Lauren James on target as Chelsea open WSL title defence with win over Tottenham
Champions Chelsea opened their Women’s Super League title defence with a 2-1 win over Tottenham at Stamford Bridge. Australia striker Sam Kerr, who had been injured at the World Cup, was not in the squad - but Chelsea debutant Mia Fishel headed the home side into a 27th-minute lead. England international Lauren James added another early in the second half from a cross by Guro Reiten, whose initial effort looked to have been cleared away from behind the line. Spurs set up a tense closing 15 minutes when Martha Thomas pulled a goal back, before Chelsea substitute Jelena Cankovic saw her late goal ruled out for offside. Manchester United came from behind to beat Aston Villa 2-1 with a stoppage-time goal from substitute Rachel Williams at Villa Park, where the hosts saw Kirsty Hanson sent off. Scotland winger Hanson was shown a straight red card in the 74th minute for her high tackle on United midfielder Hayley Ladd. Villa, though, soon took the lead through England international Rachel Daly, only for Lucia Garcia to quickly have United back on level terms. Just when it seemed both teams would have to settle for a point, Williams headed in Nikita Parris’ deflected cross to secure United a dramatic victory. Leicester came from behind to beat newly-promoted Bristol City 4-2 at Ashton Gate. The Robins, back in the top flight after an absence of two seasons, went ahead through a fine strike from Carrie Jones in the 33rd minute. New Leicester signing Aimee Palmer, playing against her former club, fired the visitors level in added time at the end of the first half. Leicester took control after the break, as Shannon O’Brien put them in front and German striker Lena Petermann, making her debut, headed a third in the 52nd minute. Fellow debutant Jutta Rantala increased Leicester’s lead with seven minutes left before Amalie Thestrup scored her first Robins goal from the penalty spot. Elisabeth Terland scored twice in the first half as Brighton opened their WSL campaign with a 2-0 win at Everton. Norway forward Terland headed in after the ball came back off the crossbar to give the visitors a third-minute lead and soon added a second after being played in by Katie Robinson. Everton captain Megan Finnigan reduced the deficit just after the hour, but the home side were unable to conjure an equaliser. Manchester City won 2-0 at West Ham as Jill Roord scored on her debut. Lauren Hemp broke the deadlock early in the second half with a curling effort before Chloe Kelly then saw her penalty saved. Netherlands international Roord, a club-record summer signing from Wolfsburg, slotted in to open her City account in the 55th minute. City finished a player down after Leila Ouahabi was shown a straight red card for kicking out at Emma Harries, but the Hammers could not get themselves back into the game. Read More Arsenal break Women’s Super League record – but suffer shock Liverpool defeat Manchester United claim WSL victory with last-gasp goal against 10-player Aston Villa Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur LIVE: Latest Women's Super League updates Arsenal break Women’s Super League record – but suffer shock Liverpool defeat Manchester United claim WSL victory with last-gasp goal against 10-player Aston Villa
2023-10-02 02:45
Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur LIVE: Women's Super League latest score, goals and updates from fixture
Follow live coverage as Chelsea face Tottenham Hotspur in the Women’s Super League today. Last season it was Chelsea who again took the WSL title, just edging out Manchester United, while Arsenal and Manchester City are expected to be contenders in 2023/24 too. Relegated Reading have been replaced by Bristol City after they won the Championship title by a single point last term, while the likes of Liverpool, Everton and West Ham will hope for continued progression this year too. On the back of the Lionesses’ magnificent runs at Euro 2022 and the 2023 Women’s World Cup, the women’s game continues to go from strength to strength with increasing crowds and exciting new signings from overseas. Follow live updates from today’s game in the live blog below.
2023-10-02 01:15
Referees have to help themselves – Forest’s Steve Cooper frustrated by decisions
Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper felt it was another bad day for the Professional Game Match Officials Limited after some controversial decisions in his side’s 1-1 draw with Brentford. The PGMOL were forced to stand intended fourth official Darren England down at the City Ground after his mistake on Saturday night when, as VAR in Tottenham’s game against Liverpool, he failed to act properly in overturning the decision to rule out Luis Diaz’s goal for offside. And both managers were left complaining after the draw as Nicolas Dominguez’s header cancelled out Christian Norgaard’s opener, which came immediately after Moussa Niakhate was sent off. That is the decision that irked Cooper the most, the boss insisting that his defender’s tackle, where he raked his studs down Yoane Wissa’s calf, was accidental. Cooper said: “Honestly, if he doesn’t give him a second yellow, nobody mentions it. All of your colleagues on TV and radio have said the same. “With it being the only Premier League game of the day, the PGMOL needed a real clean day and unfortunately they have got the opposite. We want to help referees, we will moan and complain as much as anyone else, it is just the nature of it. “We’ll try and do it respectfully, but sometimes it’s hard. They have got to help themselves. I’m annoyed with the first yellow, he shouldn’t have lunged in. The second yellow would not even have been mentioned…of course it was accidental. “You need football understanding to see that. It’s a contact game. “Some have gone for us, so I’m not sitting here saying we’re hard done by. We all want refereeing to be at the right level and we all want to help them and they have to help themselves. The last thing they needed today was talking points about decision-making, but that’s what they’ve got. “Come on, let’s work together and we will help. Some things have gone in our favour, not as much as have gone against us. This league is amazing and every part of it needs to be at that level.” Brentford boss Thomas Frank says he is “tired” of talking about VAR after he thought his side were denied a clear penalty. Frank believes Wissa was fouled by Matt Turner early in the second half when he closed down the Forest goalkeeper and was caught by Turner’s follow through, while Brentford also had two penalty appeals turned down. Referee Paul Tierney did not give anything and the incident was not even checked by VAR Michael Oliver. “I am tired of talking about it, I understand you guys need to ask the question,” he said. “I just want to talk about performances. “I think the two handball situations, some managers would claim them as penalty, I won’t. I think I would really hate that if they were given against my team. “But the Wissa one is a clear penalty, you can’t go through the man, that is an unfortunate mistake from VAR, especially when that is clear and obvious. “Unfortunately our players are too honest, we need to be a little bit more nasty, I would never say that to the players, I like honest players.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live The final day in pictures as Europe win the Ryder Cup Rory McIlroy says US antics put ‘fire in our bellies’ as Europe regain Ryder Cup Luke Donald emotional after ‘stressful’ Ryder Cup win
2023-10-02 00:50
3 reasons why Notre Dame was able to take down Duke late
Notre Dame was able to beat Duke behind a last-second offensive drive to keep their playoff hopes alive
2023-10-01 23:54
Nottingham Forest earn point against Brentford despite Moussa Niakhate red card
Nicolas Dominguez scored his first goal for 10-man Nottingham Forest as they held on for a 1-1 draw against Brentford at the City Ground. Things looked bleak for Forest as they went down to 10 men just before the hour when Moussa Niakhate picked up a second yellow card, and immediately conceded to Christian Norgaard from the resulting free-kick. But they rallied and Argentina international Dominguez levelled soon after with a looping header that Bees goalkeeper Mark Flekken appeared to misjudge. Forest were able to see out the remaining 35 minutes with relative comfort to maintain their unbeaten start to the season on home soil. The draw means Brentford have now gone five games without a win as their tricky start to the campaign continues. There was a change to the match officials’ line-up after Darren England was dropped as fourth official following his mistake on Saturday night when, as VAR in Tottenham’s game against Liverpool, he failed to act properly in overturning the decision to rule out Luis Diaz’s goal for offside. Craig Pawson was drafted in on the touchline and his colleagues in Stockley Park had an early test as Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi converted from close range after Willy Boly’s header from a corner. He was immediately ruled offside but it was closer than it initially looked, with VAR Michael Oliver this time consulting the horizontal lines to confirm the decision. The game could have done with that early goal standing as a drab first half followed, with nothing of interest happening until added time when a short free-kick routine saw Norgaard advance into the box but his deflected shot was palmed away by Matt Turner. The second half immediately brought more entertainment as Brentford were close to taking the lead when Yoane Wissa closed down Turner and the ball trickled towards the net but Boly cleared. Forest endured a chastening couple of minutes just before the hour that led to the Bees taking the lead. Niakhate fouled Wissa, raking his studs up the back of his opponent’s leg, with referee Paul Tierney brandishing a second yellow card. And from the resulting free-kick Norgaard got goalside and nodded Mathias Jensen’s delivery into the corner, with the goal surviving a lengthy review for offside. Forest’s response was admirable, though, and they levelled eight minutes later as Harry Toffolo’s cross found Dominguez and his header looped over Flekken, with the goalkeeper appearing to pull his hand away as it went over him. The final half-hour was an attack versus defence exercise as Brentford pushed to make their numerical advantage count, but they came up against a resolute Forest rearguard. Morgan Gibbs-White produced a fine goal-saving tackle as the Bees broke at speed while debutant defender Murillo cleared off the line from Michael Olakigbe, with Norgaard firing over from the rebound. Forest put bodies on the line to see out 13 minutes of injury time and earn a valuable point. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Tom Curry raring to make England return ahead of final World Cup group game Rory McIlroy emotional after vital Ryder Cup singles win That win goes down to the manager – Craig Dawson hails Gary O’Neil
2023-10-01 23:47
Heisman Trophy Power Rankings 2023, Week 5: Caleb Williams' big game, Shedeur Sanders bounces back
Find out who's leading the race for the Heisman Trophy after Week 5 in college football.
2023-10-01 23:20
That win goes down to the manager – Craig Dawson hails Gary O’Neil
Craig Dawson praised Wolves boss Gary O’Neil after their shock win over Manchester City. The defender kept Erling Haaland quiet as Wolves earned a battling 2-1 win at Molineux on Saturday. Hwang Hee-chan struck a second-half winner after Julian Alvarez had cancelled out Ruben Dias’ early own goal. O’Neil had come in for early criticism from supporters, especially after Tuesday’s 3-2 Carabao Cup defeat at Ipswich, but Dawson insisted the manager deserved all the plaudits from Saturday. He said: “A lot of credit has to go to the manager for getting us so organised, with the game plan, and getting us fully prepared for the match, which he has done for every single game. That win goes down to the manager. “It was a massive win and it was great to see this place bouncing. “It’s clear at times we were man to man and the players stuck to that task brilliantly and stuck to the game plan for the full duration of the game, which is great for the lads. “It was all about concentration and keeping focused and credit to the manager for preparing us, getting us organised, and today we stuck to the plan and managed to get the victory.” Defeat ended City’s flawless start to the Premier League season but they remain top, a point ahead of Tottenham and Arsenal – with a trip to the Emirates Stadium to come on Sunday. “We’re all a bit disappointed now of course. We should have done more I guess,” midfielder Oscar Bobb told the club’s official site. “We pushed for it and unfortunately didn’t get it. Leipzig (in the Champions League on Wednesday) is next, a big game ahead and then Arsenal. We’re only thinking forward. “It’s not the greatest feeling, losing. I just want to keep pushing for more. “It gives us the chance to prove that we’re still the best team, so we’re looking forward to it.”
2023-10-01 22:48
VAR officials who made Liverpool error took charge of UAE match just 48 hours before
Questions have been raised within the game over whether the VAR team at fault for a major error in Tottenham’s win against Liverpool on Saturday night were fatigued. It has emerged that VAR officials Darren England and Dan Cook had made a six-hour flight from the United Arab Emirates the day before, after taking charge of a league game between Al Ain and Sharjah in the UAE Pro League on Thursday night. VAR England and assistant Cook made a “significant human error” when they failed to overturn Luis Diaz’s wrongly disallowed goal in the first half of Tottenham’s 2-1 win. Both referees have since been stood down for Sunday afternoon’s match between Nottingham Forest and Brentford as well as Monday night’s game between Fulham and Chelsea. The referees’ body the PGMOL have put the error for Diaz’s offside down to a “momentary lapse of concentration”, and questions have now been raised within the Premier League over whether workload fatigue played a part. A flight between London and the UAE takes at least six hours, with the officiating team of Michael Oliver, England and Cook only arriving back on Friday. A variety of sources have pointed to how teams in the Europa League don’t play until Sunday after a Thursday evening game. Officials who work in those same continental fixtures are usually fourth officials or VAR on Saturdays and on-field from Sunday, but that generally comes after much shorter travel than a trip to the Gulf. The explanation so far put forth for the error is that the VAR for the Liverpool game thought they were checking whether Diaz’s goal should stand rather than whether it was offside, which is what on-field referee Simon Hooper had actually ruled. That created the farcical situation of a "check complete" communication leading to a fair strike being ruled out in completely preventable fashion. What is not clear, however, is when the VAR officials realised that they had failed to intervene. Under the rules of the game, when Tottenham took the free kick to restart the match, the officials would have been unable to go back and award Diaz’s goal. It has since been confirmed that Oliver, Cook and England were involved in officiating in the UAE in midweek. An approach had been made to the Football Association and was subsequently approved by PGMOL chief Howard Webb, with it not affecting their availability to be selected for Premier League fixtures. Webb has since got in touch with Liverpool to apologise for the decision, as has become protocol. Liverpool went on to finish the match with nine men and suffered stoppage-time heartbreak when Joel Matip deflected Pedro Porro’s cross into his own net in the sixth minute of stoppage time, but the post-match discussions focused on the crucial first-half error. “Who does that help now? We had that situation in the Wolves-Man United game. Did Wolves get the points? No,” Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp reflected when informed of the PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited) statement. “We will not get points for it so it doesn’t help. Nobody expects 100 per cent right decisions on [the] field but we all thought when VAR comes in that it might make things easier. “I don’t know why the people... are they that much under pressure? Today the decision was made really quick, I would say, for that goal. It changed the momentum of the game, so that’s how it is.” Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher reacted to the decision on Twitter/X and said: “It’s an horrendous mistake no matter how they did it. But if they knew just after the Spurs free-kick was taken that they’d made a huge mistake, it’s nonsense they can’t bring it back just because a free-kick has been taken.” Read More Bizarre reason why Liverpool goal wrongly ruled out by VAR revealed VAR officials who missed Liverpool’s ‘onside’ goal to be replaced PGMOL admit Liverpool offside goal should have stood after ‘significant human error’ VAR officials who missed Liverpool’s ‘onside’ goal to be replaced Bizarre reason why Liverpool goal wrongly ruled out by VAR revealed PGMOL admit Liverpool goal should have stood after ‘significant error’
2023-10-01 20:46
Ole Miss Security Guard Levels Young Woman Running Onto Field After Win Over LSU
An Ole Miss security guard elbowed a coed who tried to run onto the field.
2023-10-01 20:20
Aston Villa vs Manchester United LIVE: Women's Super League latest score, goals and updates from fixture
Follow live coverage as Aston Villa face Manchester United in the Women’s Super League today. Last season it was Chelsea who again took the WSL title, just edging out Manchester United, while Arsenal and Manchester City are expected to be contenders in 2023/24 too. Relegated Reading have been replaced by Bristol City after they won the Championship title by a single point last term, while the likes of Liverpool, Everton and West Ham will hope for continued progression this year too. On the back of the Lionesses’ magnificent runs at Euro 2022 and the 2023 Women’s World Cup, the women’s game continues to go from strength to strength with increasing crowds and exciting new signings from overseas. Follow live updates from today’s game in the live blog below.
2023-10-01 19:47
Who is playing Sunday Night Football, Week 4?
After a classic rivalry took the Sunday night stage in Week 3, which two teams are set to play on NBC in Week 4?
2023-10-01 19:19
Wataru Endo hails Liverpool spirit despite ‘difficult decisions’
Wataru Endo was disappointed but proud of the way nine-man Liverpool fought in the face of “difficult decisions” during the last-gasp defeat at Tottenham. Jurgen Klopp’s men saw their unbeaten start to the Premier League season end in north London as Joel Matip’s own goal in the sixth minute of stoppage time gave Spurs a 2-1 win. Liverpool had gone so close to a point after seeing Curtis Jones’ booking upgraded to red midway through the first half after his challenge was reviewed by VAR. Son Heung-min soon broke the deadlock only for the Reds to equalise through Cody Gakpo, whose half-time replacement Diogo Jota was sent off in the 69th minute for two yellows. But the main talking point was how Luis Diaz’s opener was wrongly ruled out for offside due to what the Professional Game Match Officials Limited called a “significant human error” by VAR Darren England. Summer signing Endo, who came on with Liverpool reduced to nine men, said: “At the end, a very tough game but there were 50-50 decisions in the game and yeah, it’s very difficult to play with nine players. “But I wanted to get one point so I am very disappointed about it. “I am just so proud of this team. I am just disappointed. “We have to learn from this result and of course we showed our spirit, even though we faced difficult decisions we fought until the end. “That’s Liverpool and always we have to try to win the game. We can learn from this game but we just keep going.” Liverpool will look to bounce back from their first Premier League defeat of the season at Brighton next Sunday before attention turns to international matches. Matip will be particularly desperate to win after his late own goal in the capital, but Endo says nobody in the dressing room is blaming the defender. “Actually, he played an amazing game today so no-one can say something to him,” he told the club website. “I am so proud of what he did today and I am so proud of what my team-mates did today.” Liverpool have a Europa League group match against Union Saint-Gilloise before heading to Brighton, but there are no continental distractions for Spurs this year. Tottenham missed out on European qualification in a poor 2022-23 campaign but have been reborn under Ange Postecoglou, with his new-look side second in the standings. “It was an important moment,” goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario said. “We were level, then we scored. We deserved this win all together. “We have to enjoy this moment, to rest then keep going because we have another challenge next week (at Luton) and then the international break. “We have to be focused and to prepare the best game by game. “This has to be our goal throughout the season – keep going, keep working.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live United States needing a ‘miracle’ as final day of the Ryder Cup gets under way Ryder Cup live – Europe look to finish the job in Rome Mason Mount aware Man Utd must improve after stuttering start to the season
2023-10-01 18:49