Sports
Arsenal wallop Aston Villa 4-1
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Arsenal produced a rampant second-half performance to thrash Aston Villa 4-1 and go five points clear of second-placed Manchester City at the top of the Premier League.
After an even first half, Arsenal stunned Villa with two goals in four minutes as Emiliano Martinez’s missed catch allowed Gabriel to bundle home Bukayo Saka’s corner before Martin Zubimendi finished clinically from Martin Odegaard’s precise through-ball.
Leandro Trossard hit the third with a superb, first-time finish from the edge of the box as the Gunners rammed home their advantage, with Gabriel Jesus adding the fourth when he stroked home his first goal in a year less than a minute after coming off the bench.
Aston Villa struck late through Ollie Watkins, after David Raya had sensationally thwarted John McGinn, but that goal was little consolation on a night when their 11-game winning run came to an abrupt end, leaving them six points behind Arsenal in third.
Unai Emery had been a thorn in the side of his former club in recent meetings, inspiring Villa’s 2-1 win at Villa Park only weeks ago, and his side should have gone in front in the first half when Watkins scuffed wide after being put through by Ezri Konsa.
Aston Villa did have cause for grievance after the second Arsenal goal, however, when Mikel Merino was fortunate not to be shown a second yellow card for a foul on Morgan Rogers.
The only negative for Arsenal was an injury which ruled Declan Rice out of the game but, having struggled to capitalise on their dominance in recent games, their second-half performance was a welcome change of fortunes which further enhances their title credentials, while simultaneously denting Villa’s.
Spain are the latest team to confirm their place in the last 16 of the 2026 World Cup.
The European champions thrashed Austria 3-0 in their Round of 32 clash on Thursday evening.
It was a display of complete dominance by Luis de la Fuente’s men, as they lived up to their pre-tournament billing as favourites.
Mikel Oyarzabal opened the scoring for Spain in the first half, before Pedro Porro doubled their advantage in the 66th minute.
Oyarzabal continued his fine scoring form with a second late on.
They will now face the winner of Portugal.
Other teams confirmed in the last 16 are: USA, England, Belgium, France, Brazil, Norway, Morocco, Paraguay, Canada and Mexico.
Spain coasted past Austria and into the World Cup last-16 on Thursday, thoroughly outclassing their opponents in a 3-0 knockout win with a brace from Mikel Oyarzabal and a Pedro Porro header.
The European champions controlled possession and sliced through the Austrian defense in a typically dominant performance in Los Angeles, as Hollywood stars Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem and singer Rosalia cheered on.
The win — which could have been by a greater margin, with a disallowed goal and a free kick off the woodwork — sets up a tantalizing round-of-16 clash with either Portugal or Croatia.
The SoFi Stadium was a sea of red and excitement was sky-high over the first visit by a bona fide World Cup favorite to America’s second city.
Spain ratcheted up the pressure gradually through the first half, creating a string of chances after the first hydration break.
Marc Cucurella thought he had scored from a Lamine Yamal corner, but Pau Cubarsi was judged to have encroached on Austria’s goalkeeper.
Alexander Schlager then made a superb diving save, pushing Oyarzabal’s low shot around the post.
Austria’s defense finally buckled in the 36th minute. Pedri pinged a ball wide left to Cucurella, whose cross to Oyarzabal was calmly side-footed past the ‘keeper.
Spain’s dominance grew further, with Yamal tormenting the Austrians, mainly from the right flank.
An Alex Baena free kick hit the crossbar, and Yamal’s close-range follow-up shot was well saved.
Austria spurned a rare chance at the other end. Romano Schmid played in a late-arriving and unmarked Stefan Posch, but a terrible first touch meant he lost the ball before even attempting a shot.
‘Ole’
After the break Spain continued knocking on the door without quite putting the game to rest.
Austria sent on two giant strikers — Sasa Kalajdzic and Marko Arnautovic — and immediately went long, with Kalajdzic putting a header over the bar.
But in the 66th minute, Spain struck again. Baena lifted a cross onto the head of Pedro Porro, who nodded in his first goal for Spain.
Some dogged defending kept the scoreline respectable, including a goalline clearance by David Alaba from Yamal, who was substituted off to rest moments later.
Spain sprayed passes around the pitch as the final minutes ticked down, eliciting “Oles” from the crowd, as attention turned to a sterner test on Monday in Dallas.
In the 89th minute, a pinpoint Cucurella cross found a completely unmarked Oyarzabal in the penalty area, who slotted the ball home.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
Ex-Arsenal striker, Ian Wright, has named the only team that can stop France from winning the 2026 World Cup.
Les Bleus qualified for the last 16, thanks to a 3-0 hammering of Sweden, with captain Kylian Mbappe scoring twice.
Mbappe is leading the race for the Golden Boot with six goals and two assists.
France will take on Paraguay in the next round, as they seek to play in their third consecutive World Cup final.
Didier Deschamps lost the 2022 tournament to Argentina on penalties and Wright has claimed only Lionel Messi and co can stop them again.
“It’s going to take something [to beat France],” Wright said.
“It’s going to take an Argentina because of the warrior nature of Argentina.”
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