Aberdeen stun Eintracht Frankfurt to finish European campaign in style

Aberdeen gave themselves a pre-Hampden boost by shocking Eintracht Frankfurt in a 2-0 victory at Pittodrie.

Goals from Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes and Ester Sokler gave the Dons their first win in the Europa Conference League as they finished Group G in third place on six points.

Duk slid in to score from close range just before the interval and Sokler sent a stunning lob past substitute keeper Jens Grahl with 15 minutes to go to net his second goal for the club.

The win stretched Aberdeen’s unbeaten home run against German sides in European competition to 10 matches and will send Barry Robson’s side into Sunday’s Viaplay Cup final against Rangers on a high.

With Sunday in mind, Robson made eight changes to the side that had beaten Hearts at the weekend, w…

Carvalhal ´proud´ of wonderkid Veiga following Al-Ahli switch

Carlos Carvalhal has refused to rule out a move to the Saudi Pro League, also expressing pride for his role in Gabri Veiga s development after the young midfielder joined Al-Ahli.

Carvalhal has been out of work since leaving Celta Vigo in June, having kept the club in La Liga courtesy of a dramatic final-day win over Barcelona.

Prior to his stint in Spain, Carvalhal led Rio Ave to a club-record tally of 55 points in Portugal s Primeira Liga in 2019-20, before moving to Braga and winning the Taca de Portugal the following season.

The Portuguese coach is no stranger to the Middle East, having managed UAE Pro League outfit Al Wahda in 2022, and he would not necessarily be against a move to Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabian clubs have spent heavily in the transfer…

Pacos de Ferreira 1-0 Tottenham: Much-changed Spurs fall to first-leg defeat in Portugal

Tottenham have work to do in their Europa Conference League qualifying play-off tie with Pacos de Ferreira after losing 1-0 in Thursday s first leg at Estadio Capital do Movel.

Nuno Espirito Santo made 11 changes from last weekend s Premier League victory over Manchester City, with Harry Kane again not involved, and that told in a disappointing display from Spurs.

Lucas Silva fired the Portuguese hosts ahead in the 45th minute and Nuno s side, who had five full debutants in their ranks, struggled to find any sort of response.

Tottenham did not register a single attempt on target and are now battling to avoid an early European exit when the sides reconvene in north London next Thursday.

Spurs initially started well, with Bryan Gil in particular getting int…

Mexico 3-0 Honduras: El Tri top CONCACAF qualifying after win at Azteca

Mexico moved top of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying with a comprehensive 3-0 defeat of 10-man Honduras on Sunday. 

It was not a routine fixture for Mexico, who lost at home to Honduras during qualifying for the 2014 and 2008 World Cups, but El Tri were up to the challenge at Azteca Stadium. 

The victory put Mexico on 11 points through five matches, three points clear of the United States and Panama after the USA s shock defeat in Panama City earlier on Sunday.

Sebastian Cordova opened the scoring in the 18th minute, driving home a shot from seven yards out with Honduras goalkeeper Luis Lopez out of position after a scramble around the goal. 

Four minutes into the second half, Honduras saw any realistic hopes of a comeback dashed when Maynor Figueroa dre…

Rangers 3-1 RB Leipzig (3-2 agg): Late Lundstram strike takes Glasgow giants to Europa League final

John Lundstram s late strike saw Rangers through to the Europa League final as they roared back at Ibrox to beat RB Leipzig 3-1 on the night and 3-2 on aggregate.

Trailing 1-0 from the first leg, first-half goals from James Tavernier and Glen Kamara turned the tie in favour of Giovanni van Bronckhorst s side.

Leipzig, who were seeking their first European final appearance, levelled on aggregate when Christopher Nkunku neatly volleyed home in the 70th minute.

However, Lundstram popped up 10 minutes from time to snatch a dramatic winner for the hosts, who will play Eintracht Frankfurt in Seville on May 18.

2008 Rangers are the first Scottish club to reach the final of a major European competition since Rangers themselves in the 2007-08 UEFA Cup. They ha…

Koeman desperate for win as Tuchel targets record – Champions League in Opta numbers

Barcelona head coach Ronald Koeman is under immense pressure and needs a convincing win over Dynamo Kiev, having failed to earn any points from the first two Champions League games of the campaign.

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is also in great need of a positive result, having won just two of his past seven games across all competitions, losing four.

Bayern Munich and Chelsea seem set for comfortable victories, however, with Blues boss Thomas Tuchel targeting the joint-best defensive record after 10 games with a club in the competition.

Read on for more as Stats Perform looks at the key Opta facts ahead of Wednesday s Champions League action.

 

Barcelona v Dynamo Kiev: Can Koeman stop the rot?

Koeman will be desperate t…

PSG boss Luis Enrique expects entertainment in Champions League semi-final with Dortmund

Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund served up plenty of entertainment in the Champions League quarter-finals, and their last-eight meeting promises more of the same, says Luis Enrique.

Both sides came back from first-leg defeats to reach the semi-finals, PSG winning 4-1 in Barcelona after a 3-2 loss in the French capital and Dortmund downing Atletico Madrid 4-2 to recover from their loss in Spain.

I think that is the way it went in the quarter-finals based on the playing style of Dortmund and the way that we play, PSG head coach Luis Enrique told a press conference.

I think it could be a wonderful spectacle, not just for the two fan bases, but for everybody who loves football. I think there will be goals, given the quality and the ability to reach the op…

Frenkie de Jong to miss Netherlands´ opening Euro 2024 qualifiers

Frenkie de Jong will play no part in the Netherlands two opening Euro 2024 qualifiers due to injury.

The Barcelona midfielder played the full 90 minutes as the Blaugrana beat Real Madrid 2-1 in Sunday s El Clasico to move 12 points clear at the top of LaLiga.

But he was left with upper leg complaints , the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) said, leading to his withdrawal from the Oranje squad for their upcoming fixtures.

Ajax forward Steven Bergwijn has also had to pull out with a knee injury.

Frenkie de Jong Steven Bergwijn will not join Oranje s training camp in Zeist due to injuries. They will be replaced by Donyell Malen (Borussia Dortmund) Joey Veerman (PSV).

Take care, Frenkie Steven!

— OnsOranje (@OnsOranje)

PS…

Newcastle confirm Kelly signing on free transfer from Bournemouth

Newcastle have confirmed the signing of out of contract Bournemouth defender Lloyd Kelly as their first arrival in the transfer window.

Kelly, who has signed a long-term deal at St. James Park, reunites with Eddie Howe, having signed him for the Cherries from Bristol City in 2019.

“Working with the gaffer previously, I know what he wants from his players and how he wants his players to play, and I think with what I can bring it just makes sense, Kelly said on working with the Newcastle coach again.

The 25-year-old made 23 Premier League appearances for Andoni Iraola s side last season, keeping four clean sheets, including one against the Magpies back in November.

We are delighted to announce that Lloyd Kelly will join the club on 1 July 2024.

Isak subjected to ´incredibly sad´ racist abuse as Sweden qualify for Euro 2020

Alexander Isak was subjected to racist abuse as Sweden booked their spot at Euro 2020 with a win over Romania on Friday.

Isak, 20, came off the bench during the win in Bucharest, with the game halted shortly after his 78th-minute introduction.

While play was then allowed to continue, the Real Sociedad forward confirmed he had reported racist abuse to the referee, describing the incident as incredibly sad .

Of course it is sad for the moment, but at the same time we were prepared for such things to happen, even if it does not help in that way, Isak told C More.

I think I could handle it well and the team s support was incredible too.

We did well and it is incredibly sad that such things happen, but what should we do?

With one game remai…