Cibao FC players celebrate a goal.
Concacaf Media
Dominican Republic’s Cibao FC drew first blood in their Concacaf Caribbean Cup semi-final tie as they clipped Haiti’s Real Hope FA 3-2 in first leg action in Santiago de los Caballeros on Wednesday.
Jean Lopez (fourth), Juan Diaz (49th) and Rivaldo Correa (90+1) did the damage for Cibao FC, while Angelo Exilus (11th and 83rd) grabbed a brace for Real Hope.
With the win, Cibao have placed one foot in the Caribbean Cup final, but will have to complete the job in next Thursday’s second leg in order to book a spot in next year’s Concacaf Champions Cup.
It was a frantic start for Cibao FC, as they broke the deadlock inside five minutes when Lopez expertly headed home from a weighted corner kick.
However, Real Hope pulled level seven minutes later through Exilus, who converted from the penalty spot.
Both teams continued to show life in the attacking third and had a few half chances to cause some problems, but failed to make them count in a bid to add to their respective tallies, as the score went unchanged at the break.
Cibao FC, like they did at the start, were quick out the blocks and again took the lead four minutes into the resumption courtesy of Diaz’s well-struck effort from a distance.
But, Exilus again popped up to keep Real Hope in the contest as he headed home from Steeve Mondestin’s perfectly weighted cross seven minutes from time.
With the scores leveled and time winding down, it seemed as if both teams would share the spoils. However, Huguens Michel took out an attacker in the danger area and was sent for an early shower, leaving Real Hope a man short.
To make matters worse, Correa stepped up and converted the 12-yard kick to put Cibao FC 3-2 up in added time, which meant there was no coming back for Real Hope on this occasion.
Correa improved his tally to four goals and now enters the race for the coveted Golden Boot. That race is currently being led by Exilus, whose brace took his tally to five goals in the tournament.
Pan Am 2024 Athletes’ Forum kicks off in Dominican Republic
The third edition of the Panam Sports Athletes’ Forum begins today, November 21, in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, bringing together representatives from 41 member countries of the Pan American Sports Organization. The event, which runs through November 23, will feature discussions on key topics affecting athletes across the Americas.
The Forum will address issues such as mental health, post-career opportunities, personal branding, artificial intelligence, safe sport, and many other pressing topics. This year’s gathering boasts a lineup of over 20 distinguished speakers, including some of the continent’s most celebrated athletes.
Among the notable participants are Félix Sánchez, a two-time Olympic champion from the Dominican Republic; Mariana Pajón, a three-time Olympic medalist from Colombia; and Alejandra Orozco, one of Mexico’s top diving champions. Additionally, sports and government authorities from the Dominican Republic and the full Executive Board of Panam Sports will also be in attendance.
“We are very happy and eager to open this III Panam Sports Athletes' Forum. A paradisiacal place, great speakers, and a spectacular response from all the Athletes' Commissions of the Olympic Committees that are members of our organization give us reasons to dream that this event will be a great success. We want the ‘Voice of the Athletes’ to continue to be heard loudly in the continent and around the world,” said Panam Sports President Neven Ilic, who is already in Punta Cana.
This year’s event marks the third time the Forum has been held, following successful editions in Miami and Cancun. The Panam Sports Athletes’ Forum is supported by Solidaridad Olímpica, emphasizing its commitment to advancing athlete welfare and development.
In addition to the star-studded lineup of speakers, the forum will focus on themes such as sustainability, financing and support for athletes’ commissions, anti-doping, and athletes’ career transitions, providing athletes with valuable tools and insights to navigate their careers and post-sporting lives effectively.
For those unable to attend, the entire Continental Athletes’ Forum will be broadcast live from Punta Cana via the Panam Sports Channel, ensuring that the discussions and insights reach a global audience.
As the Dominican Republic hosts this renowned gathering, it reinforces the importance of athlete representation, welfare, and empowerment, further cementing the legacy of the Panam Sports Athletes’ Forum as a critical platform for the voices of athletes to be heard.
Slot deserves praise for modest approach to Liverpool job – Mills
Arne Slot deserves praise for not being "arrogant" with his approach to succeeding Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool boss, according to Danny Mills.
The Dutchman has made a hugely positive start to life at Anfield since replacing long-serving Klopp ahead of the 2024-25 season.
The 28 points Slot has collected is the joint-most of any manager in their opening 11 Premier League games along with Guus Hiddink at Chelsea.
Liverpool's only blemish on an otherwise perfect start to the top-flight campaign was a 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest in September.
Indeed, only in 2019-20 (31 points) have Liverpool collected more points after 11 games of a Premier League season than their 28 this campaign.
Former Leeds United and Manchester City defender Mills has been particularly impressed by Slot's approach to a new era at Anfield.
"Arne Slot has surprised me," Mills told Stats Perform. "They did have a difficult defeat against Nottingham Forest at home. That was a defeat not many people saw that coming, but the start he's had is unbelievable. It's incredible.
"Training might be slightly different, but the style of play is very similar. The players are comfortable with it. They've been high-energy, closing people down, and playing at 100 miles an hour when they win the ball back.
"It shows managerial intelligence to understand the players' qualities and build on what they had when they were successful. He hasn't overthought it or tinkered too much.
"He hasn’t been arrogant and said, 'I'm going to rip it up and start fresh'. It wasn't broken; it was already successful. He's just added to it."
Liverpool won a first ever Premier League title during Klopp's eight-and-a-half years in charge, as well the Champions League in 2018-19.
Klopp also lifted the FA Cup, two EFL Cups, the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup, setting a high benchmark to follow.
"Liverpool identified the man they wanted, brought him in, and he's been very clever," Mills added. "He looked at the squad and thought, 'these are good players. I don't need to change too much'.
"That's smart because Liverpool were very successful under Klopp. If you come in and rip up the playbook and it doesn't work, players will question why they're not doing what worked under Klopp."
Liverpool have conceded just six goals in the Premier League this season – four fewer than next-best Nottingham Forest.
They are conceding at a rate of around 0.5 goals per game, compared to around 1.1 in Klopp's final season in charge (41 goals in 38 matches).
"Slot has tweaked things slightly, maybe made them more defensively solid, which they needed to really challenge," Mills said. "Championship-winning or Champions League-winning teams are built on solid defences.
"You don't win without that. He's shored up the defence and allowed the players to continue doing what they were doing before."
Rodri: Messi is the greatest player of all time, without any doubt
Manchester City and Spain star Rodri has suggested that Lionel Messi pipped Cristiano Ronaldo as the greatest footballer of all time.
The 28-year-old was recently awarded the 2024 Ballon d'Or as recognition for a period in which he won the Champions League in 2023 and Euro 2024 with Spain the next year.
Ex-Barcelona man Messi has won three of the last four Ballon d'Ors prior to Rodri, with the midfielder claiming that the latter is the greatest "without any doubt" during an interview on Spanish TV.
"Lionel Messi is the greatest player of all time, without any doubt. Cristiano has managed to match Messi without innate talent. But those of us who have played against them can see the difference," said Rodri, speaking to El Hormiguero.
"We didn’t want Cristiano to step into the box because he was lethal there. But with Messi, the danger was everywhere on the pitch."
Ronaldo has scored a total of 928 goals in his career for club and country, winning 34 major trophies including five Champions League titles. He has also won the Ballon d'Or on five occasions.
Messi, meanwhile, has scored 877 goals, won the Champions League on four occasions and the Ballon d'Or five times, most recently in 2023.
Messi is now at Inter Miami, while Rodri is recovering from an ACL injury at Manchester City, although the two faced each other in LaLiga during the midfielder's spells at Villarreal and Atletico Madrid before his Premier League move.
"When Messi got the ball, you’d think: 'Oh, danger'," he added. "When I first started playing against him, I tried to take the ball from him, and he dodged you as if you were a bull in the ring. The feeling I had was that something bad was about to happen."
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