, with the Bavarian giants and Stuttgart both 16 points behind.

Arsenal blew the chance to return to the top of the Premier League table as Aston Villa bolstered their Champions League hopes by claiming a stunning 2-0 win at the Emirates – a result that leaves the title race in the hands of the defending champions Manchester City with six games to go.

On a dramatic day in the Premier League that also saw Liverpool slip up at home to Crystal Palace, with Jurgen Klopp’s side beaten 1-0 at Anfield, Mikel Arteta’s challengers could not take advantage as they too fell to a damaging defeat in the title race.

The Gunners were seven wins from their first title in 20 years, but City are now two points clear at the top after Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins struck second-half goals and Unai Emery returned to the Emirates to earn a league double against his former team

Liverpool’s quest for a Premier League title in manager Juergen Klopp’s final season with the team suffered a huge blow with a 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace at Anfield on Sunday that left them third in the table.

Eberechi Eze scored in the 14th minute to stun the Anfield faithful in the third consecutive disappointing result for Liverpool. Klopp’s men are even on 71 points with second-placed Arsenal, who were playing later on Sunday, and two behind provisional leaders Manchester City.

Tyrick Mitchell found Eze unmarked in the box after some good passing and Eze slotted home with his first touch to put Palace ahead. Poor finishing by Liverpool, including Curtis Jones’s shot on a breakaway that he fired wide, secured the win for the visitors.

Liverpool were coming off a 3-0 loss to Atalanta in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final on Thursday and a costly 2-2 draw with Manchester United in their previous league game on April 7.

Manchester United’s winless run in the Premier League was extended to four matches after they drew 2-2 with Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday evening.

After falling behind to Dominic Solanke’s opener after 16 minutes, United got themselves back on level terms just past the half-hour mark when Bruno Fernandes rifled the ball home from close range. Bournemouth, however, restored their lead five minutes later through Justin Kluivert.

Despite being second best for long spells, United got themselves level for a second time with 65 minutes on the clock, again via Fernandes. The Portuguese international dispatched a penalty after a Kobbie Mainoo shot hit an arm inside the box.

Despite earning a point, United have now won just one of their last seven Premier League games, leaving them 10 points behind Aston Villa in fourth and Tottenham Hotspur in fifth.

It was Newcastle United’s third victory in four Premier League outings and they ended fourth-placed Spurs’ three-match unbeaten run.

Alexander Isak smashed his way through the 20-goal barrier as Newcastle United boosted their European hopes by denting those of Tottenham Hotspur.

The Swedish striker produced two sumptuous finishes either side of Anthony Gordon’s strike to take his tally for the campaign to 21 before Fabian Schar’s thunderous late header secured a 4-0 win at St James’ Park.

It was a disappointing day for Spurs in a game that was crucial for their top four hopes. Ange Postecoglou’s side now face Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool in their next three games, and Manchester City just five days before the end of the season.

The Magpies face Crystal Palace, Sheffield United and Burnley in their next three games.

Liverpool followed up their 2-2 draw with Manchester United over the weekend with a 3-0 defeat to Atalanta, their first at Anfield in 14 months and a huge Europa League setback.

Liverpool have left themselves an uphill task to salvage their Europa League hopes following a dreadful performance against Atalanta.

Two goals from former West Ham United forward Gianluca Scamacca and one from Mario Pasalic consigned a much-changed Reds to a desperate 3-0 home defeat in their quarter-final first leg on Thursday.

Manchester City takes a 3-3 drawback to the Etihad and will be confident of using home advantage next week at the Etihad to reach the quarter-final.

Bernardo Silva set City on their way in the first minute with an inventive free-kick, but by 15 minutes the Blues were behind thanks to goals from Eduardo Camavinga and Rodrygo.

Things calmed down for a while until Phil Foden’s rocket and Josko Gvardiol’s brilliant first goal for the club turned the tie on its head. But Fede Valverde’s brilliant goal leveled the scores ahead of the second leg next week.

Real Madrid hosts Manchester City in the first leg of the 2024 Champions League Quarterfinals tonight.

Real Madrid predicted XI: Lunin, Carvajal, Tchouameni, Rudiger, Mendy, Camavinga, Kroos, Valverde, Bellingham, Vinicius, Rodrygo.


Predicted Man City XI: Ederson; Lewis, Stones, Dias, Akanji; Rodri, Kovacic; Silva, De Bruyne, Foden; Haaland

Real Madrid vs Manchester City head-to-head:

Chelsea turned in a disappointing performance against Sheffield United and were deservedly held to a draw by the relegation candidates on Sunday.


Any momentum picked up from Thursday’s dramatic home win over Manchester United has likely now gone, as the London club continue to lurch from one extreme to the other this season.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side raced into an early lead against the struggling Blades, as Thiago Silva finished off a superb cross from Conor Gallagher at a corner. Sheffield United fought back, though, and Jayden Bogle scored an equalizer after ghosting behind Marc Cucurella and putting a finish beyond Djordje Petrovic, who bizarrely sat down and appeared to give the forward the entire goal to aim at.

Chelsea are now ninth on the log, four points behind fellow Londoners West Ham in seventh. Although, they do have games in hand on their European rivals, against Arsenal.

As for Sheffield United, they’re rooted to the bottom on 16 points, nine behind 17th place.

It’s full-time at Old Trafford. A four-goal thriller ends all levels at the Theatre of Dreams, with the score ending 2-2.

Erik ten Hag’s men did have the ball in the net after just two minutes, with Alejandro Garnacho rounding Caoimhin Kelleher before tapping the ball home. Referee Anthony Taylor saw the raised offside flag and soon after, the goal was chalked off.

Luis Diaz then opened the scoring for the Reds, in a bitter first-half blow. Alexis Mac Allister saw his corner flicked on by Darwin Nunez which left Diaz the task of volleying home from close range.

After the break, United hit our Merseyside rivals with a quick one-two, first through Bruno Fernandes. Our no.8 latched onto a misplaced pass by Jarell Quansah and delicately lobbed the ball over Kelleher to make it 1-1.

Soon after, the Reds snatched the lead, and what an effort it was. Taking one touch to set himself, teenager Kobbie Mainoo whipped a shot that flew past the Liverpool goalkeeper and sent Old Trafford into bedlam.

However, there was to be one late twist, as Aaron Wan-Bissaka fouled Harvey Elliot inside the box, and referee Taylor pointed to the point.

With boos ringing around the stadium, Salah calmly sent United goalkeeper Andre Onana the wrong way to move Liverpool level on points with first-place Arsenal and one ahead of Manchester City in third

The North London-giants maintained their pursuit of the first league title for almost 2 decades as they moved top of the table with an impressive away win over Brighton.

Mikel Arteta’s side are currently one point ahead of title rivals Liverpool, who face Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday, and Man City, who defeated Crystal Palace 4-2 earlier on Saturday.


Bukayo Saka converted a penalty kick in the 33rd minutes to give Arsenal the lead.

Kai Havertz doubled the Gunners lead in the 62nd minutes while former Brighton player, Leandro Trossard, was also on the score sheet after coming on in the second half. Saka

Brighton dropped to 10th with defeat, as their hopes of achieving European football for a second successive season were dealt a blow by wins for West Ham and Newcastle United.

Manchester City go level with Liverpool at the top of the Premier League with 70 points after defeating Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

Phil Foden started from the bench while Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne were recalled to the Manchester City starting line-up.

Kevin De Bruyne’s brace, Erling Haalands strike and Lewis’s made sure City got all the 3 points.

The defending champions conceded inside the opening four minutes but bounced back quickly with Kevin De Bruyne marking his return to the team with an excellent goal.

Neither team could edge ahead in the rest of the first-half but the Citizens struck immediately after the break with Rico Lewis putting them in front.

GOALS SCORERS:

Man City

Kevin De Bruyne 13′, 70′
Rico Lewis 47′
Erling Haaland 66′

Crystal Palace

Jean-Philippe Mateta 3′
Odsonne Édouard 86′

Nigeria’s Super Falcons defeated South Africa’s Banyana Banyana in the first leg of the final qualifying playoff for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games played today in MKO Abiola stadium in Abuja.

Atlético Madrid striker, Rasheedat Ajibade converted the penalty that gave the host nation the lead in the 43rd minute of the game after Ihezuo brought down by Niko inside the area.

43' GOOOOAAL! in Abuja 📍

Nigeria 🇳🇬 1-0 South Africa 🇿🇦

Ajibade beats Swart to put us in front

📱#SoarSuperFalcons| #NGARSA| #CAFWCQ| #Paris2024

— NGSuper_Falcons (@NGSuper_Falcons) April 5, 2024

Today’s result means the coach Waldrum-led team head into the second leg which will be played in South Africa sometime next week with a one-goal lead and just have to avoid a defeat to book their place in the tournament.

🏁 FULL TIME! in Abuja 📍

Nigeria 🇳🇬 1-0 South Africa 🇿🇦

Rasheedat Ajibade 43'

First leg ✅ Still to come, second leg in Pretoria on April 9!

Abuja, thanks for your support!

📱#SoarSuperFalcons| #NGARSA| #CAFWCQ| #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/gsqytQuIfg

— NGSuper_Falcons (@NGSuper_Falcons) April 5, 2024

The 2023 AFCON finalist, Nigeria dropped from the 28th position to the 30th position in the FIFA ranking.


In the last international break, the Nigerian Super Eagles participated in two friendly matches against Ghana and Mali.



Under interim coach Finidi George, the Green Eagles secured a 2-1 victory against rivals Ghana but were beaten 2-0 by Mali days later.


Although Nigeria was defeated by Mali and dropped on the Global ranking, the Finidi George-led team maintained its third position in Africa, sitting behind Morocco and Senegal.

The top five teams on the continent are completed by Egypt and the 2023 AFCON winners Cote d’Ivoire.

The 75-year-old stepped down as Aberdeen’s interim boss last month after just eight matches in charge.

He was then linked with the vacant Plymouth managerial position, but he was ultimately overlooked by the Championship strugglers.

Warnock told talkSPORT: “They’ve already decided what they’re going to do, I would have helped them.

“They’ve been there a while, they know the players – and they’ve got some good players.”

Neil Warnock asked if he would return to the dugout:  “Oh I’m retired now.”

“I would have [gone to Plymouth], but not now.”


“It’s all done and dusted now, and I’m looking forward to going round some of the Scottish islands.”

Warnock was once a tricky winger, playing for the likes of Rotherham, Hartlepool, Scunthorpe and Barnsley.