RIYADH: Al-Ittihad defeated Al-Hilal 3-1 in a penalty shootout on Tuesday to move into the semifinal of the King Cup after 120 minutes of action in Riyadh had ended 2-2.
Predrag Rajkovic was the hero for the Jeddah club, saving three of Al-Hilal’s penalty kicks.
The first half was an even affair, although it started badly for Al-Hilal with the Saudi Pro League’s top goalscorer Aleksandar Mitrovic leaving the pitch after 13 minutes with what seemed to be a hamstring injury.
Three minutes later, Al-Hilal almost took the lead but Salem Al-Dawsari’s shot from just inside the penalty area hit the foot of a post.
After 26 minutes, Karim Benzema started asking questions, forcing a good save from Yassine Bounou with a curling shot from outside the area.
The French striker had the ball in the net just before the break, shooting home after Bounou had got a hand to a low shot from N’Golo Kante, but he was ruled offside.
There was still time in the first half for Benzema to shoot tamely at the Moroccan goalkeeper from close range.
The former Real Madrid star finally broke the deadlock just after the hour, just moments after Malcom had hit the post for Al-Hilal. Benzema controlled a right-sided cross from Muhannad Al-Shanqiti and then fired home from close range.
Al-Hilal were back on level terms with 18 minutes remaining. The ball fell to Salem Al-Dawsari just inside the area and the 2022 Asian Player of the Year made no mistake to shoot past Rajkovic.
The game went into extra-time and after 101 minutes Al-Hilal moved ahead for the first time. Moteb Al-Harbi produced a perfect diagonal low cross from the left to find Marcos Leonardo at the far post and the Brazilian did the rest.
However, it did not take long for Benzema to equalize, sweeping the ball high into the net from close range to take the game to penalties.
A dismal effort from Al-Hilal followed from the spot as they scored just once.
Mohamed Kanno took the first, which was saved by Rajkovic, and when Benzema scored, Al-Ittihad were in the driving seat, especially as the Serbian goalkeeper also blocked Leonardo’s attempt.
Fabinho made it 2-0 to The Tigers and after Danilo Pereira scored to make it 3-1, Malcom had to hit the back of the net for the match to stay alive but Rajkovic saved once more.
Al-Ittihad and their traveling fans celebrated as they joined Al-Qadsiah, who defeated Al-Taawoun 3-0 earlier on Tuesday, in the last four. They join Al-Shabab and Al-Raed in the semis.
Rajkovic, Benzema star as Al-Ittihad dump Al-Hilal out of King Cup
https://arab.news/p6fhf
Rajkovic, Benzema star as Al-Ittihad dump Al-Hilal out of King Cup
- Thriller goes to penalties after sides finish level
- 120 minutes of football saw the sides end all-square at 2-2
Mahrez calls on Al-Ahli to embrace opportunity in Asian Champions League final
- “When you play in this type of competition you are ready to win, especially when you play at home,” said Mahrez
- “We have a good opportunity to bring the first Champions League to Al-Ahli”
JEDDAH: Al-Ahli winger Riyad Mahrez has called on his teammates to avoid complacency as the Saudi Pro League side look to win the Asian Champions League Elite title for the first time on Saturday with victory over Japan’s Kawasaki Frontale.
The Jeddah-based club, who have the advantage of playing the final in front of their own fans at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, will be making a third attempt to lift the trophy after final defeats in 1986 and 2012.
But while a squad boasting high-profile signings such as Mahrez, Roberto Firmino, Ivan Toney and Franck Kessie will go into the decider as favorites, the Algeria winger emphasized the need to embrace the opportunity provided by the occasion.
“When you play in this type of competition you are ready to win, especially when you play at home,” said Mahrez.
“We have a good opportunity to bring the first Champions League to Al-Ahli and we will give everything.
“Of course the opponent is not an opponent that we play every week, it’s from Japan and it’s a different team. We have seen them play and we know what approach we can have.
“The most important is to give everything and to enjoy it because maybe some people think finals are every season, but some people might only play one final in their career. So we have to give everything to win the trophy for Al-Ahli.”
Mahrez, 34, is no stranger to success, having been part of the Manchester City side that won the treble of UEFA Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup in 2023 as well as four other English league titles, including with Leicester City in 2016.
He was also a key part of Algeria’s Africa Cup of Nations success in 2019 but is looking to claim his first silverware since switching to Al-Ahli from City last year.
“This is a trophy in another continent, in Asia,” said Mahrez, who has scored nine times in the competition so far.
“I’ve been lucky enough to play in teams that have won a lot of trophies with big players. When you play, any trophy, any cup you play for is always exciting.
“I’m really looking forward to it. I really want to win a trophy with this team, this club and I’ll give everything tomorrow.”
Max Verstappen delighted at birth of his first child with partner Kelly Piquet
- Verstappen had skipped Thursday activities at this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix to be with his partner
MIAMI GARDENS, Florida: Four-time defending Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen and partner Kelly Piquet have announced the arrival of their first child.
“Welcome to the world, sweet Lily,” Verstappen and Piquet wrote Friday on Instagram. “Our hearts are fuller than ever — you are our greatest gift. We love you so much.”
Verstappen had skipped Thursday activities at this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix to be with his partner.
The announcement gave no further details about the birth.
Verstappen and Piquet, the daughter of three-time F1 champion Nelson Piquet, went public with their relationship in 2021. She has a daughter, Penelope, with driver Daniil Kvyat that Verstappen is very close with but this was the first child for Verstappen.
Verstappen, who has 64 career victories, has won the last four F1 titles. He’s won just once this season as McLaren has shown an early edge over Red Bull headed into Sunday’s race, the sixth of the season. He is third in the series standings.
Verstappen won the first two Miami Grand Prix races, while Lando Norris of McLaren scored the first F1 victory of his career at this race last year.
Maguire revels in ‘Harrydinho’ tag after United’s Europa League win
- Maguire set up Casemiro’s header with some brilliant dribbling skills and a pinpoint cross
- The night had fans calling Maguire “Harrydinho” on social media
MANCHESTER: Manchester United’s Harry Maguire received rave reviews for his masterful performance as a makeshift forward in their Europa League victory on Thursday with many comparing the team’s oft-maligned center-back to Brazil great Ronaldinho.
Maguire set up Casemiro’s header with some brilliant dribbling skills and a pinpoint cross that opened scoring in United’s 3-0 victory at Athletic Bilbao in the first leg of their semifinal tie.
The night had fans calling Maguire “Harrydinho” on social media, while Maguire’s assist was the top post on Reddit Soccer on Friday. The top comment read: “Yer a winger, Harry!“
Teammate Amad Diallo posted a hilariously-morphed photo of Maguire’s face with Argentine great Maradona’s flowing hair on his Instagram.
“What a winger! I don’t think he even knew he had that in his locker,” said United captain Bruno Fernandes, who scored twice.
“Harry is a much more confident man now. When he is playing, his position is becoming more strong, he is a very good leader and we hope he keeps improving.”
Maguire channelled his inner Ronaldinho when he twice stopped and changed direction before blazing past Mikel Jauregizar to deliver the cross.
“The shimmy, the chops, I had to look twice,” former Tottenham Hotspur winger Andros Townsend told the BBC.
United boss Ruben Amorim also heaped praise on the 32-year-old defender.
“Sometimes there are moments in our life and Harry has had difficult moments,” the Portuguese said. “Everything he does is good for the team, so we have to enjoy.”
Maguire downplayed the accolades, although admitted he enjoyed his moment of brilliance.
“I found myself attacking the back post, I think (Alejandro Garnacho) Garna passed me the ball, it was nice to do a bit of dribbling and put in a great cross,” he said.
“We had a lot of bodies in the box and they must have trusted me to put in the cross. It was a nice feeling and it was a great header in the end.”
Amorim’s men, who are having a miserable season domestically but are the only unbeaten team in any European competition this season, host the second leg next Thursday at Old Trafford.
The winners will face Tottenham Hotspur or Bodo/Glimt in the final, with Spurs leading 3-1 from their home leg.
Saudi Arabia concludes West Asian Laser-Run Cup with 12 medals
Kuwait: The Saudi Arabian Modern Pentathlon National Team delivered a strong performance at the West Asian Laser-Run Cup, securing a total of 12 medals.
In all, the team took two golds, four silvers, and six bronzes at the championship, which was hosted by Kuwait with the participation of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq, Bahrain, Syria, and Lebanon.
The president of the West Asian Modern Pentathlon Federation, Hussein Al-Abdulwahab, awarded the winners and praised the high level of competition at what marks the inaugural edition of the West Asian Laser-Run series.
The Saudi team was represented by 15 male and female athletes across various age categories.
Abdulrahman Al-Enazi claimed gold in the under-19 category. Thamer Masoud won gold in the under-17 category, with teammate Wissam Bakri earning bronze.
In the under-15 girls’ section, Lamar Al-Sharari took silver, and Fatimah Al-Saiari secured bronze.
Bayan Al-Saiari won silver in the under-17 category, and Rimas Al-Zubaidi earned bronze.
Hadeel Al-Qousi, meanwhile, claimed bronze in the women’s open category, while Mohammed Bahetham took bronze in the men’s.
In the team competitions, Saudi Arabia added bronze in the under-15 boys’ team contest, silver in the men’s open team category, and silver in the women’s open team category.
Al-Abdulwahab congratulated all medalists and praised the remarkable efforts of the athletes and teams. He expressed optimism for the future of the sport in the region, stating that this event sets a strong foundation for the continued development of Laser-Run and modern pentathlon in West Asia.
How Kawasaki Frontale banished continental woes to face Al-Ahli in AFC Champions League Elite final
- Saudi Arabia’s last team standing will welcome rejuvenated Japanese opponents on Saturday night in Jeddah
AUSTRALIA: Football works in mysterious ways at times and that is certainly the case for Kawasaki Frontale and their exploits on the continent.
For five seasons between 2017 and 2021 under the guidance of Toru Oniki they almost completely dominated the J. League, winning four league titles and finishing fourth in the only year they missed out.
When you include their third-place finish in 2016, for a six-year stretch they never finished outside the top four. They were Japan’s premier domestic football club by some distance.
But when it came to Asia, they floundered. Think of the internet meme comparing a dog built like a bodybuilder and a small pup, and that encapsulates the exploits of Kawasaki in Japan as opposed to Asia.
In six continental campaigns from 2017 to 2023, their best finish was a quarterfinal in 2017 when they squandered a 3-1 lead from the first leg to lose 4-1 in the second leg to fellow J. League side Urawa Reds, who subsequently went on to win the title.
It was a loss that exposed a soft underbelly, something that had been a criticism of the team for the decade prior, having come so close but never managing to get over the line for a maiden J. League title.
They finished runners-up in 2006, 2008 and 2009, and third in 2013 and 2016.
That loss in the quarterfinal of 2017 came just months before they clinched their first J. League title, which seemed to flick a switch in their mentality, at least in Japan, anyway.
On the continent they continued to struggle.
In 2018 and 2019 they failed to get out of the group stage, winning just two of 12 games in the process. Another group stage exit followed in 2022, bookended by Round of 16 appearances in 2021 and 2023.
But it fell well short of expectations for a side so dominant in arguably Asia’s best league. And which had overseas and national-team stars like Kaoru Mitoma, Kengo Nakamura, Shogo Taniguchi, Hidemasa Morita, Ao Tanaka, Miki Yamane, and Reo Hatate.
It was a squad stacked with talent, but having lost so many to European football Kawasaki have returned to the pack in recent years, struggling to maintain their excellence, with back-to-back eighth-place finishes.
At the end of last season, Oniki moved to Kashima Antlers (who are currently top of the table in Japan) and was replaced with Shigetoshi Hasebe, a more pragmatic-minded coach from Avispa Fukuoka.
So football being as it is, of course it is this season of change and transition that has Kawasaki on the precipice of achieving what they never could during their dominant reign — being crowned Kings of Asia.
After finishing second in the League Stage of the East Zone, they found their way past Chinese heavyweights Shanghai Shenhua in the Round of 16 but arrived in Jeddah with very little expectation upon them.
They needed extra time to sneak their way past perennial Qatari champions, Al-Sadd. A semifinal clash against Al-Nassr’s bevy of international stars was expected to be their end point, but would still have been considered a success given their current status as a club.
Hasebe and his troops had other ideas, however.
Perhaps able to play without the burden of expectation, which seemed to weigh heavily on the shoulders of Al-Nassr, it was Frontale who were able to take control and look the most at ease.
Tatsuya Ito’s sensational volley opened the scoring, and after Sadio Mane equalized, it was the pressing of Ito that created the opportunity for their second. Yuto Ozeki, part of a new generation of stars beginning to emerge, finished off, for a surprise lead going into half-time.
When the ageless Akihiro Ienaga scored to make it 3-1, very few could believe what they were seeing. With a starting XI having just one foreign player and an attack featuring players of 19 and 20, with another 20-year-old in the heart of defense, this should not have been possible.
“Our two young players stepped up,” Hasebe said after the game of Ozeki and Soma Kanda, who are both so inexperienced that neither even has a Wikipedia page.
“They may still be developing but they’ve gained experience at the under-20 level. Their main job was to contain (Al-Nassr midfielder Marcelo) Brozovic but they also contributed well going forward.
“Discipline and attitude were key tonight. I’ve spoken with the players regularly to instill this mindset and they responded well. Everyone showed great commitment. This is the football we’ve been working towards.”
Also speaking after the game, goalscorer Ito said this was as much a victory for Japanese football as it was for Kawasaki.
“This isn’t just important for our club, it means a lot for the J. League as well. It shows the level of Japanese football. Before the game, the manager told us we came here to change things and make history. I hope we can complete that mission in the next match.”
Having made it this far against the odds, there would be few willing to say they now cannot go all the way and create that history, and in the process become the seventh Japanese club to lift continental silverware.
It is the type of unpredictability that makes football the game we all love. Sometimes it does not make sense, but that is also what makes it so beautiful.
