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Chelsea had to settle for a point in their Champions League opener as Olga Carmona’s penalty saw Emma Hayes’ side held 2-2 at Real Madrid. After Carmona put Real ahead in the 10th minute, the Blues turned things around via two headers either side of the break, Niamh Charles equalising and then setting up Sam Kerr. But moments later Carmona – scorer of Spain’s winner against England in the summer’s World Cup final – converted from the spot after Jessie Fleming was judged to have fouled Athenea del Castillo in the box. Chelsea substitute Lauren James rattled the crossbar before Charles controversially had an effort ruled out in stoppage time as the visitors were unable to secure a winning start to their final Champions League campaign before Hayes leaves at the end of the season and becomes United States head coach. The west London outfit – who have not won this competition among the glut of trophies they have claimed under Hayes, going closest as runners-up in 2021 – return to Women’s Super League action against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on Saturday before continuing their Group D games by taking on Paris FC at the same ground five days later. Wednesday’s earlier game in the pool saw Paris FC beaten 2-1 at home by Swedish side BK Hacken. Real grabbed the lead with the first real effort on goal as Ann-Katrin Berger’s attempted clearance came to Claudia Zornoza and she passed to Carmona, whose strike from 25 yards flew in via a deflection off Chelsea skipper Millie Bright. While the hosts offered little more in the way of attacking threat for the rest of the first half, Chelsea looked increasingly likely to hit back. And after Kerr had seen a rising shot well turned behind by Misa Rodriguez just prior to the half-hour mark and Erin Cuthbert fired off-target, the equaliser four minutes before the break when Charles headed in from Ashley Lawrence’s cross. Further Chelsea pressure in stoppage time included a Cuthbert free-kick going wide off a white shirt and Sjoeke Nusken’s shot being caught by Rodriguez. The opening stages of the second half saw Rodriguez deal with a Kerr header and do superbly to divert a shot from the same player wide moments later. Hayes introduced James for Fran Kirby and after Charles blocked a Del Castillo strike, the substitute put a shot into the stand at the other end. Chelsea got themselves in front with Charles once again involved as her 74th-minute cross was nodded in by Kerr. But only five minutes later, the score was back level after Fleming made a challenge that started outside the box on Del Castillo, she went down in the area and – with no VAR in operation – referee Frida Klarlund pointed to the spot, with Carmona powerfully dispatching the penalty past Berger. As Chelsea pushed to regain the lead, Rodriguez produced another good save to deny Johanna Rytting Kaneryd and James sent a wonderful shot crashing against the bar. The visitors then had the ball in the net again deep in stoppage time through Charles’ finish, but the effort was chalked off – seemingly for offside, although replays showed she had not been – to leave Hayes looking frustrated and Real breathing a sigh of relief. Read More Jon Rahm says it is ‘mainly my fault’ that he cannot catch Rory McIlroy in Dubai Ex-Chelsea keeper Petr Cech joins Belfast Giants as ‘temporary emergency cover’ Sir Chris Hoy says Katie Archibald’s form ‘incredibly impressive’ ahead of Paris Emma Hayes: Winning Champions League would be fairytale end to time at Chelsea The issues facing injury-hit Newcastle heading into testing end to year The sporting weekend in pictures

He was known by many as Mr. Padre, and rightfully so. Not only is Tony Gwynn the greatest San Diego Padre of all time, but he is also one of the top hitters in

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Chelsea travel to Spain to start their Women’s Champions League (WCL) campaign in what will be manager Emma Hayes’ last opportunity to win the European competition before she leaves the club at the end of the season. The WCL is the only piece of silverware that has eluded Hayes in her 11-year tenure at Chelsea but winning the tournament in her final year with the club will not be an easy feat. An opening clash against Real Madrid, runners-up in Liga F, will test the Women’s Super League (WSL) champions and the rise of Paris FC, who defeated Arsenal and Wolfsburg in qualifying, make a difficult tournament that much trickier at the group stage. Chelsea reached the semi-final stage last season before losing 2-1 on aggregate to Barcelona who went on to lift the trophy. Barca were also the team to stop the Blues on their only trip to the final, running out 4-0 winners in the 2021 showpiece to deny them the title. Adding the talented Ashley Lawrence and Catarina Macario this summer brings extra depth to Chelsea’s squad and they will need the experience of multiple WSL winners if they are to go far this time around. Follow all the action from the Women’s Champions League plus get the latest odds and tips right here:

Scotland take on Georgia in their penultimate Euro 2024 qualifier in Tbilisi on Thursday night. Steve Clarke’s side have already qualified for Germany after winning five of their first six Group A games. Here are some of the key talking points ahead of the game at the Boris Paichadze Stadium. Pots not prizes Scotland are highly unlikely to top the group given they sit on 15 points with Spain, who are seven goals better off and finish with games against Cyprus and Georgia. An unfortunate slip from Aaron Hickey late on in Seville last month led to a second Spanish goal and wiped out Scotland’s head-to-head advantage. However, good results against Georgia and Norway will boost Scotland’s hopes of landing in the second pot of seeds for next month’s Euro 2024 draw as well as regaining momentum after three consecutive defeats. Breaking the spell Scotland have twice come unstuck in Tbilisi before – their Euro 2008 and Euro 2016 campaigns suffered fatal blows against Georgia. Having beaten France home and away, Alex McLeish’s side lost 2-0 against a side featuring three teenagers, including 17-year-old goalkeeper Giorgi Makaridze and 17-year-old goalscorer Levan Mchedlidze. Gordon Strachan was also on the end of a defeat in Tbilisi as the hosts frustrated Scotland in a 1-0 win. Despite being unbeaten against qualification rivals Poland and Republic of Ireland, Scotland missed out on a play-off. A chance to shine Scotland are without about half a team of likely starters – Angus Gunn, Kieran Tierney, Grant Hanley, Hickey, Andy Robertson and Che Adams are all absent. The game could give the likes of Nathan Patterson, Greg Taylor, Anthony Ralston, the uncapped Josh Doig and late call-up Lawrence Shankland the chance to impress. Who is in goal? Clarke gave nothing away on who would replace Gunn, who has only conceded three goals in six qualifiers. Motherwell captain Liam Kelly and Hearts goalkeeper Zander Clark are looking for their competitive debuts after both won their first caps in last month’s 4-1 friendly defeat by France. Rangers number two Robby McCrorie replaced Gunn in the squad. Motivated opponents Georgia cannot finish in the top two but they can still go to Euro 2024 through the Nations League play-offs. Willy Sagnol’s side were the top ranked team in Group C after winning emphatically away to Bulgaria and North Macedonia, and will take their place in the play-off tournament in March. Read More Rohit Sharma glad India ‘could get the job done’ against New Zealand A look at the data behind Virat Kohli’s record 50 ODI centuries Virat Kohli hits record ton as India beat New Zealand to reach World Cup final Carlos Alcaraz beats Andrey Rublev at ATP Finals in Turin Francis Ngannou ranked as top-10 heavyweight by WBC after impressive debut Niall Huggins excited to make Wales bow following ‘horrendous’ period

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Scotland manager Steve Clarke is focused on finishing their Euro 2024 qualification campaign on a high after sealing their place in Germany amid a hat-trick of defeats. A 2-0 loss in Spain was sandwiched by friendly defeats against England and France, but five wins from their opening five games in Group A proved enough for a second successive qualification for the European Championship finals after the Spaniards won in Norway. With a five-month international hiatus to follow, Clarke is eager to ensure Scotland come away from their final competitive matches with points against Georgia and Norway before next summer’s tournament in Germany. Speaking ahead of Thursday’s clash in Tbilisi, Clarke said: “The idea with the friendly matches against England and France was to test ourselves against the best and see where we measure up. “Obviously with the results we had, we still have a bit of work to do. We will try to stay humble, respect our opponents and just try to improve all the time. “Listen, we want to get back to winning ways. It’s not very often in the reign that I have had, apart from the early stages, that we have had consecutive defeats like we have had recently. “It would be nice to think in the remaining two games we can pick up more points. “I have always said we want to get as high a points tally as possible and (we have) two more games to try and do that.” Scotland have lost their previous two games in Georgia, defeats which ultimately prevented them from qualifying for Euro 2008 and 2016. Clarke’s side have shown the ability to break such negative runs, for instance securing the first play-off success and ending a 23-year wait for a major tournament appearance. “Listen, in sport what’s past is past, there is nothing we can do to affect that,” Clarke said of the history in Tbilisi. “All we can do is affect the future, the next game we play. “We have always tried to improve results no matter who we are playing against.” Georgia lost 7-1 at home to Spain in September but they beat Cyprus 4-0 in their most recent qualifier and are assured of a Euro 2024 play-off place thanks to a Nations League campaign which included big wins in Bulgaria and North Macedonia. Clarke said: “When you go away from home against a team like Georgia, it’s going to be a difficult environment, a difficult game for us, because they are a very good side. “The one game they lost heavily was against Spain and that’s a little bit of an anomaly in recent games, because all their games have been very competitive. And we expect that on Thursday night.” Clarke is without the likes of Angus Gunn, Andy Robertson, Kieran Tierney, Aaron Hickey and Che Adams, but he hopes players such as Josh Doig and Lawrence Shankland can seize the opportunity that injury list presents. “Over the course of my tenure I have always tried to look a little bit deeper,” he said. “There will be some squads like this one where we have a number of players missing. But I always say it’s a chance for someone else. “If everyone else can do better it makes my selection more difficult going into next year. The selection will be difficult. I have to find the right 23 for next summer. “For now, some boys are in the squad with the chance to make a big impression, not just on me but the rest of my staff and the rest of the country. Let’s see how they perform in the game.” Hearts goalkeeper Zander Clark and Motherwell captain Liam Kelly are vying for competitive debuts after both played 45 minutes against France to win their first caps. Clarke, who also has Rangers reserve Robby McCrorie in his squad, was not giving anything away on his stand-in choice. Speaking from Scotland’s training camp in Antalya, Turkey, he said: “The three goalkeepers have trained very well, as they always do, and between now and kick-off I will obviously have to choose one.” Read More Francis Ngannou ranked as top-10 heavyweight by WBC after impressive debut Niall Huggins excited to make Wales bow following ‘horrendous’ period Virat Kohli hits record century as India post huge score in semi-final Jon Rahm says it is ‘mainly my fault’ that he cannot catch Rory McIlroy in Dubai Man arrested over death of ice hockey player Adam Johnson bailed by police Ex-Chelsea keeper Petr Cech joins Belfast Giants as ‘temporary emergency cover’

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Wales newcomer Niall Huggins is ready to step onto the international stage after expressing fears that a mystery injury which left him with weak bones would end his career. Huggins joined up with the senior Wales squad for the first time this week ahead of decisive Euro 2024 qualifiers against Armenia and Turkey after what the Sunderland defender called a “horrendous” period. The 22-year-old made just a couple of league starts in his first two seasons at Sunderland after joining from Leeds in August 2021, with the full-back becoming increasingly concerned over his football future. “The last two years have been horrendous, awful to be honest,” said York-born Huggins, whose father was born in Bangor. “When I first joined Sunderland, I suffered an initial stress fracture in my back and that put me out for four or five months. “I had the same sort of issue but in different places when I was doing my rehab and it was something we struggled to get to the bottom of. “There was never a reason for why it was happening. All the tests we did, nothing ever seemed to stand out. “It was just that the bones were weak, which made it tough.” Asked if he felt his career was at risk at the time, Huggins said: “Yes, 100 per cent. It got to the point where every time I was doing the rehab, the first few steps back on the grass, it was always there in the back of my mind. “I would think: ‘Is this going to happen again?’ And you do start to worry. The years are going by on the contract and you are worrying about it. “When I did finally start to get fit, it helped so much mentally. But it is still hard to look back on.” Huggins said the issue was eventually resolved by “having an injection every morning for three months”, strengthening his bones and allowing him to return to training. But the physical demand of matches took a toll on his body, with muscular issues and a knee problem ruling him out until Sunderland’s Championship play-off games in May. It has not been until this season that Huggins has been able to show the potential that persuaded Marcelo Bielsa to hand him a Premier League debut for Leeds at Arsenal in February 2021. “It literally feels like I’m starting my professional career,” said Huggins, who has started 11 Sunderland games this term and scored his first senior goal – a Championship goal-of-the-month contender – against Watford in October. “This is the first year where I can really show what I can do and what level I can play at. To have the call-up to the senior team shows that even more. “It wasn’t even at the back of my mind, but it felt amazing. “To represent a country feels unbelievable. It means as much to the lads who were born outside Wales as those born in the country and who have lived there for a long time. “It just shows the culture that the set-up creates for the players. You can see how amazing the fans are and how much it means to the country to make it to the Euros. “The previous results show how much the lads want to play for the badge, including the lads born in England – and me being one of them. I’m just excited to one day hopefully put on the shirt and play for the country.” Read More Richard Arnold steps down as Manchester United chief executive Virat Kohli hits record century as India post huge score in semi-final Jon Rahm says it is ‘mainly my fault’ that he cannot catch Rory McIlroy in Dubai Man arrested over death of ice hockey player Adam Johnson bailed by police Ex-Chelsea keeper Petr Cech joins Belfast Giants as ‘temporary emergency cover’ Pat Cummins believes Australia can use past experiences to reach World Cup final

Chief executive Richard Arnold is leaving Manchester United as they begin their search for a new CEO for the Jim Ratcliffe era. Patrick Stewart, the club’s general counsel, is taking over as interim CEO, with Arnold remaining involved for the rest of 2023. But, with Ratcliffe and Ineos set to buy a 25 percent stake in United for £1.3bn, Arnold will end a 16-year stay at Old Trafford after less than two years as chief executive. The petrochemicals billionaire Ratcliffe wants control of football operations when he takes a minority stake. The lifelong United fan was bidding against Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim after United’s owners, the Glazer family, revealed last November that they were open to investment. Much of Arnold’s time in charge has come amid uncertainty about United’s future and he said: “It has been an incredible privilege to serve this great football club for the past 16 years. Through highs and lows, the constant has been the dedication of our employees and fans. I would like to thank all of them for their loyalty and commitment, and wish everyone associated with the club the very best for the future.” Executive co-chairman Joel Glazer added: “I would like to thank Richard for his outstanding service to Manchester United over the past 16 years, and wish him all the best for his future endeavours. We are fortunate to be able to call on the deep knowledge and experience of Patrick Stewart to provide interim stability and continuity as we embark on a search for a new permanent CEO.” A close ally of former executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, Arnold was criticised for his attempts to bring Mason Greenwood back into the team. Arnold, who was previously commercial director at Old Trafford, played a significant part in transforming United’s commercial and sponsorship revenue. In his time as chief executive, the club signed lucrative partnership deals with Adidas and Qualcomm. After Woodward had become more involved in sporting decisions, he delegated more of the responsibility to football director John Murtough and helped build a structure inside the club. Director of football operations David Harrison, director of football negotiations Matt Hargreaves, head of women’s football Polly Bancroft and deputy football director Andy O’Boyle all joined the club during Arnold’s reign. His tenure also included the appointment of Erik ten Hag and United’s first trophy in six years, in the 2023 Carabao Cup, plus greater investment in the women’s team. Stewart, who has been at United for 17 years, already works closely with governing bodies such as the Premier League, the FA and Uefa. He said: “Together with my leadership team colleagues, my job will be to ensure that the club’s foundations remain stable while we embrace changes that can make us stronger over the long term, on and off the pitch, and to support the search for a new permanent CEO.” Further changes are expected at Old Trafford with Sir Dave Brailsford, the cycling boss, likely to play a major role. Brailsford has worked closely with Ineos chairman Ratcliffe both with the Ineos Grenadiers cycling team and at Ligue 1 club OGC Nice. Read More Chelsea set for more Premier League scrutiny over Roman Abramovich era Chelsea face fresh scrutiny over secret payments made under Roman Abramovich Referees chief Howard Webb backs VAR decision on Anthony Gordon goal against Arsenal Chelsea set for more Premier League scrutiny over Roman Abramovich era Chelsea face fresh scrutiny over secret payments made under Roman Abramovich Referees chief Howard Webb backs VAR decision on Anthony Gordon goal against Arsenal

Richard Arnold is leaving his role as Manchester United chief executive, the Premier League club has announced. With the club since 2007, he worked as commercial director before becoming group managing director in 2013. The departure of executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward saw him take up the role of chief executive in February 2022, but United have confirmed he is leaving his post. United said in a statement: “Richard Arnold has decided to step down as Chief Executive of Manchester United after 16 years with the club. “Patrick Stewart will take over as interim CEO, in addition to his existing role as General Counsel, with Richard continuing to provide transitional support until the end of December. A search process will be carried out for a new permanent CEO.” Outgoing chief executive Arnold said: “It has been an incredible privilege to serve this great football club for the past 16 years. “Through highs and lows, the constant has been the dedication of our employees and fans. “I would like to thank all of them for their loyalty and commitment, and wish everyone associated with the club the very best for the future.” Read More Virat Kohli hits record century as India post huge score in semi-final Jon Rahm says it is ‘mainly my fault’ that he cannot catch Rory McIlroy in Dubai Man arrested over death of ice hockey player Adam Johnson bailed by police