Ronaldo scores one of his goals
Cristiano Ronaldo broke Jimmy Greaves’ 46-year European scoring
record as Real Madrid moved within a point of their first Spanish title
since 2012.
Ronaldo, 31, fired Madrid ahead with his 367th goal in one of
Europe’s top-five leagues, eclipsing the mark set by former England
striker Greaves in 1971.
Ronaldo slotted in a second and, after John Guidetti gave 10-man Celta hope, Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos sealed it.
Real will clinch La Liga with a draw at mid-table Malaga on Sunday, BBC reports.
Rivals Barcelona must win their final game at home to Eibar and hope Zinedine Zidane’s side lose.
If the teams finish level on points then defending champions Barca
will claim a third-straight title because of their superior head-to-head
record.
“The most difficult part is still to come even though we’re getting
closer to the title every day,” Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane said.
Stuart Baxte, new coach of South Africa’s Bafana Bafana
The new coach of South Africa’s Bafana Bafana, Stuart Baxter, says
his team will give Nigeria’s Super Eagles a tough time when the two
teams clash on June 10.
“I hope we will be very competitive with Nigeria. We will give them a
game,” Baxter said after his unveiling in Johannesburg on Monday.
He was appointed earlier this month as a replacement for Ephraim ‘Shakes’ Mashaba who was sacked in December last year.
The Englishman will start his second spell at Bafana Bafana with a
2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against the Eagles in Uyo in June.
Baxter, who signed a five-year contract, said he would name his technical team and squad for the Nigeria game on May 25.
“We need to be competitive and players will do it the South African way. That should reflect the play in the country,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Baxter had previously
coached the 1996 African champions from May 2004 to November 2005.
He will, however, continue to coach Premier Soccer League side SuperSport United until the end of the season.
Speaking on his team, the 63-year-old said there was no shortage of talent in South Africa.
“I believe the nation has enough players to succeed and I also believe in my abilities. I’m very optimistic,” he said.
“I’m really looking forward to this latest challenge. If I wasn’t ready, I would not have accepted the challenge.
“I’m very optimistic if we can pull together, but don’t be too
negative because it will affect everyone. I’m asking for buy-in from
every South African.
“I will be going abroad to watch players who ply their trade there. I
will watch every South African. They will get a fair chance.
“I want Bafana Bafana to unite South Africa in the long term. If we
do that we will become a powerhouse of football,” said Baxter.
Terry celebrates his goal for Chelsea
Chelsea celebrated their Premier League title triumph with a
hard-earned victory over Watford in an ill-tempered but thrilling
encounter at Stamford Bridge.
Manager Antonio Conte and his Chelsea players were able to take the
acclaim on a lap of honour after the final whistle – but they were made
to work for the win by a fired-up and physical Watford.
John Terry, who will leave at the end of the season after more than
two decades at the club, celebrated his first league start since
September by scoring Chelsea’s 100th goal in all competitions this term.
It came after 22 minutes before he then gifted Watford’s Etienne Capoue
an instant equaliser with a poor header.
Cesar Azpilicueta restored Chelsea’s lead with a crisp finish before
half-time and the contest looked over when Michy Batshuayi, who scored
the title-winning goal at West Bromwich Albion on Friday, added a third
just after the break.
Watford, however, showed commendable fight. Daryl Janmaat’s fine solo
effort put the visitors within reach before substitute Stefano Okaka,
who was given his Italy debut by Chelsea boss Conte when he was in
charge of the national side, took advantage of defensive uncertainty to
slam in an equaliser.
Chelsea, as so often this season, found a way to win as substitute
Cesc Fabregas struck from the edge of the area with three minutes left –
while Watford’s misery was compounded when Sebastian Prodl was sent off
for a second yellow card in stoppage time.
Conte can do no wrong and he was being cheered at Stamford Bridge
within seconds of appearing in his technical area after winning the
Premier League at the first time of asking.
This was a night for Chelsea to bask in the glory of their success
and hard work this season, and after a slow start, the crowd warmed to
the occasion.
For Conte, it was also the opportunity to give some of his shadow
squad game time, with the likes of Thibaut Courtois and Nemanja Matic
given the night off and Diego Costa, Fabregas, Pedro, Gary Cahill and
Marcos Alonso on the bench.
It was not simply a matter of giving Terry a game and showcasing
younger talent such as Nathan Ake and Nathaniel Chalobah – this was a
selection with a glance towards the forthcoming FA Cup final against
Arsenal at Wembley.
Chelsea’s lack of familiarity showed in an uncharacteristically
shoddy defensive performance while the lack of spark in some of the
display was perhaps the result of mental and physical energy expended in
getting the title win over the line.
The perfectionist Conte will be unhappy with parts of this performance, but he will also see the bigger picture.
Monaco players celebrate their victory
Monaco have won the Ligue 1 title for the first time in 17 years after a 2-0 win at home to Saint-Etienne.
Needing a point to be crowned French champions for the eighth time, the in-form Kylian Mbappe scored the opener in style.
Mbappe, 18, latched on to captain Radamel Falcao’s through ball, skipped around the goalkeeper and slotted in.
Forward Valere Germain made sure of the win in injury time with a tap-in from close range.
The home side had all but secured the title before kick-off, with
Paris St-Germain three points behind with just one game to play and a
far inferior goal difference.
The new champions rarely looked troubled in registering their 11th
consecutive league win and subsequently lifting a trophy that has eluded
them since the turn of the millennium.
Youth and experience come together
The last time Monaco won Ligue 1 they were fielding a team which
included the French trio of Fabien Barthez, David Trezeguet and Willy
Sagnol.
Monaco’s success this season is largely down to the reinvigorated Colombian Falcao and the emergence of French teenager Mbappe.
Falcao, 31, has put the disappointment of his loan spells with
Manchester United and Chelsea, where he scored just five goals in 36
appearances, behind him.
The forward will finish top scorer for Monaco this campaign, netting 24 times with four assists.
Mbappe has caught the eye of suitors from the top teams in Europe in
his breakthrough season. He has scored 15 league goals this season to
add to his remarkable performances in the Champions League.
Mbappe, voted Ligue 1’s young player of the year, scored six in six
as Monaco reached the semi-final stage, eventually losing to Juventus
over two legs.
That defeat did not overshadow their achievements, however, as Monaco
brushed aside Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund
en route to the semi-finals, BBC reports.
Manchester
United survived a huge late scare to edge past Spanish visitors Celta
Vigo and set up a Europa League final against Dutch giants Ajax.
Leading 1-0 from the first leg, United took control as Marouane Fellaini headed home Marcus Rashford's cross.
But Celta, needing two goals, levelled on the night through Facundo Roncaglia to set up a tense final few minutes.
United's Eric Bailly and Roncaglia were sent off after a mass brawl, and the hosts hung on to reach the final.
Indeed
they could only celebrate after Celta striker John Guidetti scuffed a
golden chance to put the visitors through to their first major European
final with the final kick of the game.
The aggregate victory took
the Red Devils a step closer to their first Europa League triumph and a
return to the Champions League.
They will meet Ajax, who beat Lyon in the other semi-final, in Stockholm on 24 May.
There were just six seconds left when Guidetti missed the chance to put Celta through
Functional not flashy - but in the final
United
had never lost a two-legged European tie after winning the first leg
away from home, and knew they would reach the final by keeping a clean
sheet at an expectant Old Trafford.
The hosts looked nervy as
Celta made an attacking start, before Fellaini settled the tension by
converting his side's first effort on target.
The Belgium midfielder sneaked in at the far post to powerfully head in Rashford's clipped left-wing cross.
Jose
Mourinho's side created few other chances as they aimed to frustrate
the visitors with an organised and largely defensive approach.
Although
Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Rashford and Fellaini all drew saves from Celta
keeper Sergio Alvarez after the break, it was a functional - not flashy -
performance.
Celta, who had lost their previous five matches and
are 12th in La Liga, had more possession than the home side, and forced
United keeper Sergio Romero into instinctive saves at the start of each
half.
They then ignited the tie with Roncaglia's glancing header following a corner.
The
away goal, which left them needing one more to eliminate United,
increased the tension inside Old Trafford, leading to a scuffle
involving almost all 22 players on the field.
Bailly was sent off for a swipe at former Manchester City striker Guidetti, with Roncaglia dismissed for retaliating.
With six minutes of added time, there was still opportunity for Celta to create one final chance - but Guidetti blew it.
While
United's players greeted the final whistle with a mixture of relief and
jubilation, the visitors slumped to the turf with Guidetti in tears.
"You cannot win a semi-final easily, or be calm. We are in the final, that's what counts," said United midfielder Ander Herrera.
Li Keqiang and Malcolm Turnbull prior to a Port Adelaide Power match in Sydney. Photographer: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images
Looping
a team scarf around Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s neck at a football
game in Sydney in March wasn’t just a smart marketing ploy. For an
Australian Rules club, it could portend one of the sport’s biggest
coups.
Port
Adelaide, a team hailing from a working-class suburb of Australia’s
fifth-largest city, is now trying to leverage off the trade and
diplomatic ties cemented during Li’s five-day visit by making a play for
Chinese fans. In Shanghai on Sunday, it will take on the Gold Coast
Suns in front of a sell-out crowd in the sport’s first premiership match
to be held in Asia.
While
Australian Rules, a physically rigorous game combining elements of
rugby and basketball, is the nation’s favorite spectator sport, it’s
struggled to gain traction overseas. Port Adelaide Football Club
Chairman David Koch aims to change that by convincing Chinese executives
that they can make business connections through the club.
There’s also the fact that China’s sports industry is forecast to be worth 5 trillion yuan ($724 billion) by 2025.
Most-Watched Game?
Koch
said he predicts that Sunday’s match in front of 10,500 spectators will
be viewed by as many as 20 million -- making it by far the most-watched
game of Australian Rules football played.
“I am sure there will be fans of this great sport in China,” Li said at the game in Sydney in March, Fox Sports reported .
The Chinese Premier was adorned with scarfs in the black, white and
teal colors of Port Adelaide as well as the red and white of their
opponents, the Sydney Swans, supported by Australia’s Prime Minister
Malcolm Turnbull.
The
value of the television broadcasts in China can’t be underplayed,
according to Nielsen Sports. FC Internazionale and AC Milan are among
the top three most popular soccer clubs in China, largely because
Italy’s Serie A was the first European league to broadcast in the
nation.
There are “significant commercial opportunities” at stake, Port said.
“For
Chinese companies that are expanding outside of mainland China into
Australia and the Pacific, the ability to relate and communicate through
AFL is obvious,” he said. “It allows relations to be developed through
Chinese companies operating in Australia and for another connection with
the Australian government and trade.”
Right now, Port Adelaide’s management is focusing on Sunday’s game and how it can build a support base in China.
“The
key financial metric is to build revenue streams not tied to on-field
performance, which can be volatile,” Koch said. “It’s about respect, a
willingness to understand cultural differences, and showing you’re here
for the long term, not just as a flash-in-the-pan money grab.”
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