Kai Havertz was the hero as Chelsea snatched a 1-0 win over Newcastle United on Sunday at the end of a difficult week at Stamford Bridge.
The European champions did not manage a shot on target for 75 minutes in a largely listless performance coming just days after Roman Abramovich was disqualified as owner after being sanctioned by the UK government following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The lack of clarity over the club's future seemed to permeate the performance, with even Chelsea's home shirts creating confusion given they carried the Three logo despite the company suspending sponsorship and asking the banding to be removed.
Havertz eventually tested Martin Dubravka with a header late in the second half but it looked as though Newcastle – whose own Saudi Arabia-backed ownership came under further scrutiny in the build-up to the match – would extend their unbeaten run to nine games in all competitions.
However, Havertz's sublime control and finish from Jorginho's pass in the 89th minute gave Thomas Tuchel's men all three points, the Germany star having earlier been fortunate to escape a red card.
Newcastle largely kept Chelsea comfortably at bay in the first half, though, and Havertz – starting again in place of Romelu Lukaku – was arguably lucky not to see his game end early, a VAR check deciding no more than a yellow card was required after he caught Dan Burn with a raised arm.
Miguel Almiron almost scored a stunning opener seconds before the break, his volley from the edge of the box beaten away by Edouard Mendy.
VAR again left Newcastle fans frustrated when referee David Coote chose not to give a penalty for Trevoh Chalobah's challenge on Jacob Murphy and the decision was allowed to stand.
Havertz at last evaded centre-back Dan Burn to meet Hakim Ziyech's cross, but he could only nod the ball into Dubravka's grateful grasp.
Yet when Havertz at last evaded the attentions of Burn, he took down Jorginho's raking pass superbly before prodding high past Dubravka.
'It was typical Kane', says Kompany after Bayern star smashes Bundesliga record
Vincent Kompany quipped it was "typical Harry Kane" after the England captain netted his 50th Bundesliga goal in Bayern Munich's 3-0 win over Augsburg.
Kane scored all of Bayern's goals in Friday's victory, as Kompany's side went, at least temporarily, eight points clear at the top of the Bundesliga.
In the process, Kane netted his 50th goal in the competition, reaching the milestone in just 43 appearances, smashing the previous record of 50 set by Erling Haaland during his time at Borussia Dortmund.
Two of Kane's goals came from the penalty spot, before he rounded off his hat-trick in the 95th minute with a deft header after he had exquisitely controlled Leon Goretzka's lobbed pass.
"It was typical Harry Kane," Kompany said. "He had situations in the first half where he could maybe have done better.
"But a player like him can score at any moment, he went on to score three."
Joshua Kimmich hailed Kane's composure from the penalty spot.
"I've never seen him miss one," Kimmich said.
"In general we have complete faith in him and he repays that faith. To take and score a penalty like that is a real quality. It's always regarded as easy from the outside but it's quite extraordinary."
Ten of Kane's 50 Bundesliga goals have come from penalties, while 32 of them have been with his right foot, nine with his left and nine with his head.
Kane is also the quickest Bayern player to hit 50 league goals for the club, surpassing Robert Lewandowski's previous record of 64 games by a staggering 21 matches.
The 31-year-old has netted every 75 minutes on average.
"We said at half-time we should just keep going and create chances," Kane told reporters.
"Thankfully we got the penalty and from there the game opened up.
"We have a big week ahead with PSG in the Champions League, then Dortmund, then [Bayer] Leverkusen in the cup.
"We're in a good moment, we're feeling good and should just keep the momentum up."
Bayern's dominance was reflected in the match stats, with Kompany's team having 33 shots to Augsburg's two, getting 14 of them on target, and accumulating 3.77 expected goals (xG) while giving up just 0.1 at the other end.
But Kompany says there is much more to come.
"It's normal for it not to be easy – after all it's a Bundesliga game," he said.
"We had 33 attempts at goal and very often found ourselves inside their box. But we remained patient and continued to show that we wanted to score goals.
"When you're in the penalty area as often as we were, it's normal that there will be a penalty given at some point.
"I'm never satisfied because I want us to always be improving. I know how important the win was tonight, and I can really appreciate it."
LA Galaxy test not ‘David against Goliath’ for Minnesota, claims Ramsay
Minnesota United head coach Eric Ramsay believes this season has already been a success for his side, no matter the result of their Western Conference semi-final against the LA Galaxy.
The Loons are the lowest-ranked side left on the West side of the MLS playoff bracket after finishing sixth in the regular season, though have impressed in the postseason so far.
They edged Real Salt Lake in their best-of-three series, winning both games on penalties, though come into their encounter with the Galaxy as the underdogs from the outside.
However, Ramsay does not see it that way, believing that his players could cause an upset this weekend.
“There is, of course, a level of satisfaction, but I think it’s difficult to do that until you know how everything pans out,” Ramsay said. “I’ve tried not to think too much beyond the upcoming game and sort of take the balance of the season as a whole once that’s done.
“But I don’t think anyone can deny that relative to the circumstances and the expectations that we’ve had a really good year and sort of anything from this point onwards set against what was talked about prior to the season would, of course, be a bonus.”
“That’s not to say that I don’t feel nor expect us to go another step beyond because, if I look at our form at the moment, I do feel we’re a good match up for anyone in the league.
“There’s absolutely no way that we’re going into this game feeling as though it’s David against Goliath, and we’re huge underdogs, and you’ve got a 20% chance of winning the game. That’s just not how we look at it. So I’m trying to, again, balance those two perspectives.”
LA Galaxy, meanwhile, swept aside the Colorado Rapids in their best-of-three series, helped by the influential Gabriel Pec, who has starred in his first season in the MLS.
The Brazilian has 37 goals involvements (19 goals, 18 assists) so far this season, with his 61 chances created, a total only bettered by Riqui Puig (63) this campaign.
And Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney is confident he can help lead his team all the way to glory this term after seeing first-hand the improvements he has made.
“I’ve seen the evolution on the field,” he said. “When he first came there was a lot of stress. You could tell he came from a club [where] winning and losing and producing were heavy.
“I saw a player who had unique talents and then inside of that some really, really great talent that needs to come out.”
“When we watched video of him, the interesting thing was when he was scoring goals, he was constantly ending up inside the box. So the question was ‘how do we get this guy inside the box more often?’
“What’s been great about him is he’s just had a lot of open-mindedness to develop different parts of his game.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
LA Galaxy – Riqui Puig
Puig has also been in fine form for the Galaxy, registering 14 goal involvements (eight goals, six assists) in his last eight games for the club in all competitions.
He scored twice in each of the Galaxy’s two wins over Colorado in the first round, the fourth player in MLS history, and third for the Galaxy, to score multiple goals in consecutive matches in a single postseason, something no player has done in three straight playoff matches.
Minnesota United – Kelvin Yeboah
Yeboah has been one of the standout players in the MLS since joining Minnesota from Serie A side Genoa in July, and he will be looking to continue that form this weekend.
He set up Joseph Rosales for the Loons’ only goal in their first round series against Real Salt Lake. Yeboah (five goals, two assists) has been involved in seven of Minnesota’s last 12 goals (excluding own goals) dating back to mid-September.
MATCH PREDICTION: LA GALAXY WIN
This will be the second postseason meeting between the Galaxy and Minnesota after LA knocked the Loons out in Minnesota in the first round in 2019. The Galaxy have also lost only one of their seven all-time home matches against Minnesota (W4 D2).
The Galaxy scored nine times in their two first-round matches against Colorado, equalling the most goals scored in a span of two playoff matches in MLS history. No team has scored more than 12 goals in a span of three matches in a single postseason before (Toronto in 2016, San Jose Earthquakes in 2003).
Minnesota won on penalties in both matches against Real Salt Lake in the first round, becoming the fourth team in MLS history to win multiple penalty shoot-outs in a single postseason (Real Salt Lake 2009, New York City FC 2021, Seattle Sounds 2024). No team has won three shoot-outs in a single postseason.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
LA Galaxy – 50.8%
Draw – 24.9%
Minnesota United – 24.2%
France 37-23 Argentina: Les Bleus wrap up campaign with third win
France posted a comfortable 37-23 win over Argentina on Friday to make it three wins out of three tests at the Stade de France to conclude their Autumn Nations Series.
Having also beaten New Zealand and Japan in Paris this month, Fabien Galthie's side claimed four tries, including a superb solo effort from Louis Bielle-Biarrey, as they eased to victory against the Pumas.
The hosts led 30-9 at the break after Argentina's Julian Montoya and Juan Martin Gonzalez were both shown yellow cards in the first half, with Thomas Ramos slotting his third penalty of the game.
Tomas Albornoz made it 30-16 for Felipe Contepomi's visitors, but their hopes of a comeback were dashed as Bielle-Biarrey scored his fourth try in three games before Ramos made it 37-16.
Albornoz then cut the deficit to 37-23 with a two-pointer with nine minutes to play, but that wasn't enough to stop his side from falling to a defeat.
"We knew it was going to be an 80-minute game. We saw last week how Argentina went all the way against a good Irish team," France lock Emmanuel Meafou told TNT Sports.
"We are happy with the win. We have three from three [in the autumn] and we will look to build on that in the Six Nations next year."
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