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Florida Panthers: 2024 Stanley Cup Champions
SUNRISE, Fla. -- Crisis averted. The Florida Panthers are Stanley Cup champions.
"So special," Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk said. "I don't think we realize what we've just accomplished just yet. Every time I look at that trophy it'll get better and better."
Carter Verhaeghe had a goal and an assist, Sam Reinhart scored, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 23 saves for the Panthers, who defeated the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday.
The Panthers, who joined the NHL for the 1993-94 season, won their first Stanley Cup championship in their fourth chance to get it in this series. They lost the previous three games after taking a 3-0 lead and were in jeopardy of becoming the first team since 1942 to lose four straight potential clinching games in the Stanley Cup Final.
"To become a true champion you have to overcome adversity, and that was the moment you have to get together and get the job done," Bobrovsky said. "We weren't afraid to make a mistake. We played with freedom. We attacked."
Florida coach Paul Maurice finally won a Stanley Cup championship after coaching the most games in NHL history before his first title with 1,985 (1,848 in the regular season, 137 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs). He also improved to 5-0 in Game 7 for his NHL career.
Mattias Janmark scored, and Stuart Skinner made 19 saves for the Oilers. Connor McDavid, who led the NHL with 42 points (eight goals, 34 assists) in the playoffs, was held off the score sheet. So was Leon Draisaitl, who was limited to no goals and three assists in the Final.
McDavid still won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs. He is the sixth player to win it while playing for the losing team and the first since goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 2003. Anaheim lost the Cup Final to the New Jersey Devils in seven games.
"It goes back the character of the group that we showed all year long," said McDavid, the Edmonton captain. "We showed all year long that we could fight back even in the most dire situations. It's obviously tough to be down three and it's tough to win four in a row against a team like that, but we were right there."
It was the first time since 1945 that a Stanley Cup Final went the distance after a team took a 3-0 lead. That season, the Detroit Red Wings won Games 4, 5 and 6 to tie the Final before losing 2-1 to the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 7.
Edmonton was trying to become the first team since the 1941-42 Maple Leafs to pull off the reverse sweep, winning Games 4-7 after losing Games 1-3. It was also trying to become the first Canada-based team to win the Stanley Cup since the Montreal Canadiens in 1993.
But the Panthers responded after being outscored 18-5 in Games 4-6 to stop the Oilers from making history in Game 7.
"It's tough to put into words right now," Draisaitl said. "You’re one period, one shot away from maybe winning the thing and now you have to go through 82 regular-season games and play well enough to get another kick at it. It's hard right now."
Bobrovsky, who allowed 12 goals on 58 shots in the three previous games (5.06 goals-against average, .793 save percentage), made five saves in the first period, nine in the second and nine more in the third.
He said getting away from the rink Sunday and not skating in the Panthers' practice allowed him to reset and refocus for Game 7.
"I was trying to cut off everything outside of myself, to just settle down, relax and focus on one shot at a time," Bobrovsky said. "I think it was a great moment that I didn't skate yesterday. The goalie coach came up with the idea to just have a rest, go away. I went home and played with my daughter. She's my motivation. She's my inspiration. Just relax, reset, come this morning for the morning skate ready to go."
The Panthers scored the first goal for the first time since Game 3.
They never trailed.
"They played with freedom and that's what I'm going to remember from this game," Maurice said. "The story gets written differently if we don't win, but under the most pressure they found the courage to play with some freedom, to make plays, to move the puck.
"They get to say, 'In Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, I was at my best.'"
Verhaeghe gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead at 4:27 of the first period, six seconds after their first power play of the game expired.
He played the puck from behind the net to Evan Rodrigues along the left wall, and Rodrigues whipped a shot from there to the net. It looked like it was going wide right, but Verhaeghe got his stick on it in front, deflecting it down and through Skinner's legs.
It was Verhaeghe's first goal since Game 1 and the first time the Panthers led since Game 3.
"The last couple games they scored so many goals off the hop, and to play with the lead, it felt good," Verhaeghe said.
The Oilers got the goal back quickly with Janmark scoring on a breakaway to make it 1-1 at 6:44.
"I thought they were the better team in the first period," Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said. "I thought they came out with a little more urgency and won a lot of puck races. I thought we defended well. I thought in the second and the third period, I thought we found our game, I thought we played well, but couldn't capitalize on our opportunities."
Instead, it was Reinhart giving Florida a 2-1 lead at 15:11 of the second period, scoring with a low, short-side shot from inside the right face-off circle.
Florida defenseman Dmitry Kulikov cleared the puck away from the Panthers crease before he fell into the net. The puck went to Verhaeghe, who moved it up to Reinhart.
Reinhart was looking for a pass as he went through the neutral zone and across the blue line, but eventually chose to shoot, and the puck squeezed through Skinner to give Florida its second lead of the game.
"You're hoping that's it, right?" Reinhart said. "I mean, there was a lot of work to do, a lot of game left, but absolutely I'm hoping that's the one."
Bobrovsky said from there he treated the rest of the game like it was overtime.
"I wasn't happy when they scored [on] a breakaway because we had a good lead," he said, "but Sam scores the second goal and I was thinking it's better to not let that go."
McDavid and Zach Hyman each had a look at what was an open net for the Oilers with just over seven minutes left in the third period, but neither could get enough of the puck.
Sam Bennett and Brandon Montour dove into the crease to help Bobrovsky keep the puck out of the net on Hyman's attempt, preserving Florida's lead at 12:56.
Skinner went to the bench for the extra skater with 1:10 left, but the Oilers couldn't get another shot attempt.
"We really believed we were going to get one," McDavid said. "I have that one in front, Zach has a whack at it, 'Bouch' (Evan Bouchard) has got all kinds of looks. We had a lot of looks, it just didn’t go."
The Panthers froze the puck in the corner for the last six seconds to win the Stanley Cup.
"The last three games before you're hoping," Reinhart said. "You're hoping you're in it and you have a chance at the end. That's a dangerous spot to be in against a team like that and it showed. That hope went away tonight, and we were able to find our game. It showed."
Boston Celtics: 2023-24 NBA Champions
At long last, Banner 18 will be raised to the rafters.
The Boston Celtics captured their first NBA championship since 2008 on Monday night, defeating the Dallas Mavericks, 106-88, in Game 5 of the NBA Finals — capping off a dominant run for a roster poised to reign atop the NBA for years to come.
Sixteen years to the day since the 2007-08 Celtics secured the franchise’s 17th championship on the parquet floor, the 2023-24 Celtics penned a similar ending on Causeway Street.
The 2023-24 Celtics were cut from a similar cloth as that 2008 club — both featuring rosters anchored by homegrown talent, and further elevated through several savvy offseason maneuvers by a Boston front-office hellbent on putting this franchise back on top.
But unlike that 2008 team — which seized basketball immortality in its first year together — this Celtics core trudged through several heartbreaking missteps and stumbles on basketball’s highest stage before finally reaching the summit.
From an unexpected run cut short by LeBron James in 2018, to a 2022 Finals campaign snapped by Steph Curry, to an unprecedented 0-3 rally against the Heat extinguished in 2023, the path to a title hasn’t always been easy for Boston.
But as the confetti rained down on the parquet floor on Monday night amid a cacophony of cheers and other delirium, it was only fitting that Boston’s record-setting 18th title was sealed via a pair of dominant performances from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
The two pillars of Boston’s latest era of dominance further cemented themselves as franchise legends in Game 5. Tatum led the way for Boston with 31 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists, while Jaylen Brown added 21 points.
Jrue Holiday secured his second ring with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Derrick White added 14 points
Kristaps Porzingis, returning to the court on Monday after missing the last two games with an ankle injury, added five points over 16 minutes. Al Horford finally secured his first title, with the 38-year-old big man contributing nine points.
Boston’s march to a title hit a setback on Friday night, with the Celtics’ hopes of a dominant sweep of the Mavericks snapped off of a 38-point blowout loss in Game 4.
Despite that lopsided result, the Celtics remedied several of the woes that plagued them down at American Airlines Center. Boston sank 45.2% of its shots and routinely extended possessions by way of diving plays and scrappy second-chance baskets in the paint.
Boston separated itself from Dallas in the first half, with a Sam Hauser 3-pointer fueling a 9-0 run that capped the opening quarter — giving Boston a 28-18 lead after 12 minutes of play.
While Tatum did a majority of the heavy lifting in the second quarter, it was yet another buzzer-beating, halfcourt heave from Payton Pritchard that ended the first half, opening a 21-point cushion for Boston.
Even with Boston’s offense stalling at several points in the second half, Dallas was unable to claw back from such a sizable deficit — with Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic combining for 43 points on Monday.
As the final seconds ticked off the clock, cheers of “Let’s Go Celtics” and “We Want Boston” echoed across the Celtics’ arena — a rallying cry of victory that will undoubtedly echo down Boylston Street in just a couple of days.
Real Madrid: 2023-24 UEFA Champions League Winners
Dani Carvajal and VinÃcius Júnior scored the goals as Real Madrid overcame a spirited Borussia Dortmund 2-0 to win the 2024 UEFA Champions League final at Wembley Stadium.
Edin Terzić had issued a rallying cry to his Dortmund players before the game, saying: "If we are brave then we're going to have a chance." BVB were more than brave in the first half, they were fearless in the face of the 14-time winners and created a host of chances that should have resulted in a half-time lead.
Early sighters from Federico Valverde and the otherwise well-marshalled VinÃcius Júnior were as effective as Los Blancos could be, while Dortmund displayed a far greater cutting edge bar the final finish.
Karim Adeyemi was central to their threat. The winger was only denied by a last-ditch tackle from Dani Carvajal after rounding Thibaut Courtois then tested the Madrid No1 from Julian Brandt's pinpoint through ball, Niclas Füllkrug just unable to nod the rebound back towards goal.
In between, Füllkrug himself had prodded against the post from Ian Maatsen's pass, and the half ended with Courtois again called upon, this time to push Marcel Sabitzer's raking drive wide.
A stern-faced Carlo Ancelotti emerged from the dressing room at half-time still in discussions with the often-overworked Jude Bellingham and Toni Kroos, and the German midfielder, playing his last game for the club, took on added responsibility, calling Gregor Kobel into action for the first time with a whipped free-kick.
Dortmund remained unmoved, focused and positive. Though the contest's equilibrium had been restored, it was BVB who continued to prise the more presentable openings, Courtois standing tall to keep out a stinging Füllkrug header just after the hour mark.
Could Madrid find a way to turn the tide? They always seem to find a way – and this time would be no different. The source was perhaps unexpected, but Carvajal, determined to make history by playing in a joint-record sixth winning team in the final, rose highest to head in Kroos's corner.
Now the fear which Ancelotti had warned his players about before the showpiece was gone. Bellingham and Nacho came so close to adding a second before VinÃcius Júnior did, receiving Bellingham's pass and sweeping his finish across Kobel to seal a 15th European crown for Madrid.
Matthias Rötters, Dortmund reporter
After a strong first half from Dortmund, Madrid slowly regained a foothold in the contest. BVB were unable to find an answer to the second-half breakthrough from Carvajal. They looked to have the most successful side in this competition on the back foot at times tonight but, once again, it is the La Liga side who are celebrating.
Graham Hunter, Real Madrid reporter
In the amazing moments which won the semi-final against Bayern, it was German-born Joselu who beat Madrid's Bundesliga rivals. This time, it was a brilliant Mannschaft international Kroos, in his final match for Los Blancos, who crossed for a man, Carvajal, who cut his teeth at Leverkusen, to nod Madrid in front and break the deadlock. And the decisive second goal? Set up by an ex-Dortmund man, Bellingham. There was such a remarkable 'Made in Germany' feel to how Madrid won their fabled '15th'.
Carlo Ancelotti, Madrid coach: "You never get accustomed to this. It was a very difficult, much more so than we thought it would be. In the first half, we had to suffer; in the second half, we lost the ball less and played better – but those are all trifling details now. We won. The dream continues."
Dani Carvajal, Madrid defender and Player of the Match: "We sure know how to suffer but, believe me, I'd love to win these matches more easily. I'd been coming up for corners most of the season. Determination is key to my approach – I'd headed one over and I just knew I had to score the second one!"
Toni Kroos, Madrid midfielder: "The decisive thing was that we didn't concede in the first half. The first half really wasn't good from us. Then we got into the game better and scored the goal. We were fully there and the better team. But it took a long time until we were the better team tonight."
Jude Bellingham, Madrid midfielder: "I've always dreamed of playing in these games. I can't put it into words. It's the best night of my life. It's got to be up there in terms of the perfect season. I can't have dreamed it much better than this. I'm so grateful to my team-mates, my family, the team behind the scenes: the physios, everyone there. This is a massive group effort."
Edin Terzić, Dortmund head coach: "We put in a great display and I think we deserved more than losing 2-0. From the first second, we showed the whole world that we weren't just here simply to play a final – but to win it. We did so many things right, but they were ice-cold at the right moment, which is what we lacked today."
Mats Hummels, Dortmund defender: "We had a great match. I’m super proud of the team for how we presented ourselves here. We played bravely, with heart, and played quality football. We only just missed out on scoring a goal. Real Madrid then strike, as they’ve done many times before."
Ally McCoist, TNT Sports
"You've got to have sympathy for Edin Terzić and the Dortmund boys, who performed exceptionally well. We just knew, at some point, Real Madrid would come back into the game. They got their goal from an unlikely source in Carvajal, and VinÃcius Júnior effectively ended the match. Madrid are champions once again for a reason."
Key stats
Madrid have won the European Cup for a record 15th time.
Los Blancos have been successful in each of their nine appearances in the final in the Champions League era.
The Spanish side were unbeaten in their 13 Champions League matches this season (W9 D4). This is the first time they have won a European Cup/Champions League final without losing a match during the campaign.
Madrid have only failed to score in one of their last 18 European Cup/Champions League finals. That was in their 1-0 defeat against Liverpool in 1981.
Madrid have not conceded more than one goal in any of their last 11 European Cup/Champions League finals. The last time was in their 3-1 defeat against Inter in 1964.
Dani Carvajal scored for just the second time in the Champions League (group stage to final). His only other goal in his previous 88 appearances came in November 2015 against Shakhtar Donetsk.
VinÃcius Júnior became the first Brazilian to score in two different European Cup/Champions League finals.
Luka Modrić and Dani Carvajal have matched Paco Gento's record by playing on the winning team in six European Cup/Champions League finals.
Carlo Ancelotti has extended his record number of Champions League wins as a coach to five – two more than any other coach.
Fantasy star performers
Dani Carvajal: 16 points
Jude Bellingham, Nacho, Toni Kroos, Antonio Rüdiger, Ferland Mendy, Thibaut Courtois: 7 points
Line-ups
Dortmund: Kobel; Ryerson, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Maatsen; Emre Can (Malen 80), Sabitzer; Adeyemi (Reus 72), Brandt (Haller 80), Sancho (Bynoe-Gittens 87); Füllkrug
Real Madrid: Courtois; Carvajal, Nacho, Rüdiger, Mendy; Valverde, Kroos (Modrić 85), Camavinga; Bellingham (Joselu 85); Rodrygo (Éder Militão 90+1), VinÃcius Júnior (Lucas Vázquez 90+4)
Madrid will take on UEFA Europa League winners Atalanta in the UEFA Super Cup in Warsaw on Wednesday 14 August.
The 2024/25 UEFA Champions League begins with the first qualifying round on 9/10 July; the draw takes place on Tuesday 18 June.
Madrid and Dortmund will enter next season's competition in the new-look league phase, the draw for which takes place on Thursday 29 August.
Olympiakos: 2024 UEFA Europa Conference League Winners
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Setting off wild celebrations in Athens, Olympiakos won Greece’s first European club title by beating Fiorentina 1-0 with a goal in extra time of the Europa Conference League final on Wednesday.
Ayoub El Kaabi provided the dramatic ending, diving to nudge in a last-gasp goal in the second period of extra time, with fans erupting in celebration after a lengthy wait for a VAR check for offside.
“Praise be to God, we promised our supporters we’d do this today and we did it,” El Kaabi said.
The Morocco striker – who finished as the competition’s top scorer – struck in the 116th minute of the match and dropped to his knees as he waited to see if the goal would stand after he had met a cross from Santiago Hezze.
The goal decided a game that had looked destined for a penalty shootout following an energetic but largely risk-free encounter at AEK Arena, and condemned Fiorentina and its coach Vincenzo Italiano to a second straight defeat in the final of the Europa Conference League after losing last year to West Ham.
“We created chances and had the opportunity to lift the cup but unfortunately it didn’t happy – I’m sorry,” Italiano said. “In Europe it’s not an easy thing to get this far and lose.”
Olympiakos coach Jose Luis Mendilibar secured a second straight European title after winning the Europa League with Sevilla last season.
“It’s an honor to have made all these people happy, I feel immense joy and happiness to have made people feel this way and I dedicate it to them,” Mendilibar said.
“We have achieved something that our club has never achieved before. We will celebrate it and celebrate it the way we should. Then we will start working on what comes next.” Tens of thousands of Olympiakos fans joined boisterous celebrations across the Greek capital after attending outdoor viewing parties. Youths held up lit flares in the port city of Piraeus, near Athens, where the team is based.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis described Olympiakos as “a true legend,” adding in an online post: “Olympiakos has won the Europa Conference League and made history! A sensational night for the club itself, but also for Greek football as a whole.”
The third-tier European club competition took place amid a massive security operation, with some 5,000 police officers forming concentric cordons around a northern area of the capital – amid Europe-wide security concerns this summer for major sporting events including the Paris Olympics and European soccer championship in Germany.
The final was briefly marred by scuffles between Fiorentina fans inside the stadium and riot police next to them.
Although the visitors dominated the early stages of the final, Fiorentina goalkeeper Pietro Terracciano kept his team in the game with two impressive fingertip saves to block on-target shots from Daniel Podence in the fourth minute and Stevan Jovetic in the sixth minute of extra time.
El Kaabi, who scored a total of 11 goals in the competition, had been largely sidelined in the match by Fiorentina’s unyielding four-man defense.
Olympiakos players celebrated with 15,000 fans after the game, some holding their young children as golden confetti was fired into the air around the awards podium.
“It’s the best emotion I’ve felt so far in my career,” defender Panagiotis Retsos said. “I’ve had a lot of ups-and-downs but I’m very, very happy to be here.”
Paris Saint-Germain: 2023-24 Coupe De France Winners
Paris Saint-Germain beat Lyon 2-1 in the French Cup final on Saturday to end the season with a domestic treble in Kylian Mbappé's last game for the club.
The Ligue 1 and French Super Cup champions dominated the first half at Lille's Stade Pierre-Mauroy to secure their record-extending 15th Cup title and first since 2021.
Ousmane Dembélé put PSG ahead after 23 minutes when Nuno Mendes' cross found him unmarked in the six-yard box to coolly head home, and Fabio Ruiz doubled the advantage with a strike from a tight angle at the second attempt.
Lyon pulled one back 10 minutes into the second half thanks to Jake O'Brien's towering header off a corner before PSG keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma produced a superb save minutes later.
PSG's all-time top scorer Mbappé failed to find the net in his final game for the club, leaving his record at 256 goals in 308 appearances over his seven-year spell.
"You feel a bit more the weight of things because you realize that it's really over," Mbappé told broadcaster beIN Sports. "When I said goodbye to the Parc des Princes, there were still some games left, so you are still focused on what awaits you.
"Now, I have nothing left with PSG. But I'm very happy to have been able to finish with a trophy.
"I'm happy to have been part of its history and to have made it a bit."
Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron condemned violence ahead of the final as Lyon and PSG supporters clashed on a highway leading to Stade Pierre-Mauroy a few hours before kick-off.
Supporters threw flares and windows were smashed on buses full of supporters. The local prefecture said police had "quickly put an end" to the clashes. In a post on X, it also confirmed buses had been damaged.
Information from Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Bayer Leverkusen: 2023-24 DFB-Pokal Winners
Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen battled past second-division Kaiserslautern 1-0 on Saturday to win the DFB-Pokal (German Cup) and secure the club's first domestic double.
Leverkusen won the Bundesliga unbeaten, a historic feat. The only blip on the record of Xabi Alonso's team this season was losing the Europa League final to Atalanta 3-0 on Wednesday in Dublin. That ended Leverkusen's record 51-game unbeaten run across all competitions. It was their only loss in 53 games this season.
This was Leverkusen's second German Cup win after their maiden victory back in 1993.
"In the end, to win like that meant we showed spirit, we fought for the fans for the club," Alonso said. "It is huge success to win the double. We will remember this in the future."
At Berlin's Olympiastadion, which will host the Euro 2024 final in July, Leverkusen took the lead with Granit Xhaka's 20-metre missile in the 16th minute.
They controlled the tempo even after they were reduced to 10 men following Odilon Kossounou's second booking a minute before half-time.
Kaiserslautern rarely threatened after the break, with Leverkusen comfortably holding on to cap a memorable season with a second trophy.
"The most important thing was the belief of the team. They were ready to battle with 10 players and I am proud of that," Alonso added.
"I need time to accept what happened this season. It was a dream season and to celebrate the last day like this here is special."
Long derided as "Neverkusen" for their failure to win a major title since that 1993 cup win, Leverkusen ended their season with more silverware after also winning the Bundesliga title without a single loss -- the first German team to achieve that feat.
"It was a deserved victory," club CEO Fernando Carro said. "We could have added another goal but overall a fully deserved win. We lifted the cup after we failed to do so Wednesday. Compliments to the team to win this double."
Information from Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Manchester United: 2023-24 FA Cup Winners
Manchester United pulled off a thrilling Emirates FA Cup triumph as teenage sensations Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo inspired a 2-1 win against rivals Manchester City.
Garnacho took advantage of a City mistake to put United ahead on the half-hour before Mainoo calmly doubled their lead, as the Red Devils stunned Pep Guardiola’s domestic double hopefuls in the first half.
City laid siege to United’s goal after half-time and hit the cross-bar through Erling Haaland, before substitute Jeremy Doku set-up a grandstand finish with a low shot into the bottom corner in the 87th minute.
However, United held firm to win the 13th Emirates FA Cup in their history, moving to within one of Arsenal’s record, and book their place in next season’s Europa League.
This marks their second trophy under manager Erik ten Hag and comes at the end of a wild Emirates FA Cup journey. United required extra-time to beat rivals Liverpool 4-3 in a pulsating quarter-final and then penalties to see off Coventry City in the semi-finals following a sensational 3-3 draw.
While this did not quite match those matches for drama, it was a nail-biting final and a fine way to end a difficult season for United that saw them finish eighth in the Premier League, 31 points behind champions City in the table.
City have the Premier League trophy to show for another excellent campaign but missed out on the chance to become the first side in English history to win back-to-back league and cup doubles.
Last year’s Emirates FA Cup triumph came against the very same opponents and this marked the first repeat final since 1885. That day, City scored after just 12 seconds – Ilkay Gundogan’s spectacular volley sending them on the way to a 2-1 win – and this match threatened an equally explosive start.
First, a long United pass forward sent Marcus Rashford through on goal but City captain Kyle Walker raced back to deny him a shot inside the box. Seconds later at the other end, Lisandro Martinez barged Haaland over in the penalty area, prompting claims for a City spot-kick.
United were content to sit back and pin their hopes to the counter-attack, and that almost bore fruit in the eighth minute when Bruno Fernandes found Garnacho inside the penalty area, but the winger shot straight at Stefan Ortega.
While that was a difficult opportunity, his next was gift-wrapped by some slack City defending.
Diogo Dalot sent a long and high ball upfield for Garnacho to chase, though City seemed to have it covered with Josko Gvardiol in front of the winger and Ortega rushing out of his goal. However, a lack of communication resulted in a costly error, as Gvardiol headed the ball over Ortega’s head and left opportunist Garnacho a simple tap-in.
With that, the mood changed. United were suddenly alive to every ball and confident enough to press City higher up the pitch, and, with the defending champions a touch off their best, it paid dividends.
Garnacho escaped City’s defence again and crossed for Rashford to tap into an empty net, sparking wild celebrations in the east stand that quickly were cut short by an offside flag. Nonetheless, City were warned, but – much to Guardiola’s frustration - they failed to listen.
Two minutes later, United cut City open with a scything move from left to right. It started with Rashford’s pin-point cross-field pass to Garnacho, who had time and space to pick a pass to Fernandes, unaccompanied on the edge of the box.
City defenders rushed to close down a potential shot, but the United captain brilliantly flicked the ball on to an unmarked Mainoo, who shot low and hard across Ortega and into the bottom corner. Suddenly, United were in firm control and City desperately playing catch up.
In response, Guardiola wasted no time in re-setting his team at half-time, sending the pacey winger Doku on in place of midfielder Mateo Kovacic in an attacking substitute.
The Belgian’s direct dribbling added an instant threat he twice went close to an assist with a pair of slippery cut-backs, first for Phil Foden, who scuffed his shot, before another later found Erling Haaland, whose vicious shot smacked the cross-bar.
Those 30 all-action seconds transformed the mood, with City - and their vocal fans behind the goal - growing in belief.
Walker reacted with a howitzer of a shot from 30 yards that forced Andre Onana into a sensational save, before another City substitute – Julian Alvarez – shot narrowly over the bar when well-placed inside the box. United were on the ropes.
Alvarez then wasted another fine opportunity, as he raced on to a sublime Foden pass inside the box but slid his shot wide of Onana’s right-hand post from just 10 yards out.
Walker forced Onana into another save with a snarling long-range shot, but City’s charged started to flatline as full-time approached.
However, Doku sparked a nail-biting finale when he drifted onto his right foot on the left wing and beat Onana at his near-post with a low shot from the edge of the box.
But they failed to create another major opportunity and United survived to the final whistle, sparking jubilant celebrations in the red halves of Wembley and Manchester.
Al Ain: 2024 AFC Champions League Winners
Al Ain: Doubles from Soufiane Rahimi and Kodjo Laba drove United Arab Emirates’ Al Ain FC to win the AFC Champions League™ 2023/24 title following a 5-1 victory over Japan’s Yokohama F. Marinos in the second leg of the final at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium on Saturday.
The J1 League side had won the first leg 2-1 in Yokohama, but a scintillating second-half performance from Al Ain meant the inaugural winners of the AFC Champions League in 2002-03 become also the last team to win it under the current format before the launch of the AFC Champions League Elite next year.
Following their continental triumph, Al Ain become Asia’s fourth representatives at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025, joining Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal SFC, Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds and Korea Republic’s Ulsan HD at the US tournament next year.
Already holding a one-goal advantage from the home tie two weeks earlier, the Japanese side came racing out of the blocks trying to add another that could ease the task in front of a packed Hazza bin Zayed Stadium.
Anderson Lopes tested goalkeeper Khaled Eisa within two minutes, but his shot from a tight angle was saved by the UAE international.
With seven knockout stage goals to his name already, the Moroccan showed his quality once again, picking the ball up on the left flank, cutting inside and feinting a shot but instead intelligently finding Yahia Nader who produced a moment of genius, sending a backheel pass that left goalkeeper William Popp in no man’s land and allowing Rahimi to slot home into the empty net for the opener.
Rahimi’s pace continued to be a nuisance for the Marinos defence; the Moroccan was too quick for Shinnosuke Hatanaka, beating the Japanese centre-back to the ball and forcing him to commit a foul inside the box, which translated into a penalty kick following a VAR check. Paraguayan playmaker Alejandro Romero (Kaku) stepped up and slotted home his side’s second.
Al Ain continued to rely on counter attacks and could have been 3-0 on the night seven minutes before the break when Rahimi pushed forward down the wing, beating his markers, but with just the goalkeeper to beat from a narrow angle, the winger’s left-footed finish hit the side netting instead.
The visitors equalised the aggregate score in the 40th minute, as Yan Matheus capitalised on a mistake from Kouame Kouadio to snatch the ball, cut into his left foot and aimed for the bottom far corner where Eisa’s fingertips were unable to stop it nestling into the back of the net to make it 2-1 on the night.
There was still room for more drama before the break as Marinos were reduced to 10 men following a red card to goalkeeper Popp.
Once more it was Rahimi causing trouble; he broke free down the middle at full speed, rounding the goalkeeper who made contact to bring him just outside the penalty box, receiving his marching orders in the process.
Al Ain piled up the pressure after the restart, with head coach Hernan Crespo introducing striker Laba for full-back Saeed Jumaa.
The hosts were rewarded for their attacking endeavors with a third goal midway through the second half, and once more it was Rahimi delivering the goods, while it was Laba who was the focal point of the attack, starting the move which saw defender Eduardo clear the ball, but only as far as Rahimi who controlled it expertly, moving it to his left foot and hammering home for Al Ain’s third.
It was the 27-year-old’s 13th goal of the campaign, matching the record for most goals in a single AFC Champions League season, shared by Guangzhou FC’s Muriqui (2013), FC Seoul’s Adriano (2016) and Al Sadd’s Baghdad Bounedjah (2018).
With 10 minutes of added time given, substitute Laba cemented the win with a fourth goal. Goalkeeper Fuma Shirasaka, who himself had come in the place of Elber following the dismissal of Popp in the first half, committed a horror mistake, missing his attempt to clear Rahimi’s through pass, allowing the Togolese forward to finish comfortably into the empty net for his seventh goal of the campaign, having last scored in the round of 16.
Deep into added time, Laba added his second of the night and his team’s fifth. The 32-year-old fed Kaku down the left and the Paraguayan sent a low effort that looked set for a comfortable Shirasaka save, but the slightest of touches from Laba changed the direction of the ball into the back of the net to seal a 6-3 aggregate victory for the Emiratis.
The emphatic triumph made up for Al Ain’s final defeats to Al Ittihad in 2005 and to Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in 2016.
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