United News of Bangladesh

Aston Villa and Chelsea boosted their chances of securing a top-five Premier League finish — and a spot in next season’s Champions League — with home victories on Friday. Villa earned a 2-0 win against a weakened Tottenham Hotspur side, with goals from Ezri Konsa and Boubacar Kamara. Meanwhile, Chelsea edged past a resilient Manchester United team, claiming a 1-0 victory thanks to a second-half strike from Marc Cucurella. The results saw Chelsea climb to fourth place with 66 points, just ahead of Villa in fifth on goal difference. The other teams fighting for one of the four Champions League spots after league winner Liverpool all have two games left to play. Arsenal has 68 points, Newcastle 66, Manchester City 65, and Nottingham Forest 62. On a tense night at Villa Park, the home side had the better of the play but was forced to wait until the 59th minute to get the opener. Ollie Watkins steered John McGinn’s corner back across goal and an unmarked Ezri Konsa turned in the ball. Boubacar Kamara doubled the lead with a low drive from the edge of the penalty area. It was his first Premier League goal in his 69th game. “We knew today was a must win,” the Frenchman told broadcaster Sky Sports. “We want to play Champions League football again. … We had a taste of it this season and us as players it’s a competition you want to play in.” Villa's final match is against Man United at Old Trafford on May 25. Friday’s win was Villa’s eighth in its last nine league matches and extended its unbeaten home run to 21 games in all competitions, its best since 1977. Meanwhile, at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea woke up after a dull first half when Spanish defender Cucurella headed home Reece James' cross after 71 minutes. BPL Football: Dhaka Mohammedan close to their first-ever title beating Chattagram Abahani Spurs and Man United went into the matches with one eye on next week's Europa League final. Both coaches rested some regular starters and got through the night without any new injury worries. Both of Friday's matches were brought forward by 48 hours to allow the sides more time to prepare for the final on Wednesday in Bilbao.      

Atalanta secured a 2-1 win over Roma on Monday, clinching third place in Serie A and guaranteeing a spot in next season’s Champions League. The win put the Bergamo-based side seven points ahead of both Juventus and Lazio, with only two matches left to play. The top four teams earn automatic qualification for the Champions League. Nigeria's Ademola Lookman opened the scoring in the ninth minute with his 15th league goal of the season. Roma equalized before halftime with a header from former Atalanta player Bryan Cristante. Ibrahim Sulemana then netted the decisive goal for Atalanta. Despite the loss, Roma still had hope. The capital club sat in sixth place, just one point behind both Juventus and Lazio. Venezia looks safe Venezia beat Fiorentina 2-1 and took a giant step towards securing its Serie A status for another year. Brazil names Carlo Ancelotti as new manager It rose out of the relegation zone and into fourth-from-last place. The last three teams go down and with two matches left to play Venezia holds its destiny in its own hands. It is a point above Lecce and Empoli, and its two final games are at Cagliari and at home to Juventus. Fali Cande on the hour mark and Gaetano Oristanio eight minutes later put Venezia in the driving seat at Stadio Pierluigi Penzo. Rolando Mandragora pulled a goal back for the visitor with 13 minutes remaining. The result was a massive blow to Fiorentina’s hopes of securing European football next season. It remained ninth, three places and four points outside the European spots.    

Despite both sides struggling in the lower half of the Premier League table, they now stand just one match away from Champions League qualification — the prize awaiting the Europa League winners. The two underperforming English clubs booked their spots in the final of Europe's secondary competition on Thursday. Manchester United cruised to a 4-1 win over Athletic Bilbao at Old Trafford in the semifinal second leg, completing a dominant 7-1 aggregate victory. Tottenham secured their place with a 2-0 away win against Bodø/Glimt, progressing 5-1 on aggregate. This sets the stage for another all-English Europa League final — the first since Chelsea defeated Arsenal in 2019 to claim the trophy. “If we don’t win the final, it means nothing for us,” said United manager Ruben Amorim. “Managing this club is difficult to put into words. Our fans deserve something, especially after such a disappointing league season.” BCL Football: PWD SC maintain top slot beating Farashganj SC by 1-0 goal In their comeback win over Bilbao, United overturned a 1-0 halftime deficit with Mason Mount scoring twice after coming on as a substitute. Casemiro and Rasmus Højlund also found the net. Tottenham's goals in Norway came courtesy of Dominic Solanke and Pedro Porro, ensuring a comfortable progression to the final. The final is in Bilbao on May 21. “It’s an unbelievable feeling,” Spurs defender Micky van de Ven said. “We’ve had a tough season, but we’re one game away from winning silverware.” A major title, alone, would be enough to salvage what has otherwise been a season to forget for both United and Spurs. But the added prize of a place in the lucrative Champions League would put the winner back among Europe’s elite next term. That hasn’t looked likely for either team for most of the campaign as they have languished closer to the relegation zone than the top five. United is 15th in the standings having lost a club record 16 games in the Premier League. It is also certain to record its worst-ever points total in the modern era, as well as its lowest finish. For Tottenham, it’s even worse — sitting one place below United after a club record-equaling 19 losses in the Premier League. Now, one of those teams has the chance to effectively erase their woeful domestic form by winning the final, which will be the fourth time they have faced each other this season. Spurs won all three of the previous encounters — twice in the league and also in the English League Cup. “We are struggling, both of us, so I don’t know what is going to happen,” Amorim said. “That is a good thing and a bad thing with this team. I never know.” Mount double United’s two-legged victory over Bilbao defied its performances for most of the season, which saw former coach Erik ten Hag fired in October and his replacement, Amorim, oversee 12 losses in 24 league games. Bilbao, fourth in the Spanish league, trailed 3-0 from the first leg but mounted a fightback through Mikel Jauregizar’s curling long-range shot in the 31st minute at Old Trafford. There were signs of nerves in United’s play as the visitors applied more pressure, but the introduction of Mount in the 62nd turned the game. He spun and curled a low shot past Bilbao goalkeeper Julen Agirrezabala 10 minutes after coming on. Casemiro headed United in front in the 79th and Hojlund scored from close range in the 85th. Mount got his second when he spotted Agirrezabala off his line in the first minute of stoppage time and fired home from near the halfway line. It is United’s third Europa League final in eight years, having won the competition in 2017. United won the FA Cup last year and the League Cup in 2023 and this would be a third trophy-winning season in a row. It would also be Amorim’s first for the club after winning two Portuguese league titles with Sporting Lisbon. He described it as “massive.” “For me it’s the most important because it’s the next one,” he said.        

Inter Milan has another Champions League final to look forward to. Once the players catch their breath, that is. In the end it took extra time, two astonishing comebacks and 13 goals to separate Barcelona and Inter and see the Italian club — which was a mere seconds away from elimination — prevail 7-6 on aggregate after winning another rollercoaster encounter 4-3 on Tuesday, AP reports. Substitute Davide Frattesi was the extra-time star for Inter, firing home in the 99th minute to leave the Barcelona players slumped to the ground while his Nerazzurri teammates — including those on the bench — were racing to celebrate with him. “I don’t know what happened tonight. I’m lucky I managed to finish the game, I screamed so much (in celebration) that I saw everything black,” Frattesi told Italian broadcaster Sky. Moments earlier, he'd been encouraging the already loud San Siro crowd to make more noise and the atmosphere grew more feverish after Frattesi delivered on his super-sub reputation again. “That’s part of my career," the midfielder said. “I wasn’t given so much incredible talent, but I am always the last one to give up and the first one to believe we can do it. At 3-3, I told Marcus (Thuram) that we would go through.” Three-time European champion Inter, which lost the 2023 final to Manchester City, will face either Paris Saint-Germain or Arsenal in Munich on May 31 for the title. PSG beat Arsenal 1-0 in London last week in their first match. The return leg is Wednesday in Paris. Inter coach Simone Inzaghi thinks his squad has shown in wins over Barcelona in the semis and Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals that it can compete against the very best. “My players have been extraordinary, they've put out there two monstrous performances to get to this final,” he said. "We have to continue. The final will be played against a really great team, whether it's Arsenal or PSG. Barcelona and Bayern are probably the best teams in Europe at the moment, but it will still be difficult." Cristiano Ronaldo’s son gets first Portugal under-15 call-up There was little sign at halftime of the drama to play out. Inter was comfortably leading 2-0 after Lautaro Martínez scored and earned a penalty, which was converted by Hakan Çalhanoğlu. But Barcelona had been in that position before, having gone 2-0 down early last week in the first leg before securing a thrilling 3-3 draw. And Eric García scored nine minutes after the break before Dani Olmo headed in the equalizer six minutes later. Raphina appeared to have secured the win for Barcelona when he put the Spanish club ahead two minutes before full time, tucking away the rebound after Yann Sommer had saved his initial shot. However, 37-year-old Francesco Acerbi astonishingly leveled in stoppage time — with his first goal in European competition — to add another 30 minutes of time. Frattesi had proved crucial off the substitutes' bench before, both for Italy and Inter, and so he was again, controlling Mehdi Taremi's pass and beating Pau Cubarsí before curling past Wojciech Szczęsny. Barcelona almost leveled again but Sommer made a fingertip save to push Lamine Yamal's shot past his post. Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said he told his players “I know everyone is disappointed … but at the end we can be proud of our performance.” “I’m proud of my team," he said. "We have to accept it and we start again next season.”

Nottingham Forest’s hopes of securing a Champions League spot took a blow on Monday after a 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in the Premier League. Despite spending much of the season in the league’s top three, Nuno Espírito Santo’s side has managed just one win in its last four matches. That poor run of form has seen them slip behind rivals Chelsea, Newcastle, and a resurgent Manchester City in the standings. Bangladesh team fly for India on Tuesday to take part in SAFF U-19s A victory over Palace would have brought Forest level on points with Chelsea and Newcastle, but settling for a draw leaves them in sixth place — just outside the top five, which secures qualification for next season’s Champions League. The game itself was scrappy at times, with eight players booked in a match that lacked rhythm and clear control from either side. Crystal Palace broke the deadlock just past the hour mark. After a VAR review, goalkeeper Matz Sels was ruled to have brought down Tyrick Mitchell in the box, and Eberechi Eze calmly converted the resulting penalty. Forest responded swiftly, equalizing within four minutes when Murillo managed to deflect Neco Williams’ shot past the Palace keeper. Palace came close to reclaiming the lead late on, with Eze striking the post in the final moments and Eddie Nketiah seeing a stoppage-time goal ruled out for offside. The result extends Palace’s winless run in the league to five matches. “We were a bit unlucky at times — hitting the post, the offside decision — but the players showed great spirit,” said Palace head coach Oliver Glasner. “Creating so many chances against a side like Forest isn’t easy, so I’m really happy with how we played.”    

Lamine Yamal’s curler that went in off the post after the teenager’s great dribble? Marcus Thuram’s nifty back-heeled flick? Raphinha’s missile that hit the bar and the goalkeeper before finding the net? And don’t forget Denzel Dumfries’ bicycle kick, before he scored again with a powerful header. You have your pick of great goals from Barcelona and Inter Milan’s thrilling 3-3 draw to start their Champions League semifinal on Wednesday, setting up a must-see sequel next week in Milan. Opta Stats said it was joint-highest highest score for a draw in a Champions League semifinals since Bayern Munich and Dynamo Kiev finished with the same score in April 1999. What was supposed to be a contrast of styles between the top-scoring Barcelona and the stingiest defense in the competition turned into a shootout. “We saw a fantastic match and we knew that semifinals are difficult. We could even have won,” Inter coach Simone Inzaghi said. “Our fans know that we’ve been giving our utmost in difficult times and we know that Tuesday will be a ‘final.’” Thuram flicks Inter ahead Inter matched Barcelona’s firepower with two goals from corner kicks, and the hosts needed another stellar performance from 17-year-old Yamal in his 100th appearance for his club. Except for Inter’s start and strength in set pieces, Barcelona imposed its game and had 66% possession and created 10 shots on goal to Inter’s three, according to UEFA’s stats — but had to settle for a draw. Barcelona’s attack meets Inter defence in UCL semifinals Thuram was a doubt for the starting 11 after missing Inter’s previous three matches — all losses without a goal. But the striker used the back of his heel to turn in a cross by Dumfries to stun the hosts just seconds after kickoff. Dumfries then put Inter into what appeared to be a comfortable lead when he scored his first of two goals with a bicycle kick after a corner kick was headed onto him in the 21st. Yamal takes over Yamal sparked Barcelona into action in the 24th when he dribbled past two defenders and sliced a shot in off the far post. He went close to an equalizer moments later after gliding down the endline and firing a shot with just a sliver off an angle off the crossbar. “Yamal is a fantastic player, in the big matches you can see his quality, and he showed it today,” Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said about his forward. “At 2-0 down,” he continued, “I knew that this was a semifinal between great clubs and I knew that the huge experience they have was being demonstrated. They are good at set plays too, but Lamine showed us the way forward. His goal to make it 2-1 was so important.” Ferran Torres rammed in a headed pass by Raphinha to equalize for Barcelona in the 38th.    

Strange things happen when Inter Milan plays Barcelona in the Champions League semifinals. The last time the two teams met in the final four of Europe’s elite club competition, in 2010, Barcelona had to make a 15-hour journey by bus to Milan after an ash cloud caused by the eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull shut down air space, AP reports. Barcelona lost that first leg 3-1 and a stout defensive performance by Inter in the return match saw it advance to the final 3-2 on aggregate — where it beat Bayern Munich to clinch a historic treble under Jose Mourinho. Inter is hoping it won't have to make a similarly arduous journey after an unprecedented blackout brought much of Spain and Portugal to a standstill Monday. Power had almost fully returned to Spain early Tuesday morning and Inter’s charter flight was still scheduled to take off for Barcelona at 5 p.m. local time ahead of the first leg of their semifinal on Wednesday. Inter coach Simone Inzaghi will be hoping his team can power back up for the game as well. Inter heads to Barcelona following a dire run of results that has seen its dreams of another treble evaporate. Barcelona targets European title hat trick after winning UEFA Youth League final For the first time in more than 13 years, Inter has lost three straight matches without scoring a goal. Since a 2-2 draw against Bayern in the Champions League quarterfinals, the Nerazzurri have lost 1-0 to both Bologna and Roma in Serie A and 3-0 to AC Milan in the second leg of their Italian Cup semifinal. That has also seen them been leapfrogged at the top of the Serie A table by Napoli, slipping three points behind the new league leader. “The three defeats hurt and we’re not used to this, we have to look at ourselves and try to recover our physical and mental energy,” Inzaghi said. Those three games, however, had something in common: Marcus Thuram was missing. Thuram, who has been out with a left thigh issue, has scored 17 goals and provided nine assists across all competitions for Inter this season. Without the France forward, Lautaro Martinez has appeared fatigued attempting to carry Inter’s attack. And Marko Arnautovic, Thuram’s replacement, has been ineffective. Thuram has returned to training and could even start on Wednesday. “We’ll head to Barcelona and we will play them with respect, not fear,” Inzaghi added.

Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid in a Champions League penalty shootout — again — to keep its title defense alive Wednesday and advance to the quarterfinals. Defender Antonio Rüdiger scored the decisive spot-kick in a 4-2 shootout win after two Atletico players missed. Marco Llorente's shot struck the bar after Julián Álvarez's score despite slipping was disallowed on video review because he touched the ball twice. Madrid also beat Atletico in a shootout to win the 2016 final — part of a streak of eliminating its city rival in the knockout rounds for four straight years. That hard-luck run started with the 2014 final when Atletico gave up an equalizing goal in stoppage time. Madrid moves on to the quarterfinals to face Arsenal, which also advanced Wednesday along with Aston Villa and Borussia Dortmund. The quarterfinals lineup was completed with Madrid’s win in a tense derby that had ended 2-2 on aggregate score. Atletico led 1-0 after 90 minutes and extra time in a typically tenacious performance at its Metropolitano Stadium to cancel out Madrid’s 2-1 advantage from the first leg last week. “When you get knocked out, it is not easy to digest," Atletico coach Diego Simeone said, “but I go out with a feeling of peace.” Two key incidents defined regulation time. Atletico Madrid scored within 30 seconds and Real Madrid missed a penalty in the 70th minute. Atletico took the lead with its first attack when England midfielder Conor Gallagher pounced on the ball from close range when a cross by Rodrigo De Paul was deflected into the goalmouth. Madrid star Vinícius Júnior blazed a penalty kick high over the Atletico goal when he could have sent the 15-time champion through. He was substituted in extra time for his teenage fellow Brazilian, Endrick. Does Liverpool's Champions League exit to PSG reveal a flaw in the revamped competition? Kylian Mbappé and Jude Bellingham stepped up to score Madrid's first two spot-kicks, and Fede Valverde also scored before Lucas Vazquez's kick was saved by Jan Oblak. It was more relaxed in London, where Arsenal rested some regulars in a 2-2 draw with PSV Eindhoven to run up a 9-3 aggregate score. Aston Villa also had a stress-free evening at home to ensure England has two teams in the quarterfinals, one night after Premier League leader Liverpool was beaten at Anfield by Paris Saint-Germain in a shootout. Villa won 3-0 against Club Brugge, which played with 10 men from the 17th, after a 3-1 win in Belgium last week. Brugge defender Kyriani Sabbe was sent off for pulling back Marcus Rashford when running clear on goal. Substitute Marco Asensio, on loan at Villa from PSG, scored twice in the second half to ensure his temporary club will meet his parent club next. Borussia Dortmund rallied with two second-half goals to win 2-1 at Lille and advance 3-2 on aggregate. The beaten finalist last season now faces Barcelona.

Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid will renew their rivalry Tuesday as the Champions League returns to familiar territory after a new league phase and playoff stage. The remodeled tournament is back to the round of 16, which used to kick off the knockout stages until UEFA added the extra playoff round this season. In addition to the Madrid derby, the other matches on Tuesday will include Arsenal visiting PSV Eindhoven, Club Brugge facing Aston Villa, and Borussia Dortmund — last year's runner-up to Madrid — taking on Lille. On Wednesday, it will be Paris Saint-Germain hosting Liverpool, Inter Milan visiting Feyenoord, Benfica taking on Barcelona, and Bayern Munich welcoming fellow German club Bayer Leverkusen. The Madrid derby will take place at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, with Atletico taking on old nemesis Madrid, the record 15-time European champion that struggled in the league phase and needed to get past Manchester City in the playoff stage. Juventus strikes twice in dominant second half to beat Verona in Serie A Atletico secured an automatic spot in the round of 16 by doing well in the league phase, and more than ever it has the confidence that it can finally end its slump against its city rival in the Champions League. “We have a lot of respect for our rival,” Atletico coach Diego Simeone said. “But we also know our strengths." Simeone's team lost two finals to Madrid — in 2014 and 2016 — and was eliminated the other two times they faced off in the knockout rounds — in the 2015 quarterfinals and 2017 semifinals. Madrid hasn't beaten Atletico in four consecutive matches in all competitions, being eliminated in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey last season. “We know it will be an even match and we feel that it will be decided in the return leg,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "We can’t think about trying to take a big lead tomorrow, it’s not possible because our rival is competing very well and the tie will be even until the end.” Other matchups Arsenal finished third in the inaugural league phase behind Barcelona and fellow Premier League club Liverpool. It will visit a PSV Eindhoven side that handed Liverpool its only defeat in the league phase, then got past Juventus in the playoffs in extra time. Nottingham Forest reaches FA Cup quarterfinals after Sels stops Ipswich in shootout Borussia Dortmund, seeking a second consecutive final appearance, will host a Lille team that finished seventh in the league phase in a campaign that included victories over both Madrid and Atletico. Aston Villa also was a league-phase surprise, losing only once to finish eighth and set up the round-of-16 matchup against a Club Brugge squad that defeated Villa 1-0 at home in November and eliminated Atalanta in the playoffs

Manchester City and Real Madrid go head-to-head again in the Champions League on Tuesday, with the eventual loser facing an unusually early exit from European club soccer's most prestigious tournament. The giants are meeting in the two-legged playoffs after struggling in the new-look league phase of the competition. This is the fourth year in a row they have faced each other in the Champions League, with the winner on the three previous occasions going on to lift the trophy. City heads into the first leg in the middle of a disappointing campaign that has seen their Premier League title defense unravel. But Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti still believes his team will have to overcome one of the best in the world to advance to the round of 16.  Esports Olympics to debut in Saudi Arabia later than expected in 2027 “They are one of the best teams in Europe and they have the best manager (Pep Guardiola) out there. It’s a nightmare preparing for games against him because he always has ideas that make you think," Ancelotti said. “I am convinced the team that goes through from this tie will go on to win the competition.” Guardiola said he did not know what to expect from his team after a troubled season has left it in fifth place in the Premier League, 15 points behind leader Liverpool. “We’ve not been consistent, when what’s defined the team over the last decade has been we are an incredible machine every three days, otherwise we cannot win six Premier Leagues in seven years or win the incredible trophies we have won," he said. “Then I would feel, yes, the team is consistent, we can do it. Now it’s like, I don’t know."