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Penalty shootout defeats are still defeats. It’s time to count them as such

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Penalty shootout defeats are still defeats. It’s time to count them as such

Manchester City are a brilliant football team.

Since Pep Guardiola took charge in 2016, his side have collected more Premier League titles (six), points (736), wins (231) and goals (774) than any other team in the country.

They have conceded fewer goals (258) than any side that has spent all nine seasons in the top flight and played some exhilarating football along the way.

Yes, there is a cloud cast by their ongoing legal case with the Premier League — but add in two FA Cups, four Carabao Cups and a Champions League, and it paints a clear picture of Guardiola’s side as one of the greatest to grace the English game.

They are so good that they do not need spurious records to prove their greatness.

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So, let’s be clear, Manchester City did not break a Manchester United record in Europe this week. Manchester City are not “unbeaten” in 26 Champions League games.

City lost in last season’s quarter-finals to Real Madrid. You know that because Madrid progressed to the semi-finals (and ultimately won the trophy against Borussia Dortmund at Wembley) while City bowed out, free to focus on their relentless and successful pursuit of a fourth successive domestic title.

It is hard to think of a clearer definition of defeat than that: one team continues, the other exits.

The fact that City’s loss to Carlo Ancelotti’s team was sealed by a penalty shootout after an absorbing 4-4 draw on aggregate is irrelevant. A defeat is a defeat, no matter how it comes.

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Real Madrid celebrate their win — and it was a win — at City (Naomi Baker/Getty Images)

But IFAB — the law-makers of the world game — do not agree. In law 10.2, penalties are simply one of three “permitted procedures to determine the winning team”, along with away goals and extra-time. Which means a team that are beaten in a shootout after drawing when the final whistle sounds are still able to claim they have not ‘lost’.

It’s a strange state of affairs. While away goal ‘wins’ are a grey area according to the record books, nobody disputes that the team which emerges triumphant at the end of extra-time has won the game. So why not apply the same thought process to penalties?

We have come a long way since the pre-shootout days when drawn ties were sometimes settled by entirely arbitrary coin tosses. Penalty shootouts, which were introduced in the early 1970s, are far from that kind of “lottery” — the cliche that attached itself to them for so long — or just a convenient and relatively quick way of settling a game between two evenly-matched teams, as the IFAB law suggests.

They are supreme tests of nerve and skill, and the best teams practise them as assiduously as they do their tactical shape and set-piece routines.

“There’s more to it (than luck),” former Croatia goalkeeper Joey Didulica told Omnisport in 2018. “The mental game, you’ve got to be confident. A lot of it comes down to research as well.

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”You’ve got to know who’s kicking the penalty, the way they’ve approached the penalties before, where they slow down, if they’re going to slow down, which corner.

“As much as people think it’s 50-50, amateurs say that. I think at the highest level, a good goalkeeper definitely can have a better chance than 50-50 in a shootout. Your best keeper normally can win it for you.”

There are now reams of analysis that help inform penalty shootout methodology.

In 2022, the Barca Innovation Hub compiled data on how to increase chances of success, suggesting that taking the first penalty, celebrating successful kicks enthusiastically, delaying run-ups after the referee’s whistle and putting a team’s best penalty takers on the first and fifth kicks enhanced the possibility of winning.


Penalties are a serious test of skill and nerve (Luciano Bisbal/Getty Images)

None of that suggests penalties are a game of chance. On the contrary, while they might require different disciplines to the free-flowing action during a game, penalties still act as an ultimate stress test for a player’s ability to think clearly and execute their skill under the most intense pressure. We’re not talking about settling a game by rock, paper, scissors, here.

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They also feel part of, or an extension of, the game we have just witnessed in a way that other random deciding factors — like the coin toss — could never be. And generally speaking, the better team wins because they are also better at taking penalties.

That was perhaps more arguable in the City-Madrid game last season, when two superb sets of players went head to head and there was barely anything to choose between them. But there is no disputing that Real Madrid won that game, and City lost it.

That does not change the fact that Guardiola’s City are among the finest sides the English game has produced. But it does mean that their latest “record” is a false one.

They are a team for the ages with a glittering array of trophies and records. They can manage just fine without fake ones.

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(Top photo: Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)

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‘Demon’ Finn Balor settles score with Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania 42

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‘Demon’ Finn Balor settles score with Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania 42

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Finn Balor and Dominik Mysterio were once brothers in arms in the Judgment Day. The two helped the faction run “Monday Night Raw” for several years.

As championships and opportunities came and went, the rift between Balor and Mysterio grew. It came to a head when Balor caused Mysterio to lose the Intercontinental Championship to Penta. Balor leaving the Judgment Day left Mysterio and Liv Morgan as the leaders with JD McDonagh, Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez sticking around.

Finn Balor is introduced before his match against Dominik Mysterio during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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The latter four chose to ride with Mysterio and attacked Balor on one episode of Raw.

The bitter war led to a match Sunday night at WrestleMania 42. To make matters more interesting, Raw General Manager Adam Pearce made the match a street fight hours before the show was set to begin.

Balor had vowed to bring the “Demon” out and he certainly did.

JACOB FATU PUTS DREW MCINTYRE IN THE ‘REAR VIEW’ IN UNSANCTIONED MATCH AT WRESTLEMANIA 42

Finn Balor is introduced before his match against Dominik Mysterio during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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Balor made his way to the ring in his “Demon” gear, dripping with red and black paint. Mysterio was in a mask with other Mysterio supporters.

The two then proceeded to beat the crud out of each other.

Mysterio wrapped Balor’s head in between a chair and hit a 619 on him. He tried to pin Balor, but to no avail. At another point, Mysterio tossed Balor through a table set up in the corner.

As many have learned, it’s hard to keep your demons down. Mysterio learned the hard way.

Balor would not give up. Balor clotheslined Mysterio, hit him with a chair multiple times before wrapping his head in between the chair and drop-kicking him into the corner. Balor put Mysterio onto a table and hit the Coup de Grâce for the win.

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Dominik Mysterio is introduced before his match against Finn Balor during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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Balor excised his own demons, while Mysterio is still haunted.

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Ryan Ward has a solid debut, but bullpen blows it again as Dodgers lose to Rockies

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Ryan Ward has a solid debut, but bullpen blows it again as Dodgers lose to Rockies

What do you know? The once-stampeding Dodgers have been caged by the Colorado Rockies.

With a 9-6 loss Sunday at Coors Field, the two-time defending World Series champions lost back-to-back games for the first time this season. The Dodgers again couldn’t hold a lead, letting the Rockies tee off for 15 hits.

Nor could the Dodgers keep up offensively at the hitter-friendly park — though they put some pressure on in the ninth inning, when Shohei Ohtani led off with a ground-rule double and the Dodgers scored twice to cut the lead to three runs. Then the new guy, Ryan Ward, made the final out in his big league debut, robbed of a hit and a chance to keep chipping away by a diving Troy Johnston in right field.

Before that, the Rockies — who beat the Dodgers twice in 13 meetings all of last season — chased starter Roki Sasaki from the game in the fifth inning and then ruffled the Dodgers’ relievers. That included closer Edwin Díaz, who came on in the eighth and promptly gave up three singles, a walk and two runs before being pulled with the Dodgers trailing 8-4.

Dodgers starting pitcher Roki Sasaki gave up three runs on seven hits in 4-2/3 innings Sunday against the Rockies in Denver.

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(David Zalubowski / Associated Press)

He and Blake Treinen combined to face eight batters without getting an out.

“They both weren’t sharp,” said manager Dave Roberts, who had theories but not many answers — though he did have real concern, especially about Díaz, who recently had his right knee checked out by the medical staff.

Roberts said the closer wanted to pitch after nine days off, even though it wasn’t a save situation. But his velocity was slightly down (95.4 mph vs. 95.8) and so, “today was a tough evaluation,” the manager said.

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“It really was,” Roberts said. “Because, you know, I know what it’s supposed to look like, and when it doesn’t look like that, it gets a little concerning, really.”

And losing for the second time to the Rockies, who are now 9-13? Being in danger of losing their four-game series, after arriving in Denver without having lost to a National League opponent, against a club that hasn’t made the postseason since 2018?

It’s well below the bar the Dodgers have set, and it added a bitter note to Ward’s otherwise sweet debut.

Ward punched a big league clock for the first time wearing No. 67 and cranked his first hit off Rockies starter Michael Lorenzen in the fourth inning, lining a changeup to right field for a single that scored Andy Pages, made it 3-0 and got the 20-some members of Ward’s party up, jumping in place, hugging and high-fiving.

“When I was on first base, I got to see them all jumping around up there,” Ward said. “That was a pretty special moment.”

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He also singled in the sixth and swung on the first pitch in his first at-bat, a fly out in the third inning.

The Dodgers gave Sasaki a 2-0 lead in the third. Alex Freeland drove in Hyeseong Kim, and Shohei Ohtani doubled in Freeland — and extended his career-best on-base streak to 51 games, moving past Willie Keeler into third place in Dodgers history.

Sasaki went 4-2/3 innings, threw 78 pitches and gave up three runs on seven hits, striking out two and walking two. His ERA after his fourth start: 6.11, worst in the six-man rotation.

The Dodgers fell behind 6-5 in the seventh when Treinen — who was cleared Friday after he was struck in the head by a batted ball during batting practice — gave up four consecutive hits, including a two-run home run by Mickey Moniak.

The result likely will be a minor detail when Ward tells the story years from now about getting the call after first baseman Freddie Freeman was placed on the paternity list.

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The Dodgers’ No. 19 prospect and reigning Pacific Coast League MVP spent the last seven years in the minors. Last season, he hit 36 home runs and drove in 122 runs with a .937 on-base-plus-slugging percentage for triple-A Oklahoma City, and he has a 1.020 OPS and four homers this year.

Ward made it a point to improve his chase rate, draw more walks and get on base more frequently, everything the Dodgers asked of him. He also passed the broadest patience test.

“The plate discipline, being a better hitter … he’s done all that,” Roberts said. “He’s improved his defense. But honestly, for me, just not to let his lack of opportunity in the big leagues deter him. That’s easy when you get frustrated and let it affect performance, and he hasn’t done that.”

If anything, Ward said, the waiting made him better.

“I used it to keep going. ‘OK, if I’m not there yet, what do I have to do to get there?’” he said. “‘What part of my game do I need to work on to keep getting better?’

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“I used it as fire to keep working.”

That will be the Dodgers’ assignment too.

In the finale of the four-game series Monday, the Dodgers are expected to start left-hander Justin Wrobleski (2-0, 2.12) against Colorado left-hander Jose Quintana (0-1, 5.63).

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ESPN’s Stephen A Smith hears boos from WrestleMania 42 crowd

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ESPN’s Stephen A Smith hears boos from WrestleMania 42 crowd

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Danhausen’s curse may be real after all – just ask Stephen A. Smith and the New York Mets.

While the latter dropped their 10th game in a row, Smith got his share of the curse on Saturday night during Night 1 of WrestleMania 42. Smith was in attendance for WWE’s premier event of the year and heard massive boos from the crowd.

Stephen A. Smith attends WrestleMania 42: Night 1 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 18, 2026. (Andrew Timms/WWE)

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Smith was sitting ringside to watch the action. The ESPN star appeared on the videoboard above the ring at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. He appeared to embrace the reaction and smiled through it.

The boos came after Danhausen appeared on “First Take” on Friday – much to the chagrin of the sports pundit. Smith appeared perplexed by Danhausen’s appearance. Smith said he heard about Danhausen and called him a “bad luck charm.”

Danhausen said Smith had been “rude” to him and put the dreaded “curse” on the commentator.

WWE STAR DANHAUSEN SAYS METS ‘CURSE’ ISN’T EXACTLY LIFTED AS TEAM DROPS NINTH STRAIGHT GAME

Stephen A. Smith attends WrestleMania 42: Night 1 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 18, 2026. (Andrew Timms/WWE)

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Smith is far from the only one dealing with the effects of the “curse.”

Danhausen agreed to “un-curse” the Mets during their losing streak. However, he told Fox News Digital earlier this week that there was a reason why the curse’s removal didn’t take full effect.

“I did un-curse the Mets. But it didn’t work because, I believe it was Brian Gewirtz who did not pay Danhausen. He did not send me my money so it did not take full effect,” Danhausen said. “Once I have the money, perhaps it will actually work because right now it’s probably about a half of an un-cursing. It’s like a layaway situation.”

Danhausen enters the arena before his match against Kit Wilson during SmackDown at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on April 10, 2026. (Eakin Howard/Getty Images)

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On “Friday Night SmackDown,” WWE stars like The Miz and Kit Wilson were also targets of Danhausen’s curse.

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