Liverpool’s Premier League title hopes hit by 2-0 loss to Everton. Man United survives another scare

Klopp had spoken last week of needing perfection to win his second title at the club. (Reuters)
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Updated 25 April 2024
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Liverpool’s Premier League title hopes hit by 2-0 loss to Everton. Man United survives another scare

  • Man. United came from behind twice to beat last-place Sheffield United 4-2.
  • Crystal Palace ensured top flight safety after 2-0 win against Newcastle

LIVERPOOL, England: Jurgen Klopp’s hopes of a dream send-off were left in tatters after a 2-0 loss at Everton dealt a major blow to Liverpool’s Premier League title bid on Wednesday.
Goals from Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin at Goodison Park meant Klopp tasted a bitter defeat in his last Merseyside derby before standing down at the end of the season.
The loss keeps Liverpool three points behind league leader Arsenal in second place and one ahead of defending champion Manchester City, which is in third and has two games in hand on both of its rivals.
Klopp had spoken last week of needing perfection to win his second title at the club. But this was the latest setback for his team, which has lost two of its last three games in the league.
While the result hurt Liverpool’s title chances, it delivered a boost to Everton’s survival bid, with the win moving Sean Dyche’s team eight points above the relegation zone.
That fact seemed to be of less concern to the home fans, who were too busy reveling in the damage caused to Liverpool’s season.
“You lost the league at Goodison Park,” they chanted as the final whistle approached and the majority of the 39,000 crowd remained inside the stadium to drink in the atmosphere as the players celebrated on the field.
Klopp had dominated this fixture since taking over at Anfield in 2015, winning nine of the past 16 derbies before Wednesday’s match.
Statistics showed Everton won 75 percent of all duels in the opening half hour, a league record for any top flight team this season.
After just six minutes, Liverpool was grateful for VAR as it escaped an early penalty when Alisson brought down Calvert-Lewin in the box and referee Andrew Madley pointed to the spot. The decision was overturned because of an offside in the build up.
That pressure was made to count when Everton took the lead in in the 27th. Liverpool’s defenders repeatedly failed to clear the danger from a free kick and Branthwaite’s shot squirmed through the hands of Alisson and off the post before crossing the line.
Again there was an agonizing wait for a VAR check, but on this occasion there was no reprieve for Liverpool.
Luis Diaz had the chance to level before the break, but was denied by the legs of Jordan Pickford from close range.
Liverpool came out with more intent for the second half without forcing Pickford into serious action before conceding a second goal.
Again the visitors failed to deal with a set piece when Dwight McNeil swung a deep corner to the far post and Calvert-Lewin rose unmarked to head home.
Liverpool came close to pulling one back in the 69th, but Diaz’s effort came back off the post.

United scare
Manchester United survived another scare — twice coming from behind to beat last-place Sheffield United 4-2.
Having been taken to the wire by second-tier Coventry in the FA Cup semifinals on Sunday, Erik ten Hag’s team looked in danger of dropping points in its bid qualify for Europe.
Sheffield United led 1-0 and then 2-1 through goals from Jayden Bogle and Ben Brereton in each half at Old Trafford. But Harry Maguire and Bruno Fernandes from the penalty spot leveled on each occasion.
Fernandes put United ahead in the 81st and and Rasmus Hojlund sealed the points four minutes later.
United is up to sixth in the standings, 13 points behind fourth-place Aston Villa.

Palace safe
Crystal Palace ensured top flight safety after Jean-Philippe Mateta struck twice in a 2-0 win against Newcastle.
Palace is on 39 points — 14 clear of 18th-place Luton, which can only pick up a maximum of 37 if it wins its last four games of the season.
It was Palace’s third-straight win to erase fears of being relegated. Defeat saw Newcastle drop to seventh.
Bournemouth beat Wolves 1-0 at Molineux through Antoine Semenyo’s first-half strike.


Sporting defend Portuguese title with final day win

Updated 17 May 2025
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Sporting defend Portuguese title with final day win

  • Sporting and Benfica were level on points going into their last match
  • Benfica needed to better Sporting’s result to triumph but drew 1-1 at Braga

LISBON: Sporting Lisbon defended their Portuguese crown on Saturday with a 2-0 win over Guimaraes to hold off rivals Benfica on the final day of the Primeira Liga season.

Both Sporting and Benfica were level on points going into their last match after a tense 1-1 derby draw last weekend left the title race on a knife edge.

Benfica needed to better Sporting’s result to triumph but drew 1-1 at Braga, although even a victory would not have been enough as Rui Borges’ side triumphed and had the superior head-to-head.

Pedro Goncalves broke the deadlock in the second half and the division’s top goalscorer Viktor Gyokeres notched his 39th league goal of a stunning campaign to seal Sporting’s victory.

Manchester United coach Ruben Amorim led Sporting to last year’s title and after he departed in November was replaced by Joao Pereira, who only lasted six troubled weeks before Borges took over.

Sporting claimed their 21st Primeira division title and could make it a domestic double as they face Benfica next Sunday in the Portuguese cup final.


Crystal Palace’s Eze seals historic FA Cup final win against Man City

Updated 17 May 2025
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Crystal Palace’s Eze seals historic FA Cup final win against Man City

  • Local boy Eze volleyed in after 16 minutes
  • Omar Marmoush had first-half penalty saved by Henderson as City lost in the Cup final for a second successive season

LONDON: Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze sparked a massive south London party by scoring the only goal to win the FA Cup 1-0 against Manchester City on Saturday and claim the club’s first major trophy in their history.

Local boy Eze volleyed in after 16 minutes, former Manchester United goalkeeper Dean Henderson performed heroics in the Palace goal and City contrived to waste a sack-load of chances including a penalty in an enthralling final.

After England forward Eze, whose goals in the last eight and semis fired his team into the final for the third time, scored completely against the run of play, Palace had to survive a City siege to spark wild celebrations.

Omar Marmoush had a first-half penalty saved by Henderson as City lost in the Cup final for a second successive season, summing up a harrowing campaign in which they have been dethroned as the powerhouse of English football and will go without a domestic trophy for the first time since 2016-17.

For Palace’s massed ranks decked in purple and blue, it was a day of unbridled joy as Oliver Glasner’s team rode their luck to make it third time lucky after suffering defeats in their previous two FA Cup final appearances in 1990 and 2016.

Glasner, who took charge of the club 15 months ago, becomes the first Austrian coach to win the FA Cup.
City have been a pale imitation of the side that has dominated the English game for the most of the past decade.

But the way they began at Wembley suggested that Pep Guardiola’s side were determined to prove that talk of their demise had been greatly exaggerated.

Having picked an ultra-attacking lineup shorn of defensive midfielders, City hemmed Palace deep inside their own half for the opening 15 minutes with Kevin de Bruyne pulling the strings on what was his last Wembley appearance in City’s colors.

BRILLIANT HENDERSON

His lofted ball picked out Erling Haaland whose stretching effort at the far post was brilliantly saved by Henderson who shortly afterwards beat out Josko Gvardiol’s header.

Palace finally broke the siege and in their first foray beyond the halfway line they ripped through City’s lines.

Jean-Philippe Mateta played in Daniel Munoz and his cross was met by Eze who flashed a first-time volley past Stefan Ortega to provoke an eruption of noise from the Palace fans.

Ismaila Sarr nearly made it 2-0 but Ortega saved and Palace’s hearts were in their mouths when Henderson appeared to have handled the ball outside his area under pressure from Haaland but a subsequent VAR check spared him a possible red card.

There was no escape for Palace defender Tyrick Mitchell when he tripped Bernardo Silva and referee Stuart Attwell pointed to the spot. Surprisingly, Haaland did not take it and instead Omar Marmoush stepped forward for his first penalty since joining City in January, but his effort lacked conviction and Henderson dived to his right to save.

Henderson made a flying save to keep out Jeremy Doku’s curling effort as Palace reached halftime ahead despite having only 19 percent of possession.

Munoz thought he had made it 2-0 just past the hour mark but a lengthy VAR check ruled his effort out for offside.

Seven-time winners City went close numerous times after the break with Henderson and his defenders performing heroics to preserve Palace’s lead.

A huge groan went up from the Palace fans as 10 minutes of stoppage time but after more close shaves and nail-biting the final whistle sounded and the club’s anthem Glad All Over bellowed around the stadium.


Dortmund, Frankfurt clinch Champions League qualification on final day of Bundesliga

Updated 17 May 2025
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Dortmund, Frankfurt clinch Champions League qualification on final day of Bundesliga

  • Dortmund clinched fourth place and the last for Champions League qualification
  • It’s a remarkable turnaround under coach Niko Kovač

FRANKFURT: Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt qualified for the Champions League on the last day of the Bundesliga on Saturday, leaving Freiburg to be content reaching the Europa League.

Dortmund clinched fourth place and the last for Champions League qualification after a 3-0 home win over already-relegated Holstein Kiel, which played with 10 men after less than 10 minutes.

It’s a remarkable turnaround under coach Niko Kovač, who took over in February when Dortmund were languishing in 11th place. Dortmund won their last five Bundesliga games.

Frankfurt stayed third with a 3-1 win in Freiburg, which dropped to fifth as a result, two points behind Dortmund. Freiburg needed to win to qualify for the Champions League in place of Frankfurt.

Mainz overcame three disallowed goals and drew with Bayer Leverkusen 2-2 to qualify for the Conference League in sixth place, a point ahead of Leipzig, which missed out on European qualification after losing at home to Stuttgart 3-2.

Stuttgart next faces Arminia Bielefeld in the German Cup final next weekend.

Kane scores again
Bayern Munich, which clinched the title with two rounds to spare, finished the season a 4-0 winner at Hoffenheim in Thomas Müller’s last Bundesliga game for the club. It was his 503rd.

Harry Kane replaced Müller for the last half hour and set up Serge Gnabry for Bayern’s third goal before he completed the scoring with his league-leading 26th.

It’s the second consecutive year Kane has finished as the Bundesliga top-scorer.

Leverkusen record
While Mainz were playing for European qualification, Leverkusen were thinking of the future in the last game for the club for coach Xabi Alonso and some players.

Mainz had two early goals ruled out for offside then another ruled out through VAR before Anthony Caci finally gave the home team a deserved lead.

But Leverkusen emerged a different side after the break. Patrik Schick scored twice to jeopardize Mainz’s European spot.

A Jonathan Burkardt penalty kept Mainz ahead of Leipzig, which twice squandered a lead against Stuttgart.

It was Leverkusen’s 34th away game without defeat, a new Bundesliga record.

Other results
Heidenheim stayed in the relegation playoff place after losing at home to Werder Bremen 4-1. Frank Schmidt’s team next faces a two-leg playoff against the side that finishes third in the second division to determine which play in the Bundesliga next season.

Bottom club Bochum, relegated last weekend, signed off with a 2-0 win at St. Pauli for their first victory since beating Bayern 3-2 away in early March.

Wolfsburg won at Borussia Mönchenglabach 1-0 and Union Berlin won in Augsburg 2-1.


Cameroon soccer great Emmanuel Kundé dies at age 68

Updated 17 May 2025
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Cameroon soccer great Emmanuel Kundé dies at age 68

  • Kundé scored a penalty against England in the last eight of the 1990 World Cup
  • “His death is a huge loss for Cameroonian soccer,” the country’s football federation said

YAOUNDE, Cameroon: Emmanuel Kundé, Cameroon’s defensive anchor on the first African team to reach the quarterfinals of the World Cup, has died, the country’s soccer federation said. He was 68.

Kundé scored a penalty against England in the last eight of the 1990 World Cup in Italy before the Indomitable Lions lost in extra time. He also played at the 1982 World Cup when Cameroon made its tournament debut.

“His death is a huge loss for Cameroonian soccer,” the country’s football federation said in a statement late Friday.

Federation president Samuel Eto’o hailed Kundé as the “control tower” and “defensive wall” on the field.

Kundé twice helped the team win the Africa Cup of Nations — in 1984 and 1988. His second-half penalty was the difference in Cameroon’s 1-0 victory over Nigeria in the ‘88 final in Casablanca.

He made over 100 appearances for the national team.

“He was an intelligent and peaceful man filled with dignity and had a precise magic foot,” Emmanuel Maboang Kessack, a former team member told The Associated Press. “We will never forget him.”

Kundé died of cardiac arrest in his own home, Maboang Kessack said.

Kundé also played club football in France for Reims and Laval, but his main team was Canon de Yaoundé in Cameroon’s capital.


Partying, celebrations not an excuse, Flick warns as champions Barca eye strong finish

Updated 17 May 2025
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Partying, celebrations not an excuse, Flick warns as champions Barca eye strong finish

  • “A lot of players went out partying, but whoever can party can work, it’s not an excuse,” Flick told reporters
  • “It’s the last time we play at home and we want to win”

BARCELONA: Barcelona players celebrated the club’s 28th LaLiga title with thousands of fans in an open-bus victory parade on Friday, but coach Hansi Flick was quick to remind them that the season was not over.

Flick, who has led Barcelona to the league title, Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup in his debut season, said he needed his players to focus on finishing the campaign on a high.

“Yesterday was a day of celebration and rest. A lot of players went out partying, but whoever can party can work, it’s not an excuse. I want to finish the season as we started it,” Flick told reporters on Saturday, a day before hosting Villarreal.

“It’s the last time we play at home and we want to win. We want to end the season as champions. We haven’t lost in 2025 (in the league) and we want to keep it that way.”

Flick said he was overwhelmed by the passion of the supporters during the celebrations.

“It was incredible to see the faces, the passion of the people, how they celebrated. It was fantastic to see,” said the coach.

“To celebrate year after year would be amazing. Maybe we can do it again next year. We will work for it. It’s everyone’s title.”

Flick said his team would face a difficult task against fifth-placed Villarreal, with the visitors looking to ensure Champions League qualification with a top-five finish going into the last two matches of the campaign.

“We’re playing against great teams and Villarreal have done a fantastic job, they have won their last four games. You can see the hand of their coach and they have key players,” he added.

Asked if he could start with 11 home-grown players on Sunday, Flick said the idea had been discussed at the club.

“To be honest, we’ve talked about it internally, but we haven’t decided. It could be. We’ll wait until tomorrow to see how the team is,” he said.