Soccer&nbsp;&nbsp;

Crystal Palace ensure Premier League safety by beating Newcastle 2-0

The Canadian Press - Apr 24, 2024 / 3:44 pm | Story: 483952

Photo: The Canadian Press

LONDON (AP) — Crystal Palace made certain of Premier League safety after a 2-0 win against Newcastle on Wednesday.

Jean-Philippe Mateta scored for a fifth straight home match to secure the win and Palace's resurgence under Oliver Glasner following recent victories against West Ham and Liverpool.

Mateta broke the deadlock at Selhurst Park with a smart 55th-minute finish before he added a second late on to end Newcastle’s four-match unbeaten run.

Palace is 14th in the standings and 14 points above the relegation zone. Luton in 18th place has just four games remaining.

Mateta put Palace ahead after a slick one-two with Jordan Ayew before he slid a shot home.

It was Palace’s first goal against Newcastle in seven meetings.

Newcastle pushed for a late leveler, but Palace made sure of the points in the 88th.

Will Hughes exchanged passes with substitute Jeffrey Schlupp before he teed up Mateta, who scuffed a shot through the legs of Martin Dubravka for his eighth goal in nine games since the arrival of Glasner in February.

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Everton beats Liverpool 2-0 in Jurgen Klopp's last Merseyside derby

The Canadian Press - Apr 24, 2024 / 3:23 pm | Story: 483946

Photo: The Canadian Press

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored as Everton beat Liverpool 2-0 in the Premier League on Wednesday.

The win at Goodison Park delivered a blow to Liverpool's hopes of winning the title this season and boosted Everton's bid to avoid relegation.

Branthwaite squeezed a shot past Alisson in the 27th minute after Liverpool failed to clear the danger following a free kick.

Calvert-Lewin added a second for Sean Dyche's team in the 58th when rising at the far post to head home Dwight McNeil's corner.

Jurgen Klopp was taking charge of Liverpool in his last Merseyside derby before stepping down at the end of the season.

His team needed to win to go level on points with first-place Arsenal four clear of defending champion Manchester City in third.

But defeat leaves second-placed Liverpool's title ambitions in serious jeopardy with just four games until the end of the season.

If City wins its two games in hand it will move five points above Klopp's team.

Everton is eight points clear of the relegation zone.

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Man United beats Sheffield United 4-2 after twice falling behind against last-place team

The Canadian Press - Apr 24, 2024 / 3:09 pm | Story: 483940

Photo: The Canadian Press

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Bruno Fernandes scored twice as Manchester United beat Sheffield United 4-2 in the Premier League on Wednesday.

Erik ten Hag's team went behind 1-0 and 2-1 against last-placed Sheffield at Old Trafford before eventually securing a win that moved it up to sixth in the standings.

Jayden Bogle capitalized on an Andre Onana error to open the scoring after 35 minutes, but Harry Maguire leveled against his former club seven minutes later.

Sheffield went ahead through Ben Brereton Diaz in the 50th and Fernandes equalized from the penalty spot in the 61st.

United went ahead for the first time on the night when Fernandes fired home an 81st-minute rocket from 25 yards and then he set up Rasmus Hojlund to add another four minutes later.

United is 13 points behind fourth-place Aston Villa with a game in hand.

The win was watched Ineos director of sport Dave Brailsford and newly appointed technical director Jason Wilcox.

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Atalanta beats 10-man Fiorentina 4-1 to reach Italian Cup final vs. Juventus

The Canadian Press - Apr 24, 2024 / 2:46 pm | Story: 483930

Photo: The Canadian Press

BERGAMO, Italy (AP) — Atalanta advanced to the Italian Cup final with a 4-1 win over 10-man Fiorentina on Wednesday to set up a meeting with Juventus for the trophy.

The decisive goal by Ademola Lookman in stoppage time was initially ruled offside. Then the goal was awarded following a VAR review.

Teun Koopmeiners, Gianluca Scamacca and Mario Pasalic also scored for Atalanta, while Lucas Martinez Quarta scored for Fiorentina, which had Nikola Milenkovic sent off early in the second half for a foul on Scamacca.

Atalanta advanced on 4-2 aggregate after Fiorentina won the opening leg 1-0.

Juventus eliminated Lazio on Tuesday.

The final is scheduled for the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on May 15.

Atalanta also faces Marseille in the Europa League semifinals as coach Gian Piero Gasperini — who was suspended Wednesday — chases the first trophy of his career. Atalanta eliminated Liverpool in the quarterfinals.

Atalanta’s only top-level trophy was the Italian Cup in 1963.

The aggregate was level at 2-2 when Lookman was whistled for offside after finishing off a counterattack. The crowd at the Gewiss Stadium went wild when the referee pointed to the center circle to award the goal after a video review.

Then Pasalic sealed it for Atalanta.

Earlier, Scamacca scored with an acrobatic overhead goal.

Fiorentina faces Club Brugge in the Europa Conference League semifinals.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/Soccer

Liverpool's Premier League title hopes hit by 2-0 loss to Everton. Man United survives another scare

The Canadian Press - Apr 24, 2024 / 2:03 pm | Story: 483918

Photo: The Canadian Press

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Jurgen Klopp’s hopes of a dream send-off were left in tatters after a 2-0 loss at Everton dealt a major blow to Liverpool’s Premier League title bid on Wednesday.

Goals from Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin at Goodison Park meant Klopp tasted a bitter defeat in his last Merseyside derby before standing down at the end of the season.

“I can only apologize for today to the people. We should have done better and we didn’t and that’s why we lost,” Klopp said.

The loss keeps Liverpool three points behind league leader Arsenal in second place and one ahead of defending champion Manchester City, which is in third and has two games in hand on both of its rivals.

Klopp had spoken last week of needing perfection to win his second title at the club. But this was the latest setback for his team, which has lost two of its last three games in the league.

While the result hurt Liverpool’s title chances, it delivered a boost to Everton’s survival bid, with the win moving Sean Dyche’s team eight points above the relegation zone.

That fact seemed to be of less concern to the home fans, who were too busy reveling in the damage caused to Liverpool’s season.

“You lost the league at Goodison Park,” they chanted as the final whistle approached and the majority of the 39,000 crowd remained inside the stadium to drink in the atmosphere as the players celebrated on the field.

“I’m very disappointed. We let it happen exactly the game that Everton wanted,” Klopp said.

Klopp had dominated this fixture since taking over at Anfield in 2015, winning nine of the past 16 derbies before Wednesday’s match.

It was a different story on what could be his last visit to Goodison Park as an opposition manager as Everton produced a high-octane performance that Liverpool struggled to contain from the start.

Statistics showed Everton won 75% of all duels in the opening half hour.

After just six minutes, Liverpool was grateful for VAR as it escaped an early penalty when Alisson brought down Calvert-Lewin in the box and referee Andrew Madley pointed to the spot. The decision was overturned because of an offside in the build up.

Everton's pressure was made to count when it took the lead in in the 27th. Liverpool’s defenders repeatedly failed to clear the danger from a free kick and Branthwaite’s shot squirmed through the hands of Alisson and off the post before crossing the line.

Again there was an agonizing wait for a VAR check, but on this occasion there was no reprieve for Liverpool.

Luis Diaz had the chance to level before the break, but was denied by the legs of Jordan Pickford from close range.

Liverpool came out with more intent for the second half without forcing Pickford into serious action before conceding a second goal.

Again the visitors failed to deal with a set piece when Dwight McNeil swung a deep corner to the far post and Calvert-Lewin rose unmarked to head home.

Liverpool came close to pulling one back in the 69th, but Diaz’s effort came back off the post.

Manchester City plays Brighton on Thursday.

UNITED SCARE

Manchester United survived another scare — twice coming from behind to beat last-place Sheffield United 4-2.

Having been taken to the wire by second-tier Coventry in the FA Cup semifinals on Sunday, Erik ten Hag’s team looked in danger of dropping points in its bid qualify for Europe.

Sheffield United led 1-0 and then 2-1 through goals from Jayden Bogle and Ben Brereton Diaz in each half at Old Trafford. But Harry Maguire and Bruno Fernandes from the penalty spot leveled on each occasion.

Fernandes put United ahead in the 81st and and Rasmus Hojlund sealed the points four minutes later.

United is up to sixth in the standings, 13 points behind fourth-place Aston Villa.

PALACE SAFE

Crystal Palace ensured top flight safety after Jean-Philippe Mateta struck twice in a 2-0 win against Newcastle.

Palace is on 39 points — 14 clear of 18th-place Luton, which can only pick up a maximum of 37 if it wins its last four games of the season.

It was Palace’s third-straight win to erase fears of being relegated. Defeat saw Newcastle drop to seventh.

Bournemouth beat Wolves 1-0 at Molineux through Antoine Semenyo’s first-half strike.

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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

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Xavi will stay with Barcelona for another season, AP sources say. Coach had planned to leave

The Canadian Press - Apr 24, 2024 / 1:58 pm | Story: 483913

Photo: The Canadian Press

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Coach Xavi Hernández will stay with Barcelona for another year after all, agreeing to finish his contract to 2025 in a reversal of his decision to quit at the end of the season, two people with knowledge of the agreement said Wednesday.

The two people spoke anonymously to The Associated Press because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the deal.

Barcelona was expected to make the decision official on Thursday, when club president Joan Laporta would explain the details about the turnaround.

Spanish media said Xavi met with Laporta and sports director Deco for several hours on Wednesday before agreeing that the coach would stick around instead of leaving as initially planned.

The decision to stay with Xavi came three days after a 3-2 loss to Real Madrid that all but ended the team's chances of winning a title.

The loss in Madrid left Barcelona 11 points behind its rival with six matches remaining in the Spanish league. A week ago, Barcelona was eliminated by Paris Saint-Germain in the quarterfinals of the Champions League.

Xavi had announced that he would not continue after the end of this season following a league loss to Villarreal in January. The club had already been eliminated by Athletic Bilbao in the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey and lost 4-1 to Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup final.

Xavi said at the time that the decision was made to lower the stress and tension that was surrounding both the team and himself. He said several times afterward that the announcement had the effect he intended, prompting a positive reaction by the squad.

Xavi had repeatedly said recently that he did not intend to go back on his decision to leave at the end of the season.

Barcelona is trying to hold on to second place in the Spanish league. It sits two points ahead of third-place Girona.

Barcelona's next game is Monday at home against Valencia.

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AP Sports Writer Tales Azzoni reported from Madrid.

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Mbappe nets twice in win over Lorient but PSG's title party delayed by Monaco victory

The Canadian Press - Apr 24, 2024 / 12:23 pm | Story: 483886

Photo: The Canadian Press

LORIENT, France (AP) — Paris Saint-Germain will have to wait at least a few more days to try to clinch the French league title.

Kylian Mbappé scored twice and provided an assist in a 4-1 win over Lorient on Wednesday, but there were no celebrations because second-place Monaco beat Lille 1-0 later in the evening.

The lead atop the standings is 11 points with four games remaining. Defending champion PSG can clinch its record-extending 12th French league title at home on Saturday against Le Havre.

PSG remains on course for a treble of trophies in Mbappé’s final season with the club, as it will play Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League semifinals and face Lyon in the French Cup final next month.

In a match between the most prolific attack and the most porous defense in the league, PSG winger Ousmane Dembélé opened the scoring in the 19th minute in Lorient, a sleepy seaport in Brittany.

Mbappé doubled the lead by nonchalantly flicking a cross from Nuno Mendes into the far corner in the 22nd.

The France forward set up the third goal by dribbling past Nathaniel Adjei to square the ball back to Dembélé, who tapped into an empty net.

Mbappé sealed the win in the 90th with a curler into the far corner to solidify his spot as the top scorer in the league by raising his tally to 26 goals.

“We had a good game, we were serious, we deserve the three points,” Dembélé told Amazon Prime. “Now we must finish the job to be champions as quickly as possible.”

Relegation-threatened Lorient scored a consolation goal with a powerful header from Mohamed Bamba off a cross from Benjamin Mendy in the 73rd.

Gianluigi Donnarumma prevented a nervy finish by saving a low strike from Lorient substitute Panos Katseris in the 80th.

PSG coach Luis Enrique fielded a makeshift team that included academy players Senny Mayulu and Yoram Zague. Managing his players’ minutes, Luis Enrique even left Marquinhos, Achraf Hakimi, Vitinha, Bradley Barcola and Warren Zaire-Emery out of the matchday squad.

PSG has only lost one league game this season, and that was in September.

Monaco won a fourth straight game to go six points clear of fourth-place Lille and move closer to an automatic Champions League spot.

France midfielder Youssouf Fofana won the ball in midfield and scored the lone goal with a low drive from the edge of the box in the 61st.

Lille trails third-place Brest by a point and still occupies the spot for the third qualifying round of the Champions League.

Also Wednesday, Marseille’s European hopes took a hit after a 2-2 draw with fifth-place Nice.

Nigeria forward Terem Moffi put Nice ahead in the 13th after goalkeeper Pau Lopez came off his line and missed the ball.

Marseille right back Jonathan Clauss leveled the game with a powerful strike from the edge of the box in the 31st.

Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang gave Marseille the lead with a penalty in the 56th after Mohamed-Ali Cho had fouled Leonardo Balerdi.

But Nice left back Melvin Bard equalized with a low diagonal shot in the 72nd.

Marseille leapfrogged Lyon into eighth place, five points off the last European spot.

Those three games were rescheduled to help PSG, Marseille and Lille prepare for European games.

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Macron takes part in charity soccer game, showing off sporting prowess

The Canadian Press - Apr 24, 2024 / 9:32 am | Story: 483844

Photo: The Canadian Press

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron showed off his sporting prowess again Wednesday, this time as Paris gears up to hold the Summer Olympics.

Macron, a well-known soccer fan, donned a jersey for a charity match alongside soccer legends and celebrity players at a club in Yvelines, west of Paris. The event, which raises money for a children's health charity chaired by first lady Brigitte Macron, featured a lineup including former World Cup winners Laurent Blanc and Didier Deschamps.

Since being elected in 2017, the 46-year-old has seized multiple opportunities to demonstrate his athletic skills — and physique — in what observers view as a photo-friendly way to brandish a dynamic image as modern France’s youngest-ever president.

Earlier this year, photos of Macron pounding a punching bag went viral on social media in what was widely perceived as the latest round in his drive to toughen up Europe’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Macron has also promised to take a dip in the Seine's recently revitalized fresh waters, which will be used for Olympic contests on several days during the Games.

On Wednesday, the French president took to the field as a midfielder, playing alongside 1998 World Cup champions and football icons such as Didier Drogba and Eden Hazard. The match also saw participation from other notable personalities like MMA fighter Cyril Gane and former German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann.

Not exactly new to the football scene, Macron has previously participated in a charity match, notably scoring from the penalty spot in a game against health care workers three years ago.

Post-match, all participants in Wednesday's game were invited to the presidential Elysee Palace, highlighting the social stature of the event amid the buildup to the Games.

This charity match underlines Macron’s ongoing engagement with sports as a means of promoting both charitable causes and national spirit ahead of the significant international spectacle of the Olympics set to take place in Paris July 26 to Aug. 11.

One deal falls through but Toronto FC completes another in Derrick Etienne Jr. trade

The Canadian Press - Apr 24, 2024 / 9:17 am | Story: 483842

Photo: The Canadian Press

Toronto FC, pivoting after a deal for an overseas player fell through, added to its attack Wednesday by acquiring Haiti international winger Derrick Etienne Jr. from Atlanta United FC in exchange for up to US$375,000 in general allocation money.

Some US$175,000 of the allocation money in the deal is conditional on certain performance-based metrics.

Toronto general manager Jason Hernandez said the MLS club had been looking for a centre forward but reframed its search because of the recent goal-scoring prowess of German forward Prince Owusu, with four goals in his last five outings, and injuries elsewhere.

"The reality is we had a couple of conversations that were all happening at the same time," said Hernandez.

That included coming close to acquiring a player from outside of MLS. But the player in question was still under contract, meaning the other club had a say in the matter.

"Unfortunately we ended at a place where we couldn't secure someone that we were down the line with," Hernandez said. "And we had a keen understanding that Atlanta was interested in doing a deal for (Etienne). They were interested in doing a deal whereby we feel we would get great value as far as our salary cap considerations."

The Etienne deal was finalized Tuesday before the MLS primary transfer window closed at 11:59 p.m.

Etienne made US$676,250 last season, according to the MLS Players Association. But he will only count the senior minimum charge (US$89,716) against the Toronto salary cap with Atlanta covering half of his salary in 2025, according to a TFC spokesperson.

Etienne, an eight-year MLS veteran who was scheduled to arrive in Toronto later Wednesday, has 17 goals and 19 assists over 171 regular-season appearances, including 89 starts, with the New York Red Bulls, FC Cincinnati (on loan during the 2019 season), Columbus Crew and Atlanta.

He won the Supporters’ Shield with the Red Bulls in 2018 and the MLS Cup and Campeones Cup with Columbus in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

But Etienne has appeared in just two league games for Atlanta this season, logging 25 minutes off the bench.

"This is a mutually beneficial trade that provides us flexibility to potentially strengthen the roster in the summer, while giving Derrick a fresh start in Toronto," Carlos Bocanegra, Atlanta's vice-president and technical director, said in a statement.

Hernandez says Etienne gives the Toronto options at wide forward, attacking midfielder and wingback with the team looking to manage the minutes of Italian star Lorenzo Insigne, who is currently sidelined by a hamstring issue, and knowing that captain Jonathan Osorio will be away with Canada for a spell this summer.

"I think he can give us some real impact whether it's starting or being an impactful substitute that comes on to change a game for us," Hernandez said.

The hope is Etienne could be available for Saturday's game in Orlando.

Hernandez said earlier in the week that the club was looking to move a player out. That could still happen.

"There is a world in which there maybe one or two folks that you guys have been seeing around our group that may not be around our group by this time next week."

Born in Richmond, Va., the 27-year-old Etienne is the son of former Haiti international Derrick Etienne.

He joined the Red Bulls academy as an under-14 player and signed a homegrown player contract in December 2015, making his MLS debut against D.C. United in September 2016.

At the international level, Etienne has eight goals and seven assists in 41 appearances for Haiti since making his senior debut against French Guiana in a Caribbean Cup qualifier in November 2016. Etienne also previously represented Haiti at the youth level, featuring at the 2013 CONCACAF U-17 Championship in Panama and 2015 CONCACAF U-20 Championship in Jamaica.

Toronto (4-4-1) stands fifth in the Eastern Conference.

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Follow @NeilMDavidson on X platform, formerly known as Twitter

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 24, 2024.

Yokohama reaches Asian Champions League final by beating Ulsan in penalty shootout 5-4

The Canadian Press - Apr 24, 2024 / 8:47 am | Story: 483839

Photo: The Canadian Press

YOKOHAMA, Japan (AP) — Yokohama F. Marinos advanced to the Asian Champions League final for the first time on Wednesday after a 5-4 penalty shootout win over against Ulsan HD of South Korea in a dramatic semifinal that ended 3-3 on aggregate.

The Japanese team's 3-2 home win erased a 1-0 deficit from last week’s first leg and forced extra time and then penalties.

The five-time J League champion, coached by former Leeds and Liverpool winger Harry Kewell, will face Al-Ain of the United Arab Emirates in May’s final.

Yokohama raced into a 3-0 lead in front of its home crowd on a rainy evening at Yokohama International Stadium.

Asahi Uenaka reacted quickly to shoot home from close range in the 13th minute to level the aggregate scoreline. Anderson Lopes made it 2-0 eight minutes later and Uenaka curled home his second goal in the 60th minute to put Yokohama 3-1 up on aggregate.

Ulsan, continental champion in 2012 and 2020, got back in the game within five minutes when Matheus Sales headed home a corner. Soon after, Yokomaha defender Takumi Kamijima handled in the area to receive a red card and Ulsan forward Darijan Bojanic converted the penalty to level it on aggregate.

All of the takers found the net in the shootout except for Ulsan’s Kim Min-woo, whose shot was saved by William Popp. Yokohama defender Eduardo then scored the winning penalty.

Al-Ain, coached by former Argentina striker Hernan Crespo, advanced 5-4 on aggregate over Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

Yokohama will host the first leg of the final on May 11 and then travel to UAE for the return match two weeks later.

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Austria coach Ralf Rangnick confirms Bayern Munich contact

The Canadian Press - Apr 24, 2024 / 7:25 am | Story: 483835

Photo: The Canadian Press

MUNICH (AP) — Austria coach Ralf Rangnick has confirmed he is a candidate to take over at Bayern Munich next season.

“There has been contact from Bayern Munich,” Rangnick told Austrian website 90minuten.at in an interview that was picked up by German media on Wednesday.

The German coach said he has informed the Austrian soccer federation about Bayern’s interest but “at the moment there is no reason for me to deal with it intensively or specifically.”

Asked when that moment would be, Rangnick replied, “when Bayern would say, ‘We want you.’ And then I would have to ask myself, ‘Do I want this at all?’”

Bayern is looking for a new coach with Thomas Tuchel poised to leave the German powerhouse at the end of the season.

After missing out on the Bundesliga title, Bayern faces the prospect of a first trophyless season since 2012. Tuchel’s team is still in contention in the Champions League, where it faces Real Madrid in the semifinals.

Rangnick has emerged as one of the favorites to take over from Tuchel at Bayern, which has suffered the ignominy of three high-profile rejections in recent weeks.

Xabi Alonso stayed with his Bayer Leverkusen team that beat Bayern to the German title, former Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann extended his contract with the German national team through to the 2026 World Cup, then Unai Emery, another reported candidate, opted to stay with Aston Villa on Tuesday.

After a troubled six-month stint at Manchester United ended in 2022, Rangnick has restored his reputation with some standout results as coach of Austria.

Rangnick's team qualified with ease for the European Championship, where Austria will play France, Poland and the Netherlands in the group stage. Austria followed up with a statement win over Nagelsmann's Germany in a friendly in November and with a 6-1 demolition of Turkey last month.

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