nit Page 16 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Liverpool out to extend league lead in matchup vs. West Ham
League leader Liverpool will have a chance to build their advantage to nine points on Sunday when they visit a short-handed West Ham side that has seen improved results recently.,Arne Slot's Reds (13-1-3, 42 points) came from a goal down early to beat Leicester City 3-1 at home on Boxing Day.,Mohame...

China, Kazakhstan start strong as United Cup kicks off
China defeated Brazil and Kazakhstan edged Spain as United Cup action got underway Friday in Australia.,Eighteen nations are competing in the $11 million mixed-gender event in Sydney and Perth through Jan. 5.,China scored a 2-0 win over Brazil in Group E in Perth. Xinyu Gao outlasted Beatriz Haddad ...

Atlanta United name Ronny Delia as new head coach
Atlanta United tabbed former New York City FC head coach Ronny Deila as their new bench boss on Friday.,Deila, 49, won the MLS Cup with NYCFC in 2021 before leaving the league in favor of Belgian outfit Standard Liege. He most recently managed UAE side Al Wahda. ,Deila will replace Gonzalo Pineda, w...

Atlanta United acquire Mateusz Klich from D.C. United
Atlanta United acquired midfielder Mateusz Klich from D.C. United in exchange for a first-round pick in Friday's draft.,D.C. United receives the 23rd overall pick in the MLS SuperDraft, scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. ET.,Klich, 34, recorded six goals and 22 assists in 63 MLS matches (62 starts) with D...

DC United acquire Lukas MacNaughton from Nashville
D.C. United acquired defender Lukas MacNaughton from Nashville SC on Wednesday night.,In exchange, Nashville receives up to $200,000 in general allocation money: a guaranteed $150,000 in 2025 and a conditional $50,000 in 2026.,MacNaughton, 29, has recorded one goal in 48 MLS matches (40 starts) with...
Nik Bonitto Deserves Defensive Player of the Year Votes as Broncos Push Towards Playoffs
Broncos star Nik Bonitto delivers game-changing plays, but still gets overlooked for AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors despite the Broncos pushing for the playoffs....

Manchester City bid to pick up steam vs. Manchester United
Manchester City and Manchester United enter Sunday's derby at Etihad Stadium in need of a positive result amid recent struggles.,City (8-4-3, 27 points) have won only once in their last 10 matches (1-7-2) in all competitions during a stunning slide that began at the end of October.,The league result...

D.C. United acquire GK Luis Barraza from New York City FC
New York City FC traded goalkeeper Luis Barraza to D.C. United on Monday in exchange for up to $150,000 in general allocation money.,NYCFC is guaranteed $50,000 in general allocation money for 2025, while another $100,000 is tied to performance metrics.,Barraza, 28, was NYCFC's longest-tenured playe...

Atlanta United transfer M Santiago Sosa to Racing Club
Atlanta United announced the transfer of midfielder Santiago Sosa to Argentina's Racing Club on Friday.,The transfer fee for the 25-year-old Argentina native was not disclosed.,Sosa, who played on loan with Racing Club in 2024, had one goal and one assist in 63 matches (51 starts) for the Five Strip...

Canada loaded with Lightning, U.S. with family ties for 4 Nations Face-Off
Tampa Bay Lightning forwards Brandon Hagel, Anthony Cirelli and Brayden Point will join head coach Jon Cooper on Team Canada, while two pairs of brothers will suit up for Team United States at the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off.,Rosters for the four-team event were revealed Wednesday. Finland and Sweden's ...

Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders wins Unitas Award
Colorado's Shedeur Sanders was named winner of the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award on Friday, an honor given to the nation's top quarterback.,Sanders will be honored next Friday in Baltimore.,Later in the day, Sanders passed for 438 yards and five touchdowns during the Buffaloes' 52-0 shellacking of ...

Dax McCarty says farewell after 19 MLS seasons
Midfielder Dax McCarty's 19-year MLS career ended Sunday with Atlanta United's 1-0 loss to Orlando City SC in the MLS Cup Playoffs.,McCarty, 37, announced his decision to retire in August. He departs after 523 career appearances including the postseason, third in league history behind Nick Rimando (...

Galaxy blast Minnesota, advance to West finals
Gabriel Pec, Joseph Paintsil and Dejan Joveljic each scored twice -- with one goal in each half -- and the LA Galaxy earned a 6-2 victory over visiting Minnesota United in Sunday's Western Conference semifinal in Carson, Calif.,Paintsil also had an assist for the second-seeded Galaxy, who will host ...

Ramiro Enrique, Orlando City blank Atlanta to reach conference final
Ramiro Enrique scored his first playoff goal six minutes before halftime and Orlando City set a new franchise high-water mark with a 1-0 victory over visiting Atlanta United in Sunday's Eastern Conference semifinal.,With a shutout of ninth-seeded Atlanta -- which won both these teams' regular-season...

After cruising through 1st round, Galaxy take on Minnesota United
Three victories from the sixth MLS Cup title in franchise history, the Los Angeles Galaxy will play host to Minnesota United on Sunday in the Western Conference semifinals at Carson, Calif., ,Now in single-elimination mode, the MLS Cup playoffs resume after both teams have been away for three weeks ...

Atlanta United puts survival instincts up against Orlando City
Atlanta United is out to continue one of the great Cinderella runs in MLS Cup Playoff history when they visit Orlando City in an Eastern Conference semifinal match Sunday.,Ninth-seeded Atlanta United needed to win its last two regular-season matches just to reach the postseason and finished that tas...

Billie Jean King Cup: Slovakia knocks out U.S.
The United States bowed out of the Billie Jean King Cup finals in the first round with a 2-1 loss to Slovakia on Thursday in Malaga, Spain.,After the teams split two singles matches, Viktoria Hruncakova and Tereza Mihalikova of Slovakia got past Ashlyn Krueger and Taylor Townsend 6-3, 3-6, 10-8 in d...

Atlanta United stun Inter Miami to reach East semis
Bartosz Slisz scored on a 76th-minute header and visiting Atlanta United completed one of the biggest upsets in MLS Cup Playoff history with a 3-2 win over Lionel Messi's Inter Miami in the deciding game of their Round 1 series on Saturday night in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.,Slisz's goal came while Miami...

Inter Miami, Atlanta United vie for spot in East semis
Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will try to extend their pursuit of a domestic double when they host Atlanta United in the decisive Game 3 of their Round 1 MLS Cup Eastern Conference Playoff series on Saturday night in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.,Atlanta rallied to a dramatic 2-1 victory over visiting Miami ...

MNUFC transfer D Mikael Marques to Swedish club
Minnesota United transferred defender Mikael Marques to Vasteras Sportklubb in his native Sweden on Tuesday.,Marques, 23, appeared in one MLS match with the Loons in 2023 and logged five minutes. He also played in 13 matches for their MLS NEXT Pro affiliate, MNUFC2.,"Everyone at Minnesota United tha...