beats

By  JAMES ROBSONWednesday April 8, 2026 Arsenal are one step away from a second successive Champions League semifinal after Kai Havertz struck late to secure a hard-earned 1-0 victory over Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday. At Estadio Jose Alvalade, Havertz came off the bench to score in stoppage time and put Mikel Arteta’s side firmly in command of the quarterfinal tie before next week’s second leg at the Emirates. The substitute fired past goalkeeper Rui Silva from close range to give Arsenal the advantage ahead of next week’s…

Wednesday April 8, 2026 Kylian Mbappe (bottom) scored in the second half to give Real Madrid a lifeline in the Champions League battle with Bayern Munich © Thomas COEX / AFP Bayern Munich left the Santiago Bernabeu with a precious 2-1 victory over Real Madrid on Tuesday, a result that moves the German giants a big step closer to the Champions League semifinals. Luis Diaz and Harry Kane struck for Bayern, while Kylian Mbappe answered for Madrid in a match that produced chances at both ends — though Bayern, the record…

Bruno Fernandes closed in on the Premier League single-season assists record as Manchester United tightened its grip on Champions League qualification with a 3-1 win against Aston Villa on Sunday, while Tottenham halted a damaging losing run by snatching a 1-1 draw at Liverpool. Fernandes set up two of United’s goals at Villa Park to move to 16 assists this league campaign, four shy of the record of 20 jointly held by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne. The Portugal playmaker, who now has 100 assists as a United player in all…

Premier League title race tilts Arsenal’s way as Manchester City draw with Nottingham Forest; Newcastle halts Manchester United’s run; João Pedro hat trick powers Chelsea; West Ham takes vital derby win. Arsenal opened a seven-point cushion over Manchester City at the top of the Premier League after a scrappy 1-0 win at Brighton, capitalizing on City’s 2-2 home draw with struggling Nottingham Forest. The Gunners have played one game more, but Wednesday’s swing tightens their grip on a title fight defined by thin margins. At…

Arsenal stay five clear with set-piece edge over Chelsea as Man United surge to third; Fulham, Brighton also win Arsenal tightened their grip on the Premier League lead with a 2-1 win over Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium, while Benjamin Sesko’s second-half header completed Manchester United’s comeback against Crystal Palace to lift them to third. Fulham clipped Tottenham Hotspur in west London, and Brighton edged Nottingham Forest after a frantic opening quarter-hour. Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea Manchester United 2-1 Crystal Palace…

Premier League: Arsenal surge seven clear as Liverpool finally win; dramatic Chelsea comeback caps a frantic Saturday Leeds 0-4 Arsenal Liverpool 4-1 Newcastle Chelsea 3-2 West Ham Brighton 1-1 Everton Wolves 0-2 Bournemouth Arsenal and Liverpool rediscovered their cutting edge on a pivotal Premier League Saturday, with Mikel Arteta’s side blasting seven points clear at the top after a 4-0 rout at Leeds, and the defending champion easing months of frustration with a 4-1 win over Newcastle at Anfield. Manchester City and…

Real Sociedad beat FC Barcelona 2-1 in a breathless, contentious finish on Sunday, trimming Barcelona’s lead at the top of La Liga to a single point and tightening a title race sharpened by Real Madrid’s win a day earlier. Mikel Oyarzabal opened the scoring with a far-post volley in the 32nd minute after a disputed buildup, and Goncalo Guedes delivered the winner barely a minute after Marcus Rashford had dragged Barcelona level in the 70th. The hosts then survived a late red card to Carlos Soler and a barrage of Barcelona…

Olmo and Lewandowski strike late as Barcelona win derby; Villarreal rise to third; Celta routs Valencia BARCELONA — La Liga leader Barcelona left it late but left Cornellà with the points, beating Espanyol 2-0 in the city derby on Saturday behind an 86th-minute stunner from Dani Olmo and a stoppage-time clincher from Robert Lewandowski. Former Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia, jeered throughout by the home crowd after his summer switch across the city, was Barcelona’s other match-winner with a string of saves that frustrated…

Premier League: Arsenal rip Aston Villa to stay five clear; Chelsea held; United stalled by rock-bottom Wolves Arsenal hit four past Aston Villa to extend its Premier League lead to five points on Tuesday, a ruthless second-half surge that set the tone for a night of twists across the table. Chelsea were pegged back at home by Bournemouth, Manchester United dropped points against last-place Wolverhampton Wanderers, and the relegation fight tightened after Newcastle’s win at Burnley and Everton’s away triumph at Nottingham…

After their initial defeat against the host country Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo won against Cape Verde and was revived in Group A in Afrobasket 2021, in Kigali. Identical dynamics for the Central African Republic, winning in the final seconds against Guinea in pool B. The Congolese reacted well. After Rwandan bang…