Manchester United’s Premier League title hopes may be fading, but a first final under Erik ten Hag is now in sight.
A 3-0 away win in the first leg of the League Cup semifinals against Nottingham Forest on Wednesday put United in control ahead of the return fixture at Old Trafford next week.
Goals from Marcus Rashford, Wout Weghorst and Bruno Fernandes at the City Ground went some way toward easing the disappointment of the late 3-2 loss to Arsenal on Sunday, which dented United’s challenge at the top of the league.
Ten Hag, however, has moved a step closer to the club’s first silverware for six years.
A Wembley final against Newcastle or Southampton awaits United unless Forest can mount an unlikely fightback.
Newcastle leads Southampton 1-0 after the first leg.
“We have to play one game, we have to do the same,” Ten Hag said. “We have to prepare, make good game plan and the players have to be focused.”
Rashford opened the scoring for United after six minutes with a run from the halfway line before bursting past Joe Worrall and Remo Freuler in the box and finishing clinically.
It was the in-form England forward’s 10th goal in as many games since returning from the World Cup and his fifth in the League Cup this season. No player from Europe’s big five leagues has scored as many over that period.
Sam Surridge had a goal ruled out by VAR for offside before Weghorst, who signed on loan from Burnley this month, scored his first for his new club in the 45th.
Antony’s shot from the edge of the box was only parried by Forest goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey and Weghorst reacted sharply to convert the rebound.
Fernandes rounded off the scoring in the 89th and likely ended Forest’s slim hopes of a comeback.
“We’ve put ourselves in this situation and we have to deal with it next week,” Forest manager Steve Cooper said.
United hasn’t won a trophy since 2017 when Jose Mourinho’s team lifted the League Cup and Europa League in his first season in charge.
Ten Hag is aiming to replicate that feat by delivering a trophy in his debut campaign after being appointed at the end of last season.
The former Ajax coach spoke this week of the importance of picking up silverware in his bid to return United to its former glories.
He questioned his players’ winning mentality after the defeat to Arsenal left his team 11 points off the league leader, but got the desired response against Forest.
“We lost the last game so we had to produce now and as a team we did,” United defender Lisandro Martinez said. “You can see when we do the right things we don’t concede goals. We controlled the game, but we still have many things to improve on and we have to keep going.”
Man United beat Forest 3-0, closes in on League Cup final
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Man United beat Forest 3-0, closes in on League Cup final
- Wembley final against Newcastle or Southampton awaits United
Queensberry on top at 5vs5 boxing in Riyadh
RIYADH: Queensberry has taken a commanding lead over Matchroom in the 5vs5 team boxing contest in Riyadh.
Queensberry captain Hamzah Sheeraz added to victories by Nick Ball and Willy Hutchinson to give the team a massive lead with two more bouts to come.
Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom team can still draw the contest, but Frank Warren’s Queensberry team have so far been perfectly ready for the meeting in the Saudi capital.
Dmitry Bivol defeated Libyan Malik Zinad for the WBA light-heavyweight title.
Upcoming:
Daniel Dubois (Queensberry) vs Filip Hrgovic (Matchroom)
Deontay Wilder (Matchroom) vs Zhilei Zhang (Queensberry)
Champions League final: Real Madrid seals 15th European Cup after 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund
- Victory sealed a record-extending fifth Champions League title for coach Carlo Ancelotti, his third with Madrid
LONDON: Vinicius Junior scored and sealed a record-extending 15th European Cup for Real Madrid after a 2-0 win against Borussia Dortmund in the final on Saturday.
The Brazil forward doubled Madrid’s lead in the 83rd minute at Wembley Stadium, nine minutes after Dani Carvajal headed the Spanish giant in front.
Victory sealed a record-extending fifth Champions League title for coach Carlo Ancelotti, his third with Madrid.
Meanwhile Carvajal, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Nacho have won European club soccer’s biggest prize on six occasions to equal the benchmark set by Madrid icon Paco Gento.
Dortmund paid the price for not making the most of its first half dominance when Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois pulled off a series of saves and Niclas Fullkrug hit the post.
Madrid took full advantage after the break.
Carvajal met Kroos’ corner at the near post in the 74th to power a header past Dortmund keeper Gregor Kobel.
Jude Bellingham nearly doubled the lead moments later, but then turned provider when slipping in Vinicius. With just Kobel to beat, the forward fired his shot into the far corner and raced off in celebration.
Rock star Lenny Kravitz got the crowd going before kickoff with a pre-game show that included fireworks and some of his biggest hits like “Are You Gonna Go My Way.”
It was Vinicius who was dancing after his goal effectively killed off Dortmund’s hopes of pulling off one of the biggest Champions League upsets in recent memory.
For a long time, the German side looked capable of halting Madrid after dominating the chances in the first half.
Coach Edin Terzic tactically outmaneuvered Ancelotti in every department, with Madrid’s stars subdued.
Only a combination of Courtois and the frame of the goal kept the scores level at the break after the keeper twice kept Karim Adeyemi from scoring and then watched as Fullkrug’s sliding effort came back off the post.
The break clearly helped Madrid and it slowly took control in the second half.
Carvajal’s goal came straight from the training ground, with the defender heading over from one corner before eventually converting, while Vinicius put the game beyond doubt.
Saudi’s Al-Rajhi sets his sights on victory at Desafio Ruta 40 Rally in Argentina
- The second edition of the rally will run until June 7
CORDOBA: Saudi World Champion Yazeed bin Mohammed Al-Rajhi is gearing up for the second edition of the Desafio Ruta 40 Rally in Argentina, the fourth round of the 2024 FIA World Rally Raid Championship (W2RC), set to take place in the northwestern region of the country.
The rally will traverse the provinces of Cordoba, San Juan and La Rioja over six days from June 1-7.
Navigating alongside him will be German navigator Timo Gottschalk, his partner since the Abu Dhabi Rally 2023, both competing aboard a Toyota Hilux EVO T1U from the Overdrive Racing team based in Belgium.
This year’s routes are entirely new, including passages through Cordoba and San Juan, which are new additions to the race.
Al-Rajhi is targeting victory in this year’s Argentine leg after finishing third in the previous edition despite the challenging terrains. These routes were previously used in Dakar Rally stages when Argentina hosted the competition from 2009-2018.
The Desafio Ruta 40 Rally, which first launched in 2010 and ran for nine years before resuming in Argentina last year as part of the World Long Distance Desert Rally Championship, consists of five stages, three circular, preceded by a 17-km qualifying stage. The rally then moves westward through La Rioja, concluding with a total distance of 3,045 km. Known for its rugged and challenging terrains, the Argentine rally resembles the Dakar Rally with its varied landscapes of gravel, open sand and high dunes.
Named after Argentina’s famous Route 40, the rally will traverse the iconic road, the longest in South America and one of the longest globally, alongside Route 66 in the US.
“I’m very excited to return for the second edition of Desafio Ruta 40,” said Al-Rajhi. “The first edition was tough and full of challenges, yet we managed to secure top positions. Let’s see what awaits us this season.
“Argentina is not unfamiliar to us; I first competed here in the Dakar Rally in 2015 aboard a Toyota Hilux, with Timo as my navigator at the time,” he added.
Al-Rajhi expressed his delight at racing in Argentina, saying: “I enjoy competing here; it feels like home. I have a great fan base supporting me since 2015. The fans here are amazing, always supporting us and loving motorsport. So, we’re always happy to come racing in Argentina.”
Al-Rajhi extended special thanks to his strategic partner, Jameel for Motorsport, for their support and sponsorship in his global and regional rally endeavors.
German navigator Timo Gottschalk also revealed his optimism about the championship season, noting the upcoming challenge with Al-Rajhi.
“We face a new challenge this year; the first edition was extremely tough, yet enjoyable. We need to be cautious and hope for success in this round,” Gottschalk said.
Saudi Football Federation and Saudi National Bank renew partnership
- The official partnership includes the NSB’s sponsorship of the activities and programs of the Saudi Football Federation
- Al-Misehil added that this step opened more prospects for cooperation and partnership with the banking sector
Jeddah: A new three-year partnership deal has been struck between the Saudi Football Federation and Saudi National Bank. The deal will begin from the 2024/25 season and run until 2027.
The renewal of the exclusive and official partnership agreement was signed by President of the Saudi Football Federation Yasser bin Hassan Al-Misehal and Chief Executive Officer of Saudi National Bank Tareq Abdulrahman Al-Sadhan.
The official partnership includes the NSB’s sponsorship of the activities and programs of the Saudi Football Federation, the national teams, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup, the Saudi Super Cup and the Saudi Women’s Football League.
Al-Misehil said: “We are delighted to renew our partnership with the SNB and extend our long-term commitment of support for a further three years.
“We look forward to our continued work with the SNB on a range of other important programs within Saudi football.”
Al-Misehil added that this step opened more prospects for cooperation and partnership with the banking sector, especially as the Saudi National Bank was a pioneer in the sector, and the continuation of this partnership would contribute to the development of football in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.
Al-Sadhan said: “We are all proud to be partners of the nation in its development journey, and the renewal of the bank’s exclusive partnership as an official sponsor of Saudi football confirms the important role that the bank plays in the growth of the sports sector and supporting Saudi football to contribute to achieving excellence at the local and global levels and reaching international ranks in order to achieve the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.”
Sabalenka reaches French Open last 16
- Sabalenka, a semifinalist in Paris in 2023, has made at least the last four at her past six Grand Slams
PARIS: Aryna Sabalenka overcame a sluggish start to defeat close friend Paula Badosa 7-5, 6-1 on Saturday to take her place in the last 16 of the French Open.
Former world number two Badosa led 5-3 in the first set but two-time Australian Open champion Sabalenka reeled off 10 of the final 11 games to sweep into the second week for the second year in a row.
Sabalenka, a semifinalist in Paris in 2023, has made at least the last four at her past six Grand Slams and is expected to be Iga Swiatek’s chief rival in the Pole’s bid for a fourth French Open title.
