Sports
Fenerbahçe in tatters after Athletic loss
ISTANBUL
Fenerbahçe headed into turbulent times after a home loss in the Europa League against Athletic Bilbao on Dec. 11 night added to the club’s wounds and sparked fan protests.
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Inaki Williams put the visiting side ahead early with an easy tap-in after Gorka Guruzeta’s assist and added his second at the end of the first half when his angled shot from the right hit the crossbar and bounced into the net.
Fenerbahçe was reduced to 10 men after defender Mert Müldür received his second yellow card in the 69th.
Bilbao moved to the top of the table with 16 points from six games in the league phase of the revamped competition. Fenerbahçe has eight points in 15th place after its second loss of the campaign.
The dismal run on the European stage and a loss at city rival Beşiktaş last weekend left the club six points behind leader Galatasaray after 14 weeks, making Fenerbahçe fans furious.
Thousands of fans in the stands in the Bilbao match chanted for the resignation of club president Ali Koç, while defender Samet Akaydın was replaced at halftime following whistles every time he touched the ball in the first half.
The pressure is also growing on coach Jose Mourinho, whose arrival in the club in June had raised hopes for both reorganization and success.
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“I can never criticize the reaction of the fans,” the Portuguese coach said after the match when asked about the protests.
“The fans are the foundation of the club,” he added. “The fans are sad, but not sadder than we are. We can be sad, but we have to be balanced. There is a new game on Sunday.”
Mourinho said back-to-back losses put pressure on the team.
“The most important thing in football is results,” he said.
“In a team where you’re winning all the time, it might seem like results don’t matter, but when you have two defeats in a row, you realize the importance of results. It’s a cultural thing in this country, we have to adapt. I am not going to try to change that culture.”
Mourinho believes that his side will be better in the future.
“We are in transition to where we want to be in the future. The next game we play will be at home again, we have to make sure that our fans support us in that match.”
Fenerbahçe still has the chance to advance in the Europa League by winning one of its two remaining games, and the Süper Lig title race has a long way to go, but the fans are impatient having last watched their team lifting the trophy 10 years ago.
In a league mostly dominated by the three major Istanbul clubs, Fenerbahçe supporters are furious to have seen archrival Galatasaray winning the league five times since and Beşiktaş three times.
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Club chair Koç has worked with nine different coaches since his election to the post in June 2018, with the club’s only success in his era being the Turkish Cup victory in the 2022-2023 season.
The result of a league game at home against Başakşehir scheduled for Dec. 15 may decide the future of coach Mourinho and chairman Koç.
Wanda Nara ve Icardi arasındaki tartışmalar bitmek bilmiyor. Mahkeme kararı ile çocuğunu görme hakkı elde eden Icardi, Nara’nın dairesine gidince ortalık karıştı.
Arjantin basınına göre Icardi, kızlarını okuldan almaya gitti. Kızlarının yanında evcil hayvanların olduğunu gören futbolcu, Wanda Nara’nın yaşadığı binaya gitti ve büyük olaylar çıktı. Nara, Icardi’nin binayı terk etmesi için bağırmaya başladı. Icardi’nin binaya geldiğini gören Wanda Nara avukatını ve polisi ararken; avukat, gergin anlarla ilgili olarak “O bir deli, bir boğuşma oldu ve her şey kayıt altında” açıklamasını yaptı. Wanda Nara’nın o sırada çığlık attığı duyuldu. Nara’nın araya girmek istemesi üzerine olaya polis müdahale etti.
Yaşananları aktaran bir Arjantli gazeteci şu ifadeleri kullandı: Kızları almak için okula gitti, kızların evcil hayvanları da vardı ama onları istemiyordu. Mauro da hayvanları bırakmak için eski eşinin yaşadığı Chateau Libertador’a gitti. Ancak tüm bunlar büyük bir gerginliğe yol açtı ve olay yerine polis ve Buenos Aires Halk Sağlığı Acil Servisi’nin müdahale etmesiyle sonuçlandı.
Trendyol Süper Lig’in 28. haftasında TÜMOSAN Konyaspor, sahasında konuk ettiği Beşiktaş’ı 1-0 mağlup etti.
Beşiktaş’ta uzun süredir sakatlığı bulunan savunma oyuncusu Gabriel Paulista, 19 maç sonra ilk 11’e adını yazdırdı. Beşiktaş Teknik Direktörü Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Konya Büyükşehir Stadı’nda oynanan karşılaşmaya Emirhan Topçu’nun yerine Paulista’yı ilk 11’de sahaya sürdü.
UEFA Avrupa Ligi’nin 5’inci haftasında 28 Kasım 2024’te Macaristan’da oynanan Maccabi Tel Aviv karşılaşmasında sakatlık yaşayan Brezilyalı futbolcu, o tarihten sonra 19 maçta formasından uzak kalmıştı.
Sahada 45 dakika kalan Gabriel Paulista, ikinci yarıda yerini Emirhan Topçu’ya bıraktı.
Karşılaşmanın ardından beIN Sports’a açıklamalarda bulunan Paulista “Öncelikle sakat olmadığımı, hocamızın kararıyla oyundan çıktığımı söyleyeyim. Futboldan anlamayan kişiler öyle şeyler söylüyor. Zor bir maç oldu. Daha çok karakter koymamız lazımdı. Planladıklarımızı yapamadık. Kötü bir gol yedik. İstediklerimizi hiç yapamadık” ifadelerini kullandı.
KANSAS CITY
The Kansas City Chiefs kept their bid for an historic third straight Super Bowl alive on Jan. 26, holding off the Buffalo Bills 32-29 in an AFC Championship thriller to set up an NFL title clash with the Philadelphia Eagles.
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The Eagles’ explosive ground game carried them to a 55-23 triumph over the Washington Commanders and into the NFL’s championship showpiece in New Orleans on Feb. 9.
In another tense duel between Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Bills counterpart Josh Allen, Mahomes ran for a 10-yard touchdown and completed the two-point conversion to put Kansas City up 29-22 early in the fourth quarter.
After Allen answered with a four-yard touchdown pass to Curtis Samuel to knot the score at 29-29, Harrison Butker booted a 35-yard field goal that capped the scoring, the Chiefs defense thwarting the Bills’ last bid.
“I’m just so proud of my teammates and how they responded,” said Mahomes, who ran for two touchdowns and threw for another. “That was a great football team and I’m just, I’m just lost of words.
“I’m just excited to get down to New Orleans, let’s go make history.”
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Kansas City have now ruined the Bills dreams in four of the last five post-seasons — twice in the conference championship. The Bills haven’t made it to the NFL’s championship showpiece since 1993.
Cheered on by Taylor Swift, the pop singer girlfriend of Chiefs tight-end Travis Kelce, the home side took the lead in the first quarter with a 12-yard rushing TD from Kareem Hunt.
The Bills responded with a 53-yard Tyler Bass field goal followed early in the second quarter with a six-yard rushing score from James Cook that put the Bills up 10-7.
But then the Chiefs turned on the style with Mahomes showing all his class to find Xavier Worthy with an 11-yard touchdown pass.
The quarterback’s one-yard touchdown run put the Chiefs 11 points up.
Allen answered with a touchdown pass to Mack Hollins and the Bills took a 22-21 lead on Cook’s one-yard scoring plunge.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid said his team will have to set aside the hype surrounding their bid for an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl and focus on the Eagles.
“It still comes down to the game and the purity of the game and each play and how you handle it,” Reid said.
“And so you don’t get yourself too far out of that box. You just concentrate on the opponent and what you’ve got to get done against them.”
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In Philadelphia, quarterback Jalen Hurts and running back Saquon Barkley rushed for three touchdowns apiece, rookie running back Will Shipley ran for another and Hurts threw for one TD as the Eagles set a record for points scored in a conference championship game.
They’ll have a chance to avenge their 2023 Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs. Barkley, who came aboard as a free agent for just such an opportunity, set an early tone with a 60-yard touchdown run on the Eagles’ first play from scrimmage.
He added two four-yard scoring runs while Hurts twice plunged into the end zone from one yard out and also delivered a nine-yard TD run.
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Hurts also connected on 20 of 28 passes for 246 yards.
Washington’s Jayden Daniels, trying to become the first rookie quarterback to reach the Super Bowl, played with his trademark aplomb.
His 10-yard rushing touchdown followed by a two-point conversion had the Commanders within 11 points late in the third quarter.
Daniels threw for 255 yards with one touchdown. His one interception was one of four Commanders turnovers that ultimately proved too much to overcome.
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