Liverpool’s Luis Diaz celebrates after scoring his side’s first goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Luton Town and Liverpool, at Kenilworth Road, in Luton, England, on Nov. 5.Alastair Grant/The Associated Press
Luis Díaz lifted his Liverpool jersey to reveal a T-shirt with the words “Libertad Para Papa” (“Freedom for Papa”) after scoring a late equalizer Sunday in his first appearance for the team since his parents were kidnapped in his native Colombia.
Díaz bundled home a goal in the fifth minute of stoppage time to earn Liverpool a 1-1 draw at Luton in the Premier League and immediately sent a message for his father, who is still missing after the kidnapping by a guerrilla group, National Liberation Army, known as ELN.
Both of Díaz’s parents were taken by gunmen on motorbikes in the small Colombian town of Barrancas last weekend, though his mother was rescued within hours by police.
Díaz returned to training on Thursday after missing two Liverpool games and said he was ready to play against Luton, with manager Jürgen Klopp selecting him on the bench. He came on in the 83rd and spared Liverpool from the embarrassment of losing to one of the Premier League’s weakest teams, with his goal off Harvey Elliott’s cross appearing to come off his shoulder.
“It’s a wonderful moment,” Klopp said, “but it doesn’t change the situation. The most important thing is that his father gets released.”
Díaz was embraced by Luton’s players and his own teammates on the field after the game.
Tahith Chong looked like being the match-winner for Luton, converting a finish at the end of an 80th-minute counterattack that came after a Liverpool corner.
It would have been a statement win for Luton in its first ever season in the Premier League, the kind of result its fans can only have dreamed of 10 years ago when the team was playing in English soccer’s non-leagues and facing financial ruin.
“Immensely proud of the whole club tonight,” Luton manager Rob Edwards said. “We pushed a top, top team all the way and we can take a lot of confidence from that.
Martinez’s mistake
It could have been a spectacular save by Emi Martínez. In the end, the Argentina goalkeeper made a big error. Aston Villa was already trailing 1-0 to Nottingham Forest when Martínez attempted to save midfielder Orel Mangala’s long-range shot with his outstretched left hand. He only succeeded in palming the ball back toward goal and over the line in the 47th minute. That added to the fifth-minute opener by fullback Ola Aina from outside the area as Forest won 2-0 to extend its unbeaten record at the City Ground to eight league matches. Villa’s six-match unbeaten run came to an end. A win could have lifted Unai Emery’s team into the top four.
Bristol bags first WSL win
Arsenal’s Stina Blackstenius came off the bench to score a late winner as her side beat Manchester City 2-1 in the Women’s Super League on Sunday, while Bristol City notched up its first win of the season with a thrilling 3-2 victory over West Ham United. Manchester City, which slipped to second place in the standings after Chelsea’s 6-0 thrashing of Aston Villa on Saturday, came into the game on a fine run of form but they fell behind when Steph Catley put the Gunners ahead in the 14th minute. Everton’s Aurora Galli scored from the spot in the 85th minute to give her side a 1-1 draw away to Tottenham Hotspur, while Liverpool’s excellent start to the season continued with a 2-1 win over Leicester City. There was drama in the late kickoff as Guro Bergsvand scored her first goal for Brighton & Hove Albion to give it a late lead over Manchester United but Rachel Williams struck deep into second-half stoppage time to snatch a 2-2 draw for the Red Devils.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
