Guardiola Claims He Was Offered Pogba This Season
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CCRICKETRICKET | Page 4 NNBABA | Page 5 IPL 2018 Cavaliers starts stun Wizards, with clash Pacers pummel of titans the Warriors Saturday, April 7, 2018 FOOTBALL Rajab 21, 1439 AH Guardiola claims GULF TIMES he was off ered Pogba by agent SPORT Page 2 FOOTBALL/ QNB STARS LEAGUE ATHLETICS Duhail eager to Barshim and Schippers avoid upset on confi rm for Ostrava meet coronation day IAAF Paris Al Duhail have 57 points from 21 matches, of which they have won 18 and orld champions Dafne Schippers and Mutaz drawn three. A win today will just be the icing on the cake for the champs Essa Barshim will be making their debut ap- the sixth place as they have 28 points, four more than Wpearances at the 57th Ostrava Gold- By Sports Reporter Doha seventh-placed Al Arabi. en Spike, an IAAF World Challenge The Peregrines will be without Mohamed al-Marri, meeting, on 13 June, organisers have who underwent a cruciate ligament surgery at Asp- announced. aving secured the QNB Stars League with etar following an injury he sustained during their A strong men’s high jump clash plenty to spare, Al Duhail will be formally 0-1 loss to Umm Salal in Week 18 of the QNB Stars has also been announced with crowned champions at a ceremony after League. Barshim, the 2017 world champion Htheir last match against Al Sailiya on the In the second match today, runners-up Al Sadd and World Athlete of the Year, tak- penultimate day of the tournament today. will take on Al Kharaitiyat hoping to add to their 46 ing on neutral athlete Danil Lysenko, follow-up this year pits a Czech The Djamel Belmadi-coached side, who have been points. who upset the Qatari in Birmingham squad against a World select team. in ominous form this season, swatting aside their ri- An upset defeat for Al Sadd coinciding with a Du- last month to capture the world in- The Czech quartet is already set vals with ease, including those in the Asian Cham- hail win will mean Jesualdo Ferreira’s side will fi nish door crown. with 2017 world silver and bronze pions League, have one matter of interest though: to a whopping 14 points adrift of the champions, which “I am very much looking forward medallists Jakub Vadlejch and Petr fi nish the QNB Stars League unbeaten. will be diffi cult to digest. to my fi rst visit in Ostrava,” Barshim Frydrych teaming with 2013 world Al Duhail have 57 points from 21 matches, of which “We will play Al Kharaitiyat with all the strength said. “It will be one of my few com- champion Vitezslav Vesely and Eu- they have won 18 and drawn three. A win over Al and seriousness to win the game. Our philosophy is petitions outside of the Diamond ropean fi nalist Jaroslav Jilek. Sailiya will just be the icing on the cake after a hectic to play all matches with a winning mentality and this League. Of course I will be going for Meanwhile, the fi rst two confi r- eight-month long tournament. game is no exception. We always seek the fi rst place, the meet record of 2.33m and some mations on the World select squad “We will play to win so that we end the league but were adversely aff ected by some reasons, includ- more!” are the two top German throwers, campaign with an unbeaten record. We deal with all ing injuries to many of our players, this season,” said Schippers also is heading there for world champion Johannes Vetter matches with all our strength and seriousness,” Bel- Ferreira. the fi rst time. and Olympic champion Thomas madi said at his pre-match press conference yester- “We have a tough time coming up with our quali- “It’s great to be in Ostrava this Rohler. day. fi cation for the AFC Champions League Round of 16, year,” said Schippers, who success- “I gladly will return to Ostrava,” “We will be determined to win and also motivated Duhail coach Djamel Belmadi speaks to the media the Qatar Cup and HH The Emir’s Cup. We will do our fully defended her world 200m title said Vetter, who has already thrown as we have been in the previous encounters, because yesterday ahead of his team’s match against Al Sailiya. best in all of them. in London last year. “It is my fi rst beyond 90 metres twice in 2018. this season is exceptional for us mainly because of the “Our focus, at the moment, is the Al Kharaitiyat time and I always hear such positive “I’m looking forward to meeting our good results we have achieved.” mate Youssef Msakni to overtake him as the top scor- game and we will be happy to fi nish the league cam- stories about this amazing meet. I Czech rivals, we are one big family. The champions should not have any problems see- er of the event. paign with victory,” said Portuguese Ferreira, adding want to experience this myself now The 94.64m meet record by meeting ing off Al Sailiya despite the fact that they could be El Arabi is leading the chart with 26 goals, while his contract with Al Sadd would end at the end of the and perform very well there!” director Jan Zelezny is a top result missing their goal machine Youssef El Arabi because Msakni has 25, the hotshot duo accounting for 51 of season. Schippers will compete in her and tough to achieve, but always one of a niggle. the 81 goals (62%) scored by the team in 21 matches. Al Sailiya coach Sami Trabelsi said he would be specialty in the Czech city, which good throw could happen.” “We are competing for all titles this season. We Meanwhile, Al Duhail player Murad Naji added: using the game as preparation for HH The Emir Cup later in the summer will host the Tom Walsh, the world champion may miss top scorer Youssef El Arabi for this match. “We will not be complacent despite winning the matches later. “Al Duhail are already champions and IAAF Continental Cup. in the shot put, and Luvo Man- Overall, we are keen on continuing the good work league title with two rounds to spare. There is a they want to stay unbeaten in the tournament. For us, Last year the meeting featured a yonga, the world champion in the with the team and we have all support of the club strong desire among all players to win the last game we have our reputation at stake, so we will try to win Czech Republic vs Germany match long jump, had previously been an- management,” said Belmadi. in the league to coincide with the coronation.” this game. This is a test game for us ahead of HH The in the men’s javelin throw. The nounced. El Arabi’s absence could help captain and team- Irrespective of the result, Al Sailiya are assured of Emir’s Cup matches,” he said. BOTTOMLINE Jose admits City superiority, targets second AFP have and it is easy to go to the record books and FIXTURES Manchester see that with the number of points we have, we would normally be in the fi ght for the title. (1400 GMT unless stated) “But we are not because City have a very good Today: Everton v Liverpool (1130), ose Mourinho said he will not hide from number of points that makes it very, very dif- Bournemouth v Crystal Palace, Brighton v the obvious gulf between his side and fi cult for the team that is second to fi ght for the Huddersfield, Leicester v Newcastle, Stoke champions-elect Manchester City ahead title, which we are not in this moment.” v Spurs, Watford v Burnley, West Brom v Jof today’s eagerly anticipated derby meet- Mourinho did off er an interesting exchange Swansea, Manchester City v Manchester ing at the Etihad. when it was pointed out that he had beaten United (1630) Victory for Pep Guardiola’s side would seal City this season — in the competition to sign Tomorrow: Arsenal v Southampton (1315), the Spaniard’s fi rst Premier League title after a striker Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal — and he Chelsea v West Ham (1530) season of dominance over their rivals. was asked if that suggested United were more It would open up a 19-point gap between the attractive to players than City. playing in front of our fans, creating a good two Manchester clubs and leave City on course “Are we?” replied Mourinho. “That’s your game to put them (Liverpool) under pressure. to set a new record for the largest ever title- opinion. It’s your opinion.... I don’t know, I “They’re almost qualifi ed but we have 90 winning margin, currently held by United’s have no idea if they were interested (in Sanchez) minutes. The door is almost closed but a little 1999-2000 team, who won the league by 18 or not. I’ve no idea.” bit open and maybe there is some space for us points. Meanwhile, Guardiola indicated he is pre- to get in.” Mourinho was uncharacteristically taciturn pared to make signifi cant changes for the Man- Runaway Premier League leaders City are in ahead of the game, refusing to discuss a number chester derby to keep alive Manchester City’s the middle of a relentless schedule, with Tues- of topics, although he did confess that he will faint hopes of reaching the Champions League day’s Champions League home match followed not try and talk down City’s obvious superior- semi-fi nals.