S p47 o r t s FRIDAY, JULY 28, 2017 scores as Barcelona beat Man Utd 1-0 WASHINGTON: Neymar, serene amid a frenzy handed the English Premiership club their Semedo, and 19-year-old Barcelona inexorably took control, and of transfer speculation, scored the first-half first defeat of the pre-season. After a bright midfielder Carles Arena were included in the United goalkeeper David de Gea was given goal that gave Barcelona a 1-0 victory over start Manchester United struggled to contain lineup headed by Messi and Neymar. plenty of work by Neymar, Messi and Suarez. Manchester United on Wednesday in an Barcelona’s star duo of Neymar and Lionel There were eight changes to the Messi came close in the 12th minute, his low International Champions Cup friendly. The Messi. Neymar broke through in the 31st, Manchester United team that defeated Real effort sliding wide. A long-range effort from Brazilian striker, reportedly pondering a 222- stripping the ball from Antonio Valencia in Madrid on penalties on Sunday, with captain Lukaku, a fierce blast from and a million euro ($256.8 million) move to Paris the penalty area, turning and finding the net. Michael Carrick, Marcus Rashford and Jesse curling effort from Rashford all tested Saint-Germain, showed why the French club The goal proved enough to give a second Lingard the only players to retain their start- Barcelona keeper Jasper Cillessen in the space would be willing to pay a world-record price straight victory to new Barcelona coach ing spots. It was Manchester United who of minutes. But from there Barcelona domi- to get him. . Valverde made sweeping threatened first, when Rashford’s cross found nated. De Gea denied Neymar from close He delivered his third goal in two matches changes to the team that beat Juventus 2-1. Romelu Lukaku in the area, but the Belgian range in the 28th, but had no answer for the in the exhibition tournament as Barcelona Luis Suarez, , Samuel Umtiti, Nelson couldn’t find the net. Brazilian three minutes later. —AFP

Man City romp to 4-1 win over Real Madrid LOS ANGELES: Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City has spent big to bolster their defence this summer, but showed they will be a force to reckon with at the other end this season in a 4-1 friendly win over Real Madrid on Wednesday. A second-half blitz in front of 93,000 fans at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum saw City secure their first pre-season vic- tory in style. Real were unable to contain Guardiola’s side once they got their noses in front early in the second half. The £28.5 million (32 million euros, $37 million) spent by City on Nicolas Otamendi two years ago now almost seems like small change after City have splashed out around £50 mil- lion each on Kyle Walker, John Stones and over the last 12 months. But after Otamendi pounced from a couple of yards out to smash the ball into the net, the entire complexion of the International Champions Cup encounter changed. Until that point, Real had been the more dangerous side in an end-to- end encounter, with Isco, in particular, causing City’s back five problems with his range of passing. City’s new £32 million keeper Ederson - culpable in last week’s friendly defeat to neighbours Manchester United - was forced to produce smart saves to deny Isco, Karim Benzema and Casemiro, with the latter also heading against the post. Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero both went close at the SANTA CLARA: Team USA celebrates with the trophy after they beat 2-1 winning the final football game of the 2017 other end, but once Otamendi found the net in the 52nd CONCACAF Gold Cup at the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California on Wednesday. The USA won 2-1 over Jamaica. — AFP minute, on the rebound after Stones’s header was saved, City were rampant. Substitute Raheem Sterling calmly tucked away a lovely through-ball from the impressive Kevin De SOCCER Bruyne just moments after firing a shot inches wide. The advantage was then extended to three after Stones scuffed a shot into the far corner from a De Bruyne corner. City were twice denied a third by the woodwork, with USA beat Jamaica to win Francisco Casilla producing a stunning finger-tip save to push De Bruyne’s free-kick onto the post and then Leroy Sane smashing the ball against the near post within seconds of sixth CONCACAF Gold Cup entering the field. But the icing on the cake arrived for Guardiola’s side in the SANTA CLARA: ’s late just the second team to lose consecutive goal was “like a dagger in the heart,” final 10 minutes, when 17-year-old Spaniard Brahim Diaz cut strike lifted the United States to a 2-1 vic- title matches. Jamaica coach said. inside off the right and curled a beauty into the top corner tory over Jamaica on Wednesday in the Since the inception of the Gold Cup, from the edge of the area.— AFP CONCACAF Gold Cup final. The United Mexico and the US have won all but one ‘THIS MEANS EVERYTHING’ States captured their sixth Gold Cup edition, with triumphing in 2000. “But again, this is football,” he said. “If crown-one shy of Mexico’s record seven Jamaica lost their talismanic goalkeeper, you look in the semi-final against victories in the regional championship , to a hand injury early in the Mexico, the same thing happened in for North and Central America and the contest. Miller was in goal as halftime that game (when Jamaica scored an Caribbean. approached, when US captain Michael 88th-minute winner).” The first real Morris sealed it in dramatic fashion Bradley was fouled in mid-field and chance for either team had come in the with a goal in the 89th minute. A misdi- Altidore curled the ensuing free kick over 19th minute, and the play proved costly rected Jamaican clearance was knocked the wall and into the top corner of the net. for Jamaica. down by US super-sub Miller soared to get his fingertips to Altidore fired a 25-yard blast and near the penalty spot and Morris blazed the ball but couldn’t keep it out of the Blake rose to make the save. Trying to a right-footed shot past Jamaican keeper net. Jamaica pulled level when Watson score from the rebound, the United and inside the right post. bulled his way past Morris on a Kemar States’ Kellyn Acosta crashed into Blake, Jozy Altidore’s superb free kick had put Lawrence’s corner kick to volley a short whose right hand was injured badly the United States ahead in the 45th shot past US goalkeeper . enough to take the Jamaican captain out minute, but Jamaica’s Je-Vaughn Watson Morris admitted that he was stung when of the game. He had led Jamaica to three equalized in the 50th as the underdog the man he was marking scored-and shut-out victories in the tournament, Jamaicans pushed the US hard. relieved he could make up for it with the including a 1-0 triumph over defending Jamaica were playing in their second game-winner. “Credit to Jamaica-they champions Mexico in the semis. straight Gold Cup final, after falling to made it very tough for us,” Morris said. “I The United States are now unbeaten Mexico in 2015. That year they ousted was nervous-it was my guy that scored in 14 matches since Bruce Arena LOS ANGELES: Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos, left, the United States in the semi-finals, on the (Jamaican) goal. So I was trying to returned for a second spell as coach, tak- and Manchester City midfielder Oleksandr Zinchenko vie while this year they sent the Mexicans make up for that any way I could. ing over from Jurgen Klinsmann after the the ball during the second half of the International packing. Although they have joined the “Obviously, I take responsibility for it, German was sacked in the wake of a 4-0 Champions Cup match on Wednesday in Los Angeles, US and Mexico as the only teams to but luckily I could put it in the back of loss to Costa Rica in World Cup qualify- California. Manchester City won 4-1. — AFP reach back-to-back finals, they are now the net.” For Jamaica, however, Morris’s ing last year.—AFP