GULF TIMES Pakistan to Win Over Debutants Ireland SPORT Page 6
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FFOOTBALLOOTBALL | Page 3 CCYCLINGYCLING | Page 7 Atletico bid to Mohoric sprints erase pain of to stage 10 fi nals past in win as Yates Marseille clash extends lead Wednesday, May 16, 2018 CRICKET Sha’baan 30, 1439 AH Imam-ul-Haq sees GULF TIMES Pakistan to win over debutants Ireland SPORT Page 6 FOOTBALL / AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Unbeaten Al Duhail storm Duhail join fellow Qatari side Sadd and Iran’s Persepolis and Esteghlal into quarter-fi nals in last eight from West Asia SPOTLIGHT We deserved to qualify for quarters: Sadd’s Bounedjah By Sports Reporter portunities,” added Bounedjah, Doha who himself saw a penalty kick blocked by Ahli goalkeeper Mo- hammed al-Owais, before he was aghdad Bounedjah was able to convert the rebound. relieved that missed “At the end of the day, though, chances did not come we were able to score the two back to haunt Al Sadd goals that mattered and we Bafter the AFC Champions League qualifi ed for the quarter-fi nals. Round of 16 win over Al Ahli on That’s all that matters. We con- Monday. sider this qualifi cation a gift for Bounedjah, the leading scorer the Al Sadd fans after ending the in the tournament, was again season without a title,” the strik- the man of the hour for Al Sadd er added. in their Round of 16 second leg Meanwhile, Al Sadd head against Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli. coach Jesualdo Ferreira praised The 26-year-old netted his eighth the eff orts of his players. Ferreira and ninth goals of the 2018 AFC said: “We played a great game. I Champions League to ensure a 2-2 was hoping for the win but I will draw on the night and a 4-3 aggre- take this draw, which has taken gate win for Al Sadd. us to the quarter-fi nals of the The victory in Jeddah means championship.” the Qataris return to the quar- Asked if Al Sadd were lucky ter-fi nals for the fi rst time since to go through, considering Al 2014, another milestone in what Ahli missed key players, Ferreira has been a hugely successful said: “This kind of talk is unac- continental campaign thus far ceptable because we are missing for Bounedjah. players too. We have had injured “I am obviously delighted we players too; we have missed key reached the quarter-fi nals and players just like Al Ahli and this that my two goals could help the is how football is. Maybe, even team. To be honest, I believe we if Al Ahli had played with a full- deserved to qualify for the last strength team, they may have not eight. I’d like to thank all my been able to win. End of the day, teammates for their eff orts,” said we were better and we deserve to Bounedjah. go through.” “After we ended the QSL sea- The Portuguese added: “We son without any silverware, I am are very happy with the team’s happy that, instead, this win can achievement. I want to thank all Al Duhail’s Youssef El Arabi (centre) vies for the ball with Al Ain players during the second leg of their AFC Champions League Round of 16 tie. PICTURES: Noushad Thekkayil be our gift back to all the Al Sadd the players for the eff orts they fans,” the Algerian added. put in. Congratulations to all of By Sports Reporter ball from defender Mohanad Salem four However, Bounedjah did admit them. We hope fortune will fa- Doha minutes from time. that there was a degree of relief vour us and we can continue on Omar Abdulrahman netted a consola- mixed with the joy of the last our road of success in Asia.” tion goal for Al Ain in the dying seconds eight-place. A dominant per- Al Sadd will now await the NB Stars League champions Al of the game from a penalty kick after he formance from Al Sadd did not draw for the quarter-fi nal round Duhail sealed an emphatic 4-1 was fouled inside the box by defender disguise the fact that, with the next week to know their next op- win over Al Ain in the second Abdullah al-Ahrak. scoreline concerned, their vic- ponents. The opening leg of the leg of their 2018 AFC Champi- Al Ain is still the only UAE side to win tory was only by a slim margin. quarter-fi nals will be played on Qons League Round of 16 showdown yes- the Champions League. They lifted the “We had numerous chances, August 27 and 28 with the con- terday, progressing to the quarter-fi nals title in 2003, and last failed to reach the especially in the second half, cluding ties scheduled for Sep- 8-3 on aggregate. quarter-fi nals in 2015. and we missed some good op- tember 17 and 18. Duhail remain the only team with a 100 Al Duhail join fellow Qatari side Al percent win record this year in the con- Sadd and Iran’s Persepolis and Esteghlal tinental championship, having won eight in the quarter-fi nals from West Asia. In matches out of eight. Tehran, Mame Thiam was the hero as his At the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, hat-trick gave Esteghlal a 3-1 win over the hosts wasted no time in taking full Zobahan in the Round of 16 second leg control and were rewarded with a goal tie yesterday, with Esteghlal advancing to inside 11 minutes when Nam Tae-hee ad- the quarter-fi nals 3-2 on aggregate. vanced down the left and sent a low ball In the East Asia, Tianjin Quan- across the goalmouth that was inadvert- jian eliminated fellow Chinese side ently converted by defender Mohamed Guangzhou Evergrande from the AFC Ahmad past his own goalkeeper. Champions League yesterday, progress- Al Duhail doubled their tally at the Al Duhail coach Djamel Belmadi shouts instructions to his players yesterday. ing to the quarter-fi nals on away goals half-hour mark through Youssef El Arabi after a breathless 2-2 draw in their Round who stabbed in Ismail Mohamed’s pow- Brake through on goal and the latter at- Coach Djamel Belmadi’s men heaped of 16 second leg tie at Tianhe Stadium in erful cross from the right fl ank. tempted to lob goalkeeper Khalid Eisa more misery on their visitors as El Arabi Guangzhou. Very little changed after the break as who was able to get his fi ngertips on the caught up with Baghdad Bounedjah at the Meanwhile, Buriram United’s brave run the Qataris continued to attack in num- ball before it fell for Mohammad who top of the competition’s scorers chart, in the AFC Champions League came to an Al Sadd players celebrate their win over Al Ahli during the first leg of bers and soon found the net for a third tapped into the empty net in the 54th converting his ninth goal of the campaign end yesterday as a 2-0 loss at Jeonbuk saw their Round of 16 clash in Doha earlier this month. time. El Arabi sent defender Sultan al- minute. from the penalty spot following a hand them bow out of the 4-3 on aggregate. Gulf Times 2 Wednesday, May 16, 2018 FOOTBALL SPOTLIGHT Injured Neuer in German World Cup squad as frictions stir Captain Neuer named amongst four goalkeepers, one of whom will be cut for the final 23-man squad which must be finaliseed by June 4 The 32-year-old Bayern Munich star AFP tured foot. He has been named amongst Manuel Neuer has not played for eight Dortmund, Germany four goalkeepers, one of whom will be months with a fractured foot. (AFP) cut for the fi nal 23-man squad which must be named by June 4. Neuer must njured Manuel Neuer was named now prove his fi tness at a fortnight- in Germany’s extended 27-man long training camp in northern Italy, World Cup squad for Russia 2018, which started yesterday. despite not playing since Septem- “Manuel is getting back into full Iber, as political frictions threw a shad- training this week at Bayern Munich, ow over yesterday’s announcement. that assures us that he can tolerate Both midfi elders Mesut Ozil and Il- the full load in the training camp,” ex- kay Gundogan are included despite plained Loew. triggering friction between Berlin and “Then we want to get a full idea, talk Ankara after the Premier League stars to him frankly and honestly, asking ‘is it posed for pictures with Turkey Presi- possible to play at the World Cup?’ We dent Recep Tayyip Erdogan in London. have to decide whether Neuer is able to “From the DFB’s perspective, it has put in his top performances. “I don’t been made clear that it was not a good think it is possible to go into a World decision, but I didn’t think of leaving Cup without playing practice.” them out for a second,” said Germany There is no place in Loew’s squad for head coach Joachim Loew. “I have a bit Mario Goetze, who scored the winning of understanding that two hearts beat goal in the 2014 World Cup fi nals, after in the chests of players with an immi- an erratic season at Borussia Dortmund. gration background. They have have “It’s defi nitely not been his season. He expressed regret and done a lot for in- has huge qualities, but isn’t in form,” tegration in Germany.” explained Loew.