Sports
Galatasaray Shock Liverpool In Champions League Last 16 Clash
Liverpool suffered a 1-0 defeat against Galatasaray in the Champions League last 16 first leg on Tuesday as Mario Lemina’s goal left the Reds in danger of a shock exit.
Arne Slot’s side paid the price for a disjointed display in Istanbul, with Lemina netting in the first half at the raucous RAMS Park.
The six-time European champions hope to salvage a turbulent campaign by winning the Champions League for the first time since 2019.
But Liverpool, languishing in sixth place in the Premier League less than a year after winning the title, will need a second-leg escape act at Anfield on March 18 to avoid arguably the lowest moment in their miserable season.
Slot won’t look back fondly on his 100th game in charge of Liverpool, who defended poorly and lacked cohesion in attack.
Mohamed Salah made his 81st Champions League appearance for Liverpool, surpassing Jamie Carragher for the most games in the competition by a Reds player.
We’re taking the W to Anfield.#GSLIV #UCL pic.twitter.com/H6bVAei6sH
But, not for the first time this season, it was a night to forget for the Egypt forward, who was hauled off in the 60th minute after an anonymous performance.
The Reds were beaten 1-0 by Galatasaray in the group stage in September, and once again they wilted in the hostile atmosphere generated by Galatasaray’s frenzied fans.
The Turkish club’s intimidating fans famously greeted Manchester United with a ‘welcome to hell’ banner at the Istanbul airport before a 1993 European Cup clash.
They set the tone for another febrile environment by reprising that message on a banner before kick-off.
In their first Champions League last-16 tie since 2014, Galatasaray extended their unbeaten run in home knockout matches in the competition to 11 matches, dating back to 1973.
Florian Wirtz made his first Liverpool start since February 14 after a back injury.
But Wirtz wasted a chance to mark his return with a goal inside three minutes when he intercepted a wayward pass by Galatasaray keeper Ugurcan Cakir, only to drag his shot narrowly wide from the edge of the area.
Instead, it was Galatasaray who took the lead in the seventh minute as Liverpool’s set-piece woes proved costly once again.
Vulnerable to conceding from corners all season, Liverpool were ruthlessly exposed as Victor Osimhen climbed above Joe Gomez to flick on, and former Wolves midfielder Lemina punished sloppy marking from Hugo Ekitike and Milos Kerkez with a diving header from close range.
Shell-shocked Liverpool were ragged at the back, and Osimhen was left unmarked to head wide from 10 yards.
Slot’s men briefly sparked into life when a flowing move featuring deft passes from Ekitike and Alexis Mac Allister carved open the Galatasaray defence, but Wirtz fired straight at Cakir.
Deputising for Alisson Becker, who suffered an injury in training this week, Liverpool keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili had to scramble across to save Noa Lang’s curler.
Mamardashvili made another fine save to repel Davinson Sanchez’s header after the defender towered over Virgil van Dijk.
Desperately lacking rhythm and momentum, Liverpool were lucky not to be breached again when Ibrahima Konate’s sloppy mistake handed Osimhen a chance that the Nigerian blazed over.
Dominik Szoboszlai tried to lift Liverpool out of their lethargy with a blast that tested Cakir from a distance immediately after half-time.
Mac Allister was guilty of a poor miss moments later, shooting wide from just inside the area.
Liverpool escaped after more shambolic defending allowed Osimhen to tap in, with Baris Alper Yilmaz ruled offside in the build-up, even though he wasn’t interfering with play.
Ekitike squandered a golden opportunity when Cakir raced off his line to block the striker’s shot.
Even when Liverpool finally got the ball in the Galatasaray net, they were denied as VAR ruled Konaté used his arm to guide Szoboszlai’s 70th-minute corner past Cakir.
Encapsulating Liverpool’s night to forget, Cody Gakpo fired inches wide in the final moments.
AFP
Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly will leave his role after agreeing to sell his stake in the Premier League football club to co-owners Clearlake Capital.
The announcement came early on Thursday morning, with the US equity firm acquiring “full control of the club”.
Boehly bought a stake in the London club in 2022 and said it had been an “honour” to serve as chairman.
He gave his thanks to “the coaches and players, the talented leadership and staff at Chelsea, and the legions of dedicated fans”.
His statement continued: “I have valued my partnership with Clearlake and the wider ownership group, and the collective decisions and investment we have made to support the immediate and long-term success of the club.
“I am confident that Chelsea is well positioned for continued success under Clearlake’s leadership.”
Behdad Eghbali and José E. Feliciano, co-founders of Clearlake Capital, said: “Todd has been an important partner throughout our ownership of Chelsea, and we thank him for his time and contribution as Chairman.
“He will always be a part of the Chelsea story and family. Clearlake has served as Chelsea’s majority owner since 2022, and as we move to full control our focus is to continue investing in the Club’s infrastructure, sporting performance, player development and delivering long-term success for Chelsea and the Club’s supporters.”
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Todd Boehly bought the stake in 2022 (Image: Getty)
Chelsea said that Hansjörg Wyss “will remain an important stakeholder and partner in the ownership group” after Mark Walter, another of the club’s co-owners, also sold his stake to Clearlake.
Mr Boehly, Mr Walter and Hansjörg Wyss each had a 12.8% stake following their joint takeover of Chelsea four years ago.
The new change will not change day-to-day operations or strategy at the club.
Lionel Messi is set to make his final appearance for Argentina after being named in the squad for an international friendly against Benin on October 6.
The 39-year-old forward, who announced his retirement from international football in August, will return to the national team for what is expected to be an emotional farewell before Argentine supporters at River Plate’s Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires.
The Argentine Football Association (AFA) plans to honour its captain during the fixture, with AFA president Claudio Tapia confirming that Messi was invited to receive the send-off the federation believes he deserves.
“We made the decision to invite the best player in the world, the symbol of our national team, our captain, Lionel Andres Messi, so that he can have the farewell he truly deserves on October 6 here in Argentina,” Tapia said.
Members of Argentina’s 2022 World Cup-winning squad have also been invited to attend the ceremony.
Messi is expected to win his 208th and final international cap against Benin. He remains Argentina’s record appearance holder and all-time leading scorer, with 125 goals for the national team.
His two-decade international career has been decorated with major honours, including the 2022 FIFA World Cup and Copa America titles in 2021 and 2024.
Before the farewell fixture, Argentina will face Bolivia in Cordoba on September 30 and Burkina Faso in Buenos Aires on October 3.
The Bolivia clash will be Argentina’s first match since their defeat to Spain in the 2026 World Cup final.
The fixtures will also take place against the backdrop of FIFA disciplinary sanctions imposed on Argentina following incidents involving members of the team.
Argentina have been ordered to play their next home match at 50 per cent stadium capacity after breaching FIFA disciplinary regulations relating to demonstrations considered non-sporting at a sporting event.
The punishment followed Argentina’s 2-1 semi-final victory over England in July, when several players displayed a banner bearing the words: “The Falklands are Argentine.”
The upcoming friendlies are also expected to count towards suspensions handed down following incidents after Argentina’s World Cup final defeat to Spain.
Midfielder Leandro Paredes has been suspended for 10 matches, while defender Nahuel Molina was handed a seven-game ban.
Despite the disciplinary backdrop, the October 6 fixture is expected to centre on Messi as Argentina prepares to bid farewell to the captain who led the country to its long-awaited World Cup triumph.
The Premier League’s refereeing body has admitted that an error was made in allowing Erling Haaland’s winning goal to stand during Manchester City’s 1-0 victory over Manchester United in Sunday’s Manchester derby.
The controversial goal, scored at Old Trafford, has sparked fresh questions over the use of VAR after the video assistant referee overturned an initial offside decision and allowed City to take the lead.
Haaland eventually scored the only goal of the encounter as Manchester City secured all three points against their city rivals.
However, the refereeing body, ProRef, later acknowledged that the VAR team made an error in its assessment of the incident.
The controversy centred on City midfielder Enzo Fernandez, who was in an offside position during the build-up to Haaland’s goal.
Although Fernandez did not make contact with the ball, his position and movement were considered potentially relevant because of his interaction with Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez.
The assistant referee had initially raised his flag for offside, but VAR intervened and determined that Haaland was onside when he received the ball.
The on-field decision was subsequently overturned, allowing the goal to stand.
Following a review, however, ProRef admitted that VAR had failed to properly consider whether Fernandez had interfered with Martinez in the build-up.
According to the refereeing body, the VAR team should have advised referee Michael Oliver to review the incident on the pitch before reaching a final decision.
ProRef described the incident as an “error of judgement” and said Manchester United had been informed of the mistake.
The admission is likely to fuel further debate over VAR and the consistency of Premier League officiating, particularly when decisions have a direct impact on the outcome of high-profile matches.
Manchester City, however, will retain their 1-0 victory despite the refereeing admission.
Under Premier League rules, a match result is not overturned because of a subsequent admission that a refereeing or VAR decision was incorrect.
The defeat leaves Manchester United to rue another controversial moment in a derby that City ultimately won through Haaland’s decisive strike.
The latest development also puts renewed focus on the responsibilities of VAR officials, particularly in situations involving an offside player who may not touch the ball but could still influence an opponent’s ability to defend the play.
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