Gomis hits hat trick for Hilal, Xavi’s Al-Sadd hold Duhail

Hilal’s forward Bafetimbi Gomes, right, is marked by Ahli’s defender Mohammed Khubrani. (AFP)
Updated 07 August 2019
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Gomis hits hat trick for Hilal, Xavi’s Al-Sadd hold Duhail

  • Hilal rally from an early goal deficit to beat domestic rivals Al-Ahli

DOHA: Qatar giants Al-Sadd and Al-Duhail produced a tense 1-1 draw as they squared off for the very first time in the AFC Champions League on Tuesday.

The round of 16 match was played at the brand new Al-Janoub Stadium built for the 2022 World Cup.

In the second match of the day, Bafetimbi Gomis scored a hat trick as Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal rallied from an early goal deficit to beat domestic rivals Al-Ahli 4-2 in Jeddah.

Syrian star Omar Al-Somah had given Al-Ahli the lead in the sixth minute from an assist by Abdulfattah Asiri, but Gomis struck in the 15th to restore parity

But after Jorge Djanini of Cape Verde had put  Al-Ahli ahead for the second time in the 39th minute,   Hilal hit back with two goals from Gomis in the second half to gain the upper hand.

Abdulla Al-Hafith then added an 81st minute goal to help the 1991 and 2000 Asian champions take a healthy two-goal advantage into the second leg which they will play at their home ground.

It saw Spain and Barcelona legend Xavi helming Al-Sadd after ending his playing career with the 2011 Asian champions a couple of months ago.

Xavi’s last domestic game was also against Al-Duhail in the final of the Amir Cup, but it ended in huge disappointment as Al-Sadd, who had won the Qatar Stars League a few weeks earlier, crashed to a stunning 4-1 defeat.

Tuesday’s continental clash was thus a great opportunity for some measure of revenge and although it didn’t materialize, Al-Sadd would still be the happier team, having scored a vital away goal before the return leg at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium next week.

Al-Sadd began with plenty of spirit with Akram Afif particularly impressive up front, while Al Duhail saw their Moroccan star Mehdi Benatia hobble off with an injury after just 18 minutes.

Bassam Al-Rawi, who replaced Benatia, made an immediate impact, his first touch off a free-kick sailing over the crosspiece.

Al-Duhail had a golden chance to score in the 24th minute but Ali Musa’s headed effort from a corner was thwarted by Al Sadd goalkeeper Saad Al-Sheeb.

The deadlock was finally broken on the half-hour mark by Akram Afif after Mohamed Muntari’s attempted long clearance was intercepted by Jung woo-Young in the midfield. The Korean was quick to pass the ball to Afif on the left edge of the box and the striker evaded a defender to score with a low shot into the left corner of the net past goalkeeper Amine Lecomte.

The next few minutes saw both teams playing cautiously while looking for openings, with Al Duhail finding one just a minute before half-time.

Brazilian Edmilson found space on the right and moving up crossed the ball into the box where Muntari chested it down for Yousef Msakni to score with a half-volley in the 44th minute. Msakni, who spent the entire last season nursing an injury, even missing the World Cup for Tunisia, was playing his first match for Al Duhail after a short spell at Qatar-owned Belgian club Kas Eupean as part of his rehabilitation. 

Al Duhail controlled the match in the second half, but missed a couple of potential chances with Almoez Ali, and al-Rawi accounting for them.


‘Magical’ Duplantis soars to pole vault world record in Stockholm

Updated 4 sec ago
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‘Magical’ Duplantis soars to pole vault world record in Stockholm

  • Duplantis: It’s a magical feeling, it’s hard to explain. It’ll be one of the greatest memories for me, I think, in my career
  • Olympic champion Rai Benjamin edged out Alison dos Santos to win the men’s 400m hurdles, with Karsten Warlhom a distant third
  • Julien Alfred won the women’s 100m in 10.75sec, the second fastest time of the year

STOCKHOLM: Swedish double Olympic pole vault champion Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis increased his own world record again on Sunday, clearing 6.28 meters to the delight of the home crowd at the Stockholm Diamond League meet.

With victory in the event already guaranteed, Duplantis broke the world record for the 12th time as he sailed over the bar at the first attempt to improve on his 6.27m effort at Clermont-Ferrand in February.

The 25-year-old ripped off his shirt in celebration and raced down the track in front of jubilant spectators at the Olympic stadium built for the 1912 Games.

“It’s a magical feeling, it’s hard to explain,” said Duplantis, who had not before broken the record in Sweden.

“I wanted this so bad. I wanted to do this in front of everybody here in Stockholm.

“It felt like really something special in the crowd today and I knew that everybody really wanted to see it too.

“It’ll be one of the greatest memories for me, I think, in my career.”

Duplantis notched up his 37th victory in 41 Diamond League outings, finishing well ahead of Australia’s Kurtis Marschall who managed a best of 5.90m.

The US-born Duplantis was in a class of his own in another punishing display of vaulting of the highest order, three days after a stellar display in Oslo.

“I kept saying it was the only thing I was missing in the accolades, to break a record in Sweden,” he said.

“I’ve checked off pretty much everything now.”

Duplantis is the heavy favorite for a third successive world championship gold in Tokyo later this year. He is also a three-time indoor world champion.

He first broke the world record in 2020 when he surpassed the 6.16m mark set by Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie.

Duplantis intends to push the bar even higher after his Stockholm exploits.

“I’m going to jump higher. There’s not much between me and 6.30, technically. It’s just a few centimeters. I’m just a perfect day away from it,” he said.

Hometown runner Andreas Almgren fed off the raucous atmosphere to set a new European record of 12min 44.27sec to win the men’s 5,000m.

Olympic champion Rai Benjamin edged out Alison dos Santos to win the men’s 400m hurdles, with Karsten Warlhom a distant third.

Warholm triumphed in the rarely-run 300km hurdles on his home track in Oslo on Thursday, but Benjamin produced a world-leading time of 46.54sec over 400m.

“I think on Thursday I got a little too excited but I felt good today even though I was tired,” said Benjamin.

Julien Alfred won the women’s 100m in 10.75sec, the second fastest time of the year. It was only the Olympic gold medalist’s second race of the season following her victory in Oslo.

Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith took second (10.93) ahead of Ivorian Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith (11.00).

Two-time Olympic bronze medallist Femke Bol won the women’s 400m hurdles in a season’s best time of 52.11sec. She finished ahead of American Dalilah Muhammad (52.91) and Panama’s Gianna Woodruff (53.99).

“I am not in my best shape yet so to take the victory is especially good,” said Bol.

“A race is never the same as training and it is only my third race of the season... but I am starting to feel the hurdles better every race and getting into race shape.

“It is such a high level at the moment in the hurdles so I am very excited going forward toward the world championships.”


Palmeiras and Porto draw 0-0 in their first Club World Cup match

Updated 58 min 33 sec ago
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Palmeiras and Porto draw 0-0 in their first Club World Cup match

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.: Palmeiras and two-time European champion Porto tied 0-0 in their opening match of the Club World Cup on Sunday night before a crowd of 46,275 at MetLife Stadium, which was just over half full.
Estevão’s left-footed shot in first-half stoppage time went into the hands of Claúdio Ramos, and Richard Ríos’ attempt off the rebound was blocked.
Palmeiras, Brazil’s club champion in 2022 and ‘23, qualified as the 2021 Copa Libertadores winner, while Porto reached the tournament as Europe’s fifth-ranked eligible team over a four-year period.
Palmeiras had a 17-11 advantage in shots and 55.3 percent possession. Its fans took over a side of the stadium, waving flags and cheering or the entire match.
Key Moment
Ramos’ double save in first-half stoppage time.
Takeaways
There is a four-way tie in Group A, which opened with Inter Miami and Al Ahly’s drawing 0-0 on Saturday, Palmeiras will face 12 -time African champion Al Ahly on Thursday in East Rutherford and Porto will play Miami the same day in Atlanta.


PSG cruise past Atletico to win Club World Cup opener

Updated 16 June 2025
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PSG cruise past Atletico to win Club World Cup opener

  • Goals from Fabian Ruiz, Vitinha, Senny Mayulu and Lee Kang-In sealed the three points for PSG

PASADENA, United States: Newly crowned European Champions Paris Saint-Germain launched their bid for Club World Cup glory with a convincing 4-0 victory over Atletico Madrid on Sunday.
In searing heat at the Pasadena Rose Bowl east of Los Angeles, PSG proved too hot to handle for their Spanish opponents in an impressive opening Group B win.
Goals from Fabian Ruiz, Vitinha, Senny Mayulu and Lee Kang-In sealed the three points for PSG, who delighted a crowd of 80,619 with their adventurous attacking play.
The French giants picked up where they had left off in their 5-0 Champions League final mauling of Inter Milan a fortnight earlier, quickly settling into their smooth passing game to control the early exchanges.
Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak was soon pressed into action, blocking a Goncalo Ramos shot from just outside the box on 17 minutes as PSG’s pressure mounted.
Oblak denied PSG again moments later, diving to stop a Khvicha Kvaratskhelia shot that was destined for the bottom left-hand corner.
Those early warning shots proved to be a precursor for the game’s opening goal in the 19th minute.
A lovely passing move down the right saw the ball swiftly transferred to Georgian winger Kvaratskhelia who deftly laid off into the path of Ruiz to sweep in a low finish for 1-0.
With Atletico struggling to gain any kind of a foothold in the contest, the Spanish side’s frustration began to show.
Clement Lenglet was booked for a rash challenge on Moroccan international Achraf Hakimi in the 21st minute, and Robin Le Normand picked up Atletico’s second yellow soon afterwards for bringing down Ruiz.
Ruiz himself was booked on 28 minutes for a shove on Giuliano Simeone before the Argentine midfielder collected Atletico’s third yellow soon afterwards.
With the Parisians in complete control, Atletico had to wait until the stroke of half-time before their first shot on goal, France’s Antoine Griezmann drawing a smart save from Italy international Gianluigi Donnarumma with a low shot.
From the ensuing counter-attack, however, Atletico found themselves 2-0 down.
The electric Kvaratskhelia again found space down the left and fed inside to Vitinha, who ghosted into the box before steering a crisp shot beyond Oblak for 2-0.
Atletico appeared to have hauled themselves back into the game early in the second half when Julian Alvarez rifled home a low finish to make it 2-1.
But the goal was chalked off after VAR spotted a bodycheck by Argentine midfielder Rodrigo De Paul on Desire Doue in the build-up.
That effort appeared to buoy Atletico for the remainder of the half, but despite playing with greater intensity they were unable to create a single shot on goal.
Lenglet was dismissed after picking up a second yellow card on 78 minutes.
A disappointing Atleti display was summed up by a glaring miss four minutes later, substitute Alexander Sorloth somehow scooping over an open goal from a few yards out after Marcos Llorente’s cross.
PSG swiftly made Atleti pay for that miss, substitute Senny Mayulu pouncing on a loose ball to make it 3-0 in the 87th minute. The rout was completed in injury time when Lee stepped up to convert a penalty after a handball by Le Normand.
PSG will face Brazil’s Botafogo in their next group match in Pasadena on Thursday, before completing the first round against Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders on June 23.


Rory McIlroy ends his US Open on a high note with a 67. The next major is in his home country

Updated 16 June 2025
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Rory McIlroy ends his US Open on a high note with a 67. The next major is in his home country

  • McIlroy shot a 3-under 67 on Sunday, finishing the US Open at 7 over

OAKMONT, Pennsylvania: Rory McIlroy could leave Oakmont feeling like he accomplished something, even if it took the full four days for him to produce a truly impressive round.
McIlroy shot a 3-under 67 on Sunday, finishing the US Open at 7 over and giving himself a performance he can build off as he works toward the year’s final major — next month’s British Open at Royal Portrush in his home country of Northern Ireland.
“It will be amazing to go home and play in that atmosphere and see a lot of people,” McIlroy said. “I’m really looking forward to it. It was nice to end this week with a bit of a positive note with the way I played today.”
McIlroy skipped talking to the media after his first two rounds this week, and much of his availability Saturday was spent being asked why. His golf was a bigger topic Sunday. It had been unremarkable through three days, but he at least momentarily had Sunday’s low round after finishing with six birdies — four on the back nine.
“Physically I feel like my game’s there,” he said. “It’s just mentally getting myself in the right frame of mind to get the best out of myself.”
That’s been a theme for McIlroy lately when he has talked. Winning the Masters and completing the career Grand Slam was a seismic moment in his career, and returning to those heights has been a struggle.
“Look, I climbed my Everest in April, and I think after you do something like that, you’ve got to make your way back down, and you’ve got to look for another mountain to climb,” he said. “An Open at Portrush is certainly one of those.”
First, McIlroy has the Travelers Championship in Connecticut next week. And the Scottish Open is a week before Royal Portrush.
In addition to finding motivation, McIlroy has needed to work out some issues on the tee after his driver was deemed nonconforming before the PGA Championship.
In that respect, Oakmont was a step forward — even if at times this week he seemed eager to leave this course behind.
“I feel like I’ve driven the ball well all week,” McIlroy said. “Really encouraged with the driver and how I drove it as well. It’s not necessarily the driver, it’s more me and sort of where my swing was. I feel like I got a really good feeling in my swing with the driver, which was great. Hopefully I can continue that on into next week.”
After the Travelers, a return to the other side of the Atlantic looms, and McIlroy is looking forward to it.
“If I can’t get motivated to get up for an Open Championship at home, then I don’t know what can motivate me,” he said. “I just need to get myself in the right frame of mind. I probably haven’t been there the last few weeks.”


George Russell wins in Canada after McLarens collide, Lando Norris out

Updated 15 June 2025
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George Russell wins in Canada after McLarens collide, Lando Norris out

  • Russell takes Mercedes first win of season, Antonelli takes first podium in F1
  • Piastri stretches lead to 22 points after 10 of 24 races

MONTREAL: George Russell took Mercedes’ first win of the Formula One season in Canada on Sunday while McLaren’s Oscar Piastri went 22 points clear in the championship after teammate Lando Norris smashed into him and retired.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who had hoped to win for a record fourth year in a row at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, took second.

Russell’s 18-year-old Italian rookie teammate Kimi Antonelli finished third for his first F1 podium.

Piastri was fourth with the safety car leading the final lap before peeling off to clear the way for Russell to take the chequered flag.

An uneventful afternoon erupted in headline drama when Norris hit the rear of Piastri’s car three laps from the end — a clash long predicted in the title battle — while trying to overtake.

The Briton, who ended at a standstill by the side of the track with no front wing and a broken car, was quick to blame himself.

“I’m sorry. All my bad. All my fault. Stupid from me,” Norris said over the team radio.

Piastri pitted as the safety car was deployed and rejoined with a tire advantage over Antonelli that he could not use as the racing never resumed.

“Glad I didn’t ruin his race. In the end apologies to the team,” Norris told Sky Sports television.

“This wasn’t even like a ‘that’s racing’, it was just silly from my part.”

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finished fifth and sixth with Fernando Alonso seventh for Aston Martin and Nico Hulkenberg bringing in more solid points for Sauber in eighth place.

Esteban Ocon was ninth for Haas in their 200th race with Carlos Sainz 10th for Williams.

“Well done team. That made up for last year,” said Russell, who also started on pole last year but finished third. His last win before Sunday was in Las Vegas last November.

“It’s amazing to be back on the top step.

“I felt last year was a victory lost and probably got the victory today due to the incredible pole lap yesterday.”

Third place made Antonelli the third youngest driver ever to stand on the F1 podium.

“I had a good start, managed to jump into P3 and just stayed up there at the front,” he said of passing Piastri for third on the opening lap.

“The last stint I pushed a bit too hard behind Max and I killed a bit the front-left (tyre), and struggled a bit at the end, but really happy to bring the podium home.”

Russell led away cleanly from pole, with Verstappen slotting in behind.

Behind them, Williams’ Alex Albon tracked across the grass after starting ninth with Alpine’s Franco Colapinto moving briefly up from 10th before losing out to Hulkenberg and then falling down the order.

Norris, who started on the hard tires to go longer in the opening stint, was leading by lap 16 after others who started on mediums came in for pitstops. He then pitted on lap 29 and came out fifth, behind Piastri in fourth.

Leclerc also came in that lap but then questioned why Ferrari had made the call, with his hard tires still in reasonable shape.

Hamilton was behind his teammate, with reported damage to his car, and wondering out loud where the performance had gone.

“I’m nowhere in the race, mate, I don’t know what’s happened,” the seven-times world champion told his engineer over the team radio.