BARCELONA: The only positive that Real Madrid could take away from its scoreless draw with Villarreal on Saturday was Gareth Bale, whose good form belied his return to the pitch after more than five months on the sidelines.
The stalemate left Madrid four points clear of second-placed Sevilla as the Spanish league leader continues to struggle without injured striker Karim Benzema, and with their Champions League clash against Paris Saint-Germain just three days away.
Bale had not played for club or country since a brief appearance for Wales on Sept. 1 in a friendly. Before that, he made three appearances for Madrid in August before a series of injuries and a COVID-19 infection ensured he fell out of Carlo Ancelotti’s rotation in favor of younger players such as Vinícius Júnior and Marco Asensio.
With Benzema recovering from a left hamstring pull, Ancelotti gave Bale the nod to play as his striker. Bale needed almost the entire first half to finally get involved, but once he did, he showed the same ability he always had to produce scoring chances.
“(Bale) had his opportunity and he made the most of it. He could have scored, he gave us a threat up front, he did all we asked of him,” Ancelotti said about the former star who returned to Madrid last summer after his loan to Tottenham.
Only the goalkeeping of Gerónimo Rulli stopped Bale on three occasions, including one shot he pushed onto his bar in the 56th minute. Late substitute Luka Jovic almost grabbed a stoppage-time winner on the break when he sent his chipped shot onto the bar.
Villarreal, which moved into fifth place, was also without its top striker as Gerard Moreno nursed a right leg injury.
Villarreal, however, got the better of Madrid in an intense, and sometimes testy, first half.
Besides his surprise choice of Bale, Ancelotti also started the sparingly used Marcelo on the left side of his defense. Marcelo, whose contract is up in June, was slow to keep up with winger Samuel Chukwueze, while new arrival Giovani Lo Celso cued Villarreal’s passing attack.
A pass by Lo Celso set up Arnaut Danjuma in the heart of the area for back-to-back chances in the 18th. David Alaba blocked his first shot and the follow-up effort hit the post.
But it was Chukwueze and right back Juan Foyth who repeatedly surged past Marcelo on Villareal’s right flank that forced Madrid’s defense to scramble into its box.
Only Vinícius could respond for the pacesetters, but he spent as much time complaining about the rough treatment by defenders as he did tormenting the opponent.
Tempers flared midway through the half when Dani Carvajal kicked the ball into the face of the prone Lo Celso. The referee booked Foyth and Madrid’s Éder Militão for shoving.
Bale needed until the 42nd to finally make an impact, latching on to Casemiro’s long ball behind the backline and drawing a save from Rulli.
After halftime, Bale came closer on a counterattack, cutting back and firing a left-footed shot that Rulli got just enough off to nudge onto his crossbar.
Rulli had to rescue Unai Emery’s side twice more by denying Vinícius and Bale before Villarreal managed to restore parity and preserve the deadlock to split the points.
“Each side had their half. We did enough to have led the first half, but then they had their chances in the second and we struggled. I think splitting the points is a fair result,” Villarreal defender Raul Albiol said.
Madrid faces a trip to play PSG on Tuesday with only one win in its last four games and doubts if Benzema will be ready.
Madrid held at Villarreal before PSG; Bale makes rare start
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Madrid held at Villarreal before PSG; Bale makes rare start
- The stalemate left Madrid four points clear of second-placed Sevilla
- The Spanish league leader continues to struggle without injured striker Karim Benzema
Saudi Arabia fight back to stun Germany in NEOM Beach Soccer Cup 2024
NEOM: Hosts Saudi Arabia threw off their opening day defeat against England with a 7-6 win over Germany in the second day of action at the NEOM Beach Soccer Cup 2024.
Spurred on by the support of their fans at Gayal Beach, the national beach soccer team took to the sand on Thursday night.
Al-Hamami and Qasem gave Saudi Arabia a 2-0 lead in the first period and the hosts added two more goals to their tally in the second, Salman and Waleed both finding the net. Germany then closed the gap as Peterson scored a brace.
There was even more action in the third period, as four goals from Germany and two from the home side took the match into extra time at 6-6.
It was left to Waleed to score the winner and reward Saudi Arabia with two points on the board following their first win in this year’s competition.
Also in Group A, after securing a first-day victory against Germany, the UAE struck three times in the first 12 minutes against England with goals from Ali, Kamal and Mousab.
England responded well, finding the back of the net three times in the space of two minutes during the second period courtesy of a Robinson brace and one from Lawson. Despite the setback, A. Abbas restored the advantage for his team before the period ended.
Both teams were on target twice in the third and final period, A. Abbas scoring his second and goalkeeper Bahri hitting the target for the UAE. Lawson got his second for England, with Younie also striking home. But it was not enough, and the UAE clinched their second victory of the tournament to put them on maximum points.
The second Group B match of the day saw a repeat of the NEOM Beach Soccer Cup 2023 final as defending champions Brazil took on Japan.
The scores were even at 2-2 by the end of the first period, as Antonio scored two for Brazil, and Oba and Akaguma found the net for Japan. The teams were tied in the second phase of play too, Benjamin Jr. and Oba scoring within six seconds of each other.
Brazil secured victory in the third and final period with a brace from Edson Hulk and a goal from Datinha, although they conceded goals from Akaguma and Oba.
Eight teams are taking place in the men’s tournament during this third edition of the cup. Group A is made up of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, England and Germany, with Brazil, Spain, Japan and China in Group B.
In the women’s competition, defending champions Spain, 2022 participants England and Ukraine, and 2022 champions Brazil will take to the sand.
Tamam team defeats Casa Riyadh in Silver Cup tournament
RIYADH: The Tamam Polo Team claimed victory over rivals Casa Riyadh on Thursday, beating them 5-4 in the Silver Cup Championship.
Taking place at Nofa Equestrian Resort in Riyadh, this is the third edition of the tournament, which continues until Nov. 16.
The Tamam team included Hashem Al-Alawi, Abdulmohsen Al-Hokair, Faisal Abu Nayan and Marcelo Antonio. Representing Casa Riyadh were Prince Salman bin Sultan, Ibrahim Al-Harbi, Salman bin Haif and Muhammed Naveed.
The Silver Cup is the first tournament of the season, played in a points system where the team with the most goals wins in the event of a tie.
Friday will see Casa Riyadh face Tuwaiq in the second round.
Grit and gratitude: Saudi Arabia’s first pro cyclist is making moves
- Moroj Adil is inspiring a new era in Saudi cycling
Saudi Arabia’s first pro cyclist, Moroj Adil, is an athlete on the move, her trajectory set firmly on an upward path. The past two years have been a transformative journey for the 26-year-old from Makkah, one marked by determination, resilience and many firsts.
In 2022, inspired by the Tour de France Femmes and Giro d’Italia Women, Adil made a bold decision: She wanted to become a professional cyclist. The challenge? She didn’t know how to ride a bike.
“I already decided that I want to be a pro cyclist,” Adil recalled. “When you have this idea in your mind, or when you think about something and start to look at everything around you, things just start to happen to you.”
Her resolve was unwavering: “I was thinking about what it would be like, and I was really worried about the idea. How could I start this professional journey and take a step forward into a cycling career?”
But Adil didn’t just dream; she acted. In 2022 she joined a cycling group in Jeddah and showed up without a bike and no real experience. She borrowed the group’s bike and, by the end of that first outing, she was a cyclist.
Eager to put her new skills to the test, Adil entered her first races. An early challenge was the 2022 NEOM Titan Desert Race, a grueling 400 km mountain bike stage race that takes place each November during the NEOM Beach Games. With a rookie’s spirit but limited experience, she showed up with a downhill bike that was completely unsuitable for the course. She was disqualified for missing the time cutoffs but remained undeterred.
Adil set her sights on being involved in the AlUla Tour, the Kingdom’s largest cycling competition, in January 2023. She reached out to the Saudi Arabian Cycling Federation and offered her help for the professional men’s event. She was warmly welcomed and, during the event, had the opportunity to ride with members of the Liv AlUla Jayco Women’s WorldTour Pro team, the Jayco-AlUla men’s team, and the Saudi National Cycling Team.
“I was the only Saudi girl during that ride,” she said. “When I saw these professional riders, I got more excited. I told myself, ‘One day, you’re going to be part of that team. You will ride with them as one of them.’”
Adil’s dedication paid off when she was invited to a team training camp in Spain and subsequently signed a contract with Liv AlUla Jayco’s Continental Team, a stepping stone to the Women’s WorldTour Team. A move to Girona, Spain for the 2024 season solidified her status as a professional athlete.
With her first year as a pro drawing to a close, Adil describes her routine as “eat, sleep, cycle.” She admits the transition was tough but rewarding.
“The first season was so fun, full of learning, making mistakes, and growing from them,” she said.
“When you have a rider who started cycling two years ago, racing with and against cyclists who have been riding since they were seven or eight years old, it’s kind of hard. While everyone else is putting in 100 percent effort, I have to put in 1,000 percent.”
Yet Adil embraces the challenge: “I was enjoying this kind of struggle and challenge, and that’s what makes cycling fun.”
With her second NEOM Titan Desert Race fast approaching — it starts on Nov. 18 — Adil is hopeful and determined. Despite disqualification in 2022, she placed second last year and is eager for another podium finish.
“When you’re on the podium once, you crave that feeling of winning. I’m aiming to always be one of the top riders in this race,” she said.
Reflecting on the year past, Adil is grateful for the support of her team and feels it is a responsibility to give it her all in the race: “The hard work I’ve done with the team throughout the year has paid off. They opened so many doors for me. This is the least I can do to give back.”
And looking ahead, Adil has big plans.
“One of my goals is to take full advantage of being on the Continental team,” she said. “It means I have more chances to make mistakes and learn. I’m not looking forward to making mistakes, but to gain experience so I can take my performance to the next level.”
Having embraced the steep learning curve, Adil is preparing for new challenges. Next season, she will move to Belgium to train in harsher weather and improve her racing in new conditions.
“Last year, I struggled with the wind. Belgium and the Netherlands will be the best places to work on that,” she said, adding that her journey so far had been transformative: “The biggest thing I’ve learned is that whatever you think about yourself becomes your reality. Be careful about your thoughts. What you believe can come true.”
Her dreams and dedication go beyond personal victories, as Adil hopes to inspire the next generation of Saudi cyclists. She is also optimistic about the growth of women’s cycling in the Kingdom.
“Everything has a first time, and I hope I’ve opened the door for others,” she said. “This year, the women’s racing calendar is expanding, and the peloton is getting bigger.”
She says young Saudi women are also reaching out to her, curious about her life as a professional cyclist: “They’re asking about cycling as a career, not just as a hobby. It makes me so happy. I hope we see more professional Saudi riders, both men and women.”
• Dawn Barnable is the founder and host of The Mettleset Podcast, a platform dedicated to women in sport from across the region.
With a gamble in Greece, England recover without Harry Kane for 3-0 win
- Carsley’s brief tenure with England as a caretaker coach after the departure of Gareth Southgate has been under a cloud of scrutiny since that first-ever defeat to Greece
- Watkins led England’s forward-leaning formation, justifying the selection with a goal in the seventh minute
ATHENS: This time, Lee Carsley’s gamble paid off.
In a surprise move, England’s interim coach left captain Harry Kane on the bench for the Nations League match against Greece on Thursday and the youthful team eased to a 3-0 win in Athens.
It was a far cry from a month ago when Carsley boldly picked a team featuring no recognized strikers — Kane was injured on that occasion — and full of midfielders, only for England to lose 2-1 to Greece at Wembley Stadium.
Carsley’s brief tenure with England as a caretaker coach after the departure of Gareth Southgate has been under a cloud of scrutiny since that first-ever defeat to Greece. Yet he’ll hand the reins to Thomas Tuchel at the end of the year with his reputation somewhat restored and the future suddenly looking more positive for the national team.
Indeed, looking to the future is the reason he chose Ollie Watkins over Kane for this match.
“This team needs to try and create leaders and one way to do that is give them opportunities,” he said of the decision to pick Watkins in a team that also included a debut for Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones.
Watkins led England’s forward-leaning formation, justifying the selection with a goal in the seventh minute when he tapped in a cross from 22-year-old winger Noni Madueke — another unexpected starter.
Jude Bellingham had a hand in the second goal in the 78th, sending in a shot that hit the post before the ball deflected off Greece goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos and into the net. Jones flicked the ball in for 3-0 five minutes later.
“There were a lot of positives,” Carsley said. “I see the quality the players have got and you’re now seeing what they are capable of. ... When you see the team, you might have thought it was a gamble — you know, a risk — but I’ve got real confidence in these players.”
Kane came on for Watkins in the 66th minute and Carsley said he expected the captain to start on Sunday when England hosts Ireland, seeking a win to finish top of the group and secure promotion back to the top tier of the Nations League.
“He was absolutely fine,” Carsley said. “I think it’d be fair to say he wants to play every game like all top players do. I think he understands it’s important that other players experience that kind of experience we had tonight. He’s a great example to the rest of the players.
“It was brilliant for Ollie to get a goal,” Carsley added. “It’s important that if we’re going to put these players in a position where we are going to win the World Cup, these players need as many experiences as they can. It was no slight on Harry.”
The Greeks went scoreless despite convincing spells in attack, with coach Ivan Jovanovic conceding that England had found its form to halt a run of four successive wins for his team.
“England is a better team for sure, they have higher quality, but the result could have been different,” Jovanovic said. “I have no complaints with the effort the players put in, their runs and their challenges, but we were a notch behind them. England was very good, very good, and we were below the level we can play at.”
Sinner stays perfect and Fritz also advances to the semifinals at ATP Finals
- Sinner was already assured of a spot in the last four before his match against Medvedev but still extended his winning streak to nine matches
- Sinner is playing at home for the first time since it was announced before his US Open title that he tested positive in two separate drug tests this year
TURIN: He’s got a stranglehold on the No. 1 ranking. He’s unbeaten this week and hasn’t dropped a set. And his home Italian fans can’t get enough of him.
Things couldn’t get much better for Jannik Sinner at the ATP Finals so far — despite an ongoing doping case that likely won’t be decided until early next year.
Sinner and US Open finalist Taylor Fritz advanced to the semifinals on Thursday at the season-ending tournament for the year’s top eight players.
Sinner won the round-robin group after a 6-3, 6-4 victory over 2020 champion Daniil Medvedev; and Fritz advanced in second after rallying past Alex de Minaur 5-7, 6-4, 6-3.
Sinner was already assured of a spot in the last four before his match against Medvedev but still extended his winning streak to nine matches. Sinner beat Fritz in the US Open final in September for his second Grand Slam title.
“I hope this match gives me confidence for the semifinals, where I’m hoping to raise the level,” Sinner said. “But honestly, I’m happy with the level I’m playing at right now.”
Last year, Sinner lost the final to Novak Djokovic, who pulled out injured this year.
Sinner is playing at home for the first time since it was announced before his US Open title that he tested positive in two separate drug tests this year.
A decision to clear Sinner of wrongdoing was appealed by the World Anti-Doping Agency in September and a final ruling in the case is expected in 2025.
“I have been in this position three times already. Three times we had the hearing. Three times (went) my way,” Sinner said. “Of course, it’s not a position where I like to be in. But I’m going to work together with everyone, like I did before, then we see what comes out. I’m very positive of how it’s going to be.”
Sinner’s explanation was that the banned performance-enhancer entered his system unintentionally through a massage from his physiotherapist, Giacomo Naldi, who had used a spray containing the steroid to treat his own cut finger. The spray was given to Naldi by Sinner’s physical trainer, Umberto Ferrara.
Sinner fired Naldi and Ferrara and now Ferrara has been hired to work with Matteo Berrettini, Sinner’s Davis Cup teammate.
“I saw them in Montecarlo the day before I came to Turin. Umberto is a really good trainer and I’m sure he’ll do a great job for Matteo, who has had a lot of physical issues in the past,” Sinner said.
Medvedev, who won one of three matches, and De Minaur, who didn’t win any, were eliminated.
Alexander Zverev leads the other group ahead of Casper Ruud, Carlos Alcaraz and Andrey Rublev.
Sinner took the edge in his career meetings with Medvedev at 8-7 — after Medvedev swept their first six matches.
“He’s in full confidence right now,” Medvedev said. “I watched his practice before the match — barely misses a shot and he hits strong. Many times a lot of players that don’t miss a lot, at least they don’t hit strong. He can hit strong — very strong, probably one of maybe top three, four, five hitters on tour, and doesn’t miss.”
Fritz improved to 4-5 in his career against De Minaur and could pull level next week in a quarterfinal matchup between the United States and Australia at the Davis Cup Finals.
“I feel like he typically plays better in the team environment. I also feel like I play better in the team environment,” Fritz said. “It’s still going to be a nightmare to play him next week, too.”
