Soccer

Soccer

Around the NSL: Rise falling, Boychuk’s beauty of a boot, Roses remain flawless

Grace Anne Paizen 4 minute read Yesterday at 8:09 PM CDT

NOT to step on the toes of Week 3, which technically kicked off Wednesday, but can someone check the pulse of the Vancouver Rise?

The defending inaugural champs have lost of all three games this season. The Rise dropped its season opener 3-2 to AFC Toronto, then were shutout by the Montreal Roses 4-0 last Saturday. On Wednesday, the club was blanked again — this time at the hands of the Ottawa Rapid.

To get back to Week 2, seven shots — with only one making it on target — isn’t going to win a footy game. This was the abysmal stat line posted by the Rise in its matchup against the Roses. Montreal, meanwhile, had 16 shots on net with seven on target and four of those making it past Vancouver goalkeeper Morgan McAslan.

What might be worse is that Wednesday’s Week 3 game is the Rise’s last match until May 18, when they visit the Halifax Tides.

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Soccer

Daniel Ríos and Dagur Thorhallsson score goals as Montreal beats Orlando City 2-0

The Associated Press 2 minute read Updated: 6:24 PM CDT

MONTREAL (AP) — Daniel Ríos scored and Dagur Thorhallsson scored stoppage-time goals, Thomas Gillier had four saves, and CF Montreal beat Orlando City 2-0 on Saturday.

Gillier had his third shutout this season.

Luca Petrasso drew a penalty, conceded by Orlando City's Robin Jansson, and Ríos converted from the spot in the fourth minute of injury time to open the scoring.

Thorhallsson scored his first goal for Montreal (4-7-0) to make it 2-0 in the eighth minute of stoppage time. The club acquired Thorhallsson from Orlando City on Dec. 10 in exchange for up to $625,000 in General Allocation Money.

Soccer

Celta puts pressure on Betis in fight for Spain’s fifth Champions League berth

Joseph Wilson, The Associated Press 4 minute read 4:28 PM CDT

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Real Betis missed a chance to take a step toward sealing its return to the Champions League after squandering a two-goal lead in a 2-2 draw at Real Sociedad in La Liga on Saturday.

Betis remained in fifth place with a four-point advantage over sixth-placed Celta Vigo, which put the pressure on the Seville-based side after it won at Atletico Madrid 1-0. There are three games — and nine potential points — left for the two teams this season.

Spain clinched a bonus fifth entry into the Champions League on Thursday when Rayo Vallecano’s win against Strasbourg in the Conference League semifinals gave Spain an insurmountable edge over Germany in the race for an extra berth.

Barcelona, Real Madrid, Villarreal and Atletico all have spots in Europe's elite club competition locked up. Barcelona can clinch the Spanish title on Sunday with at least a draw when it hosts Madrid in a clasico at Camp Nou.

Soccer

CHICAGO (AP) — Rookie Jorge Ruvalcaba, Cade Cowell and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting scored goals to lead the New York Red Bulls to a 3-1 victory the Chicago Fire on Saturday.

The Fire (5-4-2) avoided a shutout when Hugo Cuypers scored in the 87th minute to extend his goal-scoring streak to nine matches. Cuypers had scored two goals in three straight to help Chicago climb to fourth place in the Eastern Conference, entering play. His 11th goal of the season moves him one in front of FC Dallas’ Petar Musa in the Golden Boot Award race.

Ruvalcaba used assists from Emil Forsberg and Adri Mehmeti to find the net the net in the 45th minute and give the Red Bulls (4-5-3) a 1-0 lead at halftime. It was the fourth goal for Ruvalcaba in 12 appearances. Forsberg's helper was his fourth after posting a career-best 11 last season.

Cowell took passes from Ronald Donkor and defender Robert Voloder and scored his first goal of the campaign for a two-goal lead four minutes into the second half.

Soccer

Udinese’s Keinan Davis alleges racist slur by Cagliari’s Alberto Dossena

The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Udinese’s Keinan Davis alleges racist slur by Cagliari’s Alberto Dossena

The Associated Press 4 minute read Updated: 4:29 PM CDT

CAGLIARI, Italy (AP) — Udinese forward Keinan Davis has accused Cagliari defender Alberto Dossena of calling him a “monkey” during Saturday’s Serie A match. Dossena denied any wrongdoing.

Towards the end of Udinese’s 2-0 victory at Cagliari, Davis — who is Black — reacted angrily and alerted the referee to something said from the stands.

Tension then rose after the final whistle when Davis and Dossena had to be separated by teammates.

Davis posted a story on Instagram after the match, tagging Dossena and using a picture of the player with the comment: “This racist coward called me a monkey today during the game. I hope the Serie A association will do something about this but we will see.”

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Updated: 4:29 PM CDT

Soccer

TORONTO (AP) — Lionel Messi had a goal and two assists to become the fastest player in MLS history to reach 100 goal contributions, and Inter Miami doubled up Toronto FC 4-2 on Saturday, upping its winning streak on the road to six.

Messi’s effort gives him 59 goals and 41 assists in 64 regular-season matches, shattering the previous record of 95 set by Toronto’s Sebastian Giovinco. Messi has piled up 87 goals and 57 assists in 101 career appearances in all competitions.

Rodrigo De Paul also had a goal and two assists to help Inter Miami bounce back from a 4-3 home loss to Orlando City in a match it led 3-0. The club is 0-1-3 at home since moving to Nu Stadium.

De Paul scored off a free kick in the 44th minute to give Inter Miami a 1-0 lead. The midfielder corraled the ball after it ricocheted off the wall of players and banged a second shot off the left post and into the net.

Soccer

Japan lands defending champion Qatar in a tough 2027 Asian Cup group draw

The Associated Press 3 minute read Updated: 6:21 PM CDT

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Four-time winner Japan was grouped with defending champion Qatar at the 2027 Asian Cup in the draw on Saturday.

Saudi Arabia will host the 24-team tournament for the first time from Jan. 7-Feb. 5.

The Asian Football Confederation will be hoping the competition will be held without any further complications.

The draw was originally set for April 11 but was postponed because of the conflict in the Middle East. The final field is still incomplete because the Lebanon-Yemen match was not played as scheduled on March 31 and has been postponed to June.

Soccer

Messi dominant at revamped BMO Field in Inter Miami’s 4-2 win over Toronto

Steve Buffery, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Messi dominant at revamped BMO Field in Inter Miami’s 4-2 win over Toronto

Steve Buffery, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Updated: 5:22 PM CDT

TORONTO -  

Toronto FC head coach Robin Fraser saw red after his Reds were defeated 4-2 by Inter Miami on Saturday afternoon at BMO Field.

Fraser was incensed over a pair of non-calls by referee Victor Rivas in the second half of a hotly-contested match that featured Miami superstar Lionel Messi, who scored a goal for The Herons and assisted on two others.

The first non-call occurred when Toronto defender Raheem Edwards was taken down hard in the Miami end. The visitors took advantage of Edwards lying prone on the field by scoring their second goal of the game. 

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Updated: 5:22 PM CDT

Soccer

Toronto FC welcomes Miami at new-look BMO Field in dress rehearsal for FIFA World Cup

Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Toronto FC welcomes Miami at new-look BMO Field in dress rehearsal for FIFA World Cup

Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Updated: 2:37 PM CDT

TORONTO -  

An Inter Miami-Toronto FC match at the new-look BMO Field on Saturday provided a dress rehearsal for the FIFA World Cup next month. 

A sellout crowd of 44,828 fans — including about 17,000 spectators in the new grandstand seats that were added for the tournament — took in the 4-2 Inter Miami win. 

Longtime TFC fan Trevor Ellis took a few moments before the start of the game to walk to the top of the north grandstand to check out the view.

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Updated: 2:37 PM CDT

Soccer

Man City closes gap on Arsenal and Liverpool fans boo more dropped points in Chelsea draw

James Robson, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Man City closes gap on Arsenal and Liverpool fans boo more dropped points in Chelsea draw

James Robson, The Associated Press 5 minute read Updated: 2:27 PM CDT

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester City kept the pressure on Arsenal at the top of the Premier League after beating Brentford 3-0 on Saturday.

Cheers rang around Etihad Stadium after second half goals from Jeremy Doku, Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush helped second-placed City close the gap on leader Arsenal to two points.

It was a different atmosphere at Anfield where Liverpool fans jeered as the defending champion dropped more points in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea.

Third-placed Manchester United drew at Sunderland 0-0 while there were wins for Champions League-chasing Bournemouth and Brighton.

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Updated: 2:27 PM CDT

Soccer

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Liverpool playmaker Florian Wirtz missed Saturday's Premier League game against Chelsea because of a stomach bug, coach Arne Slot said.

The Germany international was sick this week and missed periods of training, so Slot left him out of the squad for Chelsea's visit to Anfield.

“He tried everything to be in it,” Slot told TNT Sports in a pre-match interview.

Slot described the illness as “an infection in the stomach.”

Soccer

O’Kane scores 2 goals in Racing Louisville’s 3-1 win over the Thorns

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

O’Kane scores 2 goals in Racing Louisville’s 3-1 win over the Thorns

The Associated Press 2 minute read Yesterday at 9:37 PM CDT

Katie O'Kane scored a pair of goals and Racing Louisville won its second match of the NWSL season with a 3-1 victory over the first-place Portland Thorns on Friday night.

Emma Sears also scored for Louisville (2-5-1), which snapped a two-game losing streak with the win at home.

Sophia Wilson scored for the Thorns (6-2-1) in the sixth minute, outrunning defender Arin Wright. Wilson has three goals in four matches.

O'Kane evened the score for Louisville in the 15th with her first goal of the season.

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Yesterday at 9:37 PM CDT

Soccer

Lautaro scores again as Serie A champion Inter beats Lazio in Italian Cup warmup

Daniella Matar, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Lautaro scores again as Serie A champion Inter beats Lazio in Italian Cup warmup

Daniella Matar, The Associated Press 3 minute read Updated: 4:14 PM CDT

MILAN (AP) — After helping Inter Milan to the Serie A trophy, captain Lautaro Martínez also looks set to win the top goal-scorer’s prize.

Lautaro scored one and set up another to help Inter win at 10-man Lazio 3-0 on Saturday in a warmup for the Italian Cup final.

That took his tally to 17 in the league, four clear of his nearest rival, teammate Marcus Thuram. Como duo Tasos Douvikas and Nico Paz have five fewer than the Argentina World Cup winner.

There are three rounds remaining after this weekend.

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Updated: 4:14 PM CDT

Soccer

Kane’s Bundesliga penalty streak ends with miss and Leipzig back in Champions League

James Ellingworth, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Kane’s Bundesliga penalty streak ends with miss and Leipzig back in Champions League

James Ellingworth, The Associated Press 4 minute read Updated: 2:15 PM CDT

Harry Kane’s remarkable penalty conversion streak in the Bundesliga has ended at 24 as the Bayern Munich striker missed a spot kick for the first time on Saturday, while Leipzig secured a return to the Champions League.

Kane stepped up to the penalty spot at 0-0 against Wolfsburg after teammate Michael Olise was fouled by defender Konstantinos Koulierakis.

Kane seemed to slip slightly as he approached the ball and his shot went wide of the right-hand post.

Bayern still got a 1-0 win in its second-to-last Bundesliga game of the season but it needed a spectacular curling goal off the underside of the crossbar by Olise, and Wolfsburg's Mattias Svanberg hitting the bar in the 89th minute with only the goalkeeper to beat.

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Updated: 2:15 PM CDT

Soccer

Real Madrid’s Arbeloa asks to ‘turn the page’ after fight between Valverde and Tchouaméni

Joseph Wilson, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Real Madrid’s Arbeloa asks to ‘turn the page’ after fight between Valverde and Tchouaméni

Joseph Wilson, The Associated Press 4 minute read Updated: 5:57 AM CDT

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Real Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa has defended players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni, saying their apologies for having scuffled were enough to settle the incident that led the club to fine both of them a whopping 500,000 euros ($590,000).

“My players recognized their mistake, expressed their remorse and asked for forgiveness,” Arbeloa told reporters in Madrid on Saturday in his first public appearance since the fight.

“That is enough for me,” he said. “What I am not going to do is burn them on a pyre in a town square, because they don’t deserve that. It is time to turn the page."

The tussle by the two midfielders when Madrid practiced on Thursday ended with Valverde at the hospital to treat a head wound. Valverde said he had hit his head on a table, calling the incident “a meaningless fight.”

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Updated: 5:57 AM CDT

Soccer

Two soccer players and a betting agent are convicted of match-fixing in Hong Kong

The Associated Press 2 minute read Updated: 12:23 AM CDT

HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong court on Friday convicted two soccer players and a betting agent with bribing other players to rig matches in the city's top two football leagues in an operation that involved tens of thousands of dollars.

The two players, Brian Fok and Luciano Silva Da Silva, and the betting agent, Waheed Mohammad, ran a match-fixing gambling operation that covered some 30 matches from 2021 to 2023, the city's Independent Commission Against Corruption, which led the investigation, said in a statement.

Fok first attempted to fix a match in October 2021. He offered $10,000 per match to a teammate in the Hong Kong Football Club team, which is a member of the HK Premier League, to participate in fixing the game. The teammate declined, but Fok later found willing participants in Silva Da Silva and Mohammad.

The three men then acted to fix match results, placing illegal bets on more than 30 matches in the HK First Division, another league in the city. Both Fok and Silva Da Silva were playing on teams in that league then. Their operation involved intentionally losing matches.

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