Shamrock Rovers saw their European dreams ended after 10-man Molde battled through a penalty shootout to book a place in the last 16 of the Conference League.
After crashing out of the Champions League with defeat at Real Madrid, Manchester City are sweating on the fitness of top scorer Erling Haaland ahead of this weekend’s Premier League clash with leaders Liverpool.
Arsenal’s Chloe Kelly has been handed a late call-up to England’s squad ahead of their Nations League opener against Portugal on Friday night, when Leicester will resume their Premier League survival battle at home against Brentford.
Rovers suffer Euro heartache
Shamrock Rovers had been aiming to become the first League of Ireland club to reach the last 16 of a European competition – but saw those dreams left in tatters after a dramatic night at Tallaght Stadium as Molde came through their Conference League play-off on penalties.
Magnus Wolff Eikrem’s 10th-minute goal following a mix-up in the Rovers defence pulled the tie level 1-1 on aggregate, cancelling out 16-year-old Michael Noonan’s strike in Norway.
Molde were reduced to 10 men in stoppage time following a second caution for Isak Amundsen, but Rovers could not make their advantage count in extra time.
Aaron Greene saw his penalty saved in the shootout as Molde progressed 5-4 to reach the last 16 where they will face either Belgian side Cercle Brugge or Polish outfit Legia Warsaw.
Haaland injury adds to City’s worries
Manchester City are waiting on the fitness of top scorer Erling Haaland ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash with leaders Liverpool.
The prolific Norwegian, who has scored 27 goals this term, was an unused substitute as City crashed out of the Champions League with defeat at Real Madrid on Wednesday night.
Haaland was taken off with a knee problem in the closing minutes of last Saturday’s victory over Newcastle, but manager Pep Guardiola had initially played down fears of a serious setback.
Yet when he failed to make the starting line-up at the Bernabeu Stadium it become obvious there was an issue and, while Guardiola said scans were clear, he later revealed the striker had felt some discomfort walking up stairs.
Haaland is now in a race against time for a match at the Etihad Stadium this weekend which could impact the Premier League title race and the battle for top-four places.
Lucy Bronze lauds ‘incredibly brave’ Spanish players
Former Barcelona defender Lucy Bronze praised Spain’s “incredibly brave” campaign against Luis Rubiales, who has been found guilty of sexual assault for kissing Jenni Hermoso without consent.
The Audiencia Nacional court in Spain ruled on Thursday that forward Hermoso was assaulted by Rubiales while she received her medal following Spain’s World Cup final triumph over England in 2023.
The court said it had imposed an 18-month fine equating to 20 euros a day on the former president of the Spanish football federation, who it found had kissed Hermoso without her consent during the medal ceremony after Spain won the tournament.
The ruling also prohibits Rubiales from going within 200 metres of Hermoso, or communicating with her, for one year.
Chelsea right-back Bronze, who played at Barcelona with members of Spain’s national team for two years, said the Lionesses stand with them.
Speaking before the verdict was announced on Thursday, the 33-year-old said: “I’m good friends with a lot of the players involved in it.
“Knowing them, I think it’s incredible what these players have had to go through.
“They’re in the court case, they’re speaking out and I think it’s incredibly brave. They’re fighting for change and change within the federation, it’s amazing.
“We stand by the Spanish players and we hope they get what they deserve and for them to enjoy their football as well.”
Kelly back in England picture
North Londons 📞’ing https://t.co/LqX8SDlHk9
— Chloe (@chloekelly) January 30, 2025
Arsenal’s Chloe Kelly has been handed a late call-up to England’s squad ahead of their Nations League opener against Portugal on Friday.
The winger – who scored the winner in England’s Euro 2022 final against Germany – was left out of Sarina Wiegman’s initial selection last week due to a lack of minutes in the Women’s Super League.
Kelly’s late inclusion comes after injuries to Arsenal team-mates Beth Mead and Lotte Wubben-Moy.
“Of course she impressed in the half an hour,” Lionesses boss Wiegman said.
“She needed more game time and was fully in training, but at the end of the day it’s also the quality, so maybe I should have expressed myself differently last week.
“We know she brings quality and she’s fit, so with the injuries I thought it was good for the team and for her.”
What’s on today?
Friday night’s Premier League action sees relegation-battlers Leicester host a Brentford side aiming to gatecrash the fight for European qualification.
In the Sky Bet Championship, Burnley – unbeaten through 20 league games – will be aiming to keep themselves in the automatic promotion picture when play-off hopefuls Sheffield Wednesday head to Turf Moor, while Bristol City, also with an eye on the top six, host Middlesbrough, who have lost four on the spin.
There is also a full schedule of women’s internationals as the Nations League kicks off. England are away to Portugal, Wales face Italy, Northern Ireland play Poland and the Republic of Ireland host Turkey while interim Scotland boss Michael McArdle prepares for his first game in charge against Austria.
Friday will see several Premier League managers face the media. Newcastle boss Eddie Howe is first up at 9am, followed by Enzo Maresca at Chelsea with the likes of Pep Guardiola, Mikel Arteta, Ruben Amorim and Ange Postecoglou all on press conference duty during a busy afternoon.
