Al-Ittihad champions as Al-Nassr and Ronaldo stumble

Al-Ittihad champions as Al-Nassr and Ronaldo stumble
(Twitter: @SPL)
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Updated 11 August 2023
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Al-Ittihad champions as Al-Nassr and Ronaldo stumble

Al-Ittihad champions as Al-Nassr and Ronaldo stumble

Al-Ittihad are Saudi Arabian champions for the first time since 2009 after defeating Al-Fayha 3- 0 on Saturday in the penultimate round of fixtures in the Roshn Saudi League. Second-placed Al-Nassr came back to draw 1-1 at Ettifaq but it was not enough as Ittihad’s win ended an exciting title race. It is a well-deserved triumph for coach Nuno Santo and his players who saw off the challenge of Cristiano Ronaldo and Al-Nassr to lift a hard-fought and deserved prize.

At kick-off, Al-Ittihad knew that a win would be enough for title number nine but they also knew that they had been in good positions before and failed to finish the job such as last season when a 16-point advantage over Al-Hilal did not prove to be enough. Any nerves were, however,  reduced after three minutes as Ahmed Sharahili sent the Jeddah giants on their way. Igor Coronado floated over a deep free-kick and Sharahili reacted to stab the ball home from close range and the celebrations in Jeddah started to bubble under the surface.




(Twitter: @ittihad)

That early strike was a blow for Al-Nassr who hit the post in the first half thanks to a shot from Luiz Gustavo from close range.but three minutes before the break, the Yellows fell behind.Saeed Al-Mowalad crossed from the right and Youssouf Niakate swept home from close range to finish a perfect move. It was harsh on Al-Nassr who had dominated possession and had the better of the chances but they could feel that their chances of league title number ten were slipping away.

Ronaldo and his team continued to work hard but received another body blow just before the break as Al-Ittihad extended their lead thanks to another set piece. Coronado floated over a free-kick once again and this time Romarinho – the Brazilian has been one of the players of the season – headed home. It prompted wild celebrations among the travelling fans who knew that their 14-year wait was almost over.

Al-Nassr were not about to give up without a fight however. After 56 minutes Abdulrahman Ghareeb passed back to the onrushing Gustavo who unleashed a rocket of a shot into the top corner of the Ettifaq goal from outside the area. It was a spectacular effort. With ten minutes remaining, it looked as if the game was won as Ghareeb pulled the ball back for Gustavo to fire an unstoppable shot into the Ettifaq net. It was ruled out by VAR, which spotted an offside in the build up. In the end, it didn’t really matter as Al-Ittihad rarely looked like losing their two-goal lead and their grip on the league trophy. Soon after, the Tigers made it 3-0 as Romarinho broke free to slot the ball home from just inside the area.

 

It meant that the celebrations could start in earnest as Al-Ittihad took the points before the end of the Al-Nassr game. It has been a deserved triumph.

 

Elsewhere, defending champions Al-Hilal moved into third place with a 3-0 win at Abha. Mohammed Al-Qahtani opened the scoring after 11 minutes and Odion Ighalo extended that lead a minute before the break. Abdullah Al-Hamdan added a third.

The relegation battle is hotting up. In the battle of the two teams at the bottom of the table, Al-Batin, who are already relegated, drew 2-2 with next to bottom Al-Adalah who are a point behind safety and Al-Khaleej who drew 0-0 with  Al-Raed. Al-Wedha are now safe after defeating Al-Tai 2-1.

The headlines however belong, for once, not to Criistiano Ronaldo, but to the new champions of Al-Ittihad.


Pochettino urges struggling Chelsea players to ‘believe’

Pochettino urges struggling Chelsea players to ‘believe’
Updated 26 September 2023
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Pochettino urges struggling Chelsea players to ‘believe’

Pochettino urges struggling Chelsea players to ‘believe’
  • The Blues, European champions just two years ago, are a lowly 14th in the Premier League table
  • But new manager Pochettino, speaking on the eve of their League Cup third-round match against Brighton, struck a positive note, saying his team were still a work in progress

LONDON: Mauricio Pochettino has urged his struggling Chelsea team to keep believing in themselves but admitted they had to “fix” their crippling goalscoring problem.
The Blues, European champions just two years ago, are a lowly 14th in the Premier League table, just four points above the relegation zone, after one win in their first six matches.
Big-spending Chelsea have mustered just five goals in the league — and three of those came in the 3-0 win against newly-promoted Luton.
But new manager Pochettino, speaking on the eve of their League Cup third-round match against Brighton, struck a positive note, saying his team were still a work in progress.
“(It is) a very short time that we are together,” said the Argentine. “Realistically, we only started after the transfer window closed. Before, it was a little bit of an unstable situation.”
He said injury-hit Chelsea were full of ideas and dominating games but struggling to find the net — Raheem Sterling is the top-scorer with just two goals.
“Every single football person in this country sees Chelsea deserve more but we have missed (scoring) goals, the most important thing in football — we cannot forget that,” said the former Tottenham boss.
“We need to get criticized, of course, because we are not winning games but we need to keep being strong in the belief.
“The team is very well-organized, the effort is massive. You can see against Aston Villa (a match Chelsea lost 1-0) how the players fight with 10 men.”
He added: “We are playing well, it’s only we are not clinical in front of the goal. That is what we need to fix and try to give more confidence to our offensive players.”


Al-Nassr cruise, Al-Hilal stumble into King’s Cup round of 16

Al-Nassr cruise, Al-Hilal stumble into King’s Cup round of 16
Updated 26 September 2023
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Al-Nassr cruise, Al-Hilal stumble into King’s Cup round of 16

Al-Nassr cruise, Al-Hilal stumble into King’s Cup round of 16
  • Without Cristiano Ronaldo, Al-Nassr comprehensively overcome Ohod 5-1

Riyadh rivals Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal safely booked their spots in the round of 16 of the King’s Cup after away victories over lower-tier opposition on Monday night.

But while Al-Nassr cruised to a comfortable 5-1 win over Ohod, Al-Hilal struggled to overcome Al-Jabalain 1-0.

Al-Nassr, playing without the rested Cristiano Ronaldo, took the lead on 15 minutes through a penalty by Sadio Mane, but the home team responded with a fine chipped equalizer from Konrad Michalak deep into first-half stoppage time.

Second-half strikes from Seko Fofana (62 minutes), Talisca (75), Ayman Yahya (81) and Sami Al-Najei (86) saw the Yellows safely through to the next round.

In contrast, Al-Hilal could only manage a solitary goal from Reuben Neves on 64 minutes as they labored to beat stubborn first-division outfit Al-Jabalain.

Elsewhere on Monday night, there was shock as Saudi Pro League team Al-Raed were beaten by first-division Al-Najmah 2-1, while Damac progressed after a 2-1 victory over Al-Qaisumah.


FIFA announce sale of Club World Cup 2023 match tickets

FIFA announce sale of Club World Cup 2023 match tickets
Updated 25 September 2023
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FIFA announce sale of Club World Cup 2023 match tickets

FIFA announce sale of Club World Cup 2023 match tickets
  • Seven clubs, including Saudi’s Al-Ittihad, will contest the continental championship from Dec. 12th to Dec. 22nd
  • 20th edition of the global club tournament will feature a debut appearance from European champions Man. City

RIYADH: Club World Cup 2023 match tickets will be available for purchase from Tuesday Sept. 26th at FIFA.com/tickets.

Seven clubs will contest the continental championship in Saudi Arabia from Dec. 12th to Dec. 22nd.

Al-Ittihad, winners of the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) 2022-2023, will represent hosts Saudi Arabia.

The 20th edition of the global club tournament will feature a debut appearance from European champions Manchester City.

It will also feature Concacaf champions Club Leon of Mexico, Japan’s Urawa Reds, Egypt’s Al Ahly and New Zealand’s Auckland City.

The line-up will be completed by the yet-to-be determined Copa Libertadores winners.


Saudi U-23 football team beat Vietnam 3-1 in Asian Games

Saudi U-23 football team beat Vietnam 3-1 in Asian Games
Updated 25 September 2023
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Saudi U-23 football team beat Vietnam 3-1 in Asian Games

Saudi U-23 football team beat Vietnam 3-1 in Asian Games
  • The Greens will face the Indian team in the qualifying rounds on Thursday

HANGZHOU, China: The Saudi under-23 football team qualified for the second round of the event in the Asian Games after defeating Vietnam 3-1 on Sunday.
Scoring for the Green Falcons were Mohammed Al-Yami in the 43rd minute, Mohammed Maran in the 87th minute, and Zakaria Hawsawi in the 90th minute.
The Greens will face the Indian team in the qualifying rounds on Thursday.
In tennis, Ammar Al-Haqbani of the Saudi team qualified for the round of 32 in the men's singles competitions, after defeating Qatar'sRashid Naif, 2-0, in the round of 64.

Ammar will next meet on Monday the 60th ranked player in the world, Zhizhen Zhang of China's.
His sister, Yara, lost to Mongolia's Maraljo Shumjav in the round of 64 of the women’s singles tennis competition in two sets to zero.
Ammar and Yara will open the tennis doubles competition at 3 p.m. Monday, facing the Indonesian national team. 

In Taekwondo, the Saudi Arabia's Wahid Mughais was eliminated from the quarter-finals of the individual poomsae competition, after losing to Vietnam's Tran with a score of 7230 against 7490 points.
Wahid had qualified for this round by defeating the Bangladeshi Hussein Noureddine with a score of 7400 against 6460 points.
His colleague Abrar Bukhari dropped out of the competition after losing to Pakistan's Naila with a score of 7340 against 7180 points.

The Saudi under-23 football team qualified for the second round of the event in the Asian Games after defeating Vietnam 3-1 on Sunday. (Supplied)

In e-sports, Saudi Arabia's Ahmed Mujahid retired from competitions early after losing to Vietnam's Duc Hieu Trong with a score of 2-0, and losing to (Non Martinez) from Macau with the same score.
In boxing, the Kingdom's Musa Al-Hawsawi lost his match to Kyrgyzstan's Azat Usenaliev by knockout in the second round of the round of 32 competitions in the over 63-kilogram category.
Saudi rowers Sultan Al-Shali and Turki Al-Aarif ended their participation in the tournament after finishing 12th in the overall standings of the doubles competition in the (LM2x) category. The duo finished the race with a time of 6.56.63 minutes.
In handball, the Saudi handball team lost its first match to Japan with a score of 29 against 37 points. The first half of the match ended with a Japanese lead of 20-14 points.
The Greens Hand will play their second match in the tournament, when they meet the  Mongolian team at 4 p.m. on Monday.


Newcastle thrash Sheffield United 8-0 in Premier League

Newcastle thrash Sheffield United 8-0 in Premier League
Updated 24 September 2023
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Newcastle thrash Sheffield United 8-0 in Premier League

Newcastle thrash Sheffield United 8-0 in Premier League
  • Victory lifts Newcastle up to eighth and within five points of the top four

SHEFFIELD: Newcastle came close to matching the Premier League's record margin of victory as they thrashed Sheffield United 8-0 at Bramall Lane on Sunday.
Eddie Howe's side ran riot with goals from Sean Longstaff, Dan Burn, Sven Botman, Callum Wilson, Anthony Gordon, Miguel Almiron, Bruno Guimaraes and Alexander Isak.
The biggest winning margin in the Premier League era is 9-0, a score recorded by Manchester United against Ipswich and Southampton in 1995 and 2021 respectively.
Liverpool won 9-0 against Bournemouth last year, while Leicester managed it against Southampton in 2019.
Sheffield United's largest ever league defeat sent the Blades to the bottom of the Premier League table.
With just one point from their first six games back in the English top flight, Paul Heckingbottom's future as manager is now in doubt.
"The first-half goals we conceded were really poor, but it's the second half I'm upset with," said Heckingbottom.
"The errors that led to goals, a lot of things I'd never seen before, and there's certain things that aren't acceptable."
Newcastle had lost three of their opening five league games of the season to dampen expectations that the Saudi-backed Magpies could challenge for the title.
Howe's men had been in the Champions League for the first time in 20 years on Tuesday as they played out a 0-0 draw away to AC Milan.
But Newcastle showed no signs of fatigue and they exhibited their strength in depth as they became the first side in Premier League history to have eight different scorers in one match, not including own goals.
"I thought we were really good, and once the goals came the confidence returned," said Howe.
"What a response from the players in the past week."
Sheffield United had started the game brightly at an emotional Bramall Lane as tributes were paid to Maddy Cusack.
The 27-year-old, who was the longest-serving player in the club's women's side and also worked in the club's commercial department, died earlier this week.
However, the hosts fell apart as Newcastle struck three times in a 14-minute spell.
Longstaff swept home Gordon's cross before centre-backs Dan Burn and Sven Botman headed home from Kieran Trippier crosses.
Trippier had a hat-trick of assists shortly after the break as he set up Wilson.
It was 5-0 just after the hour mark when Gordon capped a scintillating display by cutting inside and curling a fine 20-yard shot into the bottom corner.
Almiron's sweet strike found the bottom corner to make it six before Guimaraes converted a loose ball in the area.
Substitute Isak completed the rout by latching on to a loose header from Tom Davies.
Victory lifts Newcastle up to eighth and within five points of the top four.