Sheikh Abdullah’s French King wins 129th Longines Grosser Preisreis vonvon BerlinBerlin PAGEAGE 1414 TUESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2019 England coach Jones tight-lipped on Te’o’s AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE absence from World Cup squad PAGE 14 AL SADD VS AL DUHAIL (7.15PM) Giants clash tonight for AFC Champions League QF ticket Al Sadd coach Xavi Hernandez is all smiles as he addresses the media ahead of the AFC Champions League Round of 16 second leg match against Al Duhail at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Monday. AYENI OLUSEGUN DOHA JUST days before the Sheikh Jassim Cup showdown, Al Sadd and Al Duhail will re- new their rivalry at the Jas- sim Bin Hamad Stadium to- night (Tuesday) as the two giants clash in the second leg of the AFC Champions League Round of 16. Al Sadd were held by the Red Knights 1-1 in the first leg but boasts an advantage, having “We expect a difficult scored an away goal through match against a difficult team. Akram Afif’s first half opener Like I have always said, they before Yousef Msakni’s leveller, are (Al Sadd) one of the best in Al Duhail players train ahead of the the AFC Champions League Round of 16 second leg match against Al Sadd at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Monday. minutes before half time. the region. Both teams had reached “Our goal is to win. We ner of the Round of 16 has a the winner can go far in the and I am very happy with the “There are many areas that fer dilemma between Al Sadd the quarter-finals last year analysed the last game to chance to go all the way and competition. players and I am confident in we must develop in terms of and Al Gharafa. with Al Sadd losing in the know where we did good and win the title. Meanwhile for Al Sadd, a what they can offer. Football correcting mistakes, especially “Khoukhi is one of the best semis to Iran’s Persepolis. areas we lacked concentration. “After analysing the last goalless draw would be enough gives possibilities and we are in the defense. We must press players and you know that he Al Duhail will be without It’s difficult to concentrate match, we tried to understand for Xavi Hernandez’s side to positive going into the game,” high up the pitch. joined late to the camp. I will defender Mehdi Benatia who throughout the game, espe- as a team what happened and reach the Continental quarter- Xavi said. “We played well against Al decide if he can participate on recently had knee surgery in cially in matches like this but how to prepare for the next. finals for the sixth time in their “Our goal is to focus on Duhail at Aljanoub but we still game day. He is an important Paris after picking up the in- that’s what you need. We have our responsibilities as history. The former Barcelona all aspect of the game, not need to develop a lot of areas as player not only in this game jury in the first leg. “Anything is possible in a big team that we are and we legend said his team will play just defence. We will play to we adapt to a new philosophy.” but also the upcoming games.” Portuguese coach Rui these matches against a dif- hope to prove that on the pitch. with thesame confidence as create scoring opportunities. The Spaniard also hinted The winner of Tuesday’s Faria is however adamant his ficult team, but we are pre- “I think the winner of the the first leg. Our opponents Al Duhail, are at the possibility of Boualem match will face UAE’s Al Nassr side can still pip the Qatari pared,” Rui Faria said ahead match can go far in the compe- “We will play with the same one of the best teams in the Khoukhi being in the line- in the quarter-finals, the two champions in the race for the of the match. tition. Some of the best players feeling that we did in the pre- Middle East, the game will be up. The defender joined the legs for which will be played on quarter-finals. Faria noted that the win- in the region play here, so yes, vious game. We are motivated difficult.” team’s camp late after a trans- August 26 and September 16. PSG start title defence with win, fans vent fury at Neymar AFP PARIS PARIS Saint-Germain brushed off the ongoing Ney- mar transfer saga by kicking off their Ligue 1 title defence with a straightforward 3-0 vic- tory over Nimes on Sunday. The 27-year-old Neymar was left out of the squad the day after PSG sporting direc- tor Leonardo said talks about a possible sale of the Brazil- ian were “more advanced than before”. On Sunday, coach Thomas Tuchel told Canal+ he had “no news” on Neymar’s future and that he would have to “find so- lutions without” him. Paris Saint-Germain’s Uruguayan forward Edinson Cavani celebrates after scoring a goal during the French Edinson Cavani’s contro- L1 football match against Nimes Olympique at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on Sunday. (AFP) versial VAR penalty in the 24th minute set PSG on their team,” said Mbappe. Other banners slammed who joined from Sevilla. Paris Saint-Germain’s (PSG) supporters hold a banner reading “Neymar, buzz off!” prior to the French L1 foot- way at the Parc des Princes, af- PSG sit level with Lyon, his recent comment that The champions monopo- ball match between PSG and Nimes Olympique at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on Sunday. (AFP) ter supporters had made their who beat Monaco 3-0 on Fri- his fondest memory in lised the ball from the off, with negative feelings towards the day, at the top of the fledgling football was inspiring Barce- Mbappe shooting straight at kick into the net, before Nimes pass from Mbappe with 20 Christophe Galtier’s hosts, absent Neymar clear. table, and will be hoping to oc- lona’s stunning 2017 Cham- visiting goalkeeper Paul Ber- coach Bernard Blaquart was minutes remaining, and PSG who finished 16 points behind A fine second-half display cupy that position for the rest pions League comeback nardoni after jinking through booked for his protestations. played out the most comfort- PSG last term, were indebted from Kylian Mbappe – with of the season. against PSG, while one called the massed Nimes defence. A pedestrian affair, with able of wins -- finishing with to Nigerian Osimhen, who a goal and an assist for Angel Former Barcelona for- Neymar “heartless”. Nimes happy to almost exclu- 74 percent of possession as scored a fabulous 80th-min- Di Maria – showed Tuchel the ward Neymar’s two years in Neymar has been linked VAR controversy sively keep all 11 men behind goalkeeper Alphonse Areola ute winner at the Stade Pierre- obvious solution to Neymar’s the French capital since PSG with a return to Barca or a They were awarded a penalty the ball, had to wait until the did not face a shot on target. Mauroy. impending exit, and gave the made him the world’s most move to their arch rivals Real by VAR midway through the 57th minute for a second goal Earlier on Sunday, new “When I have opportu- capital club a perfect start to expensive player have been Madrid. first half, as a corner struck Ni- when Mbappe slotted in to signing Victor Osimhen nities, I don’t want to miss their bid for a third straight plagued by injuries and con- Tuchel handed Ligue 1 mes defender Pablo Martinez open his league account for marked his Ligue 1 debut with them,” said the 20-year-old. French title and ninth in total. troversies. debuts to centre-back Abdou on the arm after Diallo ducked the campaign. two goals as last year’s run- “I’m not yet 100 percent but “We are not going to lie. Home fans unfurled a ban- Diallo, signed from Borussia under the ball while standing Di Maria came off the ners-up Lille kicked off their I’m training hard and I know We will see what happens with ner before kick-off translating Dortmund in the close-season, right in front of him. bench and drilled into the bot- new campaign with a 2-1 vic- that with time I’ll be in top Neymar – but it’s not the same to “Neymar. Get out”. and midfielder Pablo Sarabia, Cavani slammed the spot- tom corner after an excellent tory over Nantes. shape physically.” Sports Tuesday, August 13, 2019 13 VAR makes Premier League bow but fans not impressed penalty retaken by Manches- dium and watch their team Former leading English The Video Assistant ter City’s Sergio Aguero be- play, so if they can hear why referee Keith Hackett con- cause of encroachment by de- the referee or the VAR of- curred about the need for Referee is supposed fenders in the 5-0 hammering ficial has come to a particu- more transparency in his col- to eradicate doubts of West Ham. There was also lar decision then that would umn for The Daily Telegraph. a disallowed goal for Wolver- benefit everyone. “My last plea, however, that the right hampton Wanderers Leander “If they know why the de- would be for an even greater Dendoncker due to the ball cision has been made and they emphasis on transparency,” decision has been striking team-mate Willy Boly can hear it then it would give wrote Hackett.