ABHA: Cristiano Ronaldo notched his second hat trick in the space of 72 hours as Al-Nassr routed Abha 8-0 in the Saudi Pro League on Tuesday.
The five-time Ballon D’Or winner scored three goals and recorded two assists in the first half for the nine-time Saudi Arabian champions.
The hat trick was his third of the league season following his treble in Saturday’s 5-1 win over Al-Tai. The Portugal star leads the league with 29 goals.
Ronaldo’s first two goals Tuesday came from free-kicks. With 11 minutes on the clock, he opened the scoring with a low shot from a central position just outside the area. The second came 10 minutes later when he curled the ball around the wall from the left side.
Ronaldo then assisted Sadio Mané for Al-Nassr’s third just after the half-hour, pulling the ball back from the left for the former Liverpool forward to score.
Three minutes before the break, Ronaldo then completed the hat trick with a beautiful chip from outside the area as he ran toward goal. There was still enough time in the first-half for Ronaldo to slip the ball to his right for Abdulmajeed Al-Sulayhim to score into an open goal from close range.
The star was taken off at the break though Al-Nassr continued to find the target. Saudi Arabian international Abdulrahman Ghareeb added a sixth soon after the restart and substitute Abdulaziz Al-Aliwa scored two more.
Despite the win, Al-Nassr is still in second, 12 points behind runaway leader Al-Hilal with eight games remaining.
Al-Hilal announced earlier in the day that striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, second behind Ronaldo with 22 goals, is likely to miss the rest of the season through injury.
Al-Nassr’s Ronaldo red-carded as Al-Hilal win Saudi Super Cup semifinal
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Al-Nassr’s Ronaldo red-carded as Al-Hilal win Saudi Super Cup semifinal
- Despite the win, Al-Nassr is still in second, 12 points behind runaway leader Al-Hilal with eight games remaining
Zverev equals Becker record to reach Rome Open final
By making Sunday’s championship match, the 27-year-old Zverev has tied Becker’s record for the most Masters finals by a German since the series began in 1990
ROME: Germany’s Alexander Zverev equalled compatriot Boris Becker’s record by reaching an 11th Masters final on Friday when he ended the Rome Open giant-killing run of Alejandro Tabilo.
World number five Zverev, who lifted the Rome trophy in 2017, battled back to see off the Chilean 1-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 in their semifinal.
The 26-year-old Tabilo had shocked Novak Djokovic in the third round and the 32nd-ranked player showed little fear of Zverev until he began to play more passively in the second set tie-break.
Third seed Zverev then raced through the decider to make the Rome final for the third time.
“I was just hanging on in the second set. I brought my energy up. I was really just hanging on and waiting and the patience was kind of good today,” Zverev said on court.
“He hit me off the court in the first set and I did not play well at all, but he was a big reason why. He gave me no rhythm and I am happy I turned it around in the tie-break and ran away in the third set.”
In Sunday’s final, he will take on either another Chilean in Nicolas Jarry or Tommy Paul of the United States.
By making Sunday’s championship match, the 27-year-old Zverev has tied Becker’s record for the most Masters finals by a German since the series began in 1990.
Unbeaten Leverkusen facing three finals in a week, says Alonso
- Leverkusen are on a season-long unbeaten run of 50 games, already breaking a 59-year-old UEFA record
- Alonso’s men face Atalanta in the Europa League final in Dublin on Wednesday, followed by the German Cup final against second-division Kaiserslautern three days later
BERLIN: Unbeaten Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen are facing three finals in one week in their bid for a treble, coach Xabi Alonso said on Friday.
Leverkusen are on a season-long unbeaten run of 50 games, already breaking a 59-year-old UEFA record.
Leverkusen can become the first ‘invincible’ team in Bundesliga history by avoiding defeat at home against Augsburg on Saturday.
Alonso’s men face Atalanta in the Europa League final in Dublin on Wednesday, followed by the German Cup final against second-division Kaiserslautern three days later.
“Tomorrow is our first final,” Alonso said. “We can achieve something historic.
“To stay unbeaten in the Bundesliga — we’ll be the first team and we’ll be a part of history.”
Leverkusen will be presented with the Bundesliga trophy for the first time in their history after Saturday’s match.
Long derided as “Neverkusen” for often finishing second and never winning a top-flight crown, Leverkusen are close to a remarkable treble.
“(We are) not thinking about Wednesday (Europa League final) — we’re thinking about tomorrow and about Augsburg,” Alonso insisted.
The Spaniard, who is in his first full season as a head coach, said his players “don’t have time” to celebrate “too much” on Saturday.
“We can celebrate with our fans, but from Monday we need to be fully focused on our final week.
“They’re professional and I don’t need to tell them. We need to be intelligent.”
Alonso said star midfielder Florian Wirtz, who has not started in the league for five games, had overcome a leg injury and “can start” against Augsburg.
“There are no limitations for tomorrow. He feels much better and doesn’t have any pain.”
Messi napkin that sealed Barcelona move sells for $965,000 at auction
- An agreement in principle to sign the-then 13-year-old Messi was written on the napkin almost 25 years ago
- An undisclosed percentage of the sale price pays administrative fees for the online auction
LONDON: The famous napkin that linked a young Lionel Messi to Barcelona sold for $965,000 on Friday, British auction house Bonhams said.
An agreement in principle to sign the-then 13-year-old Messi was written on the napkin almost 25 years ago at a Barcelona tennis club. A more formal and detailed contract with the club followed soon after.
An undisclosed percentage of the sale price pays administrative fees for the online auction, in what’s called the buyer’s premium.
Bonhams said the auction was on behalf of Horacio Gaggioli, an agent from Messi’s home country of Argentina who was part of the deal.
The contract language, written in blue ink, was intended to reassure the teenager’s father, Jorge Messi, that the deal would go through.
Jorge Messi had threatened to take his son back to Argentina because negotiations with Barcelona had stalled.
The napkin, containing the date Dec. 14, 2000, bears the signatures of Gaggioli, another agent, Josep Maria Minguella and Barcelona’s then-sporting director, Carles Rexach, who met at a tennis club.
Rexach had asked a waiter for paper and was given a blank napkin.
The starting price was 300,000 pounds ($379,000).
Messi spent nearly two decades with Barcelona after arriving from Argentina at 13 to play in their youth squads. He made his first-team debut in 2004 and played 17 seasons with the main squad. He helped the club win every major trophy including the Champions League four times and the Spanish league 10 times.
Messi left Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2021. He has since joined Inter Miami.
Man City will not cruise to Premier League glory, warns Guardiola
- “We would like to be 3-0 up after 10 minutes but that’s not going to happen,” Guardiola said at his pre-match press conference on Friday
- “I’m ready for it to be a tough, tough game”
MANCHESTER: Pep Guardiola has warned that Manchester City cannot take anything for granted as they seek to claim an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League title against West Ham on Sunday.
City have the destiny of the title in their hands as they lead Arsenal by two points going into the final day of the season.
However, Guardiola pointed to the dramatic final day two years ago, when City had to come from 2-0 down late on to beat Aston Villa 3-2 to deny Liverpool the title.
The English champions were also made to sweat to beat Tottenham 2-0 on Tuesday despite many Spurs fans wanting their own side to lose to prevent north London rivals Arsenal claiming their first title for 20 years.
“We would like to be 3-0 up after 10 minutes but that’s not going to happen,” Guardiola said at his pre-match press conference on Friday.
“I’m ready for it to be a tough, tough game. I want to put in the mind of the players, ‘Look at Tottenham, how they fought for every ball’.
“It was the same with Aston Villa two years ago — they were in the same position, they didn’t have anything to play for — and we know what happened.
“Our people have to come here and be ready from the first minute, to be with us and do it together.”
City are attempting to become the first side in history to win four straight English top-flight titles and are on the brink of a sixth Premier League win in the past seven seasons.
Guardiola batted away suggestions that his side do not get the credit they deserve for the scale of those achievements.
“I don’t know what people think but if you ask all the Premier League teams at the start of the season, they would want to be in our position,” he said.
“We have one game left, destiny in our hands. Win our game and we will be champions.
“They (the players) know it is win or win, otherwise Arsenal will be champions.”
‘I was born a fighter’ — the making of Saudi’s first MMA female fighter Hattan Alsaif
- The pioneering Riyadh resident knocked out Egypt’s Nada Faheem at the inaugural edition of PFL MENA in Riyadh last week
RIYADH: As her opponent lay defeated on the floor, the Saudi mixed martial arts fighter marked a landmark victory by waving an imaginary sword in the air.
The celebration was appropriate— Hattan Alsaif’s family name translates directly as “the sword.”
Overnight, Saudi had a new sporting superstar.
On May 10, the 22-year-old made headlines around the world after she knocked out Egypt’s Nada Faheem, delivering a head kick in the second round of their bout at the inaugural Professional Fighters League Middle East and North Africa edition in Riyadh.
Her win, she says, was also a message of love and commitment to her friends, family and fans.
“It [the win] was something I was so proud of,” Alsaif told Arab News. “To make them see how far I reached, and I was doing my best to show them that I will never let them down.”
The future of Saudi women in MMA has been brewing for some time. In February, Alsaif made history when she became the first female from the Kingdom to sign a contract with a major MMA promoter – the PFL, now backed by Saudi’s public investment fund.
Her performance at the Green Halls last week has raised her profile beyond her hometown or even the region. Alsaif is now an international contender.
She said representing Saudi Arabia “meant everything” to her: “I do love my country so much, and I wanted to represent my country in the best way I can.”
But behind the win were three months of relentless training — mental and physical — and even cage-like fights in her gym.
Alsaif is a relative newcomer to the sport. When she first began training in 2021, it was never part of the plan to turn professional.
“First five days I began boxing, I jumped in a championship, and I lost the game,” she said.
Alsaif took the loss as a wake-up call to shift her perspective.
“You have to work hard, you have to work more, so you can have what you want. So I got that point on my mind and I worked on it,” she said.
Alsaif’s appetite for risk and adrenaline rushes dates back to her school days when, she recalls, her late parents received numerous complaints about her behavior.
“They (the school) were always calling my parents. ‘Your kid is jumping from the classes and jumping from the roof and jumping everywhere’,” Alsaif said.
“I was (also) in love with hiking and I was so in love with the desert bikes.”
A fighting spirit feels almost inherited, considering the Kingdom’s own rich history.
“I was born in Saudi Arabia and Saudi Arabia is my country. Saudi Arabia is in my blood,” she told Arab News.
“If I’m a girl from this city (Riyadh), that means I was born a fighter. I’m ready to sacrifice whatever it is for my country and for my people.”
For Alsaif, sports such as Muay Thai are more than physical battles against an opponent. She feels there is a psychological fight between the inner critic in her mind and the fighter in her heart.
“Your mind will tell you ‘It’s all right. You’re bleeding now. No one will blame you if you quit…just quit’,” she said. “If your mind says that, then your body is going to move as much as your mind told you. If you moved with your heart, courageous heart, then you win it.”
Alsaif’s Islamic faith and spirituality has carried her through life’s hardships, which included losing her parents as a child.
“But I always believe that God is with me, and that I’m never alone,” Alsaif said.
After religion, it’s mixed martial arts that provides solace, resilience and a feeling of belonging for Alsaif.
In the last three years, she has spent months in Muay Thai training camps in Ko Samui and Phuket, relishing even the hardest moments of tears, cuts and bruises.
“It was so amazing visiting Thailand and having a camp (there). That was one of my dreams,” she said.
The sports scene in Saudi Arabia has transformed so rapidly in recent years that a new generation of homegrown stars like Alsaif no longer needs to look beyond their borders or regions for role models.
Her inspiration is Saudi MMA fighter Abdullah Al-Qahtani, with whom she shares a coach.
“I can see how much discipline, motivation he has [...] and how much hard work he does,” she said.
Their coach, Feras Sadaa, is “the best,” she said, adding that she frequently reminds herself she has his complete backing: “I always trust him.”
Alsaif’s routine is simple but rigorously disciplined and follows the vital components of sports development and recovery — train, eat, sleep and repeat.
Alsaif says she is focused on taking any opportunity that arrives in her path and hopes to see more Saudis competing in MMA.
“I know my people and I know that my people are good enough to enter that cage and to show us a good fight,” she said.
