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Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Carlton crush Port as McKay runs riot up forward
Carlton's road to redemption has begun with a 54-point smashing of Port Adelaide, led by Harry McKay's equal career-high seven goals. With Michael Voss' future as coach secure into next year, the Blues raced out of the blocks at Marvel Stadium on Saturday with their best first half of the season - 13.5 to lead by 55 points at the main break. Carlton were never threatened by a lacklustre Port in Ken Hinkley's penultimate game as Power coach, kicking the first six goals in just 10 minutes on their way to a dominant 18.10 (118) to 9.10 (64) win. After finishing off strongly in last week's defeat to Gold Coast with a blistering final term, the Blues again played more like the finals team of 2023 and 2024 than the strugglers of 2025. Harry McKay has 6️⃣ goals 🌭#AFLBluesPower — AFL (@AFL) August 16, 2025 Star Blues forward McKay was back to his best, booting four first-half goals in a commanding and confident display. McKay finished with seven, his best return in a game since his Coleman Medal season of 2021, after battling injuries and mental ill health this year. But the dominance started from the Blues' midfield, winning clearances 30-10 in the first half, including a staggering 16-3 from the centre. The return of star midfielder Sam Walsh was profound, playing his first game since round 13 after battling a foot injury. Tom De Koning, who is expected to accept a monster contract from St Kilda in the trade period, was immense back in the ruck. Carlton had been using De Koning up forward and as a second ruck option for large parts of this season, but he has shown the last two weeks he is best suited to the middle. Preliminary finalists last year, Port have been crawling to the end of the home-and-away season. It was hard to find any winners for them against the Blues, but rookie forward Jack Whitlock showed promise with the first three goals of his career. Port will be desperate to put in a better showing next Friday night when they farewell Hinkley and club legend Travis Boak when they host Gold Coast at Adelaide Oval.


New York Times
19 minutes ago
- New York Times
Federico Chiesa finally has his moment in a Liverpool shirt after a year of waiting
Federico Chiesa earned cult hero status during his maiden campaign at Liverpool. Supporters admired his positivity and commitment, and how he always seemed to be in the thick of the celebrations even when his involvement had been minimal. The song dedicated to him to the tune of 'Sway' by Dean Martin caught on and became one of the anthems of the season as Arne Slot's side celebrated Premier League title glory. But the brutal reality was that his highlights reel was short and not particularly sweet. Over the course of 2024-25, he clocked up just 104 minutes of top-flight action, making just six league appearances. The only league game he started following his £12million move from Juventus last summer was away at Brighton & Hove Albion in May after the title had already been won, when key personnel were given a breather. Injuries hampered Chiesa. Even when he was fit, he was repeatedly overlooked by Slot. He scored in the FA Cup rout of minnows Accrington Stanley and then netted Liverpool's consolation off the bench in the Carabao Cup final defeat to Newcastle United at Wembley. But what he lacked was a truly significant contribution to call his own. The long wait for that elusive moment ended at Anfield on Friday evening. Chiesa hits his goal on Friday night (Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images) On the day Liverpool announced the signing of young Italian defender Giovanni Leoni for an initial fee of £26million, his illustrious fellow countryman finally came to the party. As the clock ticked into the 88th minute, the champions were in serious danger of starting their title defence with a morale-sapping draw, having thrown away a two-goal lead. But when Djordje Petrovic palmed away Mohamed Salah's tantalising cross and Bournemouth failed to clear, Chiesa pounced as he arrowed a volley into the bottom corner from 10 yards out. The outpouring of emotion showed what it meant to him. The Italy international, who had replaced Florian Wirtz six minutes earlier, raced away with his arms outstretched before embarking on a jubilant knee slide towards the corner flag. Finally, 352 days after signing for Liverpool, he had a Premier League goal to his name. 'After the fans sung for him so many times during the game already and last season as well, I think it is very nice for him to give them something in return,' Slot said. 'That's definitely what he did tonight. It was an unbelievable atmosphere in the final minutes. I thought winning the league here would always be more special than winning a home game against Bournemouth, but the last six or seven minutes…wow.' The manner in which Chiesa was mobbed by his team-mates underlined how he's regarded by his peers. He's especially close with the South American duo of Alisson and Alexis Mac Allister, as well as Wataru Endo. However, all of his team-mates admire how he's dealt with adversity since joining Liverpool, and there couldn't have been a more popular goal scorer. 'Fede is an amazing character,' said captain Virgil van Dijk. 'It's reward for all the hard work since he joined the club. He's been unlucky with injuries, but I'm really glad he could be important tonight. It's not been an easy time for him, but we're all here for him. We all know what kind of impact he can have, and I'm really pleased for him that he scored. 'He's had some difficult moments, but he has great qualities. We all love him. He's loved by the fans as well. When he can produce moments like this, it's something we all want to see.' After the final whistle, Chiesa made a beeline for the backroom staff on the touchline who had helped guide him through some tough times. The biggest embraces were reserved for first-team doctor Amit Pannu and performance psychologist Lee Richardson before he rejoined his team-mates on the field. Chiesa told Sky Italia: 'I arrived here and had a lot of difficulty because the tempo is just so different, but after a year, I finally got my first Premier League goal. The coach gave me a chance and always had words of encouragement for me.' Liverpool's frontline has been revamped this summer. The tragic loss of Diogo Jota was followed by the sales of Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez. The expectation was that Chiesa would also move on, but for all the rumours about a possible return to Italy, Liverpool haven't received one serious offer. One of those competing with Chiesa for a spot, Hugo Ekitike, became only the second player to both score and assist on his Premier League debut for the club after Nunez against Fulham three years ago. He looks set to be a massive asset. However, given the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the club's pursuit of Newcastle United's Alexander Isak, Liverpool should be keeping hold of Chiesa as cover. Offloading him at this stage of the window would make little sense. He should be given the opportunity to build on this. 'I have no reason to believe something is going to change,' insisted Slot. 'He had a hard time last season, getting his match fitness ready. Unfortunately for him, he missed out on our Asia tour as well, so then you miss quite a lot. Federico, when we needed him, I brought him in. At 2-2, you need your No 9, we brought him in and he delivered, and that's always positive for your future at the club.' Jota's family were in attendance at Anfield as a large banner unfurled on the Kop read: 'Rute, Dinis, Duarte, Mafalda — Anfield will always be your home. You'll Never Walk Alone.' Liverpool's forever No 20 was celebrated in song before, during and after the contest. This summer wasn't the first time Chiesa has had to come to terms with the loss of a much-loved team-mate. Back in 2018, he was part of the Fiorentina squad mourning the death of Davide Astori at the age of 31. 'My first thought after the goal was for Diogo, his brother and their family,' Chiesa told Sky Italia. 'It was such a touching evening, so finishing the game like that was very emotional. Diogo helped me from up there, pushing the ball over the line. That's how I want to believe it went.' A tearful Salah applauding the Kop post-match () The most poignant scenes of the night involved Salah. The Egyptian had earlier extended his remarkable record of scoring in opening round fixtures with Liverpool's fourth goal in stoppage time, becoming the first player in Premier League history to score 10 opening day goals. But it was a moment after the game that stood out. A tearful Salah stood applauding on his own in front of the Kop as the Jota song continued post-match. It felt like part of the grieving process. Chiesa certainly viewed this as staking a claim for a bigger part rather than signing off in style. 'We will talk to Liverpool, but to be perfectly honest, I am happy here,' he added. 'I am playing for one of the best teams in the world. I just have to wait and be ready as I was tonight, and prove that I can play for this team. The coach has treated me very well.' (Top photo: Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Bayern Munich open talks to sign Christopher Nkunku
Since the transfer of Nick Woltemade is still difficult to accomplish, Bayern Munich have set their sights on another one of their long-time targets: Chelsea's Christopher Nkunku. But what is new? While Bayern's interest in the French player has been there for almost the whole year, they've just now opened talks again with Nkunku, his agency and Chelsea over a possible transfer this summer. The Rekordmeister would prefer to do a loan with an option to buy, but Chelsea are pushing for a permanent sale. The interesting part: Bayern and Nkunku managed to come to an agreement on personal terms in January 2025 - and said agreement is reportedly still valid now! If the discussions between Bayern and Chelsea would now also come to a conclusion, then nothing stands in the way of the transfer. The almost finalized sale of Kingsley Coman to Al-Nassr has accelerated the negotiations for a possible replacement; Bayern are still keen on Woltemade and a deal could be struck - but they are also interested in Nkunku, who would like to join the Bavarians as well. For Chelsea, the sale of Nkunku could help them in financing the transfer of Leipzig's Xavi Simons, meaning that Bayern might be responsible for Leipzig losing their most valuable player soon.