Sports
Zaniolo Fires Serie A Leaders Atalanta To Club-Record Win

Nicolo Zaniolo made sure Atalanta will stay top of Serie A this weekend with the only goal in Saturday’s 1-0 win at Cagliari which secured a club-record 10th straight league win.
Substitute Zaniolo decided a hard-fought encounter in Sardinia by stroking home Raoul Bellanova’s cut-back in the 66th minute. The victory moved Atalanta five points clear in Serie A.
Closest challengers Napoli can cut the gap back to two points at Udinese later on Saturday, while Juventus are 10 points off the pace ahead of their home fixture with bottom club Venezia.
“We’re up there, but winning 10 matches in a row doesn’t really mean anything as there are teams this season who have won eight on the bounce,” said coach Gian Piero Gasperini to DAZN.
Gasperini was not happy with his players’ performances as, after impressing in Tuesday’s 3-2 defeat to Real Madrid, they struggled against Cagliari who are 15th and only two points above the relegation zone.
Atalanta, who also struck the post through Ademola Lookman almost straight after Zaniolo’s winner, only came away with all three points thanks to a brilliant performance between the sticks from Marco Carnesecchi.
Goalkeeper Carnesecchi pulled off three sensational stops in the six minutes before the break and saved the win in stoppage time by keeping out Leonardo Pavoletti’s header.
“A good chunk of this team, not everyone, needs to grow up a bit and get the same mentality as the core group of the squad,” said Gasperini. whose decision to make three substitutions at half-time was a sign of his dissatisfaction.
“Only then will we make those big steps forward.”
Zaniolo’s strike was his third of the season and a further sign of new life from the Italy international after a difficult last few years.
The 25-year-old was once the rising star of Italian football after coming to prominence at Roma, where two serious knee injuries in 2020 stymied his development as a creative playmaker.
He won the inaugural Europa Conference League with Roma in 2022 under Jose Mourinho, but fell out with the Portuguese coach and last year was packed off to Galatasaray, from where he was loaned to Atalanta in July.
AFP
Sports
Just in: Aston Villa trounce Newcastle 4-1

Aston Villa on Saturday dealt terrible blow on Newcastle thrashing the strong side 4-1.
Details shortly…
Sports
Watch highlights of Manchester United’s 5-4 ‘comeback’ win over Lyon in Europa League

Manchester United staged a remarkable comeback against French side Lyon, securing a thrilling 5-4 victory in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday, April 17, 2025.
Midfielder Manuel Ugarte opened the scoring for United in the 10th minute, calmly slotting home a pull-back from a teammate. Before the end of the first half, defender Diogo Dalot netted a second goal to extend their lead.
However, Lyon mounted a strong second-half response. Corentin Tolisso capitalised on a spilled save from Andre Onana to pull one back, and Nicolás Tagliafico leveled the score with a composed finish past the goalkeeper.
In extra time, Ryan Cherki scored in the 104th minute to give Lyon the lead, followed by Alexandre Lacazette, who made it 4-2 with a well-placed effort.
United responded with renewed intensity. Bruno Fernandes converted a penalty to narrow the gap, Kobbie Mainoo equalized in the 120th minute, and a dramatic header from Harry Maguire sealed a stunning 5-4 victory at Old Trafford.
The Premier League side advanced to the semi-finals of the Europa League with a 7-6 aggregate scoreline.
Manchester United will face Athletic Bilbao in the semi-finals, scheduled for May 1 and May 8, 2025.
The other semi-final tie will feature Bodo/Glimt against Tottenham Hotspur.
Watch highlights of the match below:
Sports
Champions League: Arsenal cut Real Madrid to size with 5-1 aggregate win

Arsenal staved off Champions League holders Real Madrid’s superstars and rich history of unlikely comebacks to snatch a 2-1 victory on Wednesday and reach the semi-finals with a superb 5-1 aggregate triumph.
The Gunners’ 3-0 quarter-final first leg triumph last week gave them a vital cushion in the Spanish capital as they made the final four for the first time since 2009, where they will face Paris Saint-Germain.
Bukayo Saka, who missed a first-half penalty, sent Arsenal ahead and although Vinicius Junior levelled the 15-time winners were never close to making up the deficit.
Gabriel Martinelli rubbed salt in their wounds with a stoppage-time winner for Arsenal, who have never lifted the Champions League trophy.
“We knew we were going to suffer but we knew we were going to win,” Declan Rice, who netted two stunning free-kicks in the first leg, told TNT Sports.
“It’s such a special night for this club, it’s a historic night for this club… we want to win this competition.”
Los Blancos, far more brittle than when they won a Champions League and La Liga double last season, were convinced they could turn the game around but created too little against Arsenal’s tight defence.
The Premier League side held their nerve to reach the semi-finals for only the third time in their history.
“It’s a difficult moment… it was a difficult game, we didn’t have all the chances we would have liked,” Madrid’s Lucas Vazquez told Movistar.
“We needed a bit more with the ball, maybe a bit more patience to be able to break through a very well organised defence — they did their job.”
Kylian Mbappe chested home in the opening stages but was clearly offside, with the forward gesturing to the crowd to turn up the volume to create the fabled aura which helps Madrid pull off near-impossible feats at the Santiago Bernabeu.
David Alaba was booked for hacking down Saka as Madrid tried to add the grit they badly lacked in their first leg demolition in London, and the Arsenal winger also had a drive fielded well by Thibaut Courtois.
Arsenal were awarded a penalty seemingly out of the blue when the VAR booth instructed French referee Francois Letexier to review an incident from an earlier corner.
Raul Asencio pulled back Arsenal forward Mikel Merino in the area and Letexier pointed to the spot, to the bemusement of the home crowd.
– Saka penalty saved –
Saka stepped up to take it but his poorly-executed Panenka, skewing off to the left, was saved by Courtois.
It spurred Real Madrid on and soon they had a penalty of their own, when Mbappe hit the turf after Rice tussled with him.
However after a lengthy VAR review Letexier was called to take a second look and he then decided Arsenal’s two-goal first leg hero Rice had not fouled the French superstar.
The breaks in play, along with Arsenal’s dallying at every opportunity, disrupted Madrid’s momentum and they struggled to threaten Gunners stopper David Raya.
For all of Madrid’s bluster the goalkeeper did not need to make a save in the first half.
Martin Odegaard, facing his former employers whom he joined as a ‘wonderkid’ a decade ago, helped forge Arsenal’s opening goal after 65 minutes.
The Norwegian linked with Merino, who slipped Saka in behind and the Englishman made amends for his penalty blunder with an ice-cool dinked finish.
Four goals ahead in the tie Arsenal thought their work was done, with defender William Saliba not concentrating on the edge of his box in possession.
Vinicius stole the ball away from him and beat the out-of-position Raya to level, two minutes after Saka’s opener.
Madrid’s increasingly slim hopes were dashed when Mbappe limped off with an ankle problem with 15 minutes remaining, and Martinelli made sure with a cool finish after Merino set him up.
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