LUTON, England: Jacob Brown scored an 83rd-minute winner as Luton beat Crystal Palace 2-1 in the Premier League on Saturday.
It was only Luton’s second win in 13 games in English soccer’s top division this season after securing promotion last term. The result saw them move four points clear of the relegation zone.
Teden Mengi fired Luton ahead in the 72nd minute at Kenilworth Road, but Michael Olize quickly evened the score in the 74th.
Brown’s goal ended a six-game winless streak for Rob Edwards’ team since their only other top flight victory against Everton in September.
Jefferson Lerma came close to rescuing a point for Palace with a header that hit the post 13 minutes into stoppage time.
The win reflects Luton’s improving form, having picked up five points in their last five games, including a 1-1 draw with Liverpool earlier this month.
Defeat for 13th-place Palace means the London club have only won one of their last six games.
Luton move four points clear of the relegation zone with a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace
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Luton move four points clear of the relegation zone with a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace
- It was only Luton’s second win in 13 games in English soccer’s top division this season
- Teden Mengi fired Luton ahead in the 72nd minute at Kenilworth Road
Palmeiras ease past Al Ahly in Club World Cup
- The match was suspended in the 63rd minute because of a weather warning
- Victory took Palmeiras provisionally top on four points
EAST RUTHERFORD, USA: Palmeiras drew first blood in Club World Cup Group A with a 2-0 victory over Al Ahly on Thursday in New Jersey.
Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami face Porto later on in the group’s other clash after two goalless draws in the first round of fixtures.
The match was suspended in the 63rd minute because of a weather warning, with players and fans at the MetLife Stadium instructed to “take shelter” because of a nearby storm.
Palmeiras were leading by two goals at the time, with a Wessam Abou Ali own goal sending the Brazilians ahead in the 49th minute before Flaco Lopez doubled their lead on the Egyptians 10 minutes later.
Victory took Palmeiras provisionally top on four points, with the other three sides level on one point each.
It was the third match at the tournament affected by adverse weather at the tournament.
On Tuesday Mamelodi Sundowns game against Ulsan HD was suspended just before kick-off for just over an hour due to a weather alert.
Then on Wednesday RB Salzburg’ s match against Pachuca was suspended in the second half for 97 minutes because of a storm.
Palmeiras, led by talented youngster Estevao Willian, who is set to join Chelsea, played well but were held by Porto in their opening clash.
Al Ahly kept them at bay in a tight first half, in which English referee Anthony Taylor sent off Palmeiras midfielder Raphael Veiga for a foul on Ahmed Zizo, before overturning his decision following a VAR review.
Palestinian striker Abou Ali headed Anibal Moreno’s free-kick into his own net to hand Palmeiras the lead.
Lopez finished coolly for the Brazilians’ second after Mauricio played him through on goal.
After the suspension of around 45 minutes for the weather warning, Palmeiras played out the remainder of the match comfortably without risking their advantage.
South American sides have come into the tournament strongly, in good condition given they are in the middle of their domestic seasons, and have stayed unbeaten to this point.
Man City fined more than a million pounds for delayed kickoffs
- The club accepted and apologized for the rule breaches
- City are awaiting the verdict of 115 unrelated charges of alleged breaches of the FFP rules
MANCHESTER: Manchester City have been fined more than one million pounds by the Premier League for breaching the rules around delayed kickoffs and restarts nine times last season, England’s top-flight league said on Thursday.
The fine comes a year after City paid 2 million pounds ($2.56 million) to the league for breaching the same game-delay rules.
The club accepted and apologized for the rule breaches, and confirmed they have reminded their players and staff of their responsibilities in complying with the rules.
“Rules relating to kick-offs and re-starts help ensure the organization of the competition is set at the highest possible professional standard and provides certainty to fans and participating clubs,” the league said in a statement.
“It also ensures the broadcast of every Premier League match is kept to schedule.”
Fines totalling 1.08 million pounds were imposed relating to City’s home games against Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, Nottingham Forest, Manchester United, West Ham United and Newcastle United and their away fixtures against Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Ipswich Town.
The longest game delays were two minutes 22 seconds each for restarts v West Ham and Ipswich.
City are awaiting the verdict of 115 unrelated charges of alleged breaches of the Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.
The charges cover a period starting from 2009 and continuing into the 2022-23 season. City have always denied any wrongdoing.
Soccer fans storm field in Libya and a Portuguese referee is injured during a suspended match
- The match was suspended in the 39th minute
- Al-Ittihad’s bus was set on fire, the club said in a statement
TRIPOLI: A highly-anticipated derby in Libya’s top soccer league was suspended after fans stormed the pitch and officials said Thursday the Portuguese referee and some fans were injured.
The match Wednesday between Al-Ahly Tripoli and Al-Ittihad was suspended in the 39th minute when Al-Ahli substitutes and fans stormed the pitch in protest of Al-Ittihad players’ celebration of their opening goal.
Al-Ittihad’s bus was set on fire, the club said in a statement.
Players and soccer officials fled the stadium amid a fan disturbance outside the facility. Footage circuited online showed clashes between fans and security forces in and around the stadium.
Al-Ahly blamed what they called a “provocative act” by one of Al-Ittihad players for the disturbance.
They said in a statement that security forces used “excessive force and live fire” against fans at the club’s headquarters.
Local media reported that Portuguese referee Fábio José Costa was injured.
FIFA hands four-match bans to Boca Juniors players sent off in Club World Cup opener
- Boca disagreed with the sanctions imposed on their players
- “We have already contacted FIFA to submit an appeal,” said the club
MIAMI: Boca Juniors players Ander Herrera and Nicolas Figal were handed four-match bans by FIFA after being sent off in their Club World Cup opener against Benfica, a spokesperson for the Argentine club told Reuters on Wednesday.
Boca disagreed with the sanctions imposed on their players after Benfica’s Andrea Belotti received a two-match ban for catching Ayrton Costa in the head with a high boot in the 72nd minute.
“We have already contacted FIFA to submit an appeal,” said the club spokesperson.
Spanish midfielder Herrera, who was subbed off due to a muscle injury, was shown a red card in the 45th minute after protesting to Mexican referee Cesar Ramos from the bench over a penalty awarded to the Portuguese side.
Defender Figal was sent off in the 88th minute with a straight red card for a foul on Florentino Luis when the match was tied at 2-2.
Boca will face Bayern Munich at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Friday in their second match in Group C.
Kolo Muani, Conceicao each score twice in Juventus’ 5-0 win over Al-Ain in the Club World Cup
- The 36-time Italian champions opened the scoring at the 11th minute on Kolo Muani’s header
WASHINGTON: Randal Kolo Muani and Francisco Conceicao each scored twice and Juventus closed out the first round of the group stage in the Club World Cup with a 5-0 victory over Al-Ain on Wednesday night.
The 36-time Italian champions opened the scoring at the 11th minute on Kolo Muani’s header in front of 18,161 fans, many on them wearing white and black-striped Juventus jerseys.
Ten minutes later, Conceicao dribbled the ball inside the penalty box and made it 2-0.
Kenan Yildiz scored into the lower left corner in the 31st minute and Kolo Muani’s second goal four minutes into first-half stoppage time put Juventus up 4-0. Kolo Muani’s loan from Paris Saint-Germain was extended for the Club World Cup, with negotiations ongoing.
Conceicao scored again from a center-field kick in the 58th minute.
Key moment
Juventus scored three goals on Al-Ain goalkeeper Rui Patricio in the span of 20 minutes in the first half. The team had 10 first-half shots, eight of which were inside the penalty area.
Takeaways
Al-Ain, from the United Arab Emirates, will face a tougher challenge against current Club World Cup champions and Group G favorites Manchester City in Atlanta on Sunday. Juventus currently sits first in the group by goal difference and will travel to Philadelphia to attempt to secure a spot in the next round against Wydad.
What they said
“They play a strong game every week, doesn’t matter if it’s championship in Italy or if it’s Champions League. For them these kind of big games is something usual, and for us it is different. In our country, we play in front of two to three thousand people.” – Vladimir Ivic, Al-Ain head coach.
“He (head coach Igor Tudor) trusts me. He wants me to go to attack, to keep defenders in front, so I like to play together. I’m very happy to play with my teammates. ... We played this game for a win. I’m happy to start this competition like this.” – Randal Kolo Muani, Juventus forward.
