Jithin M.S. scored the crucial goal as NorthEast United FC came from behind to hold FC Goa to a 1-1 draw in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 season at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium here on Tuesday. Mohammad Yasir had his fair share of luck when he handed the lead to the Gaurs but Jithin’ 76th minute strike saw the Highlanders split points. This was the 11th draw between these two teams, the most number of stalemates between two teams in ISL’s history. The Highlanders started the game on the front foot as the likes of Guillermo Fernandez and Alaaeddine Ajaraie were making some marauding runs whilst keeping the FC Goa defenders on their toes. However, the first real opportunity came to the Gaurs when Dejan Drazic found Armando Sadiku with a telling cross in the penalty area. But unfortunately, the Albanian’s header was not strong enough to trouble Gurmeet Singh in goal. Minutes later, Ajaraie almost opened the scoring when Buanthanglun Samte found him with a great long pass. The Moroccan was through on goal but his subsequent effort was tipped over the bar by Hritik Tiwari. Samte was enjoying a lot of space on the right flank and he unleashed some great crosses for Guillermo and Jithin MS. However, the NorthEast United FC forwards weren’t clinical enough to take their chances. Also Read: "How long will people talk about it?": Ravichandran Ashwin on playing farewell match for India Despite absorbing the pressure from the hosts for the majority of the first half, FC Goa finished the half on a strong note. Although they didn’t break the deadlock, they created a few chances and controlled the tempo of the game in midfield, putting the pressure back on the Highlanders. The spell almost resulted in a goal when Brison Fernandes displayed excellent skill to lose his marker in the penalty area before his effort rifled into the crossbar on its way out. NorthEast United FC started the second half with a lot of zeal just like they did in the first half. However, they lacked the cutting edge in the final third to break open FC Goa’s resolute backline. In the 59th minute, assistant coach Naushad Moosa decided to change the dynamics of the game as he brought on Nestor Albiach and Ninthoinganba Meetei in place of Guillermo and Muthu Mayakkannan. Nestor almost made an instant impact when he combined with Ajaraei for a give-and-go and Hrithik lost the ball in the crowd, creating an opening for the Spaniard. But Odei Onaindia cleared the dangerous ball away from the goal. FC Goa, completely against the run of play, broke the deadlock in the 65th minute when Jay Gupta unleashed a long ball into the penalty area which was brought down by Mohammed Yasir and played towards Brison. The youngster played it back to Yasir, who hammered it into the bottom right corner, handing an important lead to the Gaurs. The Highlanders bombarded the FC Goa penalty area with many long balls in search of securing the equaliser. However, their route one approach tonight worked in favour of the Gaurs as both Odei and Sandesh Jhingan looked pretty comfortable in clearing away the aerial balls or winning aerial duels against their NorthEast United FC counterparts. After getting frustrated with a sustained spell of long balls, the Highlanders decided to hit FC Goa on the counter. Ajaraie held the ball brilliantly before sending it to Jithin with a sensational through ball. The winger eventually slotted the ball past Hrithik in goal to bring the hosts back in the game in the 76th minute. Right after conceding the goal, Manolo Marquez unleashed Iker Guarrotxena and Ayush Chhetri replacing Sadiku and Brison to add more fresh legs in attack and midfield respectively. Both teams tried their luck in the final quarter but at the final whistle, there was nothing to separate them. NorthEast United FC will travel to Kerala to face the Kerala Blasters on January 18 whereas FC Goa will host East Bengal FC on January 19. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
15 January,2025 01:05 PM IST | Guwahati | IANSArsenal manager Mikel Arteta has flagged the “terrible consequences” of online abuse after Kai Havertz’s family was targeted on social media after Sunday’s FA Cup loss to Manchester United. Havertz missed chances during the game and failed to convert his penalty in the shootout as the Gunners crashed out. The Germany international and his family came in for stinging criticism. One online user wrote to Havertz’s wife Sofia: “I’m going to come to your house and slaughter your baby. I’m not joking just wait.” Another wrote: “I hope you have a miscarriage.” Sofia shared screenshots of the threats and wrote to her 500,000-plus followers on Instagram: “For anyone to think it’s OK to write something like this is so shocking to me. I hope you are so ashamed of yourself.” Arsenal have reported the abuse to the police and are working with a specialist data firm to try to identify the culprits. Also Read: Near-flawless Paolini eases into next round Arteta addressed the issue on Tuesday, on the eve of the north London derby against Tottenham. “It’s incredible, honestly. And we really have to do something about it, because accepting it and hiding it, has terrible consequences. It’s something we have to eradicate from the game, because it’s so cynical as well,” he told reporters. Arteta pointed out how the whole stadium was singing for Havertz after he scored in a 1-0 win against Ipswich less than three weeks ago. “So, where’s the perspective? We are all responsible for this narrative and cannot look elsewhere. It’s a serious matter. It affects him, it affects me, it affects everybody in the industry. We may accept it and say that it’s part of our job, yes, but there are certain limits, and the line has to be drawn,” he added. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
15 January,2025 08:23 AM IST | London | AgenciesNoah Sadaoui's late winner in the fifth minute of injury time helped Kerala Blasters FC defeat Odisha FC 3-2 in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Monday night. The Juggernauts are now winless in their last four games, and the Kochi-based team is now unbeaten (W5 D2) in all seven games that Noah has found the back of the net in ISL 2024-25, as the home team netted thrice in the final half-hour of the game on Monday night. The Juggernauts made a positive start in the fourth minute, opting for a relatively direct route to surprise the Kerala Blasters FC defence. Once inside the box, Dori aerially overpowered Pritam Kotal to make a headed pass for Jerry Mawihmingthanga, who was in the middle of the 18-yard area. Jerry covered a few crucial yards with a quick pace, made an impressive adjustment, and deposited the ball into the bottom right corner with a slightly high-footed shot to open the scoring. Odisha FC were equally effective at the back, making a coordinated effort to block Kwame Peprah’s shot from close range in the 36th minute. Noah Sadaoui shimmered into the box from the left flank before squaring up the delivery for Kwame, who tried to control, turn, and shoot, but was overpowered by the visitors’ backline. Also Read: James Anderson to play T20 cricket for Lancashire, signs one-year deal Peprah managed to pull an equaliser in his team’s favour in the 60th minute though. Korou Singh produced a creative through ball from the right flank that swung inside the Odisha FC defence. The pass was delivered at the perfect pace, but it was Peprah who outpaced Mourtada Fall and Rohit Kumar to get to the end of the pass and hammer it into the bottom left corner. Kerala Blasters FC stepped up the ante of their attacking moves thereafter. The entire frontline came to the fore to dissect the Odisha FC defence in the 73rd minute. Adrian Luna shifted to the right flank and curled in a cross for Noah Sadaoui on the far left post. Sadaoui produced his smarts, making a headed pass to Jesus Jimenez at the centre rather than going for the goal. Jimenez met the assist perfectly, booting the ball to the high centre of the net and getting the home side the lead. Odisha FC embraced a relentless look for a brief period following Jimenez’s strike. Diego Mauricio took a free-kick from the edge of the box down the centre, which was aimed perfectly at the top right corner, but saved in time by Sachin Suresh. The ball was cleared but met Saviour Gama outside the 18-yard box. Gama unleashed a powerful effort that had to be saved by the Kerala Blasters FC goalkeeper at the high centre of the goal. Dori immediately pounced upon the rebound, depositing the ball into the net from an extremely close distance to level the scores in the 80th minute. However, their momentum was disrupted by Carlos Delgado getting sent off in the 83rd minute for picking his second yellow card. Kerala Blasters FC capitalised on this one-man advantage, by outnumbering the Odisha FC defence in the final third. They kept chasing the winner deep inside the added time of the second half, with Noah delivering the finishing touch to enable them to get the three points from the night. Receiving a pass from Vibin Mohanan on the left side of the box, Noah perhaps understood the paucity of time in his hand and hurled a robust shot that had enough power to land onto the bottom right corner of the net despite being struck from an acute angle and taking a deflection. Regardless, it ensured a victory for the home side, taking them to the eighth place in the standings, with 20 points from their 16 matches so far. Kerala Blasters FC will play NorthEast United FC on January 18, whereas Odisha FC are set to lock horns with Bengaluru FC on January 22. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
14 January,2025 11:41 AM IST | Kochi | IANSDenmark football player Simon Kjaer disclosed his decision to hang up his boots in an interview on Monday, after 132 caps with the national side. Having come through FC Midtjylland, Kjaer has played for Palermo, Roma, and Sevilla, before joining AC Milan in 2020 and helping the Rossoneri win the Scudetto in 2022. At the national side, Kjaer made his debut for the senior team in 2009 and went on to play six international competitions including three editions of World Cup and three European Championships, reports Xinhua. The 35-year-old defender has been without a club since his contract with AC Milan expired last summer. The full interview will be released later this week, but the snippet revealed that the veteran had been thinking about the decision for a long time. Also Read: India captain Rohit Sharma wants to train with Mumbai Ranji team Despite not boasting a quite glorious career, Kjaer earned rave reviews in a European Championship fixture between Denmark and Finland in 2021. When Christian Eriksen collapsed on the ground, team captain Kjaer was the first one to check his condition before organizing his teammates to cover Eriksen for treatment. He was on the pitch when Eriksen collapsed suddenly after suffering cardiac arrest during their Euro 2020 opener against Finland. Kjaer was awarded the UEFA President's Award along with the medical team that took care of Eriksen on that fateful day. Born on March 26, 1989, in Horsens, Denmark, Simon Thorup Kjaer was named the 2007 Danish under-19 Talent of the Year and 2009 Danish Talent of the Year. He played 132 matches for Denmark, including participation in the FIFA World Cup in 2010, 2018, and 2022, and the UEFA European Championship in 2012, 2020 and 2024. Kjaer started playing football when he was four-year-old and soon joined a small-time club Lund IF near Horsens. He then moved to the youth team of Danish Superliga club FC Midtjylland (FCM) in 2004, where his father, Jorn Kjaer, was the club's equipment manager. From there his football journey took him to Palermo, Roma and Sevilla before ending at AC Milan. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
14 January,2025 11:21 AM IST | Copenhagen (Denmark) | IANSPep Guardiola said Monday the mood at Manchester City has been lifted by three straight wins but was cagey regarding potential recruits to strengthen his injury-hit squad in January. Premier League champions City had won just one of 13 matches in all competitions before their 2-0 victory at Leicester on December 29. Also Read: 'It's unbelievable' They then overwhelmed West Ham 4-1 in Julen Lopetegui’s final game in charge of the London club before smashing fourth-tier Salford 8-0 in the FA Cup third round last weekend. “Before, it was impossible to win one, so now we’ve won three and that helps us,” Guardiola said on the eve of Tuesday’s league match at Brentford. “But the reality is we’ve won against a team in the last game for the difference of the Premier League and League Two and the badges for both teams and for many reasons we should win. We did it quite well, but still we have to wait to see who we are. You know who we are, but of course the mood is better.” He added: “We have an enormously difficult game [against Brentford]. Thomas [Frank] and his team always create a lot of problems. They are a fantastic, fantastic team.” This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
14 January,2025 08:53 AM IST | London | AFPBarcelona hammered rivals Real Madrid 5-2 in a wild Spanish Super Cup Clasico final in Saudi Arabia on Sunday to win the first trophy of the Hansi Flick era. Kylian Mbappe put Madrid ahead but a dominant Barcelona hit five in response before their goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was sent off in the second half. Madrid were hoping to avenge their 4-0 home defeat by Barcelona in October’s La Liga Clasico but instead were left battered and bruised by their arch-rivals in Jeddah. Also Read: We didn’t get what we deserved: Mikel Arteta The dejected Madrid players After Mbappe’s opener, Lamine Yamal levelled and Robert Lewandowski sent Barcelona ahead from the penalty spot, with Raphinha bagging a brace and Alejandro Balde also on target. Rodrygo Goes pulled one back for Madrid with a free-kick but they could not capitalise further on their numerical advantage in a humiliating defeat for the European champions. “I think today is a good day because we beat one of the best teams in the world, for the second time this season, Real Madrid, and this is unbelievable,” Flick told reporters. “We won a title here and we are really happy... today is a day to look positively at this team.” Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said his team’s poor defending was the main reason for the heavy defeat. “We defended badly and that cost us the game — they found their goals quite easily,” Ancelotti told Movistar. “We’re sad, like all our fans, it’s disappointing and we don’t have to hide that,” added the veteran manager. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
14 January,2025 08:43 AM IST | Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) | AFPArsenal’s FA Cup journey came to a bitter end as they suffered a penalty shootout (3-5) defeat to Manchester United in the third round at Old Trafford. Also Read: 'We suffered together and showed character' “Incredible how you don’t win that game, that’s basically to sum up,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said. “The dominance, the superiority in relation to the opposition, and everything that we did to try to win the game… we didn’t get what we deserved clearly.” Arteta lamented his team’s inability to capitalise on their opportunities. “There is an element that is about putting the ball in the back of the net, that we did once,” he added. “The amount of situations, chances, and penalties that we had—we didn’t [convert].” This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
14 January,2025 08:39 AM IST | London | IANSTen-man Manchester United beat Arsenal 5-3 on penalties after a dramatic 1-1 draw in the FA Cup third round on Sunday. Defeated 2-0 by Arsenal in the Premier League in December, FA Cup holders United exacted revenge on their return to the Emirates Stadium to extend their revival after last weekend’s draw at Liverpool. Ruben Amorim’s troubled side took the lead through Bruno Fernandes, who smashed a superb strike into the far corner from the edge of the area in the 52nd minute. Also Read: It sucks: Stefanos Tsitsipas fumes after Round 1 exit United defender Diogo Dalot was sent off for a second booking after fouling Mikel Merino nine minutes later. Gabriel Magalhaes grabbed Arsenal’s equaliser in the 63rd minute, the Brazilian defender swivelling to hit a low shot that took a heavy deflection off Matthijs de Ligt. Arsenal’s Kai Havertz missed a host of chances to win it and the German was culpable again in the shootout as his effort was saved by Bayindir, setting up the much-maligned Joshua Zirkzee to stroke home the decisive kick. “We deserved to pass through this round because we all suffered together and showed character,” said Amorim, whose side host Leicester in the fourth round. “A few weeks ago Joshua was in a difficult moment, now he was a game-changer. Life has these beautiful things,” he added. It was another painful result for Arsenal after Tuesday’s 2-0 home defeat against Newcastle in the League Cup semi-final first leg and last weekend’s damaging league draw at Brighton. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
14 January,2025 08:36 AM IST | London | AFPManchester City manager Pep Guardiola said on Saturday that club’s captain Kyle Walker has asked to leave the English champions to explore opportunities abroad. Walker, 34, has won 15 major trophies, including six Premier League titles, since joining City in a GBP 50 million ($61 million) deal from Tottenham in 2017. “Two days ago, Kyle asked to explore the options to play abroad and end his career,” said Guardiola after Walker did not feature in his side’s 8-0 FA Cup third round win over Salford. Pep Guardiola Also Read: Gokuldham boys, Lakshdham girls clinch U-16 MSSA throwball titles “In his mind, he would like to explore it, to go to another country, to play the last years [somewhere else] for many reasons.” Guardiola confirmed that Walker had also asked to leave at the beginning of the 2023-24 season amid interest at the time from Bayern Munich. However, the England international was convinced to stay and signed a new contract until 2026. “He asked [to go] two years ago after we won the Treble. I think Bayern Munich wanted him, but the offer wasn’t good enough, and I and the club asked him [to stay] because of how important he is,” added Guardiola. “We cannot understand the success we’ve had these years without Kyle. It’s impossible. Having a right-back [like him] gave us something that we didn’t have and he has been amazing.” Walker, who has been capped 93 times by the England national team, has also been part of the Three Lions squads that have reached the last two finals of the European Championship. However, his struggles for form and fitness have played a part in Man City’s disappointing season this far. Guardiola’s men won just once in 13 games between October 30 and December 29 to slip out of contention for the Premier League title and exit the League Cup.Manchester This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
13 January,2025 07:31 AM IST | Manchester | AFPMumbai City FC went down 0-3 in their own backyard to Jamshedpur FC in an Indian Super League match at the Mumbai Football Arena, Andheri, on Sunday. Also Read: Devajit Saikia succeeds Jay Shah to become BCCI secretary Aftre a barren first half, Mohammad Sanan opened the scoring for the Red Mariners in the 64th minute. Jamshedpur’s Jordan Murray (86th min) then doubled their lead after which Javi Hernandez (96th min) scored in stoppage time to complete the rout. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
13 January,2025 07:17 AM IST | Mumbai | AgenciesMohun Bagan Super Giant stretched their dominance over archrivals East Bengal SC in the Kolkata Derby with a 1-0 win in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 season at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium here on Saturday. Jamie Maclaren scored the fastest goal of the Kolkata Derby in ISL and it was enough for the reigning champions to see out their archrivals, whilst going eight points clear (35) at the top of the table, compared to the second-placed Bengaluru FC (27). The Mariners have now won nine times and drawn once in their 10 Kolkata Derby clashes against East Bengal FC in the ISL. The Mariners started the game strongly as Maclaren handed them the early lead in the second minute. The East Bengal FC backline were caught off-guard as Asish Rai’s long ball found Maclaren in space. After receiving the ball, he lost his marker and slotted it past an onrushing Prabhsukhan Gill without any difficulty. Around the sixth-minute mark, it was East Bengal FC’s turn to attack and they did get two great opportunities to equalise through PV Vishnu and Cleiton Silva. But, both the players weren’t clinical enough as they saw their attempts get blocked. In the 21st minute, the Mariners almost doubled their lead when Maclaren found Manvir Singh with a telling cross. However, the latter’s shot was straight at Gill with the entire goal found gaping. East Bengal FC gained a lot of momentum as the first half came to a close with the likes of Jeakson Singh, Vishnu, and Cleiton getting on the ball in the final third and creating problems for the Mohun Bagan Super Giant backline. However, they weren’t clinical enough to end the first half on level terms. The second half was extremely cagey with the Mariners enjoying the lion’s share of possession, but they weren’t able to break down East Bengal FC’s resolute defence. Whereas, Oscar Bruzon’s men were looking to hit the Mariners with their gritty counter-attacks. But there weren’t many chances of note in the first quarter of the second half. Things took a drastic turn in the 64th minute when Souvik Chakrabarti brought down Liston Colaco near the penalty area, only to receive his second yellow card followed by subsequent marching orders. Down one goal, East Bengal FC were now chasing the game with 10 men. As a retaliation, Bruzon brought on Naorem Mahesh Singh in place of David Lalhlansanga with the hope of solidifying the midfield. In the 75th minute, Jose Molina freshened things up as he replaced Jason Cummings with Greg Stewart. He almost made an immediate impact when he released Liston on the left flank, but his subsequent effort was blocked by Gill. Just like in the first half, East Bengal FC were on the ascendancy for the final ten minutes in the second half and therefore the likes of Dimitrios Petratos and Deepak Tangri came on late in the game with the hope of closing out the match. The Red & Golds threw bodies forward in the final few minutes of the game but they lacked quality in the final third to break through the defence of the Mariners as they continued their near-perfect record in the fixture. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
12 January,2025 12:26 PM IST | Guwahati | IANSADVERTISEMENT
