Sports

Soccer-Chelsea ease past Tottenham into League Cup final

Published

3 years ago

January 12, 2022

Chelsea beat London rivals Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 thanks to Antonio Rudiger’s first-half goal to complete an emphatic 3-0 aggregate triumph in the League Cup semi-final on Wednesday.

Leading 2-0 from last week’s one-sided first leg at Stamford Bridge, defender Rudiger gave Tottenham a mountain to climb when he bundled home from Mason Mount’s corner in the 18th minute.

Tottenham battled hard in search of a route back into the tie but it was not to be their night as two penalties awarded either side of halftime by Andre Marriner were both overturned after VAR interventions.

To rub salt into their wounds Harry Kane also had a goal ruled out for offside after yet another VAR check.

Chelsea, who face Manchester City in the Premier League on Saturday, eased off in the second half but were comfortable enough in the end and will try to claim the League Cup for a sixth time in the final against Liverpool or Arsenal.

Liverpool host Arsenal in the first leg of their semi-final on Thursday.

“We’re happy with the result. In the first half we were the better team and we deserved to be up,” Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel said. “We lost concentration and lost focus in the last 15 minutes of the first half and again in the second half.

“We were almost punished for lack of focus.”

Tottenham’s fans were in full voice early on, believing in a repeat of the night 20 years ago when their team crushed Chelsea 5-1 in the League Cup semi-final second leg having lost the opener 2-1.

There was to be no repeat though as Tuchel’s Chelsea are far more robust than Claudio Ranieri’s version and after settling into their rhythm the gulf in class acknowledged by Spurs manager Antonio Conte last week was evident again.

They were too quick for Tottenham and Romelu Lukaku forced a fine save from Spurs keeper Pierluigi Gollini after chesting down a long pass before Malang Sarr then had a shot blocked by a sliding Giovani Lo Celso.

Chelsea did not have to wait long to take complete control.

A corner was swung in by Mount and Gollini, surprisingly selected instead of Hugo Lloris, got nowhere near it, and the ball went into the back of the net off Rudiger.

Tottenham barely got a kick for the next 20 minutes but did finish the half strongly with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg having a shot deflected wide before Tottenham thought they had been awarded a penalty as Rudiger chopped down Hojbjerg.

Even that potential lifeline was snatched away though as referee Marriner was over-ruled by VAR, with the offence having taken place just outside the area.

Incredibly Marriner awarded Tottenham another penalty in the 54th minute when Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga came out to block Lucas Moura who had been played through by Kane.

This time, after checking a pitchside monitor, he changed his mind as Arrizabalaga had clearly won the ball first before Moura tumbled over his leg.

To their credit Tottenham showed more passion in the second half with Chelsea becoming a little sloppy and Arrizabalaga made a flying save to claw away Emerson Royal’s header.

Tottenham realised the game was up though when Kane lashed home in the 63rd minute but once again VAR rescued Chelsea with the England striker adjudged marginally offside.

(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Ed Osmond and Toby Davis)

Sports

Sports betting roundup: NFL and college football were all about the favourites

Published

21 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Anne Joseph

The past weekend of football was all about the favourites.

The favoured teams went 13-1 straight up and 10-4 against the spread in the NFL. In college football, the three most teams bet at the BetMGM Sportsbook in terms of number of bets and money all won and covered. All three were favourites.

Trends of the Week

The three most bet college teams that won and covered on Saturday were Ohio State (-3.5) vs. Penn State, Indiana (-7.5) at Michigan State and Oregon (-14.5) at Michigan. Penn State has now lost seven straight home games as underdogs. The Nittany Lions were up 10-0 in the first quarter and were 3.5-point favourites at the time. The Buckeyes won 17-10.

In the NFL, the three most bet teams in terms of number of bets and money were the Washington Commanders (-4) at the New York Giants, the Detroit Lions (-2.5) at the Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills (-6) vs. the Miami Dolphins. All three teams won, but only two of the three covered the spread as Buffalo beat Miami 30-27.

When it came to the players with the most bets to score a touchdown on Sunday, only two of the five reached the end zone — Chase Brown (-125) and Taysom Hill (+185). David Montgomery (-140), Brian Robinson Jr. (+110) and AJ Barner (+500) did not score.

Upsets of the Week

The biggest upset in the NFL was the Carolina Panthers coming from behind to beat the New Orleans Saints 23-22. New Orleans closed as a 7-point favourite and took in 76% of the bets and 79% of the money in against-the-spread betting. The Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen following the loss. They have now lost seven straight games after starting the year 2-0.

Arguably the biggest upset in college football was South Carolina beating No. 10 Texas A&M 44-20 at home. Texas A&M closed as a 2.5-point favourite and took in 59% of the bets and 58% of the money.

Coming up

Right after the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Yankees to win the World Series, odds for the 2025 World Series were released.

The Dodgers have the best odds at +400, while the Atlanta Braves and Yankees are next at +800.

The Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies round out the top five, both at +1100.

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This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM online sportsbook.

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Sports

Longtime rivals Ovechkin, Crosby join Necas as NHL’s three stars of the week

Published

21 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Anne Joseph

NEW YORK – Washington Capitals left-wing Alex Ovechkin, Carolina Hurricanes centre Martin Necas and Pittsburgh Penguins centre Sidney Crosby have been named the NHL’s three stars of the week.

Ovechkin had a league-leading five goals and nine points in four games.

The 39-year-old Capitals captain has 14 points in 11 games this season, and his 860 career goals are just 34 shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record.

Necas shared the league lead with nine points (three goals, six assists) in three games.

Crosby factored on seven of the Penguins’ eight total goals scoring four goals and adding three assists in three appearances. The 37-year-old Penguins captain leads his team with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 13 games this season.

Crosby and Ovechkin, longtime rivals since entering the league together in 2005-06, will meet for the 70th time in the regular season and 95th time overall when Pittsburgh visits Washington on Friday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.

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Sports

Oliveira, Mitchell named as finalists for CFL outstanding player award

Published

5 days ago

October 31, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Running back Brady Oliveira of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell are the finalists for the CFL’s outstanding player award.

Oliveira led the CFL in rushing this season with 1,353 yards while Mitchell was the league leader in passing yards (5,451) and touchdowns (32).

Oliveira is also the West Division finalist for the CFL’s top Canadian award, the second straight year he’s been nominated for both.

Oliveira was the CFL’s outstanding Canadian in 2023 and the runner-up to Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for outstanding player.

Defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund of the Montreal Alouettes is the East Division’s top Canadian nominee.

Voting for the awards is conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada and the nine CFL head coaches.

The other award finalists include: defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette (outstanding defensive player); Saskatchewan’s Logan Ferland and Toronto’s Ryan Hunter (outstanding lineman); B.C. Lions kicker Sean Whyte and Toronto returner Janarion Grant (special teams); and Edmonton Elks linebacker Nick Anderson and Hamilton receiver Shemar Bridges (outstanding rookie).

The coach of the year finalists are Saskatchewan’s Corey Mace and Montreal’s Jason Maas.

The CFL will honour its top individual performers Nov. 14 in Vancouver.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31.

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