'We've got our Chelsea back'
After Chelsea won the Conference League on Wednesday, we asked for your celebration stories and what the trophy means for Enzo Maresca's side.Here is a snapshot of your submissions:Terry (picture above): Just arrived back from Wroclaw after a brilliant trip. What a second half performance from the team! The atmosphere heading to and in the stadium was fantastic. Credit to the Real Betis fans and to the Polish hosts. We heard there was some trouble between fans but didn't see anything and only take a positive experience away. It may only be the Conference League but winning it and finishing in the top four shows real progress for this young team.Ian: We are staying in Krakow - it has been an amazing experience. My son cried after we equalised, such a fab memory. A day of recovery exploring the city. Chill day definitely required!Jacob: I had a couple of drinks with my mates after the game and we didn't get back home until 5am!Not a Chelsea fan? Find and follow your club here
Mo: People forget this isn't the same CFC that won the Champions League four years ago (apart from Reece James). This is a team full of kids with massive potential, who are yet to reach their prime. This win will do wonders for them. The bond, the hunger, the experience and the belief this win has created is invaluable. Their first steps in European Club football. Very happy for the boys and looking forward to the next few years as they hit their prime.Stevie: We've won it all! Again! Great second half from the team. Malo Gusto had a shocker but he will learn and improve. We need a new striker as Jackson isn't good enough even though he scored. We should have won the competition but being favourites isn't always easy and we did the job. Djordje Petrovic in goal and Andrey Santos in the squad and we can do good things next season!!Scott: This celebration wasn't about the Conference League - it was a marker that were rising back to where we feel we belong. I wouldn't swap Arsenal's season for ours and the questions about their current manager and team is 'have they peaked?, about whether Arteta should stay if they remain trophyless next season. The question about the current Chelsea team is solely about how far they can go. We've got our Chelsea back.
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The Guardian
36 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Polish presidential candidates neck and neck on eve of runoff vote
Poles will cast their votes on Sunday in the closest presidential runoff since the fall of communism, in an election that pits two different visions of the nation against each other. In Poland's previous election in 2020, the conservative populist incumbent Andrzej Duda narrowly won the second-round vote against the pro-Europe mayor of Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski, by 51% to 49%. This time it could be even closer. Polls show the difference between Trzaskowski and the nationalist rightwing historian Karol Nawrocki, who is backed by the Law and Justice party (PiS), which ruled Poland from 2015 to 2023, to be within the margin of error. At stake is whether the coalition government led by Donald Tusk, Trzaskowski's political patron, will be able to pursue its progressive agenda or see it further blocked by a critical opposition president armed with the power to veto laws. In Siekierczyn, a rural municipality with 4,265 residents across eight villages in the south-west of Poland, the first round was decided by a single vote, catapulting the hitherto unknown area into the spotlight. 'You probably often heard 'my vote won't change anything'. But look at Siekierczyn,' the winner, Trzaskowski, said in a social media video, rallying voters before the runoff. Noticeboards in the village are plastered with posters of candidates, and the mayor, Dariusz Furdykoń, 48, cherishes the attention that comes with the close result. The area faces challenges with rural revitalisation and energy transition, he says. In 2023, he turned a neglected bathing pond into a colourful outdoor playground; a new sports hall is to open this year. But he worries about depopulation as more people died (46) than were born (26) last year, and younger people leave for cities or seek work in Germany or the Czech Republic. Emotions are running high, he admits. 'These differences come out at the dining table, during first communion, Christmas or Easter. The rift is between older, often less-educated people, and younger ones, who have been out and about,' he says. 'Some are voters, others are believers. But what can you do? You need to talk with them, try to find a way forward.' In the first round, about 60% of residents cast votes. 'But the weather was awful,' Furdykoń says. On Sunday, he hopes to see more come out; the municipality will even run a special bus service to polling stations. In the early afternoon, the sleepy village turns into a hive of political campaigning as a group of Nawrocki voters meet to chat to the conservative TV channel Republika. Standing by their pickup emblazoned with Nawrocki's poster, Henryk, a former councillor, and Janina Wójcik say they want 'a candidate who, however lofty it sounds, serves Poland's interests best'. They feel that 'someone wants to take our freedom, our statehood,' as they worry about plans to create 'a European army' and EU green policies. In contrast, the Donald Trump-backed Nawrocki is a Catholic and will guarantee their state pension payments and free prescriptions, they say. Others rush to point out that Trzaskowski only came first because of a polling station inside a prison, where he won by 77 votes. 'People in the village didn't vote for him; prisoners did. Not something to brag about, is it?' says Teresa Zembik, 62. Her husband, Wojciech, 63, is head of the local PiS branch and he doesn't mince words. Political conflict 'runs through families here', he says. 'These are not just political views, it's a continuation of the war, and Poland is at stake. One group wants to fight for Poland, the other to destroy it in the interests of Russia and Germany.' Sign up to Headlines Europe A digest of the morning's main headlines from the Europe edition emailed direct to you every week day after newsletter promotion As the group crosses the road from the parish church, another man splits from it and tears down a Trzaskowski banner on a nearby house. Its resident Monika misses the drama. When told about the incident by children, she pulls her phone out. 'I will get another one up,' she laughs. She wants a 'tolerant, clean and peaceful Poland' and rejects the dismissive tone about prison voters. 'Folks make mistakes but then make amends. People are people.' Her daughter got her dad to vote for the first time this year. Maybe that won the first round, she wonders. She is not the only one to stake that claim. Picking up children from school, Mariola says her son turned 18 recently and voted for the first time, so it's his vote that swung it for Trzaskowski. 'I want to get reforms going,' she says, pointing to women's rights – 'the right to choose' – in particular. At a local supermarket, two Nawrocki voters, Dominik and Janusz, joke about another neighbour who also says he decided the vote. But they are tired of 'dirty campaign tricks' against their candidate. They shrug off that Nawrocki took part in an organised fight between 140 football hooligans20 years ago (he called it an act of 'noble combat'), and distrust reports he was allegedly involved in procuring sex workers while working as a student security guard at a hotel (a claim he strongly denies). Instead, they focus on the here and now, and want Nawrocki to lower national insurance payments for entrepreneurs. As president he could propose legislation, but he wouldn't have a majority in parliament – at least for now. Despite the fevered atmosphere, there are still some voters who are yet to make up their minds. Wioletta, 44, voted in the first round for the libertarian far-right candidate Sławomir Mentzen, who came third, and she doesn't like the remaining candidates. 'But I have to go. I'll decide at the polling station,' she says. Adam, 40, says: 'None of them convinced me yet.' He plans to watch YouTube and read up over the weekend. Aleks Szczerbiak, a professor of politics at the University of Sussex, said it was 'very, very close,' with 5% yet to pick a side. It 'might mean you get … disillusioned government supporters coming out in spite of everything' for Trzaskowski, or older voters who skipped the first round mobilise to back Nawrocki, or see another minor movement that could ultimately decide the result, he said. The diaspora vote could play a role, too, with about 700,000 registered voters abroad, including 185,000 in the UK. Ben Stanley, an associate professor at SWPS University in Warsaw, said: 'The outcome is impossible to predict. There are too many moving parts, and even the slightest change on the day could tip the balance.' For what it's worth, it is expected to rain again in Siekierczyn on Sunday.
North Wales Chronicle
4 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Beever-Jones hails ‘incredible' first Wembley start following England hat-trick
The 21-year-old became just the third woman – and second Lioness after Beth Mead – to score three times at Wembley, where she fired England out to a third-minute lead and Lucy Bronze headed home less than two minutes later. Beever-Jones struck twice more either side of Beth Mead's 29th-minute goal to hand England a 5-0 lead in the 33rd minute, while substitute Chloe Kelly added a sixth after the break. Aggie Beever-Jones! 🎩 — Lionesses (@Lionesses) May 30, 2025 'I'm delighted,' said Beever-Jones. 'I don't even know any of the records and whatever, but I think someone just said it was Beth. 'To be alongside her is something really, really incredible. It's my first time playing at Wembley for England and I don't think it could actually get much better than that. 'It was incredible. I think Wembley's always been a special place. Obviously, we won the FA Cup here, not so long ago with Chelsea. 'I saw the girls win the Euros here. For me it's such an historic place. I was just focusing on getting into the game and trying to do the basics well – I can't quite believe that. 'As a team, the first half was incredible. We executed the game plan really well. The girls took the goals really well. I'm just so happy.' England's triumph ensures they are still in contention to advance to the autumn Nations League finals, but will need to beat group leaders Spain on Tuesday night. Build-up to the penultimate group-stage contest was dominated by the shock international retirement of goalkeeper Mary Earps, who was instrumental in England securing their first major silverware with a 2-1 extra-time win over Germany at Wembley, three summers ago. Head coach Sarina Wiegman is expected to name her squad for that title defence – kicking off in Switzerland in just over a month – on June 5th, with next week's Spain meeting the last chance for players to make their case for selection. News of Earps' retirement on Tuesday had dominated the Lionesses' discourse leading up to the encounter, in which Chelsea's Hannah Hampton was England's number one. Beever-Jones added: 'As cliche as it sounds, Sarina said, 'It's a new kit, new England today. Go out there and put a graft in'. I think her words were 'destroy them' in her Dutch accent.' On a PLATE! 🍽️@bmeado9 🤝 @chloekelly — Lionesses (@Lionesses) May 30, 2025 Asked about her hat-trick hero, Wiegman said: 'I think she is a goalscorer. She scores goals very easily and very well. She has such quick feet and is keeping them on their weight all the time in good positions. 'She is really tight on the ball. The team did well coming into positions so the connections were really good. I think she played really relaxed.' But the England boss would not say whether or not Beever-Jones had cemented her place on the Euros squad, only conceding with a smile: 'You are putting some words into my mouth. I think she did really well today.'
North Wales Chronicle
4 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Aggie Beever-Jones hopes hat-trick earns spot in England's Euro 2025 squad
The Chelsea striker scored three times inside 30 first-half minutes in a 6-0 Nations League rout of Portugal at Wembley on Friday evening to set up a Group A3 showdown with leaders Spain next Tuesday. In the longer term, Beever-Jones is eager to make Wiegman's squad – which will head for Switzerland in July – and her efforts beneath the famous arch did her no harm. It's a hat-trick at @wembleystadium for @AggieBjones! 🤩 — Lionesses (@Lionesses) May 30, 2025 Asked about her ambitions of making the final party, Beever-Jones told ITV4: 'Someone asked me a similar question this week and I just said 'for me, I'm just focusing on the current and the now and I believe everything else will fall into place'. 'But as long as I'm giving the right people headaches and making Sarina happy, then so be it. 'But I think it was a good team performance today as well. We were really clinical in the first half. 'If I'm honest, the standard dropped a little bit in the second and we're looking to improve that so we're ready for the Euros.' Beever-Jones' treble came either side of goals from Lucy Bronze and Beth Mead as the Lionesses raced into a 5-0 half-time lead, with substitute Chloe Kelly adding a sixth, just after the hour. She said: 'I'm absolutely shattered first. Honestly, coming into this today after a busy season, I got told I was starting and I just wanted to help the team as much as I could. 'But I'm absolutely delighted right now. I can't quite believe it, if I'm honest.' Wiegman was delighted with the performance a night when her players stepped up in timely fashion. The head coach said: 'Of course, that's what we wanted. You go back to business and you want to show it on the pitch. It's an important game, we want to do well in the Nations League, we want to keep in the running to win it. 'We needed a win and it's really good to see the team showing up like this.' However when it was suggested things could not have gone much better, she added with a smile: 'There's always things to improve, of course, but it's a good score.' On a PLATE! 🍽️@bmeado9 🤝 @chloekelly — Lionesses (@Lionesses) May 30, 2025 For Kelly, a first England goal since the 2023 World Cup finals capped a week in which she also became a Champions League winner, but one which also saw her Euro 2022-winning team-mate Mary Earps retire from international football. She said: 'What she did in an England shirt is absolutely incredible. 'She paved the way for so many goalkeepers and the future generations goalkeepers, so I'm gutted that she's retiring. But I wish her all the best for the future and hopefully we see her a lot as well.'
