Scott Murray's Blog, page 5
May 28, 2025
Chelsea beat Real Betis 4-1 to win Uefa Conference League – as it happened
Chelsea started slow in Wrocław but finished strong as Cole Palmer turned this final around with two majestic assists
How Chelsea got here. They survived a scare in the play-off round against Servette, winning the first leg 2-0 but losing the second in Switzerland 2-1. However since then, it’s not been much of a struggle. They won all six of their matches to top the league phase, against Gent, Panathinaikos, Noah, Heidenheim, Astana and Shamrock Rovers, before seeing off Copenhagen, Legia Warsaw and Djurgårdens in the knockouts. Legia did beat them 2-1 at Stamford Bridge, but only after the Blues won 3-0 away.
By contrast, Betis have had quite the journey. After sailing through a play-off against Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih, they finished 15th in the league phase, beating Celje, Petrocub Hîncești and HJK but losing to Legia Warsaw and Mladá Boleslav. After another play-off victory, this time over Gent, they’ve beaten Vitória de Guimarães, Jagiellonia Białystok and tournament whipping boys Fiorentina to get to the final.
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May 25, 2025
Nottingham Forest 0-1 Chelsea: Premier League final day – as it happened
Levi Colwill’s goal secured Champions League football for Chelsea next season, and sent Nottingham Forest in the direction of the Conference League
4 min: Gibbs-White barges his way down the inside-left channel … but James makes up ground and barges him off the ball. Elanga picks up the loose ball and tries to keep things going but Cucurella gets in the road and puts a stop to his gallop.
2 min: Chelsea are on the front foot quickly, though, and Palmer wins a corner down the left. It’s played short before being swung in, and it causes no danger to the hosts. What an atmosphere, though!
Continue reading...May 21, 2025
Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Manchester United: Spurs win Europa League final – as it happened
Brennan Johnson, Micky van de Ven and Guglielmo Vicario were the heroes as Tottenham won their first European trophy in 41 years with a dogged display in Bilbao
Our man David Hytner is watching all of the red-carpet arrivals in Cannes San Mamés. “Just got to the ground to see Ian Wright being serenaded on his way into the VIP entrance by a large group of Spurs fans. Which certainly made him smile. David Dein, too, who was with him, along with Theo Paphitis. Bumped into Thomas Tuchel moments before and it really is one of those occasions when the stars are out. The anticipation is building!”
Ruben Amorim talks to TNT. “I am relaxed now … I did my job … now it’s with my players and I am really confident … I really enjoyed the last two trainings … when you have these kind of trainings you feel relaxed, so I trust in the guys … so I have that feeling and I’m really confident … Mason Mount in this moment gives us a balance … really good attacking but one extra midfielder … also to have speed on the bench … legs to change the game … in the beginning it is really important to feel the game and we are getting better at that … the result is not going to change so much [regarding transfers] … it can help to add one more if we need … the most important thing is the feeling of winning … we need to deliver that feeling … I am not thinking about the money … we will arrange money because we are a big brand … we are a club that needs that feeling … without trophies it’s really hard to get a connection … we are getting better … this team can step up … I truly believe my players are going to do it.”
Continue reading...Field Notes: The birth of the playoffs, English football’s biggest weekend
The concept of an end-of-season tournament to determine the final promotions was borne of trial and error
With the Guardian’s unstoppable rise to global dominance** we at Guardian US thought we’d run a series of articles for fans wishing to improve their knowledge of the sport’s history and storylines, hopefully in a way that doesn’t patronise you to within an inch of your life. A warning: If you’re the kind of person that finds The Blizzard too populist this may not be the series for you.
** Actual dominance may not be global. Or dominant
Continue reading...May 18, 2025
US PGA Championship 2025: Scheffler holds off Rahm to win third major – as it happened
Scottie Scheffler dug deep to pull away from a chasing pack, led by Jon Rahm, that briefly hauled him in
The leader Scottie Scheffler tees it up. If he’s feeling nerves, they’re not betraying him on his face. A huge roar from the gallery for the big man from Texas. He gracefully larrups a gentle fade around the trees down the right and he’s in position A on the fairway. He’s going round with Alex Noren today. No nerves evident from the Swedish veteran, either, as he splits the fairway. A quiet start meanwhile for Bryson DeChambeau: par-par-par. The high-point so far a whip over a huge tree to get himself back into position on 3. He remains at -5.
Matt Fitzpatrick might have rendered himself realistically done and dusted. But that’s not going to stop him battling for every shot and a high finish. He’s responded to that bogey-bogey start by raking in long birdie putts on the next two holes to return to his starting point. Meanwhile Jon Rahm’s quest to “play well” begins with par; his playing partner Kim Si-woo drops a stroke, though. So this is where we are now, with the last match preparing to tee off.
Continue reading...May 17, 2025
US PGA Championship golf 2025: day three – as it happened
… so having given Scottie Scheffler the grandstand introduction, he double-crosses himself and sends his approach at 1 towards the gallery to the left of the green. He’ll have a hell of a chip from there, from thick rough over sand. A pleasing symmetry to this.
… so having given Rory McIlroy the grandstand introduction, he carves his second at 10 towards the gallery to the right of the green. He’ll have a hell of a chip from there, from thick rough over sand. Meanwhile his playing partner, the defending champion Xander Schauffele, leaves his approach short and right, and immediately hollers “Mud ball!” Ah yes, mud balls …
Continue reading...May 16, 2025
US PGA Championship 2025: second round – as it happened
Tyrrell’s gonna Tyrrell at some point. And here he blows! His drive into the short par-four 14th is heading straight for the flag. A little bit to the right and it’s landing on the green and rolling out into Max Homa territory. But it’s not a little bit to the right. It takes a kick left off a bank just in front of the green and into the drink. Having taken his drop, he chips up to six feet, but pulls the attempted par saver. He taps in for bogey on a hole that Homa nearly made albatross, and all for the sake of a few feet either way in the landing zone. Hatton launches his ball into the water and exits the scene, powered solely by the steam pouring from his lugs. He’s -4.
The erstwhile PGA and Open champion Collin Morikawa has also started fast. Birdies at 10 and 12 and he’s -3. Bryson DeChambeau gets up and down from 43 yards on 10 to open with birdie; he’s -1. And JJ Spaun birdies 2, 3 and 4, though this year’s Players Championship runner-up hands one of those strokes back at 5. The 34-year-old Californian is nicely placed at -2 nonetheless.
Continue reading...May 15, 2025
US PGA Championship 2025: day one – as it happened
Rory McIlroy’s push to win back-to-back majors got off to a rough start but Scottie Scheffler is lurking on a surprise leaderboard
Birdie for Tommy Fleetwood at the par-three 13th. He’s still looking for his first win on the PGA Tour. This would be a decent time to break that duck.
… but Scottie catches a break! A decent lie and a route under the branches to the green. He fires out low and sends his ball scampering towards the apron. That’s a decent result all told, and he’ll have a chance to get up and down from the front for his par. Rory meanwhile has found sand down the left of the fairway and Xander the fairway; both find the green in regulation, albeit not particularly close to the flag. Outside chances for birdie.
Continue reading...May 10, 2025
Bournemouth 0-1 Aston Villa: Premier League – as it happened
Ollie Watkins settled a tight and occasionally testy encounter at Dean Court, as Villa kept their Champions League hopes very much alive
3 min: Semenyo takes another vicious swipe at the ball. This time it’s an overhit cross upon finding himself in space down the left. Goal kick.
2 min: It was a strange kick-off routine, Cook rolling the ball back to Semenyo, who juggled it in the air before hoofing a Garryowen into the Villa box. Martinez claimed the high bouncing bomb without any drama.
Continue reading...May 8, 2025
Bodø/Glimt 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur (1-5 agg): Europa League semi-final, second leg – as it happened
Tottenham Hotspur booked their place in the Bilbao final with an assured display in the Arctic Circle
1 min: Bodo nearly gift Spurs a chance within the first ten seconds, a loose ball across the back, but Gundersen block-tackles Solanke, who was hoping to bust clear down the inside-right channel. The hosts breathe again.
Pennants are swapped, coins tossed, hands clasped … and Bodø, 3-1 down after the first leg, get the ball rolling.
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