Lionel Messi scored twice, including a stunning solo goal, as Barcelona blew away Athletic Bilbao to win the Copa del Rey on Saturday, consigning their opponents to a second final defeat in two weeks.

The cup was won and lost in a whirlwind 12 minutes in Seville, which saw Barca score four times to clinch an emphatic 4-0 victory, with Messi at his devastating best.

It remains to be seen if his seventh Copa del Rey triumph is the last trophy Messi lifts in Barcelona colours but if this was to be a final flourish, the 33-year-old crafted a fitting farewell.

“It’s very special to be captain of this team where I have spent my whole life and very special to be able to lift this cup,” Messi said.

His first goal, and Barca’s third, started with the Argentinian in his own half before a charging run down the right and a surge forward into the penalty area gave him the chance for a simple finish.

With the club’s new president Joan Laporta in the crowd, Ronald Koeman’s first title as Barcelona coach should also significantly boost his chances of remaining in charge beyond the summer.

“To win a title is important for me,” Koeman admitted afterwards.

Yet Laporta was noticeably evasive when asked about Koeman’s future.

“He is doing well,” he said.

Koeman took over a team at rock bottom, humiliated by an historic loss to Bayern Munich and wounded by the attempts of Messi to leave the club for free.

But this 31st Copa del Rey success for the club is a testament to progress made and Koeman will hope it not only helps convince Messi to stay but gives Barca momentum now in a neck-and-neck title race in La Liga.

“Despite the changes at the club and the young players, at Barca you have to always fight for trophies,” Koeman said.

“We have the first one and now we are going to fight to the last game in La Liga.”

‘Turned it around’

Gerard Pique said it felt like the club had been “reset”.

“Sometimes you fall down and you have to get up,” Pique said. “It has been a difficult year but the team has turned it around.”

Messi was sent off when Athletic Bilbao beat Barcelona, also at the La Cartuja, in January to win the Spanish Super Cup but they never looked like pulling off a repeat.

After Athletic lost to their Basque rivals Real Sociedad in last year’s postponed final only two weeks ago, lifting themselves for another showpiece in the same stadium and against a tougher opponent was always going to be a big ask.

“In both finals we played well below the level that we’re capable of,” said Athletic coach Marcelino Garcia Toral.

Barcelona were almost ahead after four minutes as Sergio Busquets played in Messi, who rolled back for Frenkie de Jong but his sidefooted finish came back off the far post.

Sergino Dest dragged wide while Inigo Martinez had Athletic’s best chance but as he stretched for the bouncing ball, he could only poke over.

Athletic seemed to have played their way into the match before half-time but Barcelona came out with renewed vigour, with Unai Simon making two brilliant saves to deny Antoine Griezmann and then Busquets, both from close range.

But when the resistance gave way, it became a collapse, with goals scored in the 60th, 63rd, 68th and 72nd minutes to leave Athletic’s hopes in tatters.

First, Messi slipped in Dest down the right and his cross was diverted in by Griezmann before the second came from the opposite flank, Jordi Alba curled in a cross for De Jong to nod in.

The third was a spectacular from Messi, who started the move in his own half, leaping over one challenge and dodging another.

He took the ball back from Dest and drove down the right wing, away from three opponents and inside.

Messi twice played off De Jong, the second time after motoring forward into the penalty area, where he darted between two last Athletic defenders and slid the finish into the far corner.

His second, and Barca’s fourth, was more straight-forward, Alba pulling a cross back for the Argentinian to tuck under a weak right hand from Simon and inside the post. For Athletic, there was no way back.

(AFP)

With their season on the line, Arsenal’s players produced a devastating first-half performance Thursday to beat Slavia Prague and reach the Europa League semifinals.

They’ll meet a familiar face there.

Arsenal’s 4-0 win in the Czech capital—secured courtesy of a three-goal burst in six minutes from the 18th—clinched a 5-1 aggregate victory and set up a last-four match against Villarreal, which is managed by Unai Emery.

The Spanish coach spent an underwhelming 18 months at Arsenal as Arsene Wenger’s replacement in 2018-19 and is rebuilding his managerial career at Villarreal, which beat Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 and advanced 3-1 on aggregate.

Manchester United and Roma complete the semifinal lineup.

United is back in the last four for a second straight season after beating Spanish team Granada 2-0 for a 4-0 aggregate win.

Roma drew 1-1 with Ajax to squeeze through 3-2 on aggregate.

Arsenal and Roma were under pressure to advance because the Europa League represents their only chance of winning a trophy this season and their only realistic route into next season’s Champions League, owing to their lowly current placing in their domestic leagues.

Arsenal is ninth in the Premier League and Roma seventh in Serie A.

The winner of the Europa League earns an automatic spot in the far more lucrative Champions League.

Sending a message

Arsenal sent a message before and during the win over Slavia.

The hosts learned the day before the game that their defender, Ondrej Kudela, had been banned for 10 games for racially abusing Rangers’ Glen Kamara during a round-of-16 game last month.

Before kickoff, as Slavia’s players stood in a line at the center circle, Arsenal’s players took a knee in a symbolic gesture in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, with Alexandre Lacazette doing so right in front of the Slavia team and staring at the players.

Arsenal responded to having an early goal by Emile Smith Rowe ruled out for offside by VAR by scoring three times in quick succession, first though Nicolas Pepe in the 18th and then Lacazette—from the penalty spot—and Bukayo Saka.

That meant Slavia, the runaway leader of the Czech league which hadn’t lost at home in nearly 18 months, needed to score four goals to qualify. By halftime, the hosts had essentially given up as they removed some of their key players to preserve their condition for the league.

Lacazette, continuing as striker with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang sidelined after contracting malaria, added a fourth in the 77th minute.

“The boys were really at it from the start,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said. “It is a really important win in a crucial moment. We won in a convincing way.”

Arsenal lost to Chelsea in the Europa League final in 2019.

Villarreal’s goals were scored by Paco Alcacer and Gerard Moreno at the end of the first half, with Zagreb — the last-16 conqueror of Tottenham — grabbing a consolation through Mislav Orsic.

Villarreal is in the semifinals of the Europa League for the first time since 2016.

Cavani milestone

Edinson Cavani scored his 50th goal in European competition to lead United to victory over Granada at Old Trafford.

The 34-year-old Uruguay striker met a flicked header back into the middle of the area by Paul Pogba with a left-foot volley into the bottom corner in the sixth minute.

A 90th-minute own-goal by Jesus Vallejo completed a second straight 2-0 win over Granada.

United lost in the semifinals to Sevilla last season and has been defeated at that stage three other times — twice in the English League Cup and again in the FA Cup — under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Roma will look to inflict another last-four loss on United after surviving a scare against Ajax, which took the lead through Brian Brobbey’s lobbed finish in the 49th to tie the score on aggregate at 2-2.

Edin Dzeko equalized in the 72nd and Ajax couldn’t find the goal that would have taken the match to extra time.

Solskjaer was part of the United side that beat Roma 7-1 at Old Trafford in the Champions League quarterfinals in 2007.

Source: AP

Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos, who was already out of this week’s Champions League meeting with Liverpool because of a calf injury, has tested positive for Covid-19, the club announced on Tuesday.

“Our player Sergio Ramos tested positive in the last Covid-19 test he performed,” Real Madrid said in a statement.

Ramos is the second case of coronavirus detected in the Real Madrid squad in a week. French defender Raphael Varane tested positive last Tuesday.

Varane has not yet been given the green light to rejoin his teammates.

Ramos injured his left calf while with Spain during the international window but he has been a vocal presence on the sidelines since.

The positive test means he has to stay away from his teammates until he tests negative.

The 35-year-old defender is going through one of the most difficult seasons of his career — he underwent knee surgery in February and, after returning in mid-March, missed the Liga game against Celta Vigo on March 20 because of a shin injury.

Ramos has still revealed his plans once his contract with Real Madrid expires on June 30.

Source: AFP

Real Madrid beat rivals Barcelona 2-1 at home in an entertaining, rain-soaked ‘Clasico’ on Saturday to go top of La Liga.

Karim Benzema put the champions in charge at a soggy Alfredo di Stefano stadium with a delightful backheel in the 14th minute while a deflected Toni Kroos free kick doubled their lead in the 28th.

Barca hit back on the hour mark through Oscar Mingueza and the defender almost found the equaliser later on, while the Catalans had a huge penalty appeal waved away when Martin Braithwaite fell following a challenge by Ferland Mendy.

Real midfielder Casemiro was sent off in stoppage time for picking up two yellow cards in the space of a minute while Barca substitute Ilaix Moriba hit the crossbar in the fourth minute of added time.

The hosts survived the nail-biting finish to complete a sensational week after beating Liverpool 3-1 in a Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday.

Zinedine Zidane’s side joined Atletico Madrid on 66 points and moved top of the table, although Atletico can reclaim first place when they visit Real Betis on Sunday. Barca dropped to third on 65.

(REUTERS)

Liverpool clicked back into form to thrash Arsenal 3-0 at the Emirates on Saturday and rekindle their chances of a top-four finish in the Premier League.

Diogo Jota came off the bench to score twice either side of Mohamed Salah’s 26th goal of the season as Jurgen Klopp’s men closed to within two points of fourth-placed Chelsea.

The manner of the victory will be just as pleasing as the scoreline for Klopp as Liverpool looked far more like their old selves ahead of a trip to Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie on Tuesday.

Chelsea’s shock 5-2 defeat at home to West Brom earlier on Saturday opened the door for both sides to close in on their target of a top-four finish.

However, it was only Liverpool who showed any ambition as Arsenal were thoroughly outplayed.

The visitors pressed the Gunners high and quickly recovered possession, but lacked the killer edge up front to turn their dominance into goals until Jota was introduced on the hour mark.

Roberto Firmino flashed a shot just wide from outside the box before James Milner also failed to hit the target with the best chance of the first period.

Arsenal got to half-time without any damage done on the scoreboard, but suffered a major injury blow as Kieran Tierney limped off just before the break.

Tierney’s outstanding form for club and country has seen calls for Liverpool’s Andy Robertson to be dropped by Scotland to allow the former Celtic left-back to play in his favoured role.

With success for Arsenal this season now dependent on winning the Europa League, Tierney would be a big miss for Thursday’s quarter-final, first leg against Slavia Prague.

Like Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold has failed to hit the heights of his stunning season as Liverpool romped to the title last year.

On Friday, Klopp expressed his shock that Alexander-Arnold had been dropped from the England squad by Gareth Southgate and the right-back showed his international manager what he is missing by creating the opener on 64 minutes.

Jota had only been on the field three minutes when he met Alexander-Arnold’s cross with a powerful header at the back post.

Four minutes later, Salah wrapped up the three points as the Egyptian outmuscled Gabriel Magalhaes before coolly slotting underneath the advancing Bernd Leno.

The loss of centre-backs Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip to injury has been attributed as the principal reason for Liverpool’s slide down the Premier League table this season.

However, Jota’s absence for three months due to a knee injury between December and March also played a major part.

The Portuguese pounced again at the back post for his sixth goal in four games for club and country to round off a miserable night for the Gunners eight minutes from the end.

Arsenal remain in ninth, nine points adrift of the top four.

Source: AFP

In-form Nigeria striker Kelechi Iheanacho has signed a new contract with Leicester that will keep him at the Premier League club until 2024.

Iheanacho has scored nine times in his last nine appearances in all competitions as Leicester cemented their grip on third place in the Premier League and reached the FA Cup semi-finals.

The 24-year-old, who arrived at Leicester from Manchester City in 2017, scored five goals in three Premier League matches in March, earning him the top-flight Player of the Month prize.

“I can’t express how I’m feeling. I’m excited, I’m happy, I’m overwhelmed! It’s a great moment and I’m happy that Leicester City gave me a new contract,” Iheanacho told Leicester’s website.

“It’s been a great time here. It’s not been easy, but there’s a lot of people here that are good people, great people to work with. They are nice people and they make me feel comfortable and welcome since I came in.

“It’s been really great being here. It’s like a family. I’m happy being here and hopefully I can stay here many more years.”

Iheanacho’s tally this season of 12 has taken him to 32 goals for Leicester in 117 games in all competitions.

“I think you see a young player playing at the top of his game,” Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers said.

“I can only speak for the two years I’ve been here but his work, his ambition to become a better player was always there.

“He’s a wonderful character within the squad, constantly smiling, and whatever role he’s been asked to play he’s played it very well.”

Source:  AFP

Manchester United have set up an online system encouraging supporters to report incidents of racism and other hate crimes.

United’s “See Red” campaign follows Arsenal’s launch earlier this week of an action plan called #StopOnlineAbuse.

United stars Antony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Fred have all been subjected to racist abuse this season.

Fred hit back saying “we cannot feed that culture” of racism after he was racially abused following his side’s FA Cup quarter-final defeat by Leicester.

Former Arsenal star Thierry Henry recently quit all his social media platforms in protest at the rise in internet abuse.

“We challenge our fans, and indeed fans of every club, to watch this and think about their own favourite memories, their top teams and their most celebrated players,” United group managing director Richard Arnold said.

“How different would those memories be without the diversity of some of the best players in the world who have graced our game and our club?

“Sadly, footballers across the country continue to receive abuse online, seemingly without fear of censure.

“It is not good enough for us all to sit silently on the sidelines when we see or read racist remarks or behaviour.

“Inaction has a consequence. We must call it out. We must not tolerate it. If you see it or read it — report it.”

United will collaborate with the Premier League “to escalate any complaints received to the social media platforms and the relevant authorities.”

The club also urged social media platforms to punish the “online racists” with “tough action”.

Source: AFP

Four-time World Cup winners Germany’s defeat to North Macedonia sparked calls on Thursday for coach Joachim Loew to stand down instead of waiting till after this summer’s European Championship.

Goran Pandev had put North Macedonia ahead in Wednesday’s 2022 World Cup qualifier just before half-time and although Ilkay Gundogan equalised from the penalty spot early in the second half, the minnows snatched victory when Eljif Elmas scored a late winner in Duisburg.

Loew, who led Germany to glory at the 2014 World Cup but has suffered a string of poor results almost ever since, had announced last month that he will stand down after Euro 2020.

Bild, Germany’s most-read newspaper, said that decision should be reversed after the loss to the world’s 65th-ranked team.

“It’s over Jogi,” it said in its headline. “The magic that Loew conjured up during the World Cup (in 2014) has unfortunately disappeared. His achievements for German football cannot be questioned but his time has gone,” the paper said.

Loew has tried to forge a young new team without veteran stars such as Thomas Mueller and Jerome Boateng that he discarded after early Germany’s early elimination from the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Kicker magazine said the rebuilding project was not working.

“This newly formed German national team is still looking for direction and trying to find its way… both in the players’ legs and heads,” it said.

Kicker said Loew’s explanation that his players were “tired” simply “does not stand up… against opponents of that level”.

And Sport1 website said the team had “dishonoured itself”, and was particularly critical of Chelsea forward Timo Werner who missed an open goal.

“Some players are not reaching their usual level,” the website said.

The performance will only add fuel to the argument that 31-year-old Mueller, who is again in good form this season after leading Bayern Munich to victory in the 2020 Champions League, be recalled for the Euro finals this summer when Germany face a tough first-round group of reigning champions Portugal, World Cup holders France and Hungary.

The loudest calls came from Uli Hoeness, Bayern’s honorary president.

“Mueller should be in the team, he can still score goals and he can help any team in the world to get out of difficult situations,” Hoeness said.

Loew meanwhile insisted he had not lost faith in his team for the Euro — and he urged Germans not to either. “We must not lose belief,” Loew said. “In the coming days and weeks we will check over everything once again.”

Source: AFP

Sergio Aguero, who will always be associated with a single gilded moment in Manchester City’s history, is starting his long goodbye from the club with his position secure as one of the Premier League’s all-time greats.

Fans in the blue half of Manchester are coming to terms with the impending departure of the 32-year-old striker, who will leave when his contract expires at the end of the season.

Aguero joined City from Atletico Madrid in 2011, three years after the club was taken over by Abu Dhabi owners, and will leave after 10 trophy-laden years as the club’s record goalscorer, with 257 goals in 384 games so far.

“When a cycle comes to an end, many sensations arise,” the Argentine wrote on Twitter.

“A huge sense of satisfaction and pride remains in me for having played with Manchester City for a whole 10 seasons — unusual for a professional player in this day and age.”

Aguero has won four Premier League titles, with a fifth looking almost certain this season for City. Pep Guardiola’s side also remain in the hunt for a historic quadruple.

City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has revealed a statue of the striker has been commissioned to stand alongside those currently being made to honour Aguero’s former team-mates David Silva and Vincent Kompany.

“Sergio’s contribution to Manchester City over the last 10 years cannot be over-stated,” said Al Mubarak. “His legend will be indelibly etched into the memories of everyone who loves the club and maybe even in those who simply love football.”

Team-mate Kevin De Bruyne hailed him as a “City legend forever” while City defender Aymeric Laporte described him as a “class act” on and off the pitch.

Aguero has struggled with injuries since having knee surgery in the close season. A hamstring problem complicated his comeback and then he had to sit out a month after a coronavirus infection.

Those factors will have played a part in City’s decision not to offer him a new contract but the player himself is adamant he is far from finished, saying he is ready to face his new challenge with “passion and professionalism”.

– Aguero magic –

Even nine years after the event, it is impossible to separate Aguero from the goal that forever earned his place in the hearts of City fans.

Manchester United were seconds away from celebrating yet another Premier League title, prolonging the agony of their neighbours, who had not been crowned English champions since 1968.

But Aguero had other ideas, receiving the ball from Mario Balotelli and thundering home a finish to secure a 3-2 victory against QPR and send the Etihad into raptures.

There is even a 93:20 lounge at the stadium in a nod to the timing of Aguero’s dramatic title-clinching winner.

The Argentine became the club’s record goalscorer when he overtook Eric Brook’s 78-year landmark in 2017 and is now far out on his own.

He is the highest-scoring overseas player in Premier League history and is fourth on the all-time Premier League goalscoring list, with 181 goals.

Aguero’s problems with injuries and illness this season mean he has made just 14 appearances and he has scored just three times.

But former City defender Micah Richards, who won the title alongside Aguero in the 2011/12 season — believes the Argentine still has a lot to offer.

“Unless you get (Kylian) Mbappe, (Erling) Haaland or (Harry) Kane, what striker are you going to get to replace him? You get another year out of him,” Richards told the BBC.

City have been linked with a move for Borussia Dortmund hotshot Haaland, who is one of the most coveted players in world football, and Kane could be another option.

Aguero himself is adamant his departure does not mean the end of the story for him personally.

Barcelona are reported to be potential suitors and the Argentine has also been linked with Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and Inter Milan.

City, for their part, hope to have thousands of fans back in their stadium as Covid-19 restrictions are eased — in time to say farewell to Aguero and give a fitting send-off to one of their true greats.

Source: AFP

Holders Bayern Munich will take on last year’s beaten finalists Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League quarter-finals while record 13-time winners Real Madrid meet Liverpool in a repeat of the 2018 final.

The draw also pitted Premier League leaders Manchester City against Borussia Dortmund, with Chelsea set to play Porto in the other tie.

Bayern defeated PSG 1-0 behind closed doors in Lisbon last August to win their sixth European Cup and remain the team to beat in Europe, having won 18 and drawn one of their 19 games in the Champions League since the beginning of last season.

The first leg is set to be played in Germany on April 6 or 7, with the return in Paris a week later.

Meanwhile, the meeting of Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool and Real is another re-run of a recent final, with the Spaniards beating the Reds 3-1 in Kiev in 2018 to win the last of their record 13 titles to date.

Liverpool bounced back from that to lift the trophy for the sixth time in Madrid in 2019.

Klopp’s side are due to be away from home in the first leg, but it remains to be seen where that match will be played.

Atletico Madrid’s home leg against Chelsea in the last 16 ended up being moved to the Romanian capital Bucharest due to restrictions imposed on travel to Spain by British authorities.

The winner between Liverpool and Real will go onto a semi-final against either Chelsea or Porto, throwing up the possibility of an all-English last-four tie.

Liverpool beat Chelsea in the semi-finals in 2005 and again in 2007.

Unbeaten in 13 games since the appointment of Thomas Tuchel as coach in late January, Chelsea will be expected to get the better of Portuguese champions Porto, who ousted Juventus in the last 16.

However, that tie could also be relocated given travel restrictions between the United Kingdom and Portgual which prompted both legs of last month’s Europa League clash between Arsenal and Benfica to be played at neutral venues, in Italy and Greece.

Meanwhile City will be strong favourites against Dortmund, with the winner of that tie going through to a semi-final showdown with either Bayern or PSG.

Travel restrictions between the UK and Germany could also have an impact on City’s tie against Erling Braut Haaland’s Dortmund.

Both legs of City’s last-16 tie against Borussia Moenchengladbach were played in Budapest, as were both legs of Liverpool’s tie against RB Leipzig in the last round.

This season’s semi-finals are due to be played in late April and early May, with the final scheduled for May 29 in Istanbul.

(AFP)