Kings of Europe: Chelsea beats City to win Champions League
APTOPIX Portugal Soccer Champions League Final Chelsea's Kai Havertz celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the Champions League final soccer match between Manchester City and Chelsea at the Dragao Stadium in Porto, Portugal, Saturday, May 29, 2021. Champions League glory once again for Chelsea, nine years after its first title and just 123 days after manager Thomas Tuchel’s season-changing arrival at the club. Germany forward Kai Havertz's 42nd-minute goal earned Chelsea a surprisingly comfortable 1-0 win in Porto in the Champions League’s third all-English final on Saturday. Guardiola will surely regret tinkering with a settled team that had swept City to its first Champions League final and to the verge of another trophy treble, after winning the Premier League and the English League Cup. Christian Pulisic, who came on as a second-half substitute to become the first American player to feature in a Champions League final, posed with the trophy in a USA sweatshirt.
wftv.comChelsea beats City 1-0, wins Champions League for 2nd time
APTOPIX Portugal Soccer Champions League Final Chelsea's Kai Havertz celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the Champions League final soccer match between Manchester City and Chelsea at the Dragao Stadium in Porto, Portugal, Saturday, May 29, 2021. (Jose Coelho/Pool via AP) (Jose Coelho)PORTO, Portugal — (AP) — Chelsea won the Champions League for the second time Saturday, beating Manchester City 1-0 thanks to Kai Havertz’s first-half goal as Pep Guardiola’s overthinking proved costly again in the all-English final. The innovative Spanish coach, seeking to win the Champions League for the third time and first since 2011, has been guilty in recent years of overthinking his tactics in the big games and he might have done it again here. Starting without a striker was expected -- Guardiola has preferred that in the Champions League knockout matches -- but going without a specialist holding midfielder in Fernandinho or Rodri was a major surprise and seemed to destabilize City. From one, substitute Christian Pulisic — the first American player to feature in a Champions League final — ran onto Havertz’s pass but slipped a shot just wide.
wftv.comCL final: Man City leaves out Rodri, Fernandinho vs Chelsea
PORTO, Portugal — (AP) — Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola selected a team without either of his holding midfielders, Rodri or Fernandinho, for the Champions League final against Chelsea on Saturday. Ilkay Gundogan, City's top scorer this season, looked set to drop into a deeper position in midfield in a surprise move, with Raheem Sterling picked as an extra attacking player. Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel picked Kai Havertz in his three-man attack ahead of U.S. international Christian Pulisic. Center midfielder N'Golo Kante has shaken off his latest hamstring injury to start. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
wftv.comMan City into FA Cup semifinals, keeps quadruple dream alive
Manchester City's Ilkay Gundogan, right, celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the English FA Cup sixth round soccer match between Everton and Manchester City at Goodison Park in Liverpool, England, Saturday, March 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Jon Super, Pool)With an unprecedented quadruple still a possibility for Manchester City, the pressure on Pep Guardiola is intensifying heading into the final two months of the season. I will not watch games.”Few would begrudge him the break, with an intense 34-match, four-month stretch -- featuring games every three or four days -- concluding with a 2-0 win over Everton in the FA Cup quarterfinals on Saturday. AdIndeed, Guardiola’s players are sweeping all before them this season, having also reached the final of the English League Cup, the quarterfinals of the Champions League and forged a 14-point lead in the Premier League. "I’m looking forward to everyone coming back safe.”Southampton is the other team through to the FA Cup semifinals after beating second-tier Bournemouth 3-0 earlier Saturday.
Alisson gifts leader Man City win at fading champ Liverpool
Liverpool's goalkeeper Alisson stands on the pitch during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield Stadium, Liverpool, England, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2021. Leicester moved three points ahead of Liverpool in third after drawing 0-0 with Wolverhampton. AdOn a freezing day across England, Klopp could only figure that the icy conditions were to blame for a blundering performance by goalkeeper Alisson Becker that proved so costly. It was only 35 days earlier that a 3-1 win at Chelsea took City to fifth, four points behind then-leader Liverpool with a game in hand. Jorginho’s 58th-minute penalty clinched the win over the last-place team after Timo Werner was brought down by goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
Champions League: Madrid in trouble despite late fightback
(AP Photo/Martin Meissner)With one point from its opening two games, Real Madrid is facing another fight to preserve its proud record of qualifying for the knockout stage in all of its seasons in the Champions League. Heading into the 87th minute against Borussia Mönchengladbach, Madrid was losing 2-0 and on course for four straight losses in the Champions League for the first time. Madrid is in bigger trouble, though, in its 25th campaign in the Champions League, in which the team has never been eliminated in the group stage. Defending champion Bayern Munich is having no such trouble, with a 2-1 victory at Lokomotiv Moscow extending its winning run in the Champions League to 13 games. However, Jota scored in the 55th for a historic goal for Liverpool and substitute Mohamed Salah converted a stoppage-time penalty.
Gundogan the latest Man City player to contract coronavirus
MANCHESTER – Ilkay Gundogan has become the latest Manchester City player to test positive for the coronavirus. The Premier League club gave no details of Gundogan's condition on Monday, only saying he would be self isolating for 10 days based on government protocols. “Everyone at the club wishes Ilkay a speedy recovery,” City said. Two weeks ago, City announced Riyad Mahrez and Aymeric Laporte had contracted COVID-19. City opens its season on Monday night against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Nations League: Record-breaker Fati stars in Spain rebuild
Spain's Ansu Fati is airborne as he attempts to control the ball during the UEFA Nations League soccer match between Spain and Ukraine at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano stadium in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2020. Spain goes top of its Nations League group by a point from Ukraine. Barely a year since he became Barcelona's youngest league scorer, he appears set to be the future for both club and country. NO WIN FOR GERMANYThe Nations League just isn't Germany's competition. The Nations League format keeps teams of similar competitive strength together.