South Africa survived a late penalty scare to knock pre-tournament favourites Morocco out of the Africa Cup of Nations and reach the quarter-finals.
Bafana Bafana were the better side and eventually ran out 2-0 winners over the 2022 World Cup semi-finalists – who had Sofyan Amrabat sent off in the closing stages after Achraf Hakimi had missed from the spot.
South Africa won just one group game to reach the knockout stages while Morocco had dominated Group F as they went in search of just a second AFCON title.
Just a bunch of winners standing on Business !!!!
Bring on the Quarter Finals!
— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana)
It was Hugo Broos’ side, however, who would hit the front as Evidence Makgopa finished off a flowing move with a…
Liverpool set another goalscoring record with their two first-half goals against Everton in Wednesday s Merseyside derby.
The Reds raced into a two-goal lead inside 19 minutes at Goodison Park thanks to strikes from Jordan Henderson and Mohamed Salah.
In doing so, Liverpool scored at least twice for the 18th match running in all competitions, a streak stretching back to August 28 when drawing 1-1 with Chelsea.
Sunderland previously held the record among English top-flight clubs with a run of two goals or more in 17 straight games in 1927.
2-0 Liverpool are 2-0 up inside 20 minutes in an away game against Everton for only the third time in Premier League history, after December 2005 (17 minutes) and October 2012 (20 minutes). L Oréal.
— OptaJoe…
Baseball great Ken Griffey Jr wants to help the Seattle Sounders become the closest thing MLS has to the New York Yankees.
The former Seattle Mariners star has joined the ownership group of the Sounders, which also includes Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and chart-topping rapper Macklemore.
Griffey, a Baseball Hall of Famer who hit 630 MLB home runs in his career to sit seventh on the all-time list, spent 13 years with the Mariners and retired in 2010.
The 50-year-old father-of-three said of his and wife Melissa s investment in the MLS side: I wanted to be a part of something, not only for myself, but for my kids to be proud of. This is it.
A club true to its city.
We welcome Ken Griffey Jr. and his wife, Melissa, to the Sounders Family!
Champions League holders Liverpool need at least a point against Salzburg to secure their progression from Group E, though they will come up against an Erling Haaland in sensational form.
Salzburg s youngster has found the net in all of their group games so far this season and will become the first player to convert in his first six Champions League appearances should he score for Salzburg against the Reds.
Barcelona have top spot in Group F secured but Inter still have it all to play for on Tuesday as they look to edge out Borussia Dortmund, and Antonio Conte s side have no Lionel Messi to worry about, with Ernesto Valverde resting Barca s talisman.
Chelsea will look to end a five-match winless run at home in the Champions League to ensure their place in the las…
Cristiano Ronaldo s 760th goal in professional football helped deliver Supercoppa Italiana glory for Juventus as they beat Napoli 2-0 after Lorenzo Insigne s penalty miss.
Having seen their aspirations of again retaining the Serie A title dealt a blow by a 2-0 loss to rivals Inter, Juve could have been considered vulnerable to a Napoli side coming off a 6-0 thumping of Fiorentina.
But Andrea Pirlo s men grew into the game in the second half and Ronaldo rewarded their efforts with what proved to be the decisive goal in the 64th minute.
Pirlo s first title as Juve head coach came with a dramatic conclusion, however, Insigne incredibly chipping wide from the spot after Weston McKinnie had felled Dries Mertens before Napoli were caught cold on an injury-time counter …
For 12 months, Bayern Munich have won and won again.
This time a year ago, Bayern were just a point clear at the top of the Bundesliga with the knockout stages of the Champions League still to negotiate.
But an outstanding, record-breaking 23-match winning run – the longest by a German club since the formation of the Bundesliga – took in four titles: the league, the DFB-Pokal, a sixth European crown and the UEFA Super Cup.
Since the conclusion of that remarkable stretch, which started on February 16 and ended with defeat on September 27, Bayern have added the DFL-Supercup, three days after the Hoffenheim loss, and now, with victory over Tigres UANL on Thursday, the FIFA Club World Cup.
Hansi Flick s side have bettered the efforts of their class of …
Lionel Messi is bidding to score at home in the Champions League for the first time this season as Barcelona take on Borussia Dortmund.
The Argentina international fired his latest blank in the 0-0 draw with Slavia Prague three weeks ago, leaving his side with work to do if they are to progress to the last 16.
Barca will be through if they beat Dortmund or if they draw and Inter fall to defeat at Slavia in the other Group F contest taking place on Wednesday.
Elsewhere, holders Liverpool host Napoli at Anfield aiming to avenge a 2-0 defeat from the reverse fixture, while Chelsea will reach the knockout stages with victory against Valencia.
Below, we have highlighted the key data ahead of Wednesday s eight matches.
Barcelona v Borussia D…
With Barcelona eventually breezing their way to a first domestic crown since 2019, it will be the other end of the La Liga table that steals all of the headlines this weekend.
Opening the final round of La Liga fixtures with just two points separating Valladolid in 18th and Cadiz who currently sit in 12th, the race for top-flight safety is certainly going down to the wire.
For those of you that are looking to place a final weekend flutter, we have created your ultimate Sunday Double ahead of what looks set to be a rollercoaster evening from across Spain s elite.
17:30 Real Madrid vs Athletic Bilbao
While Real Madrid might have suffered a public Champions League nightmare last month as they slumped to a 5-1 aggregate defeat against Manchester City, Los …
Cristiano Ronaldo will head into his record sixth European Championship as hungry as his first as he targets a dream second title with Portugal.
The 39-year-old scored 10 goals in Euro 2024 qualifying only Belgium s Romelu Lukaku (14) had more as Portugal cruised to the finals.
Ronaldo is no longer a guaranteed starter under Roberto Martinez, but he continues to show his importance for his country when called upon.
The five-time Ballon d Or winner struck twice in Tuesday s 3-0 friendly win over Republic of Ireland his 34th brace at international level.
And heading into what could be his final major tournament for 2016 winners Portugal, Ronaldo is relishing the chance to go out on a high.
For me, playing for the national team is a passion, a love,…
Chelsea 0-0 Liverpool (aet, 10-11 pens): Substitution backfires for Tuchel as Kepa misses decisive p
Liverpool won the EFL Cup by beating Chelsea on penalties following a goalless draw at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, with Kepa Arrizabalaga missing the 22nd kick of the shoot-out.
A tight encounter saw several big chances missed and four goals disallowed in all, before Kepa – who was brought on specifically for the shoot-out – missed the decisive penalty.
The remarkable finish means Liverpool have now won a record nine EFL Cups – one more than Manchester City – with this Jurgen Klopp s first domestic cup since arriving at Anfield in 2015.
European and world champions Chelsea will rue their wasted opportunities even before the spot-kicks in their fourth consecutive domestic final defeat.
Klopp had been dealt a blow before kick-off when Thiago…