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LIVE: CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL: PSG 0-1 BAYERN MUNICH
GOAL! PSG 0-1 BAYERN MUNICH
- Neymar’s 60th appearance in this competition ends in heartbreak, five years after he won the trophy with Barcelona.
- FULL TIME! Bayern Munich are the Champions of Europe for the sixth time. They did it in a style., winning 10 matches in a row! Coman’s well-placed header proved decisive against his former club, whose wait for a first success in this competition goes on.
- There are some sporting moments out there as Alaba comforts Neymar and Davies does likewise with Mbappé who stood alone, lost in his thoughts for a couple of minutes after that final whistle.
- Bayern’s sixth European Cup, level with 2019 winners Liverpool and behind only Real Madrid (13) and AC Milan (seven).This adds to Bayern’s triumphs in 1974, 1975, 1976, 2001 and 2013.
Only one game in this season’s Champions League has gone to extra time: Atlético’s 3-2 win at Liverpool in the round of 16. Paris need to find a goal from somewhere soon if they are to force a second
PSG 0-1 Bayern Munich
84min: And another free-kick as Thiago Silva is booked for also bringing down Lewandowski. Coutinho’s shot from the resulting free-kick just curls wide of the near post, but Keylor Navas had it covered
Both sides look to be tiring. They’ve both put so much into this and you sense Bayern are throwing the kitchen sink at getting a second to kill off any Paris hopes, as opposed to trying to hold on to what they’ve got
- Bayern are the top scorers this season with 43 goals now – a total of 18 goals more than any other team. They are two goals behind Barcelona’s record of 45 goals (Barcelona played 16 matches – the final is Bayern’s 11th game).
- Paris have scored at least one goal in each of their last 34 UEFA Champions League matches – the last time they failed to score in was April 2016 vs Man. City. They jointly hold the record with Real Madrid, so an equaliser in this match would see them hold the record outright.
This is not the first time Paris have trailed during this mini-tournament, of course. They were 1-0 down to Atalanta until the 90th minute, when two late efforts sparked a thrilling turnaround. They won’t let their heads drop here.
Paris had kept seven clean sheets in their previous ten UEFA Champions League matches this season but Coman has ensured the record will not be lengthened.
Paris Saint-Germain substitution
65min: PSG have not responded at all and now it’s time for their first change as Marco Verratti replaces Leandro Paredes.
59min: The Champions League final comes alive! PSG fail to properly clear from inside the box, and after Josh Kimmich clips a ball to the back post, Kingsley Coman heads across goal into the bottom corner.
Half-time verdict: Paris
Paris will head into their dressing room with every reason to feel positive about this game so far. Both teams have had excellent chances and enjoyed periods of dominance, with perhaps Bayern’s defence looking the more vulnerable of the two. It all bodes well for the second half!
Half-time verdict: Bayern
No goals to report, but what an exciting half that was! Bayern had more of the ball, but both have had chances to open the scoring only to be denied by goalkeepers on red alert. Bayern are used to scoring early, but have tonight met their match against the best defence in the competition. It’s all poised for a thrilling second half.
HALF TIME
PSG 0-0 BAYERN MUNICH
37 MIN: Marquinhos (Paris) concedes a free-kick for a foul on Lewandowski (Bayern).
Bayern Munich substitution
25min: Looks like Boateng wasn’t fit enough to start the final after all, for the fourth game in a row he departs to make way for Niklas Sule, having been a doubt for the final with a muscle injury.
Bayern looked on top for the opening ten minutes but the last ten have most certainly been Paris’s.
12min: The game is a bit flat at the moment.. much like some of the match balls. Bayern boss Hans-Dieter Flick squeezes a ball after it bounces towards him before informing the match official that it is indeed now a dud
PSG 0-0 Bayern Munich
9min: Kylian Mbappe is tripped on the left flank by Alcantara to give PSG a free-kick but Angel di Maria’s ball in is headed clear at the back post by Alphonso Davies.
************************************************************************PSG are gunning for their first ever UEFA Champions League title while Bayern Munich aim at winning again after their sixth victory. Who carries the day?
- PSG starting XI: Navas, Kehrer, Thiago Silva, Kimpembe, Bernat, Ander Herrera, Marquinhos, Paredes, Di Maria, Neymar, Mbappe
- Bayern Munich starting XI: Neuer, Kimmich, Boateng, Alaba, Davies, Goretzka, Thiago, Gnabry, Muller, Coman, Lewandowski
UEFA appears poised for an emergency vote on suspending Israel from European competition next week, with national federations scrambling to position themselves amid mounting political pressure following calls for action.
The brewing crisis intensified this week when United Nations experts called for Israel’s suspension from international football amid the unfolding genocide in occupied Palestinian territory.
A source confirmed that Europe’s soccer body could potentially decide next week to vote on whether to suspend Israel from European competition.
Should UEFA vote to ban Israel, it would put the organisation on a collision course with the government of the United States — co-hosts for the 2026 World Cup — which is vehemently against such a motion.
“We will absolutely work to fully stop any effort to attempt to ban Israel’s national soccer team from the World Cup,” a spokesperson for the U.S. state department told Sky News.
But even though UEFA has the power to suspend Israel or its clubs from their competitions, it may not be able to stop them from competing in World Cup qualifiers, which fall under the ambit of global soccer body FIFA.
The general secretaries of all UEFA national associations are meeting this week in Marbella, where Israel is not officially on the agenda, but officials expect UEFA to call an emergency vote next week.
FIFA did not respond to a Reuters request for comment while UEFA declined to comment.
Palestinian Football Association president Jibril Rajoub said Israelis should not be allowed to participate in any matches, whether they are under UEFA or FIFA.
“Israel has violated the principles, values and FIFA’s statutes. Therefore, I believe that Israel should be sanctioned,” Rajoub told TV2.
“The sanctions should come from UEFA and FIFA.”
WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS
Israel’s national team are set to face Norway and Italy, the top two teams in their World Cup qualifying group, next month.
“We don’t have any indications that we are facing such an act (UEFA suspension),” a spokesperson for the Israel Football Association told Reuters.
“We are focusing on our international matches against Norway and Italy.”
Norwegian broadcaster NRK reported the Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) is one of the member associations that have been the driving force behind calling for a meeting on the Israel situation. The NFF declined to comment.
Lise Klaveness, the president of the NFF and a member of the UEFA Executive Committee, has also been vocal about the crisis in Gaza ahead of her country’s home game against Israel on October 11.
“Neither we nor other organisations can remain indifferent to the humanitarian suffering and disproportionate attacks that the civilian population in Gaza has been subjected to for a long time,” Klaveness said in a statement last month.
“We want to donate the proceeds (from the game) to a humanitarian organisation that saves lives in Gaza every day and provides active emergency aid on the ground.”
The Dutch football federation (KNVB) said it knows nothing about a vote to suspend Israel.
“As soon as the football association receives a message about this, it will take a position,” the KNVB told Dutch outlet NOS.
Last week, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Israel should be banned from international sports competitions. However, officials from the Spanish FA (RFEF) have kept a low profile on the matter.
Israel maintains that its war is not against the population of Gaza but against the Hamas militant group whose fighters led the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies, and precipitated the war.
The subsequent war in Gaza has killed more than 65,000 people, according to local health officials.
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A hat-trick from George Agha and a sublime free-kick goal from David Edeh ensured a comfortable start for five-time world champions Nigeria in the WAFU-B U17 Championship, as the Golden Eaglets routed Baby Cheetahs of Benin Republic 4 -1 in Yamoussoukro on Wednesday.
Agha converted from the spot three minutes into the game after Boluwatife Thompson was hacked inside the box.
Edeh displayed fantastic football artistry to score from a free-kick in the 5th minute of the encounter.
The Eaglets were in cruise control as Agha bagged his brace in the 14th minute. The charges of Manu Garba were very dominant with a three-goal advantage.
Warris Soumanou in goal for Benin Republic was caught napping and his error of judgement gave the Eaglets another goal after a beautiful exchange of passes and dribbles between Thompson and Edeh, which set up Agha for his hat-trick in the 32nd minute.
It was raining goals and it was the turn of the Beninoise in the 45th minute, as a low drive from Jeremy Zannou gave the Baby Cheetahs a consolation goal.
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Mohamed Salah’s dramatic stoppage-time penalty ensured Liverpool maintained their winning start to the Premier League season with a 1-0 victory at promoted side Burnley on Sunday.
With British record signing Alexander Isak forced to wait for his Liverpool debut having been left out the squad for the trip to Lancashire, the champions struggled to break down a dogged home side in the first half.
After a regroup at the break, the visitors upped the ante in the second half, with Dominik Szoboszlai finally forcing a fine save from Martin Dubravka in the Burnley goal.
Burnley were holding on for a well-earned point with ease, before the ball agonisingly struck substitute Hannibal Mejbri’s arm in the penalty area and Salah slotted the spot kick into the net in the 95th minute to break home hearts.
Liverpool are still to really get going this season, requiring a winner in the last 10 minutes of all four of their league victories so far. The goal that clinched an undeserved success at Turf Moor was certainly the most fortunate.
After one of the longest transfer sagas in Premier League history finally reached its expected conclusion, Liverpool supporters were forced to wait two weeks for their first glimpse of their 125-million-pound ($169.45-million) goal machine due to the international break.
While coach Arne Slot said this week that Isak would have to be utilised carefully due to his previous injuries and lack of action so far this season, the Swede was still expected to at least be on the bench at Turf Moor.
The wait goes on as, without their expensive new forward, Liverpool mustered just one shot on target in the first half, from left-back Andrew Robertson.
Burnley, who conceded the fewest goals in English football league history last term to earn them promotion, otherwise frustrated the champions with ease. Even Lesley Ugochukwu’s red card for two bookings in the 84th minute did not seem to fluster them.
Even without Isak, Liverpool still had much attacking talent on the Turf Moor pitch but they just could not find that killer pass.
Salah was especially below par but he made no mistake in the most pressurised moment after Hannibal had stuck up an arm to block Jeremie Frimpong’s cross
The champions’ impressive Premier League goalscoring streak stretches to 38 games nonetheless, their longest such run in the competition.
-Reuters
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