Manchester City win the first Champions League in their history and secure the treble by beating Inter Milan 1-0.

Manchester City have won the Champions League title for the first time by beating Inter Milan 1-0 in Istanbul’s Ataturk Olympic Stadium, making them the second English team to complete the treble.

Rodri struck in the 68th minute on Saturday to see the Premier League champions and FA Cup winners complete a treble of trophies this season.

While it is the first time City has won European football’s biggest club competition, it is the third time Pep Guardiola has lifted the trophy as a coach.

City triumphed despite losing inspirational midfielder Kevin De Bruyne to an injury in the first half.

Erling Haaland, scorer of 52 goals this season, went a fifth straight match without finding the net, but City still had enough to edge out opponents who had never been expected to get this far in the first place.

The victory means City finally achieved its ambition of reaching the summit of European football, 15 years after Abu Dhabi’s ruling family transformed it into the richest teams in the world.

Owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan was in attendance to see City’s crowning moment. It was only the second time he has watched his team in person in 15 years.

City’s winner came when Rodri collected Bernardo Silva’s cutback and fired through a crowded penalty box.

The relief was unmistakeable as he raced towards City’s fans and slid on his knees in celebration.

Romelu Lukaku had the chance to score a late equaliser, but headed straight at Ederson from about four metres out.

Inter almost evened the score within minutes of that goal when Federico Dimarco hit the bar from close range.

He then looked like turning in the rebound, but saw his shot come back off teammate Lukaku.

It completed a treble for City, making them only the second English club to complete it after Manchester United also won the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in 1999.

“Unbelievable night, I’m so happy. Difficult to put into words. I think today we made history,” City captain Ilkat Gundogan told BT Sport.

“It was clear it was going to be difficult for both teams. We weren’t our best in the first half. It was a 50-50 game. One goal made the difference as it often does in finals. We feel very fortunate it was for us.

“We knew everyone was talking about the treble. The pressure was there but I think this team is built to handle pressure in the best possible way.”

City were confirmed as champions for the fifth time in six seasons after rivals Arsenal lost 1-0 to Nottingham Forest.

Manchester City have won the English Premier League title for the third season in a row after second-placed Arsenal were defeated 1-0.

City were confirmed as champions for the fifth time in six seasons on Saturday without even having to kick a ball.

Arsenal, who enjoyed an eight-point lead over City as recently as mid-March, needed at least a point to stay mathematically in the hunt, but went down 1-0 to Nottingham Forest.

City hold an unassailable four-point lead, with Arsenal having only one game remaining.

It is City’s seventh league crown since they were bought by Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan in 2008 and they are now just two wins away from completing a treble only previously achieved by Manchester United in 1999.

City will face Manchester United in the FA Cup final on June 3 and a week later take on Inter Milan in the Champions League final — starting as big favourites in both games.

While Arsenal have threatened to knock City off their perch this season, it all proved an illusion in the end as Pep Guardiola’s side again showed they were relentless in the run-in.

City’s latest title is the fifth in Guardiola’s seven years at the club and owes as much to the club’s end-of-season streak of 11 straight victories as it does to an implosion by Arsenal, just when a first league title since 2004 was in sight.

Arsenal led by eight points on April 1 but have since won only two of eight games.

A win at the City Ground likely would have delayed the inevitable but Nottingham Forest’s Taiwo Awoniyi’s 19th-minute goal brought an end to the title race with City still having three games to play.

The victory also ensured Nottingham Forest were safe from relegation in their first season back in the top flight since 1999.

Tony Thorne was one of the officers on the Apollo project, advising the team on the task of merging large volumes of data. Thorne, a former counterterrorism officer with the Wales Extremism and Counter Terrorism Unit, said he was shocked by what he saw in Scotland. “We left Scotland with a process that was not complete or adequate in any way,” he said.

The key issues highlighted during the test run reemerged right away, according to emails and internal memos from 2014 and 2015 reviewed by BuzzFeed News.

Officers described a system that was “crashing routinely” and “timing out after 10 minutes,” with glitches so severe that they dramatically increased “the time required to perform a simple task.”

Even basic searches caused trouble. One officer had described how he put in a search term and received a result that was too broad. He started sifting through the documents manually to figure out which ones he actually needed — but as he did so, the system crashed. When he logged back in, he typed in the same search terms and found that “the search result was not the same.”

Officers using the new systems also reported serious difficulties with the very problem the NCIA was aiming to solve: communicating with other forces and agencies. After a suspicious person entered the UK by plane, an officer reported that they received an important intelligence report from officers at the airport in an unreadable format. Another told a member of the Apollo team that the NCIA’s inability to share intelligence with the other regions still using the old system was a critical risk that “may lead to intelligence failure.”

The quality of intelligence that did make it onto the system was often poor. In some cases, the NCIA was deluged with irrelevant information; in others, vital intelligence did not show up on the NCIA at all. One officer complained that the system “auto ingests” documents that had nothing to do with terrorism. “This issue was something that was always talked about,” the officer wrote, “however now we are live there appears to have been nothing more done about it.”

The NCIA was built on the template of an already existing system called the Home Office Large Major Enquiry System, four sources told BuzzFeed News. The problem, one said, is that HOLMES is used to investigate incidents that have already occurred whereas the NCIA is intended to prevent attacks from happening. Another officer told BuzzFeed News that building the NCIA on top of the HOLMES system caused defects that left large amounts of intelligence difficult to find.

Officers echoed these concerns in their emails and official reports. One of the key features borrowed from the HOLMES system was a search tool, much like Google, that was supposed to enable officers to quickly retrieve documents containing a certain word, regardless of where on the record the particular word appeared. If it worked, this would make it far easier to find specific intelligence on potential terrorists from hundreds of thousands of files.

But the search tool wasn’t working. Officers found that if they put in the same search term on multiple occasions, they would often get a different result each time. The search tool also wasn’t able to scan for dates of birth, making it much harder to pinpoint the right document.

This shortcoming dovetailed with another major problem. Early on, it became clear that many duplicated records would make their way onto the NCIA — since it was compiling data from multiple forces that often possessed the same file on a given individual. One internal report seen by BuzzFeed News acknowledges that this would cause a “knock on” effect that hampered analysts. But higher-ups ultimately decided that “no de-duplication would occur” until the entire UK was using the NCIA.

One Manchester-based officer who later started using the NCIA told BuzzFeed News that duplications made finding what you were looking for like “trying to find a needle in a haystack” — such a struggle that “you could miss vital intelligence leads.”

Thorne, the counterterror detective who worked on the NCIA, was growing increasingly concerned. “Unfortunately,” he wrote to colleagues in a February 2014 email, “as we are all fully aware the NCIA has struggled to deliver what was promised and has not been fit for purpose.”

The rollout of the NCIA pressed ahead.

Norwegian striker nets 35th league goal of the season in 3-0 win against West Ham.

Erling Haaland has set a English Premier League goals record by scoring his 35th of the season in Manchester City’s 3-0 win against West Ham.

The 22-year-old Norwegian striker, in his first season in English football, struck in the 70th minute at Etihad Stadium on Wednesday to give the defending champions a 2-0 lead.

Haaland had equaled the previous record jointly held by Alan Shearer and Andy Cole on Sunday at Fulham with his 34th of the season. He moved out on his own with the most Premier League goals in a single season with his latest strike.

“It was a nice feeling as with every single goal I score,” Haaland said. “”Especially to win the game is really important.”

Haaland has now scored 51 goals in all competitions in a remarkable first year at City.

Erling Haaland: “I don’t know what more to say but thank you guys so much!” pic.twitter.com/t54ORQvBrk

— City Xtra (@City_Xtra) May 3, 2023

His feat is even more impressive given that Shearer and Cole set the previous benchmark in an era when the league was played over 42 games. Haaland still has five more matches in which to extend his record.

Haaland left the field to a guard of honour from his City teammates to mark his achievement.

His father, Alfie Haaland, who also played for City, watched from one of the boxes with a wide smile and accepted congratulatory handshakes from everyone around him.

“He deserved [the guard of honour],” manager Pep Guardiola said. “All the team deserved it because without the team, he couldn’t do it, but he’s a special striker.

“We are very pleased for him because he’s a joy, not just to work with him [as] manager. I think everyone is happy to have him with us. I think in football when there is a special occasion, we have to show how special it is as [we did] today with Erling. To overcome Andy Cole and Alan Shearer – incredible top, top strikers – it’s special.”

Top of the league

The win took the treble-chasing champions a point above Arsenal at the top of the Premier League, and with a game in hand, they seem to be cruising towards a fifth title in six years.

The victory came 25 years to the day after City were relegated to the third tier of English football in one of the lowest points of the club’s history.

The contrast with the team now is remarkable although City – perhaps with next week’s trip to Real Madrid in mind – were far from their energetic best.

Sheikh Jassim’s bid will offer an undisclosed figure to the owners and an additional investment directly into the club.

Doha, Qatar – Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani has submitted his third and final bid to buy Manchester United football club, his representatives told Al Jazeera.

Jassim’s bid was submitted before the Friday night (21:00 GMT) deadline set by the club’s current owners, the Glazer family of the United States.

“We can confirm that Sheikh Jassim has submitted his final bid for MUFC,” his representatives told Al Jazeera on Saturday.

Jassim is the chairman of a leading Qatari bank and son of a former Qatari prime minister.

The lifelong United fan’s “debt-free bid”, which was first submitted in February, seeks full ownership of the club.

His representatives said that in addition to offering an undisclosed figure to buy the club – money that would go to the sellers – Jassim’s proposal also includes “a plan to invest a further significant amount of additional capital and infrastructure investment into the club directly [not to the sellers]”.

British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe was the only party to submit a bid before Friday’s deadline, according to a report by British state broadcaster BBC.

Ratcliffe, founder and head of the INEOS chemicals conglomerate, is reportedly seeking 69 percent ownership of the club, the same percentage owned by the Glazers.

The Qatari businessman’s bid was submitted through his Nine Two Foundation and promised a rosy future for the club if he were to be successful, including “investment in the football teams, the training centre, the stadium and wider infrastructure, the fan experience and the communities the club supports”.

By proposing to take over, Jassim “plans to return the club to its former glories both on and off the pitch”.

‘Bid reflective of Qatar’s ambition’

Jassim’s bid has not come as a surprise to experts who say it aligns with his country’s ambition to be seen as a sporting powerhouse.

His interest in Manchester United suggests that Qatar is embarking on the next stage of this ambition, according to Ross Griffin, an assistant professor at Qatar University whose research interests include the portrayal of the Arab world in Western media and the relationship between sport and postcolonial society.

“Qatar’s ambition [in sport] is breaking up into two branches,” he said.

“The first will continue to focus on Qatar hosting sporting events such as the Asian Cup in 2024 and the Asian Games in 2030 while the potential purchase of a Premier League football club would be part of the second branch.”

The Glazers announced plans to sell the club last November and the bidding process began in February. They reportedly want to sell for 6 billion pounds ($7.5m), a record fee for a sport club.

Jassim’s representatives said “it is now time for the sellers to make a decision as to how they will proceed” with the bidding process.

The Glazers have not confirmed when the process will close and if the club will change hands at all.

Liverpool beat their archrivals 7-0, their biggest-ever margin of victory in the fixture.

Liverpool brought Manchester United’s bandwagon to a shuddering halt as Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah all scored twice in a record 7-0 hammering of their archrivals to boost their Premier League top-four hopes at Anfield on Sunday.

A week after a resurgent United claimed their first trophy since 2017 by winning the League Cup and amid talk of a title push they were blown away either side of halftime as Liverpool recorded their biggest-ever margin of victory in the fixture.

United had looked marginally the better side for 43 minutes before Gakpo’s superb finish from Liverpool’s first attempt on target gave the hosts the halftime lead.

Within five minutes of the restart, it was all over as a contest with Nunez making it 2-0 with a header after some comical United defending before a lightning Liverpool counterattack led by Salah ended with Gakpo finishing in style for 3-0.

With United in disarray, Salah got in on the act with a clinical finish in the 66th minute and Nunez then sent a header past a helpless David De Gea in the 75th.

Salah then rubbed salt into United’s wounds with a close-range effort to score a record 129th Premier League goal for the club before Roberto Firmino came off the bench to make it seven.

Liverpool had thrashed United 4-0 at Anfield last April but considering the reversal of fortunes for the two clubs since that day this result was a big surprise.

United’s sobering defeat, described by Sky Sports pundit and their former defender Gary Neville as a “disgrace” left them in third place on 49 points and surely out of the title race as they are 14 points behind leaders Arsenal.

Liverpool’s fourth win in five league matches lifted them above Newcastle United into fifth on 42 points, three points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur with a game in hand.

Manchester United beat Newcastle United 2-0 in a one-sided final of the English League Cup and lift their first trophy since 2017.

Manchester United have completed a 2-0 over Newcastle United to win the English League Cup and end a six-year wait for a trophy.

A goal from United’s Brazilian midfielder Casimero and an own goal from Newcastle’s Sven Botman were enough to guide the Manchester side home in front of a packed Wembley Stadium on Sunday.

The win means Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has wasted no time in guiding the club to silverware just 10 months after being hired.

Casemiro’s opener came somewhat against the run of play as the team in red started slowly, but his side assumed control before the break as Marcus Rashford’s shot deflected in off the unfortunate Botman.

Newcastle faded following a positive start as United kept them at arm’s length.

United went close to a third as first Rashford and then Bruno Fernandes forced Loris Karius into smart stops, but it mattered little as United stood firm.

“It has been an amazing period, first trophy of the season but we want more it is not enough for this club, we want more and we need more because our standards demand more,” Fernandes said.

“For me it was about winning trophies and finally we did it. I am satisfied but I want more. I want much more.”

Newcastle were full of energy early on, with Allan Saint-Maximin dangerous whenever he got the ball.

But Newcastle’s lack of goals in recent months was evident as they huffed and puffed.

Joelinton headed one chance over and Dan Burn’s header whistled wide on the stroke of halftime, but by that stage, the writing was on the wall for a familiar tale of woe.

“No complaints with how we played, obviously the scoreline doesn’t say that, and that’s where football can be cruel,” Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said.

“I’m sorry we couldn’t deliver for the fans today.”

 

This is United’s first trophy since winning a League Cup and Europa League double under Jose Mourinho in 2017.

United remain challengers on three other fronts this season, sitting third in the Premier League and with an FA Cup fifth-round tie against West Ham on Wednesday followed by a Europa League last-16 tie against Real Betis in March.

United finished sixth in the Premier League last season, but Ten Hag has swiftly masterminded their return to relevance.

Ending United’s longest trophy drought for 40 years is no guarantee of future success, but the steely Ten Hag appears capable of thriving in the unrelenting Old Trafford spotlight.

For Newcastle, the wait for a first major domestic trophy since winning the FA Cup in 1955 goes on.

The deal to buy Manchester United football club is expected to shatter records for the sale of a sport business.

Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani, a son of Qatar’s former prime minister, has launched a bid to buy the United Kingdom’s Premier League club Manchester United, whose United States-based owners launched a formal sale process late last year.

A deal for United is expected to shatter records for the sale of a sport business. The club’s current majority owners, the Glazer family, are seeking a valuation as high as 7 billion pounds ($8.42bn), the Reuters news agency has previously reported.

The record 20-time English champions have more than 650 million fans worldwide, according to market research firm Kantar.

“The bid will be completely debt free via Sheikh Jassim’s Nine Two Foundation, which will look to invest in the football teams, the training centre, the stadium and wider infrastructure,” said a statement on Friday from a spokesperson representing Sheikh Jassim, who is the chairman of QIB, one of the top banks in Qatar.

Potential buyers had been asked to submit a bid amount and proof of funds after which Raine Group, the investment bank running the sale process, will draw up a shortlist.

The Qatari bid is one of the multiple offers United have already received, according to sources. The initial deadline for bids expired on Friday.

UK billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, a lifelong United fan and founder of chemicals firm INEOS, is another likely bidder, along with US private equity firms, sources have told Reuters.

Ratcliffe has previously openly expressed his interest in buying the Old Trafford club.

On Thursday, the Daily Telegraph reported that Saudi Arabia has also submitted a bid for United.

A deal for Manchester United will likely exceed the biggest sport deal so far, which was the $5.2bn – including debt and investments – paid for their London-based Premier League rivals Chelsea, sources told Reuters previously.

United are the fourth-richest football club in the world, according to analysis by Deloitte. They are widely seen as one of the most prized assets in all of sport.

The Glazers bought United for 790 million pounds ($951m) in 2005 as part of a highly-leveraged deal. The club has said it expects to generate up to 610 million pounds ($734m) of revenues in its 2023 fiscal year and adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of up to 140 million pounds ($168m).

United’s Premier League rivals Liverpool have also said they are exploring a sale, while Tottenham Hotspur are expected to receive a bid worth $3.75bn from Iranian-American billionaire Jahm Najafi, Reuters has reported.

İngiltere Lig Kupası Carabao Cup yarı finalinde Manchester United, sahasında Nottingham Forest’i konuk etti.

Old Trafford’da oynanan maçı Manchester United 3-0 kazanarak rövanş için büyük avantaj elde etti.

Karşılaşmanın 6. dakikasında Rashford eşitliği bozarken 45. dakikada Weghorst farkı ikiye çıkardı. Hollandalı oyuncu bu golle Manchester United’daki ilk golünü de atmış oldu.

İkinci yarıda topu rakibine bırakmayan ve skoru korumayı başaran Manchester United, 89’da Bruno Fernandes’in golüyle skoru 3-0 yaparak avantajı cebine koydu.

Maçın rövanşı ise 2 hafta sonra Nottingham Forest’in evinde oynanacak.

İngiltere Lig Kupası Carabao Cup’ta Manchester City ile Liverpool karşı karşıya geldi.

Ettihad Stadı’nda oynanan karşılaşma baştan sona büyük heyecana sahne olurken kazanan taraf 3-2’lik skorla Manchester City oldu.

Maçın 10. dakikasında Haaland sessizliği bozarken 20. dakikaya gelindiğinde Fabio Carvalho dengeyi sağladı ve ilk yarı 1-1 sona erdi.

İkinci yarıda bir kez daha Manchester City erken golü bularak 47’de Mahrez ile bir kez daha öne geçti. 1 dakika sonra 48’de Salah’ın golü tekrar eşitliği getirdi. 58. dakikaya gelindiğinde ise Nathan Ake, De Bruyne’ün asistinde golü bularak takımını 3-2 öne geçirdi ve Manchester City de maçı kazandı.

Bu sonuçla Manchester City adını çeyrek finale yazdırmış oldu.