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Benfica have activated a purchase to make the loan of Manchester United left-back Alvaro Fernandez permanent.
Fernandez, 21, has made 13 appearances for Benfica since being loaned out by United in January’s transfer window.
Athletic reported earlier this month that Benfica were close to activating the defender’s clause.
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Daniel Farke insisted it was not the time for “optimistic messages” but said Leeds United were ready for a second season in the league after losing in the play-off final.
Leeds’ record of failing to achieve promotion to the play-offs has been extended to six attempts, as Adam Armstrong’s first-half goal gave Southampton a 1-0 win at Wembley today.
United amassed 90 numbers in the normal season but missed a great chance of automatic promotion to the Premier League and are now preparing for another crusade in the English Football League (EFL).
Farke, who signed a four-year contract with the club last summer, is expected to remain as manager, but Leeds will be forced to sell some players in the transfer window, to balance the books and in accordance with profitability and sustainability rules.
The German, who claimed Southampton had been “more efficient” during the 90 minutes, has avoided talking about the next 12 months, stating: “To be honest, after wasting the final, it would be too early to be there with positive messages. “Everyone is suffering and disappointed, with many tears on the pitch and in the dressing room.
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Southampton will sign Manchester City loanee Taylor Harwood-Bellis to a permanent £20m deal after their last play-off win over Leeds United.
Russell Martin’s promotion triggered a buy-to-own clause in St Mary’s contract, 22.
The defender has played a key role in Southampton’s promotion campaign, with 46 appearances this season, Sunday’s play-off win at Wembley.
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Southampton’s promotion generates £20m bonus for Manchester City’s Taylor Hardwood-Bellis
Southampton secured promotion to the Premier League for the first time with a 1-0 win over Leeds United in the championship play-off final on Sunday.
The south coast club was relegated from the first flight at the end of 2022-23 but will now join Leicester City and Ipswich Town in the Premier League next season.
That’s even more painful for Leeds in the play-offs, as it’s the sixth time in a row they’ve failed to progress down this route.
In addition to the prestige of securing the most sensible flight ascent, accounting firm Deloitte says Southampton will see profits rise of at least 140 million pounds ($178 million) over the next three seasons.
That build-up could exceed £305 million if they are relegated after their first season in the Premier League.
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Southampton were promoted to the Premier League after winning the play-offs Leeds United
Southampton return to the Premier League after defeating Leeds United in a war of wills in the final of the league play-offs.
Russell Martin’s side, who fell from the most sensible flight through Leeds last season, ideally reigned supreme in the sport dubbed “the most lucrative” in football, earning a promotion and expected earnings boost of at least £140 million ($178 million) over the next 3 years. Seasons.
Adam Armstrong’s first-half goal made the difference as Southampton kept Leeds at bay at Wembley Stadium and they can now look ahead to Premier League football in 2024-25, while Leeds will have to come up with an escape plan from the league.
Nancy Froston and Phil Hay how the play-off final was won.
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Leeds 0 Southampton 1 – Armstrong scores against Leeds as Southampton clinch promotion
Twenty-three minutes later, Southampton were leading 1-0 in the championship qualifying final!
Striker Adam Armstrong took advantage of a weak defence from Leeds’ four defenders, broke on purpose and deftly shot past Ilian Meslier for his 24th goal of the season.
23′ – Leeds 0-1 Southampton
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Kyle Walker says Manchester City’s Premier League title celebrations had no effect on their FA Cup final performance against Manchester United on Saturday.
City missed the first team’s chance in English football history to win back-to-back league and cup doubles after a 2-1 defeat at Wembley.
Teenagers Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo scored first-half goals to put United in command. Jeremy Doku scored what turned out to be a delayed consolation effort.
Five days earlier, several City players, including Jack Grealish and Kevin De Bruyne, were photographed leaving a Manchester bar early Monday morning after celebrating the club’s fourth consecutive league name with their family.
“We celebrated it on Sunday, it was Saturday. Six days have passed. If we athletes can’t in six days, no one has a chance,” Walker said.
“We had to enjoy this moment on Sunday because if we celebrate it now, in a miserable situation, it probably wouldn’t feel good.
“The time has come. The club, the players and the team have made this decision. Let’s not blame him.
USWNT captain Lindsey Horan, Lyon midfielder, said yesterday’s Women’s Champions League final is “a sign of where women’s football is headed”.
Horan, 30, declared his team’s 2-0 defeat by Barcelona at the San Memes stadium. Goals from Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putellas secured Barcelona a back-to-back Champions League victory.
However, despite the defeat, Horan believes the match in front of a record crowd of 50,827 was a step in the right direction for women’s football.
She said, “Well, I hope you’re all watching today. I think you see the atmosphere and yes, again, I know it’s largely Barca fans. “
“You see the atmosphere, you see a full audience. I hope the audience is amazing. I think this is just a sign of where women’s football is headed. We’re proud of that in general.
“I hope that, from a positive point of view, it will be an entertaining match for the fans. We have to come back, work hard and make sure we stay at the top.
Read about Barcelona’s Champions League win below
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Barcelona’s Champions League win was like a replacement for strength, but Lyon insist he will return
What a series of feelings Manchester City’s fans, players and staff will wake up to on Sunday morning.
Those returning to Manchester will prepare for a parade of buses through the city, a chance to celebrate the magnificent feat of winning 4 Premier League titles in a row, a feat that went on well into the night just six days ago.
And yet, there is the disgusting feeling of wasting only a final, but also a Manchester derby.
It’s not just about wasting a Manchester derby, it’s about wasting a final. There is no escaping this angst, especially against this Manchester United team, which so many people expected so little that day.
Full story below
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Man City erred in the big moments against United but this is still a season to celebrate
Entire seasons of football can result in fractions of seconds of action. Leeds United know, from their bitter experience, that play-off matches can also last fractions of a second.
They were there last Thursday, in the second leg of their league semi-finals against Norwich City, with unpleasant nuances of 2019: the same stadium, the same ground, the same accumulated leadership and not from the same position in the table. . land where he placed the chimney in a house in County Derby five years earlier.
Josh Sargent cleared the way for him and Illan Meslier to face Leeds and Norwich 2-0 with their first glimpse of a perspective at Elland Road. Two zeros is security; 2-1, it is possible.
By any measure, Meslier’s resolution is a gem.
But how did Sargent’s vagueness feel?
What did he see and how did he execute it perfectly?
Was it luck?
Or is it the natural excellence of the goalkeeper?
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Illan Meslier on Josh Sargent’s save: “This save is tough”
In the Netherlands this would be a “rampjaar”. Translation: a “disastrous year”.
The word dates back to 1672, a time of conflict, division, and political instability in the Netherlands: the Franco-Dutch War.
A matter so bad that, in the darkest moment, the Dutch ate their prime minister.
Erik ten Hag was going to avoid that grim fate no matter what happened at Wembley, however, this is precisely what Manchester United’s season looked like at around 2:59pm on Saturday afternoon as they prepared to face Manchester City.
A horrible year. A disastrous year. A ramp.
Full story below
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Would Manchester City be a manager who finished eighth in the league and won the FA Cup?
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For Kylian Mbappé, the 90 minutes of his last appearance in a Paris Saint-Germain shirt will not be clear.
From the moment the ball went in in the Coupe de France final, the intensity of the occasion took over. It would be the mirror of his seven years at the club, now erased from memory.
But it didn’t all happen so quickly, and that doesn’t do much to clear the brain for a war in a primary cup final.
In fact, the moments before his last dance, while sitting in the dressing room of the Pierre Mauroy stadium in Lille, waiting for the start of the French Cup final against Lyon, were going to be prolonged.
Time weighs heavily when the end appears after all.
Full story below
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Kylian Mbappé, PSG and the longest farewell. Now the exhibition will have to go on without him
Xavi says he would like to return to Barcelona in the future, despite being sacked by the club on Friday.
The 44-year-old was sacked a month after announcing he would remain as head coach, after deciding to step down at the end of the season.
When asked if he would coach the Camp Nou club in the future, he replied: “Yes, I would like to come back, why not?”
Read what Xavi had to say in full below.
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Xavi could return to Barcelona in the future: “I love being at this club”
Plymouth Argyle have announced the appointment of Wayne Rooney as their new manager.
Rooney, 38, has been out since he was sacked by Birmingham City after just 83 days at the championship club.
The former Manchester United and England striker succeeds former Plymouth manager Ian Foster, who was sacked in April after less than three months at the helm of the club. Plymouth finished 20th in their first season since 2009-10 in the championship, one position above the relegation zone. .
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Wayne Rooney has stepped up as head coach of Plymouth Argyle
There were 20 injured, in addition to 8 police officers, after the ultra-rival teams of Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon clashed ahead of the French Cup final on Saturday night.
The incident took place on the A1 motorway, near Arras, about 40 kilometres from the Pierre-Mauroy stadium in Lille, where the last one took place.
Local police reported that around a hundred more people were concerned and that all injuries were minor, and the incident began when the two teams of ultras stopped at the toll booth. A fight broke out between the teams, during which a bus was attacked. chimney and 4 other people damaged, as well as numerous minor injuries.
Read the full story below.
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Coupe de France final: 20 injured, 8 policemen, before PSG-Lyon
Manchester United will play in the Europa League next season after their last FA Cup win, with Chelsea falling to third place in the Conference League and Newcastle United missing out on European football entirely.
Manchester United’s eighth-place finish in the Premier League is their lowest top-flight finish since 1990 and insufficient to qualify for European football, but yesterday’s 2-1 win at Wembley against Premier League champions Manchester City secured a move to the Europa League as an FA. . Cup winners.
The Premier League has seven European places for the 2024-25 season: 4 in the Champions League, two places in the Europa League and one in the Conference League.
Read below for the full breakdown of the 2024-25 European offers for Premier League clubs.
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Newcastle left out of Europe and Chelsea in Conference League after Man Utd win FA Cup
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Erik ten Hag said he would “go elsewhere to win trophies, because that’s what I do” if Manchester United combined tactics with the manager.
Ten Hag, 54, speaking after his team’s latest FA Cup win over Manchester City, whose preparation has been shaped by uncertainty over their future. United have sounded out possible candidates if they share tactics with Ten Hag, but the Dutchman is positive in his post-match analysis.
The United manager said winning the FA Cup final would allow him to “enjoy the summer” after concluding a difficult season in which the club finished eighth in the Premier League – its lowest top-flight finish in 34 years – and a Champions League stage of organising. . exit.
Read what Ten Hag had to say after yesterday’s FA Cup win.
Manchester United will take stock of the season next week (the duties of coach Erik ten Hag) before deciding on the next steps for the football club.
The build-up to United’s 2-1 win over Manchester City in the FA Cup final on Saturday was marked by questions about Ten Hag’s future, with the manager later admitting he “didn’t know” if it was his last game in charge.
United have already begun to contact other candidates, including Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna, as they explore possible replacements for Ten Hag, but have always insisted that a final decision on the Dutchman’s future has not yet been made.
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Read our full investigation of a memorable day in the red part of Manchester.
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Manchester City 1 Manchester United 2: An impressive team goal as Ten Hag wins the FA Cup