Month: June 2023

Wrexham’s first-team coach David Jones does not see why the club cannot dream of achieving Premier League status following their promotion from the National League.

The Welsh outfit ended a 15-year exodus from the English Football League with promotion to League Two this season, Phil Parkinson’s men finishing as champions with a record 111 points.

Under Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, the Red Dragons have experienced an explosion of fortunes both on and off the pitch.

Any prospect of top-flight football is still several seasons away at the very least, but reflecting on their impressive rise, Jones does not see their hopes as fanciful.

“I think with the way that the owners have come in and started to put infrastructure in the club, they’re doing it the right way,” he told Stats Perform.

“The way that they’ve got that connection with fans, with players, they’ve really got together [and] united the whole club.

“Anything’s possible, especially with these owners and what we’ve witnessed in the last two years. 

“Obviously, we’re not naive enough to say that it’s not going to be a difficult challenge to get to the Premier League.

“Many teams try and do it every year, and they’re already in the Championship, investing huge sums of money. There’s no guarantee of anything in football.

“But with the current manager and the staff that he’s put in place, they’re experienced football guys who know what it takes to get promoted and get through the leagues, and what the club needs to progress.

“If those things are in place, you stand a better chance of success. I think it’s a realistic aim, if we keep doing the things that we’ve been doing for the last couple of years.”

Eyebrows were raised when actors Reynolds and McElhenney took over at Wrexham, but any fears the move was a mere publicity stunt have abated amid the club’s revival.

Jones applauded the owners for uniting the city, highlighting how they have not sought to cut corners in helping to turn matters around after a decade-and-a-half in the doldrums.

“With that kind of energy, anything’s possible,” he added. “From the word go, they’ve done everything the right way. They’ve done fantastically.

“To be able to enter the football world and to be able to have the impact they have done is very difficult. Sometimes it’s a closed shop, and if you don’t speak the football language it is difficult for people to have to buy in.

“The way that they’ve done things, they have the respect of everybody. I can’t speak highly enough of the job they’ve done.”

Inter warmed up for the Champions League final with a 1-0 win over Torino to cap off their Serie A campaign.

The Nerazzurri head to Istanbul to face Manchester City on June 10, but the Coppa Italia winners had league business to attend to on Saturday.

Marcelo Brozovic’s excellent strike proved the difference, with substitute goalkeeper Alex Cordaz making a superb save to preserve Inter’s lead in the second half.

Inter will face an altogether tougher test in a week’s time, but for now, Simone Inzaghi can reflect on a job well done in Serie A.

Romelu Lukaku sparked what had been an insipid first half into life when he crafted space on the edge of Torino’s area and saw a low strike deflected just wide.

Stefan de Vrij headed straight at Vanja Milinkovic-Savic from the resulting corner, but Torino’s goalkeeper was beaten in the 37th minute.

Given space and time on the edge around 20 yards out, Brozovic punished Torino with a fine left-footed strike that nestled in the bottom-right corner.

Brozovic turned provider shortly after the restart, only for Roberto Gagliardini to head wide from close range.

Ex-Inter forward Yann Karomah almost made an instant impact from the bench when he forced a fine save out of Samir Handanovic, who subsequently received an ovation when he made way for Cordaz in the 65th minute.

Cordaz made a stunning save soon after, reacting brilliantly to parry Antonio Sanabria’s effort wide and ensure Inter ended their domestic campaign with a victory.

What does it mean? Ideal warm up for Inter

No injuries, playing without any pressure, and now a full week of recovery for Inter before that monumental clash with City. Inzaghi could hardly have asked for much more.

His side had to withstand some Torino attacks late on but have now won their final league game of the season in each of the last seven seasons.

The three points lifted them at least temporarily above Lazio, who would need to beat Empoli to reclaim second place.

Brozovic doubles up

Having scored the winner in the reverse fixture back in September, Brozovic has scored in both league games against a single opponent in a single Serie A season for the third time.

He previously did so against Milan in 2019-20 and Cagliari in 2017-18.

Handanovic gets his farewell

Inter’s long-serving goalkeeper will not be signing a new contract to stay at San Siro, so the 38-year-old got to say goodbye to the away fans in his final Serie A game for the club.

He made three saves during his time on the pitch, while his replacement Cordaz pulled off two stops, including one of the season, to deny Torino an equaliser.

What’s next?

Inter will aim to win the Champions League for the first time since 2010 when they go up against Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering City side in Turkey.

Manchester City are one win away from sporting immortality after underlining their greatness by completing a Premier League and FA Cup double.

Not even arch-rivals Manchester United, in the white-hot atmosphere of a Wembley derby, could throw a spanner in the works as their seemingly relentless charge towards the treble continued on Saturday.

As the only previous side to win the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in the same season – back in 1999 – United and their fans would have loved nothing more than to halt Pep Guardiola’s juggernaut.

Yet, although they were not eviscerated in the manner Arsenal and Real Madrid were in two other high-profile City fixtures recently, they were ultimately no match for a side who have become far more than just their ‘noisy neighbours’.

City will now head to Istanbul for next week’s Champions League final against Inter Milan riding high on confidence and the prize they have coveted most, for so long, should finally be within their grasp.

One of the great features of this City side is how, despite the brilliance of headline names such as Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne, other players are often ready to seize the moment when it matters.

In the semi-final against Sheffield United, it was Riyad Mahrez with a brilliant hat-trick, and on this occasion – and not for the first time – it was Ilkay Gundogan.

The German midfielder, who scored twice against Aston Villa as City clinched the Premier League title on the final day of last season, was magnificent all afternoon, scoring both goals in a deserved 2-1 win.

City arrived at Wembley in casualwear but there was nothing casual about their start.

Gundogan volleyed them ahead with a blistering strike after just 12 seconds, the fastest goal in FA Cup final history and yet another notable achievement in this remarkable season.

Further chances came in the opening five minutes and it seemed United could have quickly been overrun.

Their fearsome attack, so fluid during a brilliant spring run that saw them reel in Arsenal and claim the title, seemed in fine fettle, banishing doubts rustiness might have set in after a couple of dead-rubber fixtures.

Yet, while that was encouraging, so too was their resilience after United fought their way back into the game.

Jack Grealish could consider himself unfortunate to have been penalised for handball in the box, but such rulings often go against defenders when VAR gets involved.

City soon regained their composure after Bruno Fernandes levelled from the spot and retook the lead early in the second half, again through Gundogan.

The club captain is out of contract in the summer and will be sorely missed should he decide to move on.

That, however, is a matter that can be dealt with later. For now, the chief concern is for a side already one of the best England has ever produced to go on and cement their status by winning the Champions League.

Tottenham captain Hugo Lloris admitted he “desires for other things” and is contemplating what life could look like away from the north London club at “the end of an era.”

The 36-year-old retired from international duty with France in January, one year after signing a contract extension that would keep him at Spurs through to the end of next season.

There has been speculation, however, that the goalkeeper might have already played his last game for the side he joined in 2012 following his season-ending thigh injury against Newcastle in April.

Lloris told French newspaper Nice-Matin: “We are coming to an important moment, whether for the club or for me. It’s the end of an era. I have desires for other things, I will ask myself quietly to study what will be possible.

“But I don’t forget that I still have a year of contract with Tottenham and that in football it is always difficult to predict what will happen.

“What is essential at the moment is to recover well from my injury. I’m on vacation but I continue to talk and do my training. My goal is to be on top in July, then we’ll see what the future holds for me.”

Lloris acknowledged Spurs, who finished eighth this term after securing a Champions League berth last season, had failed to live up to expectations and cited injuries as part of the problem.

He said: “We failed as a team by not being able to reverse the course of things. It’s disappointing but it’s part of the life of a top-level football club. The most important thing is to prepare as well as possible for next season and to learn from our mistakes.”

The Frenchman did not rule out a return to Nice, where he started his senior career before moving to Lyon and then north London, though he was adamant he was not forcing his current club into a move.

He added: “Nice is my city, my club, my roots. There is a season that must end, as best as possible, with the goalkeepers in place. I am not demanding, I have never forced things. We’ll see where fate takes me.”

Fridolina Rolfo’s strike completed a stunning second-half comeback to secure Barcelona the Champions League trophy with a 3-2 victory over Wolfsburg at Eindhoven’s sold-out Philips Stadion.

The Spanish side were favourites to win a second title in three years but were stunned by Ewa Pajor’s opener after just three minutes, while Alexandra Popp extended Wolfsburg’s advantage to two before the break.

Two goals inside two second-half minutes for Patricia Guijarro brought Barcelona back into the contest immediately following the restart before they  benefited from a Wolfsburg error to seal the win.

Barca’s victory also made English history, with Lioness Lucy Bronze becoming the first from her country to win the Champions League title with two clubs having previously done so three times with Lyon.

Both sides had eliminated English opponents to get here, with Wolfsburg seeing off Arsenal and Barcelona reaching their fourth showpiece in five seasons after drawing 1-1 with Chelsea in their second leg to advance 2-1 on aggregate.

Current England and former Netherlands boss Sarina Wiegman brought out the trophy on a sunny afternoon in her native country, and was no doubt  delighted to see Bronze, recovered from knee surgery, back in the Barcelona starting line-up exactly seven weeks before the Lionesses open their World Cup campaign.

It was the England defender’s mistake, however, that led to her side conceding after just two minutes and 57 seconds – the fastest Barcelona had ever fallen behind in the competition.

Barca had a shot stopped by Merle Frohms before Pajor won the ball off Bronze and made her way into the centre before drilling past Sandra Panos into the top right corner.

That  likely conjured up painful memories for Barcelona, who conceded to eventual 3-1 winners Lyon after six minutes last year in Turin.

Irene Paredes cringed after wasting a free header, while at the other end Sveindis Jonsdottir had a half-volley saved for the Frauen-Bundesliga runners-up.

Caroline Graham Hansen found herself in a perfect position to level from Mapi Leon’s excellent delivery but the Norwegian could not connect and seemed thrown off by the bounce the ball took en route to the six-yard box.

As the Liga F champions struggled to settle into a dominant rhythm, Pajor turned provider and sent a fine delivery in the direction for Popp to dutifully head home – Popp in the process equalling Ada Hegerberg’s UWCL record as she got herself on the finals scoresheet in a fourth separate season.

It took an alert Frohms to deny Salma Paralluelo late in the period and send her side into the second half with a two-goal advantage.

That was erased within five minutes after the restart when Guijarro collected Graham Hansen’s cut-back, then nodded her second past a leaping Frohms two minutes later from Aitana Bonmati’s delivery.

Barcelona’s comeback was complete after Lynn Wilms’ attempted clearance instead deflected off team-mate Kathrin Hendrich, allowing Mariona Caldentey to tap the ball to Rolfo, who fired in the 70th-minute winner from the edge of the six-yard box.

Both benches showed nerves during seven minutes of stoppage time, but it was Barca who ultimately survived a late scare to secure the trophy.

Jose Mourinho should be suspended from coaching and Roma barred from European competitions following the “disgraceful” harassment of Anthony Taylor after Wednesday’s Europa League final.

That is the view of Martin Cassidy, chief executive of Ref Support UK – a charity committed to supporting officials – after Taylor was abused following Roma’s penalty shoot-out defeat to Sevilla.

Roma boss Mourinho was fiercely critical of Taylor’s performance as Sevilla won a record-extending seventh Europa League title via spot-kicks following an ill-tempered 1-1 draw in Budapest.

Thirteen players were booked during the match, while Gonzalo Montiel scored his winning penalty at the second attempt after Rui Patricio was punished for encroachment after initially saving his kick.  

Mourinho was seen shouting expletives at Taylor after the game, and the English official was harassed by Giallorossi supporters when at Budapest Airport with his family.

Speaking to Stats Perform, Cassidy outlined the strong punishments he would like to see issued to coaches who abuse officials. 

“I’d be interested to speak to the legal people in UEFA and FIFA, to see if they could take their coaching badges away from them,” Cassidy said.

“Take it away from them. Say, ‘I’m sorry, we are going to suspend your badge, you can’t coach at that level’. Let’s see what that does.

“Obviously, big legal challenges will come that way. But let’s have things in place to say, ‘Look, a stadium ban is not working on you and one or two fines when you are a multimillionaire are not going to bother you’. 

“Let’s really hurt you, let’s take you away from being able to coach, let’s suspend your coaching badge. Job done.”

Cassidy believes Mourinho’s behaviour is being replicated by grassroots coaches, and says his club should be barred from Europe or handed a points deduction for next season. 

“It’s just disgraceful,” he added. “How many chances does this man [Mourinho] want before some national governing body or UEFA or FIFA take appropriate action against him? 

“This behaviour he shows manifests itself at grassroots level when there’s a youth referee in the middle, and little mini-Mourinhos are on the sidelines repeating and replicating those antics. 

“It’s not good at all. And I just think, the managers – it’s not just Jose Mourinho – other people do it and have been doing for a long time… they throw in a small fine, it might be £100 or £1,000. 

“That’s a small fine for some of these people, for some of them it is not even a week’s wages. They throw in a ban, well, Jose Mourinho has been banned before from stadiums and still found a way of doing his coaching.

“What are UEFA going to do? I think don’t allow them to play in Europe next year. 

“If they do allow them to play in Europe, let’s have them on a minus points deficit of say three or four points, let’s just have a message that is different to what we’ve been doing previously.”

Ilkay Gundogan brace helps Manchester City beat Manchester United 2-1 to win their seventh FA Cup at Wembley and take a step closer to a historic treble. 

Gundogan opened the scoring straight from kick off with a stunning volley on the edge of the box to give City an early lead. 

United equalised in the 33rd minute after they were awarded a penalty for a handball from Jack Grealish, which Bruno Fernandes rolled home with confidence. 

Minutes after the break, Gundogan fired in a second volley, this time from a free-kick that saw the Citizens re-take the lead and capture the FA Cup. 

Here are five talking points from the cracking final at Wembley Stadium.

Captain fantastic

Manchester City captain Gundogan set the final alight, opening the scoring with a wonderful strike. 

It came 12 seconds from kick-off — the fastest FA Cup final goal ever — with a remarkable volley from the edge of the box that David de Gea could only watch fly into his net. 

Then in the second half, Kevin de Bruyne launched a free-kick to the edge of the box, where he fired another volley home, this time on his left foot. 

Having already given some crucial moments during the Premier League run-in for City, he once again came up with the goods to lead his team to FA Cup glory.

Citizens close on Treble

Manchester City’s triumph over their rivals sees them take a step closer towards a historic Treble. 

After cruising to a third successive Premier League title, now Inter Milan are the last team standing in the way of Guardiola’s side for the Champions League trophy. 

Manchester United are the only team in England to have won the three trophies in one season, that being 1998-99 under the management of Alex Ferguson. 

The Citizens will travel to Istanbul’s Ataturk Olympic Stadium next week brimming with confidence, knowing they are one step away from achieving the remarkable feat.

City defence

A key part of their triumph was the City defence. 

Ruben Dias and Kyle Walker acted as the last line of cover, cleaning up any through-balls played into Marcus Rashford, using their speed and strength to keep him at bay. 

John Stones moved into midfield in possession, creating a double pivot with Rodri to draw defenders and open spaces for City’s attack to exploit, then dropped deep to defend. 

Manuel Akanji was crucial in winning the one-on-one battle with Rashford on the left flank and operated as an outlet for the Citizens to break pressure. 

The defensive unit contained a tricky United attack to just one goal and ensured FA Cup triumph, conceding just once throughout the entire competition.

Pep’s tactics pay off

Pep Guardiola brought the perfect set-up for City to win. 

In attack, they were quick and devastating, using Erling Haaland to hold up the ball, they hit the target five times in the match, with quality from Gundogan proving the difference.

Defensively, they limited United to just three shots on target, from 13 efforts the majority of which were speculative at best.

Guardiola also made the bold move to keep his second-choice goalkeeper Stefan Ortega and it paid off when he denied Raphael Varane from point-blank range in stoppage time to secure victory.

Bragging rights

The two sides have won 19 FA Cups between them but the first-ever Manchester Derby FA Cup final. 

It was Guardiola’s second time lifting this trophy after his first came in a 6-0 drubbing over Watford in 2018-19. 

However, this trophy will have the satisfaction of taking it over their rivals United.

Ilkay Gundogan’s jaw-dropping double fired treble-chasing Manchester City to an unforgettable FA Cup final win against rivals Manchester United.

Wembley witnessed an all-Manchester epic on Saturday as the neighbours met in a major final for the first time, bringing the curtain down on the domestic season in enthralling fashion.

City emerged triumphant thanks to Gundogan’s fine volleys in a 2-1 victory that gives Pep Guardiola’s men the chance to emulate United’s 1999 treble heroics next weekend.

The 32-year-old midfielder has proven to be a man for the big occasions during his time with the Premier League champions and lashed home a record-breaking opener after just 12 seconds.

Gundogan’s stupendous volley was the quickest FA Cup final goal and looked set to spark a derby humiliation, only for United to draw level against the run of play.

City were enraged by the decision to award handball against Jack Grealish, but captain Bruno Fernandes kept his cool from the spot to slot home in front of the opposition support.

But Guardiola’s men would not be denied a seventh FA Cup triumph, with Gundogan volleying home what proved to be the winner from the edge of the box early in the second half.

Victory in arguably the biggest Manchester derby of all time now means City can win the treble in next weekend’s Champions League final against Inter Milan.

As for United, this was a galling end to a promising first season under Erik ten Hag. They hit the woodwork in stoppage time, but a second equaliser was beyond them.

Wembley was rocking to City’s tune at the final whistle, just as it was after 12 seconds.

Gundogan played the kick-off straight to back-up goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, who fired a long ball forward for Erling Haaland to flick on.

Victor Lindelof looked to have dealt with the danger when heading clear, only for Gundogan to produce a moment of magic.

The City skipper met the looping ball with a stupendous right-footed volley from 22 yards that flew past a statuesque David De Gea.

It was a start as remarkable as the strike, rocking United on their heels.

City fans thought they had a second in the fourth minute as Rodri rippled the side-netting from a Kevin De Bruyne free-kick. Grealish soon dragged wide.

Haaland fired a hopeful effort over and De Bruyne lasered wide after De Gea received treatment as City probed for what felt like an inevitable second.

United looked uneasy and were creating precious little, only for a moment of fortune to bring a chance to level from the spot.

Handball appeals against Grealish from an Aaron Wan-Bissaka header appeared to have fallen on deaf ears, only for VAR David Coote to intervene.

Referee Paul Tierney checked the pitchside monitor and pointed to the spot, with Fernandes keeping his cool to send Ortega the wrong way after a stuttering run-up.

United celebrated in front of the City hordes and Lindelof was hit by an object from the stands.

Guardiola’s men were aggrieved and were soon haranguing the referee, claiming Fred fouled De Bruyne in the box.

Those appeals were ignored and Raphael Varane fired over a decent chance before the break.

City returned from the break reinvigorated and skipper Gundogan struck again in the 51st minute.

Having been fouled by Fred on the right flank, De Bruyne arrowed a ball to the Germany international on the edge of the box.

Inexplicably unmarked, Gundogan volleyed into the ground and his shot bounced past De Gea, sneaking into the bottom right-hand corner in front of the City faithful.

Lindelof nearly turned a De Bruyne cross into his own goal and the Belgian maestro was then denied by De Gea as they looked to put the final to bed.

Marcus Rashford whistled over before Gundogan thought he had completed his hat-trick. De Gea denied Haaland’s initial attempt and the skipper followed in, only to be ruled offside.

Lively substitute Alejandro Garnacho bent just wide from the edge of the box as United pushed for another equaliser, giving City gaps to exploit.

Bernardo Silva’s cross-shot flashed across the face of goal and Haaland nearly bundled in a clearance.

United so nearly found a stoppage-time equaliser, with Varane and Scott McTominay involved in a scramble that ended with the ball hitting the bar and then just going over.

But that was it as City celebrated the league and FA Cup double – achievements that could be added to in Istanbul next weekend.

Ilkay Gundogan set a new FA Cup final record when he scored after just 12 seconds against Manchester United.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the other quickfire goals from finals.

The Italian scored after just 43 seconds to set Chelsea on their way to a 2-0 win over, with Eddie Newton getting a late second.

Dennis Wise started the move midway inside Chelsea’s half and found Di Matteo, who was still inside the centre circle.

The midfielder was allowed to continue running by the Boro midfield before rifling in high, clipping the bar, past Ben Roberts in goal.

Di Matteo’s record stood for 12 years until striker Saha bettered it against Chelsea.

A cross by Steven Pienaar was only half cleared by the Chelsea defence allowing Marouane Fellaini to nod the ball down for Saha.

The former Manchester United striker still had plenty to do but swivelled to bury a fine first-time half-volley past Petr Cech.

It failed to stop Chelsea, though, as Didier Drogba levelled 20 minutes later before Frank Lampard’s second-half winner.

The midfielder stunned United with a goal after just 12 seconds of this year’s final.

He had actually taken kick-off and knocked the ball back to Stefan Ortega in the City goal.

The goalkeeper launched the ball forward for Erling Haaland to nod it on.

As Kevin De Bruyne challenged Victor Lindelof, the ball dropped for Gundogan to smash in a brilliant volley past the static David De Gea from 25 yards.

Cardiff have appointed former Fenerbahce coach Erol Bulut as their new manager.

The 48-year-old takes over from Sabri Lamouchi, who left the Championship club after his short-term deal expired at the end of 2022-23 season, and will be presented to the media on Monday.

German-born Bulut, a former Turkey Under-21 international who played for the likes of Eintracht Frankfurt, Fenerbahce and Olympiacos, coached Fener between 2020 and 2021 before taking charge of Gaziantep, who he left in January.

Cardiff owner Vincent Tan said: “This summer allowed us to consider applicants for the manager’s position from across Europe and, having taken our time with the process, I’m extremely confident that we have chosen the best candidate to take us forward.

“Erol has vast experience both as a player and as a manager, having played Champions League football and managed European sides across 200 League games to date. This level of experience is needed at this time and I think will prove invaluable to the squad.

“His excellent record in European football represents a standard of managerial experience that we have not had at Cardiff City before. His experience in this field, I hope, will allow us to attract a higher profile and standard of player in the coming years.”

Cardiff finished 21st in the Championship last season, five points above the relegation zone, after having four different managers during the campaign. Steve Morison was sacked in September following a poor start, with his replacement Mark Hudson dismissed in January and – after a brief spell with Dean Whitehead as interim boss – Lamouchi was then handed the reins.

The Bluebirds have not publicly announced the length of Bulut’s contract.