Opportunity knocked for a host of teenage hopefuls in the Europa League on Thursday, with 16-year-old Romelu Lukaku making the biggest impression as Anderlecht reached the last 32.
Lukaku scored twice in the first 20 minutes as Anderlecht defeated Ajax 3-1, helping his side pip the stylish Dutch giants to top spot in Group A.
Everton, with their place in yesterday’s knockout round draw already assured, also opted for youth in a 1-0 Group I home defeat against Belarusian side BATE Borisov.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Centerback Shane Duffy, 17, deflected a 25m drive from Alexsandr Yuryevich into his own net for the only goal of the night at Goodison Park as manager David Moyes made nine changes to the side that drew 3-3 with Chelsea last Saturday.
Defender Jake Bidwell — at 16 years and 271 days old — became the youngest player to figure for Everton in Europe and the third youngest behind Jose Baxter and James Vaughan to play for the first team. As well as defeat, Everton’s threadbare squad suffered another jolt when 18-year-old Jack Rodwell was forced off with an injury after just eight minutes.
Everton goalkeeper Carlo Nash, the oldest player at 36 and who was also making his first-team debut, said: “It was great, a bit like a reserve game to be honest. I’ve played a few times with the reserves with these lads and I thought they did tremendously tonight despite the score. They go out fearless these days, the kids. They showed that tonight.”
Elsewhere, Celtic, already out, came back from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 at Rapid Vienna in Group C, where Hamburg and Hapoel Tel Aviv had made sure of qualification into the knockout round.
Celtic were three goals down after only 19 minutes with Nikica Jelavic (2) and Hamdi Salihi on target.
But Marc-Antoine Fortune then grabbed a brace before Paul McGowan drove in a stoppage-time equalizer for the Scots.
Italian hopes suffered a double setback as Genoa joined Lazio at the exit door.
Genoa lost 2-1 to Group B winners Valencia, for whom David Villa grabbed a last-gasp winner. Lille took second spot with a 3-1 win over Slavia Prague.
Lazio lost 1-0 at home to Levksi Sofia in Group G, where Austria’s FC Salzburg finished as the only side with a 100-percent record as Dusan Svento scored the only goal in a 1-0 win at fellow qualifiers Villarreal.
Long-time Brazilian defender Roberto Carlos played his last match for Group H winners Fenerbahce, helping the Turkish side to a 1-0 win over Sheriff of Moldova.
Carlos, 36, who signed for Fenerbahce from Real Madrid in 2007, had recently revealed he had penned a two-year deal with Corinthians of Sao Paulo.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
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