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PSG join Europe's elite with back-to-back titles

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PSG retain Champions League with penalty shootout win over Arsenal

Paris St-Germain underlined their status as one of European football's greatest ever teams by becoming only the second club to retain the Champions League.

Their nervy 4-3 win on penalties over Arsenal following a 1-1 draw in the final in Budapest backed up their 5-0 win over Inter Milan in Munich 12 months ago.

In doing so they became the first side to successfully defend their title since Real Madrid's three-peat from 2016 to 2018, and only the second to do it in the Champions League era – 1993 onwards.

Indeed, across the competition's 71-year history PSG are just the 10th club to win successive titles.

"I'm mixed," boss Luis Enrique said after the game. "Excitement, fatigue – everything. But this is the best moment of the season. We are still champs, two in a row, it's amazing."

All 10 of the outfield players who started PSG's win over Arsenal, also started their victory over Inter Milan.

Only goalkeeper Matvey Safonov was new, in for Gianluigi Donnarumma who was signed by Manchester City last summer.

Over the past two years Luis Enrique's team have dominated almost all competitions they have competed in.

Since the start of last season they have won eight of the 10 trophies available to them – only missing out on last summer's Club World Cup and this campaign's French Cup.

If they continue their dominance next season PSG could become just the fifth side to win three successive Champions League/European Cup titles.

But they still have a way to go to break Real Madrid's record of five European Cups in a row between 1956 and 1960.

"Tonight PSG have made history," said European football journalist Julien Laurens on BBC Radio 5 Live.

"This PSG team will be talked about as one of the greatest of all time."

Luis Enrique is now the fifth manager to win three Champions League/European Cup titles

ESPN journalist Laurens said PSG's second Champions League crown "puts them in another dimension".

The French champions also scored the most goals (45) and recorded the highest average possession (60.5%) in this season's competition.

Laurens added to BBC Radio 5 Live: "Now they are in the conversation with those great teams. Pep [Guardiola] never did it with [Lionel] Messi and Barcelona, or with Manchester City either.

"If you win one it's great, one and you are happy. But back-to-back is a different story."

Paris St-Germain were playing in their third final. Their first was in 2019-20 when they lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich in Portugal.

But by winning a second Champions League title PSG also became the best-performing French club in the competition, going clear of rivals Marseille who have one title.

The Paris St-Germain fans unveiled a tifo suggesting they weren't going to give up their title before the game

Head coach Luis Enrique follows in the footsteps of Bob Paisley, Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane in becoming just the fifth manager to win three Champions League/European Cup titles.

The Spaniard, who was unveiled as PSG boss in July 2023, also won the Champions League as a player with Barcelona in 2014-15.

Remarkably, "he didn't want to take the job when he was first asked", journalist Guillem Balague told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"[He said] 'you are full of stars – I'm not interested'. He was promised [he could] change the culture and the question was different. It wasn't how can we win the Champions League, it was what kind of football do we want?

"The answer was offensive, attractive and Luis Enrique represented that and he was convinced he could do that."

Under Luis Enrique, PSG lost their record goalscorer and five-time Ligue 1 player of the year Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid on a free transfer in 2024.

But, arguably, the France forward's departure has helped balance the team.

PSG scored 44 more goals across all competitions in their first season without Mbappe (2024-25) compared with his final season at the club.

"Everyone plays like a team," says Balague of the current squad.

"PSG is the team with the fewest yellow cards in Europe's top leagues. That is a reflection of emotional control and everyone playing for everybody instead of being angry.

"He [Luis Enrique] said before when Mbappe left he prefers five players scoring 10 goals than one scoring 50. This season PSG have 20 different goalscorers. It is a collective approach."

They also equalled the record for most goals scored in a single edition of the European Cup/Champions League, with their 45 drawing level with Barcelona's total in 1999-2000.

Luis Enrique has also created a brilliant relationship with PSG's fans.

After their Champions League win last year, they unveiled a flag in tribute to their coach and daughter Xana – who died aged nine in 2019 – showing the pair planting a Barcelona flag in the centre circle after the 2015 European triumph over Juventus in Berlin.

And in Budapest, before their win over Arsenal, a giant banner showing Luis Enrique lifting the famous trophy was displayed among the French faithful.

He was cheered on by the PSG fans passionately as he was lifted into the air by his players while hold the Champions League trophy.

After collecting his medal he danced in front of them with president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, celebrating the trophy that for so long had eluded the club. Not once, but twice.

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📰 மூல செய்தி (Source): https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c8094vem2e2o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

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Raheem Sterling arrested on suspicion of drug-driving

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Raheem Sterling made eight appearances for Feyenoord after joining the Dutch club in February

Raheem Sterling has been arrested on suspicion of drug-driving after he allegedly crashed his car into motorway barriers.

The former England winger, who most recently played for Feyenoord in the Dutch Eredivisie, is suspected of crashing his Lamborghini into barriers on the M3 in Hampshire on Thursday morning.

The 31-year-old has been released on bail pending further enquiries.

In a statement, Hampshire Police said: "Just before 9am on Thursday, we received reports that a Lamborghini was in collision with barriers on the M3 southbound, close to the Minley Interchange.

"No other vehicles were involved and no injuries were reported.

"The driver, a 31-year-old man, from Berkshire, has been arrested on suspicion of driving a vehicle whilst unfit through drugs, driving dangerously, possession of a Class C drug and failing to provide a specimen. He has been bailed while our enquiries continue."

A source close to Sterling confirmed the arrest but told BBC Sport there was "no proof" of drugs in his system.

The source added the player had faced "an extremely tough couple of years" and had been made to "feel worthless" and "forgotten about".

Sterling joined Feyenoord in February on a deal until the end of the season, having left Chelsea in January, but made just eight appearances in the Netherlands.

He left the Blues by mutual consent after agreeing a settlement package with the Stamford Bridge club over the final 18 months of his contract, worth in excess of £300,000-per-week.

In four years at Chelsea – including a season-long loan at Arsenal – he made just 59 league appearances after signing from Manchester City in 2022.

With City he won four Premier League titles, having started his senior career with Liverpool before moving to Manchester in 2015.

Sterling has 82 England caps, the last of which was won at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

📰 மூல செய்தி (Source): https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c1l212ez1m0o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

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Girl, 15, dies after swimming at beach

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A 15-year-old girl who got into difficulty swimming in the sea at a beach has died.

Chiedza Nyanjowa, from Cheshire, was taken to Alder Hey Children's Hospital in a critical condition after the swim at Formby beach on Bank Holiday Monday and died earlier on Saturday, Merseyside Police said.

In a tribute, Chiedza's family said she would be "greatly missed and remembered for her kind spirit".

There have been at least 14 water-related deaths during recent hot weather, including a 19-year-old man who died earlier after being rescued from a lake in Nottinghamshire. Meanwhile, a body has been found in the search for a man who got into difficulty in the water in the Norfolk Broads.

Emergency services were called to reports of a concern for safety at Formby beach on Albert Road at about 15:30 BST last Monday.

Members of the public had tried to help Chiedza, the force said.

Her family said they "would like to express their gratitude to everyone that helped" her and they were "glad that there were people around her to support her, their support shows that she was loved".

"This is a difficult time for the family, who would appreciate any form of prayer," they added.

They described Chiedza as "a bubbly person, she loved Christ and going to church.

"She loved cooking, she was a giver and wanted to be nurse when she grew up so she could give back."

A report into Chiedza's death has been passed to Sefton coroner's office.

Young people have died in lakes and rivers across the country, including a 12-year-old boy whose body was found in the River Ribble in Ribchester in Lancashire and a 17-year-old boy who went missing at Pick Mere lake in Cheshire.

There have also been water-related deaths in Kent, Oxford, Lincoln, Halifax, Rotherham, Warwickshire, Farnborough, Nottinghamshire and Scotland.

Meanwhile, a man in his 60s died in Cornwall and a woman in her 70s died in Wales.

'This is why rivers and lakes are so dangerous to swim in'

The Royal Life Saving Society issued a warning following the fatal incidents saying "warmer weather unfortunately sees an increase in accidental drownings".

RLSS warned water temperatures remained very cold despite increased air temperatures, and cold water shock can make swimming difficult and harder to get out of the water.

Anyone who sees someone in an emergency in the water should call 999, stay out of the water themselves and throw them something that floats, such as a plastic water bottle or football for them to hold on to, the RLSS added.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.

📰 மூல செய்தி (Source): https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62rjmgmk55o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

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Ebola spread in DR Congo 'alarming', charity warns, as WHO chief visits worst-hit area

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The rapid spread of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo has created a "deeply alarming" situation, the medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has warned.

Speaking two weeks on from the outbreak being declared, MSF Deputy Director Dr Alan Gonzales said never before had "so many cases" been recorded so soon.

His comments came as the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, arrived in the eastern Congolese province of Ituri – the worst-hit area – to oversee virus containment efforts.

There are now more than 1,000 suspected Ebola cases in the DR Congo, and at least 246 deaths. Neighbouring Uganda has reported nine confirmed cases and one death.

"Two weeks after the declaration of the Ebola disease outbreak in Ituri Province, the situation is deeply alarming," Gonzalez said in a statement on Saturday.

"Never before has an Ebola outbreak recorded so many cases so soon after its declaration," he said, stressing his teams on the ground were "witnessing a response that has not yet caught up to the rapid spread of the epidemic".

"The reality today is that nobody knows the true scale and severity of this outbreak. New suspected cases are being reported daily, yet hundreds of samples remain untested."

Gonzalez added that containment efforts and humanitarian aid deliveries were being delayed by "major constraints", including border and airport closures.

The WHO has repeatedly warned that ongoing conflict in the DR Congo was also significantly hampering the Ebola outbreak response.

After arriving in Ituri's provincial capital of Bunia on Saturday, Tedros said he and his team were in the DR Congo "to see how the response is running and if there are challenges to help".

He urged communities in the centre of the outbreak to play a bigger role in fighting the disease, saying they "understand the problems better and they know the solution as well".

Tedros also said he understood how important it was for people to honour their dead at funerals – but warned that right now this was dangerous.

"Certain practices including touching of bodies of those who have died from Ebola, can spread the virus further. While we grieve for those we've lost, we must do everything we can so that we don't lose another, and get into a cycle of grief," he said.

In Bunia, daily life appears largely unchanged. People continue to move around, trade and go about their normal activities.

On arrival at the city's airport, passengers are directed to handwashing stations where they are required to clean their hands with soap and water.

Public health advisories are displayed in parts of the airport, while information is also being broadcast on radio and television. These messages are being delivered in local languages as well as in French, the DR Congo's official language.

One of the WHO head's first stops was the National Institute for Biomedical Research laboratory in Bunia, where samples from suspected Ebola patients are tested.

Local health officials say the facility is now able to return results within 24 hours, helping doctors quickly identify infections and begin treatment.

Until recently, samples had to be transported more than 1,500km (932 miles) to the DR Congo's capital Kinshasa, causing delays that health workers feared could cost lives and allow the virus to spread further.

The current outbreak, a rare strain of Ebola known as Bundibugyo, has no proven vaccine and kills about a third of those infected.

Ebola viruses normally infect animals, typically fruit bats, but outbreaks among humans can sometimes start when people eat or handle infected animals.

Ebola spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person, including blood, vomit, diarrhoea, saliva, urine, semen and sweat. It can also be transmitted by touching contaminated objects such as needles, bedding or clothing.

📰 மூல செய்தி (Source): https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c99ldxykz4zo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

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