MONDAY, MAY 22, 2017 SPORTS Invincible Celtic: Unbeaten season

GLASGOW: Celtic became the first under former Liverpool boss Brendan ute was paid to Celtic’s 1967 European Viktor Noring before the Hearts ‘keeper The pair combined again moments lat- club to go Rodgers can seal a domestic treble- Cup winning side-affectionately made a superb stop to keep Dedryck er with Griffiths this time taking a pass unbeaten through a 38-game season their first since 2001 — next Saturday if known as the -and by Boyata’s point-blank effort out after the from the English winger on the chest when they defeated Hearts 2-0 yester- they beat in the kick-off the noise reverberating defender connected with a Griffiths before firing into the side netting. day to win the league by a mammoth final. Celtic, who were presented with around was deafening. corner. Celtic had scored in every Celtic set a new goal-scoring record in 30 points. Second-half goals by Leigh the Premiership trophy for the sixth Celtic started brightly, Griffiths curling domestic fixture under Rodgers so it the 75th minute as Armstrong doubled Griffiths and ensured time in a row, set a new points record a free-kick into the side netting before seemed inevitable they would eventu- their advantage. Griffiths’ cross was cut they didn’t slip up on the last day, as of 106 — their nearest “challengers” a fierce effort from ally break Hearts’ resolve. out by the Hearts defence but it only Celtic ended up with a record of played were Aberdeen, way back on 76. “It is a dipped just over the bar. However, it The breakthrough came five min- went as far as Armstrong, who lifted his 38, won 34 and drew four. The unbeat- monumental achievement by the play- was Hearts who came closest to an utes after the break. On-loan shot high into the net to put more en feat was last achieved in Scotland ers. They have inscribed their names opener midway through the half. Manchester City star Patrick Roberts, gloss on a record-breaking season. On by arch-rivals Rangers in 1898-99, over into the history of this incredible club Jozo Simunovic’s foul handed the unstoppable on the right wing, drifted Saturday, Inverness Caledonian Thistle an 18-game season, and Celtic join the now,” said Rodgers. “We had to work visitors a free-kick on the edge of the past a couple of Hearts defenders were relegated to the Championship likes of Arsenal (2003-04) and Juventus hard and to beat the goals record and box, which was rolled into the path of before lofting a cross into the box, despite their 3-2 win over (2011-12) in being “invincible” during a the wins record means it’s a truly fan- Alexandros Tziolis and his angled strike where Scottish striker Griffiths applied after Hamilton’s 4-0 win over Dundee domestic campaign. tastic day.” flew narrowly over. A Callum McGregor the finishing touch as he sent a down- ensured they will face Dundee United Celtic plundered 106 goals and Before the match an emotional trib- long-range strike drew a save from ward header bouncing into the net. in the play-off final. —AFP Champs Monaco sign off with Rennes win

PARIS: Monaco capped their French title- condemned Bastia to the drop. winning season with a record 12th consec- utive victory after beating Rennes 3-2 on ‘GOAL OF MY LIFE’ Saturday, while Bastia and Nancy were Nicolas de Preville struck a hat-trick as both relegated from Ligue 1. Fabinho Lille romped to a 3-0 victory over Nantes, tucked home a rebound to give Monaco a while Dijon were grateful to a missed first-half lead at Roazhon Park, and defend- penalty from Martin Braithwaite as a 0-0 er Jemerson added a second from a corner draw at Toulouse handed them the point shortly after the interval. needed to remain in Ligue 1. Lorient will Brazilian full-back Jorge then netted his face Troyes, who finished third in the sec- first Monaco goal in between a brace from ond division, in a two-legged play-off Adama Diakhaby as Leonardo Jardim’s side with their place in the top flight at stake surpassed Bordeaux’s single-season mark following a 1-1 draw with Bordeaux. of 11 straight wins set during the 2008-09 Nancy dealt Saint-Etienne a 3-1 loss in campaign. Monaco finished the season on Christophe Galtier’s final game in charge 95 points, just one shy of the French record of Les Verts, but the result was not set by Paris Saint-Germain a year ago. enough to spare them from joining Bastia Ronny Rodelin atoned for missing a sec- in Ligue 2 next season. ond-half penalty against PSG by grabbing a Strasbourg, who were demoted to the stoppage-time equalizer in a 1-1 draw at fifth tier after entering liquidation in the Parc des Princes to ensure Caen 2011, returned to the top flight on Friday retained their top-flight status. Adrien after sealing the second-division title with Rabiot scored a 13th-minute opener and a 2-1 victory over Bourg en Bresse. the visitors had looked to be heading Amiens will play in Ligue 1 for the first towards a relegation play-off after Kevin time in the club’s 116-year history after Trapp kept out Rodelin’s spot-kick. Emmanuel Bourgaud’s 96th-minute win- hit his 100th Ligue 1 ner at Reims bumped them up from sixth TURIN: Juventus players celebrate winning an unprecedented sixth consecutive Italian title, at the end of the soccer match between goal in his final appearance for Lyon with a place to second. Juventus and Crotone at the Juventus stadium. —AP brace in a 3-3 home draw against Nice. “I see the ball coming, I shoot and it The France striker, who is leaving his goes in. It’s crazy, it’s the goal of my career, boyhood club this summer with Atletico the goal of my life,” said man of the Madrid touted as a possible destination, moment Bourgaud after his last-gasp hero- Juventus clinches record netted twice in the second half to finish ics. “We pushed and we pushed hoping for with a career-best 28 league goals. He was something like that to happen. This goal is removed to a standing ovation before the extraordinary, it propels us into Ligue 1!” finish, but Nice levelled at the death when beamed Amiens coach Christophe Pelissier. 6th straight Serie A title Jean-Michael Seri converted a penalty Third-place Troyes recovered from two deep into injury time at Parc OL. Bafetimbi goals down to beat Sochaux 3-2 but Gomis headed Marseille to a 1-0 win over Bourgaud’s goal with the final kick against ROME: Juventus clinched a record sixth Bastia to secure a return to the Europa Reims means they will face a play-off straight Serie A title with a 3-0 win over rele- League for Rudi Garcia’s men, while defeat against Lorient.— AFP gation-threatened Crotone in the penultimate Kane seals Golden Boot round yesterday. Mario Mandzukic gave Juventus the lead 12 minutes in by redirecting with another hat-trick a cross from Juan Cuadrado, Paulo Dybala Torres scores as Atletico scored with a precise free kick shortly before the break and Alex Sandro added another box, where Kane was waiting to apply a first- waves Calderon farewell with a header near the end. time finish. Hull City 1 The Tottenham supporters went through Juventus moved four points clear of sec- their songbook, even chanting support for MADRID: was the fitting Barcelona next season means Bilbao miss ond-placed Roma, which last Sunday handed Hull’s ex-Spurs players, Tom Huddlestone, match winner as Atletico Madrid waved out on qualifying for the Europa League. the Bianconeri their first Serie A loss since Michael Dawson and Ryan Mason, who is goodbye to their Vicente Calderon stadium leapfrogged their Basque January. Since Serie A was founded in 1929, Tottenham 7 recovering after suffering a fractured skull in by beating Athletic Bilbao 3-1 yesterday. rivals into sixth thanks to Juanmi’s 93rd no club had previously won more than five January. Hull fans voiced support for Marco Atletico were playing their final competi- minute equalizer in a 2-2 draw at Celta straight titles. Torino won five consecutive Silva, their popular head coach. “We want you tive match at their home for the past 50 Vigo. Villarreal sealed fifth place with a 3-1 titles from 1943-49 (including a season that KINGSTON UPON HULL: helped to stay,” they sang. years before moving to the new 67,000 win at Valencia. was canceled due to World War II), Inter himself to a second hat-trick in four days as Relegation was confirmed at Crystal Palace capacity Wanda Metropolitano stadium on took five straight from 2006-10 and Juventus ruthless Tottenham Hotspur smashed relegat- last week and Hull had the look of a weary the other side of Madrid next season. SEVILLA SIGN-OFF WITH claimed a handful from 1931-35. ed Hull City to end the season outfit, while Spurs were energetic. The visitors And fans’ favourite Torres ensured FIVE-GOAL FLOURISH “We’ve written one of the greatest pages in in style. England striker Kane finishes with 29 added their third in first-half stoppage time. Atletico got three points to go along with a Vitolo and Franco Vazquez each scored the book of football history,” said Juventus league goals, winning the Golden Boot ahead Kane was again involved, threading the ball carnival atmosphere with a double inside twice as Sevilla ended their season with a of Everton’s Romelu Lukaku and Arsenal’s through to Son Heung-Min. The South Korea the opening 11 minutes. Torres, 33, 5-0 thrashing of Osasuna in what is expect- captain Gianluigi Buffon, who also won the Alexis Sanchez. Dele Alli, Victor Wanyama, international cut the ball back to Alli, who volleyed home Antoine Griezmann’s cush- ed to be Jorge Samapoli’s last game in 2002 and 2003 Serie A titles with Juventus. Ben Davies and Toby Alderweireld were also checked on to his right foot and fired his shot ioned header to open the scoring before charge. Sampaoli has publicly recognised “Winning is never easy,” Buffon added. on target for the visitors, who were already low under David Marshall. It was Alli’s 18th kissing the Atletico badge. Three minutes his desire to take the vacant role as “Beyond what people say, staying at the top is guaranteed to finish second to champions Premier League goal of the season. later Griezmann was again involved as this Argentina boss to aid the two-time world synonymous with sacrifice on everyone’s part. Chelsea, while Sam Clucas’s second-half strike Silva responded by introducing winger time his pass was headed into Torres’s path champion’s faltering World Cup qualifica- ... If you want to always win matches, you’ve was a rare highlight for the home fans. Kamil Grosicki in place of defender Curtis by Koke for an acrobatic finish. tion campaign. “There’s a clear intention got to always have your head in focus and Kane is only the fifth player to win the Davies and, while Spurs arguably eased up, Torres, who is in his second spell at the from my country to have me as coach and, your legs prepared.” It’s the second title in five Premier League’s Golden Boot in successive Hull improved after the break. Oumar club having broken into the first team as a since I was young, it’s something that has days for Juventus after a 2-0 win over Lazio in seasons, following Alan Shearer, Michael Niasse’s whipped low cross would surely have teenager back in 2001, could yet leave appealed to me,” Sampaoli said on Friday. the Italian Cup final on Wednesday. Owen, and Robin van Persie. been converted by Clucas but for Atletico this summer with his contract set Despite a disappointing dip in form in The Bianconeri has a chance to complete Kane had gone top of the scoring chart with Alderweireld’s brilliant intervention before to expire in June. And he was denied recent months, Sevilla have overall had a the treble with a victory over Real Madrid and four goals against Leicester on Thursday and Niasse sliced a shot high and wide from a dif- potentially the perfect send-off when a successful season in finishing fourth under in the Champions League showed no sign of easing up in his last outing ficult angle. spectacular goal-line clearance from Sampaoli and gave their campaign a final final on June 3. Juventus also added to its of the season. The 23-year-old added to his Grosicki was then instrumental as Hull Aymeric Laporte prevented Torres from flourish by sweeping aside already relegated record number of Serie A titles, with its 33rd. impressive tally with two goals in less than pulled a goal back with 24 minutes remaining. completing his hat-trick. Torres was Osasuna. Vitolo tapped home the opener Players dumped shaving cream over the head three minutes. His low cross found Niasse, who after having a replaced moments later to a standing ova- after just 10 minutes when Salvatore Sirigu of manager Massimiliano Allegri at the final The first was a fierce left-foot drive from 20 shot blocked, rolled the ball back for Clucas to tion before the visitors threatened to spoil could only parry Joaquin Correa’s shot. yards after Christian Eriksen’s square pass and send a deflected shot into the bottom corner. the party when Inaki Williams rounded off a Vazquez then slotted home his first from whistle, then put on celebratory T-shirts with the second, two minutes and 39 seconds lat- Spurs restored their advantage as Wanyama- fine team move 20 minutes from time. Sergio Escudero’s cross before Steven Jovetic a ‘6’ on them. er, capped a lovely passing move. ’s seemingly from an offside position-headed in However, Angel Correa added a third rifled in a third before half-time. Mariano’s long pass from the halfway line was perfect at the back post from Eriksen’s free-kick before for Atletico a minute from time. Atletico teasing cross was blasted home by Vazquez RELEGATION BATTLE for Kieran Trippier to cushion into the six-yard Kane completed his hat-trick. —AFP had already secured third place in on the hour mark and Vitolo rounded off the Crotone remained third from the bottom, for a third straight season, but defeat in scoring with the sort of fine solo run and fin- one point behind Empoli in the battle to what is expected to be coach Ernesto ish that has seen him become a transfer tar- avoid being the final club relegated. Empoli Valverde’s final game before taking over at get for Atletico Madrid. — Agencies was beaten 1-0 at home by Atalanta, which got an early goal from Alejandro “Papu” Gomez. Genoa removed itself from the relega- tion chances with a 2-1 win over Torino, get- ting goals from Luca Rigoni and Giovanni Simeone - the son of Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone - before Adem Ljajic pulled one back for Torino. In the final round, Crotone hosts fourth-placed Lazio and Empoli visits already relegated Palermo. Last-placed Pescara, which has also already been relegat- ed, hosts Palermo on Monday to conclude the penultimate round.

AC MILAN RETURNS TO EUROPE AC Milan ended a run of three seasons without European play by beating Bologna 3- 0 to secure sixth place and a spot in the Europa League playoffs. Gerard Deulofeu scored with a volley in the 69th, Keisuke Honda added a free kick four minutes later and Gianluca Lapadula redirected a cross from Mati Fernandez in added time. In other results, Sassuolo routed Cagliari 6-2 with goals from Francesco Magnanelli, Domenico HULL: Tottenham Hotspur’s English striker Harry Kane celebrates his hat trick after scoring Berardi, Matteo Politano, Stefano Sensi, Pietro MADRID: Atletico de Madrid’s forward Fernando Torres (L) scores his second goal his team’s fifth goal during the English Premier League football match between Hull City during the Spanish league football match Club Atletico de Madrid vs Athletic Club Iemmello (penalty) and Alessandro Matri. and Tottenham Hotspur at the KCOM Stadium. —AFP Bilbao at the Vicente Calderon stadium. —AFP Also, Udinese drew 1-1 with Sampdoria. —AP