Maresca Says he is Happy at Chelsea After 3-1 Win at Cardiff

Football - Carabao Cup - Quarter Final - Cardiff City v Chelsea - Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales, Britain - December 16, 2025 Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca celebrates after the match. (Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge)
Football - Carabao Cup - Quarter Final - Cardiff City v Chelsea - Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales, Britain - December 16, 2025 Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca celebrates after the match. (Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge)
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Maresca Says he is Happy at Chelsea After 3-1 Win at Cardiff

Football - Carabao Cup - Quarter Final - Cardiff City v Chelsea - Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales, Britain - December 16, 2025 Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca celebrates after the match. (Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge)
Football - Carabao Cup - Quarter Final - Cardiff City v Chelsea - Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales, Britain - December 16, 2025 Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca celebrates after the match. (Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge)

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said he is happy at the club after they booked a spot in the League Cup semi-finals with a 3-1 win at Cardiff City on Tuesday, just days after he had voiced his frustrations over behind-the-scenes issues at the club.

Maresca had said after Saturday's 2-0 Premier League home win over Everton, which ended a run of four games without a win, that he had been through "the worst 48 hours" of his time at the club and complained about a lack of support.

At the final whistle on Tuesday, however, Maresca was celebrating with the crowd as they chanted his name after a brace from Alejandro Garnacho and a goal from Pedro Neto put his side into the last four.

"I'm just happy, we're going to play another semi-final and I think it's what the fans deserve," he told reporters, according to Reuters.

"It was a great moment. In some moments when you don't win games, they have been not happy, but it's normal. But overall, the fans have always been there.

"These are the kind of games that I fall in love even more with the players because you cannot imagine how easy it is to slip, to slide, because they are tricky games," added Maresca, who declined to elaborate on his comments from the weekend.

"I didn't speak with anyone. I didn't speak, no it's OK," Maresca said. "I always said that I've been happy since day one. So it's not that tonight I'm not happy." Chelsea, who are fourth in Premier League and eight points behind leaders Arsenal, will next travel to Newcastle United on Saturday.



Cilic Says 600th Tour-Level Win Shows His Dedication to the Sport 

Marin Cilic of Croatia plays a shot to Learner Tien of the United States in the Men's Singles Round of 32 match during day two of the 2026 Dallas Open at The Ford Center at The Star on February 10, 2026 in Frisco, Texas. (Getty Images via AFP)
Marin Cilic of Croatia plays a shot to Learner Tien of the United States in the Men's Singles Round of 32 match during day two of the 2026 Dallas Open at The Ford Center at The Star on February 10, 2026 in Frisco, Texas. (Getty Images via AFP)
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Cilic Says 600th Tour-Level Win Shows His Dedication to the Sport 

Marin Cilic of Croatia plays a shot to Learner Tien of the United States in the Men's Singles Round of 32 match during day two of the 2026 Dallas Open at The Ford Center at The Star on February 10, 2026 in Frisco, Texas. (Getty Images via AFP)
Marin Cilic of Croatia plays a shot to Learner Tien of the United States in the Men's Singles Round of 32 match during day two of the 2026 Dallas Open at The Ford Center at The Star on February 10, 2026 in Frisco, Texas. (Getty Images via AFP)

Former US Open champion ‌Marin Cilic said that joining an elite club of players with at least 600 match wins on the ATP Tour was proof of his dedication to the sport after battling through several injury-ravaged seasons.

The 37-year-old, who has had two knee surgeries since 2023, downed American Learner Tien 7-5 7-6(4) at the Dallas Open on Tuesday to reach the milestone, putting him ‌second behind ‌Novak Djokovic (1,168 wins) among active players.

"It's ‌been ⁠so difficult these ⁠last couple of years, I was battling through many things," said Cilic, who also went past Croatian compatriot Goran Ivanisevic's career tally of 599 tour-level victories.

"Just to get to this level, playing this well against guys like ⁠Learner, who's an incredible player and ‌can have a fantastic ‌career, is just a joy.

"To get this milestone speaks ‌volumes about my dedication to tennis, living ‌in this sport for so many years. It's given me so much joy and I love it. It's fun to be out here still competing ‌and I can't be happier."

Cilic, who claimed his only Grand Slam trophy at ⁠Flushing ⁠Meadows in 2014, tore the lateral meniscus on his right knee in 2023 and underwent surgery. That was followed by another in 2024 following difficulties in his recovery.

The former world number three bounced back on the biggest stage by reaching the fourth round of Wimbledon last year and the third round of the Australian Open last month.

Cilic will face another American in Dallas with either Trevor Svajda or Ethan Quinn up next.


Spain Striker Aghehowa in Race to Be Fit for World Cup After Knee Injury 

Soccer Football - Primeira Liga - Casa Pia v FC Porto - Estadio Municipal de Rio Maior, Rio Maior, Portugal - February 2, 2026 FC Porto's Samu Aghehowa in action with Casa Pia's Kaly. (Reuters)
Soccer Football - Primeira Liga - Casa Pia v FC Porto - Estadio Municipal de Rio Maior, Rio Maior, Portugal - February 2, 2026 FC Porto's Samu Aghehowa in action with Casa Pia's Kaly. (Reuters)
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Spain Striker Aghehowa in Race to Be Fit for World Cup After Knee Injury 

Soccer Football - Primeira Liga - Casa Pia v FC Porto - Estadio Municipal de Rio Maior, Rio Maior, Portugal - February 2, 2026 FC Porto's Samu Aghehowa in action with Casa Pia's Kaly. (Reuters)
Soccer Football - Primeira Liga - Casa Pia v FC Porto - Estadio Municipal de Rio Maior, Rio Maior, Portugal - February 2, 2026 FC Porto's Samu Aghehowa in action with Casa Pia's Kaly. (Reuters)

Samu Aghehowa's ‌hopes of playing for Spain at the World Cup have suffered a massive blow after the 21-year-old suffered a serious knee injury playing for Portuguese side Porto and is expected to be sidelined for several months.

Aghehowa, who featured twice ‌for Spain ‌in their qualifying ‌campaign, ⁠is set to ⁠miss the rest of the season due to the anterior cruciate ligament injury, which he sustained in Porto's 1-1 draw with Sporting Lisbon on ⁠Monday.

With the World Cup ‌kicking off ‌in North America on June 11, ‌Aghehowa is unlikely to return ‌in time to earn a place in the Spain squad.

"I'll be out of action for a ‌few months," he wrote on social media.

"It hurts me ⁠not ⁠being able to help the team as I'd like, fighting on the field. Now I'm just another fan supporting us towards our goals," added Aghehowa, who joined Porto from Atletico Madrid in August 2024 and has scored 32 goals in 50 league games.


Milano Cortina Finds Fix for Medal Defects, Repairs Offered

Silver medalist Eric Perrot, of France, from left, gold medalist Johan-Olav Botn, of Norway, and bronze medalist Sturla Holm Laegreid, of Norway, pose after the men's 20-kilometer individual biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP)
Silver medalist Eric Perrot, of France, from left, gold medalist Johan-Olav Botn, of Norway, and bronze medalist Sturla Holm Laegreid, of Norway, pose after the men's 20-kilometer individual biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP)
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Milano Cortina Finds Fix for Medal Defects, Repairs Offered

Silver medalist Eric Perrot, of France, from left, gold medalist Johan-Olav Botn, of Norway, and bronze medalist Sturla Holm Laegreid, of Norway, pose after the men's 20-kilometer individual biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP)
Silver medalist Eric Perrot, of France, from left, gold medalist Johan-Olav Botn, of Norway, and bronze medalist Sturla Holm Laegreid, of Norway, pose after the men's 20-kilometer individual biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP)

A fix has been found to stop Milano Cortina Olympic medals from coming apart, and athletes will be able to return any damaged ones for repair, local organizers said on Tuesday.

The problems with the cherished medals have been one of the talking points of the opening days of competition at a Games that have otherwise run smoothly.

Local organizers investigated the medals mishaps with the Italian State Mint, which is responsible for producing them.

"A solution was identified and a targeted ‌intervention was ‌implemented," Milano Cortina 2026 Communications Director Luca Casassa ‌said, ⁠adding that ‌only a limited number of medals had suffered defects.

Athletes whose medals were affected could return them "so that they can be promptly repaired," he added.

"Milano Cortina 2026 confirms its commitment to ensuring that the medals, which symbolize the highest achievement in every athlete's career, meet the highest standards of quality and attention to detail."

PROBLEM WITH THE CLASP

Organizers did not specify what the problem was. ⁠However, a source close to the situation had suggested on Monday that the issue may stem ‌from the medal's clasp and ribbon, which is ‍fitted with a breakaway mechanism ‍required by law to avoid the risk of strangulation or other ‍injury.

That tallied with the experience of US Alpine skier Jacqueline Wiles, who won a bronze in the women's team combined on Tuesday and became the latest competitor to suffer a medal mishap.

Wiles said some boisterous celebrations were to blame.

"Some arms were swinging and I was jumping. And it got out of hand a little quickly. But that's OK. They ⁠fixed it already," she said.

A spokesperson for her team said the problem was with the clasp on her medal and she had been given a replacement.

Local organizers were very pleased with operations at the Games, spread over a wide area of northern Italy from Milan to a series of venues in the Alps.

"What we have found in these first four days is really encouraging, the stadiums and the competitions are often sold out, fan zones are full of people who are in a party mood and want to enjoy the Games' atmosphere," Casassa said.

"The feedback that we are getting ‌from the real protagonists, the athletes, at the moment is extremely positive," he added.