EUROPA League
BAYERN MUNICH WIN UEFA SUPER CUP
Bayern Munich finally crushed the spirit of Sevilla to win the UEFA Super Cup final 2-1.
But as the relentless red machine added another trophy to the Champions League it won last month and extended its run of straight wins to 23 games, it was tested to the limit by the Europe League holders
Spanish substitute Javi Martinez got the winner for Bayern, heading past Bono after the Sevilla keeper had parried a David Alaba shot straight to him. There were 104 draining minutes on the clock when Bayern finally got themselves in front.
Alaba had conceded a first half penalty from which Lucas Ocampos gave Sevilla the lead. Leon Goretzka had levelled on 34 minutes before Bayern got their extra-time winner.
The game was played in front of 15,500 spectators in the 67,000-capacity Puskas Arena, with around 500 travelling from Spain and 1,000 from Germany.
Sevilla took the lead on 12 minutes when Lucas Ocampos sent Manuel Neuer the wrong way from the penalty spot.
Ivan Rakitic, making the second Sevilla debut of his career, won the spot kick.
Jesus Navas had overlapped Suso down the right but checked back on to his left foot before crossing for Luuk de Jong. The big target man headed the ball down to Rakitic who took it on his chest but was barged sideways by David Alaba. English referee Anthony Taylor booked the Austrian and Ocampos rolled in the kick.
Nervous minutes followed for the Spanish. Keeper Bono slipped as he tried to clear and Fernando had to clean things up in a hurry.
Then Rakitic went in late on Robert Lewandowski but De Jong made sure Niklas Sule’s header went out for a corner.
Manchester City target Jules Kounde added a few more euros to his value with a goalsaving block that prevented Thomas Muller scoring.
Bayern were swarming forward and when Benjamin Pavard and Serge Gnabry doubled up down the right with no Sevilla defender in attendance Pavard had a free shot that he pulled wide.
Sane was next to shoot and this time it was Diego Carlos who blocked. Bono then saved at close-range from Lewandowski.
On 34 minutes finally Bayern’s pressure finally paid off. Muller found Lewandowski who laid off to Goretzka who sidefooted the ball past Bono.
Sevilla stayed on terms until half time and refreshed at the restart Ocampos’ flick allowed Sergio Escudero to cross and De Jong’s shot forced a corner.
Lucas Hernandez then teed-up Sane who crossed to Lewandowski. The Pole nodded to Muller who gave it back to him on the edge of the six-yard box. He scored and Bayern celebrated but VAR ruled that Lewandowski had been just offside.
Sane then had the ball in the net but the goal was harshly ruled out for a foul from Lewandowski on Escudero in the build-up. Sevilla’s cup luck was still in.
By now a tired Rakitic had made way for Oliver Torres in a break in play brought about by Kounde’s impeccable block on Lewandowski. The Bayern forward needed treatment but there had been no foul.
The next time Kounde took a risk, this time on Muller, the foul was given but Alaba curled the kick over. Bono then got down well to his right to save from Muller, unsighted he did well to hold the shot.
With three minutes left Sevilla almost nicked it on the break when Navas played substitute Youssef En-Nesyri in. He was through for glory and he did nothing wrong but Neuer did what Neuer does getting down to his right to push the shot clear and force extra time.
En-Nesyri had the first chance of extra time, which this time Neuer blocked on to his post. VAR would have been required if the ball had gone in because the striker looked offside.
Bayern brought on Alphonso Davies, the injection of pace looked cruel on Sevilla’s exhausted players. But it was another sub who won it.
The Spanish side were tired mentally as well as physically. Diego Carlos cleared for a corner when he had Bono behind him to gather. And from the kick Martinez scored to win the game and the Super Cup.
-Daily Mail
UEFA has decided to postpone its assessment of the multi-club ownership case involving Olympique Lyonnais and Crystal Palace until the French club’s relegation has been confirmed, European football’s governing body said on Monday.
The multi-club ownership regulations do not allow clubs under the same ownership compete in the same European competition, and American businessman John Textor holds a stake in both Palace and Lyon.
Palace qualified for the Europa League by winning the FA Cup last season while Lyon reached the competition by finishing sixth in Ligue 1 but have since been relegated to Ligue 2 by French football’s financial watchdog (DNCG).
Lyon are appealing the decision, which came following an audit of the club’s finances, and UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body will now await the outcome of the appeal before making its decision.
UEFA and Lyon reached a settlement agreement over the club’s breach of the financial sustainability requirements, and as part of the settlement, Lyon agreed to their exclusion from European competition should the DNCG confirm their relegation.
League of Ireland club Drogheda United lost an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport earlier this month over their exclusion from the Conference League, after falling foul of the multi-club ownership rules.
-Reuters
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Tottenham Hotspur have sacked manager Ange Postecoglou, the club said on Friday, little more than two weeks after the Australian guided the London club to a first major trophy in 17 years with victory in the Europa League final.
While Postecoglou’s fate has split opinion amongst the fans, the 59-year-old ultimately paid the price for an horrendous Premier League season which saw Tottenham finish 17th.
“The Board has unanimously concluded that it is in the best interests of the Club for a change to take place,” Tottenham said in a statement.
“Following a positive start in the 2023/24 Premier League (PL) season, we recorded 78 points from the last 66 PL games. This culminated in our worst-ever PL finish last season.”
Postecoglou leaves two years to the day after his appointment and 16 days after his side beat Manchester United 1-0 in Bilbao for the club’s first silverware since 2008, a win that also put them in next season’s Champions League.
The former Celtic manager has had to face questions over his future for several months, yet delivered on his claim early last season that he always wins a trophy in his second season in a job
He also took Tottenham to the League Cup semi-final but their league campaign was their worst since 1976-77, the last time the club suffered relegation from the top flight.
Several of the club’s first team have voiced their support for Postecoglou since beating United, but chairman Daniel Levy is now searching for his fifth full-time manager in six years since Mauricio Pochettino was sacked in 2019.
“At times there were extenuating circumstances — injuries and then a decision to prioritise our European campaign,” the club said. “Whilst winning the Europa League this season ranks as one of the Club’s greatest moments, we cannot base our decision on emotions aligned to this triumph.”
Several managers have been linked to the Tottenham job, including Brentford’s Thomas Frank and Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner.
GOOD START
Postecoglou will walk away with his pride intact and a handsome bonus, but his recent comment to fans at the Europa League victory parade that the third season of a TV series is always better than the second now looks hollow.
It all started so well for Postecoglou. He began the 2023-24 campaign by guiding Tottenham to their best start to a top-flight season since the 1961 title-winning team.
That form soon dipped though and despite finishing fifth in his first campaign the momentum had long since gone.
This season Tottenham earned only 38 points and lost 22 top-flight matches. They managed five points from their last 12 league games and the only win they earned during that run was against a Southampton side who narrowly avoided becoming statistically the worst team ever in the Premier League.
Postecoglou has pointed to a long injury list which denied him the likes of Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Dejan Kulusevski, Destiny Udogie, Dominic Solanke, James Maddison and Son Heung-min for significant periods.
But while it has clearly been one of long-serving chairman Levy’s toughest calls, he has concluded that Postecoglou is not the man to lead the club forward.
“We have made what we believe is the right decision to give us the best chance of success going forward, not the easy decision,” the club statement said.
“We have a talented, young squad and Ange has given us a great platform to build upon. We should like to express our gratitude to him. We wish him well for the future — he will always be welcome back at our home.”
Many fans reacted to the news of Postecoglou’s sacking with surprise, but England manager Thomas Tuchel said that sometimes even winning a trophy is not enough.
“I feel for every manager and I have huge sympathy for every manager in these moments because I was in the same spot,” the German, who was sacked by Chelsea despite taking them to the Champions League title, said on Friday.
“If the trust is not there anymore then sometimes it’s not enough to win a trophy.”
-Reuters
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UEFA apologised for running out of winners’ medals during the Europa League final trophy ceremony on Wednesday after more Tottenham Hotspur players lined up to receive their prizes.
Spurs captain Son Heung-min and two other players, the last to line up for individual medals, were left empty-handed after their team beat Manchester United 1-0 to win the club’s fourth European title on Wednesday.
Son lifted the trophy without a medal around his neck.
“To our great displeasure, we did not have enough medals available on stage during the trophy ceremony presentation due to an unexpected discrepancy in the player count …” British media quoted European soccer’s governing body as saying on Thursday.
“More team members – including injured players – participated in the ceremony than initially anticipated.
“The missing medals were promptly delivered to the winning team in the dressing room, along with our sincerest apologies for the oversight.”
-Reuters
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