Nother CarGuy

Arsenal defeated Chelsea in a dramatic penalty shoot-out at Wembley to open the new English season with silverware. Thibaut Courtois and Alvaro Morata missed from the spot as Arsenal claimed the Community Shield by beating 10-man Chelsea 4-1 on penalties. After a 1-1 draw in regulation time, the shoot-out saw goalkeeper Courtois, an unusual choice to take his side's second penalty, bizarrely fire his attempt way over. That was followed by new signing Morata missing the target on his competitive debut, with Olivier Giroud going on to score the winning penalty. In the match itself, Victor Moses, sent off when the Blues lost the FA Cup final to Arsenal in May, struck early in the second half with what looked like it would be the winner. But Chelsea had Pedro sent off for a rash challenge on Mohamed Elneny and Arsenal substitute Sead Kolasinac, on his competitive bow, scored a header from the resulting free-kick with eight minutes remaining. Alexandre Lacazette, given h...

The fifth edition of the International Champions Cup is winding to a climax after Barcelona were crowned champions with a 3-2 victory over arch-rivals Real Madrid. Earlier in July they had defeated Europa League holders Manchester United 1-0 and Serie A champions Juventus 2-1. Zinedine Zidane's men conquered the Champions League and La Liga last season, but Lionel Messi and Co. got revenge with the first of at least five Clasicos in 2017-18 (two Supercopas and two league games to come). With a footprint in both Asia and the United States, the annual pre-season ICC tournament involving Europe's top clubs taps into the huge fanbases that exist for those teams outside of their local markets. It has drawn huge crowds and sees the clubs involved pocket significant appearance fees - rumoured to be worth up to $20 million - in addition to the longer-term commercial benefits of engaging with supporters across the globe. The downside is the amount of travel involved, with m...

Lionel Messi produced yet another masterclass as Barcelona marked the end of Luis Enrique’s Camp Nou reign by lifting the Copa del Rey. Barcelona became the first team since the early 1950s to lift the cup three seasons running as Messi masterminded a 3-1 victory at the final game to be staged at Atlético Madrid’s Vicente Calderón home. Messi set Barcelona on their way with his 54th goal of the season and Neymar and Paco Alcácer were also on target in the first half, with Theo Hernández offering Alavés brief hope with a wonderful free-kick. Alavés had waited 96 years to reach a Copa del Rey final, and they did not disgrace themselves at the end of a season in which they finished ninth in La Liga after winning promotion. But, as is so often the case, they had no answer to the brilliance of Messi and, after a season in which Barcelona have fallen short of their high standards, the favourites ended with a trophy. A ninth piece of silverware was a fitting end to Enrique’s three-...

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's sublime penalty proved the difference as Borussia Dortmund ended a run of three successive defeats in DFB-Pokal finals by seeing off a stoic Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1, in what could be Thomas Tuchel's last game as head coach. Uncertainty remains over Tuchel's future at Signal Iduna Park amid rumours of a fall-out with the club's board, though should Saturday's clash indeed prove the end of tenure then Dortmund at least ensured he will leave on a high. Ousmane Dembele's superbly taken early goal looked to have set the tone for a Dortmund procession at Berlin's Olympiastadion, only for Ante Rebic to restore parity just before the half-hour mark. Haris Seferovic's strike seemed destined to put Frankfurt ahead prior to the interval, the woodwork coming to Dortmund's rescue with Roman Burki well beaten. And Frankfurt were made to pay for failing to make their dominance pay when Aubameyang - widely linked with a move aw...

Arsenal and Chelsea clashed at Wembley to decide the winner of the FA Cup for the 2016/17 season. For Arsenal it was a chance to redeem something out of a failed season in which they could not finish in the top-four for the first time in more than a decade. It was also a chance for them to become the most successful club in history of the 146-year-old tournament. And after 90 minutes, they managed to do so with a 2-1 win and denied Chelsea a League and Cup double. IndianExpress

The set is complete. They’ve done it all. They have every one of them in the cabinet. After 14 matches and more than 14,358 air miles, Manchester United are Europa League champions. They’ve won everything there is to win. The Red Devils now stand alongside Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Juventus and Wednesday’s opponents Ajax as the only clubs to have won the UEFA Cup/Europa League, Champions League/European Cup & Cup-Winners’ Cup. And it was fitting that substitute Wayne Rooney lifted the mammoth trophy in Stockholm following their 2-0 defeat of Ajax on Wednesday, in what could be his last appearance for the club.  Man Utd’s and England’s all-time top scorer lifted the club’s 42nd trophy, making them the most decorated side in English football history. 31-year-old Rooney’s late substitute appearance was his fourth appearance in a major European final for the club, equaling the record held by Ryan Giggs. It was also fitting that the most expensive footballer in history ...

Real Madrid have been crowned champions of La Liga for the first time since 2011-12, having defeated Malaga 2-0 at La Rosaleda on Sunday. Zinedine Zidane’s side only needed a point to secure the title, having held a three-point lead over Barcelona, who defeated Eibar 4-2 after a thrilling game at Camp Nou.  Any slip would have been severely punished, as the Catalans’ superior head-to-head record against their opponents meant that they would have lifted the title in other circumstances. Goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, however, secured the points that the capital side needed to lift the title. Zidane’s men have been playing under intense pressure since losing 3-2 to Barcelona in one of the all-time great Clasicos in April. Failure to win any of their last six fixtures might have been fatal, but the Frenchman guided his side to handsome victories over Deportivo La Coruna, Valencia, Granada, Sevilla and Celta before Sunday’s clash. Madrid have...

Chelsea have been crowned champions for the sixth time in their history. Antonio Conte's side have won the Premier League with two games to spare after a late goal by Michy Batshuayi secured the title with a 1-0 win over West Brom. The £33million striker has endured a frustrating season, spent largely on the bench. But he came to Chelsea's rescue on 81 minutes - just five minutes after replacing Pedro as a substitute - and produced the all-important title-winning goal. Now he wants his players to make it a "double". He has also led his players to the FA Cup final as they face Arsenal later this month as he hopes to win another trophy to his impressive first season. Conte said: “We were not lucky, we did a great job. It is a great season, but to be a fantastic season we have to win the FA Cup. “This is for my players. I have to say thanks for their commitment, their attitude and passion, and their will to do something great this season. “Now, after thi...