Promoted Forest plan to 'hit ground running'
Nottingham Forest Women have already begun preparations for Championship football after completing a league and cup double on Sunday, according to head coach Carly Davies.Forest claimed the FA Women's Northern Premier Division title – and promotion to the second tier – with a resounding 7-2 victory over West Brom at the City Ground, having already secured the National League Cup in March.Davies, who joined the club at the start of the 2023-24 season, told BBC Radio Nottingham that competing at national level for the first time will hold no fears."It's been in the making for the two years we've been in this process – our mantra's always been 'Championship-ready'," she said."We've been working above and beyond since we started on our journey so that, when we did achieve our goal, we know we're ready to go and we're not chasing our tails."We now look ahead to recruitment, getting the right players in the building and we'll hit the ground running from the start of next season."Despite falling behind against West Brom, Forest struck back through a Charlie Wellings penalty and Sophie Domingo gave them the lead before Mel Johnson blitzed the Baggies with four goals in the second half, broken up by a Holly Manders strike."This group are resilient, there was a calmness in them when the (West Brom) goal went in and what a response," Davies added. "We know we're always going to create chances and score goals."Mel's probably the most relaxed person in front of goal, almost horizontal at times – that's what makes her so good. She scores chances that she shouldn't have the audacity to score."
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The Independent
41 minutes ago
- The Independent
The cruiserweights who failed to make an impact at heavyweight
This weekend will see a bout for the IBF cruiserweight championship between Jai Opetaia and Claudio Squeo in Broadbeach, Australia. The pair will meet in a card, shown exclusively on DAZN, over twelve rounds at the Gold Coast Convention Centre. It will be Opetaia's third defence of his title, with the Australian being labelled in recent days as the top man in the cruiserweight division by former 200lb king Mairis Briedis. So far, Opetaia has shown little appetite for moving northwards into the heavyweight division. Back in December, the Australian told Boxing Scene that his present focus is on uniting all the belts at cruiserweight. 'At the moment,' he said, 'I'm fully focused on collecting the belts as a cruiserweight and then once I've done that, we can start talking about the heavyweight division.' If Opetaia does move to more than 200lbs – and, at 6'2', he would be at the shorter end of the cruiserweight division – the desire would be to follow in the footsteps of current heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk (who reigned amongst the 200lb-ers for years) and Evander Holyfield (the 'Real Deal' was the first undisputed cruiserweight champion before his mid-90s run among the heavyweights). All that in mind, there are many, many cruiserweight kings that opted to pack on the pounds but failed miserably in their attempts to go large. Jean-Marc Mormeck, 37-6 (23) In a just world, Jean-Marc Mormeck would have been a huge star in France. In 2006, he failed to unify the cruiserweight titles against O'Neil Bell in New York when he was stopped in the tenth round but defeated the Jamaican in their rematch fourteen months later. Both fights were tremendous. Mormeck, instead of pursuing a third match with Bell, instead took on David Haye in Paris and found himself being knocked out in seven rounds after putting the Hayemaker on the floor in the fourth. After that, Mormeck drifted up into the heavyweight division, taking on Vinny Maddalone, Fres Oquendo, and Timur Ibragimov. But, in truth, he never looked that great. At just 5'10', the added weight (and his age and the mileage) slowed Mormeck, and he seemed lucky to squeak out decisions against all three. In 2012, already advanced in age, Mormeck went to Dusseldorf to face Wladimir Klitschko. There was no great clamour for the match, but the location of Dusseldorf – close to the French border – swung the opportunity into Mormeck's favour. There was little Mormeck could do, however. He was dropped in rounds two and four, the latter for the count. Afterwards, he retreated back down to cruiserweight but a loss to Mateusz Masternak finished his career. Marco Huck, 43-5-1 (28) Few careers have gone so far astray as Marco Huck's. Huck won the WBO cruiserweight title in 2009 with a unanimous decision against Victor Emilio Ramirez in Halle, Germany, and then defended it thirteen times over the next six years. After leaving his management in Germany, he opted to take a cruiserweight fight in Newark, New Jersey, against Krzysztof Glowacki, thinking that this most-recent defence would make him a major international star. Unfortunately for Huck, Glowacki outlasted him in a war and stopped the German in eleven rounds. Huck returned to Germany, where he struggled to find meaningful venues and TV shows for his fights until his bout with Mairis Briedis in 2017. Another loss, and then Huck was back with his management to take on another cruiserweight fight – this time against Oleksandr Usyk. After losing in ten rounds, Huck has spent the last seven years trading off his cruiserweight fame amongst the heavyweights. Various 'comeback' fights have taken place, including against Dennis Lewandowski in a half-empty ice hockey arena in a small town in the German Harz mountains. Last year, the 39-year-old Huck fought ten rough rounds in Berlin against heavyweight gatekeeper Evgenios Lazaridis, winning 97-93 on all cards. Since then, despite teasing more 'comeback' fights, the Berliner is yet to return to the ring. Yoan Pablo Hernández, 29-2 (14) A Cuban who defected to Germany, Hernández won the IBF cruiserweight title in 2011 against Steve Cunningham, then successfully defended it three months later against the same man. He then defended it three more times against Troy Ross, Alexander Alekseev, and Firat Arslan before retiring in 2014 with a record of 29-1 (14). Six years later in 2020, Hernández came back at heavyweight. His first fight in the division was set against gatekeeper Kevin Johnson, 34-17-1 (18), who had fought (and lost) to Vitali Klitschko in 2009. Johnson had settled into a life on the road since then, fighting and losing to Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, Nathan Gorman, Filip Hrgovic, Martin Bakole, Daniel Dubois, and Andy Ruiz. Johnson was not tremendously pleased with his assignment against Hernández. 'I've fought the best punchers in the world,' he told me at the time, 'and then they put a cruiserweight in front of me? That's disrespectful.' It was so disrespectful, in fact, that Johnson stopped Hernández in seven rounds. After that, Hernández retired once more. Watch the very best boxing with a DAZN subscription DAZN is the home of combat sports, broadcasting over 185 fights a year from the world's best promoters, including Matchroom, Queensberry, Golden Boy, Misfits, PFL, BKFC, GLORY and more. An Annual Saver subscription is a one-off cost of £119.99 / $224.99 (for 12 months access), that's just 64p / $1.21 per fight. There is also a Monthly Flex Pass option (cancel any time) at £24.99 / $29.99 per month. A subscription includes weekly magazine shows, comprehensive fight library, exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes documentaries, and podcasts and vodcasts.
The Guardian
43 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Barcelona's rebirth and one last job for Szczesny: La Liga season review
The day La Liga 2024-25 began, Wojciech Szczesny was sitting on the beach in Marbella lighting up a cigarette, enjoying his retirement. The night it ended, he sat in the dressing room in Cornellà, 1,000km round the coast, and lit up a cigar instead. He had walked away in August, at 35 years old, unwanted and his heart no longer in it, or so he thought. Nine months on, here he was surrounded by kids half his age, a footballer again and winner of every trophy his new home country had to offer. He had not lost a single league match en route to becoming a champion. 'I've arrived where even my imagination wouldn't even dare to take me,' Szczesny had said when he retired. And if he hadn't dared imagine that, there was no way he could imagine this: a Copa del Rey, a Super Cup and a Champions League semi-final to go with the title. Summer had started with Kylian Mbappé finally arriving at the Santiago Bernabéu. Madrid had just won La Liga and the Champions League; now they had the world's best player too, beginning what Marca were already declaring 'a dominance never seen before'. They were going to walk it, which was perhaps part of the problem. As for Barcelona, their new face on the first day at a stadium which still did not feel like home was the star of Four Weddings and a Funeral, and that was probably just because someone misheard Joan Laporta say they desperately needed a huge grant. The team wore last year's kit, no deal reached on a new one; Dani Olmo was not out there because they could not register him; and Nico Williams was, but on the other team. So supporters whistled him, because it was his fault that Barcelona did not have the money to sign him and had to settle for the best player in La Liga instead. There were three 17-year-olds in the starting XI; three days later one of them, Marc Bernal, tore his ACL and did not play again. But Barcelona won then and every week for seven weeks. When they defeated Real Madrid 4-0 in the first clásico, it came as proof that maybe Barcelona really were going to be good after all. And that maybe Madrid really were not. Barcelona left the Santiago Bernabéu six points clear, having won 10 of 11 league games. But then came what the head coach Hansi Flick called 'shit November', and December was not much better, the advantage lost again. The league table from weeks 13 to 18 had Barcelona bottom, no wins in seven, and they were beaten three times in a row at home: by Las Palmas and Léganes – both would end up relegated – and then Atlético Madrid. Alex Sørloth striding, ice cool through the bodies left on the floor, the hitman finishing the job in the 95th minute. This too felt like a confirmation. Atlético had spent more than anyone, Julián Alvarez, Robin Le Normand and early-season revelation Conor Gallagher all arriving with Sørloth. It had taken a while to take shape, a few frank conversations too, but they were Spain's winter champions and genuine contenders. Maybe even favourites: a team with talent, strength and variety in depth, and an ability to score late goals that made it feel like maybe, just maybe, things would fall for them this time. Instead it all unravelled for Atlético, which it tends to do. Defeat to Leganés in January ended a run of 15 consecutive wins and began one of just two victories in 10. In a single week, they had that defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League and lost 4-2 to Barcelona in La Liga despite going two up, conceding in the 92nd and 98th minutes. It was the first time they had lost a two-goal lead in 14 years, 725 games, under Diego Simeone. 'Football is brutal,' Szczesny said afterwards. So brutal that Atlético's coach had to escape to Argentina to clear his head. When he got back, they lost the Copa del Rey semi-final to Barcelona too, their season over in early April. Real Madrid, meanwhile, were back in it. 'I'm a bit confused because I keep hearing that we're playing badly, but we're top,' Carlo Ancelotti said with just a smidgen of sarcasm in early January. The truth was their play was even less convincing than the weekly videos they dedicated to the referees, and Barcelona were back on top within a month. By the time it all ended, it was hard to think of a genuinely good Real Madrid performance against a genuinely good team, unless Manchester City counted. 'Our season starts for real,' Ancelotti said that night, but it did not and the subsequent loss to Arsenal was just the way they were. At the end of the season, when Mbappé's former club had won the competition no sooner than he had left, an old Marca cover from another of PSG's European eliminations inevitably reappeared, showing the France forward with the headline: 'if you want to win the Champions League, you know what you have to do'. No one in Spain scored more goals than Mbappé, the best debut campaign a Madrid goalscorer has ever had, but his acceleration was late and unaccompanied. He admitted he had hit 'rock bottom' first, and his revival did not bring the trophies or the moments he came for. It was not all about him, of course, but his arrival had been part of the shift, a symbol. The season that was always going to be his had been a failure. 'When a player like me comes to a team, many things change,' Mbappé said, and not all of them were for the better. Madrid lost 12 times, their flaws never more clearly laid bare than in the clásico, which kept coming round and with the same result. When Barcelona put five past Madrid in January it did not just win them the Super Cup, it was the start of them taking back control in the title race too. On the way into the stadium that night, news came through the sports ministry would let them register Dani Olmo despite Barcelona missing the deadline, Laporta heading up to the directors' box where he told the president of the federation exactly what he thought, shouting, swearing and a few days later shrugging: 'I am the way I am'. Saudi Arabia was also where Iñaki Peña arrived a couple of minutes late to a team meeting, the excuse for Szczesny to make his first start. They also went on to win 16 and draw one of their next 17 league games, all the way to the title, won the Copa del Rey next, and got within 42 seconds (and the width of a post) of a first Champions League final in 10 years. Madrid did at least compete in the first clásico cup final for 11 years – once they had decided to actually turn up – but they were beaten again, the way they completely lost it at full-time saying something about their mental state which went beyond just the players. As ice flew the referee's way, Antonio Rüdiger's self-proclaimed madness no longer seemed so funny. When the fourth and final clásico of the season came two weeks later, it was a last chance for Madrid to salvage something. They went two up inside 15 minutes and Mbappé eventually scored a hat-trick but Barcelona scored four before half-time, the perfect storm. For 24 minutes Madrid did not get out of their half – yes, literally – and the league was as good as gone. Four days later, when Barcelona won at Espanyol, it really was. Barcelona won the double and a treble. The treble slipped through their fingers in the semi-final at San Siro, lessons to learn and promises made: Lamine Yamal vowed they would be back, which felt believable now in a way that 12 months earlier it could not have. Domestically, Barcelona had been too good and so much fun. In the cup meetings with primera teams there was a 3-2, a 4-4, a 5-0 and a 5-1. In the league, they went away to the teams that finished in the Champions League places and scored five at Villarreal, four at Madrid, four at Atlético, three at Athletic. Oh, and four more at Girona, who played in it this season. Barça beat Madrid in all four meetings, scoring four, five, three and four again. They reached 102 league goals and the last of them, the last of all 995 scored in this La Liga season, came from Dani Olmo on the final Sunday in May, which felt symbolic: he had been sitting in the stands when it all began, wondering if he was ever going to get on, and then went through it all again in January. The league said he should not, the federation did too, so did a couple of judges. The sports ministry, though, disagreed. Ultimately the system had been played. Barcelona had won it all, open-topped bus heading out across the city. On the top deck, in a straw hat and sunglasses, every bit the senior citizen, Szczesny lit up another cigar. Below them, Madrid, Atlético, Athletic and Villarreal took the other Champions League places. Athletic had missed what might have been the biggest moment in their history, playing a European final in their own stadium, and had to host thousands of Manchester United and Spurs fans instead – but qualifying for their first Champions League campaign in a decade was a monumental achievement. Villarreal's return was significant too, literally breaking the ceiling as they celebrated. The other European places went to three teams who made football fun, and to whom it meant the world. 'We're pissed off to lose but we enjoy playing and if you enjoy playing you're going to be closer to winning; this will help us in the long run,' the Celta de Vigo winger Alfon had said when they were beaten by Madrid in October, and by May he had been proved right. This was football the way it is supposed to be, all about belonging too. A young, fearless local team, full of Galician academy products and led by the youngest coach in the league had been expected to fight for survival but Iago Aspas, the greatest player in their history, scored the goal at Getafe that secured seventh on the final day, his tearful promise to return the team to Europe finally fulfilled eight years later. Thirteen kilometres away, Rayo Vallecano were made to wait a little longer for a fiesta of their own, players gathered round a phone at full-time, anxiously watching the end of Osasuna's game, but they returned to Europe 25 years later. They had been led there by Iñigo Pérez, the coach who only ever wears a T-shirt no matter how cold it is and who the British Home Office said could not make a significant contribution to English football so was forced to make history in Spain instead. From the moment a proper pitch invasion began and the goalkeeper Augusto Batalla lost his shorts, only 15 seconds passed. 'Vallecas entera, se va de borrachera,' the chant ran: the whole of Vallecas is going on the piss. 'My grandad used to say to me 'effort equals reward'. That's not always true, but I'm happy that tonight it is,' Pérez said. At the other end of the table, Sevilla an absolute car crash of a club, but somehow finished a point above relegation. Valencia had looked lost, relegation increasingly a reality, until Carlos Corberán arrived. Girona turned to the 38-year-old Cristhian Stuani in times of trouble and he scored five in the last seven to save them. Alavés gave away 11 penalties, let all of them in and managed only five home goals in 2025, three of those penalties. They missed a fourth with just about the worst spot-kick you will ever see, yet finally secured safety with a week to go. Real Valladolid had been down for ages by then: they lost 18 of their last 19 games, collecting a solitary point from 57, the most pitiful run in history. Fans at the José Zorrilla Stadium saw them score just 11 times all year, while the midfielder Mario Martín was sent off as many times as he won matches. They were joined in relegation by Las Palmas, seemingly rescued by Diego Martínez only to collapse again. The manager went from 19 points in nine matches to 10 in 20 and the second division. He was right: he did not have a magic wand after all. All of which left Leganés and Espanyol fighting to avoid the third relegation place on the final day. Three-nil up against Valladolid after an hour, Leganés were staying up, but then news filtered through of a very generous penalty in Cornellà. Javi Puado scored with Espanyol's first shot on target against Las Palmas; with their second, Pere Milla made them safe and his manager cry. 'You have no idea how much we have suffered,' Manolo González said. Back at Butarque, Leganés had an idea, the final 20 minutes played out to a surreal silence. 'It was like someone had died,' the Leganés coach Borja Jiménez said. His team had beaten Barcelona and Atlético but still gone down. Forty points had been enough to survive in nine of the last 10 seasons, but not this time. If you had never seen a grown cucumber cry, you have now. The season was virtually over, just one thing left to do. Four days later, Betis, who had come from what Manuel Pellegrini described as the worst days of his six-years in charge to being the best team in La Liga for much of 2025, had a historic European final to play in Poland. It was not to be: they became the first Spanish team to lose a final to a foreign side since Valencia and Alavés in 2001. But do not think that the only winners this season were the team with the retiree in goal, because there is always more. So pick out your tux, climb aboard your private jet and welcome to the 25th Spanish football awards. Or, if you did not win, you could just stay at home in a huff instead. Valladolid, where Juanmi Latasa and Luis Pérez sat on the bench watching the final minutes of another humiliating defeat, the former pointing out that this was 'shit' and the latter telling him to shut up. To which Latasa replied: 'You shut up, you're a fine one to talk, superstar,' at which point Pérez reached across and punched him. 'And they're friends,' the coach Álvaro Rubio said. Thieves broke into the trophy room at Rayo Vallecano. Police are looking for a man with a carpet. Ba-dum tish. Actually, they really did break into the training ground at Rayo Vallecano, and police really were looking for a man with 60 pairs of boots. It was the fourth time it had happened. Borja Iglesias, turning up to his presentation at Celta in a sky blue Seat Panda. The entire Villarreal team turning up in taxis for a Copa del Rey game at Pontevedra after their flight could not land nearby. They played 106 minutes in the pouring rain, took 21 shots, and lost 1-0. Ronaldo, running to lead the Brazilian FA. Because he did such a good job at Valladolid. When Valladolid played Getafe, Ronaldo was back in Brazil instead, not just playing tennis but broadcasting it all on Twitch. So the following week their fans decided they would do the same, setting up a 'court' in the north stand and hitting a great big yellow ball back and forth with two giant, cartoonish rackets. Rude Bellingham. F off? Or f you? And yes that really is the set of the nearest thing Spain has to Match of the Day emblazoning both across their set IN GREAT BIG CAPITAL LETTERS. The Alavés manager, Chacho Coudet, who pulled out a chocolate bar and offered it to a radio journalist. 'I'm still going to ask you the hard questions,' he was told. After all, it was only a Snickers. Madrid's Fede Valverde saying sorry for not having a go at referees. 46,731 people came to see Betis and Sevilla – and that was just for training the day before the derby. ABC went with a photo of Begona Navia-Osorio, 84, and 80-year-old Isabel Maria Rus-Velaquez, a pair of nuns from either side of Seville's great divide. It was, after all, 'a derby as God wills it.' It was kids day at Atlético, so they invited the children to have a go leading the chants over the megaphone at the south stand. And so one of them did, predictably offering a charming rendition of ¡Madridistas, hijos de puta! The Alavés supporters who came in hard hats, hi-vis vests, and safety specs, carrying measuring tapes in honour of lovable lump Kike Garcia, the striker they call el obrero del gol: the labourer of goals. Oscar. Just hope Espanyol's players brought their poo bags. Even the dogs want Nico Williams' autograph these days. Lamine Yamal's baby brother, 2-year-old Keyne, who hit Nico right where it hurts. That'll teach him for not joining Barcelona. On the day Jesús Navas retired, the greatest player in Sevilla's history unable to carry on through the pain any more, he lifted his shirt up for the fans to see. With his name folded over so that only the No 16 he wore in homage to the late Antonio Puerta was visible. The clock showed 91.08 in their game with Barcelona when the Getafe coach, José Bordalas sent on Ismael Bekhoucha for the most brilliantly on-brand debut ever. Bekhoucha ran on, immediately pushed Pedri, crashed into Alejandro Balde, pushed him, blocked a cross, celebrated in Balde's face, got a slap, went to ground, and used up a minute, sparking a confrontation on the touchline. So he got up again, bumped into Raphinha twice, went down and used up another 40 seconds. Which left just enough time to get the ball, lose it and give it large to Balde again before the whistle went. Seven minutes, three touches, no passes, a yellow card, and a great result. The perfect performance. Osasuna's Aimar Oroz, who waited as two fans did rock, paper, scissors to see which one of them got his shirt. Sign up to Soccer with Jonathan Wilson Jonathan Wilson brings expert analysis on the biggest stories from European soccer after newsletter promotion Vedat Muriqi, Mallorca's target man extraordinaire and Gladiator II extra. Augusto Batalla, the goalkeeper to whom Carlo Ancelotti recommended a high potassium diet so severe was his recurring, excruciating battle with cramp, and with whom concerned colleague Iñaki Williams pleaded with to depart for treatment, what with that dislocated shoulder. Despite being forever at death's door, he didn't once give in, playing every minute of every game and even finding the strength to lead Rayo Vallecano to a derby victory over Leganés by saving a last-minute penalty. Twice. Ante Budimir. It was a cold, wet January morning in Pamplona, and the car that was supposed to take 78-year-old Mari Carmen to hospital hadn't turned up, leaving her stranded on the street. So Osasuna's all-time top scorer, who just happened to be passing, took her instead. Conor Gallagher had just got the equaliser at Rayo Vallecano when he stopped and sat on the pitch, something not right. Teammates came to his side, the referee did too, a hush falling, everyone fearing that he had broken something. Which, as it happened, he had: his hair band. With about 20 minutes to go and Real Madrid beating Alavés 3-0, the Bernabéu started chanting for Carlo Ancelotti to bring defender Jesús Vallejo on for the first time in two years, so he did. Six minutes later, Alavés had scored twice and were pushing for an equaliser. Vallejo did not play another minute until the title race was over. 'If I say what I think they'll stick me in a cage,' the Espanyol manager Manolo González claimed, but luckily that never stopped him. The man who claimed 'the nearest thing some people have seen to a football is a shoebox', insisting 'I don't go to the surgeon and tell him how to operate on me because I haven't got a fucking clue, but saying ridiculous things comes free,' described his refusal to go all-out attack as 'not just driving straight off a cliff without braking', said he goes 'from heart bypass to heart bypass every week', reckoned he would apply hair gel to his bald head 'in case it brings good luck', and responded to one particularly wild evening by claiming: 'All that was missing was me falling pregnant.' 'One day,' he said, 'you're John Travolta, the next you're Manolo González.' The 38-year-old club legend Cristhian Stuani had not started a match for 10 months when coach Míchel made him captain for Girona's first ever Champions League game, and he did not start another for two months after it either, but a promise is a promise. It got amply repaid too. Diego Simeone literally running away when he realised he was about to cry live on TV the night he completed 700 games in charge of Atletico Madrid. Sebastian Haller or James Rodríguez. Or Barcelona not getting Nico. OK, OK, it's Ayoze Pérez. The Valencia keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili betting Vinícius Júnior €50 that he would save his penalty at the Bernabéu was a nice little bonus. Or it would have been if the Brazilian had paid up. Antonin Panenka was invited to take the honorary kick-off at Real Oviedo, so of course he … performed a back-heel. Coral Gutiérrez, Gran Canaria's Wueen of the Carnaval went one better, not just taking the honorary kick-off before Las Palmas' game against Alavés but doing it with a rabona. Oh, and Pedri. The Barcelona midfielder Gavi and the Real Betis defender Diego Llorente teaming up to stick it to the man, taking out the referee Jesus Gil Manzano. Accidentally of course. Paulo Gazzaniga's three penalty saves against Athletic Club. Athletic's Oihan Sancet against Girona keeper Gazzaniga, the next time they met. When Lamine Yamal bent the ball perfectly into Raphinha's path with the outside of his foot from 40 yards against Villarreal, the Brazilian neatly lifting it over the keeper. AS called it 'the assist of the century,' but he did it a bit more often than that. There were two in Mallorca in five minutes, spinning and sliding across the turf like a bowling ball, and the one he played for Dani Olmo against Espanyol might have been even better. Villarreal's Álex Baena created more chances than anyone, another ball released with the outside of the boot for Nicolas Pépé against Leganés the neatest of an endless flow of perfect deliveries. Antony and Isco became best mates at Betis because of moments like this. Adnan Januzaj and Fábio Silva only connected to score once for Las Palmas, but what a once. Fede Valverde's flick for Kylian Mbappé was nice. Antonio Blanco's cross for Kike García couldn't have been better placed, although Iago Aspas to Óscar Mingueza probably was. The best of the lot though came from a goalkeeper. Andriy Lunin, we salute you. All of those are candidates but there's only one winner, or there would have been had this moment of magic from Samuel L Jackson's golf partner, Oli McBurnie, not come back off the bar. So let's head to Cornellà, where César Azpilicueta finally ended his 18-year wait to score in La Liga, and like this: Also at Espanyol, Ivan Cardona ran from one area to the other, and then thought: why not? ; where Gio Lo Celso and Antony handed in their entries, just five minutes apart; and of course where Lamine Yamal did the Lamine Yamal again, this time to win the league. Everyone loves a goalkeeper scoring, so how about two of them scoring two games in a row? Always watch Eibar. On 5 April, Jonmi Magunagoitia headed home in the 95th minute for them against Real Oviedo; seven days later, Gaëtan Poussin scored against them for Real Zaragoza in the 92nd minute. There's something wonderfully soft about Fran Beltran's shot, gently guided in on the bounce against Valencia. Luka Sucic's first-time finish for Real Sociedad against Atlético was just as smooth. Hit quite a bit harder, every Fede Valverde goal is a belter: there were nine of them this season, scored from a combined distance of about 2,000km away. Seen live and from right behind, the one against Celta was the most ludicrous. Leaning back like that, the flash of the boot so fast, the ball bouncing up a touch too high, it should have flown out the ground rather than into the net. Then there's Simeone. No, not that Simeone. Not that one, either, nor even that one. Here's Gianluca Simeone. From inside his own half, to take third-tier Rayo Majadahonda to the playoffs. This turn and finish from Antoine Griezmann was so glorious, so graceful it earned him an ovation – from the opposition's fans. But the winner is this from Raúl Garcia against Rayo. Just look at that first touch. And the second's not bad, either. There was just one problem when Manuel Pellegrini celebrated a goal at Alavés: the shot didn't actually go in, so the Betis coach sheepishly folded his arms back up again and pretended it had never happened. Diego Simeone went running towards Alex Sørloth after his late winner at Montjuïc, only to turn round and run back again, like a man who suddenly remembered he had left the oven on. Ayoze Pérez does love a nice cup of tea. There's something in Lamine Yamal's signalling the postcode of Rocafonda, an act of belonging however big he gets. And Antoine Griezmann's shirt raising moment gave itself to something cinematic. In the end though, there was nothing like the collective embrace of an entire community when César Tárrega, from the town of Aldaia, scored the first goal at Mestalla after the floods that killed over 200 people in the Valencia region, a moment that meant so many different things to so many different people and a reminder that you are allowed to enjoy, to live. In fact, you're supposed to. Betis after the derby, except that wasn't actually a title, it just felt like one. Nor was the whole of Vallecas going on the piss in a battered blue bus; it was something better. Barcelona's Pedri, Dani Olmo, Iñigo Martínez and Eric García cycling up Avinguda Diagonal in the dark it is, then. Rayo-Leganes was a free-flowing festival of football in which from 93.37 to 104.41, the ball was in play for four whole seconds. The winner though is Villarreal-Celta, just about the silliest match you could imagine. Seven goals from seven different men, the score going from 0-1, to 1-1, 1-2 to 3-2, and then to 3-3. Celta had two one-on-ones to win it on 94 and 95 only for Villarreal to actually do so on 100, the game eventually concluded in a way that was appropriately absurd. Hugo Álvarez grabbed hold of Thierno Barry's shorts outside the box but forgot to let go and was dragged far enough to end up inside it and give away a penalty. With what should have been the last kick, Dani Parejo's effort was saved by Ivan Villar; with what actually was, he put away the rebound. 'It's hard to explain,' Celta's Borja Iglesias admitted but this was to be enjoyed, not explained. 'If we're going to lose, let it be like this,' he said. 'I dreamed of one day seeing Vigo like this and of a group of mates taking Celta into Europe,' Claudio Giráldez said, and he had made it so. Manuel Pellegrini might just be the best coach Villarreal, Málaga and Betis have ever had. Valencia announced the arrival of Carlos Corberan on 25 December and it turned out he really was their Messiah. There was no gabarra this time, but Ernesto Valverde took Athletic to the Champions League. And Iñigo Pérez is bringing Europe to the barrio, whether Europe's ready or not. But really, how can it not be Hansi Flick? Come back in five minutes and the answer will have changed again. The candidates are clear, but choosing a winner messes with your mind. In the end, it comes down to three Barcelona players, although had Isco and Antony been at Betis all year that list might just be a little longer. No one played like Pedri, no one can play like Pedri. Raphinha was a revelation. And Lamine Yamal is ridiculous. Where did those fans go with their rock, paper and scissors? Come on, hurry up. Oh, OK. Raphinha. 4-3-3: Joan García (Espanyol); Andrei Ratiu (Rayo), Dani Vivian (Athletic), Iñigo Martínez (Barcelona), Óscar Mingueza (Celta); Pedri (Barcelona), Isco (Betis), Álex Baena (Villarreal); Lamine Yamal (Barcelona), Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid), Raphinha (Barcelona). Subs: Sergi Cardona (Villarreal), Fede Valverde (Madrid), Ante Budimir (Osasuna), Ayoze Pérez (Villarreal), Mauro Arambarri, Luis Milla (Getafe), Mikel Jauregizar, Iñaki Williams, Oihan Sancet (Athletic), Julián Alvarez (Atletico), Antony (Betis), Carlos Vicente, Kike Garcia (Alavés), Jules Koundé (Barcelona). Oh, and Alex Sorløth, of course. Asked how many lives he has as he seems to get killed every week but somehow he's still there, Carlo Ancelotti replies: 'One, and I try to enjoy it.' Which is a nice place to leave it.
Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Swansea set to have stunning new beachside stadium built with club to leave 21,088-seater current home
The 8,000-seat venue will be built in two phases BEACH LIFE Swansea set to have stunning new beachside stadium built with club to leave 21,088-seater current home Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) OSPREYS have unveiled plans for an ambitious makeover of St Helen's stadium. The Swansea-based rugby union side are moving to the beachside venue for next season. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 Ospreys are preparing to move to a new home later this year Credit: Reuters 3 Plans have been submitted for a makeover of St Helen's on the city beachfront Credit: Osprey Rugby 3 The rugby and cricket venue is located just off the sand Credit: Alamy Ospreys have been sharing with Championship side Swansea City at the 21,088-seater Liberty Stadium. But they are making the switch to St Helen's midway through the 2025/26 campaign. The venue - which hosts both rugby and cricket - is located just metres from the beach in the Welsh city. And the club are planning an ambitious makeover to create an 8,000-seater hub for elite rugby in the region. READ MORE ON SPORT AZT TO CHANGE World Cup stadium looks unrecognisable with cranes on pitch & seats ripped up Phase one of the work will see a 4G pitch installed with a cover built over the existing terrace. Three new stands will then be built, as well as a new fan zone. Following completion of the ground, state-of-the-art training facilities will follow later. Ospreys chief executive Lance Bradley said: "This is a vital step toward bringing our long-term vision to life. BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK "It reflects our belief not only in the transformation of St Helen's, but in the strength of our future, rooted in Swansea and powered by our supporters. "This is about more than new stands or improved facilities. Shocking moment enormous brawl breaks out in rubgy league after 'horrendous hit' "It's a statement of intent about who we are, where we belong, and where we're going. "Our goal is a world-class home for elite rugby, community sport and shared experiences that inspire pride across the region." The plans come despite Ospreys being in dispute with the Welsh Rugby Union over funding. Bradley added: "We are still talking with the WRU about the situation and if we were not confident of a positive outcome that would make things a lot more difficult. "The fact we are proceeding full steam ahead with the development does shows a level of confidence." Swansea Cricket Club share the St Helen's site and will remain playing at the venue for the 2025 season. As a result, Ospreys will likely not play at the site until at least December.
