Latest news with #ChampionsLeague
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Beth Mead emotional after Arsenal stun Barcelona
Was Arsenal's Win Over Barcelona The Biggest Champions League Upset Ever? | Full Time Review On this week's Full Time Review, The Athletic's Art de Roche and Laia Cervello join the podcast to discuss how Arsenal stunned Barcelona to win the 2024-25 UEFA Women's Champions League. Was it the biggest upset in a final the competition has ever seen? How did Arsenal honor their rich history while creating a new legacy? Who were the key players and top performers? And, what was behind Barcelona's collapse in Lisbon? 20:44 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
eNCA
40 minutes ago
- Sport
- eNCA
Chelsea roar back to beat Real Betis in UEFA Conference League final
WROCLAW - Chelsea roared back to beat Real Betis 4-1 in the UEFA Conference League final in Wroclaw on Wednesday, becoming the first club to complete a clean sweep of European trophies. Manuel Pellegrini's enterprising Betis caught the favourites cold with an early goal from Abde Ezzalzouli against a flat-footed and listless Chelsea. But Enzo Maresca's second-half substitutions injected energy and Cole Palmer changed the complexion of the game in a five-minute spell, setting up Enzo Fernandez and Nicolas Jackson to score. Substitute Jadon Sancho made the game safe in the 83rd minute as the Spanish side faded in their first European final and Moises Caicedo added gloss to the scoreline. Chelsea are the first club to win the full set of five UEFA club tournaments -- the Champions League, Europa League, Conference League, Super Cup and the now-defunct Cup Winners' Cup. They have also won their first silverware since Todd Boehly's consortium took over from former owner Roman Abramovich in 2022, following an era of unprecedented success for the club. Boehly was on the pitch at the end, savouring the win that seemed unlikely when Betis were in control in the first half. Chelsea have ended the season with a flourish after also securing a place in next season's Champions League following a fourth-placed finish in the Premier League. Maresca, in his first season at Stamford Bridge, said he hoped Conference League glory would be a launchpad for the club. "The club have invested lots of money in the last three or four years, so they are also waiting for results," Maresca told TNT Sports.
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Arsenal's first summer transfer close as Sporting address Viktor Gyokeres exit
Arsenal are making strides ahead of the summer transfer window opening for business, with a deal for Martin Zubimendi close and another for Viktor Gyokeres in the pipeline Arsenal are braced for a busy time in the summer transfer window, with the Gunners determined to learn from their past mistakes. Mikel Arteta's side have finished second in the Premier League for the third straight campaign and want to reinforce their squad this summer. "Josh [Kroenke] has been very clear in the direction and ambition we have," Arteta said recently. "We're going to try and see what we can do, make very subtle decisions, and respect what has taken us this far. "There's not much improvement. We've finished second three times, reached the Champions League semi-finals. There's that little percentage we need to nail." Those tweaks will involve the signing of a top-class striker this summer, with Viktor Gyokeres the top target, while a central midfielder is also on the way, in the form of Martin Zubimendi. Read on to see the latest on these deals. Sporting issue Gyokeres statement Sporting Lisbon say they are yet to receive any official offers for Viktor Gyokeres - and insist he could still stay with them this summer. Gyokeres is one of Arsenal's top targets this summer and Mirror Football understands they are confident he will join if they fork out £60million. However, Sporting vice-president Francisco Salgado Zenha said: 'He has three more years on his contract. At the moment there are no offers, he has three more years on his contract. I think the answer has been given. [Sporting's transfer plans] won't be any different from last year. We want to keep the best players and retain talent. "We want to continue to be champions, have competitive teams and fight on all fronts. I have been in this role for seven years. In the years when Sporting were champions, we even made fewer sales than in other years... the fact that we are champions gives us a greater ability to retain players and talent. 'Coincidence or not, we have not had to sell any players in those times. Not that we have not received offers, but the market is not under our control, we are always dependent.' Zubimendi set for medical Martin Zubimendi will soon be an Arsenal player after the club reached a full agreement with Real Sociedad over his transfer. The Gunners will pay his full release clause of £51m to sign the Spain international midfielder as soon as the window opens. The 26-year-old, who snubbed Liverpool in the summer, will become Arsenal's first signing of the summer once he has completed a medical. All the relevant documents have now been completed, meaning his announcement is close. Zubimendi will bolster the midfield after Jorginho confirmed he was leaving on a free transfer for Flamengo. Henry criticises Arteta Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has criticised the club's inability to sign a striker over the past few seasons. The Gunners have finished second for the third straight Premier League season, with injuries to Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus impacting their campaign heavily. Henry said on the Overlap Stick to Football podcast: 'When you look at the injuries and you look at the players that came, OK, he brought players – he got [Raheem] Sterling when everyone wanted a nine. He had time to get a nine, he had time. 'I'm not the coach, I don't know how the discussion… everyone has been screaming for a nine – apart from when we win, by the way. When we beat Real Madrid, we didn't need a nine. No, you do need a nine.' Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
The Sun
an hour ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Chelsea Win Conference League, Eye Bigger Titles Ahead
THE UEFA CONFERENCE League was not where Chelsea wanted to be, but their triumph in Wroclaw could prove to be a turning point for a club that had lost their trophy-winning habit. The Premier League team beat Real Betis 4-1 on Wednesday, recovering strongly from being outplayed in the first half by their Spanish opponents. Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca's second-half substitutions lifted his team but an inspired Cole Palmer was the catalyst for victory, producing two pinpoint crosses for Enzo Fernandez and Nicolas Jackson. Jadon Sancho's fine finish made it 3-1 and Moises Caicedo added a fourth in stoppage time to give Chelsea their first silverware since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital acquired the club in May 2022 from Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich. During the past three years the owners have spent more than £1 billion ($1.3 billion) on promising young talent, but until now have had little to show for it. Chelsea had been clear favourites to win Europe's third-tier club competition from the start, enabling Maresca to field youth and fringe players. They rampaged through the group phase, outclassing teams with a fraction of their resources such as Noah, Astana and Shamrock Rovers. Maresca spoke on the eve of the final in Poland about how he had stressed the importance of the Conference League to his players. He will not need to persuade them next season as they are back where they feel they belong, the Champions League, following a fourth-place finish in the Premier League. 'Winning mentality' Maresca, in his first season at Stamford Bridge, said he hoped winning the Conference League would be a launchpad for bigger and better. 'Hopefully, it can be a starting point to build a winning mentality,' he said. 'You need to win games. You need to win competitions. 'And for sure, the trophy we won tonight is going to make us better. But also, I'm very proud about the path or the journey we have done in the Premier League. 'For me, it's the most difficult competition in the world. You have to be consistent in 38 games. And these players, they showed it.' Maresca had a rollercoaster first season after replacing Mauricio Pochettino. His team were within touching distance of eventual Premier League champions Liverpool in mid-December before stumbling badly. But they found an extra gear towards the end of the campaign, negotiating a tricky run-in to finish in the Champions League spots. 'For sure, we have improved a lot since we started,' said former Leicester boss Maresca. 'We also start to win games in an ugly way. 'That is something with a young squad that you struggle to do that.' The Italian has been keen to highlight the extreme youth of his expensively assembled squad. The average age of his starting side was the youngest in a single Premier League campaign. Under Abramovich, Chelsea became serial trophy winners, claiming five Premier League titles and winning the Champions League twice. It is too early to predict whether they will return to those heady heights but the Conference League is a start. Next on the agenda is a trip to the Club World Cup in the United States, for which Chelsea qualified by winning the 2021 Champions League. 'Now we have 10 days off, 10 days where we need to recover energy, and then we're going to start the Club World Cup,' said Maresca. 'The target is to go game by game, try to go step by step, but at this moment we don't have any target for the Club World Cup. 'Now the only target is to recover energy, because the season has been very long.'
France 24
an hour ago
- Sport
- France 24
Chelsea aim higher after Conference League triumph
The Premier League team beat Real Betis 4-1 on Wednesday, recovering strongly from being outplayed in the first half by their Spanish opponents. Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca's second-half substitutions lifted his team but an inspired Cole Palmer was the catalyst for victory, producing two pinpoint crosses for Enzo Fernandez and Nicolas Jackson. Jadon Sancho's fine finish made it 3-1 and Moises Caicedo added a fourth in stoppage time to give Chelsea their first silverware since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital acquired the club in May 2022 from Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich. During the past three years the owners have spent more than £1 billion ($1.3 billion) on promising young talent, but until now have had little to show for it. Chelsea had been clear favourites to win Europe's third-tier club competition from the start, enabling Maresca to field youth and fringe players. They rampaged through the group phase, outclassing teams with a fraction of their resources such as Noah, Astana and Shamrock Rovers. Maresca spoke on the eve of the final in Poland about how he had stressed the importance of the Conference League to his players. He will not need to persuade them next season as they are back where they feel they belong, the Champions League, following a fourth-place finish in the Premier League. 'Winning mentality' Maresca, in his first season at Stamford Bridge, said he hoped winning the Conference League would be a launchpad for bigger and better. "Hopefully, it can be a starting point to build a winning mentality," he said. "You need to win games. You need to win competitions. "And for sure, the trophy we won tonight is going to make us better. But also, I'm very proud about the path or the journey we have done in the Premier League. "For me, it's the most difficult competition in the world. You have to be consistent in 38 games. And these players, they showed it." Maresca had a rollercoaster first season after replacing Mauricio Pochettino. His team were within touching distance of eventual Premier League champions Liverpool in mid-December before stumbling badly. But they found an extra gear towards the end of the campaign, negotiating a tricky run-in to finish in the Champions League spots. "For sure, we have improved a lot since we started," said former Leicester boss Maresca. "We also start to win games in an ugly way. "That is something with a young squad that you struggle to do that." The Italian has been keen to highlight the extreme youth of his expensively assembled squad. The average age of his starting side was the youngest in a single Premier League campaign. Under Abramovich, Chelsea became serial trophy winners, claiming five Premier League titles and winning the Champions League twice. It is too early to predict whether they will return to those heady heights but the Conference League is a start. Next on the agenda is a trip to the Club World Cup in the United States, for which Chelsea qualified by winning the 2021 Champions League. "Now we have 10 days off, 10 days where we need to recover energy, and then we're going to start the Club World Cup," said Maresca. "The target is to go game by game, try to go step by step, but at this moment we don't have any target for the Club World Cup. © 2025 AFP
