Europe

Kateryna Monzul will become the first female to take charge of the Ukrainian Cup final when Dynamo Kiev face Vorskla Poltava on Wednesday, the Ukrainian Football Association said on Monday.

Monzul, 39, was the first woman to referee a Ukrainian Premier League match when she took charge of Chornomorets Odesa against Volyn Lutsk in 2016.

She refereed the opening match of the 2015 Women's World Cup and the final between the United States and Japan as well as matches at the 2019 tournament including the quarterfinal.

After a harrowing week in which his reputation was dragged through the mud, Barcelona coach Quique Setien came out fighting by overseeing a spectacular 4-1 win away to Villarreal which showed the 61-year-old's coaching abilities are still in tact.

The superb display might not be enough to prevent Real Madrid from winning the title as they hold a four-point lead over Barca with four games left, but it was enough to get a vote of confidence from the club's president Josep Maria Bartomeu.

Sometimes it seems to me like beIN Sports is actively working to safeguard LaLiga from American viewers. Much of the television network’s coverage since 2012 — rather than celebrating a golden era that’s included Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo going head-to-head in sport’s greatest individual and team rivalry — has been hellbent on being as unappealing as possible.*

*I’m not talking about the commentary partnership of Phil Schoen and Ray Hudson here. They’re the best. 

Back in January, Pep Guardiola was asked by a reporter if he thought Sergio Agüero was the world’s best No. 9. Guardiola’s response was classic: “The best is Messi. Messi is (the best) number nine, number 10, number 11, number seven, number six, number five, number four…” 

Che Adams scored his first goal for Southampton, a year after joining the club, with a stunning long-range strike as they beat Manchester City 1-0 to condemn Pep Guardiola's side to a third successive away loss in the Premier League.

Adams signed for Saints from Birmingham City for a reported $18.72 million in July, 2019, and had failed to score in his previous 24 league appearances for the team.

Exasperated Inter Milan coach Antonio Conte blamed himself after watching his team collapse again on Sunday, almost certainly ending their Serie A title challenge.

"There's a great, indeed enormous, disappointment," said Conte whose side were leading 10-man Bologna when they missed a second-half penalty and conceded twice to go down 2-1 to late goals by Gambian pair Musa Juwara and Musa Barrow.

Liverpool made it 17 wins out of 17 at Anfield after goals by Sadio Mane and Curtis Jones handed the champions a 2-0 win over Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday which pushed Dean Smith's side deeper into trouble.

Following their 4-0 mauling at the hands of Manchester City on Thursday, Juergen Klopp's side struggled to break down a determined Villa. Klopp fielded another strong side but with the ground empty and the title already in the bag, there was a lack of edge to Liverpool's play.

Newcastle United twice came back from a goal down as they grabbed a 2-2 Premier League draw with West Ham United on Sunday, robbing the visitors of the chance to put some more daylight between themselves and the relegation zone.

Having lost their previous seven away league games, West Ham started the day three points above the drop zone, and they got off to the perfect start when Michail Antonio opened the scoring after four minutes following a mistake by Jamaal Lascelles.

Real Madrid took a seven-point lead at the top of LaLiga following a 1-0 victory over Athletic Club with Barcelona still to play its game in hand later Sunday. With only four matches remaining for Los Blancos, a 34th league title — and first in three years — beckons for Zinedine Zidane’s men.

Today’s victory wasn’t without controversy in the eyes of Blaugrana supporters as Real earned a second-straight 1-0 victory courtesy of a Sergio Ramos penalty. 

LONDON — First-half goals from Olivier Giroud and Willian and a late strike from Ross Barkley earned Chelsea a 3-0 Premier League victory over struggling Watford on Saturday and a boost to their ambitions for Champions League football next season.

France striker Giroud hit the target in the 28th minute, after a brisk move between Barkley and Mason Mount, with a low left foot shot that bounced in off the post.