Mikel Arteta hailed a “magic night” at the Emirates Stadium as Arsenal beat Porto 4-2 on penalties to reach first Champions League quarter-final in 14 years.
Trailing 1-0 from the first leg in Portugal, a goal from Leandro Trossard just before half-time levelled the tie late in the first half, but there Arsenal’s momentum stalled as they failed to wrap the game up inside 90 minutes.
After a nervous extra-time it took heroics from goalkeeper David Raya, saving twice in the shoot-out, to put the hosts into the last-eight for the first time since Arsene Wenger’s team faced Barcelona in 2010.
“A magic night,” said Arteta. “We expected a really tough opponent. It’s very difficult to generate momentum and that’s credit to them.
“It’s a hug…
June 29 was another designated rest day at Euro 2016 but that s only made the tournament s irreverent headlines more important than ever.
Medals for all of Ireland, Jakub Blaszczykowski inspiring Wimbledon stars and a desperate plea on behalf of a Wales legend all feature in our round-up of the best stories you may have missed
IRELAND FANS HONOURED IN PARIS
The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland might have left Euro 2016 empty-handed, but fans of both nations will be taking medals back to the Emerald Isle.
As a reward for their inspiring support and good behaviour, mayor Anne Hidalgo has informed both governments that supporters have been awarded an honorary Medal of the City of Paris known as the Grand Vermeil.
They had a very…
Mauricio Pochettino believes Saturday’s 4-1 come-from-behind win at Burnley can be worth much more to Chelsea than simply three points.
Raheem Sterling, again snubbed by England, starred as Chelsea responded to Wilson Odobert’s surprise early strike for the Clarets, having a hand in all four goals as Pochettino’s side ultimately ran out comfortable winners on a ground where they have still never lost a Premier League match.
An own goal from Ameen Al-Dakhil, Cole Palmer’s penalty, Sterling’s strike and a Nicolas Jackson goal made it back-to-back league wins for the first time since March for Chelsea and three straight in all competitions for a side still trying to find their way under Pochettino.
Sterling scores
— Premier League (@premierleag…
Riyad Mahrez scored twice in Algeria s 4-1 victory over Togo on Sunday to seal his country s place at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
Gambia s 3-1 win over Benin on Saturday meant victory for Algeria in Lome would guarantee them a top-two place in Group D, and Mahrez ensured they achieved that.
The Manchester City winger opened the scoring in the 13th minute with a superb volleyed lob before doubling his tally on the half-hour with a rasping drive that coming soon after Youcef Attal had made it 2-0.
Togo were able to pull a goal back but Algeria sealed the win they needed thanks to Baghdad Bounedjah s stoppage-time strike and the Desert Foxes will hope to end a 29-year wait for AFCON glory when the finals get under way next June.
SECOND HALF | Togo …
Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente insists his side are yet to achieve anything at Euro 2024, despite qualifying for the knockout stages with a game to spare.
De la Fuente watched on as his side earned their second victory of the tournament against Italy on Thursday, with Riccardo Calafiori s own goal ending the Azzurri s 10-game unbeaten run in the competition.
The 1-0 triumph in Gelsenkirchen saw La Roja earn a third consecutive victory over Italy for the first time. Spain have also won their first two games at a Euros tournament to nil for just the second time, also doing so in 2016.
However, De la Fuente knows his side have more to do to lift their third European Championship crown, insisting his players will show humility ahead of facing Albania in Dussel…
Colorado Rapids head coach Chris Armas is adamant his team will bounce back from defeat when they face LA Galaxy in MLS on Wednesday.
The Rapids suffered a 3-0 defeat to Minnesota United on Saturday, only managing one shot on target in an underwhelming performance.
They have already clinched a playoff spot, sitting fourth in the Western Conference, but have now lost two of their last three outings (winning the other one).
And Armas is confident his team will once again bounce back from defeat, based on their mentality throughout the season.
I can tell you that our group responds, they respond when we have losses, Armas said. We ve done it all year in a big way.
So, we ll look to do that again. We around here at the Rapids this year, from the ver…
Paulo Fonseca cited a loss of mental balance that contributed to Milan starting their Champions League campaign with a 3-1 defeat to Liverpool on Tuesday.
Milan made a flying start when Christian Pulisic netted after two minutes and 47 seconds, the earliest the Serie A side had scored in the competition since Alexandre Pato s goal against Barcelona in 2011 (24 seconds).
But two headers from Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk, both from set-pieces, gave the visitors the lead before Dominik Szoboszlai sealed the victory after the break.
Liverpool dominated proceedings after their early setback, registering 23 shots on goal, 11 of which were on target compared to Milan s eight and two.
Arne Slot s side ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) total …
Rogelio Funes Mori scored a double as champions Mexico bounced back from their opening CONCACAF Gold Cup draw with a comfortable 3-0 win over Guatemala in Dallas on Wednesday.
El Tri dominated the shots (20-4) and possession (67 per cent) throughout with Funes Mori putting them ahead shortly prior to the half hour.
The Monterrey forward added a second in the 55th minute before Orbelin Pineda rounded out the scoring in the 79th minute.
Funes Mori s display, in only his third international, comes after star Mexico striker Hirving Lozano was ruled out of the Gold Cup with a head and neck injury from Saturday s disappointing 0-0 opening draw with Trinidad Tobago.
Mexico moves to four points from two games, while Guatemala have no points from two games and are…
Reports in Spain suggest Atletico Madrid and Antoine Griezmann could be set for a reunion, just two years after Barcelona broke their transfer record to sign the France star.
Griezmann spent five seasons at Atleti, joining Diego Simeone s team from Real Sociedad.
He went on to score 94 LaLiga goals for the club, before a long-mooted switch to Barca went through in 2019.
Yet Griezmann, who turned 30 in March, has never quite managed to scale the same heights at the Camp Nou as he did in Madrid.
A disappointing first campaign marred by injuries and inconsistency left Griezmann playing catch up last term, though he did net 20 times across all competitions to finish as Barca s second-highest goalscorer, behind the imperious Lionel Messi.
With the unc…
Swansea s Michu has been one of the stars of the Premier League season so far
It’s that time of the year again, a time when we look back at the action that has taken place in the past 12 months.
What I am going to focus on are the players that have proved outstanding signings in 2012.
These are my personal choice, but you will have your chance to nominate your signings of 2012 in the comments box. Here are my top five signings in no particular order:
Michu (Swansea)
The Spaniard could prove to be one of the bargains of recent times. The 26 year-old cost just £2million from Rayo Vallecano and the attacking midfielder-turned striker has found the net 14 times this season.
Michu arrived as an attacking midfielder, but Swans boss Michael L…