UAE Pro League: Shabab Al-Ahli stalk historic title as Pereira shines for Al-Wahda

UAE Pro League: Shabab Al-Ahli stalk historic title as Pereira shines for Al-Wahda
Matheus Pereira, on loan from Saudi's Al-Hilal, was Al-Wahda's star man against Dhafra. (Twitter: @AlWahdaFCC)
Short Url
Updated 19 March 2023

UAE Pro League: Shabab Al-Ahli stalk historic title as Pereira shines for Al-Wahda

UAE Pro League: Shabab Al-Ahli stalk historic title as Pereira shines for Al-Wahda
  • Dubai club defeated Khor Fakkan to extend lead to 5 points with Al-Ain losing to Al-Nasr

DUBAI: Leaders Shabab Al-Ahli Dubai Club’s grip on the ADNOC Pro League strengthened and holders Al-Ain’s surprisingly weakened, during a potentially pivotal matchweek 20.

Leonardo Jardim’s first-place side dispatched Khor Fakkan 3-1 on Friday night, with Syria forward Omar Khribin and Argentine winger Fede Cartabia again among the scorers. Results elsewhere saw a five-point advantage develop, with only six fixtures to fulfil.

Resurgent champions Al-Ain were expected to similarly see off relegation-haunted Al-Nasr. But Ivorian youngster Abdoulaye Toure’s rasping late effort brought the second-placed side’s seven-match, top-flight winning streak to a juddering halt with a 1-0 defeat at a shell-shocked Hazza bin Zayed Stadium.

Geronimo Poblete and Siaka Sidibe, meanwhile, were dismissed in third-placed Al-Wasl’s chaotic 1-1 draw with Al-Ittihad Kalba. Caretaker Arno Buitenweg guided fourth-placed Al-Wahda to a 3-1 debut victory at bottom-placed Al-Dhafra and Trabzonspor loanee Djaniny’s double helped fifth-placed Sharjah to a 3-0 triumph versus promoted Al-Bataeh.

Second-bottom Dibba Al-Fujairah boosted their slim hopes of survival with a 2-0 victory at Baniyas, while sixth-placed Ajman and seventh-placed Al-Jazira shared late goals in a 1-1 stalemate.

Here are Arab News’ top picks and a talking point from the latest action.

Player of the week — Matheus Pereira (Al-Wahda)

It is not just the hair color that makes Al-Hilal loanee Matheus Pereira stand out.

The peroxide Brazilian was a cut above when Al-Wahda, under unheralded Dutchman Buitenweg’s care for the first time, eased past Al-Dhafra.

Smart footwork provided an early assist for Portugal’s Euro 2016 winner Adrien Silva. A trademark free-kick followed less than 10-minutes later, with his Clarets account being opened in style.

It has been a disrupted campaign for Al-Wahda. Several managers have come and gone: So, too, multiple members of their playing squad.

But a seemingly content Pereira, after a dispiriting second season at Al-Hilal, has the raw ability to carry them forward. They await any slips from Shabab Al-Ahli.

Goal of the week — Abdoulaye Toure (Al-Nasr)

A rising starlet showcased limitless potential in Al-Nasr’s landmark victory.

This season had been an interminably dismal affair for the Blue Wave.

Enthusiasm generated by the summer additions of Thorsten Fink and Adel Taarabt swiftly drained away as the spectre of an unexpected relegation battle grew for the UAE’s oldest club.

Yet fast forward to late winter, and belated signs of progress can be seen under head coach Goran Tomic. None more so than his teenage substitute’s telling impact in the Garden City.

Toure’s fourth cameo appearance in the league featured a blistering run on the touchline, burning past highly rated compatriot Kouame Autonne in the process. An adroit back heel at pace, and tightly marked in the penalty box, played in veteran Cape Verde winger Ryan Mendes, whose thunderous shot would repel high into the air off UAE goalkeeper Khalid Essa’s stung fingertips.

Exemplary technique then witnessed Toure, from just inside the area, watch the ball all the way onto his right boot, before sending a high-velocity volley into the bottom corner.

That is now three victories in five matches for Al-Nasr, who reach the heady heights of 10th and are virtually safe from the drop.

With the likes of Toure and UAE call-up Hussain Mahdi, their future can be much brighter.

Coach of the week – Leonardo Jardim (Shabab Al-Ahli Dubai Club)

A historic success moves within touching distance – and Shabab Al-Ahli appear to possess the perfect tactician to take them there.

Jardim’s troops ticked off a fourth-successive league win, and eighth without defeat, from a match week in which a number of challengers faltered.

The final stretch is where both pedigree and suitability tell. Jardim has demonstrated the lot since his summer hire.

AFC Champions League glory with Saudi Arabia heavyweights Al-Hilal has added gravitas. Belief in youth which fuelled Monaco’s charge to 2016-2017 Ligue 1 supremacy is apt for a Shabab Al-Ahli squad full of burgeoning talents.

Khor Fakkan were held at arm’s length this weekend. Their hosts at Rashid Stadium dominated possession (62 percent to 38 percent) and doubled the shot count 16 to eight.

Shabab Al-Ahli have lifted the President’s Cup, UAE Super Cup, and ADIB Cup since 2017’s merger. But it required a manager like Jardim to inspire them toward top-flight silverware.

Emerge intact from the box-office summit clash at Al-Ain when the international break ends and their coronation can, surely, be scheduled.

Mabkhout return provides mixed message at start of UAE’s important period

An iconic international career was meant to be finished.

Record 80-goal marksman Ali Mabkhout saw himself ignored for January’s 25th Arabian Gulf Cup because of “technical reasons” and a new era proclaimed.

An ignominious group-stage exit in Iraq, however, has caused the dial to be turned back in the striker’s direction, ahead of a key run of winter fixtures for Rodolfo Arruabarrena’s flailing UAE team.

This month’s training camp in Abu Dhabi, plus unglamorous friendlies versus Tajikistan and Thailand, appear mundane. Yet the under-pressure Argentine must demonstrate World Cup 2022’s near miss was no fluke, with the lengthy run to the 2026 edition beginning in November and delayed 2023 Asian Cup following.

Hope for the future can be found in the increasing influence of Shabab Al-Ahli wingers Yahya Al-Ghassani and Harib Abdalla. Khalid Al-Balochi is a mainstay in midfield for Al-Ain and the equally tireless Abdulla Hamad is essential for Al-Wahda.

Yet, someone is always needed to put the ball in the back of the net. There is, as Arruabarrena learned in stark circumstance, still no one better at it than Mabkhout.


Raducanu, Stephens, Murray bomb out  at Miami Open tennis tournament

Raducanu, Stephens, Murray bomb out  at Miami Open tennis tournament
Updated 23 March 2023

Raducanu, Stephens, Murray bomb out  at Miami Open tennis tournament

Raducanu, Stephens, Murray bomb out  at Miami Open tennis tournament
  • Bianca Andreescu — the 2019 US Open champ — defeated Raducanu 6-3, 3-6, 6-2
  • On the men’s side, Dusan Lajovic beat three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray 6-4, 7-5

MIAMI GARDENS, Florida: Former US Open champions Emma Raducanu and Sloane Stephens were knocked out of the Miami Open on Wednesday, hours after No. 1-ranked and defending champion Iga Swiatek pulled out of the tournament because of a rib injury.

Bianca Andreescu — the 2019 US Open champ — defeated Raducanu 6-3, 3-6, 6-2. Andreescu improved to 2-0 lifetime against Raducanu, the 2021 winner at Flushing Meadows.

“Miami has a special place in my heart,” Andreescu said. “I’ve been coming here since I was I think 12 years old, whether it’s for vacation or training or, yeah, Orange Bowl. I love that tournament very much. Yeah, coming back here, I think it’s just good vibes overall.”

Andreescu moves on to face 10th-ranked Maria Sakkari, who had a first-round bye.

Shelby Rogers beat Stephens 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. Stephens has six hard-court titles, including the US Open in 2017 and Miami in 2018.

Rogers will face Australian Open champion and world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, who beat Rogers in the second round at Melbourne Park. Sabalenka is coming off a loss in the final at Indian Wells, California, last week.

On the men’s side, Dusan Lajovic beat three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray 6-4, 7-5.

“I served pretty well, but the rest of the game was a bit of a problem today,” the 35-year-old Murray said. “Made a number of errors that obviously I wouldn’t expect to be making. I didn’t really feel like I moved particularly well, which is really important for me.”

Lajovic, a 32-year-old Serbian, will face Maxime Cressy, who had a first-round bye.

Swiatek withdrew because of a rib injury that she is hoping will heal during a break from competition. The 21-year-old from Poland also will sit out her country’s Billie Jean King Cup qualifier matches against Kazakhstan on April 13-14.

“I wanted to wait ‘til the last minute” to decide whether to play in Miami, Swiatek said at a news conference at the site of the hard-court tournament that began Tuesday. “We were kind of checking if this is the kind of injury you can still play with or this is kind when you can get things worse. So I think the smart move for me is to pull out of this tournament because I want to rest and take care of it properly.”

In other action, 24-year-old American J.J. Wolf defeated Alexander Bublik 7-5, 6-3. He’ll face No. 7-ranked Andrey Rublev, who had a first-round bye.

Gael Monfils retired from his match against Ugo Humbert due to a persistent wrist injury.


Scheffler, McIlroy grab opening victories while Rahm falls at WGC Match Play

Scheffler, McIlroy grab opening victories while Rahm falls at WGC Match Play
Updated 23 March 2023

Scheffler, McIlroy grab opening victories while Rahm falls at WGC Match Play

Scheffler, McIlroy grab opening victories while Rahm falls at WGC Match Play
  • Spain’s Rahm fell to US 49th seed Fowler 2 and 1
  • South Korean Tom Kim edged Sweden’s Alex Noren 2 and 1 in Scheffler’s group

WASHINGTON: Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler and world No.3 Rory McIlroy won while second-ranked Jon Rahm lost to Rickie Fowler in Wednesday’s opening group matches at the WGC Match Play Championship.

US seventh seed Will Zalatoris and Norwegian eighth seed Viktor Hovland were also among five top group seeds to fall on day one at Austin (Texas) Country Club.

Sixteen winners from four-man groups will advance to weekend knockout rounds.

Reigning Masters champion Scheffler, who won the Players Championship earlier this month, sank a 13-foot birdie putt at the 18th hole to edge US 54th seed Davis Riley 2 and 1.

“Fortunate to come away with a win,” Scheffler said. “I’m going to remember that putt on the last hole and take that energy into tomorrow.”

Scheffler, who never trailed, holed out from 52 feet for eagle to win the par-4 fifth hole and eagled from 24 feet to take the par-4 13th.

Riley missed a three-foot birdie putt at the par-5 16th that would have pulled him level but Scheffler missed a 3.5-foot putt at the par-3 17th to win the match.

“I got off to a really good start. Outside of that I didn’t really play great,” Scheffler said. “Fortunately I saw that putt go in on 18.”

South Korean Tom Kim edged Sweden’s Alex Noren 2 and 1 in Scheffler’s group.

Spain’s Rahm fell to US 49th seed Fowler 2 and 1. Rahm, a three-time PGA winner this year, missed a par putt from just inside five feet to drop the 15th. Fowler sank a seven-footer for par at 16 and halved 17 as well to win.

“Just had to stay patient and rely on iron play,” Fowler said. “I just kept grinding and pushing forward.”

It was Fowler’s first appearance at the event since 2016 and Rahm’s first opening-match loss in six starts.

Four-time major winner McIlroy beat American Scott Stallings 3 and 1 with a new putter and new driver.

“It was a good first outing for both those clubs,” McIlroy said. “They performed pretty well.”

The 2015 Match Play winner from Northern Ireland said the event helps prepare him for stroke-play challenges to come.

“There’s a ton of golf left this season but to get a bit of match play in our lives is good, and to get under pressure,” McIlroy said.

US 20th seed Keegan Bradley, 4-down after 13, won four of the last five holes, his six-foot birdie putt taking 18 to tie countryman Denny McCarthy in McIlroy’s group.

Zalatoris dropped the last three holes to fall 3 and 2 to 56th-seeded compatriot Andrew Putnam.

US 59th seed Matt Kuchar, the 2013 Match Play champion, won 3 and 1 over Hovland. Kuchar, at 44 the oldest in the field, is one shy of Tiger Woods’s event record 36 match wins.

Aussie 33rd seed Adam Scott sank a 26-foot birdie putt at the 18th to grab his only lead in a 1-up victory over Irish 30th seed Seamus Power.

Scott, the 2013 Masters champion, last won a PGA title in 2020 at Riviera.

“I haven’t won anything much in a long time,” he said. “A win feels satisfying.”

South Korean 16th seed Im Sung-jae beat US 58th seed Maverick McNealy 8 and 6, matching the most lopsided group win at Austin.

US 61st seed J.J. Spaun never trailed in upsetting England’s 11th-seeded Matt Fitzpatrick 5 and 3. Spaun won four of the last five holes from the reigning US Open champion with three birdies and an eagle hole-out from 107 yards at the par-4 13th.

“I just slung it with the wind,” Spaun said. “I could tell it was going to be pretty good, but then it got really good and then it just disappeared and the crowd went nuts.”


Battle to buy Man United heats up as Qatar banker, British billionaire prepare fresh bids

Battle to buy Man United heats up as Qatar banker, British billionaire prepare fresh bids
Updated 23 March 2023

Battle to buy Man United heats up as Qatar banker, British billionaire prepare fresh bids

Battle to buy Man United heats up as Qatar banker, British billionaire prepare fresh bids

MANCHESTER, Britain: The battle to buy Manchester United heated up on Wednesday as Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani and British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe prepared to raise their bids for the 20-time English champions.
Both parties were expected to increase their initial offers after the submission deadline of 2100 GMT was extended by merchant bank Raine, which is assisting with the sale of the club, following confusion over the timing, the BBC reported.
Sky Sports also reported that Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe had been granted extensions to submit fresh bids.
The new deadline for offers has not been made clear, according to the BBC.
United’s owners, the Glazer family, have reportedly set a world record £6 billion ($7.3 billion) valuation for a sports club.
Sheikh Jassim’s bid for 100 percent control of the club promises to wipe United’s $620 million debt and invest in a new stadium and training ground, in addition to backing for the men’s and women’s teams.
A source close to Sheikh Jassim’s bid told AFP he remains confident his bid is “the best for the club, fans and local community.”
INEOS chemical company founder Ratcliffe, a boyhood United fan, has been more circumspect in his assessment, insisting he will not pay a “stupid” price in a bidding war for one of football’s most iconic clubs.
“How do you decide the price of a painting? How do you decide the price of a house? It’s not related to how much it cost to build or how much it cost to paint,” Ratcliffe told the Wall Street Journal this week.
“What you don’t want to do is pay stupid prices for things because then you regret it subsequently.”
Ratcliffe, who wants the 69 percent stake owned by the Glazer family, said his interest in United would be “purely in winning things,” calling the club a “community asset.”
Deeply unpopular with supporters since they saddled the club with debt in a £790 million leveraged takeover in 2005, the Glazers appeared ready to cash out at an enormous profit when they invited external investment in November.
However, they could yet shun the option of selling a controlling stake in the club, with other parties interested in a minority shareholding.
The initial offers from the first round of bidding last month were believed to have been worth around £4.5 billion.
That would surpass the Premier League record of £2.5 billion paid for Chelsea last year by a consortium led by LA Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly and private equity firm Clearlake Capital, with a further £1.75 billion promised in investment in infrastructure and players.
Bidders are expected to hear from United next week, with another round of bidding still in play.
If one bid is vastly ahead of the others, it could be chosen to enter into a period of exclusivity, which would allow further negotiation ahead of a final sale.

Ratcliffe visited Old Trafford last Friday along with INEOS representatives, a day after a delegation from Sheikh Jassim’s group toured the club’s stadium and training ground to hold more talks as part of their due diligence.
Just months after hosting the 2022 World Cup, a successful Qatari bid would give the Gulf state pride of place in the Premier League — the world’s most-watched domestic competition.
But it would also be controversial.
Sheikh Jassim is the son of former Qatari prime minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, and his close links to the gulf state’s ruling elite would raise questions over another Premier League club becoming a state-backed project.
Premier League champions Manchester City’s fortunes have been transformed since a takeover from Sheikh Mansour, a member of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family in 2008.
In 2021, the Saudi sovereign wealth fund bought a controlling stake in Newcastle.
Amnesty International has called on the Premier League to tighten ownership rules to ensure they are “not an opportunity for more sportswashing.”
United, three-time European champions, haven’t won the Premier League since legendary boss Alex Ferguson led them to a 20th English title in his final season before retiring in 2013.
But they are enjoying a renaissance under Erik ten Hag’s management this season and ended a six-year trophy drought by lifting the League Cup last month.
 


Lyon’s Women’s Champions League title bid suffers blow after Chelsea defeat, Wolfsburg win

Lyon’s Women’s Champions League title bid suffers blow after Chelsea defeat, Wolfsburg win
Updated 23 March 2023

Lyon’s Women’s Champions League title bid suffers blow after Chelsea defeat, Wolfsburg win

Lyon’s Women’s Champions League title bid suffers blow after Chelsea defeat, Wolfsburg win
  • Since 2016, Lyon only once have failed to win the competition

LYON, France: Lyon’s chances of a seventh Women’s Champions League title in eight years were hit by losing 1-0 to Chelsea in the first leg of the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Guro Reiten’s winner — a curling strike in the 28th minute — puts Chelsea in control against the defending champions heading into the second leg next week at Stamford Bridge.

Since 2016, Lyon only once have failed to win the competition — in 2021, when the team was eliminated in the quarterfinals by French rival Paris Saint-Germain.

PSG, which has never won the Champions League, lost 1-0 to Wolfsburg in Wednesday’s other quarterfinal first leg.

Delphine Cascarino hit the post for Lyon in the second half but the eight-time champions couldn’t find the equalizer at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais.

The Norway international’s goal was set up by Erin Cuthbert, who fought off Ellie Carpenter in midfield before delivering a pass into the area for Reiten’s one-timer.

Chelsea have never won the tournament. They lost to Barcelona 4-0 in the 2021 final.

In Paris, defender Dominique Janssen converted a penalty in the 62nd minute for the visitors at Parc des Princes.

The penalty was awarded to the German team after a video review determined that Elisa de Almeida handled the ball in the area — an infraction that earned the PSG defender her second yellow card and a sending off.

In Tuesday’s first legs, Bayern Munich and Barcelona won 1-0 against Arsenal and Roma, respectively.


IOC’s Bach defends Russia stance amid pro-Ukraine protest

IOC’s Bach defends Russia stance amid pro-Ukraine protest
Updated 23 March 2023

IOC’s Bach defends Russia stance amid pro-Ukraine protest

IOC’s Bach defends Russia stance amid pro-Ukraine protest
  • Bach said he opposed political influence on sports and any suggestion that Russians should be treated as if they have “collective guilt”

ESSEN, Germany: International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach defended his organization’s efforts to create a pathway for Russian and Belarusian athletes to return to competition in a speech in his home country of Germany which took place amid a pro-Ukraine protest Wednesday.

Bach reiterated the IOC’s position that it would be discriminatory to exclude Russians and Belarusians based on citizenship alone and argued the Olympics can help promote dialogue at a tense time. Public broadcaster WDR reported nearly 200 pro-Ukraine protesters gathered outside the venue calling for Russia to be excluded entirely from the Olympics.

The IOC recommended excluding Russia and Belarus on safety grounds soon after the invasion last year but now argues for letting the two countries’ athletes compete as neutrals without national symbols ahead of a packed calendar of qualification events for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Bach said he opposed political influence on sports and any suggestion that Russians should be treated as if they have “collective guilt.” The Olympics, he added, need to remain neutral to be a unifying force.

The IOC previously said it wants to keep out athletes deemed to be “actively supporting the war,” with a final decision lying with the international federations running individual sports, but it has given few details of how that would work.

Bach refined that approach Wednesday, indicating the IOC could recommend barring athletes who pose with a “Z” symbol, a marking used on Russian military vehicles which has become a symbol of support for the war.

“Our principles say clearly and distinctly that any active support for the war, and that includes wearing this ‘Z’, that includes posts and much else besides (is prohibited). Anyone who supports the war in this way cannot, or in relation to the international federations, since we are issuing this only as a recommendation, should not take part in these competitions,” Bach said.

Asked about what to do with the many Russian athletes who are part of the military or have ties to military organizations, Bach indicated the IOC could decide on its approach at a board meeting next week.

“Wait until the middle of next week. I am confident that we will come up with appropriate guidelines then,” he said.