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Atalanta Boss Gasperini Blasts Lookman After Penalty Miss in Brugge Loss 

Football - Champions League - Knockout Phase Playoff - Second Leg - Atalanta v Club Brugge - Gewiss Stadium, Bergamo, Italy - February 18, 2025 Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini before the match. (Reuters)
Football - Champions League - Knockout Phase Playoff - Second Leg - Atalanta v Club Brugge - Gewiss Stadium, Bergamo, Italy - February 18, 2025 Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini before the match. (Reuters)
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Atalanta Boss Gasperini Blasts Lookman After Penalty Miss in Brugge Loss 

Football - Champions League - Knockout Phase Playoff - Second Leg - Atalanta v Club Brugge - Gewiss Stadium, Bergamo, Italy - February 18, 2025 Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini before the match. (Reuters)
Football - Champions League - Knockout Phase Playoff - Second Leg - Atalanta v Club Brugge - Gewiss Stadium, Bergamo, Italy - February 18, 2025 Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini before the match. (Reuters)

Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini said his striker Ademola Lookman is "one of the worst penalty takers he has ever seen" after his miss from the spot hindered a comeback in their home 3-1 defeat to Club Brugge in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Lookman pulled back one goal early in the second half after Brugge took a 3-0 halftime lead, but then had a penalty saved by goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, as the Serie A side were knocked out with a 5-2 aggregate defeat.

Gasperini singled out the Nigeria international for criticism, adding offensive midfielder Charles De Ketelaere or striker Mateo Retegui should have taken the penalty instead.

"Lookman was not supposed to take that penalty, he is one of the worst penalty takers I've ever seen," the Italian manager told a post-match press conference.

"He has a frankly terrible record even in training, he converts very few of them. Retegui and De Ketelaere were there, but Lookman in a moment of enthusiasm after scoring decided to take the ball and that was a gesture I did not appreciate at all."

Gasperini also criticized Atalanta captain Rafael Toloi, who was shown a straight red card for a shove on Maxim De Cuyper after an argument over a throw-in.

"That was an ugly incident and we must never lose our heads," he said.

"Atalanta must leave the Champions League with dignity, having played great games against the likes of Real Madrid, Arsenal and Barcelona."

Atalanta, third in Serie A, became the second Italian side to exit the Champions League, following AC Milan, who drew 1-1 with Feyenoord, losing 2-1 on aggregate.

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Sports

Cristiano Ronaldo Set for Record 6th World Cup as Portugal Routs Armenia to Qualify

Al-Nassr's Portuguese forward #07 Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring his team's first goal during the AFC Champions League group E football match between Saudi Al-Nassr SC and Tajikistan's FC Istiklol at King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh on October 2, 2023. (AFP)
Al-Nassr's Portuguese forward #07 Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring his team's first goal during the AFC Champions League group E football match between Saudi Al-Nassr SC and Tajikistan's FC Istiklol at King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh on October 2, 2023. (AFP)
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Cristiano Ronaldo Set for Record 6th World Cup as Portugal Routs Armenia to Qualify

Al-Nassr's Portuguese forward #07 Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring his team's first goal during the AFC Champions League group E football match between Saudi Al-Nassr SC and Tajikistan's FC Istiklol at King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh on October 2, 2023. (AFP)
Al-Nassr's Portuguese forward #07 Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring his team's first goal during the AFC Champions League group E football match between Saudi Al-Nassr SC and Tajikistan's FC Istiklol at King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh on October 2, 2023. (AFP)

Cristiano Ronaldo is heading to another World Cup.
Portugal sealed its place at next year's tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico with a 9-1 rout of Armenia on Sunday.
Ronaldo missed the match in Porto but in his absence, Portugal ensured he would have the chance to appear at a record sixth World Cup, The AP news reported.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner will be 41 by the time the tournament kicks off next June and Ronaldo recently it would be his last shot at winning the one major title to elude him. Assuming he retains his fitness, he is expected to be part of coach Roberto Martinez's squad.
That surprise defeat meant Portugal had to beat Armenia to be certain of top place in Group F and hat tricks from Bruno Fernandes and Joao Neves ensured there would be no slipup.

Sports

Liverpool Deal Chelsea a Blow in WSL Title Chase With Draw, West Ham Get First Win of Season

Soccer Football - Women's Super League - Liverpool v Chelsea - Brewdog Stadium, St. Helens, Britain - November 16, 2025 Chelsea's Erin Cuthbert shoots at goal Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff
Soccer Football - Women's Super League - Liverpool v Chelsea - Brewdog Stadium, St. Helens, Britain - November 16, 2025 Chelsea's Erin Cuthbert shoots at goal Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff
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Liverpool Deal Chelsea a Blow in WSL Title Chase With Draw, West Ham Get First Win of Season

Soccer Football - Women's Super League - Liverpool v Chelsea - Brewdog Stadium, St. Helens, Britain - November 16, 2025 Chelsea's Erin Cuthbert shoots at goal Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff
Soccer Football - Women's Super League - Liverpool v Chelsea - Brewdog Stadium, St. Helens, Britain - November 16, 2025 Chelsea's Erin Cuthbert shoots at goal Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff

Winless Liverpool dented Chelsea's title hopes with a gritty 1-1 draw in the Women's Super League on Sunday, as Beata Olsson's strike cancelled out Alyssa Thompson's opener and earned Gareth Taylor's side a precious point.

Chelsea, who are chasing a sixth consecutive league title, are second in the table and trail leaders Manchester City by three points after nine games, while bottom-placed Liverpool have just two points.

Thompson put Chelsea on the scoresheet in the ninth minute when she latched onto a cross from Wieke Kaptein before cutting inside and curling home past Faye Kirby, Reuters reported.

Olsson levelled in the 32nd minute with her third goal in three games when she ran onto Lily Woodham's through ball and then pulled away from Millie Bright before calmly slotting past Livia Peng.

"Lily actually did all the hard work and then just put a ball through to me, and we knew that we are quick at front and they're rather slow with their centre backs, so that was a great ball, just had to put it in," Olsson told Sky Sports.

Aggie Beever-Jones thought she had scored the winner for Chelsea in the 64th minute after she rounded Kirby and fired home, but she was offside, and then Liverpool held firm under pressure for the draw.

"We know playing against teams like Chelsea and the others in the top four that it's always going to be a tough challenge, but when you stick together and you have that great determination and you nick a goal and stick with it, happy with that," Woodham told Sky.

West Ham United beat Everton 3-1 for their first WSL win of the season to climb over Liverpool into 11th spot, Brighton & Hove Albion defeated Leicester City 4-1 for seventh in the table, while Leicester are ninth, and London City Lionesses climbed to sixth with their 3-1 win over Aston Villa (eighth).

Fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur hosted Arsenal, who are fourth, in Sunday's late game.

Sports

FIFA Says it Has Stepped Up Efforts Against Online Abuse

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 15: FIFA President Gianni Infantino attends the International Friendly match between Colombia and New Zealand at Chase Stadium on November 15, 2025 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Leonardo Fernandez/Getty Images/AFP
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 15: FIFA President Gianni Infantino attends the International Friendly match between Colombia and New Zealand at Chase Stadium on November 15, 2025 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Leonardo Fernandez/Getty Images/AFP
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FIFA Says it Has Stepped Up Efforts Against Online Abuse

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 15: FIFA President Gianni Infantino attends the International Friendly match between Colombia and New Zealand at Chase Stadium on November 15, 2025 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Leonardo Fernandez/Getty Images/AFP
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 15: FIFA President Gianni Infantino attends the International Friendly match between Colombia and New Zealand at Chase Stadium on November 15, 2025 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Leonardo Fernandez/Getty Images/AFP

FIFA said on Sunday it had stepped up efforts to tackle online abuse directed at players and officials, reporting a surge in harmful content and referring more offenders to police.

Marking the International Day for Tolerance, FIFA said its Social Media Protection Service (SMPS) had flagged more than 30,000 abusive posts to platforms since the start of the year, part of more than 65,000 escalated since the tool was launched in 2022.

Eleven individuals in Argentina, Brazil, France, Poland, Spain, Britain and the United States have been reported to law-enforcement authorities in 2025 for abuse during FIFA competitions, with one case referred to Interpol.

The relevant national associations were alerted to allow follow-up action at local level.

FIFA said it was also blacklisting people identified as responsible for "highly abusive behavior", preventing them from purchasing tickets for future FIFA tournaments or events.

The SMPS has been deployed at several competitions this year, including the inaugural 32-team Club World Cup in the United States.

During that tournament, the service monitored 2,401 active accounts across five platforms, analyzed 5.9 million posts, flagged 179,517 for review and reported 20,587 to the platforms.

"Football must be a safe and inclusive space – on the pitch, in the stands and online,” Reuters quoted FIFA president Gianni Infantino as saying.

"Our message is clear: abuse has no place in our game, and we will continue to work with our Member Associations, the confederations and law-enforcement authorities to hold offenders accountable."

The SMPS uses a mix of technology and human moderation to detect, filter and block racist, discriminatory or threatening messages, while protecting players' followers from exposure to abusive content.