Everton FC v AFC Bournemouth - Premier League Everton fans outside the stadium before the Premier League match between Everton FC and AFC Bournemouth at Goodison Park on May 28, 2023 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. Liverpool Goodison Park England United Kingdom PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxUK Copyright: xWillxPalmer/Sportsphoto/APLx 13947863
AJAX won through the third qualifying round of the Europa League by beating Panathinaikos 13-12 on penalties in a record-breaking 34 kick shoot-out. Ajax, who won the first leg in Greece 1-0, were beaten by the same scoreline by an 89th minute goal from Panathinaikos’s Tetê. The match was a repeat of the 1971 European Cup final, which Ajax – Cruyff et al – won 2-0. Ajax now meet Poland’s Jagiellonia Białystok in the play-off round. Elsewhere, Shamrock Rovers won 3-1 against Slovenian side Celje to go through 3-2 on aggregate. Their next opponents are Greece’s PAOK.
EVERTON owner Farhad Moshiri has given John Textor a period of exclusivity as the American businessman looks to buy the ailing Premier League club. Fifty-eight year-old Textor wants to purchase a majority stake, but he will need to offload his 45% holding in Crystal Palace. Through his company, Eagles Football Holdings, Textor also has stakes in France’s Olympique Lyonnais, Brazil’s Botafogo and the Belgian club Molenbeek. Textor has enthused about the potential of Everton in the past: “Everton represents the best of English football… I love that it is out of London. How great would it be to take one of these great English clubs back to some sort of glory?”.
MANCHESTER United kick off the Premier league tonight (August 16) at home to Fulham, with Erik ten Hag claiming his ambitions include taking the club to a league title. Ten Hag, whose future is constantly being questioned – game by game – and many expected him to leave Old Trafford in the close season. But he has won a trophy in his two seasons and beat Manchester City in the FA Cup final in 2023-24. His win rate is 57.39%. United have been boosted by two new signings in the past few days, both from Bayern Munich: Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui for a combined € 60 million. They have also signed Leny Yoro from Lille for € 60 million and Bologna’s Joshua Zirkzee for € 42 million. United have had a good transfer window and look stronger than last season. But it won’t take much for a flypast protest taking place high above Old Trafford.
THE Copa Libertadores round of 16 first leg games have been completed and Uruguay’s Peñarol pulled of the most notable result in beating Bolivia’s The Strongest by 4-0. The Montevideo giants have a tough second leg in La Paz, a high-altitude city that is notorious for unsettling visiting sides. They killed the game in the first half, scoring three of their four goals. The other La Paz team still in the competition, Bolivar, were beaten 2-0 away at Flamengo, but they have a home leg to look forward to. Two goals in the last quarter of an hour by veteran full back Reinaldo gave Grêmio a 2-1 win against holders Fluminense, while the other all-Brazil tie ended with Botafogo beating Palmeiras 2-1. River Plate won the all-Argentine pairing, beating Talleres away 1-0. Paulo Díaz scored the decisive goal four minutes from the end. The second legs are due to be played next week.
