Morocco were 2-1 winners over Argentina in their opening match at the Olympics, with Cristian Medina's potential equaliser disallowed as crowd trouble caused a two-hour delay.
Argentina looked to have salvaged a 2-2 draw from 2-0 down in Saint-Etienne, with Soufiane Rahimi netting twice before Giuliano Simeone pulled one back for La Albiceleste.
Medina appeared to have equalised when he nodded home following a goalmouth scramble 16 minutes into second-half stoppage time, but crowd trouble then broke out with cups, bottles and pyrotechnics being thrown at Argentina's players by spectators.
The referee took the teams off the pitch, and amid confusion over whether the final whistle had sounded, it was reported another three minutes would be played in an empty stadium.
It was subsequently announced Argentina's potential leveller had been ruled out after a VAR review showed Bruno Amione was offside in the build-up.
Another three minutes of stoppage time were then played out around two hours after the players had been taken off, with Morocco holding on to win 2-1.
While Morocco now sit top of Group B with three points, Javier Mascherano's side – who were among the pre-tournament favourites – remain on zero.
Being named tourism ambassador 'a special honour' for Olympic champion Alfred
Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred expressed her deep pride and gratitude on Instagram after being named a Tourism Ambassador for her home country of St. Lucia. Alfred, who made history at the 2024 Paris Olympics by winning gold in the 100m with a lifetime best of 10.72 seconds and silver in the 200m, said the new title has a special significance for her.
From September 24 to October 2, St. Lucia celebrated Alfred's remarkable achievements at the Games. The 23-year-old sprinter’s performances have earned her a place in the hearts of her fellow countrymen, and her contributions were recognized with several significant honours. Among the rewards, Alfred was presented with EC$1 million from the government of St. Lucia, EC$75,000 from the St. Lucia Olympic Committee, and a 10,000 square foot plot of land. In addition, a monument will be erected in her honour, and the Millennium Highway will be renamed the Julien Alfred Highway.
However, despite these accolades, Alfred revealed that being named Tourism Ambassador holds particular meaning for her. "September 26th was truly a special day for me," she shared on Instagram. "I’ve always taken much pride in representing my country both on or off the track, but being officially announced as a Tourism Ambassador and being the Tourism Gimie Awardee for 2024 brings me an unwavering amount of joy."
Alfred went on to express her gratitude to the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority for the opportunity, acknowledging the significance of this moment in her journey. "A huge thank you to the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority for allowing this young girl from Ciceron, with a dream, to receive such prestigious titles."
Her love for her island was evident in her closing remarks. "No matter where I may roam, I will forever LOVE my island home and represent as a proud Saint Lucian," she wrote.
Alfred's achievements on the track have undoubtedly made her a global icon, but her new role as Tourism Ambassador gives her a unique platform to continue representing St. Lucia with pride and passion, both on and off the track.
Motta bemoans profligate Juve showing after Cagliari snatch draw
Thiago Motta was left frustrated with Juventus' inability to make their dominance count after Razvan Marin's late equaliser snatched a 1-1 draw for Serie A strugglers Cagliari.
Dusan Vlahovic's early penalty gave Juve the lead but Marin's 88th-minute spot-kick cost the hosts two important points that would have moved them to within one of leaders Napoli.
Marin's late salvaging act was the first goal Juventus have conceded this season in the league, though their inability to build on the early strike was what head coach Motta bemoaned after Sunday's draw.
"Already in the first half, after the goal, we were content to control the game. It's no good," Motta told DAZN.
"We have to keep attacking. In the second half, we created chances but we didn't exploit them. There was always the feeling that Cagliari could come back into the game.
"In Serie A, all games are complicated, regardless of who we face and whether we play at home or away. Today we left room for Cagliari to get back into the game."
Vlahovic may have converted the penalty but was also guilty of missing an excellent chance to extend Juve's lead when he fired wide on the rebound from close range.
Motta's side accumulated a tally of 2.57 expected goals (xG) overall, compared to Cagliari's 1.12, suggesting three points should have ended in the hands of the profligate Juve.
The Italian head coach refused to point the finger at Vlahovic, though insisted improvements are needed.
"You can't say anything, it's a match situation. It happens and will happen," Motta said. "But there are other things that we can certainly do better in order to compete, to be able to continue to grow."
Francisco Conceicao made his first start of the season against Cagliari, but the Portugal winger was sent off late in the game when he received a second booking for simulation in the penalty area.
"I haven't seen the images, if it's simulation, it's the correct decision. It's something we've been talking about for a long time, simulations are not good for the game," Motta added in his press conference.
"I trust the referee, but now a precedent opens up and it must always be like this. It must always be done, not every now and then."
Girona 2-1 Athletic Bilbao: Gazzaniga penalty saves set the stage for late Stuani winner
Cristhian Stuani scored a 99th-minute penalty to snatch a 2-1 victory for Girona against Athletic Bilbao after Paulo Gazzaniga had saved multiple spot-kicks at the other end.
Alex Berenguer won the first penalty in the 26th minute after being fouled by Arnau Martinez, but the goalkeeper denied him when he stepped up.
Athletic were punished shortly after as Yaser Asprilla sent a dangerous left-footed cross past Alex Padilla into the bottom-left corner.
Oihan Sancet scored the equaliser just two minutes later, but the visitors' poor luck from 12 yards continued after the break.
Inaki Williams' effort was also stopped but had to be retaken as Gazzaniga's feet were off the line. However, the goalkeeper kept his nerve, as he denied Ander Herrera, who stepped up to take the second attempt.
Deep in stoppage time, Aitor Paredes brought down Ladislav Krejci in the box and received two bookings in less than a minute, one for the foul and the second for dissent.
Stuani duly converted the resulting spot-kick to seal all three points for Girona and end a four-match winless run in LaLiga.
Data Debrief: Athletic pay the penalty for spot-kick woe
Athletic will be scratching their heads as to how they came away from this game with nothing, given the attacking threat they showed throughout.
They accumulated 2.59 expected goals (xG) from their 13 shots, albeit those two spot-kicks played a huge part in that total, but come away with an unwanted record as they missed two penalties in a single LaLiga game for the first time this century.
That was largely down to Gazzaniga's heroics, though, as he showed his prowess with three saves, even if one of those will not officially count.
Stuani proved the hero in the end though, scoring his sixth goal against Athletic in LaLiga to get Michel's side up and running again before the international break.
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