Chelsea, Lyon and Roma Stay Perfect with Victories in Women's Champions League

Roma's Evelyne Viens, right, fights for the ball with Galatasaray's Berna Yeniceri during the women's Champions League group A soccer match between Galatasaray and Roma at Ataturk Olympic stadium in Istanbul, Türkiye, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (Huseyin Yavuz/Dia Photo via AP)
Roma's Evelyne Viens, right, fights for the ball with Galatasaray's Berna Yeniceri during the women's Champions League group A soccer match between Galatasaray and Roma at Ataturk Olympic stadium in Istanbul, Türkiye, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (Huseyin Yavuz/Dia Photo via AP)
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Chelsea, Lyon and Roma Stay Perfect with Victories in Women's Champions League

Roma's Evelyne Viens, right, fights for the ball with Galatasaray's Berna Yeniceri during the women's Champions League group A soccer match between Galatasaray and Roma at Ataturk Olympic stadium in Istanbul, Türkiye, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (Huseyin Yavuz/Dia Photo via AP)
Roma's Evelyne Viens, right, fights for the ball with Galatasaray's Berna Yeniceri during the women's Champions League group A soccer match between Galatasaray and Roma at Ataturk Olympic stadium in Istanbul, Türkiye, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (Huseyin Yavuz/Dia Photo via AP)

Chelsea, Lyon and Roma all stayed perfect in the Women’s Champions League by cruising to away victories on Thursday.
Roma routed Galatasaray at Istanbul 6-1, Chelsea beat Twente in the Netherlands 3-1 and eight-time champion Lyon won 2-0 at Wolfsburg.
Real Madrid claimed its first victory of the campaign by easing past Celtic 4-0, The Associated Press reported.
Roma and Lyon both have six points in Group A. Two-time champion Wolfsburg and Galatasaray, the first Turkish team to reach the group stage, have no points.
In Group B, Chelsea leads with six points, with Madrid and Twente on three and Celtic last bottom without a point.
Wolfsburg striker Alexandra Popp made her 100th competition appearance — becoming only the second player to reach the mark but it was Lyon defender Wendie Renard, the only one who has played more, who stole the show.
Renard’s header found the back of the net early on in her 118th game in the competition.
US international Lindsey Horan netted from the penalty spot in the second half.
Lyon is the competition’s record eight-time champion but last won the trophy in 2022. It was runner-up last season to Barcelona.
In a matchup between the Italian and Turkish champions, Roma dominated in Istanbul.
Summer signing Hawa Cissoko scored in the seventh minute to mark her debut game in the competition. The France defender who transferred from West Ham headed home off Manuela Giugliano's corner.
Valentina Giacinti made it 2-0 in the 24th minute when she was left unmarked near the spot to head in Verena Hanshaw's cross.
Giugliano failed to convert from the spot in the first-half stoppage time but Emilie Haavi got Roma's third with a right-footed blast past goalkeeper Gamze Yaman early in the second.
Giugliano finally found the back of the net from close range for a 4-0 lead before Andrea Staskova scored the consolation goal for the hosts. Roma substitutes Marta Pandini and Alice Corelli also scored.
Blues win again under Bompastor Chelsea struck early in another winning performance under new coach Sonia Bompastor, who joined from Lyon.
Agnes Beever-Jones put the Blues ahead with a long-distance deflected strike in the seventh minute and Maika Hamano made it 2-0 a short time later by lifting the ball over goalkeeper Olivia Clark from outside the area.
Substitute Guro Reiten added the third in the second from the spot just past the hour mark.
On Saturday, Chelsea beat city rival Arsenal 2-1 in the Women’s Super League.
Real Madrid scored three second-half goals in 11 minutes against Celtic in Group B.
The Spanish team had lost to Chelsea 3-2 in the first round and drew with Atlético 1-1 in the Madrid derby over the weekend.
Caroline Weir fired a long-range left-footer from outside the box into the far top corner in the seventh minute.
The visitors kept if close until the 72nd minute, when Signe Bruun headed home the second goal followed eight minutes later by Caroline Moller's lob of goalkeeper Kelsey Daugherty for a 3-0 lead. Linda Caicedo then converted from the penalty spot.
It's back-to-back losses for Scottish club Celtic, making its debut in the group stage. It has yet to score.



Morocco Refer AFCON Champions Senegal to CAF and FIFA

 Senegal's Idrissa Gueye calls players to walk off the ptich during the Africa Cup of Nations final soccer match between Senegal and Morocco, in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP)
Senegal's Idrissa Gueye calls players to walk off the ptich during the Africa Cup of Nations final soccer match between Senegal and Morocco, in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP)
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Morocco Refer AFCON Champions Senegal to CAF and FIFA

 Senegal's Idrissa Gueye calls players to walk off the ptich during the Africa Cup of Nations final soccer match between Senegal and Morocco, in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP)
Senegal's Idrissa Gueye calls players to walk off the ptich during the Africa Cup of Nations final soccer match between Senegal and Morocco, in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP)

The Moroccan Football Federation said Monday it has formally referred to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and FIFA incidents involving Senegalese players and supporters protesting a penalty to Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations final.

Senegal's protest in added time of normal play during Sunday night's clash in Rabat led to the match being paused for nearly 20 minutes as the players walked off the pitch in anger.

Some Senegalese fans at the opposite end of the stadium threw chairs and other objects and attempted to get onto the field of play.

The AFCON hosts' football federation said these acts "had a significant impact on the normal course of the match and on the players' performance", with Morocco then missing the penalty that could have granted them their first African title in 50 years.

The federation said "it will resort to legal procedures" with CAF, the tournament's organizing body, and FIFA "in order to rule on the withdrawal of the Senegalese national team from the field"... "as well as on the events that accompanied this decision".

It said the referee's decision to grant the Atlas Lions a penalty was "deemed correct by unanimous opinion of specialists".

FIFA president Gianni Infantino condemned "some Senegal players" for the "unacceptable scenes".

Senegal scored the game's only goal just four minutes into extra time after the players returned to the pitch following an appeal from star forward Sadio Mane.

Several Moroccan media outlets on Monday criticized Senegal for a lack of fair play and unsporting behavior.


Man City Announce Signing of Defender Marc Guehi

Soccer Football - Premier League - Crystal Palace v Sunderland - Selhurst Park, London, Britain - September 13, 2025 Crystal Palace's Marc Guehi applauds fans after the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge
Soccer Football - Premier League - Crystal Palace v Sunderland - Selhurst Park, London, Britain - September 13, 2025 Crystal Palace's Marc Guehi applauds fans after the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge
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Man City Announce Signing of Defender Marc Guehi

Soccer Football - Premier League - Crystal Palace v Sunderland - Selhurst Park, London, Britain - September 13, 2025 Crystal Palace's Marc Guehi applauds fans after the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge
Soccer Football - Premier League - Crystal Palace v Sunderland - Selhurst Park, London, Britain - September 13, 2025 Crystal Palace's Marc Guehi applauds fans after the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge

England defender Marc Guehi has signed for Manchester City from Crystal Palace on a five-and-a-half year contract, the Premier League club announced on Monday, AFP reported.

City stepped up their pursuit of Guehi in a deal reportedly worth £20 million ($27 million) after suffering an acute injury crisis at centre-half and confirmation of the move had been widely expected.


Djokovic Reaches 100th Australian Open Match Win in Hunt for 25th Grand Slam

 Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 19, 2026 Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates after winning his first round match against Spain's Pedro Martinez REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 19, 2026 Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates after winning his first round match against Spain's Pedro Martinez REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
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Djokovic Reaches 100th Australian Open Match Win in Hunt for 25th Grand Slam

 Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 19, 2026 Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates after winning his first round match against Spain's Pedro Martinez REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 19, 2026 Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates after winning his first round match against Spain's Pedro Martinez REUTERS/Tingshu Wang

Novak Djokovic began his ​hunt for a record 25th Grand Slam title with a 6-3 6-2 6-2 win over unseeded Spaniard Pedro Martinez in the Australian Open first round on Monday, the Serb easing pre-tournament concerns about his fitness with a sparkling display.

Doubts had been raised about Djokovic's preparedness for the major he has won a record 10 times after the 38-year-old skipped the Adelaide tune-up event and cut short practice on Sunday, but he had no trouble sealing his 100th ‌match win at ‌Melbourne Park, Reuters reported.

The flawless performance means Djokovic has reached ‌a ⁠century ​of match ‌wins in three of the four Grand Slams, with 95 at the US Open.

"What can I say? I like the sound of it - centurion is pretty nice, it's a nice feeling to be a centurion," Djokovic said as a montage of his greatest Melbourne moments on Rod Laver Arena played out on the big screen.

"History-making is great motivation, particularly in the last five to 10 years of my career. ⁠Once I got myself into a position to eventually make history, I was even more inspired to ‌play the best tennis, and that's what I've done.

"I ‍was very fortunate early on in ‍my career to encounter people who taught me and guided me to ‍play the long shot, not burn out too quickly, to take care of my body and mind and try to have as long a career as possible.

"I'm blessed to be playing at this level and another win here tonight is a dream come true."

A ​potentially tricky start against first-time opponent Martinez turned into a routine workout when Djokovic seized control with a break and never loosened ⁠his grip under the bright lights of the main showcourt to take the opening set.

Despite last playing in November when he claimed his 101st career title in Athens, Djokovic barely missed a beat as he let rip a fiery crosscourt winner en route to breaking early and wrapping up the second set.

While the spotlight has largely swung toward reigning Melbourne champion Jannik Sinner and world number one Carlos Alcaraz, Djokovic reminded the duo of his threat with some sublime tennis to power through the third set and prevail at his favourite hunting ground.

"It's definitely my favourite court, a court that has given me so much," added Djokovic, who will ‌hope to return when he takes on Italian qualifier Francesco Maestrelli.

"I always try to give back and I hope you enjoyed the tennis."