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ORLANDO, Fla. — Andres Reyes scored two minutes into the second half and Carlos Coronel made it stand up for first-year coach Sandro Schwarz as the New York Red Bulls beat Orlando City 1-0 in an Eastern Conference final on Saturday at Inter&Co Stadium to advance to their second MLS Cup final. The Red Bulls are the first No. 7 seed to play for the championship after joining the 1998 Chicago Fire as the only teams to win three straight playoff matches on the road. Schwarz, who left Germany’s Hertha BSC to coach the Red Bulls, led his team past second-seeded and defending-champion Columbus in the first round, winning the rubber match on the road. The Red Bulls beat No. 6 seed New York City FC 2-0 at Citi Field in a semifinal. Coronel saved three shots in his ninth playoff appearance — all with the Red Bulls. Coronel has all three of his postseason clean sheets this season. The Red Bulls grabbed the lead in the 47th minute when Reyes scored with a header off a free kick by fell...

PARIS — Striker Arnaud Kalimuendo scored a hat trick and Rennes got back to winning ways in Ligue 1 by thrashing 10-man Saint-Etienne 5-0 on Saturday. Meanwhile, leader Paris Saint-Germian dropped points at home when it drew with Nantes 1-1. Rennes coach Jorge Sampaoli’s first win with his new team came in his second match in charge after he took over this month. Rennes had failed to score in more than a month and lost its three previous matches. The result lifted the host one point above Saint-Etienne. Visiting Saint-Etienne made things difficult for itself when Mathieu Cafaro, who hit the post earlier, was sent off for a handball in the box in the 37th minute. Kalimuendo put Rennes in the driving seat from the penalty spot two minutes later, and they returned to the locker room with a two-goal lead after Ludovic Blas, who was excellent throughout, found the net in added time. Kalimuendo added another goal with a nice finish and converted a second penalty to seal his first Ligue...

Inspired by Bukayo Saka, Arsenal scored five goals in a wild first half at West Ham before settling for a 5-2 win that lifted the team into second place in the English Premier League in its bid to chase down Liverpool. Saka was one of five different scorers for Arsenal at the Olympic Stadium on Saturday and also had a hand in three goals, by Gabriel, Leandro Trossard and Martin Odegaard. Kai Havertz netted the other goal for Arsenal in its biggest league victory this season. Since returning from the international break, Arsenal has beaten Nottingham Forest 3-0 in the Premier League, Sporting Lisbon 5-1 in the Champions League and put another five goals past West Ham. The prolific run has coincided with the return to fitness of Odegaard, Arsenal’s playmaker and captain who missed two months with an ankle injury. Arsenal trimmed the gap to Liverpool to six points ahead of the leader’s home match against beleaguered Manchester City on Sunday. Arsenal has been beaten...

The use of drones to spy on opponents may be somewhat common in international soccer, but let there be no confusion or debate: It is a brazen form of cheating that shouldn’t be tolerated. That’s what John Herdman didn’t understand and what he refused to accept, and it was that cavalier attitude that ultimately led to him stepping down as coach of Toronto FC on Friday. Herdman was brought in by MLSE to help turn around the failing club’s fortunes after it suffered the worst campaign in its history in 2023. The Reds showed some improvement this year under Herdman by earning almost three times as many wins and nearly doubling its point total. But Toronto’s 11-19-4 record was only good enough for an 11th-place finish in the Eastern Conference as it missed out on the playoffs for a fourth straight season. “Personally, I have made the difficult decision that it’s the right time for me to step away from the club, as the organization defines its vision for the future,” Herdman said in a sta...

BRIGHTON, England — Southampton was denied a priceless victory by a controversial VAR decision and ended up drawing with host Brighton 1-1 in the English Premier League on Friday. Kaoru Mitoma spectacularly headed Brighton into a first half lead and Flynn Downes hammered the equalizer an hour in. Then minutes later teammate Cameron Archer converted a cross from Saints substitute Ryan Fraser. A VAR check of more than four minutes eventually decided Archer was onside but then penalized Adam Armstrong, who was offside but did not touch the ball, for interfering with goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen. “I find it hard to accept,” Southampton manager Russell Martin told broadcaster Sky Sports. “We were told it affects Bart Verbruggen’s ability, and if Adam’s run moved Verbruggen from his position then I would understand the decision, but he hasn’t moved. I cannot see how it has affected the goalkeeper. “It is still human error in my opinion. The mistake is, it’s not clear and obvious enough to...

Canada and Iceland played to a scoreless draw in a women’s international soccer friendly Friday. The sixth-ranked Canadian women now turn their attention to No. 19 South Korea on Tuesday, also at the Pinatar Arena. Neither side produced much offence Friday in a game short on entertainment value. The few shots that were on target offered little challenge. Canada had more of the ball and territory in the first half, with Vanessa Gilles and Jayde Riviere providing some accurate passes from the Canadian backline, but that superiority did not lead to scoring chances. Thirteenth-ranked Iceland looked to defend and counter-attack, creating a good chance in the 20th minute only to see Canadian ‘keeper Sabrina D’Angelo get to the ball first before colliding with Karolina Lea Vilhjalmsdottir in front of goal. D’Angelo needed treatment on her leg later in the half because of the collision. Canada had 55 per cent possession and outshot Iceland 5-3 (1-1 in shots on target) in the first half. B...

Leicester’s interim coach says he is in the dark about reports of the imminent appointment of Ruud van Nistelrooy as the Premier League team’s next manager. British media are widely reporting that Van Nistelrooy, who recently had a brief spell in charge of Manchester United after Erik ten Hag’s departure, has been lined up to replace Steve Cooper at Leicester. Cooper was fired on Sunday, a day after Leicester’s 2-1 loss to Chelsea, with the club in 16th place in the 20-team league. First-team coach Ben Dawson will take charge against Brentford on Saturday and was asked if he could say anything about Van Nistelrooy. “Nothing at the moment,” he told reporters at the pre-match news conference. “I was hoping you could shed some light on the situation. We probably know as much as you do and we’re just continuing and focusing on the game tomorrow.” Dawson said Cooper’s departure had been “a little bit unexpected” and that the players “shared some of that unexpectedness early in the ...

Athletic Bilbao cruised past Elfsborg 3-0 in the Europa League on Thursday to join Lazio at the top the 36-team standings , Lazio missed a chance to remain the only team with a perfect record after five games as it was held 0-0 by Ludogorets at Stadio Olimpico. In Spain, Adama Boiro, Benat Prados and Gorku Guruzeta all scored for Bilbao. Like in the new-look Champions League , the top eight teams after the eight-round league phase advance directly to the round of 16 in March, and teams placed from ninth to 24th enter a playoffs in February. Manchester United hosted Norwegian champion Bodø/Glimt later Thursday with new manager Rúben Amorim taking charge of his first game at Old Trafford. Also, Tottenham was at home against struggling Roma. Galatasaray drew 1-1 away at AZ Alkmaar after Victor Osimhen equalized for the Turkish club before halftime with his third goal in his last two Europa League games. Sven Mijnans scored early for Alkmaar, which finished the game with 10 men after ...

Emi Martinez began the night by walking onto the field with his children and parading a pair of trophies for being the world’s best goalkeeper for the last two years. He finished it by producing an astonishing save that vindicated those awards. The Argentina international illuminated a 0-0 draw between his Aston Villa team and Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday by plucking the ball from behind him and scooping it off the goal line to deny Francisco Conceição what could have been the winner. Replays showed the ball was almost entirely over the line before Martinez hooked it clear, and the goalkeeper was quickly congratulated by his teammates. No save by Martinez will ever beat the one he pulled off for Argentina in the last seconds of extra time in the 2022 World Cup final, denying France striker Randal Kolo Muani and keeping teammate Lionel Messi’s dream alive of finally winning soccer’s biggest prize. He might just have run it close. It was fi...

The chance to help grow a new team and league from the ground up attracted Katrine Pedersen and her family to Canada.  The former Danish captain is coach of Ottawa Rapid FC, one of six teams set to kick off the new Northern Super League in April. “This is a chance to be able to contribute to the growth of women’s football,” Pedersen said of the move to Canada. “This seemed to be a very good opportunity, with the staff here, to be able to build a team, an environment, a setup with a very high standard for professional football players. Being able to give players a place to play and a place to develop.” Football has long been a men’s domain, Pedersen said. And while women have made strides in the game, there is more to be done. “Women’s football has come to stay. It’s growing fast,” she said. “It still needs to change to meet the needs that today’s young players have to grow up with. So in that way, I think the Canadian league is a league that will be looked up to when ...

BARCELONA, Spain — Robert Lewandowski converted a first-half penalty kick to become the third player to score 100 goals or more in the Champions League, behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Lewandowski calmly sent a low shot into the net from the spot in the 10th minute to give Barcelona a 1-0 lead against Brest. Lewandowski trails the 129 goals of Messi and the 141 of Ronaldo, according to UEFA. Lewandowski needed 125 games to reach his milestone — two more games than Messi and 12 fewer than Ronaldo. It was Lewandowski’s sixth Champions League goal this season. It’s the ninth season in which the Poland striker has scored six or more goals. The 36-year-old Lewandowski is having a standout campaign, having scored 21 goals for Barcelona in 19 appearances. He is the Spanish league’s scoring leader with 15 goals from 14 matches. He scored 14 goals in the team’s last 10 matches in all competitions. More from Sportsnet Real Madrid’s Vinicius to miss Champions League game wit...

ROME — AC Milan followed up its win at Real Madrid with a 3-2 victory at last-place Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League on Tuesday. Christian Pulisic put the seven-time champion ahead midway through the first half by finishing off a counterattack. Then Rafael Leao restored the Rossoneri’s advantage after Tigran Barseghyan had equalized for Bratislava and Tammy Abraham quickly added another. Nino Marcelli scored with a long-range strike in the 88th for Bratislava, which ended with 10 men. Milan moved up to 10th place in the new single-league format and within sight of the automatic qualifying spots. Bratislava has lost all five of its matches. Milan won 3-1 at Madrid in its previous match. Alvarez and Griezmann lead Atletico to 6-0 rout Argentina World Cup winner Julian Alvarez scored twice and Atletico Madrid routed Sparta Prague 6-0 to move up to ninth. Alvarez scored with a free kick 15 minutes in and Marcos Llorente added a long-range strike before the break. A...

EMPOLI, Italy — Englishman Keinan Davis scored with 14 minutes remaining for Udinese to draw at Empoli 1-1 in Serie A on Monday and snap the visitor’s three-game losing streak. The former Watford and Aston Villa striker rose to head home a near-post corner with 76 minutes gone. Pietro Pellegri put Empoli ahead midway through the first half with his third goal in three games. The on-loan Torino striker has endured a lean season but a goal in the 1-0 win over Como was followed by another in the 1-1 draw with Lecce before the international break. The result was the first point in four games for Udinese, after consecutive defeats to Atalanta, Juventus and Venezia, and meant that both sides retained their mid-table positions. Udinese was ninth and Empoli 10th. More from Sportsnet Serie A Roundup: Roma bested by former player as Napoli claims top spot Report: Messi’s former teammate to be new Inter Miami head coach

As soccer players go, Darlington Nagbe has approached his lengthy career differently. Nagbe recently wrapped up his 14th season in Major League Soccer and his fifth with the Columbus Crew. He’s been on four MLS Cup championship teams over the course of his career. In a season that’s been dominated by the outsized talent of Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi, Nagbe is among the quietly steady performers who have helped raise the profile of MLS throughout the years. The Crew won last season’s MLS Cup title, reached the CONCACAF Champions Cup final this year and won the Leagues Cup. While the 34-year-old softspoken midfielder isn’t a flashy goal scorer, he is the consummate facilitator for teammates including Cucho Hernandez and Diego Rossi. Like Messi’s Miami, the Crew were unexpectedly eliminated in the first round of this year’s playoffs, falling to the New York Red Bulls. The finish marred an otherwise stellar MLS season. Columbus was second only to Miami in the regular-sea...

After NWSL stops in North Carolina, Kansas City and Houston, defender Croix Soto is looking to help build something in Toronto. The 23-year-old defender from Pasadena, Calif, is AFC Toronto’s third signing — and first international — after Canadian forwards Jade Kovacevic and Leah Pais. AFC Toronto and the other five Northern Super League teams kick off the new women’s pro league in April. “I’m super-stoked,” Soto said from Texas. “I feel like I can help bring a championship to the city and be a part of this insane movement” she added. “Because you’re never able to be the first very often and I feel like that’s super-cool. And I hold that near and dear to my heart, to be one of the pioneers of this new league.”  Soto is an athletic defender who reads the game and anticipates play well. The five-foot-nine centre back is strong in the air, good on the ball and able to deliver a pass. “AFC Toronto is committed to building a winning team, and signing Croix Soto is a reflection of...

Kylian Mbappé scored and Real Madrid moved within four points of Spanish league leader Barcelona with a 3-0 win at Leganes on Sunday ahead of its eagerly awaited Champions League match at Liverpool. Federico Valverde and Jude Bellingham also scored to close the gap on Barcelona, which conceded two late goals in a 2-2 draw at Celta Vigo on Saturday. Madrid has played one game less than Barcelona after its match at Valencia was postponed because of the deadly floods in October. Madrid will make the trip to England to face Premier League leader Liverpool on Wednesday in the Champions League, and is hoping to recover from a demoralizing 3-1 home loss against AC Milan in the previous round of matches. Madrid’s attack worked well against Leganes with Vinícius Júnior playing inside and Mbappé more on the flank. The France striker scored after going four straight games without finding the net for the Spanish powerhouse. “We switched their positions and the team was able to stay in control...

ROME — Romelu Lukaku scored against his former club and Napoli beat struggling Roma 1-0 on Sunday to reclaim the Serie A lead and spoil Claudio Ranieri’s debut with the Giallorossi. Napoli moved one point ahead of Atalanta, Inter Milan and Fiorentina, which won 2-0 at Como earlier for its seventh consecutive victory. Lukaku redirected in a cross from Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo early in the second half at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. Roma had a chance to equalize but Artem Dovbyk’s header banged off the crossbar. Lukaku played for Roma last season but was one of the main transfer targets when Antonio Conte was hired at Napoli for this season. Ranieri was hired 10 days ago as Roma’s third coach of the season, replacing the fired Ivan Juric, who had in turn replaced Daniele De Rossi. Still, Roma remained in 12th place, four points above the relegation zone. Kean raises his tally to 9 goals this season Yacine Adli put Fiorentina ahead with a long-ra...

MÖNCHENGLADBACH, Germany — Tim Kleindienst scored again for Borussia Mönchengladbach to continue its recent good run with a 2-0 win over St. Pauli in the Bundesliga on Sunday. Alassane Plea got the home team off to a promising start in the 13th minute when he struck Marvin Friedrich’s header from a corner past Nikola Vasilj in the St. Pauli goal. Kleindienst effectively sealed the result before the break with a chip over Vasilj. His celebrations were cut short by the offside flag, but a VAR check confirmed he was on for his seventh goal of the season. St. Pauli only threatened at the end of the game, with Gladbach holding on for its fourth straight win at home. Gerardo Seoane’s team moved sixth, 12 points behind league leader Bayern Munich after 11 rounds. It’s not the first time the 29-year-old Kleindienst has been decisive for Gladbach this season since joining from Heidenheim in the summer, and his performances caught the eye of Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann. Kleindienst made...

HAMBURG, Germany — Former Bundesliga heavyweight Hamburger SV has fired Steffen Baumgart as coach after five games without a win across all competitions. The second-division club said Sunday it was letting Baumgart go because of a “crisis of performances and results” after the team’s 2-2 draw at home with Schalke on Saturday. That left Hamburg eighth in the 18-team division, four points behind early leader Paderborn after 13 rounds. “Steffen gave everything with great passion, energy and commitment right up to the end for HSV. However, our analysis of the current situation and yesterday’s game has once again made it clear that we believe a new impetus is necessary,” Hamburg sporting director Stefan Kuntz said. The club said Baumgart, who was a Hamburg fan as a child, took the news “calmly” on Sunday morning. “It was an exciting and very intense time,” the former Cologne coach said. “I remain connected to the club and hope that HSV achieves its goals.” Hamburg has been bidding to ...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Barbra Banda scored in the 37th minute to give the Orlando Pride their first National Women’s Soccer League championship with a 1-0 victory over the Washington Spirit on Saturday night. Banda dribbled into the right side of the box and made a move past a defender before kicking the ball on the ground with her left foot and past the goalkeeper. She became the first player in the NWSL to score in each round of the playoffs. The Pride’s Angelina was nearly called for a push before passing it to Banda, but the VAR determined that the play was fair. The Spirit (20-7-2) controlled the game and outshot the Pride 25-9, had two more shots on goal and held onto possession 58 per cent of the time. Rosemonde Kouassi had Washington’s best chance came in the 47th minute when she headed a ball from about 10 yards away. Orlando’s win gave Brazilian star Marta her first NWSL title. Top-seed Orlando (21-6-2) went unbeaten in its first 23 matches, a league record. They ...

ROME (AP) — Marcus Thuram scored twice and defending champion Inter Milan routed Hellas Verona 5-0 to take the provisional Serie A lead on Saturday. Inter moved two points clear of Napoli, which hosts Roma on Sunday with a chance to reclaim the lead. Atalanta could also move level on points with Inter with a victory at Parma later Saturday. Also, AC Milan and Juventus drew 0-0 at the San Siro in a match with few chances from both sides. Inter was missing top striker Lautaro Martinez, who was out sick. But five goals in the first half made Lautaro’s absence a non-issue. Joaquin Correa opened the scoring 17 minutes in, Thuram then scored twice before more goals from Stefan de Vrij and Yann Aurel Bisseck. Correa nearly added another in second-half stoppage time but his effort hit the woodwork. Inter’s only loss across all competitions this season was a derby defeat to Milan in September.

BERLIN — Patrik Schick scored a hat trick and injury-hit Bayer Leverkusen overcame a scare before beating Heidenheim 5-2 in the Bundesliga on Saturday. Leverkusen announced before kickoff that Jonas Hofmann will be out for the rest of the year with a right thigh injury from training, adding to an injury list including Victor Boniface, Amine Adli and Nordi Mukiele. Heidenheim then stunned the defending champions when Marvin Pieringer won the ball from Piero Hincapie and set up Niklas Dorsch to open the scoring in the 10th minute. Mathias Honsak surged past three Leverkusen defenders and shot inside the far post to make it 2-0 11 minutes later. Exequiel Palacios pulled one back in the 30th, two minutes before Schick equalized with a deft chip over the Heidenheim goalkeeper. Florian Wirtz crossed for Schick’s second goal in the 52nd and substitute Arthur crossed for his hat trick in the 71st. Granit Xhaka completed the scoring before celebrating by sucking his thumb and making a ...

Lionel Messi’s new head coach is a familiar face.  The Athletic reported on Saturday that   former Argentina Captain Javier Mascherano will take over as Inter Miami’s new head coach.   Mascherano, 40, played alongside Messi on both the Argentine national team and with Barcelona.   During his time with the Spanish club, the former midfielder also played alongside current Inter Miami players Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, and Luis Suarez.   The new Miami skipper retired from playing in 2020 and has been coaching Argentina’s Under-20 and Under-23 teams since 2021.   Mascherano is replacing Gerardo “Tato” Martino, 61, who stepped down citing personal reasons.   More from Sportsnet Juan Mata joins ownership group of MLS expansion franchise San Diego FC Leading scorer Martinez a free agent after CF Montreal declines option

Chelsea closed the gap on Premier League leader Liverpool to five points by beating Leicester 2-1 on Saturday. Nicolas Jackson and Enzo Fernandez put the London club on course for victory at King Power Stadium, with Jordan Ayew scoring for Leicester in the 95th minute. Liverpool doesn’t play until Sunday when it travels to last-place Southampton. Jackson showed good close control in the box before poking Chelsea in front with a clever finish in the 15th minute. It was the Senegal striker’s seventh goal in 13 appearances this season. Fernandez headed in Chelsea’s second in the 75th after Jackson’s header was saved by goalkeeper Mads Hermansen. Third-place Chelsea was one point behind Manchester City in second. City was playing Tottenham later Saturday.

MUNICH — Harry Kane is the quickest player to score 50 goals in the Bundesliga after scoring a hat trick on his 43rd appearance on Friday. Kane’s three goals — including two penalties — gave Bayern a 3-0 win over Augsburg, stretching the Bavarian powerhouse’s lead to eight points ahead of the rest of the 11th round. Kane scored 36 goals in 32 league appearances last season, his first for Bayern after joining from Tottenham. It was also the first season since 2012 that Bayern failed to win the title, as Bayer Leverkusen went undefeated to snap Bayern’s winning run. As well as 14 league goals this season, Kane has scored five in the Champions League and one in the German Cup. Against Augsburg, he had to be patient as Augsburg goalkeeper Nediljko Labrović and his defenders stood firm. “It was somehow typical Harry Kane,” Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said. “It was close in the first half, close, close, close, and then it happens, I think three goals in 15 minutes. Of co...

After scouring coaching resumes from home and abroad, York United FC opted to promote from within by elevating assistant coach Mauro Eustaquio to head coach. The 31-year-old Eustaquio, the older brother of Canadian international Stephen Eustaquio, is the first former Canadian Premier League player to become a head coach in the league. “Even though we talked to many people here in Canada and internationally, Mauro was always at the top of our list,” said York president Ricardo Pasquel. “We knew sooner or later we wanted to give Mauro a chance. And fairly quickly in the interview process, (we decided) he was the guy.” Pasquel said Eustaquio has shown in his three seasons with the club that he has the passion, character and attention to detail that they want in a coach. “Mauro has a good feeling now of what we want, what we’re trying to build here moving forward,” he added. “It’s not just a matter of winning or losing some games. It’s much bigger than that.” Eustaquio succeeds Benjam...

Khadija Shaw scored twice and Manchester City advanced to the Women’s Champions League quarterfinals with a 2-1 win at Swedish club Hammarby on Thursday. City stayed perfect in the competition with four victories and reached the last eight for the first time since 2021 — and with two games to spare in Group D. Bayern Munich was held 1-1 at Vålerenga in Norway and still could earn a quarterfinal berth if Juventus loses to Arsenal later on Thursday. City joins Chelsea, Lyon and Real Madrid in the quarterfinals. Arsenal could follow with a victory over Juventus. City leads Group D with 12 points, six more than two-time defending champion Barcelona, which was facing Austrian club St. Pölten later Thursday. St. Pölten has no points; Hammarby remains on three. Bayern tops Group C with 10 points, Arsenal has six followed by Juventus (3) and Vålerenga (1). Back to winning Man City responded to its first loss of the season, 2-0 at Chelsea in the Women’s Super League on Saturday. Still w...