Man Utd U18s lost on penalties against Crystal Palace in the Premier League Cup final, suffering defeat in sudden death.

22:26, 22 Apr 2026

Chido Obi looked just as happy to assist as he would if he’d scored himself in the Premier League Cup final, which was another sign of progress for Manchester United’s young striker.

United academy coaches have laid down the gauntlet to Obi to improve his off-the-ball work. There have been challenging moments for Obi this term, and his deficiencies have been more obvious in some games than others, but he turned up in the Premier League Cup final.

Dean Benamar, Ben Casey and Joel Drakes-Thomas have already made their senior debuts for Crystal Palace, and they all started, but Obi was the only player in United’s XI with a first-team appearance under his belt.

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The decision was made to keep Obi in the academy this season. The young striker made eight senior appearances last term, so he was disappointed to learn he would exclusively play in youth games this season, but the decision has benefited him.

It was obvious that Obi was switched on when he played a slick lay-off to JJ Gabriel, and shielded the ball intelligently and played it wide in the subsequent phase of play. Then he assisted the United goal.

The weight of the pass to Noah Ajayi was perfect from the left flank. The young winger still had plenty to do, but his first touch in the box was superb, and he calmly finished into the bottom right corner.

There are shades of Marcus Rashford when Ajayi plays for United’s academy. The way Ajayi glides on the left and finishes with a low shot is eerily similar to how Rashford played in a United shirt. That is a huge compliment.

Ajayi has gone under the radar in the academy this season – and that is about to change. He was forced off with an injury at the start of the second half at Selhurst Park, but it spoke volumes that he wanted to continue.

The quirk of the Premier League Cup final was the U18s had faced Palace last week in the FA Youth Cup semi-final. United needed extra time to put Palace away in that tie, suggesting it would be tight again with a trophy at stake.

Gabriel scored against Palace at Old Trafford, but he otherwise wasn’t in the game, struggling to have an impact against heavy marking. The 15-year-old has been the talk of youth circles, so it’s not a surprise to see teams doubling up with markers in an attempt to stop him.

Palace’s efforts worked again in the Premier League Cup final, meaning Gabriel was replaced with 20 minutes remaining. The youngster looked furious as he trudged off the pitch to be replaced by Amir Ibragimov.

Gabriel is the talisman in the U18s’ dressing room, but it’s a team game. Obi had that status last season and also looked disappointed to be substituted, but the 18-year-old has matured to the extent that he will get the chance to audition for the first-team in pre-season.

Jim Thwaites is another player with first-team aspirations who started in the cup final. The talented midfielder would not look out of place in Barcelona’s esteemed academy, ‘La Masia’, such is his ability to pull the strings from the engine room, but his set-piece ability is what sets him apart.

Thwaites has already been compared to David Beckham because of his quality when he stands over a set-play, and he looked bullish when United were awarded a free-kick around 25 yards out in the first half.

The Manchester Evening News interviewed Thwaites at the beginning of the week, and his eyes twinkled when trophies were mentioned. “This club is built around trophies,” he said, outlining his ambition to get his hands on silverware in Croydon.

Fletcher made the decision to return to his U18 head coach role after serving as first-team caretaker. United sources were extremely impressed with how Fletcher conducted himself as caretaker, but he stepped back down to the academy to further his coaching development.

The Scot got a taste of the Premier League and FA Cup during his first-team stint. That experience will stand Fletcher in good stead in his career, although coaching in the academy sphere is similarly useful because youth fixtures are bound to expose coaches to mid-game conundrums.

That’s exactly what happened in Croydon on Wednesday night. United could not find a second goal to kill Palace off in the second – Obi came closest when striking the crossbar – and that proved to be costly.

When the fourth official confirmed five minutes of added time would be played, the trophy was in sight, but Albert Mills conceded a penalty at the death, pulling down the Palace forward in United’s box.

Mills was shown a straight red card, and he was spotted watching Ben Casey convert the spot kick from the tunnel. The young defender instantly turned around and disappeared from view to return to the dressing room.

Palace were buoyed by the sending off and the Holmesdale Fanatics got a little louder. Fletcher switched to five at the back in an attempt to shore up the defence, and the game went to a penalty shootout.

The home side won 6-5 on penalties. United’s youngsters slumped to the turf and it was at least reassuring to see United’s coaching staff quickly make their way to the centre circle to offer some support.

The silver lining for United is that they could still win the league title, and they have reached the FA Youth Cup final. The treble is now off the table, but there is still silverware to be won this season.

Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix and Disney+ with Ultimate TV package

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Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.

Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.

For the first time since April 3, Juan Soto was in the lineup for the New York Mets on Wednesday. And for the first time since April 7, the Mets were winners. New York’s losing streak came to an end at 12 games with their win over the Minnesota Twins (NYM 3, MIN 2) at Citi Field. The 12-game losing streak was their longest since 2002.

“It’s always good when you win baseball games at the big league level,” manager Carlos Mendoza said after the game. “(Now we can) concentrate on playing baseball and not about the losing streak.”

Wednesday’s win came with a price: Francisco Lindor exited the game after the fourth inning with what the Mets called left calf tightness. He came up lame as he scored from first base on Francisco Alvarez’s double in the bottom of the fourth. Lindor will go for an MRI on Thursday to determine the severity of his injury. Soto missed 17 days with his Grade 1 calf strain.

“We lost Soto and we had a hard time,” Mendoza said about Lindor’s injury. “Now we could be potentially dealing with losing with another player and we have to figure it out.”

The Mets took a 1-0 lead in the first inning and a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning, but the Twins rallied to knot things up both times. The 2-2 tie was broken in the bottom of the eighth inning when Mark Vientos dunked a two-out bloop single into right field to score Brett Baty from second base. Here is the bloop single that snapped the losing streak:

“I’m glad he got that hit and redeemed himself there,” Mendoza said about Vientos, who ran through the third base coach Tim Leiper’s stop sign and got thrown out at the plate to end the sixth inning.  

Luke Weaver, not Devin Williams, pitched the ninth inning to preserve the win. Williams did not retire any of the five batters he faced Tuesday, and blew a save earlier in the losing streak as well. Weaver recorded the final four outs on Wednesday and got the win, not a save. He had New York’s last win before the losing streak as well.

Here are the longest losing streaks in Mets’ history:

As for Soto, he returned from his right calf strain on Wednesday and went 1 for 3 with a single and a walk as the DH. He also got picked off first base with one out and the game tied 2-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning, which is a big no-no. Before the game, Soto said he didn’t talk to his teammates while on the injured list.

“No, not at all,” Soto said prior to Wednesday’s game. “They’ve been on the road most of the time. I haven’t talked to them.” 

The Athletic spoke to several veteran Mets players who said it is common for players to keep their distance while on the injured list. It is also common for injured players to rehab away from the team, especially during road trips. The Mets played eight of their 15 games without Soto on the road, including five on the West Coast.

The losing streak is over, but, at 8-16, the Mets have the worst record in the National League. No team has ever had a 12-game losing streak and rallied to reach the postseason, though the obvious caveat is that there were not three wild card spots for most of baseball history.

The Philadelphia Phillies now have baseball’s longest losing streak at eight games. They lost to the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday (CHC 7, PHI 2) and, like the NL East rival Mets, are 8-16 on the young season.

The Indiana Fever held their annual media day on Wednesday ahead of the 2026 WNBA season, which will get underway in just over two weeks. On May 9, the Fever will host the Dallas Wings in a highly anticipated season-opener that will feature the last four No. 1 picks: Aliyah Boston (2023), Caitlin Clark (2024), Paige Bueckers (2025), and Azzi Fudd (2026). 

In many ways, last season did not go to plan for the Fever. They lost six players to season-ending injuries, including Clark, and saw DeWanna Bonner depart under unceremonious circumstances in the middle of the campaign. And yet, despite all their health issues, they were five minutes away from a trip to the Finals. Had Kelsey Mitchell not left the winner-take-all Game 5 of the semifinals with rhabdomyolysis, they may have knocked out the Las Vegas Aces. 

The Fever re-signed Mitchell, Sophie Cunningham and Lexie Hull to keep their core intact, added Monique Billings, Tyasha Harris and Myisha Hines-Allen in free agency and drafted Raven Johnson with the No. 10 pick. Heading into 2026, the Fever are once again projected to be one of the primary title contenders. 

As we wait for them to take the court for the first time, here are some key takeaways from media day. 

Clark: ‘I’m the best transition player in the league’

Clark has never been short of confidence, and on Wednesday she called herself the “best transition player in the league.”

Here’s the full comment, which came amid a discussion about finding the balance between her on-ball and off-ball usage:

“I think I’m the best transition player in the league,” Clark said. “That’s where I thrive. Everybody knows that’s my game. So, getting the ball off a rebound in transition, that’s probably when I’m going to be a primary ball handler more than anything.”

Clark’s comment has created plenty of buzz, but it’s accurate. When she grabs a rebound and takes off the other way, the opposing defense is immediately in panic mode. No one in the league can match her threat as both a playmaker and shooter, or her combination of volume and efficiency. 

As a rookie, Clark averaged a league-leading 7.3 transition possessions plus assists per game and generated 1.290 points per possession plus assists. Last season, even though she was never 100% healthy, Clark again led the league in transition possessions plus assists per game (6.5), and generated 1.365 points per possession plus assists. 

A more experienced and fully healthy Clark should be even better on the break this season, which is bad news for the rest of the league. 

Clark, Johnson haven’t spoken about Final Four moment

During Iowa’s upset win over South Carolina in the 2023 Final Four, Clark went viral for dismissively waving off Raven Johnson instead of guarding her when the then-Gamecocks point guard had the ball at the top of the key. Johnson, who got revenge on Clark and the Hawkeyes during the 2024 NCAA national championship game, has admitted that she struggled to deal with that moment. 

“I was all over the internet,” Johnson said on the “I Am Next” podcast last month. “That’s one reason I hate the internet now, because of that situation. I got bashed. I got bullied. I got called all these things that I wasn’t — aka, like a monkey. … It was just things like that, and I just thought I wanted to quit basketball at that time. I wanted to go in this little bubble of isolation and just be by myself.”

One question for every WNBA team: Caitlin Clark’s health, Azzi Fudd’s fit, Angel Reese’s impact and more

Jack Maloney

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Clark and Johnson are now teammates after the Fever selected Johnson with the 10th overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, and Johnson said Wednesday that Clark has been a big resource to her early in training camp. 

“It’s fun to learn from the vets here, they definitely make sure I get the plays,” Johnson said. “Yesterday they were just throwing plays at me and I’m like, ‘Oh gosh, jeez, they run a lot of plays.’ But Caitlin Clark, she was helping me through all the hard times, she was helping me… I asked her probably like a thousand questions yesterday.”

However, the Final Four moment has not been broached, and Johnson isn’t interested in looking back. 

“No, we haven’t [discussed the incident],” Johnson said. “I think that’s in the past, honestly. We’re teammates now and we have one goal, that’s to win a championship.”

Fever plan to ease Clark’s burden

Clark was limited to 13 games last season due to an array of lower-body injuries, and the Fever are already putting measures in place to try to ensure she stays healthy this summer. 

Earlier this month, coach Stephanie White said the team would monitor her workload during camp. “She doesn’t have to be out there every rep, just being mindful of reps,” White said. Though Clark, who was named MVP of the FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifying Tournament in Puerto Rico last month, is now fully healthy, she understands the approach. “I think it’s just being smart. No need to overdo it at this point,” Clark said Sunday. 

Once the season begins, the Fever will also try to manage Clark’s on-court responsibilities by giving her more off-ball reps. 

“It is exhausting, bringing the ball up 94 feet versus pressure every single time,” Clark said Wednesday. “So, we certainly need to find somebody that can handle the ball a little bit and give me a little bit of a break.” 

Clark was third in the league in usage rate last season (31.5%) and ninth as a rookie (27.7%), and has been fouled 233 times in 55 total games with the Fever, including both the regular season and playoffs. As a rookie, Clark’s 175 fouls taken were fifth in the league, and White has previously noted that the physicality teams use against her was a “factor” in her health issues. 

The Fever want to make Clark’s life easier on a night-to-night basis, which is part of the reason they drafted Johnson. 

“[Johnson] can alleviate some pressure with Caitlin having to bring the ball [up],” White said Wednesday. “Look at the way the teams play her, 94 feet all the time. Again, how do we find ways to rest her on the floor? It’s having somebody else bring the ball up, initiate offense, and then get Caitlin into action, in the second or third action, or the second or third side.”

The challenge with that, of course, is ensuring that Clark actually gets touches when she doesn’t bring the ball up the floor. 

NEW YORK — No sooner did the struggling New York Mets get a star player back than another one went down with a similar injury.

Francisco Lindor was removed Wednesday night against the Minnesota Twins with left calf tightness, just hours after teammate Juan Soto came off the injured list.

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Lindor labored around the bases while scoring from first on Francisco Alvarez’s one-out double up the right-center alley in the fourth inning. The switch-hitting shortstop grimaced as he rounded third and paused for a bit from the seat of his pants after beating the relay throw with a feetfirst slide.

Lindor headed down the dugout tunnel with an athletic trainer and was replaced in the lineup by Brett Baty, who entered at third base in the top of the fifth. Bo Bichette slid over from third base to shortstop.

Batting cleanup, Lindor knocked in a run when he legged out an infield single with two outs in the first. Moments earlier, he made an outstanding leaping grab at shortstop for the second out of the game.

With the Mets on a 12-game losing streak, Soto was reinstated from the 10-day IL earlier in the day. The slugging outfielder had been sidelined since straining his right calf while running from first to third on April 3 in San Francisco.

The Steam Medieval Fest 2026 is here, bringing along neat discounts for many fantasy and historical medieval-themed games. From popular names like Witcher and Middle-earth to multiplayer and co-op offerings, there is something for all kinds of gamers here.

Take a look at the best games available during this latest Steam sale. Here are the details.

Also Read: Top 7 indie games with highest player count on Steam (March 2026)

Best discounts during Steam Medieval Fest 2026

1) Middle-earth: Shadow of War (90% off)

• Original price: $49.99
• Discounted price: $4.99

The successor to 2014’s beloved Shadow of Mordor amps up the action further with a bigger scope and the iconic Nemesis system returning alongside protagonist Talion. Defeat powerful foes across a dynamically changing battlefield in exciting hand-to-hand combat and rise above your opponents’ ashes thanks to a steep discount during Steam Medieval Fest 2026.

2) The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition (80% off)

• Original price: $39.99
• Discounted price: $7.99

As the feared mutant and monster-slayer Geralt, set out on a grand adventure to save your adoptive daughter Ciri from the clutches of the Wild Hunt. Encounter a memorable character, take on mythical beasts, and face moral dilemmas across the Continent in this beloved open-world RPG from CD Projekt RED. With all DLC included, the Complete Edition is the best way to enjoy The Witcher 3.

3) Kingdom Come: Deliverance (80% off)

• Original price: $29.99
• Discounted price: $5.99

Developer Warhorse Studios debuted with Kingdom Come: Deliverance, their ambitious sandbox RPG, back in 2018. One of the few modern games built atop CryEngine, it stars Henry, who finds his village massacred by the invading forces of Sigismund. Aiming for revenge, explore a realistic, immersive world in first-person, make difficult decisions, and play how you want.

4) Chivalry 2 (80% off)

• Original price: $39.99
• Discounted price: $7.99

The immensely popular first-person multiplayer brawler from Tom Banner Studios pits dozens of players against one another in a battle to the death. Mimicking medieval-era warfare on a massive scale, you can don the armor and weapons you want and try to stay alive against a wave of other foes who will aim to stomp you down no matter what in Chivalry 2.

5) Crusader Kings 3 (70% off)

• Original price: $49.99
• Discounted price: $17.99

At 70% off during Steam Medieval Fest, this is the cheapest developer Paradox’s latest and biggest grand-strategy sim has been yet. Arguably, the most realistic game on this list, Crusader Kings 3, is also the most overwhelming in terms of gameplay, as you command your house, establish relations with surrounding kingdoms, engage in battles, manage the population, and so much more.

6) Lords of the Fallen (2023) (67% off)

• Original price: $29.99
• Discounted price: $9.89

CI Games’ latest Souls-like ARPG is also on discount, allowing you to check out this dark fantasy adventure. As the Dark Crusader, navigate both the world of the living and the realm of the dead to track down and defeat the Demon God Adyr. The brutal third-person combat and tough bosses will test your skills and builds, with co-op multiplayer included as well.

7) Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition (65% off)

• Original price: $34.99
• Discounted price: $12.24

It wouldn’t be a medieval games list without one of the most popular genre entries, namely Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition. The beloved PC RTS classic returns with a visual and controls overhaul, allowing you to build your civilization and command your armies as you see fit. With three DLC expansions, multiplayer, and mod support, the possibilities are endless.

The Steam Medieval Fest 2026 ends on April 27 at 10 AM PT.