Al-Nassr defeated holders Al-Ain 5-1 in the AFC Champions League Elite on Tuesday to move into third place in the group and give Saudi Arabia the top three positions in the 12-team table.
With Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli winning on Monday to stay perfect on 12 points after four games, Al-Nassr are just two behind thanks to a devastating performance against the UAE’s powerhouse side.
The last time Al-Ain met Saudi Arabian opposition was just 15 days ago and fans were treated to a nine-goal thriller as Al-Hilal ran out 5-4 winners.
The last time they met Al-Nassr was at the quarter-final stage of last season’s competition in March when the UAE team triumphed on penalties in what was a painful evening for the fans in Riyadh.
It was a different story this time with Al-Nassr going ahead in the fifth minute with an impressive goal, though Al-Ain’s coach Hernan Crespo was left asking questions of his defenders.
Mohamed Simakan has impressed since joining from RB Leipzig, but there seemed to be little danger when the center-back picked up the ball inside his own half. The French defender was allowed to cross the halfway line, though, and with the opposition falling back, a short pass found Talisca who made space for the shot with his first touch and then fired home with his second.
Cristiano Ronaldo fired just wide from a similar position at the edge of the area after 10 minutes, but given Al-Ain’s scoring capabilities there was a feeling that more was needed.
Al-Nassr kept pushing and probing and Ronaldo had a goalbound shot blocked before the five-time Ballon d’Or winner got the all-important second with one of his less spectacular strikes. Khalid Eisa failed to hold on to a long-range effort from Sadio Mane and there was Ronaldo to slot it home from close range.
It was just the cushion that the Riyadh club wanted but they kept coming forward and, soon after, moved further ahead.
Angelo broke into the left side of the area after 37 minutes and his low cross was deflected off the leg of Fabio Cardoso to loop over Eisa and into the net.
The home fans were in dreamland and it could have been even better three minutes before the break had Eisa not got a foot to a Talisca shot that seemed goalbound.
There was just a hint of danger from Soufiane Rahimi in added time to remind Al-Nassr that the Moroccan had scored 13 in the last tournament and four already this time around, but at the break it was looking very good indeed as Al-Nassr had probably produced their best 45 minutes of the season.
They also started brightly after the restart, but after 10 minutes Al-Ain were on the scoresheet and back in the game with a goal from nowhere. Park Yong-woo’s powerful low shot from outside the area bounced off the post but then hit the diving Bento and rebounded into the goal.
A few nerves resulted and Bento was the busier of the two goalkeepers, although, at the other end, Aymeric Laporte headed over from a corner.
Al-Ain went closer when, with 13 minutes remaining, Rahimi rolled the ball across the face of goal for Abdoul Traore to net, but he somehow miscontrolled and the massive chance went begging.
It was his side’s last chance as Wesley sealed victory with nine minutes remaining, the Brazilian curling the ball home from inside the area.
There was no coming back from that, and there was even time for Talisca to grab his second and his team’s fifth as he lifted the ball smartly over Eisa to end a perfect evening for Al-Nassr and a perfect round of games for Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan women face Saudi Arabia in international friendly match in Doha today
Pakistan women last played international football match against Bangladesh in October
Head Coach Adeel Rizki says all Pakistani players in camp are “injury-free, in good spirits”
Updated 25 sec ago
Shahjahan Khurram
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan women’s national football team will face Saudi Arabia today, Saturday, for a FIFA International Friendly match at the Hamad bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha, the Pakistan Football Federation said.
Pakistan completed a three-day training camp under the guidance of Head Coach Adeel Rizki for the only encounter between the two sides.
Pakistan women were last seen in a friendly international fixture against Bangladesh in October when the two sides met in the SAFF Women’s Championship. Pakistan and Bangladesh drew the match 1-1.
“All players in the camp are injury-free and in good spirits,” Rizki said ahead of the match on Friday. “Although we only had two training sessions to prepare for this match, the team has shown great commitment and focus.”
He admitted Pakistan were missing some “key players” for Saturday’s fixture but said it allowed the team to test the younger talent.
“Despite the challenges, we are ready to compete and make Pakistan proud,” Rizki said.
The match is scheduled to kick off between the two sides at 9:00 p.m. Pakistan Standard Time.
Leclerc handed 10-place penalty for Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
The Monegasque topped first practice but was penalized after Ferrari fitted a new battery pack to his car
The penalty decision came minutes after the session ended
Updated 06 December 2024
Arab News
ABU DHABI: Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc topped the first practice session at Yas Marina Circuit ahead of Sunday’s Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but later received a 10-place grid penalty for the race.
The Monegasque driver recorded a time of 1:24.321 with McLaren’s Lando Norris 0.221 seconds adrift. Lewis Hamilton, in his last F1 weekend with Mercedes before his move to Ferrari next season, was third fastest.
The penalty decision came minutes after the session ended and put a dent in Ferrari’s hopes of taking this year’s Constructors’ Championship. They currently lie second in the standings, 21 points behind McLaren, with 44 points up for grabs.
Six teams put rookies in one of their cars for the weekend’s first practice session. They were Ryo Hirakawa (McLaren), Arthur Leclerc (Ferrari), Isack Hadjar (Red Bull), Felipe Drugovich (Aston Martin), Ayumu Iwasa (RB) and Luke Browning (Williams).
In the second practice session, Norris led his teammate Oscar Piastri to finish 1-2, with a time of 1:23:517. Nico Hulkenberg came third for Haas.
Joaquin Niemann takes 1-shot lead into final round of PIF Saudi International
The Chilean has been model of consistency this week, sandwiching first and third rounds of 65 with 66 on Thursday
Focus earlier had been firmly on American Caleb Surratt
Updated 06 December 2024
ARBA NEWS
RIYADH: Chile’s Joaquin Niemann will take a narrow one-shot lead into Saturday’s final round of the PIF Saudi International after firing a six-under 65 on Friday to move to 17-under-par.
Niemann leads Americans Peter Uihlein (66) — who is heading The International Series’ rankings list and has proved his winning pedigree with two victories already this season — and 20-year-old Caleb Surratt, who smashed the course record at Riyadh Golf Club with a 10-under 61 on Friday.
Behind them lurk a host of world-class talents and proven winners, including Britain’s three-time European Ryder Cup player Tyrrell Hatton (66), who shares joint fourth spot with two more Americans — Jason Kokrak and Logan McAllister — on 15-under.
It is still anyone’s guess who will emerge as Saturday’s winner at the Golf Saudi event, and Niemann said afterwards that he knew he would need to be at the top of his game again to take away the handsome silver trophy.
He said: “I don’t know what score would do it. All I know is that it will have to be lower than the others.”
The Chilean has so far been a model of consistency this week, sandwiching first and third rounds of 65 with a 66 on Thursday. On Friday he needed to stay patient, having to wait 10 holes before he added another birdie to his opening two at the first couple of holes.
His round really caught fire on the par-5 15th with an eagle three, and he finished off in style with a birdie at the last to take the slimmest of leads.
Earlier, the focus had been firmly on American Surratt, who only turned professional at the start of the year but has already shown considerable promise in his first handful of tournaments.
That rich potential was translated into a string of eight birdies and an eagle at the long 12th hole to leave him 16-under-par.
The young prospect from Indian Trail, North Carolina, who has yet to win a professional tournament, could hardly believe his own sizzling form, especially on a course that he had never played until this week.
His score could have been even more impressive but his chip just off the green for birdie at the par-4 18th hit the pin and rolled just a couple of inches away.
Surratt said: “It would mean everything (if I win). I don’t have half the experience a lot of these guys do, so I need to keep my head together and play like it’s with my friends back home.”
Saturday’s final round should be a feast of thrilling golf for the sellout crowd at Riyadh Golf Club.
‘I wouldn’t want to be in those shoes’: Sergio Perez says partnering Verstappen would be a tall order for a young driver
With speculation rife around the Mexican’s future at Red Bull, he sends a reminder of just how tough his job really is
Updated 06 December 2024
Reem Abulleil
ABU DHABI: With his future at Red Bull Racing in doubt, Sergio Perez has provided an honest assessment of the challenge of being the teammate of four-time world champion Max Verstappen.
Despite signing a new contract that should keep him in the Red Bull seat until the end of 2026, rumors have swirled around the potential exit of the Mexican driver, given the dip in his performance over the past six months.
“It’s an incredible challenge. I knew what I signed up for when I came here,” Perez said in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
“It’s an incredible challenge, and a challenge that people should not underestimate the level of experience, the level of capacity, of mental strength, that you need to cope with this extreme challenge.”
The 34-year-old joined the Milton Keynes-based outfit in 2021 and played a crucial role in helping Verstappen edge Lewis Hamilton in the season-closer in Abu Dhabi that year.
With Verstappen and Perez in tandem, Red Bull secured the constructors’ championship in 2022 and 2023, including a one-two in the drivers’ championship last season.
This year has told a different story, though, for Perez, who started 2024 by making the podium in four of the first five races and signing a contract extension in June, before struggling on the track for the rest of the season.
In his last 16 races, the Guadalajara native has had four DNFs, and has scored a mere 45 points.
With disappointing results since Monaco at the end of May, speculation has risen over possible replacements for Perez, whose new contract may include performance-related clauses.
Young candidates
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said after the Qatar Grand Prix last weekend that Perez is “old enough and wise enough to come to his own conclusions but there is still a race to go, so let’s get to the end of Abu Dhabi and see where we are at.”
Several names have been thrown around as possible replacements for Perez, including Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson, the drivers from Red Bull’s sister outfit RB — a team specifically designed to be a feeder for Red Bull.
Tsunoda, 24, has been at RB for four seasons and his current P12 in the drivers’ championship would be his highest finish since making his F1 debut in 2021. He is also scheduled to drive the Red Bull car in the post-season test in Abu Dhabi next week.
Lawson, 22, joined Red Bull’s Junior Team in 2019. The Kiwi driver subbed in for an injured Daniel Ricciardo at RB last year and was given the full seat late this season. Abu Dhabi will be just the 11th Grand Prix Lawson has raced so far in his young career.
Others have mentioned the 21-year-old Franco Colapinto, who has shown great promise since he got a Williams seat in Monza this season but is so far without a drive for 2025.
Perez believes it would be a tall order for a young driver to come in and replace him as Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate.
“I think being teammates with Max at Red Bull, for a young driver, I wouldn’t want to be in those shoes, if I’m honest,” said Perez.
“Like I said, people cannot underestimate the level of challenge that there is in this seat.”
Perez believes it would be a tall order for a young driver to come in and replace him as Max Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate. (AFP)
A role with a heavy toll
Williams driver Alex Albon, who spent a season and a half as Verstappen’s teammate at Red Bull, shared some insight into his own experience alongside the Dutch driver.
“It’s a tricky one. I think first of all you have to just appreciate the talent that Max has, that’s number one,” said Albon.
“Number two is, it’s not always that comfortable to drive that car. I don’t know where it is now for Checo (Perez), I haven’t been following along too much. But he likes a car quite different; it’s not easy for a driver to adapt to it.
“And then it’s just that toll of it. You’re in the spotlight constantly and it’s a tough place to be and I think for anyone, it’s not going to be an easy place to be, to be his teammate.”
Perez has indeed struggled with the RB20, which has not suited his driving style.
“I think when you look back at it, I was in the fight in 2022, I was in the fight in 2023, I had some tough moments in ’23 obviously. But then ’24 started really well. I think we just took a wrong direction and with driving styles, it impacts more one driver than the other,” said Perez.
“The way it impacted me, it was a lot harder than, for example, Max, because of his driving style. He can cope with a very neutral balance and I couldn’t. So, that was the main deficit, really.”
Taking responsibility
Perez’s performances mean that Red Bull have won the drivers’ championship via Verstappen but are out of the running in the constructors’ championship, which will be decided in Abu Dhabi this weekend between McLaren and Ferrari.
It is the first time since 1983 that a team that produced the winning driver in the championship only managed to finish third in the constructors’ standings.
Perez has acknowledged the role he played in such an anomaly but deflected the full blame.
“Of course, I take responsibility but also I don’t feel it’s fully all down to one person. I’m obviously part of a big organization, a big team, and it’s very unfortunate that we did not fight any harder for the constructors’,” said the Mexican driver.
Perez in action during FP1 ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. (AP)
Amid all the speculation about his future, Perez is choosing to believe he will be continuing with the team.
“For sure I’ve seen the rumors, but nothing different to the last couple of months. So, in that regard, nothing further to add,” he said.
“I already said it in the last six months that I’m here. I renewed with the team earlier in the year and I’m here to be the driver for the team next year and that’s where my full focus is.
“I think it’s important to stay together because as I said, the season hasn’t been the greatest, but at the end of the day, there’s a reason why they renewed me. They know I can still do it and that’s an important factor.”
‘We have a tremendous talent pool’
Horner spoke to reporters in Abu Dhabi on Friday and has not given a definitive answer regarding Perez’s fate.
The Red Bull boss paid tribute to Perez and the role he played in the team’s success over the past four years but has made no promises about his future.
“This season hasn’t gone to anyone’s plan, particularly with Checo’s performance and since Monaco, it’s been very, very tough for him. And, so, inevitably, once we get this race out of the way, we’ll sit down and discuss the future,” he said.
Asked if he regrets opting to sign an early contract extension with Perez in June, Horner said: “Obviously, at the time, Sergio was performing really well. I think he had four podiums in the first five races. In order to settle his mind and extend that run of form for the rest of the season, we elected to go early, which obviously didn’t work.
“We’re fortunate that we’ve got a tremendous pool of talent. It was good to see Isack Hadjar getting a run out as well in free practice today. We’ve got two talented drivers in VCARB. But until the situation is clear with Sergio and what he wants to do, everything else is purely speculation.”
Joining the elite
With decisions yet to be made, one thing is clear: Whoever ends up being Verstappen’s teammate in 2025 will face a daunting task.
“I think probably being Max’s teammate is the toughest drive in Formula 1 because he’s set such a high standard, such a high bar, and his performances are just relentless,” said Horner.
“So, anybody sat in the car alongside him is going to have tremendous strength of character and have the ability to work within a team, and be able to focus on themselves; to a degree almost ignoring what’s going on in the other car.
“Because I think that’s where, mentally, it becomes incredibly tough. As we’ve seen with many of the greats, I’m sure when you work with Michael Schumacher or Ayrton Senna previously, teammates had a similarly hard job. Max now joins that elite group of people. It’s as simple as that.”
“Serge won’t be there, Manu won’t be there,” Kompany told reporters, explaining “Manu has rib pain“
Neuer and Gnabry join Bayern’s long injury list, which includes England captain Harry Kane, Joao Palhinha, Josip Stanisic and Hiroki Ito
Updated 06 December 2024
AFP
MUNICH: Bayern Munich captain Manuel Neuer and forward Serge Gnabry will miss Saturday’s clash with Heidenheim, coach Vincent Kompany said Friday.
“Serge won’t be there, Manu won’t be there,” Kompany told reporters, explaining “Manu has rib pain.”
The 38-year-old goalkeeper failed to take part in training on Friday, and Kompany did not indicate when he would return.
Neuer and Gnabry join Bayern’s long injury list, which includes England captain Harry Kane, Joao Palhinha, Josip Stanisic and Hiroki Ito.
Neuer picked up the first red card of his 866-game career in Tuesday’s German Cup loss to Bayer Leverkusen after a first-half collision with Jeremie Frimpong.
Israel goalkeeper Daniel Peretz replaced Neuer in the 17th minute, making his Bayern debut.
With usual back-up goalie Sven Ulreich still missing due to personal leave, Kompany confirmed Peretz would take the field on Saturday.
Kane injured his hamstring in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Borussia Dortmund and missed the loss to Leverkusen, but returned to individual training on Thursday.
“It looks good,” Kompany said of Kane’s recovery.
“The way it’s going now, it looks like he could play one or two games in the calendar year, if everything goes well.”
Before going down with injury, Kane scored 20 goals in 19 games in all competitions for Bayern this season.
Despite Tuesday’s German Cup elimination, Bayern are unbeaten in the league and are currently four points clear of second-placed Eintracht Frankfurt at the top of the Bundesliga table.
