Inter Miami claimed a crucial three points in the race for the MLS playoffs with a 2-1 victory over star-studded Eastern Conference outfit Toronto on Saturday.
The win means Phil Neville's side are unbeaten in five games and have won three of their past four to move up to fifth spot in the east.
All the goal scoring action occurred in the first half, with Inter going ahead after Toronto goalkeeper Alexander Bono's inexplicable error from Jean Mota's hopeful long-range strike in the 24th minute.
Italian recruit Lorenzo Insigne produced a moment of magic with a low right-foot volley to equalise four minutes later.
But Inter restored their lead in the 44th minute with a classy set play from a free-kick ending with Damion Lowe nodding back for Ariel Lassiter to stab home from close range.
Toronto midfielder Michael Bradley forced a save in the 72nd minute while Filippo Bernardeschi had a 94th-minute penalty shout waved away for the visitors.
Eastern Conference leaders Philadelphia Union flexed their muscle with Julian Carranza netting a hat-trick in a 6-0 away win over struggling DC United.
Philadelphia were in a ruthless mood although it was scoreless until Mikael Uhre got free and squeezed in the opener in the 37th minute.
Daniel Gazdag netted a penalty won by Uhre on half-time, before Carranza scored three goals inside 27 second-half minutes capitalizing on some inexplicable passing from the United defence. Cory Burke curled in the sixth in the 79th minute.
Reigning MLS Cup champions LAFC went down 2-1 at San Jose Earthquakes but became the first side to book their playoffs spot by virtue of other results.
Colorado Rapids drew 1-1 with Houston Dynamo, who found a late equaliser from Sebastian Ferreira, while Vancouver Whitecaps could only draw 1-1 at Real Salt Lake, locking in LAFC.
Kei Kamara moved into outright third in the MLS goal scoring charts with his 135th career league goal as Montreal defeated New England 4-0.
Matt Miazga marked his return to the MLS with a goal in his second game for FC Cincinnati as they drew 1-1 at his former club New York Red Bulls.
Minnesota United boosted their playoffs' hopes with a 2-1 win over Austin thanks to Franco Fragapane's 62nd-minute winner.
We’ve got to believe we can pull off a miracle – Inverness captain Sean Welsh
Captain Sean Welsh has told his Inverness team-mates they have to believe they can pull off “a miracle” in what will be the biggest game of his career this Saturday.
The cinch Championship side are big underdogs for their Scottish Cup final showdown with Celtic, who are bidding to complete a domestic treble.
Welsh knows it will take a huge effort to pull off an upset at Hampden but the 33-year-old is adamant his team have a chance.
“It ranks at the very top for me,” said the former Partick Thistle and Falkirk midfielder when asked about the size of the game in the context of his career.
“It’s not very often you get to play on an occasion like this, especially at my age getting to the latter stages of my career. I am thoroughly looking forward to it.
“We’ve got to believe, I’ve said that to the lads all week. We’ve got to believe we can pull off a miracle.
“We don’t just want to go there for a day out and get caught up in the occasion.
“We know it’s a massive challenge in front of us, but we’ve got to have belief in ourselves.
“We know we have a good group and we know we are going to be up against it at times in the game but we’ve got to stick together and have that belief that we can do it.”
Celtic won only two of their closing six Premiership matches as they had the title wrapped up with time to spare, but Welsh dismissed any notion that his team can draw encouragement from the champions’ recent form dip.
“I don’t think you can look too much into that,” he added.
“They wrapped up the title early doors and then had a few results they probably weren’t happy with but you saw at the weekend (when they beat Aberdeen 5-0) they can turn it on when they need to. I’m sure they’ll be right up for this.
“It’s not going to make much difference to us, we know how hard the challenge is going to be.”
Inverness will have gone more than four weeks without a competitive game by the time they run out at Hampden on Saturday.
Although Welsh admits it is “not ideal” in terms of maintaining match sharpness, he feels the month-long break has at least allowed them to banish any lingering disappointment after they lost to Ayr in their final Championship fixture and missed out on the play-offs.
“It was good to get some time to get over what happened in the last game of the season,” he said.
“That was a difficult night and we were all very disappointed to miss out on the play-offs so the time away was good for us to clear our minds and get over it.
“We didn’t want that lingering going into this massive game.
“We’ve come back in refreshed and excited and we’re looking forward to it.”
Leeds chairman Andrea Radrizzani completes Sampdoria takeover
A consortium that includes Leeds chairman Andrea Radrizzani has completed its takeover of Italian club Sampdoria.
Leeds’ majority shareholder Radrizzani’s company Aser Group and finance company Gestio Capital announced they had concluded a deal to save financially-stricken Sampdoria late on Tuesday night.
In a statement released on Sky Sports Italian reporter Gianluca Di Marzio’s social media sites, Radrizzani said: “We are nothing short of thrilled to be able to announce that we have completed the acquisition of this extraordinary club.
“The history and coat of arms of Sampdoria are safe and I think my happiness is (for) of all the people who were suffering for these colours.
“My thanks at this time go above all to all those people who worked relentlessly to ensure that this agreement found a just conclusion.
“And in particular I have to extend a huge thank you to Matteo (Manfredi, Gestio Capital principal) and to the lawyer De Gennaro.
“Without them none of this would have been possible. From today we move on…. and I personally can’t wait to get to work.”
Radrizzani, who bought Leeds for £45million in 2017, is expected to sell his 56 per cent stake in the Premier League club to American co-owners 49ers Enterprises.
The financial arm of NFL franchise the San Francisco 49ers increased its stake in Leeds to 44 per cent at the end of 2021 with a deal in place to buy Radrizzani’s stake and take full control before January 2024.
49ers Enterprises has been reported to be keen to complete a takeover this summer, but the deal was contingent on Leeds remaining in the Premier League and it remains to be seen how relegation will affect a possible change of ownership at Elland Road.
Leeds’ three-year stay in the top flight was ended on Sunday when they lost 4-1 to Tottenham at Elland Road in their last game of the season.
Pep Guardiola takes top honours at LMA Awards
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has been named the League Managers Association’s manager of the year.
Guardiola, who has guided City to a third straight Premier League title and is hunting a domestic treble, has won the Sir Alex Ferguson trophy for a third time and was also named Premier League manager of the year.
City face Manchester United in the FA Cup final on Saturday and Inter Milan in the Champions League final.
Guardiola, who has previously won the award in 2017-18 and 2020-21, said: “I’m delighted to receive the Premier League Manager of the Year. It’s an incredible honour to get his trophy.
“We are in the best league in the world and I promise you we will be there next season.”
Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta, Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi, Newcastle’s Eddie Howe, Aston Villa boss Unai Emery and Fulham’s Marco Silva had all been nominated.
Vincent Kompany, who guided Burnley straight back to promotion to the top flight, won the Championship award, beating fellow nominees Michael Carrick (Middlesbrough), Paul Heckingbottom (Sheffield United), Rob Edwards (Luton) and Mark Robins (Coventry).
Kompany said: “The players have done it and the staff have been relentless.
“I can still relate to the players, I feel connected to what they are going through. I make mistakes and don’t see myself as the finished article. You make mistakes and learn. I’m pretty pleased where I am today.”
Plymouth boss Steven Schumacher took the League One award after guiding the Pilgrims to the title and Richie Wellens was voted League Two manager of the year after leading Leyton Orient to the top of the fourth tier.
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