Newcastle secures Champions League spot despite loss to Everton in season finale, Brighton thrashes Spurs
Newcastle United squeezed into the Champions League places despite losing 1-0 to Everton at home in its final game of the Premier League season on Sunday, thanks to Manchester United's 2-0 home win over Aston Villa.
The Magpies, who ended a 70-year domestic trophy drought by beating Liverpool to win the League Cup earlier in the season, ended up in fifth place on 66 points, edging out Villa on goal difference.
The final whistle led to a nervous wait at St. James's Park as the game continued at Old Trafford, with confirmation of Villa's defeat bringing a roar of joy and relief as the Champions League hymn was played to celebrate Newcastle's return to Europe's premier competition.
Newcastle dominated throughout but was undone by poor finishing and sloppy passing. Its struggles were encapsulated in a 38th-minute tongue-lashing administered by defender Fabian Schar to team mate Jacob Murphy, who dawdled across the midfield before carelessly giving away the ball.
READ | Liverpool ends victorious season with 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace
The home side had its chances but its final ball into the box was often poor, and any efforts it did manage to get on goal were comfortably dealt with by Jordan Pickford in the Everton goal.
Newcastle was eventually punished for giving away the ball once too often in the centre of the pitch in the 65th minute, with Everton's Vitaliy Mykolenko crossing for Carlos Alcaraz to score with a brilliant header.
The home side poured forward late in the second half as it sought to salvage some pride with an equaliser, with Bruno Guimares sending a stoppage-time effort that might have saved its blushes whistling past the top corner.
Other than that, Everton was in no mood to accommodate it and defended doggedly to the bitter end, finishing its season in 13th place on 48 points.
Newcastle 4-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Brighton & Hove Albion left Tottenham Hotspur with a hangover by thrashing the Europa League winner 4-1 away but missed out on a European place after finishing eighth in the standings.
Spurs were in celebratory mood following their triumph against Manchester United in Bilbao in midweek and took the lead through a Dominic Solanke penalty after 17 minutes following a clumsy foul on Mathys Tel by Mats Wieffer.
However, Brighton pushed for an equaliser and got it six minutes after the break through Jack Hinshelwood, who rifled the ball into the roof of the net, and he grabbed its second with a clever back-heel in the 64th following another corner.
Matt O'Riley then scored from the spot after Diego Gomez was fouled by Yves Bissouma, and Gomez netted a stunning fourth in added time for the visitor when he expertly curled the ball into the far top corner from just outside the area.
The defeat was the 22nd of a dreadful Premier League season for Spurs, which piled the pressure on their Australian manager Ange Postecoglou and led to speculation that he faced the sack.
Tottenham ended the campaign in 17th place, its lowest league finish in 21 years, with 38 points being the club's worst ever Premier League tally. However, on Sunday the home fans were more focused on celebrating their European success.
The players came back out after the game for a lap of the pitch with the Europa League, Spurs' first silverware since 2008 and their first European trophy for 41 years. Whether that is enough to extend Postecoglou's reign remains to be seen.
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Hindustan Times
43 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Germany reassesses World Cup prospects after being taught lessons by France and Portugal
BERLIN — Two defeats and last place in a mini-tournament it expected to win have dealt Germany a cold dose of reality ahead of the 2026 World Cup. The Nations League final four in Germany was supposed to show Julian Nagelsmann's team can count itself among Europe's best, but a 2-1 loss to Portugal in Munich followed by a 2-0 defeat to France in Stuttgart instead revealed a gulf in class. It showed that tournament-winner Portugal, beaten finalist Spain – the European champion – and a talent-packed France team are among the favorites with defending champion Argentina to win soccer's biggest prize next year. Nagelsmann was keen to highlight the positives, noting that Germany dominated and created a host of chances in the first half against France on Sunday – but counterpart Didier Deschamps had already said what little importance he gave the third-place decider, and it was clear which side was more motivated in front of the Stuttgart fans. Kylian Mbappé scored before the break and set up Michael Olise for the second goal as Les Bleus shook off their apathy in the second half and might have scored more. 'If you look at the first half, honestly, they were not bothered about winning. But they still won,' Germany captain Joshua Kimmich said. Germany's forwards were simply not as clinical as France's. It was a similar tale against Portugal, which rallied to beat Germany on Wednesday. Portugal coach Roberto Martínez changed the game when he introduced substitutes Vitinha, Francisco Conceição and Nelson Semedo in the second half, and Germany needed goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen at his best to stop the visitors scoring any more. Coach Nagelsmann pointed to the injury-enforced absences from his team – Jamal Musiala, Angelo Stiller, Kai Havertz, Antonio Rüdiger, Nico Schlotterbeck, Tim Kleindienst, Jonathan Burkardt and Yann Aurel Bisseck. But France was also without key players like Ousmane Dembélé and Eduardo Camavinga while Deschamps had to do without three of his preferred four-man backline – William Saliba, Dayot Upamecano and Jules Koundé. Even with a full-strength squad, it's debatable whether Germany can match its rivals' strength in depth when it comes to player development and the quality of youngsters coming through. Nine players in Spain coach Luis de la Fuente's Nations League squad are young enough to play at the Under-21 European Championship starting Wednesday in Slovakia. Star player Lamine Yamal is just 17 while Real Madrid's new signing Dean Huijsen looked like he'd been playing for Spain for years. The final was just his fourth appearance. 'It's quite clear, when it comes to the depth of the squad, that we have to abandon the illusion of getting it sorted out in a year,' Nagelsmann said. 'We have a few positions in German soccer that are given too little attention.' Nagelsmann pointed to Spain's use of wide players in attack – like Yamal or Nico Williams – and said Germany's dearth of wing backs had been a problem for years. Kimmich has been deployed at right back when his favored position is in midfield. 'Right now we're looking at what's important to see where we are in the world, what we need for the future, and to learn the right lessons from that,' Nagelsmann said. 'It would be nice if we could get one or two of the players up to speed by next year, but of course that's a limited window of opportunity.' The 37-year-old Nagelsmann appealed for patience from journalists, saying he was sure with the players he has that they 'will play a very, very good qualifying campaign and a very, very good tournament' in the United States, Mexico and Canada next summer. Nagelsmann then attempted to push some of the responsibility onto the media. 'You have to have a bit of trust and pull the handbrake a bit,' he said. 'You're in the same boat.' soccer: /hub/soccer


Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
The Cristiano Ronaldo relevance saga prolongs with Nations League goals
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Quarter-final ⚽️ Semi-final ⚽️ Final ⚽️ Cristiano Ronaldo, big-game player 🔥#NationsLeague — UEFA EURO (@UEFAEURO) June 9, 2025 Ronaldo needs the World Cup triumph to round off his golden career, but whether Portugal needs him for the mega event has been a question swirling since the last one. His performance in the Nations League offered causes for both his critics and supporters. After his goalless Euro, he has rediscovered his scoring touch, belting 10 in 15 games, and most significantly against the top-tier nations (among them Spain, Germany, and Croatia). There is little doubting his anticipation and his movements, to be present at the right place at the right time, to make the run towards a space where he thinks the ball would go, and latch onto the gifts of the wondrous creators around him. Feeding him through balls and crosses have been Roberto Martinez's default strategy to make Ronaldo look relevant, to maximise the gifts he still possesses. 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Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
NFL may soon open doors to foreign investors as team owners, claims former Washington Commanders president Jason Wright
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