Sports
Man City beat passive Arsenal in Carabao Cup; Premier League title race not over?
LONDON — A second-half brace from Nico O’Reilly ensured Manchester City beat Arsenal 2-0 in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final to earn Pep Guardiola’s 19th trophy in charge of the club.
After a cagey opening 45 minutes of few chances at Wembley, Man City upped the tempo and scored on the hour mark after a bad mistake from Gunners stand-in goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga. Kepa could only get his fingertips to Rayan Cherki‘s cross and O’Reilly beat Martín Zubimendi to the loose ball for a simple close-range header.
City doubled their lead four minutes later as Cherki releases Matheus Nunes and his cross found O’Reilly in a similar position to score.
With the result, Arsenal’s hopes of an unprecedented quadruple are over and their six-year wait for a trophy goes on. Meanwhile, City will hope this victory can inspire them to overhaul a nine-point deficit to the Gunners in the Premier League. — James Olley
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Passive Arsenal’s trophy drought continues
Arsenal have occupied a curious position for a while: they were in the hunt for a Quadruple while also facing questions over their ability to win any silverware at all.
The Gunners’ last trophy was the 2020 FA Cup but manager Mikel Arteta’s transformational job in the interim has positioned them on the brink of greatness. After three consecutive second-place finishes in the Premier League, the one remaining ask of them — and it is a big one — is this: can they get over the line and win?
The answer here at Wembley, yet again, was no. They ultimately paid the price for being too passive, concerned primarily with keeping City out rather than injecting enough risk in their play to create chances.
After an opening salvo, Arsenal sat deep and struggled to exert any sustained pressure, and their second-half showing was alarmingly underwhelming. Yet, they have a healthy nine-point lead at the top of the table, an inviting Champions League quarterfinal tie against Sporting Lisbon and an FA Cup quarter-final at Championship side Southampton.
Their season could still be spectacular. But trophies don’t often come to you — you tend to have to reach out and grab them. Arsenal’s ability to do that is still in doubt. — Olley
Man City put Arsenal on notice in Premier League race
Speaking at his pre-match news conference on Friday, Guardiola was reluctant to make any link between possible victory over Arsenal in the final having an impact in the title race.
“We could play good in the final and then bad in the league,” was his conclusion.
It’s a fair point, but one which ignores the nerves in Arsenal’s fanbase as they chase a first Premier League title in more than 20 years. Nine points clear, it’s theirs to lose. But City have a game in hand and Arsenal still have to travel to the Etihad in April. One slip up from Arteta’s team and it’s game on.
There were no league points on offer at Wembley, but there will be plenty of Arsenal fans heading home after the game nervous about what’s to come over the next few weeks.
The question all season has been about whether they have the mentality to get over the line when it really matters. In an age driven by data and statistics, it’s impossible to quantify what losing a cup final to City will do to their confidence.
It’s something that will only be answered on the pitch, starting with their next league game against Bournemouth at the Emirates on April 11. — Rob Dawson
O’Reilly the face of Man City’s new era
For Bernardo Silva, this was a fifth Carabao Cup final win. But for others, including match-winner O’Reilly, it was a first medal in City colours. Siva is one of the last remaining players of the treble-winning 2022-23 team. He’s likely to leave in the summer — possibly with Guardiola.
City’s new team has already started to evolve around him, built around younger players like Marc Guéhi, Antoine Semenyo and Rayan Cherki. O’Reilly, a graduate of the club’s academy, is another important piece.
He turned 21 the day before the Carabao Cup final and could yet have another decade in the first-team. He started at left-back against Arsenal — a position he could fill for England at the World Cup — but it’s likely that eventually nail down a place in midfield, the position he played regularly as he came through the ranks.
Wherever he plays, O’Reilly will become one of the faces of City’s new era. One without Guardiola or long-serving stalwarts like Silva. Depending on the next two months play out, this could end up being Guardiola’s last trophy at City. It’s likely to be the first of many for O’Reilly. — Dawson
Backup goalkeepers help decide the Carabao Cup
Neither team fielded their first-choice goalkeeper here. Guardiola confirmed on Friday that James Trafford would start for City while Arteta admitted he had made his decision but did not publicly state Kepa would play.
The pair could not have had more contrasting fortunes. While Trafford made a superb triple save from Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka (twice) in the seventh minute to stifle Arsenal’s positive start, Kepa made the mistake which turned a tight contest in City’s favour. The Spaniard could only get his fingertips to Rayan Cherki’s 60th-minute cross, taking all the pace off the ball as it dropped behind him, where O’Reilly stooped to head in.
Kepa’s complicated relationship with this fixture continues: he sensationally refused to be substituted when Chelsea lost the 2019 final to City and then missed in the shootout as the Blues were beaten by Liverpool on penalties three years later.
Kepa started every game in this competition and the decision to continue was perfectly logical in theory but David Raya is one of the best in the world these days and leaving him out may be a source of regret for Arteta. Trafford is likely to leave City after joining last summer expecting a prominent role, only for Gianluigi Donnarumma to join afterwards and usurp him. His time at City may be short but he played a key role in having something to show for it. — Olley
Haaland still in search of his goal in a final
There were questions but to Guardiola earlier in the season — when Erling Haaland was banging in goals every week — about whether City were too reliant on their Norwegian striker.
Well Haaland drew another blank at Wembley and yet Guardiola’s team still found a way to win. Haaland has looked short of his best for a while now and it continued against Arsenal. He hasn’t scored in a final since the 2021 German cup final when he was playing for Borussia Dortmund.
In the end it didn’t matter. O’Reilly popped up from left-back to score two opportunistic headers in the space of four second half minutes and it was enough to win.
It earned O’Reilly the man-of-the-match award, but it could have quite easily gone to Cherki. The Frenchman was involved in both goals as he buzzed around Arsenal’s box. In a tight game decided by fine margins, he was one of the few players who looked like he had enough space to create genuine chances.
He’s having an impressive first season at City following his summer move from Lyon and he’s capped it with at least one trophy. There’s far more to come from a young player with a very high ceiling. — Dawson
Sports
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill announces another NJ Transit World Cup ticket cut days after first reduction
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Just days after NJ Transit reduced 2026 FIFA World Cup train ticket prices after backlash, New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill announced yet another cut.
Last week, the round-trip tickets from New York Penn Station to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey were cut from the initial cost of $150 to $105.
Now, Sherrill announced the tickets have gone down to $98 round-trip ahead of them going on sale Tuesday night.
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Gov. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., narrowly carried Rep. Tom Kean Jr.’s battleground district in 2025. (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images)
“Good news: Ahead of NJ TRANSIT World Cup train tickets going on sale tonight, @NJTRANSIT is lowering ticket prices to $98 without New Jersey taxpayer money,” Sherrill wrote on X.
“Thank you to our partners — DoorDash, Audible, FanDuel, DraftKings, PSE&G, South Jersey Industries, and American Water — for helping make this possible.
“We’re excited to host a world-class event this summer and showcase New Jersey on a global stage.”
NJ Transit and the FIFA New York New Jersey Host Committee caught flak after the originally announced $150 price of the round-trip tickets. Their argument was it would eventually cost taxpayers if they didn’t have that abnormal price set for the influx of those getting to MetLife Stadium from New York City.
Then, NJ Transit announced last week it received monetary support from “sponsors and other sources” in able to get prices lowered. Now we know those sponsors after Sherrill’s statement on social media.
Sherrill and FIFA got into a spat after the $150 price came out as well. The governor said FIFA should help pay for train tickets, while the governing body criticized Sherrill’s “unprecedented” plan and added that the expensive train tickets would have a “chilling effect” on the fan experience.
Transit officials are preparing for an unprecedented number of riders during World Cup matches this summer. (Luke Hales/Getty Images)
“Governor Sherrill has been clear that FIFA should contribute to transport its fans to World Cup games. Since it hasn’t, she directed NJ Transit to seek private and non-taxpayer dollars to significantly reduce the fare,” a spokesperson for Sherrill told The Athletic. “The Governor appreciates all the companies that have already stepped up to lower the costs for ticket holders. She will continue to ensure the World Cup is an experience that benefits fans and all New Jerseyans.”
NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri defended the original price, saying the ultimate cost to the public transportation company shouldn’t burden New Jersey commuters.
“It is an exciting moment for New Jersey to showcase New Jersey’s diversity as well as its economic standing in the country and in the world. Equally important, (Sherrill) has said that New Jersey commuters cannot and will not subsidize the movement of fans going to the game, because that would not be fair,” Kolluri said, reiterating that the tournament will cost NJ Transit $48 million.
“In order to move 40,000 people and to pay for the cost of $6 million (per game), we have to charge $150.”
The regular train fare from New York Penn Station to MetLife Stadium round-trip is $12.90.
Commuters move through the NJ Transit section of Penn Station in New York City on May 20, 2025, after NJ Transit resumed operations following a tentative deal to end a three-day strike by train engineers. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
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Meanwhile, parking has been prohibited at MetLife Stadium, and ride-sharing will be limited, ultimately leading to a natural increase in NJ Transit commutes for World Cup matches.
The first game at MetLife Stadium is June 13 with a group stage match between Brazil and Morocco.
Fox News’ Ryan Morik contributed to this report.
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LOS ANGELES: Lionel Messi remains the highest-paid player in Major League Soccer with an annual base salary of $25 million — more than twice as much as the next-highest paid player Son Heung-min, the MLS Players Association said Tuesday.
The union’s latest list of player salaries reflected the contract extension Messi signed with Inter Miami in October which will keep him with the Florida outfit through the 2028 campaign.
According to the figures, Messi’s base salary has doubled while overall the deal will see him make $28.3 million in guaranteed compensation.
South Korea star Son, the former Tottenham captain who signed with Los Angeles FC last August for a reported MLS record $26 million transfer fee, has a base salary of $10.36 million with total guaranteed compensation of $11.2 million.
The salaries do not include income from endorsement deals, nor does Messi’s compensation reflect his option to acquire a stake in the Florida franchise — co-owned by David Beckham — which he joined in 2023.
The 38-year-old Messi, who is expected to lead Argentina’s World Cup title defence starting next month, has 59 goals in 64 MLS regular-season games with Miami. He led the league with 29 goals last season and was named Most Valuable Player for the second straight season.
Messi’s Inter Miami and Argentina teammate Rodrigo De Paul is third on the list with $9.7 million in guaranteed compensation.
Mexico’s Hirving “Chucky” Lozano is fourth on the list with $9.3 million despite the fact that he hasn’t featured for San Diego since November.
Atlanta’s Miguel Almiron rounds out the top five with guaranteed compensation of $7.9 million.
Total league compensation was listed at $631 million, with the average guaranteed compensation $688,816 — an 8.9% rise from figures released last October.
Pakistan secured a record 153-run victory over Zimbabwe following Ayesha Zafar’s unbeaten century and Fatima Sana’s three wickets during the first T20I at Karachi’s National Bank Stadium on Tuesday.
Set to chase a daunting 238-run target, the touring side could accumulate 84 before getting bowled out in 18.2 overs and thus registered their third-lowest total in the format.
Right-handed batter Natasha Mtomba remained the top-scorer for Zimbabwe with her 20-ball 24, while Adel Zimunu (18) and Beloved Biza (10) were the only other batters to breach double figures against the disciplined Pakistan bowling attack.
Captain Fatima spearheaded Pakistan’s bowling charge with economical figures of 3/7 in her three overs, followed by Sadia Iqbal and Natalia Pervaiz with two scalps each, while Rameen Shamim chipped in with one.
Opting to bat first, the home side piled up 237/5 in their 20 overs, which was their highest in the format, surpassing the previous best of 181/4, which they achieved against South Africa in 2024.
The hosts got off to a briefly flamboyant start to their innings as their openers Muneeba Ali and in-form Gull Feroza put together 23 runs until the former was dismissed by captain Nomvelo Sibanda on the penultimate delivery of the second over.
Following Muneeba’s dismissal, Ayesha joined Feroza in the middle, and the duo shared a brisk 34-run partnership for the second wicket before Precious Marange gave Zimbabwe a vital breakthrough by dismissing the opener, who walked back after scoring a 19-ball 37, laced with eight fours.
Ayesha was then involved in two brief partnerships with debutant Saira Jabeen (five) and Natalia Pervaiz (nine) until eventually finding subtle support from the other end by Riaz.
The duo batted dominantly against the Zimbabwean bowling attack and put Pakistan on course to breach the 200-run barrier by putting together 67 runs in just 35 deliveries.
Beloved Biza eventually broke the threatening stand on the third delivery of the 16th over by getting Aliya stumped, who fell agonisingly short of a well-deserved half-century as she made a quickfire 48 off 23 deliveries with the help of four sixes and as many fours.
Ayesha then joined forces with captain Fatima Sana, and the duo ensured retaining the flow of runs for Pakistan at the backend with an unbeaten 70-run partnership.
Ayesha Zafar remained the top-scorer for Pakistan with an unbeaten 102 off just 47 deliveries, studded with 15 fours and two sixes, while their captain Fatima made 21 not out from 13 balls.
Captain Sibanda was the pick of the bowlers for Zimbabwe as she took two wickets for 59 runs in her four overs, while Michelle Mavunga, Biza and Marange could pick up one apiece.
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