Dean Smith is intent on reminding Charlotte FC "how good we could be" as the visitors look to back up an impressive win when they head to Columbus Crew in MLS.
Smith's side humbled Eastern Conference leaders FC Cincinnati with a 3-1 victory last time out, with Ashley Westwood assisting all three goals – a club record.
That eye-catching result marked a perfect response after back-to-back defeats against Inter Miami and Houston Dynamo, leaving Charlotte sixth in the East standings.
The next challenge for visiting head coach Smith is to keep his side honest, and more importantly, consistent.
"I keep talking in our dressing room about how good we could be. And we've got to be consistent," Smith said.
"We've just lost the last two games. I thought we played really well against Inter Miami. Our first half against Houston, we dropped our standards and got beat because of that.
"So we wanted to make sure that our standards were back there. And I thought it was a good follow-up performance to the Inter Miami game."
Westwood was the hero, picking apart the 10-man Cincinnati with ease en route to a headline result against the division leaders.
"We never know when we're beaten, and that's a good thing to have," said former Burnley midfielder Westwood. "We get knocked down, we keep coming back up.
"And it's a real togetherness. All the lads are running for each other. We know how organised we are. Everyone knows what they're doing."
The Crew are third in the same standings after smashing Los Angeles FC 5-1 in their last match – a result that delighted boss Wilfried Nancy.
"Really happy because the task that we had was really difficult, knowing the context and the situations," Nancy said.
"My players found a way to be ourselves and to play the way we wanted to play and to play really good sequences, but also to be disgusting to play against.
"This is something that I like. I'm happy because the level was good. I'm happy."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Columbus Crew – Cucho Hernandez
Cucho Hernandez was on target in the hammering of LAFC last time out, and will continue leading the line and aiming to extend his remarkable run in front of goal.
The Crew star has scored eight goals in his last seven appearances, with his overall tally for the season at 12 goals in 16 MLS matches.
Charlotte FC – Ashley Westwood
Westwood has become an integral part of Smith's side, leading the way from midfield.
The former Premier League midfielder collected two first-half assists in Cincinnati before adding another after the break, taking his season tally to five in 22 MLS games.
MATCH PREDICTION – COLUMBUS CREW WIN
The Crew are the overwhelming favourites for this one, signified by their high likelihood of victory in Opta's pre-match predictions. That owes to their strong recent form.
Columbus have won their last five matches by a combined 20-2 scoreline, since losing to Inter Miami towards the end of last month.
The hosts will take confidence in knowing they have avoided defeat in their last two home meetings with Charlotte, drawing 1-1 in 2022 before a 4-2 victory last season.
Charlotte do, however, have the chance to inflict an unlikely double on Columbus after triumphing 2-0 in March's reverse fixture.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Columbus Crew win – 61.9%
Draw – 20.2%
Charlotte FC win – 18%
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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