Sports
Community Shield: Man-U sad as Man City wins after penalty shootout
Erik ten Hag said Manchester United must feel the pain of a Community Shield defeat on penalties to Manchester City to fuel them for the beginning of the Premier League season.
United looked set to repeat their FA Cup final win over the English champions in May, which helped save Ten Hag’s job as manager when Alejandro Garnacho opened the scoring at Wembley on 82 minutes.
However, Bernardo Silva’s header forced the game to penalties, where City edged a marathon shoot-out 7-6.
“When the performance is right and when you lose everyone feels this. It hurts in your stomach,” said Ten Hag.
“You have to feel pain and we have to hurt. We have to take this belief into the league.
City have won the Premier League for a record four consecutive seasons but it is the first time in that run that they have won the season opener after defeats to Leicester, Liverpool and Arsenal in the past three years.
“To start the season with a title is good. We are really pleased,” said City boss Pep Guardiola.
“It is nice to play this game because it means you won something in the previous season.
“Now we see how the players come back. The target now is not to win the Premier League, it is ‘OK next game try and win it’. This is what we have to do.”
City were severely hampered by the absence of a series of key players due to their late return to pre-season after competing at Euro 2024 and the Copa America.
The England trio of Kyle Walker, John Stones and Phil Foden, as well as Spain midfielder Rodri are yet to return to training following their efforts in reaching the final of Euro 2024.
By contrast, Ten Hag showed his desperation to win more silverware by thrusting teenager Kobbie Mainoo straight back into the heart of the action after his starring role for England in Germany.
Despite also leaving Kevin De Bruyne and Silva on the bench, City controlled the game early on with the electric Jeremy Doku causing havoc down the left.
James McAtee was one of the City youngsters given his chance to shine and was inches away from making his mark with a curling effort that came back off the post midway through the first half.
United rue missed chances
United were being starved of possession but still managed to create the better of the chances.
Amad Diallo should have gone for goal himself rather than trying to square to Bruno Fernandes with the goal gaping as half-time approached.
Fernandes started in an unfamiliar centre-forward role due to the absence of Rasmus Hojlund through injury and a lack of match fitness for Joshua Zirkzee.
The United captain thought he had opened the scoring with a stunning strike on the hour mark that was ruled out for offside.
Garnacho was introduced for the final half-hour and brought more pace and invention to the United attack.
The Argentine teed up Marcus Rashford, who could only hit the post with just Ederson to beat.
Garnacho thought he had won the game as he jinked inside the City defence and fired low into the corner.
However, City rallied and levelled in the final minute of the 90 when Oscar Bobb’s cross was headed in by Silva.
The Portuguese midfielder was then the first to miss in the shoot-out as his effort was saved by Andre Onana.
Sancho, though, experienced more penalty woe at Wembley after missing in the final of Euro 2020 for England.
His spot-kick was brilliantly saved by Ederson, who then fired in himself to keep City alive.
Evans gave City the chance to win it when he blazed over.
And it was a tale of redemption for Manuel Akanji, whose saved penalty cost Switzerland in their Euros quarter-final against England, as the centre-back stroked home the winner.
AFP
Barcelona have been crowned champions of LaLiga after a Lamine Yamal-inspired 2-0 win at Espanyol
Second-half goals from Yamal and Fermin Lopez either side of Leandro Cabrera’s sending off for Espanyol secure a league and cup double for head coach Hansi Flick in his first season in charge.
Seventeen-year-old Yamal, a league winner for the second time, found the top corner with a pinpoint, curling strike from the edge of the box to open the scoring after 53 minutes.
Yamal, who Cabrera struck to earn a red card with 10 minutes left, then set up fellow La Masia graduate Lopez in stoppage time to extend their lead against their rivals Espanyol.
Barcelona have dethroned rivals Real Madrid, who they beat in the Copa del Rey final last month.
The treble was still a possibility until earlier this month, when Barcelona were knocked out of the Champions League by Inter Milan in one of the great semi-final ties, losing 7-6 on aggregate.
Barcelona won their 28th Spanish title with two games to spare, but are still some way off matching Real Madrid’s tally of 36.
Nigeria’s hopes of winning the 2025 CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations have come to an end following a narrow 1-0 defeat to South Africa’s Amajita in Thursday’s semifinal clash, held on May 15, 2025.
Led by coach Aliyu Zubairu, the Flying Eagles entered the contest on the back of a dramatic penalty shootout victory over Senegal in the quarterfinals—a win that also secured their qualification for the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup. However, their AFCON journey fell short of the final hurdle.
The semifinal was a tense, tactical encounter, with both sides relying heavily on counter-attacking football. Despite dominating possession, the Flying Eagles struggled to convert their control into clear-cut chances, and the first half ended goalless.
The second half brought a major setback for Nigeria when 15-year-old goalkeeper Ebenezer Ifeanyi-Harcourt was forced off due to injury. He was replaced in the 51st minute by Ajia Soliu Yakub.
Yakub, however, was unable to prevent South Africa from breaking the deadlock. In the 66th minute, Tylon Christopher Smith rose to meet a cross and headed home what would prove to be the match-winner.
Despite late substitutions and a push for an equalizer, Nigeria couldn’t find a way back into the game, allowing South Africa to advance to the final while the Flying Eagles were left to reflect on what might have been.
Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen delivered a sensational performance, scoring twice to lead Galatasaray to a commanding 3-0 victory over Trabzonspor in the Turkish Cup final at Gaziantep Stadium.
The win secured Galatasaray’s 19th Turkish Cup title and their first since 2019.
Osimhen has been instrumental throughout Galatasaray’s cup run, bagging a brace in their 2-1 quarter-final win over Fenerbahçe and adding a goal and assist in the 5-1 semi-final rout of Konyaspor.
Facing a determined Trabzonspor side, last year’s runners-up, Galatasaray struck early through Baris Alper Yilmaz, who finished off a precise cutback from Yunus Akgün in the 5th minute.
Osimhen took center stage in the second half. He powered through a defender to double the lead, then capped a swift counter-attack with his second goal, his 35th of the season, putting the result beyond doubt.
The match also saw Osimhen face off against compatriot Anthony Nwakaeme, who was hoping to inspire Trabzonspor to glory on his return.
This triumph marks Osimhen’s first trophy with Galatasaray and the fourth of his career, adding to his U-17 World Cup, U-23 AFCON (both in 2015), and Serie A (2023) titles.
His 35-goal haul also sets a new record, surpassing Mario Jardel’s 24-year milestone to become the highest-scoring foreign player in a single season for Galatasaray.
-
News24 hours agoBill To Make Voting Compulsory For Nigerians Passes Second Reading
-
News6 hours agoINSECURITY! Ten killed in Plateau over attack linked to cattle rustling, farm destruction
-
Health14 hours agoLassa fever claims 138 lives in 2025, cases spread to 18 states – NCDC
-
Economy9 hours agoSEE Current Black Market Dollar (USD) To Naira (NGN) Exchange Rate
-
News14 hours agoNkechi Blessing Confirms Break Up With Lover
-
News24 hours ago32.9kg cocaine trafficking: 10 Thai sailors, ship convicted, fined $4.3m(Photos)
-
News13 hours agoCourt nullifies Edo LG chair, deputy’s impeachment
-
Entertainment9 hours agoChris Brown Reportedly Nabbed in Manchester