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Bellingham’s late goal gives 10-man Real Madrid comeback win at Valencia

Bellingham’s late goal gives 10-man Real Madrid comeback win at Valencia
Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham scores their second goal during the La Liga match between Valencia and Real Madrid at Estadio de Mestalla, Valencia, on Jan. 3, 2025. (Reuters)
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Updated 04 January 2025

Bellingham’s late goal gives 10-man Real Madrid comeback win at Valencia

Bellingham’s late goal gives 10-man Real Madrid comeback win at Valencia
  • Luka Modric’s 85th minute equalizer and Bellingham’s stoppage time winner ensured that Madrid avoided back-to-back defeats for the first time since 2019
  • Fourth-tier club Pontevedra dispatched high-flying La Liga side Mallorca 3-0 to move into the last 16 of the Copa del Rey

MADRID: Jude Bellingham missed a penalty but scored a late winner and Vinicius Jr. was sent off as 10-man Real Madrid fought back in the most dramatic of fashions to beat Valencia 2-1 and return to the top of La Liga on Friday.

Luka Modric’s 85th minute equalizer and Bellingham’s stoppage time winner ensured that Madrid avoided back-to-back defeats in La Liga for the first time since 2019.

The win took it to 43 points, two above city rivals Atletico, albeit having played a game more.

The match at the Mestalla pitted second from bottom against second from top and it was the struggling home side which took the lead after 27 minutes. Hugo Duro stabbed the ball into the empty net after it came back off the post.

Madrid came into the game more in the second half but it looked like it would be a frustrating night for the capital club.

Kylian Mbappe won a penalty after 55 minutes but Bellingham’s shot hit the post and moments later the Frenchman himself saw a goal disallowed after a video review.

Things got worse for Real with 11 minutes remaining when Vinicius pushed goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski and the referee, after a long video review, showed the Brazilian a red card.

However, Real are never out of it and Carlo Ancelotti’s late changes turned the game around.

Modric came on in the 80th and it took the 39-year-old Croatian just five minutes to make his mark, dancing through a sea of defenders and poking home the equalizer.

Even with a man less there was a sense of inevitability as Real pushed for a winner, and five minutes into added time Bellingham made up for his earlier miss.

Valencia defender Hugo Guillamon seemed to slip and lay the ball into the path of the advancing Englishman, who made no mistake with only the keeper to beat.

Even then the drama was not over. Valencia deserved to take something from the match and Luis Roja almost got an equalizer with the last kick of the game. He watched in agony as his long-range shot came back off the post.

Valencia stayed second from bottom.

Pontevedra slay another giant in Copa

Earlier, fourth-tier club Pontevedra dispatched high-flying La Liga side Mallorca 3-0 to move into the last 16 of the Copa del Rey.

Dalisson de Almeida scored from almost 40 yards to make it 1-0 after 21 minutes, Yelko Pino doubled the lead with a cracking volley four minutes into the second half, and then Rufo rounded off the perfect night with 18 minutes left after a shocking defensive lapse.

The Galician side knocked out Villarreal in the last round.

In the night’s other games, top-tier clubs Rayo Vallecano and Getafe progressed.

Getafe needed extra time to beat second-division Granada in southern Spain. After a goalless match, Borja Mayoral got the only goal in the 93rd minute to put the visitor through.

Rayo Vallecano made swift work of second-tier Racing Ferrol. Alfonso Espino and Jorge de Frutos put the visitors 2-0 up before halftime and Frutos grabbed a third on the hour mark.

Alvaro Gimenez scored a late consolation for the home side.


Chelsea’s Club World Cup triumph a ‘statement’, but what might be the cost?

Chelsea’s Club World Cup triumph a ‘statement’, but what might be the cost?
Updated 15 July 2025

Chelsea’s Club World Cup triumph a ‘statement’, but what might be the cost?

Chelsea’s Club World Cup triumph a ‘statement’, but what might be the cost?
  • Maresca could not have asked for much more after arriving off the back of leading Leicester City to promotion

NEW YORK: For Chelsea, victory in Sunday’s Club World Cup decider completed a fine first season under Enzo Maresca, and also finally brought the curtain down on a marathon campaign that they must hope does not catch up with them down the line.
The Cole Palmer-inspired 3-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain at the MetLife Stadium outside New York was Chelsea’s 64th game of a season which lasted 11 months.
By any measure it was one of Chelsea’s best ever campaigns, with their Club World Cup triumph — placed on a par by Maresca to winning the Champions League — following victory in the UEFA Conference League and a fourth-placed finish in the Premier League.
Maresca, an ex-assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, could not have asked for much more after arriving off the back of leading Leicester City to promotion.
“It has been a fantastic season but I am especially happy for the players,” said the Italian, who has succeeded in putting together a coherent team out of the endless line of new signings being brought in by the club’s owners.
“We have said many times that talent alone is not enough. You need to find a way for them to all fit together.”
It all represents considerable progress from just two years ago, when the Stamford Bridge side finished in the bottom half of the Premier League.
Maresca incorporated more new faces during the Club World Cup, with Joao Pedro making a remarkable impact — the Brazilian forward cut short a holiday to complete a £60 million ($79 million) transfer from Brighton and Hove Albion, and went on to score twice in the semifinal against Fluminense and once in the final.
Liam Delap, Dario Essugo, Mamadou Sarr and Andrey Santos all joined up ahead of the month in the United States, while Jamie Gittens has since arrived from Borussia Dortmund and fellow winger Estevao Willian now joins from Palmeiras in Brazil.
Chelsea will hope those signings, added to a squad led by the likes of Palmer, Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo, can make a real push for the Premier League title off the back of their impressive triumph at FIFA’s new tournament.
“It’s a big statement,” captain Reece James told English media shortly after lifting the trophy alongside US President Donald Trump.
“I’m happy with how much the club has progressed and how next season you know we’ll be competing in the Premier League, to win the title and compete, and to go far in the Champions League as well.”
Chelsea have also pocketed a stunning $115 million in prize money from the Club World Cup, but what if there comes a point in 2025/26 when their exploits of this season catch up with them?
While Chelsea have been competing at the Club World Cup in draining weather conditions, Premier League champions Liverpool and runners-up Arsenal have enjoyed extended off-season breaks.
Manchester City were also at the Club World Cup but they went out over a week earlier.
Global players’ union FIFPro has been the leading voices expressing concerns about the demands on the game’s biggest stars in an ever-expanding calendar.
One of the safeguards it proposed in a study published before the tournament was a mandatory four-week off-season break, along with four-week retraining periods before returning to competition.
Chelsea’s off-season is drastically reduced, with their first match of the next Premier League campaign against Crystal Palace slated for August 17, exactly five weeks after the Club World Cup final. They have a friendly against Bayer Leverkusen on August 8.
“Tomorrow I have three weeks of holiay which is all I want right now because I have not stopped in 15 months,” said Maresca on Sunday.
It remains to be seen if Maresca and his players come back sufficiently refreshed before attacking a season in which they hope to go far in the Champions League, and which will end with the World Cup in North America.
PSG face an even tighter squeeze after a historic campaign for Luis Enrique’s team, capped by their triumph in the Champions League final.
Their first competitive match of next season will be the UEFA Super Cup against Tottenham Hotspur in Italy on August 13, exactly one month after their defeat in New York — a chance to win more silverware, but at what cost?


Chelsea boss Maresca hails ‘great triumph’ in winning Club World Cup

Chelsea boss Maresca hails ‘great triumph’ in winning Club World Cup
Updated 14 July 2025

Chelsea boss Maresca hails ‘great triumph’ in winning Club World Cup

Chelsea boss Maresca hails ‘great triumph’ in winning Club World Cup
  • Maresca: I have the feeling that this competition is going to be as important, if not more important than, the Champions League
  • Maresca only took over at Chelsea a year ago but was previously on the coaching staff under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City when they won the Champions League in 2023

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey: Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca insisted winning the Club World Cup meant as much as winning the Champions League after his side beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 in the final of the first edition of FIFA’s new competition on Sunday.

“I have the feeling that this competition is going to be as important, if not more important than, the Champions League,” said Maresca after adding the trophy to the UEFA Conference League title his team won in May.

Maresca only took over at Chelsea a year ago but was previously on the coaching staff under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City when they won the Champions League in 2023.

“I was lucky to be on the coaching staff of a team that won the Champions League a few years ago, but this competition features the best teams in the world and I think we can value it on the same level,” said the Italian.

“It is a great triumph for us and it will allow the Chelsea fans to have that on our shirt for the next four years, so it is a source of pride.”

Maresca said he instructed his players to go out and take the game to PSG from the off — they went on to net all three goals in the first half with Cole Palmer netting a brace before Joao Pedro added his name to the scoresheet.

“The message was to let them understand that we were here to win the game and I think in the first 10 minutes we showed them that,” Maresca said.

“That set the tone of the game, and then the quality of the players was also important.”

England international Palmer was named player of the match after bagging a brace and setting up Joao Pedro’s goal.

The 23-year-old therefore lived up to his superstar billing — his face has appeared on billboards around New York advertising the tournament, alongside the likes of Real Madrid duo Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior.

“To score the goals was a great feeling, as was the way the team showed fire out there — the gaffer’s game plan was spot on,” he said.

“I just try to do my job every time I go onto the pitch and hopefully I will continue.

“I have seen the billboards in Times Square and outside Madison Square Garden and it is obviously a nice feeling to be alongside those players,” he added.


Rampant England and France reach Women’s Euro 2025 quarterfinals

Rampant England and France reach Women’s Euro 2025 quarterfinals
Updated 14 July 2025

Rampant England and France reach Women’s Euro 2025 quarterfinals

Rampant England and France reach Women’s Euro 2025 quarterfinals
  • England will face Sweden in Zurich on Thursday, a repeat of the semifinal at the last Euros three years ago which the Lionesses won 4-0
  • France will take on Germany in Basel in the last quarterfinal on Saturday, and are on the same side of the knockout draw as world champions Spain who face hosts Switzerland on Friday

ST. GALLEN, Switzerland: Holders England reached the quarterfinals of Women’s Euro 2025 on Sunday after thrashing Wales 6-1 and taking second place in Group D behind France, who won 5-2 in a thrilling match with the Netherlands.

Georgia Stanway started England on their way from the penalty spot in the 13th minute and further goals from Ella Toone, Lauren Hemp, Alessia Russo, Beth Mead and Aggie Beever-Jones made sure of passage to the last eight.

England will face Sweden in Zurich on Thursday, a repeat of the semifinal at the last Euros three years ago which the Lionesses won 4-0.

But the Swedes look a tough proposition after topping Group C with a perfect nine points and swatting aside Germany on Saturday.

“We just wanted to be confident and enjoy it and I think we obviously play better football when we do that. I think there was more flow to the game tonight, there was better connections,” said midfielder Keira Walsh.

“(Sweden are) going to be a really tough opposition but we’re just going to keep trying to focus on what we’re doing, keep being confident, playing good football.”

France, meanwhile, will take on Germany in Basel in the last quarterfinal on Saturday, and are on the same side of the knockout draw as world champions Spain who face hosts Switzerland on Friday.

The French finished the group stage three points ahead of England after making it three wins from three thanks to Delphine Cascarino’s decisive double.

San Diego Wave forward Cascarino has been excellent in Switzerland, and she made sure that France would top the group with the key goals in a superb comeback from a goal down.

France, who opened the scoring through Sandie Toletti in the 22nd minute, trailed at the break to a Victoria Pelova strike and Selma Bacha’s clumsy own goal.

But Marie-Antoinette Katoto levelled for France just after the hour and the match was done six minutes later thanks to Cascarino’s fine finishes.

First Cascarino lashed France back ahead with a sumptuous, dipping long-range strike, before rolling in the fourth after Sandy Baltimore watched her shot ricochet off both posts.

Sakina Karchaoui completed the scoring from the penalty spot in stoppage time.

“I’m having a good Euros, and it’s a real pleasure to play in a major tournament. I’m pleased and I hope that we can go a long way,” Cascarino told reporters.

In St. Gallen, England knew a win would be enough to seal a spot in the next round regardless of what happened in Basel, and once Stanway slotted home her penalty after being brought down by Carrie Jones there was no way back for Wales.

Eight minutes later Toone doubled England’s lead after Wales failed to clear and the Manchester United forward tapped home after her initial effort was blocked on the line by Lily Woodham.

Toone then turned provider on the half-hour with a perfect searching cross for Hemp, before Russo rolled home from close range just before half-time to get off the mark for the tournament.

Mead drilled home England’s fifth in the 72nd minute, but Hannah Cain gave Wales fans something to cheer about by lashing a fine consolation goal past Hannah Hampton.

And Beever-Jones completed the rout one minute from the end to send England through on a high.


Cole Palmer leads Chelsea to 3-0 win over PSG to win Club World Cup

Cole Palmer leads Chelsea to 3-0 win over PSG to win Club World Cup
Updated 14 July 2025

Cole Palmer leads Chelsea to 3-0 win over PSG to win Club World Cup

Cole Palmer leads Chelsea to 3-0 win over PSG to win Club World Cup
  • Cole Palmer produced a scintillating first-half masterclass as Chelsea demolished Paris St. Germain 3-0

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey: Cole Palmer rang up two goals and one assist in a sensational first half and Chelsea toppled Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 to win the FIFA Club World Cup on Sunday.
Palmer scored in the 22nd and 30th minutes and Joao Pedro tacked on the third goal right before halftime, capitalizing on Palmer’s fine touch into the box. Robert Sanchez, meanwhile, saved six shots in his best showing of the tournament.
Chelsea, who won the 2021 Club World Cup that featured only eight teams, battled past Portugal’s Benfica and Brazilian sides Palmeiras and Fluminense in the knockouts to face Paris Saint-Germain — six weeks removed from their first UEFA Champions League trophy.
PSG’s Gianluigi Donnarumma made two saves on five shots on goal. The European champions had allowed just one goal in their first six matches of the Cup.
The frustrated Parisians went down to 10 men in the 85th minute when Joao Neves pulled Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella by the hair, was caught on video review and shown red.
Cucurella made a crucial stop to keep the game scoreless in the 16th minute. Fabian Ruiz made a great pass across the box to Desire Doue, who could have shot it but instead tried a centering pass to a teammate that Cucurella intercepted.
Six minutes later, Palmer — whose first attempt barely missed wide left in the eighth — got the scoring started.
Malo Gusto picked up a wayward header from PSG’s Nuno Mendes and ran into the box. After a fancy dribble to create space, his shot was blocked right back to his feet, so he fed Palmer for a left-footer to the bottom left corner.
Levi Colwill earned the assist on the second goal for his long ball downfield to Palmer. From there, Palmer calmly dribbled toward the center of the 18-yard line and fired the same low, left-footer for an identical goal.
In the 43rd, Palmer tapped a pass between two defenders for Pedro, who popped his shot over a sprawling Donnarumma’s right shoulder.
Sanchez dove to meet Neves’ stoppage-time header just before the goal line. His heroics continued in the second half, as he swatted away a shot by Ousmane Dembele from close range.


Liverpool honor Jota in return to action at Preston

Liverpool honor Jota in return to action at Preston
Updated 13 July 2025

Liverpool honor Jota in return to action at Preston

Liverpool honor Jota in return to action at Preston

LIVERPOOL: Diogo Jota was hailed “a champion” on Sunday by Liverpool manager Arne Slot as the Reds returned to the field for the first time since the Portuguese’s death by beating Preston 3-1 in a pre-season friendly.

Father of three Jota died alongside his brother Andre Silva on July 3, 11 days after marrying his long-term partner Rute Cardoso, after their car came off the road and burst into flames in northern Spain.

A rendition of Liverpool’s anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone” was played before kick-off at Deepdale and Preston captain Ben Whiteman laid a wreath in front of the away supporters.

A minute’s silence was then observed and both teams wore black armbands.

“I think what I take comfort in is that in the last month of his life he was a champion in everything,” Slot said in an interview ahead of the match.

“A champion for his family, which is the main and most important thing, because he got married.

“A champion for his country because he won the Nations League with a country that he cared about so much, because he also wore the flag when we had celebrations.

“And of course a champion for us by winning the Premier League.”

Mohamed Salah was among the Liverpool starting lineup and captain for the day as Virgil van Dijk was left out of the playing squad but was still in attendance.

Three of the players who traveled to Gondomar, just outside Porto, for Jota’s funeral last weekend, Conor Bradley, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo scored the goals in Liverpool’s first steps back toward normality.

Multiple renditions of Jota’s song, proclaiming him to be better than Portugal legend Figo, were belted out by the Liverpool support before a ball was even kicked.

In the crowd, flags emblazoned with “forever our No. 20” paid tribute to the man who died aged just 28.

Liverpool announced on Friday that the club will retire Jota’s No. 20 in his memory.

“It’s just hit the city hard,” said Liverpool fan and security officer Thomas McAllister, 48.

“Once a Liverpool player you become part of the family and we take you to our hearts. It’s like someone in the family has died.”

Earlier this week, Slot and his wife joined several players in attending the tributes that have appeared to Jota and his brother outside Anfield.

“We will always carry him with us in our hearts, in our thoughts, wherever we go,” added Slot.

Georgian goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili and defenders Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez made their Liverpool debuts as Slot named two entirely different sides for each half.

Liverpool had spent big in the transfer market prior to Jota’s passing, breaking the club’s record fee for Florian Wirtz as well as recruiting Frimpong and Kerkez in a bid to retain the Premier League title.

“It must be devastating for his family, his teammates but I think it will really unite and galvanize them to try and win the league for him,” said another supporter Diggy Anderson, 60.