Dortmund head into Champions League final with an older, tougher team instead of young talents

LONDON: Chelsea moved a step closer to securing Champions League qualification with a 3-1 victory over weakened champions Liverpool on Sunday, while Newcastle United slipped up in a 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion.

Newcastle salvaged a point thanks to a last-gasp Alexander Isak penalty, while Brentford edged a young Manchester United side 4-3, and West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur’s disappointing form continued in a 1-1 draw.

Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea are fifth in the Premier League on 63 points, separated from fourth-placed Newcastle only by goals scored. Both teams trail third-placed Manchester City by a point with three games remaining.

The game at Stamford Bridge was less than three minutes old when Cole Palmer found Neto whose cut-back fell to the unmarked Enzo Fernandez and the Argentine whipped the ball low into the net. Palmer was also instrumental in the second goal after he clipped the ball into the area and Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk’s attempted clearance bounced off teammate Jarell Quansah and into the goal.

Palmer ended a lengthy drought with his first goal since mid-January from the spot in the 96th minute after Quansah’s foul on Moises Caicedo.

“I think we did well the team showed character,” Caicedo told Sky Sports. “We are happy that we won this game.

“(Palmer) deserves it. He is working hard to get goals. Now was his opportunity and he scored.”

Van Dijk had pulled one back for Liverpool, who made six changes to their starting lineup after clinching the title last weekend, in the 84th minute from a corner.

“There was chances for us to score — in the end they deserve the win,” Van Dijk said.

At Brighton, Isak’s last-gasp penalty earned a potentially crucial point for Newcastle in their chase of Champions League qualification.

Brighton looked poised for victory after winger Yankuba Minteh struck in the first half, but Isak’s 89th-minute spot kick sent goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen the wrong way for his 23rd league goal of the season.

“It’s all to play for,” Newcastle boss Eddie Howe told Sky Sports. “We have three huge games, three very tough games in different ways. Two of them are at home and we hope that can make the difference.”

Minteh scored in the 28th minute with a blistering shot through a crowd into the far corner.

BRENTFORD MOMENTUM
Two goals from Kevin Schade guided Brentford up to ninth in the table on 52 points, while defeat left Manchester United in 15th with 39 points.

“We definitely have momentum... we’ve had a really good run of games, there’s a flow of playing well,” Brentford boss Thomas Frank told the BBC.

With an eye on the Europa League semifinal second leg against Athletic Bilbao, United manager Ruben Amorim named the club’s youngest starting lineup in Premier League history. Seventeen-year-old forward Chido Obi became their youngest starter.

United scored against the run of play through Alejandro Garnacho, but Brentford equalized with Mikkel Damsgaard’s shot deflecting off Luke Shaw for an own goal.

Brentford took the lead six minutes later as Schade rose above the defense to head home and he completed his brace with another header in the 70th minute.

Less than four minutes later, Yoane Wissa scored with a tap-in into an empty net to make it 4-1 before United came to life.

Garnacho pulled the trigger from outside the box in the 82nd minute, and then Amad Diallo’s deflected shot in added time went through Flekken’s legs to make it 4-3.

But United ran out of time as they fell to a club record 16th league defeat in a season in the Premier League era.

“I know there’s a big game on Thursday but first and foremost was today. We needed to win the game but we didn’t,” Mount said.

TOUGH GAME
London rivals West Ham and Tottenham remain just above the relegation places after their 1-1 draw.

A much-changed Spurs scored the opener after 15 minutes through Wilson Odobert but the lead lasted 13 minutes before Jarrod Bowen equalized for the home team.

The draw left Spurs in 16th spot and facing their worst finish since 1977, a single point above the 17th-placed Hammers whose winless run in the league was extended to eight games.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game, we made a lot of changes which doesn’t help the cohesion and fluency but the lads worked really hard,” Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou said.

Crystal Palace host Nottingham Forest on Monday.

JEDDAH: Al-Ahli are the champions of Asia for the first time after a 2-0 victory over Kawasaki Frontale in Jeddah on Saturday.

It was a deserved win in front of 60,000 ecstatic fans at the King Abdullah Sport City Stadium as the green giants join local rivals Al-Ittihad as well as Al-Hilal in that exclusive club — Saudi Arabian champions of Asia.

First-half goals from Galeno, a beauty, and Franck Kessie did the damage and once Al-Ahli were ahead, they never looked like letting the trophy slip after being runners-up in 1986 and 2012. 

Roared on by the home fans who produced another stunning exhibition of tifos before kick-off and did not let the energy levels drop, the home team starting brightly. Ivan Toney turned smartly on the right corner of the penalty area in the fifth minute, and the England striker’s strong shot forced a flying save from Louis-Thebault Yamaguchi. Moments later, it was Ziyad Al-Johani in the air on the edge of the six-yard box but his shot was also blocked by the keeper.

It was not all one-way traffic, and Marcinho’s shot from the left went just wide of the opposite post. It seemed to spur Al-Ahli on, however, and they kept pushing forward. Toney, Ibanez and Galeno all had shots, although not enough to trouble the goalkeeper too much.

Al-Ahli were on top and just when it started to look like it could be a frustrating evening, Galeno produced a moment of magic. Receiving the ball from Roberto Firmino outside the area, the Brazilian winger was given a little too much time and space. Even so, few expected the outcome — a perfect shot curled into the top corner to repay a considerable slice of that transfer fee paid to FC Porto in January.

For the five-time Japanese champions it was then crucial that they did not concede again before the break but that is exactly what happened. Firmino crossed from the right and there was former AC Milan and Barcelona midfielder Kessie to head home from close range. Kawasaki were shellshocked and desperately trying to stay in the game and not fall even further behind.

Their best chance came just before the hour. A cross from the left went all the way to the far post and perhaps Sai van Wermeskerken should have done better with the header but it went high and wide. 

Al-Ahli were able to sit back and then look to break and cause problems. Riyad Mahrez, with nine goals already in the tournament, shot just wide from the edge of the area and it was all looking too comfortable for his side.

Kawasaki could not create clear chances with only Tatsuya Ito, scorer of a stunner in that 3-2 semi-final win over Al-Nassr on Wednesday, causing a few nerves among the home ranks. He shot just wide from the edge of the area with 15 minutes remaining and then came closer soon after, making a little space for himself outside Toney on the right side of the area and firing just across the face of goal.

That was as good as it got. It was a professional performance from Al-Ahli who never looked like letting their two-goal lead slip. It was a deserved win on the night and also the tournament, finishing as the only unbeaten team throughout the group and knockout stages.

The celebrations at the final whistle may well have been heard in Riyadh but the message has certainly been sent loud and clear to the rest of Asia: Al-Ahli are the new champions of the world’s biggest continent and it looks like there is more to come.