Category Sports News

Manchester City’s “legendary” players found their heart after coming from behind to beat Bournemouth 2-1 in the FA Cup, said boss Pep Guardiola.

City trailed 1-0 at the break but goals from Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush took them into a seventh consecutive FA Cup semi-final.

It remains their only chance of winning a domestic trophy this season, with the club sitting fifth in the Premier League.

City have won six of the past seven Premier League titles under Guardiola.

Of the current squad, goalkeeper Ederson, defender John Stones and midfielders Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva and Kevin de Bruyne were at the club for all of those.

“There are minimum requirements that we have to show – respect for your mate, you have to make the effort. And today we did it”, said Guardiola.

“I spoke with the team at half-time so we are good. We are in your hands. We conceded just one shot on target.

” That means how Bernardo, Kova]Mateo Kovacic], the senior players, the legendary players that give the most incredible things in the club, they make a step up again and made an excellent performance. “

Guardiola has only failed to win a trophy in one season since his managerial career began in 2008 – his first season with City in 2016-17.

The ex-Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss was asked why the heart had been missing from his team this season.

” It was many things, many things. I will write it in my memoirs. A lot. Not just one, “he said.

If you’ve played against Harry Kane in the Bundesliga, then he’s scored against you.

The England captain’s goal against St Pauli on Saturday means he has now scored against all 19 clubs he has faced in the league in Germany.

Only Miroslav Klose – Germany’s all-time top scorer – has faced more clubs in the Bundesliga and scored against them all (28).

It comes after Kane achieved the same feat in England, with the former Tottenham striker scoring against all 32 clubs he faced in the Premier League.

His latest Bundesliga strike ended his mini-drought of five games and means he remains the league’s top scorer, increasing his tally to 22 goals.

Kane moved to Bayern from Tottenham in August 2023 and has now scored 58 goals in 57 Bundesliga games.

That is more than any other player in that time, with the nearest challenger being Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe, who has scored 49 goals in 56 league appearances since the start of the 2023-24 season.

Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, meanwhile, has 48 league goals in 59 appearances.

Expanding it to all competitions, no player has scored more goals than Kane in Europe’s top five leagues, with his 77 level with Mbappe.

Kane is 31 years old, so time is against him in his pursuit of ending his long wait for a trophy.

Thirteen years at Tottenham did not yield silverware, and even his first full season at Bayern ended with them uncharacteristically failing to win anything.

But finally, he is on course to lift at least one trophy this term, with Bayern closing in on the Bundesliga title.

Bayern are six points clear of Bayer Leverkusen at the top of the table with seven games remaining.

If Vincent Kompany’s side win while their rivals lose then the earliest point they would have an unassailable advantage would be 19 April, if they beat Heidenheim on that date.

That scenario is, however, unlikely meaning in its simplest terms Bayern will win the title if they collect five wins from their remaining seven games, regardless of what anyone else does.

Should Bayern win a trophy this season it will mean Kane happily departs a club no-one wants to be in – a trophyless career.

There are many famous players with that unfortunate record.

During the 1990s, Matt le Tissier was widely regarded as one of the most gifted attackers of his generation but never won a trophy.

He spent his entire career at Southampton and was capped eight times by England.

Antonio di Natale was capped 42 times for Italy and played in the final of Euro 2012.

At club level he mainly played for Udinese and was twice top scorer in Serie A but finished his career without a major trophy.

Should Kane win a trophy this season he may feel ready for a new challenge.

The striker has been linked with a return to the Premier League, with reported interest from Liverpool.

Kane is contracted to Bayern until 2027 and has indicated he remains very happy at the club.

But there is one record he might like to chase down – the all-time top scorer in the Premier League.

Former Blackburn and Newcastle striker Alan Shearer has long held the record with 260 goals, but Kane is second in the standings with 213.

If he replicates his current scoring rate in the Bundesliga, then he could well surpass Shearer’s total within two seasons.

With just four games of the Women’s Super League season remaining, Chelsea are in the driving seat for a sixth successive title.

The Blues, looking to win their first league title under Sonia Bompastor, find themselves six points clear at the top.

However, their 2-2 draw with West Ham means Arsenal and Manchester United have reduced the deficit by two points, having started the weekend eight points behind.

At the other end of the table, Aston Villa’s late win against Liverpool has given them the advantage in their fight with Crystal Palace for safety.

Meanwhile, Manchester City face an uphill battle to claim the final Champions League spot.

There have been no signs of teething problems for Chelsea this season under new boss Bompastor, and the Blues ‘ dominance of the league – established under predecessor Emma Hayes – has continued.

Unbeaten in the WSL this season, Chelsea have won 48 points from a possible 54 and they are six clear of closest challengers Arsenal and Manchester United.

With a maximum 12 points available from the remaining four games, the highest Arsenal and United could finish with is 54 points, meaning the Blues need seven more to guarantee the title.

Chelsea’s game against Manchester United on 27 April will be rearranged due to the Blues ‘ Champions League semi-final participation, which means their exact run-in is not yet confirmed, so predicting exactly when they could lift the title is not possible.

The Women’s Champions League format is changing from 2025-26, with the number of teams earning direct qualification expanding from four teams to nine.

The winners of the WSL will directly qualify, along with the champions from the other five top-ranked national associations.

The runners-up of the two top-ranked associations will also be guaranteed direct qualification, along with the previous season’s winners.

The WSL is currently ranked second, so as it stands the top two teams will automatically enter the 18-team league format, with the team in third going into the qualifying rounds.

Manchester City, who challenged Chelsea until the final day last season, are now mathematically out of the title race, while their chances of European football next season are hanging by a thread.

After winning the Championship last season, Crystal Palace have struggled to adapt during their first season in England’s top division.

The club looked destined to go straight back down before a 3-1 win over fellow strugglers Villa earlier this month gave Leif Smerud’s side a fighting chance.

However, a late own goal saw Villa win 2-1 against Liverpool and extend their buffer over Palace to four points.

Marc Skinner’s Manchester United face three of the top four teams as they look to pile pressure on Chelsea and keep their Champions League place.

The Manchester derby on the penultimate day of the season could prove key in the race for Europe.

The fixture list has given City interim boss Nick Cushing cause for optimism.

“Once that’s mathematically impossible then it is what it is, but until then we’re going to fight right until the end”, he said.

It’s a tough run-in for bottom-placed Crystal Palace, who have to play Chelsea and Manchester City before the season is over.

Villa, meanwhile, only face one top-four side in their four remaining games, while they will have the added bonus of a home crowd for their last game at Villa Park.

Former Arsenal and Manchester City defender Jen Beattie said she is “more worried” for Palace than Villa.

“Based on who they’re about to play, they’re about to play the top teams higher up, whereas Aston Villa, I think they can get more out of their results”, Beattie said.

However, Palace manager Leif Smerud is confident his side can turn things around, despite a difficult fixture list.

“This is not a defeated group. This is not a team that’s given up”, he said.

Opta’s ‘ supercomputer ‘ prediction model has Chelsea as nailed-on favourites to lift the WSL trophy, with the Blues projected as champions in 98.11% of simulations.

Arsenal, meanwhile, have been given a slither of hope, with Opta giving them a 1.83% chance of winning the title.

According to Opta’s predictions, Amandine Miquel’s Leicester have all but confirmed their stay in the WSL for another season, with only a 0.28% chance of relegation.

The stats also favour Villa, with them having a 96.07% chance of staying up.