Friday's briefing: Lionel Messi free-kick lights up Atlanta and PSG shocked
Champions League winners Paris St Germain were stunned by South American champions Botafogo in Group B, while Atletico Madrid proved too strong for the Seattle Sounders.
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca faced questions over Mykhailo Mudryk, while Real Madrid revealed star man Kylian Mbappe had been discharged from hospital.
Closer to home, Wales boss Rhian Wilkinson scaled new heights to announce her Euro 2025 squad.
Messi doing Messi things – unreal free-kick! ⚽️
Enjoy it from every angle 👏👀
Watch the @fifacwc | June 14 – July 13 | Every Game | Free | https://t.co/i0K4eUtwwb | #FIFACWC #TakeItToTheWorld #MIAFCP pic.twitter.com/3qCHOEzF1d
— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) June 19, 2025
Lionel Messi scored a trademark free-kick as Inter Miami beat Porto 2-1 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium to move a step closer to the last 16 of the Club World Cup.
Porto took the lead in the eighth minute from the penalty spot but Miami equalised just after half-time through a thumping finish from Telasco Segovia.
Messi then gave the Atlanta crowd what they came for when he clipped home a fine 20-yard free-kick in the 54th minute.
Igor Jesus scored the only goal of the game as Botafogo stunned Paris St Germain in Pasadena, with Atletico Madrid beating the Seattle Sounders 3-1 in Group B's other game.
Elsewhere in Group A, Palmeiras beat Egyptian side Al Ahly 2-0 at the MetLife Stadium – with the match interrupted during the second half because of the threat of lightning in East Rutherford.
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has revealed he has not yet spoken to winger Mykhailo Mudryk since the Ukrainian was charged with violating anti-doping rules.
The 24-year-old has not played since being suspended last December after testing positive for a prohibited substance, and is facing a lengthy ban after being charged by the Football Association.
Blues boss Maresca fronted questions on Mudryk as he prepared the team for their second Group D match against Flamengo in Philadelphia on Friday.
'The last time I spoke with Misha, he was quite good. I didn't see him worried, or at least I didn't see him not good. It was OK,' Maresca said.
'I don't know how he is now, but for sure in the next days, weeks, we're going to have a talk.'
Rhian Wilkinson hiked up Wales' highest peak at Yr Wyddfa before delivering the names of 23 players determined to scale their own summit at Euro 2025.
'It (qualifying) was always going to be an uphill battle with little setbacks,' said former Canada international Wilkinson.
'As we have moved towards the Euros we have talked about the summit, the Everest part of it. That something is impossible until it isn't.
'Outside Wales people can think whatever they want. Our goal is to show up and deliver to the best of our ability. I am sure people will be looking up Wales on a map very soon.'
Mbappé medical update.
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) June 19, 2025
Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe has been discharged from hospital after being admitted with 'acute gastroenteritis'.
The 26-year-old France international missed Wednesday night's 1-1 Club World Cup draw with Al Hilal through illness, with head coach Xabi Alonso revealing he had a fever.
Real Madrid subsequently confirmed Mbappe was suffering from 'an acute case of gastroenteritis' and had been admitted to hospital for further tests and treatment, before later being cleared to return to the team's base.
'Our player Kylian Mbappe was discharged from the hospital this afternoon and has returned to the Real Madrid training camp,' a club statement read.
'Mbappe will continue receiving specific medical treatment and will gradually return to team activity.'
MD2 vs the Brazilian giants. 🇧🇷🔜 pic.twitter.com/gqgbPg8JSN
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) June 19, 2025
The Club World Cup continues with Chelsea facing Flamengo in Philadelphia.
The Blues will be looking to build on their opening Group D win over LAFC, who play ES Tunis in Nashville.
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Wales Online
38 minutes ago
- Wales Online
Today's rugby news as Wales star stands out in Lions defeat and team-mate hits back at slurs
Today's rugby news as Wales star stands out in Lions defeat and team-mate hits back at slurs The latest rugby news stories in the wake of the Lions' defeat to Argentina British and Irish Lions' Tomos Williams (Image: PA Wire ) Here are the latest rugby headlines on Saturday, June 21. Welshman Williams lays down Lions marker Tomos Williams laid down an early marker for a place in the Lions Test team after an impressive appearance off the bench against Argentina on Friday night. Williams replaced Alex Mitchell in the second half, injecting urgency and moments of class into the Lions play as they initially fought their way back into the match before succumbing to a 28-24 defeat. There were the usual deft touches and a real tempo to everything the Welshman did before a beautiful flat pass on the line sent Tadhg Beirne crashing over for a try. Sky Sports pundits Conor Murray and Sam Warburton were both impressed, picking out Williams as one of the players who really impressed on the night. Mitchell's service had been generally good in the first-half but his box kicking was loose at times. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby. Warbuton said: "I think Tomos Williams was very good and made an impact. It's going to be so tight for that number nine jersey." Fans on social media backed Williams to force his way into the Test team despite arguably starting the tour behind Ireland's Jamison Gibson-Park and Mitchell in the pecking order. Article continues below One said: "Personally, the one player to shine was Tomos Williams. He scanned everything, raised the tempo, cool, calm and collected. Accuracy and timing of passing. Got to be in the test team." Another added: "Tomos Williams' distribution is catching the eye. He's already putting his hand up for selection." Fellow Welshman Jac Morgan had a solid outing in the seven jersey, with one turnover standing out before being replaced by Henry Pollock early in the second-half. Van der Merwe not bothered by slurs Duhan van der Merwe says slurs against his right to play for Scotland and the Lions no longer hurt him, insisting he has worked hard to become a two-time tourist The South African-born Scotland star is one of the current Lions players who have been targeted by some critics because they were born in different countries. He qualifies for Scotland on residency and has gone on to become the nation's leading try scorer since moving there from his homeland in 2017. He faced abuse on the last Lions tour to South Africa, with fans labelling him "Spring-Jock", while some have again questioned his selection for this year's trip. Speaking to the Guardian about representing Scotland, he said: "When I speak about it, I get really emotional because it's a country that has given me so much when I had nothing. "I had a failed medical [at Edinburgh] and at that time it would have been easy for them to say: 'Look, you've failed your medical – off you go.' But they looked after me. "I went over as a young boy and people don't understand how hard it is, leaving your family behind, leaving everything behind, going to a country where you don't know how things work. "People don't see the amount of hard work and sacrifice you put in because I wouldn't be sitting here without it." On the abuse he has received, he added: "I always knew they were going to get stuck into me," he said. "There were a lot of personal messages on social media towards me. "I just dust it off because I know how hard I've worked to get to where I am. You always have people on social media who are going to bring you down and slate you, but I've got to a point in my career where it doesn't faze me at all." Itoje wants 'tippy tappy' rugby to stop British and Irish Lions captain Maro Itoje has told his team-mates to stop playing "tippy-tappy" rugby and focus on becoming a powerhouse team opponents won't be able to live with. Itoje cut a frustrated figure after the Lions' 28-24 defeat to Argentina and was disappointed with a lack of aggression and directness at times. Andy Farrell's side coughed up possession on numerous occasions as they tried to force passes that simply weren't on. It all led Farrell to bluntly tell the squad some aspects of the performance were simply unacceptable as the famous team were given a stark reality check before heading to Australia. Itoje said: "When we were on it, we looked good, we just need to do it more consistently. "At times we were playing tippy-tappy rugby and that's not what we want to be. We want to be an aggressive team. We were nowhere near as accurate or as consistent as we wanted to be. We only showed glimmers of what we can do. Article continues below "Argentina showed us where we are lacking. I am happy we had a hard-fought game. "We live and learn. This is only match one. "The fans were amazing and showed us a glimmer of what it will be like in Australia."
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Enzo Maresca's goalkeeping issues continue and the Blues star who needs to take the hint - THINGS WE LEARNED from Chelsea's shock Club World Cup defeat
Chelsea 's Club World Cup campaign took a turn for the worse on Friday night when Enzo Maresca 's men fell to a shock 3-1 defeat at the hands of Flamengo. The Brazilians are no pushovers, but the Premier League side should have got the job done to qualify for the knockouts, and looked well on their way to doing that when Pedro Neto struck his second goal of the competition early on. But things went south, with Bruno Henrique, Danilo and Wallace Yan netting to ensure it was Flamengo who instead qualified. The game was perhaps overshadowed by Nicolas Jackson's second red card in as many months, with the striker previously seeing red against Newcastle and now given his marching orders for a high challenge. It leaves the Blues' campaign riding on their final group stage game with ES Tunis on Wednesday - or it will be an early flight home from the United States. Mail Sport's KIERAN GILL was at the Lincoln Financial Field to jot down five things we learned from the game. Maresca shakes things up Enzo Maresca made a point of making sure we all knew that he had experimented with his tactical set-up in this 3-1 loss in Philadelphia. Namely, we saw him use Malo Gusto as a traditional full back when, normally, that is not Maresca's style. Reece James was also in midfield as well as Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez, while Cole Palmer was on the right wing, Pedro Neto on the left, and Liam Delap up top. Maresca made it sound as if he is trying to find new solutions ahead of next season – maybe he wants to starts using Palmer on the right-hand side more than he has been, who knows – and the Blues boss suggested the experiment worked for an hour-ish. I'm not so sure on that, given Gusto was caught out of his right back position so often that it gave us flashbacks to the Conference League final in Wroclaw, Poland, when he was hooked at half-time for playing as poorly. Flamengo exploited Chelsea in the space he was leaving open. Still, nothing wrong with the odd experiment, and the Club World Cup is the place to do that because Chelsea's involvement in this competition strips them of their usual pre-season prep. Goalkeeping problems continue Nicolas Jackson made sure the post-match chatter was all about him, and maybe Robert Sanchez should be secretly grateful for his striker's moment of madness. Chelsea's goalkeeper did not have the greatest game as even within the opening three minutes, he made two mistakes while trying to pass out from the back. Both led to Flamengo chances to score. Sanchez still does not instil confidence. He is a goalkeeper who is not fond of playing passes, and Maresca is a manager who demands his goalkeeper plays passes. Not ideal, that. With each appearance, it makes you wonder if Chelsea will go back in for AC Milan's Mike Maignan, despite sources saying they wanted to sign a goalkeeper before the Club World Cup if at all. There's nothing like some hearts in mouths to make you rethink the situation. Chelsea's goalkeeping problems continued with Robert Sanchez still not looking comfortable playing out from the back Jackson's self-destruction You imagine it has not been the easiest summer for Jackson – the way he was seeing his club linked with this striker and that. They sign Delap for £30million, but they are still linked with being in the hunt for other versatile centre forwards. Sources are not playing down those names either. Jackson is under pressure, therefore, and this latest act of self-destruction was not the greatest way to endear himself to Chelsea or their fans. He is now suspended in the Club World Cup, after missing the end of their Premier League season. Jackson's team-mates insisted in the mixed zone that he will make amends, but then we have heard that before. Brazil flying high Brazilian sides are unbeaten at the Club World Cup. Palmeiras, Botafogo, Fluminense and Flamengo have not lost a single game. But then there are a few reasons for that, perhaps. Flamengo, for example, have played only 11 games in their domestic season whereas this match represented Chelsea's 59th of 2024-25. The Brazilians are used to playing in 30-odd degrees whereas Chelsea are not. This tournament seems to mean more to the South Americans whereas the Europeans, I think it is fair to say, are considering it more of an inconvenience for where it falls in their calendar. So maybe there are some reasons why, but then at the end of the day, it is 11 versus 11, and Flamengo deserved to win that match over Chelsea once all was said and done. Santos let down Chelsea put up Andrey Santos for the media the day before the Flamengo game in Philadelphia. He spoke of the possibility of making his debut and what facing this Brazilian side in particular – the rivals of Vasco da Gama, whose academy he came through – would mean to him. It was rather heartwarming, but then he did not get any minutes. That's two games now in the United States without an appearance from Santos, and you have to wonder if Chelsea are hoping he will take the hint. He is a confident lad, Santos, and still only 21. He enjoyed an excellent loan to Strasbourg last term and now the Brazilian wants to fight for his place in the Blues' first team. But still, the wait for a competitive debut is continuing. Maresca has promised his chance is coming, but then it is hard not to think that rival suitors will be tracking his situation closely.
North Wales Chronicle
an hour ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Nicolas Jackson says he is ‘so angry at myself' after red card in Flamengo loss
The Senegal striker was shown a straight red card – just four minutes after coming off the bench – for an aggressive studs-up challenge on Ayrton Lucas in Friday's 3-1 defeat in Philadelphia. It came amid a calamitous six-minute spell in the second period in which the Blues also conceded two goals to surrender their half-time lead. It was also Jackson's second dismissal in just four appearances having also been given his marching orders for a forearm crack on Newcastle's Sven Botman in a Premier League match last month. 'I want to say sorry,' Jackson wrote on Instagram on what was a 24th birthday to forget. 'To the club, the staff, my teammates, and all the fans watching, I let you down. 'Another red card… And honestly, I'm so angry at myself. I work hard every day to help the team not to put us in this kind of situation. 'I still don't fully understand how it happened. But one thing is clear: it wasn't intentional. Just a moment in football that went the wrong way. 'No excuses. I take full responsibility. I'll reflect, I'll grow, and I'll come back stronger for the badge and for everyone who believes in me. 'Sorry. Sorry, Sorry.' 🔴⚫️ A comeback win for @Flamengo!#FIFACWC — FIFA Club World Cup (@FIFACWC) June 21, 2025 Jackson's moment of madness, in which he forcefully caught Lucas on the shin, effectively ended Chelsea's hopes of getting back into the Group D contest at Lincoln Financial Field. Enzo Maresca's side were already reeling after Pedro Neto's well-taken 14th-minute opener was cancelled out by Bruno Henrique after 62 minutes and quickly followed by another goal for veteran Danilo. Wallace Yan wrapped up the scoring seven minutes from time, putting Flamengo in charge of the group and potentially making Chelsea's route through the tournament complicated. Defender Marc Cucurella suggested discipline was an area Jackson needed to work on. The defender told DAZN: 'He is young player, he has a lot of quality, he maybe needs to improve this a little bit. We are here to improve, we are not perfect so it is part of the game.' Maresca did not deny the sending-off was damaging, though he tempered criticism by claiming it was not a clear-cut decision. Maresca said: 'Those six minutes completely changed the dynamic of the game. 'I'm not 100 per cent sure that it's a red card compared to the Newcastle one, but it can be and the referee decided it. 'It's a little bit of a bad moment for Nico in these things. He knows very well that both situations were not something good for the team.' Former Chelsea defender Filipe Luis, now the manager of Flamengo, backed Jackson to bounce back. 'It was a little mistake,' he said. 'It was a clear red for me but it is a small detail for a player who can be one of the biggest strikers in the world.' Chelsea, who now have three points from their opening two games, face ES Tunis in their final group game on Tuesday night (2am Wednesday BST).
