Real Sociedad defeated Manchester United 1-0 in their Europa League Group E opener on Thursday, following an impeccably observed tribute to Queen Elizabeth II.
Before kickoff, Old Trafford fell silent to honor Her Majesty, who died earlier that day at the age of 96, and players from both teams wore black armbands in tribute to the monarch.
According to Live Score, Cristiano Ronaldo, who was making his second start of the season, came close on several occasions for the hosts, who had only three shots on target throughout the game.
Mendez slotted home from 12 yards after substitute Lisandro Martinez had handled in the area, snapping the Red Devils’ four-game winning streak.
United were clearly the better team in the first 30 minutes, but they failed to create any clear opportunities.
Ronaldo thought he had given his side the lead 10 minutes before the interval, but his powerful header was ruled out after he had strayed into an offside position.
Cristiano Ronaldo
The Portuguese superstar inexplicably headed wide with the goal at his mercy immediately after the restart, before lashing just over from outside the penalty area.
La Real went ahead in the 58th minute when Mendez powered home from the spot after David Silva’s shot had struck Martinez’s arm.
Casemiro
Erik ten Hag brought on Bruno Fernandes at half-time, and Jadon Sancho and Alejandro Garnacho in the second half, but United were unable to find a way past the visitors’ stubborn backline in the closing stages.
After defeating FC Midtjylland in February 2016, United have not lost at home in 19 Europa League games, according to Live Score.
At the sixth attempt, La Real achieved their first victory in Europe over English opposition.
On Sunday, both teams resume domestic play with La Real traveling to Getafe in LaLiga and United playing away at Crystal Palace in the Premier League.
Buckingham Palace confirmed on Thursday that Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in British history and an icon instantly recognizable to billions of people worldwide, has passed away at the age of 96.
Charles, Prince of Wales, the oldest of her four children and the oldest heir apparent in British history at 73, succeeds her as monarch right away.
Following the palace’s Thursday announcement that doctors were “concerned” for the queen’s health and that she remain under medical monitoring, the queen passed away.
Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward, all of whom are now in their sixties and seventies, came to her Scottish Highland home, Balmoral.
Charles’s sons, Prince William and his estranged brother Prince Harry, joined them.
Liz Truss was selected as the 15th prime minister of her reign two days earlier by the queen, who was photographed grinning but appearing elderly and using a walking stick.
One image from the encounter that showed a dark purple bruise on the monarch’s right hand caused concern.
Following World War II, Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the throne at the young age of 25 in 1952, entering a political world stage dominated by leaders such as US president Dwight D. Eisenhower, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, and Mao Zedong of China.
Her 70-year rule coincided with enormous social, political, and technological change spanning two centuries.
The final ruins of Britain’s extensive empire fell. At home, Brexit rattled her kingdom’s underpinnings while her family dealt with a string of scandals.
She was the monarch and head of state of 14 former British colonies, including Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, and she maintained her popularity throughout.
She also served as supreme ruler of the Church of England, the mother church of the global Anglican communion, and head of the 56-nation Commonwealth, which includes one-fourth of the world’s population.
However, concerns will be raised about whether the British monarchy’s heyday has come to an end, how a centuries-old institution can survive in the present, and whether Charles will demand the same respect or rule in his mother’s shadow.
Buckingham has announced not long ago that Queen Elizabeth II, the United Kingdom’s longest-reigning monarch, died at the age of 96 at Balmoral, after reigning for 70 years.
Her family gathered at her Scottish estate after health concerns arose earlier in the day.
Since her accession to the throne in 1952, the Queen has witnessed enormous social change.
When the palace summoned all of Elizabeth’s children to her side, it was clear that the situation was dire.
As it turns out, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were in the UK for events this week. Harry went to Balmoral.
Her eldest son Charles, the former Prince of Wales, will lead the country in mourning as the new King and head of state for 14 Commonwealth realms following her death.
Prince Charles is the next in line to the throne, according to the royal succession. He would be crowned King, and Camilla would be titled Queen Consort.
While Charles is widely expected to be the next monarch… There has been speculation that he may abdicate, making his eldest son, Prince William, the new King of England.
Queen Elizabeth is survived by her four children, eight grandchildren, and even more great grandchildren, not to mention many extended Royal family members from all walks of life.
She was 96 years old.
Image source: The Associated Press
This story is being updated, and more information will be available soon.
Carter Efe, a popular Nigerian comedian, is being dragged on social media by singer Berri Tiga over their Machala hit song, which was removed from all streaming platforms days ago.
Tiga went on the internet and claimed that he wrote and sang Machala. This caused quite a stir on social media, with rumors spreading that Efe benched Tiga after the track ‘blew.’
Remember how Carter Efe and Tiga created the Machala song, which swept the entertainment industry and went viral? According to new reports, the two stars had a falling out over the song, with one party claiming the other was trying to take all the credit.
Berri Tiga claims he wrote the Machala song from start to finish. The singer responded during an Instagram live session after some fans asked if he produced the song. He claims he is solely responsible for writing and singing the song.
Tiga went on to say that he had no idea why the song had been removed from all streaming platforms. He said:
“I effing sang Machala. I wrote and I sang Macahala 100% bro. I wrote Machala, I sang Machala from the beginning to the end.”
Robert Lewandowski scored a hat-trick in his first Champions League game for Barcelona, as Xavi Hernandez’s side defeated Viktoria Plzen 5-1 at the Camp Nou on Wednesday.
Barca, who failed to advance past the group stage last season, also had Franck Kessie and Ferran Torres score in an impressive performance.
Lewandowski has now scored eight goals in five appearances in all competitions for his new team.
“I knew it was going to be important to adapt right from the first game here,” he told uefa.com
“Today is my wife’s birthday, so the goals and the celebration were both for her.” It means a lot that she was in the stadium on her birthday. Something incredible for me.”
The five-time European champions will face more difficult tests in Group C, which also includes Bayern Munich and Inter Milan.
Following Bayern’s 2-0 win at the San Siro, the Catalan giants visit the Allianz Arena next Tuesday in a true test of how far they have come in the last year.
Kessie nodded the ball home in the 13th minute after Jules Kounde had headed Ousmane Dembele’s corner back across goal.
It was the Ivorian midfielder’s first goal for the club since joining from AC Milan during the summer transfer window.
Midway through the first half, Ansu Fati nearly doubled the lead, but his effort was saved by visiting goalkeeper Jindrich Stanek.
Plzen were awarded a penalty in the 25th minute after Andreas Christensen brought down Jhon Mosquera, but the referee reversed his decision after a VAR review and awarded Barca a free kick.
With his 87th goal in the Champions League and first for his new club, Lewandowski moved ahead of Karim Benzema into third place all-time.
In the 34th minute, the 34-year-old curled a low shot into the bottom corner from just inside the area. Jan Sykora headed in Vaclav Jemelka’s cross shortly before the break to give the Czechs a lifeline.
Plzen, on the other hand, couldn’t stay within a goal until halftime, when Lewandowski stooped unnoticed to head Dembele’s cross over the line.
In the 67th minute, Lewandowski completed his sixth Champions League hat-trick with a fine low strike from distance.
“I’m not sure if Robert is the best striker in Europe, but he’s the best for us,” Xavi said.
“He helps us play out, he presses, he brings us a lot of attack solutions.” Total maturity as a player, and absolutely stunning. He scored a hat-trick, but it was his teamwork that impressed me.”
Xavi’s men added a fifth goal soon after, with Torres drilling a brilliant volley on the turn into the top corner from Dembele’s chipped pass.
Plzen avoided further damage, but they face a difficult task in their remaining five group games, beginning with a home game against Inter.
Wednesday’s opening Champions League group match saw Napoli defeat last season’s beaten finalists Liverpool 4-1, continuing Jurgen Klopp’s team’s unsettling start to the season.
At the Stadio Maradona, Napoli pushed Liverpool aside with a frenzied first-half effort, and they rightfully led by three goals at the break.
In the fifth minute, Piotr Zielinski opened the scoring from the penalty spot, and two more skillfully executed goals from Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Giovanni Simeone, making his Champions League debut, left Jurgen Klopp’s team facing a humiliating loss.
The fourth goal was almost immediately added by Poland midfielder Zielinski to give Napoli the perfect start to Group A.
After a two-season hiatus, Luciano Spalletti’s club has returned to Europe’s elite tournament and is currently in second place, level with Ajax, who defeated Rangers in similar fashion. Napoli improved on a solid start to their domestic campaign, placing second in Serie A after five games, and will be buoyed by excellent showings from newcomers, especially explosive winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Georgian Kvaratskhelia, who has already won over Napoli supporters with his dynamic wing play and eye for goal, had a significant impact despite playing for less than an hour.
The Scots, meantime, have kept Liverpool off the bottom, and they are now focusing on trying to move up from seventh position in the Premier League.
Chelsea fired manager Thomas Tuchel as a result of the team’s disappointing season debut. The most recent performance, a 1-0 defeat in the Champions League to Dinamo Zagreb, was the tipping point for Todd Boehly, who has fired his manager with immediate effect.
While the Club works quickly to appoint a new head coach, Chelsea’s coaching staff will oversee the team throughout training and during the preparation of our forthcoming matches.
Due to Dinamo Zagreb’s shocking 1-0 victory on Tuesday, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s Champions League debut for Chelsea was destroyed.
After being paired with Dinamo, Red Bull Salzburg, and AC Milan in Group E, Thomas Tuchel’s team was predicted to breeze through the division. But when Mislav Orsic’s first-half goal punished the Blues for yet another poor performance in Zagreb, their mission might not be as straightforward.
Tuchel is under pressure to produce championships in exchange for the enormous investment he has made after spending £250 million ($280 million) on new acquisitions since the end of the previous season. However, Chelsea’s spending binge hasn’t yet paid off as evidenced by their lack of standout Premier League performances and current streak of three straight away losses in all competitions.
Aubameyang had a forgettable debut after moving to Chelsea from Barcelona in a £10.3 million deadline-day move just months after his bitter departure from Arsenal. The 33-year-old only trained with Chelsea for the first time on Sunday and has only played eight minutes this season.
Aubameyang recently cracked his jaw following a brutal house invasion, necessitating a trip to Italy for the Gabon striker’s special protective mask to be installed.
Aubameyang appeared uneasy as he battled to get past the Croatian champions’ tight defense, whether it was the mask or his lack of familiarity with his new teammates.
When Kai Havertz whipped in a seductive pass, the first warning flag appeared when he chose not to attack the close post. Aubameyang then had a clear shot at goal but hesitated before deciding whether to fire or pass to Raheem Sterling, putting Zagreb in jeopardy.
Early on, Chelsea controlled the ball with dominance, but in the 13th minute, a merciless Dinamo counterattack caught them off guard.
On September 6, 2022, at The Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb, Croatia, during the UEFA Champions League Group E football match between Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) and Chelsea (ENG), Armando Broja of Chelsea is tackled by Dino Peric of Dinamo Zagreb. (AFP/Damir Sencar/Photo)
Real Madrid battled over a hostile environment and the injury to Karim Benzema to start their Champions League defense with a merciless 3-0 victory at Celtic.
The record-extending 15th European Cup run of Los Blancos was put on hold when star scorer Karim Benzema suffered a knee injury 30 minutes into Tuesday’s opening.
At that point, Callum McGregor had already hit the post for Celtic, who were now back in the group stage after a four-season absence. Celtic also continued to pose problems for their opponents. But like they did so frequently last season, Madrid found a way, as evidenced by quick goals from Vinicius Junior and Luka Modric, after which Eden Hazard brilliantly added a third.
In a spirited first half hour for the hosts at a rowdy Celtic Park, Liel Abada and Reo Hatate both questioned Thibaut Courtois.
When McGregor was found by Giorgos Giakoumakis, Ange Postecoglou’s team came even closer to scoring when he fired a left-footed shot against the goal’s frame. Soon after, Madrid lost Benzema to injury, but if Joe Hart had not stopped Vinicius from beating him one-on-one, Madrid would have taken the lead at the break.
The visitors scored their first goal 11 minutes into the second half after surviving another scare when replacement Daizen Maeda missed a close-range attempt at Courtois.
At the end of a quick assault, Federico Valverde found Vinicius with a beautiful pass into the middle of the box, and the striker calmly finished past Hart with a first-time effort.
Four minutes later, Madrid scored again as Modric, who was making his 100th appearance for the team in the competition, nudged the ball past Hart and finished with the outside of the foot.
From that point on, everything went well, and Hazard, who had been substituted for Benzema, added a third goal from close range at the conclusion of a superb team move.
As the ‘Mandela’ star celebrates his 50th birthday today, here are the ten best moments of Idris Elba’s career.
Image source: HBO
He began his career as a murderer on BBC’s ‘Crimewatch’ before landing his breakthrough role in ‘Luther.’ The Golden Globe Award winner has had a glittering career spanning over a decade. From being awarded an OBE to being named People’s Sexiest Man Alive… As the ‘Mandela’ star celebrates his 50th birthday today, here are the ten best moments of Idris Elba’s career.
The start of Crimewatch.
Elba’s first role was as a murderer in a reconstruction scene on BBC’s ‘Crimewatch.’ Despite the fact that many actors refused to admit they appeared on the show, Idris was proud of his first on-screen role in the 1990s and expressed gratitude for the opportunity. “It sounds strange, but getting a job on ‘Crimewatch’ was the first rung on the ladder at the time,” he explained. Many actors are embarrassed to admit they worked on ‘Crimewatch,’ but I’m not.”
Ascending the wire to success.
After taking the first step up the acting ladder, it was all uphill for Elba, who continued to land numerous jobs. In 1994, he appeared in the BBC drama ‘The Boot Street Band,’ before moving on to a more significant role in the 1995 medical drama ‘Bramwell.’ Elba also appeared in Jennifer Saunders’ popular sitcom ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ that year, which was his first named role. But it was his role as dealer Stringer Bell in the HBO crime drama ‘The Wire’ that changed his life. The show aired from 2002 to 2008, and he was a major player throughout.
DCI John Luther arrives with awards.
Idris played DCI John Luther in the BBC series ‘Luther’ in 2010. He received three Golden Globe nominations for his portrayal of the gritty detective, and he won in 2012. His performances earned him the SAG Award for Outstanding Actor in a Miniseries or Movie in 2016.
A film star.
Elba made the transition from television to film as the lead in ‘Daddy’s Little Girls’ in 2007. Later that year, he starred in the holiday film ‘This Christmas,’ which grossed nearly $50 million at the box office. Idris Elba established himself as a major movie star after starring alongside Beyonce in the 2009 thriller ‘Obsessed.’ The film was a box office success, grossing $29 million in its first weekend.
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.
Elba’s career high point was portraying late anti-apartheid activist and historic South African President Nelson Mandela in the biographical drama ‘Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.’ Idris spent a night alone in a prison cell on Robben Island, where Mandela was imprisoned, to prepare for the role. Elba’s performance earned him a nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama at the Golden Globes. “That brings a lump to my throat,” Idris said after playing Mandela. “I devoted that role to my father.” With his big white hair and infectious smile, he reminded me of Mandela.”
OBE HONOUR.
Elba was named to Queen Elizabeth’s 2016 New Year’s Honours List in 2015 and received an OBE from Prince William for his contributions to drama. The ‘Beasts of No Nation’ actor took to Twitter to express how proud his mother Eve was of him. “I made my mother very happy today!! “Flying the East End flag at Buckingham Palace today!!! “OBE Day….. How does the boy look?” he said. Feeling good, Proppa…:)”
Sexiest man alive.
People named the ‘Luther’ star the Sexiest Man Alive in 2018, which he described as a “nice surprise” and a “ego boost for sure.” Idris Elba has joined a long list of Hollywood’s hottest stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Dwayne Johnson, Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, and John Legend. “I was like, ‘Come on, no way,” Idris said. ‘Are you sure?’ I checked myself out in the mirror. ‘Yeah, you’re kind of sexy today,’ I said. But, to be honest, it was just a pleasant sensation. It was a pleasant surprise, and it certainly boosted my ego.”
Beginnings in music.
Prior to his acting career, Idris Elba worked in nightclubs as DJ Big Driis when he was 19 years old. Elba returned to his musical roots in 2002, appearing in music videos for Fat Joe, Angie Stone, and rapper Giggs. In 2006, he recorded the four-song EP Big Man for Hevlar Records, and in 2007, he co-produced and performed the intro to Jay-album Z’s ‘American Gangster.’ Elba’s debut single, ‘Please Be True,’ was released two years later. Elba launched his own record label, 7Wallace Music, in 2018 and performed at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April 2019.
Philanthropy.
In 2014, the actor with Sierra Leonean ancestry joined the fight against Ebola, calling it a “human catastrophe” after the virus ravaged the country where his parents were married. “With new government commitments last week, the media’s attention was on Ebola, but the cameras will soon shift,” he said. Not until this disease is eradicated. Delivery on the ground must be expedited, and every country must contribute.” Elba also addressed the UK parliament in 2016 about his concern about the lack of diversity on the screen in terms of race, gender, and sexuality. “Change is coming, but it’s taking its sweet time,” he said.
Kick-boxing Star.
In 2017, Discovery Channel aired a documentary titled ‘Idris Elba: Fighter,’ which chronicled Elba’s 12-month kickboxing and mixed martial arts training after he defeated Dutch professional Lionel Graves in his first match.
