Sevilla beat Al-Ittihad 1-0 to take Antonio Puerta Trophy

Sevilla beat Al-Ittihad 1-0 to take Antonio Puerta Trophy
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Sevilla defeated Al-Ittihad 1-0 in the 13th hosting of the Antonio Puerta Trophy. (Supplied)
Sevilla beat Al-Ittihad 1-0 to take Antonio Puerta Trophy
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Sevilla defeated Al-Ittihad 1-0 in the 13th hosting of the Antonio Puerta Trophy. (Supplied)
Sevilla beat Al-Ittihad 1-0 to take Antonio Puerta Trophy
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Sevilla defeated Al-Ittihad 1-0 in the 13th hosting of the Antonio Puerta Trophy. (Supplied)
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Updated 27 July 2024
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Sevilla beat Al-Ittihad 1-0 to take Antonio Puerta Trophy

Sevilla beat Al-Ittihad 1-0 to take Antonio Puerta Trophy
  • La Liga club host annual match in honor of former player who died aged 22 in 2007
  • Match is latest pre-season friendly for both clubs ahead of the start of their domestic leagues in August

DUBAI: La Liga club Sevilla FC defeated Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ittihad 1-0 to claim the Antonio Puerta Trophy at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium in Seville on Friday night.

Lucas Ocampos  scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot after 42 minutes.

The annual friendly has been hosted by the Andalusian club since 2008 in honor of former player Antonio Puerta who died from heart disease in 2007 at the age of 22.

This was the 13th hosting of the match, which was not contested in 2015, 2018, 2020 or 2021. Sevilla now have won won the trophy 11 times.  

The match was also the latest outing for both clubs ahead of start of their respective domestic campaigns.

Al-Ittihad will play two more friendlies against Real Betis (Aug. 3) and Inter Milan (Aug. 7) before kicking off their Saudi Pro League season with a match against Al-Kholood on Aug. 24.

Sevilla will launch their La Liga campaign on Aug. 16 at Las Palmas.


Saudi FM discusses Lebanon with French diplomat

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan receives the French President’s Special Envoy to Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan receives the French President’s Special Envoy to Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian.
Updated 02 October 2024
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Saudi FM discusses Lebanon with French diplomat

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan receives the French President’s Special Envoy to Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian.
  • Officials discussed the current developments in Lebanon and efforts made in this regard

RIYADH: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan received the French President’s Special Envoy to Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian in Riyadh on Wednesday.

During the reception, the officials discussed the current developments in Lebanon and efforts made in this regard.

The meeting comes as Israel said on Wednesday that it had begun limited ground incursions into Lebanon targeting Hezbollah.


5-star Al-Hilal round off a perfect week for Saudi teams in AFC Champions League

5-star Al-Hilal round off a perfect week for Saudi teams in AFC Champions League
Updated 02 October 2024
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5-star Al-Hilal round off a perfect week for Saudi teams in AFC Champions League

5-star Al-Hilal round off a perfect week for Saudi teams in AFC Champions League
  • The Riyadh club made it 2 wins out of 2 in the competition as they overwhelmed Al-Shorta of Iraq in a 5-0 victory
  • The previous day the Kingdom’s other contenders, Al-Nassr and Al-Ahli, also racked up victories on matchday 2

Al-Hilal thrashed Al-Shorta of Iraq 5-0 on Tuesday to make it two wins out of two in the AFC Champions League Elite, and three for three matchday 2 wins for Saudi clubs in Asia’s premier club tournament.

Following victories on Monday for Al-Nassr and Al-Ahli, four-time winners of the competition Al-Hilal never looked to be in any danger in front of their home fans in Riyadh as they delivered a clinical, comprehensive victory without ever really breaking sweat and with each of the goals scored by a different player.

It was a ninth successive win in all competitions for the Saudi Pro League leaders and defending champions, who are once again starting to look very ominous, even at this early stage of the season, not only domestically but in the continental competition.

Their opening goal did not take long to arrive; 11 minutes, in fact. Aleksandar Mitrovic headed the ball across the face of goal for fellow Serbian Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, who was coming in at the near post. His shot, from almost point-blank range, was well-saved by Ahmed Basil but Marcos Leonardo, signed from Benfica just a month ago as cover for the injured Neymar, was waiting to bundle the ball into the net from the rebound.

It was the perfect start and things got even better for Al-Hilal just four minutes later. Brazilian left-back Renan Lodi struggled to impress last season after arriving from Marseille in January but has looked much more settled this time around. He clipped a cross toward the near post from just outside a crowded area and Mitrovic was able to get in front of the defense to head home.

What had been a big ask for the Iraqis was starting to look like a mission impossible. Even when they did manage to make it into their opponents’ half, Kalidou Koulibaly or Ali Al-Bulaihi always seemed to be waiting to tidy up and eliminate any threat. Hussein Ali did manage a shot that went wide but that was about the extent of the Iraqis’ chances.

Any lingering hopes Al-Shorta, who held Al-Nassr to a draw two weeks ago, might have had of getting back into the game were extinguished five minutes after the restart. Mitrovic played the ball on the edge of the area and it fell to Salem Al-Dawsari whose first-time, low shot headed smoothly into the bottom corner of the net.

Midway through the second half things almost got worse for the visitors when Leonardo broke into the penalty area and fired home from close range. However, the offside flag was up.

The home fans did not have too long to wait for a fourth goal. In the 73rd minute, Malcom did all the hard work on the right side before slipping the ball through to Portuguese international Joao Cancelo, who advanced to the near post and then pulled a pass across goal, where substitute Nasser Al-Dawsari made no mistake from the closest of range. He could not miss.

Another sub, Abdullah Al-Hamdan, came close to adding a fifth but the goalkeeper took the ball from his feet. Then a Cancelo shot from outside the area went just over the bar.

Right at the end, Al-Hilal did grab their fifth of the night and it was the best of the lot. Mohammed Kanno exchanged passes with Mohammed Al-Qahtani on the edge of the area and then bent the return into the top corner of the goal. It was the perfect end to a perfect evening.

On the evidence so far, with eight goals in two games and only one conceded, Al-Hilal are going to take some stopping.


I don’t care about individual records anymore, Ronaldo says

I don’t care about individual records anymore, Ronaldo says
Updated 02 October 2024
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I don’t care about individual records anymore, Ronaldo says

I don’t care about individual records anymore, Ronaldo says
  • The 39-year-old, who has won the Ballon d’Or award five times, scored in Al-Nassr’s 2-1 win over Al-Rayyan

RIYADH: Cristiano Ronaldo insists he is focused on being the perfect team member at Saudi side Al-Nassr rather than collecting more individual accolades in the twilight of his career.

The 39-year-old, who has won the Ballon d’Or award five times, scored in Al-Nassr’s 2-1 win over Al-Rayyan of Qatar in their AFC Champions League Group B match on Monday.

It was the club’s fourth successive victory in all competitions under new coach Stefano Pioli, who replaced Luis Castro last month.

“It was a strong and difficult match like all the matches in the AFC Champions League, but the most important thing is that we created many chances and defended well to prevent the opponent from creating easy chances,” Ronaldo told a press conference.

“It is not important anymore whether I am the best or not, I no longer care about that. It is good for a player to score goals, but for me it is better for the team to win.

“I am used to breaking records and I no longer look for them. The most important thing for me now is to enjoy and help Al-Nassr and my teammates to win.”

Ronaldo became the top scorer in a single season in the Saudi Pro League last May with 35 goals.

The Portugal captain also scored his 901st career goal in a 2-1 win over Scotland in the Nations League last month.

“My goal against Al-Rayyan was different and important because my father would have been happy with it if he was alive, as today (yesterday) is his birthday,” the former Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United forward added.


Al-Hilal top Saudi Pro League after win over Al-Kholood

Al-Hilal top Saudi Pro League after win over Al-Kholood
Updated 29 September 2024
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Al-Hilal top Saudi Pro League after win over Al-Kholood

Al-Hilal top Saudi Pro League after win over Al-Kholood
  • Reigning champions are the only club with a perfect record after five wins from five matches

RIYADH: Champions Al-Hilal returned to the top of the Saudi Pro League table after beating Al-Kholood 4-2 in Rass on Saturday night.

The visitors surged into a four-goal lead in a devastating 10 -minute period either side of half-time thanks to goals from Khalidou Koulibaly (38), Malcom (43), Ali Al-Bulaihi (45+3) and Renan Lodi (48),

Al-Kholood belatedly rallied to half the deficit with goals from Hammam Al-Hammami (71) and William Troost-Ekong (penalty, 87) which ultimately proved nothing more than consolation efforts.

Al-Hilal now lead the table with 15 points from five matches and are the last team in the Saudi Pro League with a perfect start to the 2024-2025 season.

In the day’s other matches visitors Al-Okhdood beat Al-Fateh 4-2 in Al-Mubarraz, while Al-Orobah managed a narrow 1-0 win over Damac at home.


Champions Al-Nassr kick off new Saudi Women’s Premier League with win over AlUla

Champions Al-Nassr kick off new Saudi Women’s Premier League with win over AlUla
Updated 28 September 2024
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Champions Al-Nassr kick off new Saudi Women’s Premier League with win over AlUla

Champions Al-Nassr kick off new Saudi Women’s Premier League with win over AlUla
  • Al-Shabab overcame Al-Taraji 4-0 while Al-Ahli comprehensively beat Al-Amal 6-2

RIYADH: Reigning champions Al-Nassr kicked off their defense of the Saudi Women’s Premier League title with a 3-1 win over AlUla in Riyadh on Friday night.

It was one of three matches that got the 2024-25 season underway, with AlUla shocking the home team when they took the lead through Jaine Lemke on 23 minutes. However, Clara Luvanga equalized for Al-Nassr five minutes later to ensure the teams went into half-time on level terms.

Second half goals from Ruth Kipoyi (52) and Lina Boussaha (64) completed Al-Nassr’s comeback.

Meanwhile, Al-Shabab defeated Al-Taraji 4-0 at Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz Sports City Stadium in Al-Qatif with goals from Fatima Al-Sadah (9), Nataša Andonova (40, 63) and Al-Bandari Mubarak (76).

In Friday’s third match, Al-Ahli completed a comprehensive 6-2 win over Al-Amal at King Fahad Sport City Stadium in Taif to top the table with two more matches remaining in the opening round.

Al-Ahli’s goals came from a hat-trick by Naomie Kabakaba (11, 18, 87) and one each by Elodie Nakkach (45), Ayah Al-Majali (64) and Alice Kusi (71). Al-Amal’s consolation strikes came from Mariam Sidibe (74) and Stephanie Gbogou Tape (85).

On Saturday night, Al-Hilal will welcome Eastern Flames to Inaya Medical Colleges Stadium in Riyadh, while Al-Ittihad will play host to Al-Qadsiah in Jeddah.