MILAN: AC Milan earned its first point of the Champions League campaign with a 1-1 draw at home against Porto on Wednesday, although the result leaves the Italian club with only a slim chance of progressing to the next round.
Luis Díaz netted an early opener for Porto and Milan goalkeeper Ciprian Tătărușanu kept his side in the match with a string of fine saves before an own goal from visiting defender Chancel Mbemba salvaged a draw for the Rossoneri.
Milan remained bottom of Group B, eight points below leader Liverpool, which plays Atlético Madrid later. Porto moved to second, four points below Liverpool and one above Atlético.
The Rossoneri play Atlético next in the competition before the final group game against Liverpool.
“In the second half we certainly played well, with intensity,” Milan coach Stefano Pioli said. “We struggled in the first half: we could have done better, you have to be in these matches for the whole 90 minutes.
“Not having won it complicates matters, we’ve still got two matches to play, of a really high level, against really great opponents. We will try, also because we want to win a first match in the Champions League.”
Milan is joint top of Serie A despite an injury crisis but it has been a different story on its return to the Champions League for the first time since the 2013-14 season as the Rossoneri lost all three of their opening games.
Against Porto, Milan trailed after barely five minutes as Marko Grujić managed to wrestle the ball off of Ismaël Bennacer and drive into the area before rolling across for the unmarked Luis Díaz, who had plenty of time to take a touch and shoot past Tătăruşanu.
Grujić wasn’t even meant to be starting but was a late replacement for fellow midfielder Mateus Uribe, who had pulled up in the warmup.
He was a driving force up front and at the back for Porto and Tătăruşanu had to pull off four saves to deny him from doubling his side’s lead.
Milan almost scored an equalizer out of nowhere in the 33rd minute, with its first real chance, but Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa did well to fingertip Olivier Giroud’s long-range effort away from goal.
Porto went even closer to doubling its lead 10 minutes into the second half but Evanilson’s header came off the bar.
Instead it was Milan which got the second of the match, against the run of play, in the 61st minute. Bennacer’s free kick hit the wall before rolling through for Giroud, who fired toward goal as he fell. Diogo Costa managed to parry but it came to Pierre Kalulu, whose desperate, angled attempt was turned into his own net by Mbemba.
Zlatan Ibrahimović, who had come on as a substitute, thought he had scored a late winner but it was ruled out for offside in the buildup.
Milan draws 1-1 against Porto to keep faint CL hopes alive
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Milan draws 1-1 against Porto to keep faint CL hopes alive
- Luis Díaz netted an early opener for Porto
- The Rossoneri play Atlético next in the competition before the final group game against Liverpool
Champion Sabalenka sets up Swiatek rematch in Madrid Open final
- Swiatek has a 6-3 record against Sabalenka but in their only match in the Spanish capital, the latter triumphed in three sets a year ago to claim the title
- In the men’s draw third seed Daniil Medvedev retired injured from his quarterfinal clash with Jiri Lehecka
MADRID: Defending Madrid Open champion Aryna Sabalenka produced a brilliant comeback from a set and a break down to beat Elena Rybakina and reach the final on Thursday.
The Belarusian second seed triumphed 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7/5) and will face world No. 1 Iga Swiatek on Saturday in a rematch of last year’s final.
The clinical Swiatek earlier eased past American Madison Keys with a comfortable 6-1, 6-3 victory.
In the men’s draw third seed Daniil Medvedev retired injured from his quarterfinal clash with Jiri Lehecka.
Kazakh Rybakina dominated a below-par Sabalenka in the first set with two breaks, but faced far stiffer resistance in the second after going a break up in the third game.
Two-time Australian Open champion Sabalenka put heavy pressure on the fourth seed’s serve and eventually cracked it to pull level at 4-4.
Rybakina hit back instantly but seemed rattled when serving for the match and world number two Sabalenka broke again for 5-5 and then claimed the next two games to force a deciding third set.
The players exchanged holds with just one break point reached — Sabalenka staying firm for a 6-5 advantage — before the tie-break.
Sabalenka, 25, sealed her victory with a typically powerful serve that Rybakina could not control.
The big-hitter had lost three of her last four clashes against the 24-year-old but emerged triumphant as they met on clay for the first time.
Swiatek has a 6-3 record against Sabalenka but in their only match in the Spanish capital, the latter triumphed in three sets a year ago to claim the title.
Dominant on clay, Swiatek barely put a foot wrong against Keys, making just eight unforced errors in the match to leave the 29-year-old American with virtually no chance.
“I’m really happy that I had such a solid game today,” Swiatek said on court after reaching her 11th WTA 1000 final.
“Madison is an amazing player with a really fast game and a big serve, so I wanted to focus on myself and I’m happy I was focussed.”
The top seed, triumphant at Doha and Indian Wells, started in unforgiving form, taking the first set in 31 minutes.
Keys was more competitive in the second but Swiatek took it with two breaks.
Russia’s Medvedev struggled through to the end of the first set against Lehecka with an apparent upper thigh problem, losing it 6-4 before retiring.
The Czech progressed to his first Masters 1000 semifinal, where he will face Felix Auger Aliassime, who received a walkover after top seed Jannik Sinner withdrew Wednesday with a hip problem.
“If I were to choose the way how to win this match, it wouldn’t be like that,” said Lehecka.
Medvedev took an off-court medical time-out after the fifth game, all holds of serve, and when he returned clearly had problems moving freely around the court.
The world number four saved two break points to hold for a 4-3 lead as Lehecka floundered, despite playing through obvious pain.
The Czech, who knocked-out Rafael Nadal on Wednesday, settled down and capitalized on Medvedev’s woes to break decisively in the ninth game for a 5-4 lead.
Medvedev won just four of the last 16 points before deciding to call it a night, with fans left disappointed. The other men’s quarterfinal set for Thursday had been canceled after Sinner’s withdrawal.
The 28-year-old Medvedev is the defending champion at the Italian Open, which starts next week, while the French Open, the season’s second Grand Slam event, gets underway in just over three weeks’ time.
“It would be good to come back (to Rome) after winning last year, but (I) just need to see what it is, because right now I basically don’t know if it’s very serious, just serious, or not serious — no idea,” Medvedev told reporters.
Taylor Fritz will face Andrey Rublev in the other semifinal on Friday, after the Russian ousted home favorite Carlos Alcaraz on Wednesday.
Bayer Leverkusen’s record unbeaten march continues with a 2-0 win at Roma in Europa League
- No club from Europe’s five biggest leagues — in Germany, England, Italy, Spain and France — has had a longer unbeaten streak
- The result also marked a measure of revenge for Leverkusen — since Roma had beaten the German club in this exact same stage last season for their last defeat in Europe
- In the other semifinal, Atalanta drew 1-1 at Marseille
ROME: An imposing stadium in a major foreign capital did nothing to stop Bayer Leverkusen’s record unbeaten march across Europe.
The freshly crowned first-time Bundesliga champions silenced the Stadio Olimpico with a 2-0 win at Roma in the first leg of the Europa League semifinals on Thursday to extend their unbeaten streak to 47 matches across all competitions.
No club from Europe’s five biggest leagues — in Germany, England, Italy, Spain and France — has had a longer unbeaten streak.
“We take things game by game and we are not thinking about being unbeaten,” Leverkusen midfielder Amine Adli said. “We are not thinking about making history or things like that — that’s why we are playing like this and the team is strong. We just want to enjoy ourselves.”
The result also marked a measure of revenge for Leverkusen — since Roma had beaten the German club in this exact same stage last season for their last defeat in Europe.
“We know it is not easy to play here,” Adli said. “We played a very serious game.”
Leverkusen’s last loss across all competitions was a 3-0 defeat to Bochum in the final round of last season’s Bundesliga nearly a year ago — on May 27, 2023.
Roma were dangerous with an early header off the crossbar from Romelu Lukaku. But then Leverkusen scored on the counterattack seven minutes later.
A failed back pass from Roma right back Rick Karsdorp under pressure from Alex Grimaldo on the left flank resulted in a 3-on-1 for Leverkusen. Grimaldo then passed to Florian Wirtz, who calmly slotted in from the center of the area.
Midfielder Robert Andrich added another goal for Leverkusen in the 73rd with a long-range shot — just as Roma had been threatening on the other end.
In the other semifinal, Atalanta drew 1-1 at Marseille.
The second legs will be held next Thursday, with the final to be held in Dublin on May 22.
Leverkusen has won only one European trophy: the 1988 UEFA Cup, which was then predecessor to the Europa League. Its only other European final came in the 2002 Champions League, won by Real Madrid.
Roma are aiming to qualify for their third consecutive European final after winning the Europa Conference League in 2022 and losing last year’s Europa League final to Sevilla in a penalty shootout.
Daniele De Rossi replaced Jose Mourinho as Roma’s coach in January.
The Giallorossi hadn’t lost a European knockout stage game at home in seven years — since getting beat 1-0 by Villarreal in the 2017 Europa League.
Roma fans’ pre-match choreography across one entire end of the stadium spelled out the word “AVANZIAMO” (“Let’s advance”). But Roma now face an uphill challenge to eliminate Leverkusen, who haven’t lost all season.
Marseille-Atalanta
Marseille’s players were treated to an ovation at Stade Velodrome from their hard-to-please fans after the draw with Atalanta — who eliminated Liverpool in the quarterfinals.
Atalanta took the lead in the 11th when striker Gianluca Scamacca hit a low shot into the bottom corner after reading Teun Koopmeiners’ clever pass.
But Marseille equalized in the 20th when central defender Chancel Mbemba collected Geoffrey Kondogbia’s pass and his fine curling shot from the edge of the penalty area hit the left post and rolled in.
The second half was almost entirely one-way traffic as Marseille pushed forward. Winger Ismaïla Sarr had a goal disallowed for an offside following a video review and substitute Azzedine Ounahi hit the crossbar with a curling shot in the 73rd.
Europa Conference League
In the third-tier competition semifinal first legs, Aston Villa’s hopes of reaching a first European final since 1982 were diminished with a 4-2 home loss to Olympiakos, the first defeat at Villa Park in the European campaign for the last English club in European competitions.
Villa came back from 2-0 down but were not able to answer Ayoub El Kaabi’s third goal of the game. The striker converted from the penalty spot to make it 3-2 for his eighth goal in the competition this season. Santiago Hezze finished the scoring before Douglas Luiz wasted a penalty for Villa.
Olympiakos are aiming to play on home soil in the May 29 final in Athens.
Earlier, El Kaabi scored twice within a half hour put the visitors in charge.
In Florence, substitute M’Bala Nzola netted in stoppage time for last-year’s runner-up Fiorentina to secure a 3-2 victory over 10-man Club Brugge.
Brugge’s Raphael Onyedika was sent off after receiving his second yellow card on the hour when the Italian club was 2-1 up but the visitors equalized through Igor Thiago to complete a counter just minutes later.
Riccardo Sottil put Fiorentina ahead early on, Brugge captain Hans Vanaken answered with an equalizer from the penalty spot and then Andrea Belotti restored the lead for Fiorentina on a rebound.
Saudi women tackling, kicking their way into football
- Ministry of Sports has reported a 150 percent increase in women’s participation
RIYADH: Women are finding new territories in various industries as the Kingdom sets diversity and inclusion goals, and football is no different.
There are currently 1,100 female football players registered with Saudi clubs through the leagues, three regional training centers, and four active national teams.
Today, the Women’s Football Department focuses on various areas of grassroots development, like five upcoming local competitions including the Premier League.
The head of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation’s Women’s Football Department, Aalia Al-Rasheed, told Arab News: “Today, we’re witnessing with Vision 2030 a whole transformation when it comes to the country in general. The Ministry of Sports reported a 150 percent increase in women’s participation (since 2015). The game is growing everyday."
Al-Awwal Park Stadium lit up with fireworks Sunday night as Al-Nassr were crowned champions against Al-Ittihad, ending their season on a high with a 1-0 victory.
As the 2023-2024 Premier League concludes, the spirit of celebration still lingers in the air. Female trailblazers in the football sector came together on Monday to champion the incredible women of the Kingdom who are breaking boundaries in the realm of football at Hiwar, PepsiCo’s signature annual event for women empowerment.
In the 2024 Hiwar, hosted in collaboration with the SAFF’s Women’s League, industry drivers spoke about their experiences in pushing the boundaries of women inclusion in the sport, during a panel discussion that evening moderated by Mo Islam, featuring Al-Rasheed alongside Al-Nassr’s goalkeeper Sara Khalid, Al-Ittihad’s women’s team head coach Kelly Lindsey, and PepsiCo.’s senior marketing manager, Anfal Al-Duhilan.
Khalid, one of the Kingdom’s star female football players, reflected on her team’s first-ever international victory last year, winning the premier league twice in a row, and her current, vivid reality in leading the industry into international territory.
But when Khalid left her day job to pursue a football career, she knew she had an example to set and responsibility on her back.
She told Arab News: “Today, I can say I’m one of the first players to represent the national team and my country on an international level, and now with us winning the league and participating in the AFC champion’s league, it’s definitely a huge weight on my shoulders.
“Every decision I have to make must be made thoughtfully and in consideration of everything else, and to always inspire and be inspired by the people around me.”
As a coach, Lindsey said the top struggle is creating equilibrium within a team. Her coaching approach blends physical preparation with cultural understanding, acknowledging the importance of nutrition, sports psychology, and family values within Saudi leagues.
While some Al-Ittihad team members struggled to even pass the ball five times just last summer, they have now managed to compete in the first level of the Saudi football pyramid.
She commended Saudi Arabia’s massive investment into women’s sports, with the SAFF allocating SR49.9 million ($13 million) to women’s football cross-country programs just last year.
Lindsey told Arab News: “By investing in sports, women are not only out in society, they are front and center for everyone to watch, judge, and support.
“The dialogue will change about everything that needs to happen around them so that more women can do their passion, live their passion in work and music and art and culture and sport. It will create a natural dialogue and a push for more infrastructure for women to succeed.”
Last October, this support was bolstered even further as PepsiCo. and the SAFF announced that the multinational’s subsidiary, Lay’s potato chips, will sponsor the 2023-24 Saudi Women’s Premier League.
“Our sponsorship is in alignment with the company’s vision, which is to basically drive diversity and inclusion, aligning with the Saudi 2030 Vision. We wanted to make a difference and really give every single Saudi female the opportunity to pursue her dreams in any field and to continue empowering and supporting them,” said Al-Duhilan.
Iraq qualify for Paris Olympics men’s soccer tournament with win over Indonesia at U23 Asian Cup
- Ali Jasim’s extra-time winner means Iraq take Asia’s third automatic place at the Olympics
- Japan and Uzbekistan, who meet in Friday’s cup final, have both already qualified for the Paris Games
DOHA: Iraq qualified for the men’s soccer tournament at the Paris Olympics with a 2-1 win over Indonesia in the third-place playoff at the Under-23 Asian Cup on Thursday.
Ali Jasim’s extra-time winner means Iraq take Asia’s third automatic place at the Olympics. Japan and Uzbekistan, who meet in Friday’s cup final, have both already qualified for the Paris Games.
Indonesia took the lead after 19 minutes at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in the meeting of the two defeated semifinalists when Ivar Jenner scored from outside the area.
Eight minutes later, Zaid Tahseen headed home at the near post to make it 1-1.
The game went to extra time and Iraq took the lead in the 96th. The Indonesian defense misjudged the bounce of a long pass allowing Jasim to run free into the right side of the area. He sent a powerful shot across the diving goalkeeper to put Iraq on the brink of their sixth Olympic appearance.
Indonesia, still searching for a first Olympic appearance since 1956, almost took the game to a penalty shootout in the final action but Justin Hubner’s header was cleared off the line.
There is still one more opportunity for Indonesia. They will face Guinea in a May 9 playoff for a place in Paris.
Hyderabad steal one-run win as Rajasthan falter
- Needing two off the final ball, Rajasthan’s Rovman Powell missed a full toss and was trapped in front of the wicket by Bhuvneshwar Kumar
- Kumar earlier undermined Rajasthan’s innings by removing star England batter Jos Butler and captain Sanju Samson for nought
HYDERABAD, India: Sunrisers Hyderabad stole an unlikely one-run victory over table-toppers Rajasthan Royals in a tense Indian Premier League encounter on Thursday.
Needing two off the final ball, Rajasthan’s Rovman Powell missed a full toss and was trapped in front of the wicket by India international Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
The right-arm swing bowler, who finished with figures of 41-3, earlier undermined Rajasthan’s innings by removing star England batter Jos Butler and captain Sanju Samson for nought in the first over of the chase.
“I wasn’t thinking much about the result in the last over,” said Kumar.
“There was no discussion in the last over, was just focussed on the process.”
After the early setbacks, young Indian batters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rayan Parag scored counter-attacking half-centuries to rebuild the innings and Rajasthan seemed on course for a comfortable victory.
But Jaiswal (67 off 40 balls) and Parag (77 off 49) fell in quick succession to left-arm pacer T Natrajan, setting off a collapse.
Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins conceded only seven runs in a miserly penultimate to tilt the match in the home team’s favor.
“Knowing the nature of the IPL, you never win the game until you actually win the game,” said Samson.
In their innings, Rajasthan Royals made an uncharacteristically slow and shaky start with in-form opener Abhishek Sharma falling for 12 off 10 balls.
Anmolpreet Singh, who followed at number three, also failed to make an impact scoring a run-a-ball five.
But Australia international Travis Head and all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy upped the pace with a partnership of 96 runs off 47 balls.
The duo were particularly harsh on wrist spinner Yuzvendra Chahal who leaked 62 runs in his four overs.
Head’s crucial knock of 57 off 44 balls finally ended when he chopped one onto his stumps as he tried to scoop pacer Avesh Khan.
South Africa’s power hitter Heinrich Klaasen then joined Reddy who remained unbeaten on 76 off 42 balls to take Hyderabad past 200 for the fifth time this season.
