Giroud seals win at Juventus and Champions League spot for Milan

AC Milan's Olivier Giroud reaches for the ball for the ball during their Serie A match against Juventus at the Turin Allianz stadium, Italy, Sunday. Giroud scored the only goal in the match. (AP)
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Updated 29 May 2023
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Giroud seals win at Juventus and Champions League spot for Milan

  • Giroud guided home a brilliant header from Davide Calabria’s cross in the 40th minute to guarantee Milan at least fourth place
  • It was the one moment of quality in an otherwise drab match in Turin

ROME: Olivier Giroud secured Champions League qualification for AC Milan with the only goal in Sunday’s 1-0 win at troubled Juventus.

Giroud guided home a brilliant header from Davide Calabria’s cross in the 40th minute to guarantee Milan at least fourth place and complete Italy’s lineup in Europe’s top club competition next season.

It was the one moment of quality in an otherwise drab match in Turin in which little of consequence happened apart from Giroud’s 12th league goal of the season.

Stefano Pioli’s side, who were knocked out of this year’s Champions League in the semifinals by Inter Milan, join their local rivals, Lazio and champions Napoli on the continent’s big stage.

They are six points ahead of fifth-placed Atalanta with one match left in what has been a long season and one in which their title defense collapsed after the World Cup.

“This was the first time we truly tried to be competitive in two tournaments and we were lacking something,” said Pioli.

“We can enjoy the win and qualification, but it was a strange season for many reasons.”

Juve meanwhile stay seventh and in the Europa Conference League spot after being deducted 10 points for illicit transfer activity by the Italian Football Federation on Monday.

Massimiliano Allegri’s side can still reach the Europa League spots as they are one point behind Roma in sixth, although the spectre of more punishment for financial irregularities hangs over the Turin giants.

Lecce ensured Serie A survival after late penalty drama gave them a 1-0 win over Monza, while a crushing late draw with Empoli took Verona’s survival battle to the final day.

Lorenzo Colombo rammed home the spot-kick which maintained Lecce’s Serie A status in the 11th minute of stoppage time after Christian Gytkjaer was penalized for handball following a VAR check.

Former Denmark forward Gytkjaer had a penalty of his own saved by Wladimiro Falcone with six minutes of regular time remaining.

That allowed Colombo to fire Lecce five points clear of the drop zone and cause coach Marco Baroni to sink to his knees in joy and grief for his recently deceased father.

“I thought about my father because I lost him recently... I felt him by my side in that moment,” Baroni told DAZN.

Verona sit in the final relegation spot after a gut-wrenching Giangiacomo Magnani own goal in the sixth minute of injury time which snatched a 1-1 draw for safe Empoli.

They are level on 31 points with 17th-placed Spezia, whom they might have to face in a playoff devised this season to decide who ends up in 18th place between teams who finish on the same points.

Victor Osimhen’s brace wasn’t enough for Napoli as the newly-crowned Italian champions threw away a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Bologna.

Nigeria forward Osimhen took his season’s tally to 30 in all competitions with finishes in the 14th and 54th minutes.

However Lewis Ferguson pulled one back in the 63rd minute and Lorenzo De Silvestri headed the hosts level in his final home match as a Bologna player.

Napoli won their first league title since 1990 this season but owner Aurelio De Laurentiis said that coach Luciano Spalletti will leave to take a year’s sabbatical.

“He’s a free man, he’s given us something and I thank him, it’s right that he does what he wants,” said De Laurentiis to state broadcaster Rai.

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic’s 89th-minute winner in a 3-2 success over relegated Cremonese reclaimed second spot for Lazio.

Serbia midfielder Milinkovic-Savic had put Lazio two goals ahead at half-time but Pablo Galdames and a Manuel Lazzari own goal had the away side level within four second-half minutes just before the hour mark.

His late winner puts Lazio two points ahead of Inter with the two teams traveling to Empoli and Torino respectively on the final day.


Morocco, Algeria dispute over shirts leads to second cancelation

Updated 39 sec ago
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Morocco, Algeria dispute over shirts leads to second cancelation

  • Before kick-off on Sunday, Renaissance supporters held up a banner with a map of Morocco showing the disputed territory. Many fans waved Moroccan flags
  • The former Spanish colony of Western Sahara is largely controlled by Morocco but claimed by the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which seeks the territory’s independence

BERKANE, Morocco: For the second straight week, an African Confederation Cup match between Renaissance Berkane and Algerian side USM Alger was canceled in a dispute over a map on the Moroccan team’s shirts.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) awarded Berkane a 3-0 victory in the first leg of their semifinal, canceled last Sunday when the Moroccan club refused to take the field after Algerian officials confiscated their shirts.
On Sunday in Berkane, only the home players took the field and they saluted their fans as the stadium announcer told the crowd the match had been canceled.
Moroccan television reported that the USM team left the stadium just before the scheduled 1900 GMT kickoff.
The row began when the Moroccan squad arrived in Algeria last week ahead of the first-leg tie.
Customs officers confiscated Berkane’s shirts on the grounds that they carried a map of Morocco that included the disputed Western Sahara.
Shortly before the first leg kick-off, USM Alger sporting director Toufik Korichi told Algerian radio that the match would not be played because Berkane refused to take to the pitch in any other shirts
The former Spanish colony of Western Sahara is largely controlled by Morocco but claimed by the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which seeks the territory’s independence.
Algeria broke off diplomatic relations with Morocco in 2021, partly over the issue.
Before kick-off on Sunday, Renaissance supporters held up a banner with a map of Morocco showing the disputed territory. Many fans waved Moroccan flags.
On Saturday, business was brisk in the official shop selling Berkane shirts.
“There’s a huge demand,” said Soufiane Al Korchi, a representative of the official distributor of the Moroccan team shirt, adding that the “map has been part of the official design for three years.”
The Algerian football federation has lodged an appeal against the CAF sanction with the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, arguing that the Cairo-based body had “validated the request of the Moroccan club, RS Berkane, to wear a shirt with a political message.”

 


Paris Saint-Germain win Ligue 1 title after Monaco defeat

Updated 28 April 2024
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Paris Saint-Germain win Ligue 1 title after Monaco defeat

  • Monaco’s defeat gave PSG an unassailable 12-point lead at the top

PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain were confirmed as Ligue 1 champions on Sunday without playing after closest challengers Monaco lost 3-2 away to Lyon.
Monaco’s defeat gave PSG an unassailable 12-point lead at the top of the table with three games remaining and means they are champions for a French record-extending 12th time.
PSG could have clinched the title on Saturday with a win at home to struggling Le Havre, but in the end they needed a 95th-minute equalizer to snatch a 3-3 draw.
However, after that game coach Luis Enrique insisted his side had won the league “without any doubt,” as they were 12 points clear with only 12 points left to play for, and also boast a far superior goal difference to that of Monaco.
The principality club’s loss in Lyon nevertheless makes PSG’s coronation official, and sets them up for Wednesday’s Champions League semifinal first leg away to Borussia Dortmund in Germany.
Monaco had taken the lead inside the opening minute in Lyon thanks to a Wissam Ben Yedder goal, but Alexandre Lacazette equalized for the hosts and Said Benrahma put them ahead before the half-hour mark.
Ben Yedder struck again to bring it back to 2-2, only for substitute Malick Fofana to net a late winner for Lyon, who are still hoping to qualify for Europe.
PSG have won 10 of their 12 titles in the last 12 seasons, a record which goes to show how the Qatari takeover of the club in 2011 has utterly transformed them and the face of French football as a whole.
They are on course for a clean sweep of trophies this season, with the French Cup final against Lyon to come on May 25 and the French Champions Trophy already in the bag.
Luis Enrique’s side are also hoping to see off Dortmund and win through to the final of the Champions League on June 1.


Last-gasp goal stretches Leverkusen unbeaten streak

Updated 27 April 2024
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Last-gasp goal stretches Leverkusen unbeaten streak

  • The strike keeps Leverkusen’s remarkable streak of late goals alive
  • Alonso’s side have now won or equalized in stoppage time 10 times this season in all competitions

LEVERKUSEN, Germany: Robert Andrich scored with the last kick of the match to extend Bayer Leverkusen’s unbeaten run to 46 games this season with a 2-2 home draw against Stuttgart on Saturday.
With Bundesliga champions Leverkusen facing their first loss of the season in any competition trailing 2-1 late in stoppage time, Andrich hammered in a loose ball to equalize in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
The strike keeps Leverkusen’s remarkable streak of late goals alive, with Xabi Alonso’s side doing the same at Borussia Dortmund in the seventh minute of injury time for a 1-1 draw last week.
Two goals in the space of nine minutes to start the second half from Chris Fuehrich and Deniz Undav put Stuttgart on course, with Amine Adli pulling one back after 61 minutes.
Leverkusen built pressure but could not break through, putting their hopes of becoming the first team to go a full Bundesliga season without defeat in doubt.
However, with time running out, they won a free kick and Florian Wirtz curled the ball into the box, Andrich snapping up a rebound to score.
Alonso’s side have now won or equalized in stoppage time 10 times this season in all competitions.


Kane hits double in Bayern win as Leipzig tighten grip on fourth

Updated 27 April 2024
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Kane hits double in Bayern win as Leipzig tighten grip on fourth

  • Kane scored in each half, finishing off a tearing Konrad Laimer run and converting a penalty, to raise his league tally to 35 goals in 31 games
  • Kane is now six goals shy of Robert Lewandowski’s all-time single-season Bundesliga goals record

LEVERKUSEN, Germany: Harry Kane scored twice in Bayern Munich’s 2-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday to set a new personal record for goals in a season as RB Leipzig tightened their grip on fourth spot with a home victory over Borussia Dortmund.
Kane scored in each half, finishing off a tearing Konrad Laimer run and converting a penalty, to raise his league tally to 35 goals in 31 games.
Kane is now six goals shy of Robert Lewandowski’s all-time single-season Bundesliga goals record and has hit a personal best of 42 goals in all competitions this campaign.
The England captain’s goals came either side of a Hugo Ekitike stunner, a day after the Frenchman became a permanent Frankfurt player.
Bayern veteran Thomas Mueller said his side was “in a good flow,” saying since getting past Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals “we’ve been getting better, we’ve got a grip on things.”
Before the match, Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel hit back at claims from the club’s honorary president Uli Hoeness that the manager wanted to buy rather than develop players, saying the “absolutely baseless” allegation “could not be further from reality.”
Despite the victory, which solidified Bayern’s chances of a second-placed finish, both Laimer and defender Matthijs de Ligt were subbed off with injury just days before Tuesday’s home Champions League semifinal against Real Madrid.
Dortmund, Germany’s other Champions League semifinalist, had a setback ahead of hosting Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, being thoroughly outclassed in a 4-1 defeat at Leipzig.
The undermanned visitors, missing captain Emre Can, Donyell Malen, Ian Maatsen and Sebastien Haller, dominated early, hitting the lead after 20 minutes through Jadon Sancho.
The England winger curled an excellent shot from the edge of the box into the top right corner to give Dortmund the lead.
Jolted to life, Leipzig equalized almost immediately, Lois Openda turning in a superb Xavi Simons cross for his 24th goal of the season.
Originally called offside, the goal was awarded after a VAR review and the video referee intervened again shortly after, overturning a penalty for Leipzig.
Leipzig then scored two quick-fire goals either side of half-time. Benjamin Sesko pounced on a rebound just before the break and Openda found Mohamed Simakan early in the second.
Christoph Baumgartner added a fourth with 10 minutes remaining to send Leipzig five points clear of Dortmund in fourth, the final guaranteed Champions League spot.
Dortmund goalie Gregor Kobel said “like so often this season, we gifted the opponent too many goals.”
With three teams in the semifinals of the top two European competitions, Germany may however snare a fifth Champions League spot.
Werder Bremen guaranteed first division football next season, winning 3-0 away at Augsburg to go 10 points clear of the drop with three games to play.
Goals from Romano Schmid and Olivier Deman and a Marvin Ducksch penalty took Bremen to a second-straight win for the first time since February.
Wolfsburg also took a major step toward securing top-flight football, scoring two goals in the final minutes to come from behind and beat a 10-man Freiburg 2-1.
In Saturday’s late game, Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen will try and keep their unbeaten record alive this season when they host third-placed Stuttgart.
No team in Bundesliga history has ever gone through a season unbeaten.


Sheffield United become first team relegated from EPL after heavy loss at Newcastle

Updated 27 April 2024
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Sheffield United become first team relegated from EPL after heavy loss at Newcastle

  • The Blades were 10 points from safety with three games remaining, ensuring an immediate return to the Championship
  • Alexander Isak scored two of Newcastle’s goals, taking his season tally to 23 in all competitions

NEWCASTLE, England: Sheffield United became the first team to be relegated from the English Premier League after losing at Newcastle 5-1 on Saturday.
The Blades were 10 points from safety with three games remaining, ensuring an immediate return to the Championship.
They took the lead in the fifth minute at St. James’ Park through Anel Ahmedhodzic, only to be overwhelmed by a home team on the charge for European qualification.
Alexander Isak scored two of Newcastle’s goals, taking his season tally to 23 in all competitions — 19 in the league. That’s one behind joint leaders Cole Palmer of Chelsea and Erling Haaland of Manchester City.
Bruno Guimaraes and Callum Wilson also netted for Newcastle, while Ben Osborn scored an own-goal. That meant Sheffield United conceded 13 goals to Newcastle this season, following September’s 8-0 loss at Bramall Lane.
The visitors took the lead when they worked a short corner move for Ahmedhodzic to head Gustavo Hamer’s cross past Martin Dubravka.
Isak’s first goal came in the 26th after Jacob Murphy played the perfect ball into the Sweden striker, Isak, who ran in behind Auston Trusty and finished with aplomb.
Mason Holgate headed against the crossbar and Andre Brooks blazed wide from the resulting corner as Sheffield United threatened.
The second half was all Newcastle, which netted four goals in 18 minutes — starting in the 54th when Anthony Gordon curled a free kick to the far post where the unmarked Guimaraes dived to head home.
Isak coolly converted a 61st-minute penalty after Holgate bundled Gordon to the ground, and it was 4-1 within four minutes when Osborn back-heeled the ball into his own net as he tried to clear.
Foderingham denied Wilson within five minutes of his arrival but could not prevent him from making it 5-1 with a powerful finish after fellow substitute Harvey Barnes played him in.
Newcastle were in seventh place, one point Manchester United in sixth.