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Arsenal stun Barcelona to win the Women’s Champions League

Arsenal stun Barcelona to win the Women’s Champions League

Arsenal lift the UEFA Women’s Champions League with a 1-0 win that ended Barcelona’s hopes of a three-peat. Arsenal upset defending champions Barcelona 1-0 to win the Women’s Champions League for a second time. Stina Blackstenius scored in the 75th minute after being set up by fellow second-half substitute Beth Mead in the final at the Estadio Jose Alvalade in Lisbon on Saturday. Arsenal’s title came 18 years after it became the first, and still the only, English club to win the top club title in women’s football. Arsenal’s players embraced on the final whistle and ran to celebrate in front of the red-and-white corner of the stands, which were otherwise mostly dressed in burgundy and blue. “We believed from the moment our Champions League journey started,” Arsenal striker Alessia Russo told broadcaster TNT Sports. “We knew that we had the capabilities. We knew that we could be good enough. It was just about going and doing it. And we’ve done it!” Arsenal’s Swedish striker Stina Blackstenius shoots and scores her team’s first goal [Carlos Costa/AFP] Barcelona were considered the heavy favourite. They were aiming for a fourth title in five years and to become the only team other than Lyon to win three consecutive titles. The team led by two-time Ballon d’Or winners Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putellas won nine straight in the competition and blew out Wolfsburg and English champion Chelsea in the knockout rounds. Advertisement But Arsenal locked down in defence, except for early in the second half, and created the best chances. Only two superb saves by Barcelona goalkeeper Cata Coll to deny Frida Maanum and Blackstenius kept it scoreless, until Blackstenius finally beat her. The victory marks an incredible finish to a rocky season for Arsenal, which included coach Jonas Eidevall resigning and being replaced by assistant Renee Seglers. Since taking over, Seglers steered the team through a spectacular European campaign. Arsenal built its confidence from come-from-behind wins over Real Madrid and eight-time champion Lyon in the knockout rounds before laying low the almighty Barcelona. The loss was a huge disappointment for the large group of Barcelona fans who filled the stadium that is home to Sporting Lisbon. Blue-and-burgundy shirts and flags outnumbered the red-and-white section, but their calls of “Yes we can!” in the final minutes were not enough to inspire a comeback by the Catalan club. The closest Barcelona came to a goal was a shot by Claudia Pina that hit the crossbar just after halftime when the Spanish team had its best period. Otherwise, the game was to Arsenal’s liking. “We are very sorry for all our fans who have come to support us,” Bonmati told Catalunya Radio in the field before the award ceremony. “We will try to do it again.” Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati looks dejected after walking past the Champions League trophy [Violeta Santos Moura/Reuters] Arsenal shook off some early jitters in defence and soon had Barcelona on the back foot. Arsenal’s pressure up the field stopped Barcelona from getting their possession game going, and Arsenal found spaces with long balls down the left flank. Advertisement England striker Russo was a rock for Arsenal, using her size to win balls and keep the attack going. Arsenal thought it went ahead in the 22nd but a video review waived off an own goal by Barcelona’s Irene Paredes when the referee spotted an offside by Frida Maanum. Maanum then went close with a long shot in the 27th that Coll did well to stretch and push over her bar. Bonmatí was the only Barcelona player who seemed to be in the flow before halftime. Her dribble moves through the middle created a few threats and kept Arsenal on guard in defence. Leah Williamson blocked her best shot deep in the box in the 12th. Barcelona came out of the restart firing. Pina hit the woodwork with her chipped shot from a sharp angle in the 49th. Bonmati forced goalie Daphne van Domselaar to get low to parry her shot, and Ona Batlle bombarded the area with three shots from long range. But Blackstenius set the tone when she had a golden chance when she stole a ball with only Cata to beat, but the goalie got her leg out to block her effort in the 72nd. The Sweden forward would not be denied a second time. Adblock test (Why?)

Ecuador’s Daniel Noboa sworn in for full term, promising a crackdown on gangs

Ecuador’s Daniel Noboa sworn in for full term, promising a crackdown on gangs

The right-wing Noboa had defeated left-wing candidate Luisa Gonzalez amid allegations of electoral fraud. Daniel Noboa, Ecuador’s youngest-ever president and heir to a prominent banana-exporting fortune, has been sworn in for his first full term in office, pledging to intensify his government’s battle against powerful drug gangs while reviving the struggling economy. In a ceremony at the National Assembly in Quito on Saturday, the right-wing president was sworn in by Assembly President Niels Olsen Peet, who draped the presidential sash across his shoulders before the two raised clasped hands in a symbolic gesture of unity. Noboa, 37, won the election in April’s, securing a new term after completing the final 18 months of his predecessor’s tenure, defeating left-wing candidate, Luisa Gonzalez, despite her allegations of electoral fraud. Speaking to lawmakers, Noboa pledged to make a sharp reduction in violent crime a cornerstone of his administration. “The progressive reduction of homicides will be a non-negotiable goal,” Noboa declared. “We will maintain our fight against drug trafficking, seize illegal weapons, ammunition, and explosives, and exercise greater control at the country’s ports.” Advertisement Ecuador, once considered one of the more stable countries in the region, has in recent years faced a sharp rise in violence, with drug cartels, including the powerful from Mexico, exploiting porous borders and weak institutions to expand their influence. Noboa has responded with militarised crackdowns, deploying the armed forces onto the streets and tightening security at key infrastructure hubs. The president’s security strategy has drawn comparisons to El Salvador’s controversial anti-gang measures, which have been praised by some for reducing crime but condemned by rights groups over mass detentions and alleged abuses. Noboa has cited El Salvador, as well as the United States and Israel, as strategic partners in Ecuador’s security overhaul. His administration has also hired Erik Prince, founder of private military contractor Blackwater, to advise Ecuadorian security forces, a move that has raised alarm among opposition politicians and human rights advocates, who warn of creeping militarisation and lack of oversight. While Noboa has claimed a 15 percent drop in violent deaths during 2024, government figures show a 58 percent increase in killings during the first four months of 2025 compared with the same period last year, with 3,094 recorded deaths. Adblock test (Why?)