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Germany win their first women’s football gold

Germany handed departing coach Silvia Neid the perfect send off by claiming women's football Olympic gold for the first time thanks to a 2-1 win over Sweden in front of a huge crowd at Rio's Maracana.

Germany win their first women's football gold
German women soccer team coach Silvia Neid (R) celebrates after her team won the Women's soccer Gold Medal Match between Sweden. Photo: DPA

Dzsenifer Marozsan's sweet strike and Lisa Sembrant's comical own goal put Germany 2-0 up early in the second-half before Stina Blackstenius gave Sweden a lifeline.

Sweden, who scored just three goals in their five games before the final, started more positively than their previous form suggested, but Germany started to impose themselves as time went on and the best chance of the half fell to Anja Mittag after 25 minutes.

Leonie Maier's curling shot was only parried by the Swedish keeper and the ball fell to Mittag just yards from goal but she blasted the ball high and wide.

The sides were evenly match but things changed in the second half and it was the Germans who deservedly took the lead three minutes into the second period.

When they did it was a goal worthy of a cup final. Dzsenifer Maroszan gathered a cross ball on the edge of the box and had time to steady herself before curling a perfect strike into the top right hand corner of the net.

They extended their lead 14 minutes later thanks to an unfortunate own goal. A Sara Daebritz free kick from 20 yards smacked the post and Linda Sembrandt tried to clear but instead kneed the ball into her own goal from just a few yards out.

Sweden reacted almost immediately and just five minutes later Stina Blackstenius pulled them back into the game. Olivia Schough hit a beautiful low cross into the box from the right and Blackstenius slid in between two defenders and poked the ball home to cut the deficit.

Schough had a great chance to level the scores three minutes from time to take the final into extra-time but her shot was blocked just yards from goal.

RACISM

VIDEO: Spain’s La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

Spain's La Liga on Monday said it was reviewing a video of a child making racist insults towards Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during the 2-2 draw with Valencia at the weekend.

VIDEO: Spain's La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

“We’re in the process of studying and analysing the facts from a legal standpoint to see what we can and should do,” La Liga sources said.

In a video published by a journalist for ESPN Brasil, and picked up by Spanish media, a boy sitting in a woman’s lap can be heard calling Vinicius a “monkey”.

The Brazilian scored twice for Madrid as his team recovered from two goals down at Mestalla on Saturday.

Vinicius raised his fist in a “Black Power” salute after the first of his two goals at a ground where he was racially abused last season. Valencia subsequently banned three people from the stadium for life.

The 23-year-old has become a symbol of the fight against discrimination in Spanish football after suffering racist abuse on many occasions, and he was jeered repeatedly by home supporters on Saturday.

Jude Bellingham was sent off after the final whistle against Valencia for protesting after the referee blew the final whistle right before the England midfielder headed home what he thought was the winning goal.

READ ALSO: Football star Vinicius highlights racist behaviour from Spanish fans

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