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Soccer-Chelsea ease past Tottenham into League Cup final

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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)

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Edler to sign one-day contract to retire as a Vancouver Canuck

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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 Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Sixth-ranked Canadian women to face World Cup champion Spain in October friendly

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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.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024

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Maple Leafs announce Oreo as new helmet sponsor for upcoming NHL season

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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.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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