Champions LeagueA terrific freekick by Shunsuke Nakamura gave Celtic an historic place in the Champions League knockout stages on Tuesday as they edged English giants Manchester United 1-0.
After what was dubbed as the "Battle of Britain," United's defeat means the two-time European Cup winners need a point in their final match at home to Benfica to avoid exiting the competition for a second successive year at the group stage.
They could and should have probably grabbed a draw as the match wound down, but French international striker Louis Saha -- who had earlier missed a golden scoring opportunity -- had a controversial penalty saved by Artur Boruc.
His former strike partner Ruud van Nistelrooy could sympathize as the Dutch striker, having brought Real Madrid level on terms with Lyon after being 2-0 down, missed a penalty as well, Gregory Coupet saving well.
Despite halting Lyon's 100 percent record in the group the result means the French giants will finish top of group E.
Van Nistelrooy's Dutch international colleague Rafael van der Vaart looked to have inflicted another blow to English soccer prestige -- having scored the late equalizer in the 1-1 friendly draw with England last Wednesday -- when he gave German strugglers SV Hamburg a fourth minute lead against Arsenal.
However last season's Champions League finalists reacted with three goals of their own, two late goals coming from Ivory Coast international defender Emmanuel Eboue and Julio Baptista, his first for the club, to send them to the top of the table.
A point against Porto in Portugal in a fortnight will see the Gunners through, however they will have to do without leading striker Thierry Henry as the Frenchman was booked and is suspended for the crucial match.
Porto did their hopes of progressing a huge favor with a 2-0 win in Moscow over CSKA Moscow, not the greatest fillip for the Russian side's coach Valery Gazzaev, whose younger brother Ruslan was killed in a car crash on Saturday, the same day CSKA claimed the title.
Another former champion AC Milan had another bad day at the office as they lost 1-0 away at AEK Athens -- Brazilian Julio Cesar scoring -- but got out of jail in terms of qualifying because Lille were held 2-2 at home to Anderlecht.
Celtic manager Gordon Strachan and his Manchester United opposite number Sir Alex Ferguson were in shock for different reasons.
"I can't believe it, I will have to double check in the morning just to make sure," Strachan said.
Ferguson admitted that his side had failed to take advantage of all their dominance.
"To be honest, losing this game is very hard to take," he said. "I am in shock."
Ferguson will be hoping for a good performance in both halves against Benfica otherwise it will mean another European disappointment for the Red Devils.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS