Football
Olivier Giroud inspires LAFC to US Open Cup final win against Sporting Kansas City
Former Arsenal and Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud scored as Los Angeles FC beat Sporting Kansas City 3-1 to win the US Open Cup.
The 37-year-old, who joined the west coast club after leaving AC Milan at the end of last season, tapped in from close range to give his side the lead in the 53rd minute.
Kansas City’s Erik Thommy equalised to take the game to extra time, when Mexican defender Omar Campos and Sierra Leonean forward Kei Kamara scored to seal the win.
For Giroud, who retired from France duty in July as the nation’s record scorer with 57 goals, it was important after August’s Leagues Cup final defeat by Columbus Crew.
“I came here to win trophies and to play that kind of final,” said Giroud.
“I was really sad and disappointed for the team regarding the Leagues Cup.
“We’ve been in a difficult run these last weeks, but we stuck together, and we really wanted to win this trophy for the fans, for the club. It does matter for me, for the boys, and I’m so happy to score in this final and to help the team.”
The victory keeps LAFC’s hopes of completing a domestic league and cup double alive.
Only three teams have done the double, with LA Galaxy doing so in 2005 after Chicago Fire and DC United achieved the feat.
LAFC sit fourth in the MLS Western Conference standings and are expected to seal a play-off spot.
Football
AFC Wimbledon stadium flood ‘was a matter of time’
The flooding of AFC Wimbledon’s football ground was “totally predictable”, a campaign group has said.
More than 100,000 litres of water was pumped from the Cherry Red Records Stadium after drains backed up overnight on 22 September.
Michael Burnage, of the Save Wimbledon Stadium Action Group, told the BBC: “We all knew that it was just a matter of time. The question in our mind was not if there would be a flood on the site, but when it would happen.”
The Environment Agency said planning decisions were made by local authorities. Merton Council, which was responsible for the decision to approve the new stadium, said it was “sad to see the damage and disruption caused by flooding”.
Two home matches – including a League Cup tie with Newcastle United – were postponed after the pitch collapsed following the latest flood. The first match back at the ground since the flooding will be against Carlisle United on Saturday.
The previous stadium, which opened in 1928, hosted greyhound racing until its closure in 2017 – which was described at the time as a “crime against happiness” by the Racing Post.
It also hosted stock car racing and speedway events, which ceased in 2005.
Mr Burnage, whose group campaigned against the 2018 demolition of the stadium, said the area had flooded many times throughout its history.
He said: “Our campaign group have not been in the least surprised that the new stadium has seen such devastating flood damage.
“We have every sympathy for the staff and officials of AFC Wimbledon having to deal with the impact of this latest flood, but to say it was unpredictable is simply not true.
“As part of our campaign, we highlighted our years of experience on the site, recalling the countless times that the stadium and the car park were flooded.”
He said that developers, the council, City Hall and the Environment Agency were all warned about the dangers of future flooding, adding: “We are incredibly frustrated by recent events.”
More than £120,000 has been raised by the fan-owned club following the latest flooding.
Wimbledon FC left its original home at nearby Plough Lane in 1991 because legislation required all-seater stadiums.
Following a spell playing at Crystal Palace’s Selhurst Park, in 2004 the club was controversially rebranded as MK Dons after the owners moved it to Milton Keynes.
AFC Wimbledon was set up in 2002 as a non-league club, winning five promotions in nine years to rise from the depths of the Combined Counties League to reach the Football League in 2011.
During that time, the club played home matches at Kingsmeadow – which is now the home of Chelsea FC Women – before the move to the Cherry Red Records Stadium in November 2020.
Jon Stevens, a curator of the Dons Den, which is home to many items from the previous stadium’s Speedway heyday, says “historically, it’s always flooded”.
He told BBC London: “It’s been well documented that it’s flooded quite substantially.
“Regarding building a brand-new stadium and it still flooding, I guess maybe something’s been overlooked.
“I don’t know why they did that: that’s the million dollar question.
“Were there enough measures in place to combat any potential flood?”
An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “As the stadium is a brownfield redevelopment in a high-risk flood zone, its planning involved lengthy discussions, mapping and reports on how the flood risk would be managed.
“We originally objected to the proposed development due to insufficient information. Once this had been supplied, we were able to remove our objection and requested several planning conditions.”
A Merton Council spokesperson said: “The stadium is built on previously developed land with a historic risk of flooding, a risk common across many developed areas of London.
“Given this risk, and the increase in flash flooding caused by our changing climate, the planning proposal was, like all proposals, examined rigorously.
“The council’s planning committee and the Environment Agency sought to ensure the stadium would remain safe, that the building would not increase risk of flooding nearby, including to homes, and that damage mitigation and recovery plans were thorough and robust.
“We are working closely with the Environment Agency and AFC Wimbledon to manage the risk of flooding, and to support in the review of the club’s flooding processes.”
Football
Draw was a fair result – Emery
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery says his side’s 0-0 draw against Manchester United at Villa Park wasn’t the best result, but it was a “fair” one.
Source link
Football
Premier League: Who is your club’s most irreplaceable player?
The word ‘irreplaceable’ has been bandied around in the last few weeks in the wake of Rodri’s season-ending injury for Manchester City.
But as the champions continue their attempts to cope without the Spain midfielder, it got us thinking – which other players would Premier League clubs most dread to lose?
We have come up with a shortlist for each club and want you to vote for your most irreplaceable player.
Football
Euro 2025: Wales qualification could take game to new heights, says Laura McAllister
The three-part series airing on BBC Radio Wales and BBC Sounds tells the story of the women’s international team in Wales, from their unofficial first matches in 1973 through to the modern day when they are on the brink of reaching the finals of a major tournament for the first time.
McAllister, along with her then international team-mates Michele Adams and Karen Jones, successfully lobbied the Football Association of Wales to form an official side in 1993.
Under Jarmo Matikainen they twice came close to a play-off place for Euro 2013 and the 2015 World Cup, before his successor Jayne Ludlow took the team to the brink of the 2019 World Cup and Euro 2022 play-offs, missing out on a place in the latter on away goals scored in a head-to-head record against Northern Ireland, despite having a vastly superior goal difference.
Wales were then beaten in the final moments of extra time in the play-off final by Switzerland for a place in the 2023 World Cup under Gemma Grainger in their last qualifying campaign.
Grainger says qualifying for a major finals would be a landmark moment not just for women’s football in Wales, but for all female sport.
McAllister, who is now a Uefa vice-president, said: “If you look at the way in which women’s football is organised now in Uefa, we’re talking the strategy of it being a multi-billion-pound industry by 2030.
“I think this platform that we’d have by being in Switzerland next summer would be transformative really for how we run women and girls’ football in Wales.
“Obviously, there’d be financial returns which are very welcome for an association like us, but qualification would bring incredible attention, incredible dividends.
“We saw when England won in the last Euros just what they would be able to do to capitalise on that for school sport for girls and for club development.
“I think we’re savvy enough in Wales, we’ve got a strong enough strategy and a good enough leadership to make sure that we don’t waste that opportunity.
“For me, I think it’ll probably be the single most important historical thing to happen, maybe even in women’s sport, not just football, if we get there.”
Football
How realistic are Manchester United’s Champions League hopes?
BBC Sport chief football news writer Simon Stone:
It is not known exactly what compensation would be paid to Ten Hag if his contract was terminated.
In 2021, Ten Hag’s predecessor Ole Gunnar Solskjaer received a £7m pay-off when he was sacked, with an additional £3m going to other members of his staff. This sum goes directly to a club’s accounts under the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules, reducing the amount they have to spend on players.
As with transfers, any compensation payable for a new manager can be amortised over the period of the contract. It would depend on the length of contract and the compensation how much of that goes into the current year’s accounts.
However, a club may calculate an anticipated upturn in performance could generate more money in TV revenue, gate receipts and prize money to be worth making a move.
And, as happened last summer, clubs have until 30 June to submit their accounts so any who are at risk of exceeding the Premier League’s limit of £105m of allowable losses over three seasons can sell players.
Last month United announced a net loss of £113.2m to 30 June 2024. The previous years’ losses were £28.7m and £115.5m.
Some of the losses can be clawed back for PSR purposes and United say they are committed to abiding by the rules.
Football
Chelsea: Sonia Bompastor says decision to postpone Man Utd game ‘not good’
Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor says the decision to postpone their Women’s Super League match against Manchester United was “not good”.
They were due to face United at home on Sunday but it was postponed with a week’s notice due to a conflict with Chelsea’s European schedule.
Chelsea face Real Madrid in the Women’s Champions League group stage on Tuesday, just two days after the United game was set to take place.
“We were disappointed as players and staff. I think everyone has to understand we were supposed to play,” said Bompastor.
“We were in a very good team dynamic and I think not having the opportunity to play changed everything in preparation for the game with Real Madrid.
“When you have the opportunity to play one game a week, with this decision being made to postpone the game, now we have been out of competition for 10 days which is completely different.
“If you look at the situation, the decision is not good. I think it is not good for all the English clubs who are in the Champions League competition.”
Chelsea are joined in the group stages by WSL rivals Arsenal and Manchester City this season.
The WSL has been taken over by a new independent company this season – Women’s Professional Leagues Limited (WPLL) – and Bompastor says the league “need to know about the rules”.
“For them it’s good to have our feedback and as I always said to the league, I think we should be proud to have three English clubs in the Champions League this year,” added Bompastor.
“All the decisions in the league this year have to be made in order to help the English clubs compete in the Champions League.”
-
Womens Workouts2 weeks ago
3 Day Full Body Women’s Dumbbell Only Workout
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
How to unsnarl a tangle of threads, according to physics
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Hyperelastic gel is one of the stretchiest materials known to science
-
Technology3 weeks ago
Would-be reality TV contestants ‘not looking real’
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Maxwell’s demon charges quantum batteries inside of a quantum computer
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
‘Running of the bulls’ festival crowds move like charged particles
-
News2 weeks ago
Our millionaire neighbour blocks us from using public footpath & screams at us in street.. it’s like living in a WARZONE – WordupNews
-
News3 weeks ago
the pick of new debut fiction
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
How to wrap your mind around the real multiverse
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Sunlight-trapping device can generate temperatures over 1000°C
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Quantum ‘supersolid’ matter stirred using magnets
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
ITER: Is the world’s biggest fusion experiment dead after new delay to 2035?
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Liquid crystals could improve quantum communication devices
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Quantum forces used to automatically assemble tiny device
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Physicists are grappling with their own reproducibility crisis
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Why this is a golden age for life to thrive across the universe
-
News3 weeks ago
You’re a Hypocrite, And So Am I
-
Sport3 weeks ago
Joshua vs Dubois: Chris Eubank Jr says ‘AJ’ could beat Tyson Fury and any other heavyweight in the world
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Time travel sci-fi novel is a rip-roaringly good thought experiment
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Laser helps turn an electron into a coil of mass and charge
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Caroline Ellison aims to duck prison sentence for role in FTX collapse
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Nuclear fusion experiment overcomes two key operating hurdles
-
Business1 week ago
Eurosceptic Andrej Babiš eyes return to power in Czech Republic
-
Technology1 week ago
‘From a toaster to a server’: UK startup promises 5x ‘speed up without changing a line of code’ as it plans to take on Nvidia, AMD in the generative AI battlefield
-
Football1 week ago
Football Focus: Martin Keown on Liverpool’s Alisson Becker
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Rethinking space and time could let us do away with dark matter
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Nerve fibres in the brain could generate quantum entanglement
-
News3 weeks ago
▶️ Hamas in the West Bank: Rising Support and Deadly Attacks You Might Not Know About
-
MMA1 week ago
Conor McGregor challenges ‘woeful’ Belal Muhammad, tells Ilia Topuria it’s ‘on sight’
-
News3 weeks ago
▶️ Media Bias: How They Spin Attack on Hezbollah and Ignore the Reality
-
News3 weeks ago
New investigation ordered into ‘doorstep murder’ of Alistair Wilson
-
Science & Environment2 weeks ago
X-rays reveal half-billion-year-old insect ancestor
-
Business1 week ago
Should London’s tax exiles head for Spain, Italy . . . or Wales?
-
News3 weeks ago
Israel strikes Lebanese targets as Hizbollah chief warns of ‘red lines’ crossed
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
A slight curve helps rocks make the biggest splash
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Future of fusion: How the UK’s JET reactor paved the way for ITER
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
A new kind of experiment at the Large Hadron Collider could unravel quantum reality
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
UK spurns European invitation to join ITER nuclear fusion project
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks ago
Cardano founder to meet Argentina president Javier Milei
-
News2 weeks ago
Why Is Everyone Excited About These Smart Insoles?
-
Science & Environment2 weeks ago
Meet the world's first female male model | 7.30
-
Technology2 weeks ago
Get ready for Meta Connect
-
Health & fitness1 week ago
The 7 lifestyle habits you can stop now for a slimmer face by next week
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Why we need to invoke philosophy to judge bizarre concepts in science
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks ago
Low users, sex predators kill Korean metaverses, 3AC sues Terra: Asia Express
-
Womens Workouts2 weeks ago
Best Exercises if You Want to Build a Great Physique
-
Womens Workouts2 weeks ago
Everything a Beginner Needs to Know About Squatting
-
News2 weeks ago
Four dead & 18 injured in horror mass shooting with victims ‘caught in crossfire’ as cops hunt multiple gunmen
-
Technology2 weeks ago
Robo-tuna reveals how foldable fins help the speedy fish manoeuvre
-
Technology1 week ago
Quantum computers may work better when they ignore causality
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks ago
Ethereum is a 'contrarian bet' into 2025, says Bitwise exec
-
Health & fitness3 weeks ago
The secret to a six pack – and how to keep your washboard abs in 2022
-
Business3 weeks ago
JPMorgan in talks to take over Apple credit card from Goldman Sachs
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Quantum time travel: The experiment to ‘send a particle into the past’
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Being in two places at once could make a quantum battery charge faster
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
A tale of two mysteries: ghostly neutrinos and the proton decay puzzle
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks ago
Bitcoin miners steamrolled after electricity thefts, exchange ‘closure’ scam: Asia Express
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks ago
Dorsey’s ‘marketplace of algorithms’ could fix social media… so why hasn’t it?
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks ago
DZ Bank partners with Boerse Stuttgart for crypto trading
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks ago
Bitcoin bulls target $64K BTC price hurdle as US stocks eye new record
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks ago
Blockdaemon mulls 2026 IPO: Report
-
News3 weeks ago
The Project Censored Newsletter – May 2024
-
Politics3 weeks ago
UK consumer confidence falls sharply amid fears of ‘painful’ budget | Economics
-
TV2 weeks ago
CNN TÜRK – 🔴 Canlı Yayın ᴴᴰ – Canlı TV izle
-
Science & Environment2 weeks ago
CNN TÜRK – 🔴 Canlı Yayın ᴴᴰ – Canlı TV izle
-
Womens Workouts2 weeks ago
3 Day Full Body Toning Workout for Women
-
Servers computers2 weeks ago
What are the benefits of Blade servers compared to rack servers?
-
News2 weeks ago
US Newspapers Diluting Democratic Discourse with Political Bias
-
Technology1 week ago
The best robot vacuum cleaners of 2024
-
Sport1 week ago
Watch UFC star deliver ‘one of the most brutal knockouts ever’ that left opponent laid spark out on the canvas
-
Politics3 weeks ago
Trump says he will meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi next week
-
Sport3 weeks ago
UFC Edmonton fight card revealed, including Brandon Moreno vs. Amir Albazi headliner
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
How one theory ties together everything we know about the universe
-
News3 weeks ago
Brian Tyree Henry on voicing young Megatron, his love for villain roles
-
Technology3 weeks ago
The ‘superfood’ taking over fields in northern India
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Tiny magnet could help measure gravity on the quantum scale
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
How do you recycle a nuclear fusion reactor? We’re about to find out
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks ago
Decentraland X account hacked, phishing scam targets MANA airdrop
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks ago
RedStone integrates first oracle price feeds on TON blockchain
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks ago
‘No matter how bad it gets, there’s a lot going on with NFTs’: 24 Hours of Art, NFT Creator
-
Business3 weeks ago
Thames Water seeks extension on debt terms to avoid renationalisation
-
Business3 weeks ago
How Labour donor’s largesse tarnished government’s squeaky clean image
-
Politics3 weeks ago
‘Appalling’ rows over Sue Gray must stop, senior ministers say | Sue Gray
-
News3 weeks ago
Brian Tyree Henry on voicing young Megatron, his love for villain roles
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks ago
Coinbase’s cbBTC surges to third-largest wrapped BTC token in just one week
-
MMA2 weeks ago
Rankings Show: Is Umar Nurmagomedov a lock to become UFC champion?
-
Travel2 weeks ago
Delta signs codeshare agreement with SAS
-
Politics2 weeks ago
Hope, finally? Keir Starmer’s first conference in power – podcast | News
-
Business7 days ago
Ukraine faces its darkest hour
-
News3 weeks ago
Church same-sex split affecting bishop appointments
-
Technology3 weeks ago
iPhone 15 Pro Max Camera Review: Depth and Reach
-
Health & fitness3 weeks ago
The maps that could hold the secret to curing cancer
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks ago
Crypto scammers orchestrate massive hack on X but barely made $8K
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks ago
SEC asks court for four months to produce documents for Coinbase
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks ago
‘Silly’ to shade Ethereum, the ‘Microsoft of blockchains’ — Bitwise exec
-
Womens Workouts2 weeks ago
How Heat Affects Your Body During Exercise
-
Womens Workouts2 weeks ago
Keep Your Goals on Track This Season
-
Science & Environment3 weeks ago
Single atoms captured morphing into quantum waves in startling image
-
News3 weeks ago
How FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam Is Adapting to a Post-Pandemic Economy
-
CryptoCurrency3 weeks ago
Telegram bot Banana Gun’s users drained of over $1.9M
You must be logged in to post a comment Login