defeat

ATLANTA — Zach Neto had three hits, including a homer, Nolan Schanuel added a two-run blast and José Soriano gave up only three hits in seven scoreless innings to lead the Angels to a 5-1 victory over the weak-hitting Atlanta Braves on Thursday night.

The Braves avoided a shutout on Jurickson Profar’s ninth-inning homer off left-hander Brock Burke. It was Profar’s second homer in two games since returning from an 80-game PED suspension.

Soriano (6-5) had seven strikeouts and did not allow a base runner to reach second base. Neto scored three runs.

Bryce Elder (2-6) gave up four runs, eight hits and three walks in five innings. Elder’s third consecutive loss is a disturbing trend for a team that placed right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach on the 15-day injured list with a fractured right elbow on Wednesday.

The rotation previously lost Chris Sale (broken rib), AJ Smith-Shawver (Tommy John surgery) and Reynaldo López (shoulder surgery) to injuries. Manager Brian Snitker said he may use a bullpen game Saturday in the second game of a series against Baltimore.

Key moment

After giving up 10 runs, nine earned and three homers in only two innings in a 13-0 loss to Philadelphia on Friday night, Elder gave up two more homers. Schanuel’s two-run shot in the second drove in Neto, who doubled.

Key stats

Matt Olson’s first-inning single to right field extended his streak of reaching base to 33 games, the majors’ longest active streak. Jo Adell’s first-inning single extended his hitting streak to 14 games, the Angels’ longest this season.

Up next

The Angels open a series at Toronto on Friday night when Kyle Hendricks (5-6, 4.66 ERA) faces Blue Jays Eric Lauer (4-1, 2.60).

SUNRISE, Fla. — Stanley’s stay in South Florida is getting extended.

The Florida Panthers repeated as Stanley Cup champions by beating the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 in Game 6 of the Final on Tuesday night, becoming the NHL’s first back-to-back winners since Tampa Bay in 2020 and ’21 and the third team to do it this century.

Sam Reinhart scored four goals, becoming just the sixth player in league history and first since Maurice Richard in 1957 to get that many in a game in the Final. His third to complete the hat trick sent rats, along with hats, flying onto the ice. Matthew Tkachuk, one of the faces of the franchise, fittingly scored the Cup clincher.

More rats were part of the victory celebration when the clock hit zeroes. Panthers players mobbed in the corner, while the Oilers watched in dismay.

The Florida Panthers celebrate immediately after winning their second straight Stanley Cup.

“Good evening, South Florida,” Commissioner Gary Bettman said before presenting the trophy to captain Aleksander Barkov. “It feels like we just did this.”

Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 28 of the 29 shots he faced, closing the door on a rematch with the same end result. The only goal came from fellow Russian Vasily Podkolzin in garbage time, long after the outcome was decided.

That was followed by chants of “We want the Cup!” as time ticked down. The Panthers already had it. Now they get to keep it.

“This is as good as the first one,” Reinhart said. “We learned some lessons. We stayed on the gas, foot on the pedal, and obviously the result speaks for itself.”

Not long after the Lightning made three consecutive trips to the Final, Florida has done the same and now has the makings of a dynasty. The Panthers have won 11 of 12 playoff series since Tkachuk arrived by trade and Paul Maurice took over as coach in the summer of 2022.

“We’ve got to be a dynasty now,” Tkachuk said. “Three years in a row finals, two championships. This is a special group.”

Panthers coach Paul Maurice hugs defenseman Uvis Balinskis after the team’s Stanley Cup win over the Oilers.

(Lynne Sladky / Associated Press)

The only time they have been on the wrong side of a handshake line was the final in Vegas in 2023, only after several key players were banged up and gutting through significant injuries.

From the core of Tkachuk, Reinhart, Barkov and Sam Bennett on down the roster, they were much healthier this time around and were boosted by key trade deadline additions Brad Marchand and Seth Jones. Bennett led all goal-scorers this postseason with 15, and Marchand had six in the final alone.

Bennett won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. Barkov handed the Cup to first-time champion Nate Schmidt, and all the others winning it for the first time got it soon after.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman presents the Conn Smythe Trophy to Florida forward Sam Bennett after the Panthers’ win in Game 6.

(Lynne Sladky / Associated Press)

“It’s amazing to be able to be here,” Schmidt said. “I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.”

Getting depth contributions from throughout the lineup allowed them to overpower Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the Oilers, who struggled with Florida’s ferocious forecheck and switched goaltenders multiple times in the Final. Stuart Skinner got the nod in Game 6 and was again done in by mistakes in front of him that ended with the puck in the net behind him and had his own blunder on Reinhart’s second goal.

McDavid tried to take over but was again stymied by Barkov, Jones and Bobrovsky. He finished with seven points in his second career trip to the Final, again denied his first title.

The Panthers spent more time leading during this Stanley Cup Final than any previous team in history, 255:49 minutes in all.

“We lost to a really good team,” McDavid said. “Nobody quit, nobody threw the towel in, but they’re a heck of a team. They’re back-to-back Stanley Cup champions for a reason.”

Canada’s Stanley Cup drought reached 31 seasons and 32 years dating to Montreal in 1993. Teams in the U.S. Sun Belt have won it five of the past six times, four of them in Florida.

Highlights from the Florida Panthers’ 5-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.

This run through Tampa Bay in five games, Toronto in seven, Carolina in five and Edmonton in six showed how clinical the Panthers have become under Maurice, who has coached more NHL games than everyone except Scotty Bowman and is now a two-time champion.

So is Marchand, who last hoisted the Cup in 2011 with the Boston Bruins. The 14-year gap is the third-longest in league history, just shy of 16 for Chris Chelios from 1986 to 2002 and 15 for Mark Recchi from ’91 to ’06.

“It’s incredible,” Marchand said. “It’s a feeling you can’t really describe. Seeing the family and everyone up there and everyone that supported me and helped me get to this point, words can’t put this into reality how great it feels. Such an incredible group.”

England’s Luke Humphries and Luke Littler are out of the World Cup of Darts after suffering a shock defeat by hosts Germany in the last 16.

The German pair of Martin Schindler and tournament debutant Ricardo Pietreczko took advantage of a string of missed doubles and some sloppy play by the top two players in the world to win 8-4 in Frankfurt.

Humphries and Littler, who both became MBEs on Saturday in the King’s Birthday Honours, were aiming to lead England to a record-extending sixth World Cup crown – with Humphries partnering Michael Smith to victory last year.

But playing together for the first time, the tournament favourites looked far from comfortable from the start as Germany broke throw in the opening leg, cheered on by a vocal home crowd.

They recovered to level the match at 2-2 but it was Germany who rose to the occasion with some brilliant play, winning the next five legs to leave them on the brink of a famous victory.

England pulled a couple of legs back to give them hope but Pietreczko, nicknamed Pikachu, sealed a 62 checkout in the 12th leg to secure the win.

This is a team Bellamy has built in his image. They are daring, adventurous, unafraid to lose in the pursuit of glory.

To sit back and play for a draw is not in their make-up, Bellamy said beforehand, and Wales backed that up with a momentous performance to roar back from 3-0 down to level.

Harry Wilson’s penalty, Sorba Thomas’ composed low strike and Brennan Johnson’s header had Belgium rattled and Wales dreaming.

Kevin de Bruyne had the final say to secure a 4-3 win for Belgium, but Bellamy could not help but smile when he was asked for his thoughts.

“I don’t like losing. I understand the game, but how you lose is more important,” he said.

“Who are you as a person? Who is your team? I see that and I’m beyond proud. We’re a good team.

“I understand results, I really do, but football means more to me than that. It always has done. I’d rather try something great and fail than do nothing and succeed.”

The month is just four days old, but for the Dodgers the June swoon is already getting old.

On Wednesday, they lost for the third time in four games with a pair of Pete Alonso home runs lifting the Mets to a 6-1 victory. The loss was the 10th in 18 games for the Dodgers, who are just four games over .500 since their season-opening eight-game winning streak.

Right-hander Tony Gonsolin (3-2) took the loss although he really only had one bad inning.

He got off to a rough start, hitting Francisco Lindor in the right foot with his second pitch, and the inning went downhill from there. Brandon Nimmo followed with a potential double-play ball that went through second baseman Kiké Hernández and after Nimmo stole second, Lindor scored on a ground out.

Alonso followed with a towering two-run home run to right-center to give the Mets a 3-0 lead.

Gonsolin settled down after that and though he didn’t allow another run, New York had runners on base in each of the five innings he worked. He exited after 90 pitches, having given up three hits and two walks while striking out six.

After a pair of hitless innings from the Dodger bullpen, Alonso put the game away in the eighth, following a hit batter and a walk from reliever Ryan Loutos with a majestic three-run homer to left. It was Alonso’s first multi-homer game of the season, and it gave him a season-high five RBIs.

The Dodgers’ only run came on Andy Pages’ solo home with one out in the ninth. The hit was Pages’ third of the night — half his team’s total. He also had a second-inning infield single and a seventh-inning double, extending his hitting streak to a season-high nine games and raising his average to .290.

Mets starter Griffin Canning (6-2) cruised through his six innings, facing just four batters over the minimum. The former Angel gave up three hits, walked one and struck out seven in his best outing of the season, winning for the first time in nearly a month.

Mookie Betts fields a grounder in the first inning.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Etc.

Switch-hitting utility man Tommy Edman could be headed to the injured list after tweaking his right ankle earlier this week, aggravating an injury that forced him to spend three weeks on the IL earlier this season. Edman came off the bench in Tuesday’s win but was out of the lineup Wednesday. Speedy outfielder Esteury Ruiz was summoned from triple-A Oklahoma City as a precaution and would probably take Edman spot on the roster if he goes on the IL.

Relievers Kirby Yates (hamstring) and Michael Kopech (shoulder) both threw short simulated games Wednesday, and manager Dave Roberts said both are close to being activated.

“As long as he feels good tomorrow, then there’s certainly a good possibility to be activated this weekend,” Roberts said of Yates, who last pitched May 17 against the Angels.

Kopech gave up 11 runs in 6.1 innings while on a rehab assignment in Oklahoma City, but Roberts seemed unconcerned.

“Obviously you’re in rehab mode, you’re not around. So to get back to your teammates and the coaches, they might be able to kind of detect some things or clean some things up mechanically,” he said. “To be here tonight, last night to watch a game, that’s very that’s helpful and productive. With him it is just kind of getting command more dialed in.”

Kopech’s last appearance came in the fifth and deciding game of last fall’s World Series.

Oklahoma City Thunder closed out the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 and advanced to their first NBA Finals since 2012.

Even before the basket went in, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander spread his arms wide in celebration.

Cason Wallace left his right arm high in the air, waiting for the ball to drop through the basket.

Soon enough, inevitably, it did.

Wallace’s corner 3-pointer at the buzzer was the exclamation point on a dominant first quarter for Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder, who rode the hot start to a 124-94 home win that ended the Western Conference finals in Game 5 on Wednesday.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 34 points, eight assists and seven rebounds as the Thunder closed out the best-of-seven series.

“I didn’t want to go back to Minnesota travel-wise and I wanted the fans to enjoy the moment with us,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.

The Thunder are headed to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012 and the fifth time in franchise history. The first three appearances came when the club was based in Seattle.

Oklahoma City will host Game 1 of the finals against either the Indiana Pacers or the New York Knicks on June 5.

“Happy for this moment, but this isn’t our goal,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “This isn’t the end of our road.”

Wednesday’s outcome was evident early, as the Thunder buried the Timberwolves under the weight of a stifling defence and playmaking by Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren.

Oklahoma City put the game away quickly, leading by 17 after the first quarter and 33 at halftime.

The Timberwolves saw their season end in the Western Conference finals for the second consecutive year.

“I’m going to work my butt off this summer,” Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards said. “Nobody’s going to work harder than me this summer, I’ll tell you that much.”

Gilgeous-Alexander dished out five of his assists in the opening quarter as he again showed why he was selected as the NBA’s Most Valuable Player (MVP).

After the Timberwolves scored the game’s first hoop, Gilgeous-Alexander had a hand in all five Oklahoma City baskets during an 11-0 run that started the Thunder’s march towards the blowout.

In that stretch, Gilgeous-Alexander had four assists – three on Holmgren buckets – and drained a finger roll to start the separation.

On Monday, the Timberwolves started Game 4 red hot from the field but ultimately fell 128-126.

On Wednesday, Minnesota struggled on offence from the start, going just 1-for-11 from the field over the first five minutes.

Gilgeous-Alexander outscored Minnesota in the first quarter 12-9 and scored or assisted on 24 of the Thunder’s 26 first-quarter points.

Minnesota had more turnovers in the first half (14) than it did field goals (12). The Timberwolves finished with 21 turnovers.

Holmgren amassed 22 points and seven rebounds while Williams had 19 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

“These guys really make me feel like I’m a kid playing AAU basketball, like I’m 15 years old again,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It’s just fun. That’s what makes us really good. We have so much fun being out there together.”

Julius Randle led the Timberwolves with 24 points while Edwards scored 19 on 7-of-18 shooting.

“They dominated the game from the tip,” Edwards said. “Can’t do nothing but tip my hat to those guys. They came ready.”

A second-half goal from Myanmar winger Maung Maung Lwin was enough to give a South East Asia XI victory in front of an official attendance of 72,550 at the Bukit Jalil Stadium, triggering boos from a substantial portion at the final whistle from fans who had paid up to £260 to watch United on their first visit to Malaysia since 2009.

“I always feel guilty for the performance of the team since the first game I was here,” said Amorim.

“The boos maybe is something we need because every game we lost in the Premier League the fans were always there. I felt when we finished every time the supporters were with us. Let’s see for next season.”

The United boss would not offer any update on the Cunha situation, stating firmly: “You have to wait for that for the next season.

“It is for you guys (the media) to talk about. I won’t confirm anything. I have no news.

“We will see, but there will be some changes.”

United finished 15th in the Premier League, on 42 points – accepted to be the club’s worst campaign since the 1973-74 relegation season.

They also lost the Europa League final to Tottenham 1-0 in Bilbao to miss out on a place in next season’s Champions League.

It is thought the trip will generate about $10m (£7.8m) for the club, but comes at the end of a season where United have played 60 games in all competitions.

Ninth seed Emma Navarro exited the French Open in just 57 minutes as she suffered a 6-0 6-1 first-round thrashing by Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.

Navarro, a semi-finalist at last year’s US Open, did not hold serve all match in a wayward performance on the second day in Paris.

Up 6-0 5-0, Bouzas Maneiro was attempting to become the first woman to beat a top-10 player 6-0 6-0 at a Grand Slam since the 1989 US Open, when Martina Navratilova crushed world number seven Manuela Maleeva.

But Navarro got on the board and avoided a ‘double bagel’ scoreline with help from a double fault by the 68th-ranked Bouzas Maneiro.

Donegal selector Neil McGee admitted the Ulster champions “weren’t at it from the start” as they fell to a 2-17 to 0-20 defeat by Tyrone in Saturday’s All-Ireland round-robin opener in Ballybofey.

In a game that ebbed and flowed, Donegal led with seven minutes remaining, but Tyrone rallied late, hitting the last five scores – including Peter Harte’s two-pointer – to hand Jim McGuinness a first defeat at Ballybofey in league or championship football.

Seanie O’Donnell scored both of Tyrone’s goals while Darren McCurry chipped in with seven points.

“We took the ball into contact too many times, turned the ball over too many times, we weren’t at it from the start and Tyrone probably deserved it,” McGee told GAA+.

“It’s a long season. You’re going to the well every week and trying to get up there every day, we just didn’t get to the pitch of it today and Tyrone were at it.

“At 66 minutes, we were two points up, we had possession and give it away, Tyrone went up and I don’t think we touched the ball again after that.

“We had the game in our hands, give it away and they got three points. Slim margins but we only have ourselves to blame.”

In contrast, Tyrone boss Malachy O’Rourke hailed the character his side showed after losing experienced duo Brian Kennedy and Padraig Hampsey to injury.

“We got a good start but at half-time we lost two leaders (Brian Kennedy and Padraig Hampsey) and it could have been a night where we said, ‘we’ve put in a good show but it wasn’t going to be our night’,” O’Rourke, the only manager to have beaten McGuinness in the Ulster Championship, told GAA+.

“The way Donegal came back and we always knew they would as they are a quality team. They went ahead and again, we could have folded up our tents, but the composure the boys showed and willingness to fight for each other, get back ahead and hold it was really pleasing.

“It only gets us two points, but it’s a good start to the group and we just have to settle down and look towards next week.”

Next week in Group One, Tyrone host Mayo in a rerun of the 2021 All-Ireland final while Donegal will attempt to bounce back away to Cavan.

Al Jazeera takes a look at financially-troubled Manchester United’s expensive Europa League final defeat by Spurs.

Manchester United’s decline on and off the field has been laid bare for a number of years but was placed in even sharper focus with their defeat by Tottenham in the Europa League final.

It was a zero-sum game on Wednesday: Winner goes into the Champions League – plus the UEFA Super Cup game in August – and loser is out of Europe next season and gets nothing.

Tottenham won a painfully drab match 1-0.

As football finance expert Kieran Maguire noted on Thursday, the defeat came despite United having higher revenue than Tottenham and spending 64% more on wages for a more expensively acquired squad of players. Tottenham also beat United twice in the Premier League this season, and in the domestic League Cup.

“If I was teaching this at management school (I) would conclude that there is something seriously wrong with the culture of the organisation… which is set by senior management,” Maguire wrote on X.

What are the financial costs to Man Utd?

Beyond the loss of sporting opportunities and reputational prestige, the club owned by the Glazer family from the United States and British billionaire industrialist Jim Ratcliffe has short-term and long-term financial hits ahead.

No Champions League play next season is an instant loss of at least 80 million euros ($90m), and approaching 150 million euros ($169m) for a run deep into the knockout stage.

United also misses out on the 4 million euros ($4.5m) Tottenham will get from UEFA for playing the Super Cup against the Champions League titleholder – either Inter Milan or Paris Saint-Germain – on August 13 at Udinese’s stadium in Italy. The winner gets a bonus of 1 million euros ($1.1m).

Can Man Utd recoup its losses in the FIFA Club World Cup?

After failing to qualify for the 2025 Club World Cup – which has a $1bn prize fund from FIFA and should pay more than $100m to a successful European team – United is now far behind in qualifying for the 2029 edition.

European teams qualify for the FIFA event only by being in the Champions League, either winning the title or building consistent results over four seasons.

United already will miss the entire first half of the 2024-28 qualifying period, and it is hard to project the team that last won the Premier League 12 years ago both qualifying for and then winning a Champions League title within three years.

What financial options do Man Utd have?

One clear solution to growing financial issues and the ability to comply with Premier League rules is selling the club’s best players, like captain Bruno Fernandes and out-of-favour forward Marcus Rashford, or its homegrown prospects. Some already earn high wages that are problematic for potential buyers.

A talent drain risks speeding a spiral of decline on and off the field if coach Ruben Amorim is left trying to rebuild with a weaker pool of players.

How do Man Utd match up to other clubs?

While United is still one of Europe’s highest-earning clubs, UEFA’s annual research shows its advantage is in decline, even though revenue was a club record 661.8 million pounds ($887m) last year.

A UEFA chart showed that over five years from 2019-24 – pre-COVID-19 through to the post-pandemic recovery in the football industry – United’s revenue grew at a slower rate than all of its biggest English rivals except Chelsea.

Will Man Utd’s revenue be affected?

Revenue now risks dropping, and another income cut is coming from falling to 16th in the Premier League standings with one round left on Sunday.

Premier League prize money based on final position in the standings means dropping from eighth a year ago to 16th is a difference of 22 million pounds ($29.5m) less.

It all adds up to another loss-making season after a 113.2 million pounds ($152m) deficit last season. The three previous years totaled losses of 236 million pounds ($316m).

Will Man Utd’s losses cost them further?

The Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR) allow clubs to lose 105 million pounds ($140.7m) over a three-year period or face sanctions, though United can cite some exemptions.

Ratcliffe, who has operational control despite being a minority shareholder, is already the public face of unpopular cuts to jobs and staff benefits, and rising ticket prices for fans.

“This is not sustainable,” the club told fans in January, “and if we do not act now we are in danger of failing to comply with PSR/FFP (financial fair play) requirements in future years and significantly impacting our ability to compete on the pitch.”

Brennan Johnson scores the only goal as Tottenham beat Man Utd to lift the cup and qualify for the Champions League.

Tottenham beat Manchester United 1-0 to win the Europa League final, lifting its first European trophy in more than four decades to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

It is the first major title for Tottenham since it won the English League Cup in 2008, and its first European triumph since it won its second UEFA Cup — the equivalent of the Europa League now — in 1984.

Brennan Johnson squeezed in the winner at the end of the first half on Wednesday to help Spurs salvage a dismal season, in which it will finish near the bottom of the Premier League standings.

The title guarantees Spurs a spot in next season’s Champions League, and brings some much-needed relief for manager Ange Postecoglou after he struggled to keep his team on track all year.

The victory comes six years after Tottenham fell short against Liverpool in the Champions League final.

The defeat adds pressure on United coach Ruben Amorim, whose team sits in 16th place — just ahead of Tottenham — in the Premier League. The club will not play in any European competition next season.

United came close to equalising the match on Wednesday when a header by Rasmus Hojlund was cleared at the goal line by Tottenham’s Micky van de Ven in the 68th.

Deep into stoppage time, a header by Luke Shaw prompted a difficult save by Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.

It had been an even match, with neither team creating many significant scoring opportunities, until Tottenham got on the board in the 42nd minute after a cross by Pape Sarr into the area.

The ball ricocheted off Shaw and fell in front of Johnson, who seemed to get just enough of it to poke it across the goal line.

United pressed forward after conceding, but was not able to get the equaliser in front of a split crowd of nearly 50,000 at Athletic Bilbao’s San Mames Stadium.

United had last won a trophy in the 2024 FA Cup, and its last European triumph was at the 2017 Europa League under manager Jose Mourinho.

The Red Devils lost all four matches against Tottenham this season and is winless against its rival in seven straight games, with the last six under Postecoglou.

United and Tottenham had met in just one previous final — the 2009 League Cup when Alex Ferguson’s United won 4-1 on penalties after a 0-0 draw.

Tottenham striker Son Heung-min, who came off the bench in the 67th, finally ended his decade-long trophy drought with Spurs.

Crystal Palace win their first major trophy by beating Manchester City 1-0 in the FA Cup final at Wembley stadium.

Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze sparked a massive south London party by scoring the only goal to win the FA Cup 1-0 against Manchester City and claim the club’s first major trophy in their history.

Local man Eze volleyed in after 16 minutes, former Manchester United goalkeeper Dean Henderson performed heroics in the Palace goal, and City contrived to waste a sack-load of chances, including a penalty, in an enthralling final on Saturday.

After England forward Eze, whose goals in the last eight and semis fired his team into the final for the third time, scored completely against the run of play, Palace had to survive a City siege to spark wild celebrations.

Omar Marmoush had a first-half penalty saved by Henderson as City lost in the Cup final for a second successive season, summing up a harrowing campaign in which they have been dethroned as the powerhouse of English football and will go without a domestic trophy for the first time since 2016-17.

For Palace’s massed ranks decked in purple and blue, it was a day of unbridled joy as Oliver Glasner’s team rode their luck to make it third time lucky after suffering defeats in their previous two FA Cup final appearances in 1990 and 2016.

Glasner, who took charge of the club 15 months ago, becomes the first Austrian coach to win the FA Cup.

City have been a pale imitation of the side that has dominated the English game for most of the past decade.

But the way they began at Wembley suggested that Pep Guardiola’s side were determined to prove that talk of their demise had been greatly exaggerated.

Having picked an ultra-attacking lineup shorn of defensive midfielders, City hemmed Palace deep inside their own half for the opening 15 minutes with Kevin De Bruyne pulling the strings on what was his last Wembley appearance in City’s colours.

His lofted ball picked out Erling Haaland, whose stretching effort at the far post was brilliantly saved by Henderson, who also shortly afterwards beat out Josko Gvardiol’s header.

Palace finally broke the siege, and in their first foray beyond the centre circle, they ripped through City’s lines.

Jean-Philippe Mateta played in Daniel Munoz, and his cross was met by Eze, who flashed a first-time volley past Stefan Ortega to provoke an eruption of noise from the Palace fans.

Ismaila Sarr nearly made it 2-0, but Ortega saved, and Palace’s hearts were in their mouths when Henderson appeared to have handled the ball outside his area under pressure from Haaland, but a subsequent VAR check spared him a possible red card.

There was no escape for Palace defender Tyrick Mitchell when he tripped Bernardo Silva, and referee Stuart Attwell pointed to the spot. Surprisingly, Haaland did not take it and instead Omar Marmoush stepped forward for his first penalty since joining City in January, but his effort lacked conviction and Henderson dived to his right to save.

Henderson made a flying save to keep out Jeremy Doku’s curling effort as Palace reached half-time ahead despite having only 19 percent of possession.

Munoz thought he had made it 2-0 just past the hour mark, but a lengthy VAR check ruled his effort out for offside.

Seven-time winners City went close numerous times after the break, with Henderson and his defenders performing heroics to preserve Palace’s lead.

A huge groan went up from the Palace fans as 10 minutes of stoppage time, but after more close shaves and nail-biting, the final whistle sounded and the club’s anthem Glad All Over bellowed around the stadium.

Aberdeen defender Jack MacKenzie was left bloodied after being struck by what seemed to be a seat – thrown by one of his own fans – amid a pitch invasion following his side’s Scottish Premiership defeat at Dundee United.

Unused subtitute MacKenzie was on the pitch while the United supporters invaded the playing surface after their side denied Aberdeen fourth place.

And he was felled by a projectile hurled from the area of the ground that housed a travelling support restricted in number after objects were aimed at United manager Jim Goodwin in the last meeting at Tannadice.

Speaking to BBC Scotland after his side sealed a European place on Saturday, Goodwin labelled the incident “a disgrace”.

“I deliberately took myself off the pitch as quickly as I could because we’ve had previous with the Aberdeen supporters in the past,” the former Pittodrie boss said.

“I’m really disappointed to hear young Jack has been hit by an object thrown by his own supporters. He’s inside having stitches now, it’s an absolute disgrace.

“It’s probably taken something as serious as this to happen for the authorities to finally step in and do something about it to identify these idiots who let down a really good club.”