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Hummels Sends Dortmund Into Champions League Final
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Matt Hummels was the hero on the night as his 50th-minute header sent Borussia Dortmund into the Champions League final with a 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday, giving the Germans a 2-0 win on aggregate.
Dortmund will face either fellow German side Bayern Munich or 14-time champions Real Madrid in the final at Wembley on June 1.
Hummels struck five minutes into the second half at the Parc des Princes and PSG were unable to muster a response, the home side all out of luck as they hit the woodwork four times in total.
Dortmund, who sit fifth in the German Bundesliga, were never expected to go so far and will be underdogs in the June 1 showpiece regardless of whether they face their old rivals Bayern Munich or Real Madrid, who meet on Wednesday.
It will be their first final since 2013 when, remarkably, the match was also played at Wembley and Jurgen Klopp’s Dortmund team lost to Bayern.
Hummels played in that final and here, 11 years later, he was the hero as Dortmund built on the advantage given to them by Niclas Fuellkrug’s goal in the first leg.
The story of this semi-final, however, is just as much about PSG’s failure in another crunch knockout tie in the competition.
They have still never won the trophy despite all the money invested by their Qatari owners since the 2011 takeover, and there will be no dream send-off for Mbappe.
He will leave when his contract expires after this season and had been hoping to play his last game for the club in the June 1 final.
Instead PSG will be left to reflect on how they failed to get their hands on the biggest trophy of all during Mbappe’s seven years at his hometown team.
PSG’s last two semi-final appearances both came during the pandemic, meaning this was the first time they had hosted a match at this stage of a European competition with fans in 29 years, since losing to AC Milan in 1995.
They were favourites to reach their first Champions League final since 2020, despite their defeat in Dortmund six days earlier.
– Woodwork to rescue –
Luis Enrique’s team had won 2-0 at home against the same opponents in the group stage and were safe in the knowledge that a repeat of that performance would be enough.
The PSG coach made one major selection decision, dropping Bradley Barcola and bringing in Portuguese striker Goncalo Ramos. That meant moving Mbappe out of a central position and onto the left wing.
Dortmund would have been bracing themselves for an onslaught from kick-off, but that did not transpire.
Mbappe took only seven minutes to produce his first attempt, yet his volley was easily saved by Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.
The hosts had most of the possession but struggled to get Mbappe into the game, with the France captain often looking isolated on the wing.
In fact it was Dortmund who had the best chance of the first half, when Karim Adeyemi led a counterattack before seeing his shot saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma.
It felt as though the hosts needed to change something or risk going out with a whimper.
They should have been ahead two minutes after the restart, when Ramos touched on a ball driven into the box by Mbappe, but Warren Zaire-Emery somehow contrived to hit the post from close range.
That was to prove crucial as Dortmund struck moments later.
PSG cheaply conceded a corner, and Julian Brandt’s resulting delivery from the Dortmund right was headed in by Hummels.
Ramos swept a shot over from a Vitinha pass on the hour mark before Nuno Mendes became the second PSG player to strike the right-hand post, this time with a powerful shot from outside the box.
It was starting to look as if it would really not be PSG’s night, and Luis Enrique realised he had to act as he sent on Barcola and Marco Asensio for Ramos and Fabian Ruiz, moving Mbappe through the middle.
Dortmund responded by withdrawing Jadon Sancho and sending on an extra defender in the hulking Niklas Suele.
They withstood everything PSG threw at them but were also helped by the frame of the goal, with Kobel turning Mbappe’s shot onto the bar on 86 minutes and Vitinha then rattling the bar too.
Celtic won the Scottish Cup with a 3-1 victory over Dunfermline on Saturday, sealing the double seven days after their dramatic title triumph.
Martin O’Neill’s side swept into a two-goal lead before half-time thanks to goals from Daizen Maeda and Arne Engels at Hampden Park.
Kelechi Iheanacho struck after the interval to put the result beyond doubt, making Josh Cooper’s late reply little consolation for out-classed Dunfermline.
It was a ninth consecutive win in all competitions for Celtic, who have timed their best run of form perfectly after being galvanised by interim boss O’Neill.
Celtic’s 43rd Scottish Cup success capped an incredible end to the season for O’Neill.
The 74-year-old now has nine major honours as a Celtic manager stretching over 26 years.
It was Celtic’s 14th top-flight and Scottish Cup double.
O’Neill is in his second spell as caretaker boss of the Glasgow club this season and is yet to agree to return next term.
So it was fitting that O’Neill’s potential farewell came in against Dunfermline boss Neil Lennon, who was a key member of O’Neill’s Celtic and Leicester teams earlier in his managerial career.
Asked if he could be persuaded to stay, O’Neill said: “Next week I might get to speak to the owner. Dermot Desmond brought me back in the first place, I owe him a great deal otherwise I wouldn’t be here.
“If the season was to start tomorrow, I couldn’t do it. But the season doesn’t start tomorrow. The Scottish season does start quickly though, and I’m getting old.
“What I have is a passion for the game. I don’t think that will ever leave me, even in my final days. That’s always been me. I have a desire to win.”
Celtic pipped Hearts to the Scottish Premiership title last weekend, coming from behind to win 3-1 against the Edinburgh club on the final day of the season.
The Hoops needed late goals from Maeda and Callum Osmand to finish two points above Derek McInnes’ side, who had led the table for months.
Hearts were furious that Celtic had stayed in the title race with a helping hand from a debatable penalty that clinched a win at Motherwell in their penultimate game.
There was, however, no need for any contentious drama in the final.
Celtic took the lead in the 19th minute as Alistair Johnston’s ball reached Maeda and he lobbed it over the stranded Aston Oxborough.
They doubled their advantage in the 36th minute when Engels hit a powerful strike from 25 yards that left Oxborough flat-footed.
Iheanacho latched on to Benjamin Nygren’s through ball and showed tremendous footwork to evade three defenders before slotting home in the 72nd minute.
Cooper scored on the rebound after Charlie Gilmour’s shot had been blocked in the 79th minute, but Celtic were never in danger of surrendering their lead.
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has pardoned the Senegalese football supporters jailed after violence at the 2025 AFCON final in Rabat for “humanitarian reasons”, a royal court statement said on Saturday.
It said that in view “of the age-old fraternal ties” between the two countries “and on the occasion of the advent of Eid al-Adha”, the king has “granted, on humanitarian grounds, his royal pardon to the Senegalese supporters”.
The Muslim holiday will be celebrated on Wednesday in Morocco.
Senegal won the chaotic January 18 AFCON final 1-0, but the match was later awarded on appeal to hosts Morocco.
After a penalty awarded to Morocco in stoppage time of the second half, just after a Senegal goal was disallowed, Senegalese fans tried to storm the pitch and hurled projectiles.
In February, Moroccan courts sentenced the 18 Senegalese supporters held in Morocco since the final to prison terms ranging from three months to a year.
Three were released from jail in mid-April after completing their three-month sentence.
Following that release, another 15 Senegalese fans remained incarcerated after receiving sentences ranging from six months to one year.
The royal pardon is expected to apply to those 15.
Lawyer Patrick Kabou, who represented a large number of the Senegalese, told AFP they were expected to be released late Saturday.
Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye welcomed the Moroccan king’s decision in a post on X.
“Our compatriots detained in Morocco following the incidents that occurred on the sidelines of the Africa Cup of Nations are free. They will soon be reunited with their loved ones,” he wrote.
Faye thanked King Mohammed VI for a decision “imbued with clemency and humanity”.
According to the Moroccan public prosecutor’s office, the charges against the 18 football supporters were based mainly on footage from cameras at Rabat’s Moulay Abdellah Stadium, and on medical certificates for injured law enforcement officers and stewards.
Material damage from the violence was estimated at more than 370,000 euros (around $430,000).
At the end of January, the Confederation of African Football imposed disciplinary sanctions on both national federations for unsporting conduct and violations of the principles of fair play.
After the Confederation decided on March 17 to award the 2025 AFCON to Morocco by administrative ruling, Senegal appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The two countries have a history of cooperation in sectors including tourism and energy, and share strong religious ties.
Senegalese make up the largest foreign community living in Morocco.
AFP
Bruno Fernandes has been announcd the Premier League Player of the Season following an outstanding campaign with Manchester United.Soccer
The Portuguese midfielder, who captains the club, added the latest honour to an already impressive season after previously winning the Football Writers’ Association Men’s Player of the Year award earlier this month.
Fernandes played a crucial role in United’s strong league campaign, helping the Red Devils finish third and secure qualification for next season’s UEFA Champions League.
The 31-year-old matched the Premier League record for assists in a single season after providing his 20th assist during United’s clash against Nottingham Forest last weekend.
In addition to his creativity, Fernandes also contributed eight league goals in 37 appearances for Manchester United this season.
No player in the Premier League created more chances than Fernandes, who recorded an impressive 132 chances — 43 more than the next closest player, Dominik Szoboszlai of Liverpool FC.
Fernandes becomes the first Manchester United player to win the prestigious award since former defender Nemanja Vidić claimed it in 2011.
The award was decided through a combination of public voting and selections made by a panel of football experts.
Other players shortlisted for the honour included David Raya, Gabriel Magalhães, Declan Rice, Erling Haaland, Antoine Semenyo, Igor Thiago and Morgan Gibbs-White.
Manchester United will round off their Premier League season with an away fixture against Brighton & Hove Albion FC on Sunday.
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Iheanacho’s strike helps Celtic win Scottish Cup, clinch double triumph
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