Manchester City on Friday moved into the fifth round of the FA Cup in dramatic fashion as Nathan Ake’s controversial late goal clinched a 1-0 win against Tottenham Hotspur.
As the soccer world digested the stunning news that Juergen Klopp will step down as Liverpool boss at the end of this season, the club who might benefit most from his exit finally ended their wait for a first victory at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
City had lost all five of their previous visits to Tottenham’s plush arena without scoring a goal since the stadium opened in April 2019, but Dutch defender Ake ensured they would leave north London on a high at last when he stabbed home with just two minutes left in the fourth-round clash.
Photo: AP
“Today we performed incredibly well. Everything pleased me, from minute one to the end,” City manager Pep Guardiola said.
Guardiola’s side have won their past seven games in all competitions to maintain their renaissance after a pre-Christmas wobble.
They are five points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool, but hold a game in hand and will hope to capitalize on any uncertainty created by Klopp’s bombshell announcement.
Photo: AP
“He’s been my biggest rival, so I think he will be missed,” Guardiola said. “I’m a little bit pleased because without him I will sleep a little bit better the night before we play against Liverpool.”
Klopp and Guardiola have fought an intense rivalry during their time in England, with the City boss largely coming out on top in the silverware stakes.
City won all three major prizes last season and remain firmly in the hunt to retain the Premier League title, the Champions League trophy and the FA Cup.
With star striker Erling Haaland still sidelined by injury, Guardiola’s men were initially profligate in north London.
Oscar Bobb teed up Phil Foden late in the first half, but his strike flashed wide.
Julian Alvarez looked certain to score when he latched onto Bobb’s superb pass in the Tottenham area, but Micky van de Ven threw his body in the way to deflect the shot wide.
Guardiola sent on Kevin de Bruyne and Jeremy Doku for the last 25 minutes as the Belgian duo step up their returns from injury.
Bernardo Silva’s shot was repelled by Guglielmo Vicario before De Bruyne dragged his effort wide after Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg gave the ball away.
City’s pressure was finally rewarded in the 88th minute as Vicario, under pressure from Ruben Dias, made a hash of catching De Bruyne’s corner.
Ake prodded in from close range and the goal survived a prolonged check by the video assistant referee (VAR).
“I’m sure they had a good look at it and the referee and VAR didn’t see anything wrong with it. We have to accept it,” Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou said.
In the other fourth round game on Friday, Chelsea were held to a 0-0 draw by Aston Villa as both sides squandered opportunities at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea had scored six goals in their previous outing, dispatching Middlesbrough to reach next month’s EFL Cup final against Liverpool, but Mauricio Pochettino’s men found Villa a tougher nut as a combined 23 shots from both sides failed to yield a winner.
Nottingham Forest were held to a 0-0 draw by Championship giant-killers Bristol City at Ashton Gate.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
RSS