List of All Articles with Tag 'football'

Will the Texas Longhorns make the College Football Playoff? Find out the key factors that determine their chances.

Former Newcastle skipper Alan Shearer has blasted the decision which handed Paris St German a Champions League get out of jail card against his home town club “disgusting” and “s***”. Shearer, the Magpies’ record goalscorer, voiced his frustration on social media after Polish referee Szymon Marciniak was asked to review his decision not to award a penalty when Ousmane Dembele’s cross hit Tino Livramento in the ribs and then hit the underside of his arm. The referee belatedly pointed to the spot. Kylian Mbappe, who had been denied repeatedly by goalkeeper Nick Pope and his defenders, made no mistake from 12 yards in the eighth minute of stoppage time at the Parc des Princes to secure a 1-1 draw. An unimpressed Shearer wrote on his X – formerly Twitter – account: “Do me a f****** favour man. What a load of s***t. “A superb battling away performance from every single player. Shouldn’t be spoilt by a disgusting decision. Well done @NUFC.” Shearer’s former Newcastle team-mate Shay Given was equally unhappy with the decision, which brought back memories of the night in Paris that Thierry Henry’s handball which went unnoticed and cost the Republic of Ireland a place at the 2010 World Cup finals. Given posted on X: “What a performance from the Toon. Terrible decision to give a penalty, not the first time I’ve left Paris with a controversial handball decision.” Former Newcastle and England striker Michael Owen also criticised the penalty decision and the way the handball rule is being interpreted. Owen wrote: “Heartbreaking for @NUFC. Such a good performance. Never in a million years is that a penalty. “We are further away from applying consistency to the handball rule than we’ve ever been.” TNT Sports pundit Ally McCoist branded Mr Marciniak’s decision “a disgrace”. McCoist said: “It comes off his chest, then hits his left elbow. If that’s a penalty, we might as well forget about it. “If we’re giving penalty kicks for that, it’s a disgrace. The whole night will be remembered by that decision.” Colleague Jermaine Jenas, who spent more than three years of his playing career at St James’ Park, added: “It is a shocking decision – not in any walk of life is that a penalty. What is meant to do with his arms – wrap them around his back? “I am fuming.” Read More Late penalty leaves Eddie Howe ‘hugely frustrated’ First half was the worst I’ve seen us – Phil Foden savours thrilling fightback Beth Mead ‘smiling like a Cheshire cat’ on England return Rodrigo Bentancur set to be out until February after tearing an ankle ligament Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink wants aspiring black managers to get ‘a fair chance’ Ronnie O’Sullivan reels off six successive frames to advance at UK Championship

What will the future of the College Football Playoff look like? Explore the 12-team bracket and projected Top 4 seeds based on the current CFP rankings.

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Newcastle boss Eddie Howe was left fuming after Paris St Germain denied Newcastle a priceless Champions League victory with a controversial stoppage-time penalty. The Magpies looked to be heading for a famous 1-0 win at the Parc des Princes as they battled their way through a second-half onslaught from the hosts until Polish referee Szymon Marciniak awarded a spot-kick against Tino Livramento after a VAR review, allowing Kylian Mbappe to level in the eighth and final minute of added time. Howe, who said in a television interview that the official had been placed under “extreme” pressure by the PSG players, labelled a decision which cost his side two precious points “poor” in his post-match press conference. I feel it is a poor decision and it’s hugely frustrating for us as you know how little time there is left in the game Newcastle boss Eddie Howe Asked if he felt a sense of injustice, he said: “Yes, I do. It wasn’t the right decision in my opinion. “There are so many things to take into account at that moment, the speed first. It was a ricochet that when it is slowed down, looks completely different to the live event. “The ball hits his chest first, comes up and hits his hand. But his hand is not in an unnatural position, they [his hands] are down by his side, but he is in a running motion. “I feel it is a poor decision and it’s hugely frustrating for us as you know how little time there is left in the game. There is nothing we can do about it now.” The pivotal moment arrived in the fifth minute of stoppage time when Ousmane Dembele attempted to deliver the ball across the Newcastle penalty area and saw it hit Livramento’s side and rear up on to the underside of his arm. Mr Marciniak, who had earlier seen decisions not to award spot-kicks for an Anthony Gordon challenge on Achraf Hakimi and a shout for handball against teenager midfielder Lewis Miley upheld, was advised to review the incident and this time decided to award the penalty. The Magpies, who had taken a 24th-minute lead through Alexander Isak, defended it for grim life until the last-gasp controversy, although they needed Pope to be at his brilliant best on several occasions. They now need to beat AC Milan at home on December 13 and hope PSG do not win away to Borussia Dortmund to progress. Asked if that was something to cling on to, Howe, who celebrates his 46th birthday on Wednesday, said: “Yes, I think that’s absolutely right. In the next couple of days, that will become more relevant in our thoughts, I think. “When the draw came out, it was the ‘group of death’ and I don’t think many people gave us a chance of qualifying from it and sitting here now, I’m a little bit frustrated that it’s not in our hands because when I look back at the two Dortmund games, I felt we could have done better in those matches. “I don’t think it’s the time for that, I think it’s probably a time to be positive and to say that if we can beat Milan, then good things can happen from it.” For PSG boss Luis Enrique, there was a mixture of relief and frustration on a night when his side created a host of chances but were unable to take any of them until Mbappe’s late intervention. Enrique said: “Without a doubt, we played a very great game. We deserved to win. We played better than Newcastle. The result does not reflect what happened on the pitch. “It’s not basketball. We are one of the teams in Europe that scores the most. Sometimes the ball doesn’t want to go in. “Sometimes the game looked like table tennis. I couldn’t believe we couldn’t score, but we carried on despite the frustration.” Read More First half was the worst I’ve seen us – Phil Foden savours thrilling fightback Beth Mead ‘smiling like a Cheshire cat’ on England return Rodrigo Bentancur set to be out until February after tearing an ankle ligament Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink wants aspiring black managers to get ‘a fair chance’ Ronnie O’Sullivan reels off six successive frames to advance at UK Championship ECB boss admits challenges remain for cricket after positive impact report

Phil Foden felt Manchester City were at their worst before recovering from 2-0 down to secure top spot in their Champions League group with a 3-2 win over Leipzig. The holders trailed to two breakaway Lois Openda goals at half-time of Tuesday’s clash at the Etihad Stadium. Foden sparked their recovery after the interval, teeing up goals for Erling Haaland and substitute Jeremy Doku either side of scoring a sublime effort himself. The England midfielder told TNT Sports: “First half was the worst I’ve seen us. Courage and motivation courage changed it around. This team has great mentality and it’s so nice to see. “We just needed that goal to get going. Even the fans were a lot louder after the goal. Once the first went in the motivation was there. We’ve got a great record at the Etihad and it only takes one goal to change things.” City’s victory not only made certain of preferential seeding in the last 16 for a seventh successive season but extended their English record unbeaten run in European competition to 19 games. Manager Pep Guardiola was pleased with that achievement but admitted concern about the performance. The Spaniard said: “If we talk about the qualification it is a great night. If we talk about the game, we could do better. “Sloppy goals – in football you have to win duels and it was quite similar against Chelsea. We were solid and now we’ve had two warnings already. “It’s the same up front. We’ve had chances and missed them. “But maybe for the future it’s good to win not comfortably, to show we are able to make a comeback. “When we scored early in the second half, 45 minutes was a long time for them. It was not easy because they defended really well and they were strong, but we are there. “Now we have five days to recover for the game against Spurs.” Leipzig’s display was a huge improvement on their 7-0 loss at the same venue last season and coach Marco Rose felt his side were unfortunate not to get more from the game. Rose said: “We knew we made them angry in the first half. It got more difficult. “If we kept the clean sheet a little bit longer, maybe then the chance would become bigger and bigger to win or to take something home, but at the end you need a little bit of luck and that is what we missed maybe. “We played a really good game, but this is City.” Read More Beth Mead ‘smiling like a Cheshire cat’ on England return Rodrigo Bentancur set to be out until February after tearing an ankle ligament Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink wants aspiring black managers to get ‘a fair chance’ Ronnie O’Sullivan reels off six successive frames to advance at UK Championship ECB boss admits challenges remain for cricket after positive impact report England’s Zach Mercer installs oxygen chamber at home to combat ankle injury

Find out which college football teams should be taking a long, hard look at Tyler Van Dyke in the transfer portal.

Newcastle suffered late Champions League heartbreak as Kylian Mbappe’s last-gasp penalty denied them a famous victory over Paris St Germain. The Premier League side, who won the reverse fixture 4-1, were heading for a memorable night in the French capital after Alexander Isak’s first-half goal. They were on the way to securing the three points which would have put qualification to the knockout stage into their own hands until Mbappe stepped up from the spot in the eighth minute of added time. The draw means it will be PSG who progress if they better Newcastle’s result in the final Group F game in a fortnight. Borussia Dortmund wrapped up top spot in the group with a 3-1 win over AC Milan. Manchester City came from 2-0 down to beat RB Leipzig 3-2 and assure themselves top spot in Group G. The reigning champions were staring defeat in the face after a first-half double from Lois Openda. But Erling Haaland got one back nine minutes into the second half, with Phil Foden drawing them level before Julian Alvarez won it with three minutes left. Both teams have already qualified, but Young Boys put themselves in pole position to go into the Europa League after beating Red Star Belgrade 2-0. Goals from Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix earned Barcelona a 2-1 win over Porto to take control of Group H. The Portuguese side took the lead when former Real Madrid defender Pepe scored in the first half, but their qualification fate will go down to the final game, with Shakhtar Donetsk also on nine points after they beat Royal Antwerp 1-0. Celtic crashed out of Europe for the season after a late double by substitute Ciro Immobile gave Lazio a 2-0 win in Rome. The Hoops went into the make-or-break game with one point from four Group E matches but gave as good as they got for most of the contest before the home side’s veteran attacker struck in the 82nd and 85th minutes to sink the Scottish champions. Celtic remain bottom of the section and cannot catch Lazio, Atletico Madrid or Feyenoord. Atletico beat the Dutch side 3-1 to remain top of the group. Read More Newcastle denied Champions League win after controversial Kylian Mbappe penalty Phil Foden inspires Manchester City fightback in win over RB Leipzig Beth Mead ‘smiling like a Cheshire cat’ on England return Rodrigo Bentancur set to be out until February after tearing an ankle ligament Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink wants aspiring black managers to get ‘a fair chance’ Ronnie O’Sullivan reels off six successive frames to advance at UK Championship

Kylian Mbappe snatched a famous Champions League victory from Newcastle’s grasp with a controversial penalty in the eighth minute of stoppage-time to earn Paris St Germain a 1-1 draw at the Parc des Princes. Defender Tino Livramento was harshly adjudged to have handled Ousmane Dembele’s cross to allow the France superstar to finally beat goalkeeper Nick Pope from the spot on a night when Eddie Howe’s men came within seconds of a win which would have set them up perfectly for their final Group F fixture against AC Milan at St James’ Park. They led through Alexander Isak’s 24th-minute strike and looked to have survived a second-half onslaught with Pope saving from Mbappe, Dembele and substitute Bradley Barcola, but they headed back to Tyneside wondering what might have been after the draw kept their hopes of a place in the last 16 alive, but only just. Victory over the Italians combined with defeat for PSG at Borussia Dortmund, who have already qualified, would see the dream realised, but their fate is now out of their own hands. That is harsh on Howe’s injury-ravaged squad, who turned in a performance of real character in Paris with Bruno Guimaraes Livramento, Pope, Miguel Almiron and – as the game became increasingly stretched – Anthony Gordon shining in particular. Mbappe started in ominous mood as he and Lee Kang-in combined repeatedly down the left and Pope had to save the PSG skipper’s audacious flick with his feet after Randal Kolo Muani had played full-back Achraf Hakimi into space with an equally deft touch. However, the visitors should have taken a 12th-minute lead when Almiron dispossessed Hakimi and crossed low to Isak at the near post only to see the striker lift his first-time shot agonisingly over. They did with 24 minutes gone when full-back Livramento embarked on a scything run which took him past Dembele, Hakimi, Fabian Ruiz, Milan Skriniar, Manuel Ugarte and Lee before he fed Almiron on the right. The Paraguay international curled a shot towards the far post, where goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma could only push the ball out to Isak, who gleefully slammed it into the net. Pope had to come to Isak’s rescue after he lost possession and Dembele raced away and tried to steer the ball inside the far post as PSG responded, but for all their attacking flair, the French side were struggling to break down their English opponents. Skriniar was perhaps fortunate not to be penalised for handball as he made a last-ditch attempt to deny Isak a clear run on goal in stoppage-time, but Pope was grateful for the sizeable presence of Fabian Schar in front of him to keep out Dembele’s well-struck attempt from Mbappe’s cross. Isak was almost through on goal again within seconds of the restart after running on to Joelinton’s defence-splitting pass before eventually being snuffed out by the recovering blue shirts and, with Anthony Gordon keeping the PSG defence occupied, frustration was mounting among the home ranks. They might have been back in it, however, had Pope not raced from his line to block Dembele’s 56th-minute toe-poke and the keeper was rewarded when Mbappe completely missed his as he attempted to acrobatically volley home the rebound. The Magpies edged ever deeper as Luis Enrique’s men fought desperately for a way back into the game and they almost got it with 66 minutes gone when Mbappe tricked his way past Schar and crossed for Barcola, whose point-blank effort was brilliantly saved by Pope. Barcola fired wastefully into the side-netting after getting in behind the visitors’ defence and Gordon survived a VAR review for a penalty after Hakimi had gone down under his challenge with Newcastle visibly tiring. Pope blocked Mbappe’s 87th-minute strike at his near post and saw the France international thump the rebound inches wide, but he was finally beaten at the death after Polish referee Szymon Marciniak had reviewed the incident in which Dembele’s cross appeared to hit Livramento’s side and loop up on to the underside of his arm and belatedly awarded a spot-kick. Read More Newcastle must show ‘top team attitudes’ to beat PSG, says Nick Pope Rumours: Sancho and Antony head up Man Utd’s 15-player sale list PSG vs Newcastle LIVE: Champions League result and reaction PSG vs Newcastle LIVE: Champions League result and reaction As Man City celebrated their past, Phil Foden reminded them of their glorious present Late heartbreak for Newcastle and Manchester City march on in Champions League

Phil Foden created two and scored another as holders Manchester City came from 2-0 down to preserve their unbeaten Champions League run with a 3-2 win over RB Leipzig. Erling Haaland also broke another record as City produced an emphatic response to Lois Openda’s first-half double at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday. Substitute Julian Alvarez came off the bench to wrap up the fightback and secure top spot in Group G for Pep Guardiola’s formidable side. Foden sparked the turnaround when he teed up Haaland early in the second half for the strike that saw the Norwegian become the fastest player to reach 40 goals in the competition, in just 35 appearances. The England midfielder added a sublime second himself before further great footwork presented Alvarez with City’s third. Both teams had gone into the game knowing their places in the last 16 were secure but, aside from the final group positions, there were also matters of pride to play for. City were looking to protect an English record 18-game unbeaten run in European competition while Leipzig were keen to erase the memory of their 7-0 thrashing at the same venue last season. The Bundesliga side started strongly and were keen to test City’s back-up goalkeeper Stefan Ortega. City had an early let-off when Xavi Simons curled a low effort wide. It was a warning that was not heeded as a simple long ball from goalkeeper Janis Blaswich caught out the home defence. Manuel Akanji clumsily allowed the ball to bounce in attempting to nudge Openda out of the way and paid the price as the Belgium forward broke free. Openda, who also scored in Leipzig’s home clash with City last month, showed great composure as he raced into the area and buried a low shot past Ortega. City almost found a quick equaliser as Ruben Dias headed over and Rico Lewis then did superbly to control a pass and beat a defender but he also cleared the crossbar. City were exposed again by another ball from deep just after the half-hour. This time Dias was unable to cut out the pass and was beaten by Openda by the touchline. Again Openda showed his pace and could not be stopped as he cut inside and rifled past Ortega. Haaland tried to rescue the situation but blazed well over and then headed tamely at Blaswich. Akanji’s poor showing continued as he caught David Raum with a late challenge but he escaped a booking. City showed more determination after the break and pulled one back in the 54th minute, just seconds after Jeremy Doku and Alvarez were introduced in a double change for Jack Grealish and Kyle Walker. Foden split the defence with a clever pass and Haaland raced through to finish powerfully. Foden took centre stage to net the equaliser himself on 70 minutes, taking a sublime touch to take out a defender on the edge of the box and then cleverly rolling past Blaswich. Leipzig were not done and on-loan Liverpool forward Fabio Carvalho thought he had put the visitors back ahead immediately after coming off the bench but his effort was ruled out for offside. It was a moment they were to rue as Foden spun inside the area from a Doku pass and squared for Alvarez to tuck home three minutes from time. Read More Beth Mead ‘smiling like a Cheshire cat’ on England return Rodrigo Bentancur set to be out until February after tearing an ankle ligament Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink wants aspiring black managers to get ‘a fair chance’ Ronnie O’Sullivan reels off six successive frames to advance at UK Championship ECB boss admits challenges remain for cricket after positive impact report England’s Zach Mercer installs oxygen chamber at home to combat ankle injury

Mike Elko isn't exactly an impressive hire by Texas A&M.