Leicester wins FA Cup for first time beating Chelsea 1-0

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Leicester's manager Brendan Rodgers is thrown into the air by his players as they celebrate at the end of the FA Cup final soccer match between Chelsea and Leicester City at Wembley Stadium in London on May 15, 2021. (AP Photo/Pool)
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Leicester's goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, right, and Wes Morgan hold the trophy aloft at the end of the FA Cup final soccer match between Chelsea and Leicester City at Wembley Stadium in London on May 15, 2021. (AP Photo/Pool)
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Chelsea's Ben Chilwell scores a goal but it was later disallowed after VAR review. (Pool via REUTERS)
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Updated 15 May 2021
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Leicester wins FA Cup for first time beating Chelsea 1-0

  • After losing four finals, Leicester’s name is finally etched onto the cup of world football’s oldest competition
  • The team from central England is a champion again, five years after Morgan collected the Premier League trophy

LONDON: Youri Tielemans was preparing for the FA Cup final on Saturday when he received a text message with a clear instruction: Aim for the top corner.
When the ball landed at the Leicester midfielder’s feet, 63 minutes into the 140th final, a powerful shot from 30 meters was aimed just where he had been advised.
It was a sensational way to win the FA Cup for the first time in Leicester’s 137-year history, 1-0 against Champions League finalist Chelsea.
Even sweeter than the strike was Leicester being able to celebrate in front of its own fans as Wembley Stadium hosted England’s biggest crowd — more than 20,000 who tested negative for the coronavirus — in 14 months.
“Wow, what a finish,” Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel said. “I didn’t dare to celebrate because there’s always VAR.”
Not that time. Instead, the video assistant review came to Leicester’s rescue in the 89th minute to prevent Wes Morgan from a moment of heartache.
The 37-year-old club captain had been on the pitch for only seven minutes when he accidentally deflected in former teammate Ben Chilwell’s cross. But one of those marginal offsides that so irritate players and fans was detected and the roars of Leicester fans were even louder than the moment Tielemans scored.
After losing four finals — the first in 1949 at the old Wembley — Leicester’s name is finally etched onto the cup of world football’s oldest competition. The team from central England is a champion again, five years after Morgan collected the Premier League trophy.
Players — such as Chelsea duo Chilwell and N’Golo Kante — have left since that improbable 5,000-1 title triumph but Morgan and matchday captain Schmeichel are still there to celebrate again, this time in a moment tinged with sadness.
Inside the jerseys at Wembley were photos of Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, the club’s Thai owner until he died in 2018 when his helicopter crashed in flames next to King Power Stadium.
“He is always with us, Kun Vichai,” said Schmeichel before handing the FA Cup on the field to Vichai’s son, Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, who now runs the club.
Also in tribute to Vichai was a banner covering seats in the closed third tier at Wembley, with his quote, “Our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.”
In a game of few chances, Thiago Silva’s slack pass allowed Leicester to score. Ayoze Pérez intercepted the clearance and Luke Thomas passed across to the unmarked Tielemans to drive forward before striking from 30 yards into the top corner.
Saves from Schmeichel as much as VAR helped to preserve the lead; he used one hand to push Chilwell’s shot onto the post in the 78th and blocked Mason Mount’s volley in the 87th.
“I’ve dreamed of this since I was a child,” Schmeichel said. “The performance today — the grit and determination — I’m so proud of everyone.”
It’s far from season over for Leicester. There’s another match against Chelsea to come on Tuesday which could clinch Champions League qualification for the second time ever. Sitting third, Leicester holds a two-point lead over Chelsea.
“Today we enjoy, and tomorrow we dust ourselves down and can’t really think about this anymore,” Schmeichel said. “Chelsea are a top-class side and are going to want revenge.”
The west London club has lost consecutive FA Cup finals, with Thomas Tuchel failing just as Frank Lampard did. But Tuchel can still win the biggest prize in club football against Manchester City in the Champions League final on May 29 in Porto.
“We are disappointed and not angry with our performance,” Tuchel said.
Chelsea was a key early stop in Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers’ coaching career, with the youth team around 15 years ago. While Rodgers has won trophies in Scotland with Celtic, he fell short in English football with Watford, Swansea and Liverpool until Saturday. Now, for the first time since Harry Redknapp with Portsmouth in 2008, a British manager has picked up the FA Cup.
“The success of this team and club is getting to positions like this and competing,” Rodgers said. “The so-called bigger clubs are expected to win but our success is competing and if we can perform like today we can go and win. What a day for everyone involved with Leicester.”

ACTIVISM
Chelsea and Leicester took a knee before kickoff, which has been a feature of games in England since June as part of calls to eradicate racial injustice in society following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. But there was some booing by fans against the anti-racism gesture that was largely drowned out by applause and cheers.
In the post-match celebrations, Hamza Choudhury and Wesley Fofana were wrapped in a Palestinian flag amid escalating violence between Israel and Hamas in and around Gaza.

PREMIER LEAGUE
Leeds is on for a top-half finish in its first season back in the Premier League after 16 years. A 4-0 victory over Burnley was started by Mateusz Klich curling in the opener before halftime, followed in the second half by Jack Harrison and Rodrigo’s double. Fulham, one the three sides already relegated, lost at Southampton 3-1.


Canelo, Crawford arrive in Saudi Arabia to promote the ‘Fight of the Century’

Updated 20 June 2025
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Canelo, Crawford arrive in Saudi Arabia to promote the ‘Fight of the Century’

  • The pair will fight in Las Vegas in September

RIYADH: Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez and Terence Crawford, two of boxing’s finest, arrived in the Saudi capital on Thursday.

The pair, who are set to fight in September, are in the Kingdom to kick off a promotional tour on Friday for the much hyped clash.

The media event will be at Bakr Al-Sheddi Theater in Boulevard City, in Riyadh.

The showdown between two of the biggest names in the sport has been billed as the “Fight of the Century,” and is being organized by Riyadh Season.

The undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Álvarez, who boasts an impressive record of 62 wins (39 by knockout), will face off against his opponent Terence Crawford, a four-division and two-weight undisputed champion, who enters the ring with a perfect record of 41 wins and no losses, including 31 knockouts.

The press conference will be the first stop of a media tour, which will include stops in New York at Fanatics Fest on Sunday, before concluding next Friday in Las Vegas — the host city for the blockbuster fight on Saturday Sept. 13.


Lionel Messi scores on free kick to lift Inter Miami over Porto

Updated 20 June 2025
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Lionel Messi scores on free kick to lift Inter Miami over Porto

ATLANTA: Lionel Messi connected on a free kick in the 54th minute to propel Inter Miami to a 2-1 victory over FC Porto in a Group A match of the FIFA Club World Cup on Thursday afternoon.
After Porto struck first on Samu Aghehowa’s penalty kick in the eighth minute, Marcelo Weigandt assisted on Telasco Segovia’s game-tying goal in the 47th.
Miami found its second goal in the first 10 minutes of the second half against Porto goalkeeper Claudio Ramos as Messi scored on the 68th free-kick goal of his illustrious career.
Each team netted their first goals of the tournament after Miami tied Al Ahly 0-0 on Saturday and Porto suffered the same result against Palmeiras on Sunday.
After VAR review confirmation, it was determined that Miami’s Noah Allen committed a tripping penalty in the box against Joao Mario, leading to Aghehowa’s penalty goal that was deflected by goalkeeper Oscar Ustari and in for the game’s first goal in the eighth minute.
Aghehowa, 21, had 19 goals in 30 Primeira Liga matches for the Portuguese side this past season.
Miami knotted the score at one less than 90 seconds into the second half, as Weigandt’s cross into the center of the box was finished by Segovia, who fired in the equalizing goal past a sprawling Ramos.
Miami then continued its great start to the second half, as Porto’s Rodrigo Mora’s foul led to Messi’s successful free kick — perfectly placed in the top right corner in the 54th minute.
 


World No.1 Sinner shocked in Halle second round by Bublik

Updated 19 June 2025
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World No.1 Sinner shocked in Halle second round by Bublik

  • Earlier world number three Alexander Zverev rallied from a set down to see off Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego and advance to the quarter-finals on grass in Halle

HALLE WESTFALEN, Germany: Defending champion Jannik Sinner lost his second-round match on grass at Halle on Thursday to Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik, the Italian’s first tournament since his French Open final defeat.
The world number one fell 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 to the 45th-ranked Bublik for the 23-year-old’s first defeat to a player ranked outside the top 20 since the summer of 2023.
A few days before his defeat to Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in the title match at the French Open, Sinner had easily dispatched Bublik in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros, dropping only six games.
On Thursday, ten days before Wimbledon, Bublik claimed his second victory in six ties against Sinner.
The Kazakh will play Tomas Machac in the quarter-finals after the Czech beat Hungarian Fabian Marozsan 6-2, 6-3 earlier in the day.
Earlier world number three Alexander Zverev rallied from a set down to see off Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego and advance to the quarter-finals on grass in Halle.
The 28-year-old German won 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/2) against the 46th-ranked Sonego and next plays another Italian, Flavio Cobolli for a place in the semifinals.
A finalist in Halle in 2016 and 2017, Zverev recorded his fifth victory in as many meetings with Sonego, a year after beating him at the same stage of the same competition.
Sonego took advantage of his only chance to break in the first set at 4-3. The German struggled throughout to break his opponent’s serve.
Zverev dug deep in the second set, leading 5-4, to win the set before dominating the tiebreak in the final set.
Argentina’s 63rd ranked Tomas Martin Etcheverry also reached the quarter-finals after a three-hour duel against fourth seed Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (8/6).
The Argentine saved two match points in the tiebreak of the deciding set to set up a meeting with Russia’s Karen Khachanov.

 


Coco Gauff loses in Berlin in first match since French Open title, turns attention to Wimbledon

Updated 19 June 2025
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Coco Gauff loses in Berlin in first match since French Open title, turns attention to Wimbledon

  • Gauff had a bye to the second round at the grass-court tournament, a warmup for Wimbledon
  • “It was a tough one today but happy to be back on court,” she wrote on her social media

BERLIN: Newly crowned French Open champion Coco Gauff was stunned on her return to action Thursday, losing to Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu 6-3, 6-3 at the Berlin Open.

The second-ranked Gauff, who won at Roland-Garros less than two weeks ago for her second Grand Slam title, amassed 25 unforced errors and seven double faults in her loss to Wang.

Gauff had a bye to the second round at the grass-court tournament, a warmup for Wimbledon.

“It was a tough one today but happy to be back on court,” Gauff wrote on her social media accounts. “Tried my best to adjust with the quick turnaround but it wasn’t enough. As always, I’m learning as I go so I hope to do better next time.”

The 21-year-old Gauff added that she is “excited to get some more practices in to be ready for Wimbledon,” which starts June 30. She has not made it past the fourth round at the All England Club.

Wang, ranked No. 49, said she would have been pleased just with the first set Thursday, considering the level of her opponent.

“After I won the first set, I just told myself ‘OK let’s take a minute and enjoy this, I’m playing the French Open champion, and I won the first set,’” she said in her on-court interview.

“No matter how the second and third go, I was like, ‘OK let’s just enjoy it for a second,’” said Wang, who will face Paula Badosa in the quarterfinals. “I’m really happy with how I played today. I was serving good and putting a lot of pressure on the return, especially second-serve return.”

Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka finished off Rebeka Masarova 6-2, 7-6 (6) in a match that was suspended Wednesday after one set because of a slippery court.

Sabalenka had lost to Gauff at the French Open final and later apologized to the American for making “unprofessional” comments after the Paris title match.

Sabalenka will meet 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinals.


Palmeiras ease past Al Ahly in Club World Cup

Updated 19 June 2025
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Palmeiras ease past Al Ahly in Club World Cup

  • The match was suspended in the 63rd minute because of a weather warning
  • Victory took Palmeiras provisionally top on four points

EAST RUTHERFORD, USA: Palmeiras drew first blood in Club World Cup Group A with a 2-0 victory over Al Ahly on Thursday in New Jersey.

Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami face Porto later on in the group’s other clash after two goalless draws in the first round of fixtures.

The match was suspended in the 63rd minute because of a weather warning, with players and fans at the MetLife Stadium instructed to “take shelter” because of a nearby storm.

Palmeiras were leading by two goals at the time, with a Wessam Abou Ali own goal sending the Brazilians ahead in the 49th minute before Flaco Lopez doubled their lead on the Egyptians 10 minutes later.

Victory took Palmeiras provisionally top on four points, with the other three sides level on one point each.

It was the third match at the tournament affected by adverse weather at the tournament.

On Tuesday Mamelodi Sundowns game against Ulsan HD was suspended just before kick-off for just over an hour due to a weather alert.

Then on Wednesday RB Salzburg’ s match against Pachuca was suspended in the second half for 97 minutes because of a storm.

Palmeiras, led by talented youngster Estevao Willian, who is set to join Chelsea, played well but were held by Porto in their opening clash.

Al Ahly kept them at bay in a tight first half, in which English referee Anthony Taylor sent off Palmeiras midfielder Raphael Veiga for a foul on Ahmed Zizo, before overturning his decision following a VAR review.

Palestinian striker Abou Ali headed Anibal Moreno’s free-kick into his own net to hand Palmeiras the lead.

Lopez finished coolly for the Brazilians’ second after Mauricio played him through on goal.

After the suspension of around 45 minutes for the weather warning, Palmeiras played out the remainder of the match comfortably without risking their advantage.

South American sides have come into the tournament strongly, in good condition given they are in the middle of their domestic seasons, and have stayed unbeaten to this point.