GGOLFOLF | Page 3 FFOOTBALLOOTBALL | Page 6 Woods leads Ronaldo double US fi ghtback puts Juventus to crush Els back on top of dream

Monday, December 16, 2019 Rabia II 19, 1441 AH GULF TIMES SPORT

FOCUS Liverpool land in Doha, seeking fi rst ever Club WC iverpool landed in the squad the opportunity to Doha yesterday ahead achieve something new, the of their participation chance to win Liverpool’s in the FIFA Club World fi rst ever Club World Cup. CupL Qatar 2019. The Reds, It’s been a busy but incredible who secured qualifi cation by year and of course we will give winning the UEFA Champi- everything to wrap-up 2019 ons League, will face Monter- with this title. We followed rey on Wednesday at Khalifa the matches yesterday and International Stadium. are looking forward to play- The FIFA Club World Cup ing Monterrey on Wednesday is one of the few trophies not with the support of all the in the Anfi eld cabinet and the Liverpool fans that are travel- team will be well supported in ling to Doha or living in Qa- their eff orts to change this. A tar,” said Liverpool Manager large contingent of Liverpool Jurgen Klopp. fans have travelled to Doha Should Liverpool win, they and the club enjoys a signifi - will play either CONMEBOL cant fanbase amongst local Libertadores winners CR Fla- Qataris and expatriates. mengo or Al Hilal FC in the “This competition gives fi nal. (From left) Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Allison Becker and manager Jurgen Klopp arrive in Doha yesterday. (Twitter/FIFAcom)

REVIEW I still can’t believe that goal: Vangioni aft er win over Sadd Leonel Vangioni had unleashed a left-footed drive from 30 yards out to put Monterrey ahead in the quarter-final

Mistakes cost Al Sadd the match, says Xavi

AFC “We should learn from this Doha match and avoid the mistakes that we have made. I’m happy with the performance but we ead coach Xavi was left should reduce mistakes in to rue Al Sadd’s mis- order to improve. Htakes which led to their “We will play against Esper- 3-2 defeat against Mexico’s ance, who are a good side and Monterrey in the second round they had a good performance of the FIFA Club World Cup Qa- against Al Hilal. We will fight tar 2019 at Jassim Bin Hamad and give our best to finish Stadium on Saturday. fifth.” Monterrey scored two of their Head coach Antonio Mohamed three goals after mistakes by Al said Monterrey faced a stub- Sadd players as the CONCACAF born team who put a lot of Champions League winners pressure on them, especially in advanced to a semi-final meet- the last minutes. ing with English side Liverpool “As we expected, the match on Wednesday. was diff icult and competitive. Al Sadd will face Esperance We tried our best to put pres- Sportive Tunis in the play-off sure on our opponents who for fifth place tomorrow. were stubborn and gave us a “I’m proud of the players but hard time.” we made two big mistakes “We made several mistakes which aff ected the result,” said and lost important balls in Xavi. “Our opponents took the middle of the pitch,” said advantage of the mistakes. Mohamed. “After taking a 2-0 “We had a good perform- lead, we sat back and this ance, especially in the last 20 aff ected us as we should have minutes, but we failed to take pushed forward and scored advantage of the chances that more goals. we had. We were hoping to go “We should turn the page now to extra time.” and have a better performance Xavi said his side should draw against Liverpool. We must lessons from the match before give a better performance than facing Esperance. we did tonight.”

Monterrey’s Leonel Vangioni (left) celebrates scoring their first goal during the FIFA Club World Cup match against Al Sadd on Saturday. (Reuters)

espite having had sev- ible,” said ‘Piri’ Vangioni, smiling to take the shot, so I hit it and in the final. Now, four years SECRET WEAPON eral attempts on goal, when asked about his goal after thankfully it went in. It’s not later and after a stint in Europe Asked how Monterrey could com- including a Jesus Gal- leaving the changing room. “I something I practice though.” with AC Milan, he is back on bat Jurgen Klopp’s electrifying lardo eff ort that hit the still can’t believe the ball went in Nevertheless, he has previ- the American continent with side, Vangioni did not hesitate post,D Monterrey simply could not where it did.” ous experience when it comes Monterrey. This time they face a in response: “With heart, we’ve fi nd the net in the early stages His strike paved the way for to long-range stunners, having difficult opponent at the semi- got to play with heart. That’s how of their opening fi xture at the Monterrey to dominate the scored almost a carbon copy for final stage against a Liverpool you have to go into games like this. FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2019 match until the closing stages, River Plate against Lanus in 2013. side with an intimidating un- There’s no other way. It’s 11 against against an Al Sadd side intent on even if an Al Sadd double set up a “It was very similar,” he said, beaten run. 11 so we’ve got to give everything denying them space to operate nervy fi nale. Ultimately though, smiling at the memory. “The game against Liverpool out on the pitch. Anything can in. That all changed in the 23rd Los Rayados earned a 3-2 tri- might be something of a poi- happen in football, so we’re con- minute, however, when Leonel umph to book their place in the JAPAN 2015 EXPERIENCE soned chalice, but it’s what we fi dent in our ability to hurt them Vangioni received the ball around semi-fi nals, where they will face Indeed, it was with Los Mil- came here for,” Vangioni said. with the weapons we’ve got.” 30 yards from goal and unleashed Liverpool on Wednesday. lonarios that Vangioni made his “We have to keep believing in Heart and, perhaps, an- a fi erce left-footed drive that As impressive as Vangioni’s Club World Cup debut, play- ourselves and have faith. I think other left-footed stunner from fl ew into the top corner off the eff ort was, he insists it was not ing at the 2015 edition as Copa we’ve got a team that can com- Monterrey’s No11. “Why not?” upright. the result of work on the train- Libertadores winners, but ulti- pete, and as long as we’re alive he smiled as he departed. “To be honest it was incred- ing pitch: “I had the confi dence mately losing 3-0 to Barcelona then we’re going to fi ght for it.” (FIFA.com) Gulf Times Monday, December 16, 2019 FIFA Club World Cup 2 Qatar 2019

Brazil’s Flamengo prepare for Club World Cup semi-fi nal against Saudi’s Al Hilal

Players of CR Flamengo take part in a training session at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha yesterday. The Brazilian side, winners of , will play AFC Champions League champions Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia in the semi-final of the FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2019 tomorrow. PICTURES: Ram Chand

FOCUS Lovren ruled out of Liverpool’s Club World Cup trip

AFP Lovren’s omission and Wijnal- London, United Kingdom dum’s inclusion. Resources are already stretched thinly with a youth team set to We’re confi dent of ejan Lovren has been play a quarter-final ruled out of Liverpool’s at Aston Villa on Tuesday, and Dtrip to the Club World Fabinho (ankle) and Joel Matip Cup, but Georginio Wijnaldum (knee) ruled out of games in the will travel with the Reds squad Middle East. for the tournament in Qatar. “With the Gini injury, Dejan Croatian defender Lovren three or four days ago, our will miss out as a result of the squad is not getting bigger. reaching the fi nal: hamstring problem he suff ered That is not cool,” Klopp said. during Tuesday’s Champions “But that is the same problem League victory in Salzburg. if we go to Aston Villa in the But Dutch midfielder Wi- Carabao Cup quarter-final.” jnaldum, who appeared to Speaking before the squad suff er a hamstring injury in the was named, Klopp added on Premier League leaders’ 2-0 Wijnaldum’s injury: “It is a mus- win over Watford on Satur- cle thing and you never want Hilal’s Albulayhi day, was named among the that for a player. In these mo- 20-man party which flew out ments it immediately makes it ‘Flamengo are South American champions and they are obviously very strong’ yesterday. more diff icult.” Jurgen Klopp’s side enter the The Dutchman’s injury was Club World Cup at the semi- the only cloud on a day when final stage on Wednesday, with Mohamed Salah took his tally Mexican side Monterrey their to four goals in his last three opponents in Doha. matches, and 13 for the season, A statement on Liverpool’s with a brilliant double against off icial website confirmed Watford.

COMMENT Al Hilal deserved to win: coach Lucescu

AFC Doha

ead coach Razvan Lu- cescu said Al Hilal SFC deserved their 1-0 win over Esperance Spor- tiveH de Tunis in the second round of the FIFA Club World Cup Qa- tar 2019 at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Saturday. Al Hilal owed their win to French forward Bafetimbi Go- mis, who came off the bench to score the only goal of the match in the 73rd minute to steer the 2019 AFC Champions League winners into the semi-fi nals. Romanian Lucescu said Al Hilal created many chances and deserved the win which set up a semi-fi nal clash with South American champions Flamengo tomorrow. “We deserved this victory as Esperance head coach Moine we controlled the ball more and Chaabani said his team faced op- we created many scoring chanc- ponents who knew how to win es,” said Lucescu. “We managed the match. to take advantage of the spaces to “We had a good match and we score the winning goal. knew that Al Hilal have an excel- “It feels good that we are now lent team and players who are Al Hilal’s Ali Albulayhi in action during the FIFA Club World Cup second round match against Esperance Sportive de Tunis on Saturday. (Reuters) among the best four teams in the capable of creating danger, es- world and we feel proud,” he said. pecially in the last metres of the l Hilal secured a spot in through the second period. “It with virtually the same side their upcoming encounter. “We relative lack of tournament “We had great success because of pitch,” said Chaabani. the semi-fi nals of the was a mistake from all of us. that won the AFC Champions have an important game against experience and hectic fi xture our continuous work and great “The match was tactical as FIFA Club World Cup That’s football and mistakes can League, but luck wasn’t on our Flamengo coming up,” agreed schedule to win their fi rst game enthusiasm.” there was only one goal and there Qatar 2019 by seeing always happen, but luckily Al- side today in front of goal,” said Albulayhi. in their maiden appearance at “Despite the absence of Go- were not many scoring chances,” offA Esperance Sportive de Tunis. muaiouf was on high alert and Albulayhi. “We should now turn the page the FIFA Club World Cup. It mis and (Sebastian) Giovinco, we he added. “We had some chances While credit goes to Bafetimbi saved it,” Al Hilal defender Ali “We shouldn’t forget the on the Esperance match and fo- seems fair, then, for the Saudi managed to put a good perform- but we failed to take advantage of Gomis, who scored the game’s Albulayhi said after the match game wasn’t easy at all, but ul- cus on the next game.” team to now aim even higher, ance,” said Lucescu. “Gomis is them.” solitary goal, Al Hilal’s back line The scare did not deter Al Hi- timately we won and we need to Asked about their Brazil- despite facing such a tough one of the best players that we The 38-year-old coach said was solid from beginning to end, lal from pursuing their attacking turn our attention now to our ian opponents, who should challenge in the fi nal four. have and he has great experience Asian teams have the upper hand managing to thwart the best ef- game until they were rewarded upcoming matches.” be a tougher proposition than “It’s a good omen to win our and enthusiasm. against African sides and that was forts of Anice Badri and Ibrahim with the winning goal. “I think the team from Tunisia, Albu- fi rst game and we’re confi dent “I’m happy that he managed clear in the FIFA Club World Cup. Ouattara and keep a vital clean it was good for us,” said Albu- NEXT GAME VITAL layhi said: “Flamengo are South we will make the fi nal,” said Al- to score directly after recovering “Asian teams have better ca- sheet. layhi. “It really pushed us to go While the Al Hilal players ap- American champions and they bulayhi. “We are aiming for the from his injury. pabilities and they have a chance Among few alarms for the forward until Gomis gave us the peared happy after the game, are obviously very strong. Their title, but we will take one game “We expect a tough match to sign special players, especially Saudi giants’ was a defl ection lead.” it was clear that they have not coach [Jorge] Jesus is also very at a time. We got an important against Flamengo but all the forwards. Asian teams have won from Yasser Alshahrani that Al Hilal were an attacking come to Qatar just to win their good. We respect all our oppo- win today, and we also want to matches in this competition are nine out of 11 matches against forced keeper Abdullah Almuai- threat throughout but had to re- opening encounter. Making nents but we go into the game beat Flamengo. Only then we hard. Flamengo might be tough African teams (in the FIFA Club ouf to scramble back to his line main patient until Gomis’ strike their way to the team bus, the determined to win.” will think of the fi nal.” but we are capable (of matching World Cup) and this shows the and claw the ball clear midway broke the deadlock. “We played whole team seemed focused on Al Hilal made light of their (FIFA.com) them).” big diff erence.” Gulf Times Monday, December 16, 2019 3 SPORT

CRICKET International stars excited to play Qatar National Day match By Sports Reporter Doha

ormer Salman Butt and other international players sounded upbeat on get- ting a chance to celebrate the QatarF National Day with a Twenty20 match against the local players on December 18. The match, hosted jointly by the Qa- tar Association and the Minis- try of Interior, will be held at the Asian Town Stadium at 3.30pm. The QCA has planned a host of ac- tivities to attract fans and families on the occasion. QCA President Yousef Jeham al-Ku- wari and QCA PR Director Issa al-Ya- coub revealed the full list of the players who will be fi guring in the match and adding an international fl avour to it. Besides Butt, Rana Naved-ul Hassan, Ajantha Mendis, Jahanzeb Naveed and Fazel Rahman Zazai were present on the occasion along with Qalandar Khan (Qatar) and team coach Inam-Ul-Haq International players, QCA President Yousef Jeham al-Kuwari, QCA PR Director Issa al-Yacoub and other off icials pose with the Qatar National Day match trophy. (Qatar). Butt said: “Congratulations to Qa- tunity to be part of this great event this happen very quickly,” he added. for all the help to make this event pos- SQUADS Coach: Inam-Ul-Haq; Manager: Rawid tar on its upcoming National Day. The year,” he added. Sri Lankan player Mendis featured in sible once again. I also wish to thank International Team: Abdul Razzaq, Qatar Team: Iqbal Hussain Chaud- international players got a good op- Butt also heaped praise on the local the QND match last year and was de- the international players who are stay- Imran Farhat, Kamran Akmal, Rana hry, Mohamed Rizlan, Kamran Khan, portunity to come here for the Qatar players, terming them as ‘very talented.’ lighted to be playing here again. ing back after the Qatar T10 League and Naved-ul Hassan, Salman Butt, Sohail Zaheeruddeen Ibrahim, Faisal Khan, T10 League, which is a well-organised “Loads of local players are present in “Last year, I played in the Qatar Na- coming to take part in the match. Tanvir, Jahanzeb Naveed (all from Mohamed Tanveer, Dharmang Patel, event. We’re all very happy to take part each team in the T10 League. What we tional Day match here and we all en- “The Qatar National Day is a proud Pakistan), Ajantha Mendis (Sri Lanka), Tamoor Sajjad, Gayan Budhika, Awais in this big event. see is a bright future for them. There is joyed the occasion very much. We hope occasion for us. It is also very close to Satvir Singh (India), Fazel Rahman Malik, Mohamed Nadeem, Noman “Back home, we are used to parade no shortage of talent here. They should to do our best again this time.” heart of every Qatari. There is no entry Zazai (Afghanistan), Qalandar Khan, Sarwar, Imran Ashraf, Musawar Khan and air shows on our National Day. It be given facilities to become better so Al-Kuwari lauded the Ministry of In- fee. We have planned many cricket-re- Khurram Shahzad, Saqlain Arshad, Ow- and Hussain Khan. will be fantastic to see the Qatar Na- that they can compete well at the inter- terior and the international players for lated activities to make the event both ais Ahmad and Syed Yousuf Tameem national level. Given the facilities and supporting the match once again. “We enjoyable and great for all involved in tional Day celebration this time. We all (all from Qatar) Coach: Shahid Mahboob; Manager: thank the QCA for giving us an oppor- environment available here, this will want to thank the Ministry of Interior it,” he added. Gul Khan Jadoon

PRESIDENTS CUP GOLF Fedex Cup Series Rankings starts to Woods leads US form at Education City Golf Club

By Sports Reporter City Golf Club with Jaan Suung Doha winning the tournament with an fi ghtback to crush impressive Nett 64, which also took him to the top of the Fedex he second tournament Leaderboard at ECGC. ‘I trusted all my 11 guys. I trusted them in the Fedex Series took In the second place was place at Education City Chunghoon Kim with a Nett 66 implicitly. They went out there and Golf Club (ECGC) on which sees him lying 5th in the DecemberT 6. rankings. In the 3rd position was got the points we needed. We fought’ The members of ECGC had Jesse Payne with a Nett 70 and Els dream the opportunity to accumulate taking 9th position in the rank- points in the rankings and build ings. on last month’s tournament; with all golfers eyeing the top 15 FEDEX LEADERBOARD places to qualify for the fi nal. 1. Jang Suung 1,250 points The new format in Qatar takes 2. Patricia Yurkiw 900 points a collective approach with the 3. Paul Kelly 790 points monthly tournaments running 4. Susan Karamian 780 points over the two Courses, Education 5. Chughoon Kim 700 points City Golf Club and Doha Golf 6. Tarik Al Aloosy 550 points Club. The top 15 in the rank- 7. Zander Stramrood 360 points ings will progress to the Fedex 8. Hanley Hilton 350 points Cup Final in May 2020 and the 9. Jesse Payne 350 points tournament rankings are already 10. Mark Cooke 260 points beginning to form with all of the 11. Scott Jappy 200 points participants looking forward to 12. Martin Holland 200 points take on the interclub challenge. 13. Martin Campbell 110 points Fantastic scores were com- 14. Dimitry Sokoinikov 100 piled over the 18 Hole Champi- points onship Golf Course at Education 15. John Carr 100 points

Winner of the Fedex Series second tournament Jaan Suung.

US team captain Tiger Woods (top row, 2nd left) and his teammates pose with the the Presidents Cup in Melbourne yesterday. (AFP) Thailand’s Janewattananond wins AFP Webb Simpson beat South Korea’s An tire U.S. Team on a great comeback and was overlooked for the opening two days Melbourne Byeong-hun to guarantee the US a share tremendous WIN. True Champions!” and never looked at ease. Indonesian Masters title of the Cup at 15-12 with three matches he tweeted. The playing-captain, in his Patrick Reed’s caddie was banned af- still in play. Australian Cameron Smith ninth Presidents Cup, took the responsi- ter shoving a fan on Saturday as tensions Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond stormed to a five-shot victory at iger Woods’ United States pro- grabbed a point by beating Justin Tho- bility of going out fi rst in the singles and boiled over following the controversial the $750,000 Indonesian Masters yesterday, cementing his creden- duced a stunning turnaround to mas, ensuring a nailbiting fi nale with Ku- won 3 and 2 against battling Mexican Ab- American’s penalty for improving his lie tials as a rising star on the Asian circuit. deny the Internationals a fi rst char’s birdie to go one-up on 17 enough raham Ancer. in the Bahamas last week. The 24-year-old, who finished number two at the Royale Jakarta Presidents Cup in 21 years yes- to secure at least half a point and ensure In doing so he passed Phil Mickelson The former Masters champion turned Golf Club last year, ended the final round with a seven-under-par Tterday, dominating the singles on a tense there was no way back for Els’ team. to become the most successful Presi- to his swing coach to carry his bag and 65 to close out the tournament with a 23-under total of 265, five fi nal day that went to the wire at Royal “I trusted all my 11 guys. I trusted dents Cup golfer in history with a 27-15-1 raced to six-up through seven holes strokes ahead of compatriot Gunn Charoenkul. Melbourne. them implicitly. I told them from the win-loss-tie record to his countryman’s against Taiwan’s CT Pan in front of “I know this golf course can bite you anytime so I didn’t let my guard Veteran Matt Kuchar was the hero, very get go. They went out there and got 26-16-13. “I could have made diff erent taunting fans before closing out a 4 and down until I hit the green on the last hole,” Janewattananond said. with his winning putt on the 17th in the the points we needed. We fought,” said choices in the singles today. I can take it 2 win. “This is my best season so far.” penultimate match enough to ensure Woods. “Even the points we lost, we were on my shoulders,” said Els. The US were on a roll and Tony Fi- Second-placed Gunn said: “It was tough. I mean, I was hitting them victory, sparking wild celebrations from making them earn every one of them, and “The questions will come that I made nau came from four down after 10 holes good but he (Jazz) was hitting it way better than I do.” playing-captain Woods, who set the tone this Cup wasn’t going to be given to us. mistakes in the selection of where I put to snatch a half point on the fi nal green South Korea’s Taewoo Kim ended the tournament third at 271, tied by getting the fi rst point on the board. We had to go earn it, and we did.” my players, but I followed a plan 100 per- against a stunned Hideki Matsuyama of with Australian Josh Younger. It was a crushing loss for Ernie Els’ No side before had rallied to win on the cent, and it didn’t quite work out. But we Japan. South Korea’s Im Sung-jae was a Keith Horne of South Africa, sitting in second spot at the halfway young Internationals who led for the last day after trailing for three days, fur- came damn close.” bright spot. Only 21, the PGA Tour Rook- point, finished in 15th place with a nine under 279. fi rst three days of the biennial matchplay ther cementing the reputation of Woods, At one stage the Americans were ahead ie of the Year comfortably beat US Open Winner Janewattananond tied the lowest 18-hole score in the tour- event. They went into yesterday’s 12 sin- who went undefeated in his three match- in nine matches, and world number fi ve champion Gary Woodland 4 and 3. nament history with his third-round 62. gles matches with a 10-8 lead but Patrick es. US President Donald Trump, an avid Dustin Johnson ensured a second point, It was the United States’ 11th victory in In 2017, tournament winner Justin Rose of England carded two 62’s Reed and Dustin Johnson were among golf fan, immediately paid tribute on so- crushing Li Haotong 4 and 3. 13 editions of the event. One was drawn while Malaysia’s Nicholas Fung closed with a similar 62 in the last those racing to big early leads as the cial media. It ended a diffi cult Presidents Cup for with the lone International win coming edition. scoreboard became swathed in US red. “Congratulations to Tiger and the en- the fi rst Chinese player to take part - Li in 1998, also at Royal Melbourne. Gulf Times 4 Monday, December 16, 2019 CRICKET

SPOTLIGHT Abid sets world record in Pakistan’s drawn Test AFP Scorecard kept entertained by Dhananjaya Rawalpindi and then Abid. SRI LANKA wari 15-4-54-1, Naseem 27-5-92-2, Sri Lankan skipper Dimuth Kar- D. Karunaratne lbw b Shaheen 59 Sohail 3-0-12-0, Masood 1-1-0-0, unaratne hopes his team moves on. pener Abid Ali became Shafiq 2-0-8-0 “We came two days before the O. Fernando c Sohail b Naseem 40 the only batsman to PAKISTAN 1st innings Test and we’ve done a really good score hundreds on both K. Mendis c Rizwan b Shinwari 10 job. Washed out for a couple of S. Masood c Chandimal b Rajitha 0 Test and one-day de- A. Mathews c Shafiq b Naseem 31 days but Dhananjaya’s eff ort and butsO as Pakistan’s fi rst home match Abid Ali not out 109 the two fast bowlers on this pitch D. Chandimal b Abbas 2 in the long form of the game since A. Ali c Karunaratne b Kumara 36 did well,” said Karunaratne. the 2009 attack on the visiting Sri D. de Silva not out 102 The draw gives both Pakistan Babar Azam not out 102 Lanka team ended in a tame draw N. Dickwella c Azam b Shaheen 33 and Sri Lanka 20 points each in the against the same opponents yes- Extras: (b 2, nb 2, w 1) 5 World Test championship, con- D. Perera not out 16 terday. Total: (for two wkts, 70 overs ) 252 tested by nine teams, with the top Extras (b5, lb7, nb3) 15 two contesting the June 2021 fi nal. On 95, the 32-year-old hit pace- Fall of : 1-3 (Masood), Pakistan lost opener Shan man Vishwa Fernando for a bound- Total (for six wkts, 97 overs) 308 2-90 (Azhar) ary and then drove him through Fall of wickets: 1-96 (Karu- Masood for nought when he drove cover for two to complete his hun- Bowling: Rajitha 6-2-5-1 (1nb), a full toss from paceman Kasun naratne), 2-109 (Fernando), Fernando 13-1-49-0, Kumara dred, raising his hands in jubilation 3-120 (Mendis), 4-127 (Chandi- Rajitha straight into the hands of before kneeling on the ground to 14-4-46-1, Perera 24-0-85-0, De Dinesh Chandimal at cover mal), 5-189 (Mathews), 6-256 Silva 11-0-48-0 (nb1), Oshada 1-0- off er a prayer of gratitude. (Dickwella) Skipper Azhar Ali scored a His hundred came in 267 min- 3-0, Mendis 1-0-14-0 shaky 36 before he was caught off utes, laced with 11 boundaries, and Bowling: Abbas 27-9-72-1, RESULT: Draw Lahiru Kumara. Dhananjaya fi nal- was the highlight of a Test badly af- Shaheen 22-7-58-2 (nb3), Shin- ly completed his sixth Test century fected by the weather. in the morning. Pakistan fi nished at 252-2, None of the others also scored Lankan team bus left international The 28-year-old right-hander with stylish batsman Babar Azam a century on their debut in suspended in the country. drove paceman Mohamed Abbas knocking his third Test century cricket, which started in 1876. Only 91.5 overs were possible on for his 15th boundary to bring up with a boundary off spinner Dilru- Abid is the 11th Pakistani bats- the fi rst four days as rain, bad light the hundred in his 28th Test. wan Perera. Azam ended with 102 men to score a century on Test de- and overcast conditions aff ected De Silva remained unbeaten on not out, which came in 151 minutes but. “I don’t have words to thank play. The fourth day was aban- 102 after 241 minutes of batting, of punishing batting spiced by 14 the Almighty,” said Abid of his feat. doned without a ball being bowled. having come in with the score on crisp boundaries. “My plan was to see off the new But there was bright sunshine 127-4 on Thursday. Dilruwan Per- But the day belonged to Abid, ball and then I gradually built the yesterday as Sri Lanka batted for era remained unbeaten on 16. one of 15 batsmen to score a hun- innings with plans for every fi ve 20 minutes to declare their fi rst in- The pick of the Pakistan bowlers dred on their one-day interna- overs. So I kept trying to keep that nings at 308-6 with middle-order were 16-year-old quickie Naseem tional debut — against Australia in up, and Babar gave me confi dence batsman Dhananjaya de Silva scor- Shah, who took 2-92, and Shaheen Dubai in March this year — since in 90s. Abid’s feat spiced up the ing an unbeaten 102. Shah Afridi with 2-58. limited over cricket began in Janu- historic Test, the fi rst in Pakistan With gates opened to the crowd The second Test is in Pakistan’s Abid Ali (left) and Azhar Ali run between the wickets during the final day of the first Test against ary 1971. since the 2009 attacks on the Sri for free, about 12,000 fans were starting December 19. Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi yesterday. (AFP)

FOCUS FIRST ODI Hetmyer, Hope power West Indies Australia thrash New to win over India Zealand by 296 runs to take series lead ‘It was a pretty solid performance considering we were a bowler down for two innings’ West Indies’ Shai Hope (left) and Shimron Hetmyer in action during Reuters first ODI against India in Chennai yesterday. (AFP) Perth AFP stood fi rm to complete his Chennai eighth ODI hundred. ustralia cleaned up a hapless New Zealand under He got company from Ni- lights on the fourth day to secure a commanding cholas Pooran who hit the 296-run victory in the fi rst Test yesterday. enturies from Shim- winning boundary to stay Chasing a record 468 runs, New Zealand ron Hetmyer and Shai unbeaten 29. Shreyas Iyer Acrumbled against sustained bowling from Australia’s un- Hope powered West and Rishabh Pant made half- dermanned attack and were bowled out for 171 in a lop- Indies to an eight- centuries to guide India to 287 sided contest. wicketC win over India after for eight after they lost early A rejuvenated Australia have won their third straight chasing down a target of 288 in wickets following West Indies’ Test of the home season since retaining the Ashes in the fi rst one-day international decision to bowl fi rst. England and stretched their unbeaten run in day-night yesterday. Iyer, who made 70, and Pant, matches to seven. Hetmyer, who hit a career- who hit 71, put on 114 for the “It was a pretty solid performance considering we best 139, and Hope, unbeaten fourth after India were were a bowler down for two innings and not having an on 102, put on a key 218-run left struggling at 80 for three. all-rounder in our side,” Australia captain Tim Paine told second-wicket partnership as Pace spearhead Sheldon Cot- reporters. “Really rapt with that performance particularly West Indies eased to victory trell struck twice in one over, from our bowlers.” with 13 balls to spare and lead including nabbing skipper Vi- BJ Watling (40) and Colin de Grandhomme (33) stone- the three-match series 1-0. rat Kohli for four with a slower walled in a bid to stretch the Test into a fi nal day, but their The left-handed Hetmyer that the star batsman dismissals triggered a swift end. Quick Mitchell Starc and completed his fi fth ODI ton in inside edged on to his stumps. spinner Nathan Lyon claimed four wickets apiece. 85 balls to take control with Iyer completed his third The tourists’ chase on a deteriorating Perth Stadium Hope, a right-handed wick- successive ODI fi fty while pitch got off to a disastrous start when opener Jeet Raval etkeeper-batsman, after the Pant — a wicketkeeper-bats- and Kane Williamson (14) fell before the tea break. Lyon early fall of Sunil Ambris for man who is often criticised for picked up the prized wicket of Williamson with his fi rst nine. Hetmyer, who hit his throwing away his wicket — ball as the New Zealand skipper meekly poked to short second hundred against India raised his fi rst during a 69-ball leg. Raval made just one for the second time in the match, and survived a dropped chance knock laced with seven fours falling to a sharp Starc delivery. on 106, smashed 11 fours and and one six. Ross Taylor, who top-scored with 80 in New Zealand’s seven sixes in his 106-ball Kedar Jadhav played a use- fi rst innings, stonewalled alongside Tom Latham before knock to pulverise the Indian ful cameo of 40 during his 59- losing patience and edging an attempted pull shot off bowlers. run sixth-wicket stand with Starc for 22. Latham soon departed for 18 when he was Mohamed Shami fi nally Ravindra Jadeja, who made 21, trapped lbw by Lyon in a decision overturned on review. broke through to get Hetmyer to boost India’s scoring in the Watling had luck on 27 when he was given not out after back in the pavilion but Hope fi nal few overs. a loud appeal for caught behind off Lyon. Replays showed he had edged the ball but Australia declined to review. He then was dropped on 30 by Steve Smith at slip. Scorecard Smith, however, made no mistake when De Grandhom- me edged a fi erce short ball from Cummins. INDIA nb1), Walsh Jr 5-0-31-0, Paul Watling’s charmed life ended when he gloved a short Australia’s players celebrate beating New Zealand on day four of the first Test against New Zealand at the Perth Stadium in R. Sharma c Pollard b Joseph 36 7-0-40-2 (w3, nb2), Joseph delivery from Starc in a decision overturned on review Perth yesterday. (AFP) 9-1-45-2 (w3), Chase 7-0-42- to eff ectively signal the end of New Zealand’s resistance. KL Rahul c Hetmyer b Cottrell 6 0, Pollard 4-0-28-1 Australia dominated throughout with their formidable V. Kohli b Cottrell 4 fi rst innings total setup by a majestic 143 from Marnus Scorecard S. Iyer Pollard b Joseph 70 Labuschagne in his third straight ton. AUSTRALIA 1st innings 416 Fall of wickets: 1-44 (Warner), 2-131 C. de Grandhomme c Smith b Cummins WEST INDIES NEW ZEALAND 1st innings 166 (Labuschagne), 3-148 (Burns), 4-154 33 R. Pant c Hetmyer b Pollard 71 Starc, who was sidelined for most of the Ashes series, S. Hope not out 102 overwhelmed New Zealand with a nine-wicket haul. Both AUSTRALIA 2nd innings (Smith), 5-160 (Head), 6-160 (Paine), M. Santner c Head b Cummins 0 K. Jadhav c Pollard b Paul 40 teams were without a paceman after debutant Lockie 7-180 (Cummins), 8-189 (Wade), 9-217 S. Ambris lbw b Chahar 9 D. Warner c sub b Southee 19 T. Southee c Smith by Lyon 4 R. Jadeja run out (Chase) 21 Ferguson, himself a replacement for injured New Zealand (Starc) S. Hetmyer c Iyer b Shami 139 J. Burns c Nicholls b Southee 53 N. Wagner c Paine b Starc 8 S. Dube c Holder b Paul 9 spearhead Trent Boult, and Josh Hazlewood suff ered leg Bowling: Southee 21.1-6-69-5 (3w), N. Pooran not out 29 injuries on the opening two days. Labuschagne c Santner b Wagner 50 de Grandhomme 17-2-47-1 (1w, 3nb), L. Ferguson not out 1 D. Chahar not out 6 Williamson said Australia deserved the series-opener Extras (lb4, nb1, w7) 12 S. Smith c Raval b Wagner 16 Wagner 23-4-59-3 (4w, 3nb), Santner Extras (lb6, nb1, w2) 9 M. Shami not out 0 but lamented his team’s lack of preparation for the va- 8-0-35-0) Total (2 wkts, 47.5 overs) 291 garies of day-night cricket. Australia, in contrast, had M. Wade c Raval b de Grandhomme 17 Total (all out; 65.3 overs) 171 Extras (b5, lb5, nb3, w11) 24 NEW ZEALAND 2nd innings Fall of wickets: 1-11 (Ambris), thrashed Pakistan with the pink ball in Adelaide earlier T. Head c de Grandhomme b Southee 5 Fall of wickets: 1-6 (Raval), 2-21 Total (8 wickets, 50 overs) 287 2-229 (Hetmyer) this month. J. Raval c Lyon b Starc 1 (Williamson), 3-57 (Taylor), 4-57 T. Paine b Southee 0 Fall of wickets: 1-21 (Ra- Bowling: Chahar 10-1-48-1, Oppressive weather conditions continued for the (Latham), 5-98 (Nicholls), 6-154 (de T. Latham lbw Lyon 18 hul), 2-25 (V. Kohli), 3-80 Shami 9-1-57-1, Yadav 10-0- fourth straight day as the temperature peaked at 41 de- P. Cummins c Watling b Wagner 13 Grandhomme), 7-154 (Watling), 8-154 K. Williamson c Wade b Lyon 14 (Sharma), 4-194 (Iyer), 5-210 45-0 (w7), Dube 7.5-0-68-0, grees Celsius. M. Starc c Taylor b Southee 23 (Santner), 9-163 (Wagner), 10-171 (Pant), 6-269 (Jadhav), 7-269 Jadhav 1-0-11-0, Jadeja 10-0- New Zealand have only won one Test in Australia since R. Taylor c Paine b Starc 22 (Southee) N. Lyon not out 0 (Jadeja), 8-282 (Dube) 58-0 (nb1) their sole series triumph across the Tasman Sea in 1985- H. Nicholls c Head b Lyon 21 Extras (lb7, nb6, w8) 21 Bowling: Starc 14-5-45-4, Cummins Bowling: Cottrell 10-3-46-2 86. The series shifts to the traditional Boxing Day Test in B. Watling c Paine b Starc 40 19-6-31-2 (1nb, 2w), Lyon 22.3-3-63-4, RESULT: West Indies won by Total (for 9 wkts declared, 69.1 overs) 217 (w4), Holder 8-0-45-0 (w1, Melbourne before concluding with the New Year’s Test at Head 5-1-13-0, Labuschagne 5-0-13-0 8 wickets the Sydney Cricket Ground. Gulf Times Monday, December 16, 2019 5 SPORT

NBA ATHLETICS Kipchoge to make return at April’s Bucks breeze past London Marathon

Reuters wonderful,” the Olympic London champion said in a statement. “Breaking the two-hour barrier in Vienna was an in- enyan Eliud Kip- credible moment. It showed Cavs to continue choge has chosen that no human is limited and April’s London Mar- that is a belief that continues athon for his fi rst to drive me on to set new ob- raceK since becoming the fi rst jectives. person to run a marathon in “Making history in London under two hours, organisers is my next target. I am proud said yetserday. Kipchoge, who that I am currently the only ran one hour, 59 minutes and male able-bodied athlete to franchise best start 40 seconds in a special race have won this great race four in October, will be seeking his times and that no one, male or Milwaukee’s 24-3 start is the best in the 52-year history of the organisation fi fth London title in the April female, has won it more than 26 event. His barrier-breaking that.” run in Vienna did not count as The 35-year-old is tied an offi cial world record due to with Ingrid Kristiansen for the use of “in and out” pacers the most wins in London by and a moving drinks provider. an able-bodied athlete. The Kipchoge already holds the Norwegian won four London world record with his 2:01:39 Marathon titles between 1984 from winning the Berlin Mar- and 1988. athon in September 2018. “I Kipchoge’s London titles love running in London where came in 2015, 2016, 2018 and the crowd support is always 2019.

Scheer, NBA GM and dunk contest creator, dies at 82 Carl Scheer, the first general of his tenure there included manager of the Charlotte hiring coach Doug Moe and Hornets and the man credited acquiring All-Star talent such with creating the slam dunk as David Thompson, Alex contest, died Friday at 82. English and Dan Issel. Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (left) drives against Memphis Grizzlies guard Dillon Brooks (right) at FedExForum. PICTURE: USA TODAY Sports The Hornets released a Thompson starred in the statement Saturday crediting ABA’s first-ever dunk contest AFP Elsewhere, Jimmy Butler scored 27 points points, 11 boards and 10 assists for the Heat, Scheer for building the 1988- in 1976. Scheer and his staff RESULTS Los Angeles as the Miami Heat recorded a 122-118 over- who bounced back after losing 113-110 to the 89 expansion team. created the event, featuring Los Angeles Lakers on Friday. Detroit 115-107 Houston time victory over the Dallas Mavericks in a “The Hornets organization five ABA stars competing game that saw Luka Doncic injure his ankle In Toronto, Pascal Siakam scored 30 mourns the loss of Carl for $1,200 in prize money at iannis Antetokounmpo scored 29 Miami 122-118 Dallas in the fi rst quarter. points, 10 rebounds and fi ve assists, and Scheer,” the statement read. halftime of the All-Star Game. points as the Milwaukee Bucks Milwaukee 125-108 Cleveland X-rays were negative for Doncic, who did the Toronto Raptors defeated the visiting “As our first president and Julius “Dr. J” Erving won the won their 18th straight game with a Toronto 110-102 Brooklyn not return to the game after stepping on the Brooklyn Nets 110-102. general manager, he built the original event and helped 125-108 victory over the struggling foot of Miami guard Kendrick Nunn while Toronto led by as many as 16 points during franchise from the ground up to establish its ongoing GCleveland Cavaliers on Saturday. Denver 110-102 Oklahoma driving to the basket. He remained on the the fi rst half and took a seven-point lead into and laid the foundation for popularity by taking off from The Bucks dominated inside and out as Chicago 109-106 LA Clippers fl oor for several moments before hobbling the fourth quarter as they improved to 17-8 our city’s love aff air with the the free-throw line for an they continued their franchise best start and Memphis 128-111 Washington off to the locker room. on the season in front of a crowd of 19,800 at Hornets. iconic dunk. moved within just two victories of equalling Doncic, who was the NBA Rookie of the Scotiabank Arena. “Carl was a true pioneer Scheer’s 50-year career also San Antonio 121-119 Phoenix their all-time longest winning streak. Year in 2018-19, entered the game averag- The Raptors have won 16 of their past 17 whose innovative ideas included nearly two years Milwaukee’s 24-3 start is the best in the ing team-leading totals in points (30.4), re- meetings with the Nets, including nine in a such as the slam dunk as GM of the Los Angeles 52-year history of the organization. Their Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer sat An- bounds (9.9) and assists (9.3) this season. row at home. contest changed the Clippers, stints as director next two games though are against two top tetokounmpo with the game in hand. The His streak of 20 consecutive games with Siakam added three steals and three NBA. His contributions to of two minor league hockey teams in the Western Conference, the Los reigning league MVP fi nished with just 24 at least 20 points, fi ve rebounds and fi ve as- blocks while hitting three of from beyond professional basketball in teams — the Charlotte Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks. minutes, that’s seven minutes below his sea- sists ended due to the injury. the arc. the state of North Carolina Checkers and Greenville (S.C.) The longest winning streak is 20 games set son average. After Jalen Brunson’s three-pointer gave Norman Powell, who fouled out with are unmatched... and his Growl — and as GM of the by the 1970-71 Bucks. He posted his 11th consecutive game with Dallas a 118-114 lead in overtime, Miami just over a minute left in the fourth, added knowledge and love of the ABA’s Carolina Cougars. Khris Middleton fi nished with 24 points at least 24 points and a fi eld-goal shooting grabbed the lead back with a Tyler Herro 25 points, Kyle Lowry and Marc Gasol each game will be missed.” Scheer, who had suff ered and a half dozen Bucks scored in double fi g- percentage above 50 %. three pointer and a Bam Adebayo dunk. scored 17, and Serge Ibaka came off the bench Scheer also served as team from dementia in recent ures. Hapless Cleveland dropped its 15th game Butler made a pair of free throws with fi ve to score 12. president and GM of the years, would have turned 83 Milwaukee jumped out to an 18-point over the last 17, a skid dating back to Novem- seconds remaining, and Brunson bungled a Spencer Dinwiddie had 24 points and Denver Nuggets, ushering the on Saturday. He is survived by halftime lead and extended it to as many as ber 12. Cleveland got just 50 points from its three-point attempt to end the contest. eight assists for the Nets, Garrett Temple franchise from the ABA into his wife, Marsha, son Bob and 28 points in the third quarter on the way to starting fi ve, led by Tristan Thompson and Herro fi nished with 19 points and Ade- had 16 points and Taurean Prince had 14 the NBA in 1976. Highlights daughter Lauren. Reuters their 18th straight win. Kevin Love each with 12 points. bayo collected a triple-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

NHL Capitals extend road dominance; knock off Lightning Reuters RESULTS sisted marker, at 6:42. Los Angeles After having a goal waved off due to NY Islanders 3-2 Buff alo goalie interference in the fi rst fi ve min- Ottawa 4-3 Columbus utes of the second, Tampa Bay nearly ars Eller and Garnet Hathaway Anaheim 4-3 NY Rangers allowed a short-handed tally, but Vasi- scored 45 seconds apart to break levskiy’s save immediately led to off ense. a third-period tie in the Wash- Carolina 4-0 Calgary Killorn dished a pass from below the ington Capitals’ 5-2 win over the Dallas 4-1 Nashville right circle, and Point tied it with a pow- hostL Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday er-play goal at 5:45. Toronto 4-1 Edmonton night. Play had to be stopped at 9:31 of the Washington improved to an NHL-best Boston 4-2 Florida second period after Kucherov took a 24-5-5 overall and 15-2-1 on the road. Minnesota 4-1 Philadelphia blast from John Carlson directly on the T.J. Oshie and Nicklas Backstrom each Detroit 2-1 Montreal laces at the top of his right skate and fell contributed a goal and an assist, and to the ice. Tom Wilson tallied for the Capitals, who Pittsburgh 5-4 Los Angeles A 41-goal scorer in a Hart- and Art are also 15-3-2 since the start of Novem- Washington 5-2 Tampa Bay Ross Trophy-winning season a year ago, ber. New Jersey 2-1 Arizona Kucherov was helped to the dressing Backup goalie Ilya Samsonov recorded room to be evaluated and ruled out of the St. Louis 14-3 Chicago 26 saves to move to 8-2-1. rest of the contest. Brayden Point netted his 12th goal, San Jose 4-2 Vancouver Eller broke the 1-1 tie at 1:58 of the and Jan Rutta scored his fi rst as a mem- third when he scored for just the second ber of the Lightning, who played their An exchange miscue by Rutta and time in the last 18 games, and Hathaway fourth game in six days (2-2-0). Ondrej Palat led to an early 1-0 lead for fi nished a second consecutive three-on- Nikita Kucherov recorded an assist, Washington. two rush by chipping in his fi fth goal at but the right winger — the NHL’s MVP The Lightning pair bumped into each 2:43. Rutta’s wrister from the right cir- and points leader last season — was in- other behind Vasilevskiy’s net, and the cle cut it to 3-2 in the third, but Oshie jured in the middle of the second period puck bounced in front of the goalie and scored his third goal in two games to and did not return. found Backstrom. The Swedish for- make it 4-2. Alex Killorn recorded two assists, and ward jumped on the scoring chance Wilson scored into an empty net in the Washington Capitals center Lars Eller (20) is congratulated by teammates after scoring a goal against the Tampa Andrei Vasilevskiy made 29 saves. and popped in his sixth goal, an unas- last minute of play. Bay Lightning during the third period at Amalie Arena. PICTURE: USA TODAY Sports Gulf Times 6 Monday, December 16, 2019 FOOTBALL

REPORT Celtic hold onto top spot, Morelos fi res Ronaldo double Rangers before latest red card

AFP Rangers got the opener from Glasgow Borna Barisic’s outswinging puts Juve back on corner after 27 minutes. Be- vis Mugabi was supposed to be cottish Premiership keeping tabs on Katic but found leaders Celtic cruised to himself being dragged along as a 2-0 victory over Hi- the Croatia defender bulldozed bernian, while Alfredo through to power home with a MorelosS clinched Rangers’ 2-0 header. win at Motherwell before the Motherwell’s Liam Donnelly top of Serie A volatile striker endured more red and Rangers’ Ryan Jack had to card misery yesterday. be separated as the players went ‘That’s how we have to play, with confidence. Let’s see what happens now’ Morelos followed Nikola down the tunnel at half-time. Katic’s fi rst-half opener with When the teams returned after his 27th goal of the season mid- the interval both Jack and Declan way through the second half as Gallagher were cautioned. Rangers ended a run of three The result was beyond doubt games without a victory. But the after 68 minutes as Morelos Colombian star, who was sent showed the positive side of his off fi ve times last season, let his game. He did brilliantly to col- emotions get the better of him as lect Joe Aribo’s cut-back before he aimed an infl ammatory ges- spinning away from Gallagher ture at the home supporters dur- to fire past Gillespie. But with ing his celebrations and was pun- the Colombian already on a ished with a second yellow card. booking after a late challenge Rangers manager Steven Ger- on Jake Carroll, he left Robert- rard has been keen to praise son with no choice but to send Morelos’ new-found self-con- him off as he aimed an offen- trol this term, but the Ibrox boss sive gesture at Motherwell sup- will now have to turn to Jermain porters. Defoe for Friday’s trip to Hi- At Parkhead, champions Celt- bernian. “It’s the fi rst setback ic were back to full strength after Alfredo’s had after huge, huge a host of players missed the Eu- improvements so we’ll reset that ropa League dead rubber against but we certainly have no com- Cluj on Thursday. Neil Lennon’s plaints,” Gerrard said of referee side responded strongly after Don Robertson’s decision. Rangers’ win earlier in the day “As I said, we have no com- and opened the scoring through plaints about the red card but I right-back Jeremie Frimpong six felt he was desperate to give out a minutes before the interval. red card today. I had that feeling French striker Odsonne Ed- from the side, which is unfortu- ouard, also back in the team, nate because our player does get doubled the lead in the 66th that type of abuse. Alfredo was minute and it could have been a unplayable. It is a setback today, more comfortable victory for the he knows that, we know that. I’m Hoops. They will settle for going sure he hates getting punished in back two points clear of Rangers, the pocket so hopefully he will get with the chance to increase that back on the horse and continue to lead against struggling Hearts at improve in that area.” Tynecastle on Wednesday.

Teenager Camavinga downs Lyon (From left) Juventus’ French midfielder Adrien Rabiot, defender Merih Demiral, midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur, forward Cristiano Ronaldo, goalkeeper Gianluigi Buff on and midfielder Blaise Matuidi acknowledge the public at the end of the Italian Serie A match against Udinese in Turin. (AFP) late to fi re Rennes fourth

AFP close range. Ignacio Pussetto pulled a fender Danilo was sent off for two book- 69 minutes from players who all came off Eduardo Camavinga shot Rennes into the European places yester- Milan goal back for 17th-placed Udinese four able off ences. Gian Piero Gasperini’s side the bench. Giampaolo Pazzini converted day after his late strike saw Rennes win their fourth Ligue 1 match in minutes into injury time with his close are sixth on 28 points, one point off the a penalty on 69 minutes after Gleison a row 1-0 winners at faltering Lyon. range eff ort beating Gianluigi Buff on in Champions League places, with Euro- Bremer was deemed to have used his el- The 17-year-old’s first ever Ligue 1 goal in his debut season in the ristiano Ronaldo scored twice the Juventus goal. Juventus play their fi - pean rivals Cagliari, Lazio and Roma still bow to block the ball. Pazzini was then French top flight moved his side to 30 points, five ahead of Lyon as Juventus bounced back from nal Serie A game before the winter break to play this weekend. “We are a team that involved in the second with Valerio Verre who were booed off by their fans and stayed eighth after their their fi rst defeat of the season at Sampdoria on Wednesday, before a re- often creates a lot, but is wasteful. Today smashing in off a rebound, before Mar- second defeat in three matches. Rennes, who led Ligue 1 early in to beat Udinese 3-1 and move match against Lazio in the Italian Super we wasted too many opportunities,” said iusz Stepinski added a third by pounch- the season before falling away amid a two month winless streak, topC of Serie A yesterday. Ronaldo struck Cup in Saudi Arabia next weekend. “It is Gasperini. AC Milan were held to a goal- ing on a defensive error from Ola Aina to are in the Europa League spot and just one point away from the twice in the fi rst half to make it fi ve goals the fi rst time after a Champions League less draw against Sassuolo at the San Siro fi nish off . Torino are ninth, with Verona Champions League places. The game looked to be heading for a in four games as champions Juve move match that we managed to attack the as the former European giants marked two points back in 12th, in the hosts’ fi - goalless draw when Rennes goalkeeper Edouard Mendy pulled off one point ahead of leaders Inter Milan game well,” said Sarri. “We played very their 120th anniversary in tepid style. nal match before the winter break. Torino a sensational double save with six minutes left to deny Maxence ahead of their trip to off -form Fiorentina well for 60 minutes.” Theo Hernandez had a goal ruled out af- next play SPAL on Saturday. Caqueret and Bertrand Traore. later last night. Atalanta fell 2-1 at Bologna just days ter half an hour following a Franck Kessie “That’s how we have to play, with con- after the Champions League newcomers handball in the buildup, with Rafael Leao RESULTS fi dence. Let’s see what happens now,” sealed their place in the competition’s last hitting the crossbar and the post. Hellas Verona 3 (Pazzini 69-pen, Verre said Ronaldo. Maurizio Sarri’s side had 16 despite losing their fi rst three matches. Stefano Pioli’s side failed to make it 76, Stepinski 84) Torino 3 (Ansaldi 36, 61, BUNDESLIGA taken just one point from their last two Rodrigo Palacio tapped in the fi rst af- three wins in a row and sit 10th with Sas- Berenguer 55; Bologna 2 (Palacio 12, Poli league games, falling 3-1 to Lazio in Rome ter 12 minutes for Bologna off a rebound suolo four places and fi ve points below. 53) Atalanta 1 (Malinovskiy 60); Juventus last weekend after a 2-2 draw against after a Riccardo Orsolini eff ort came off Hellas Verona battled back from three 3 (Cristiano Ronaldo 9, 37, Bonucci 45) Sassuolo the previous week. the post. Andrea Poli nodded in the sec- goals down with all three substitutes Udinese 1 (Pussetto 90+4); AC Milan 0 Arnold late winner But Portuguese star Ronaldo fi nished ond eight minutes after the break, be- scoring in a 15-minute second-half spell Sassuolo 0 off a Paulo Dybala rebound after nine fore Ruslan Malinovskyi connected with to hold Torino 3-3. Played Saturday: Brescia 3 (Chancellor minutes at the Allianz Stadium, and a Musa Barrow cross to pull a goal back Torino had taken a comfortable lead 32, Torregrossa 44, Spalek 61) Lecce 0; denies Gladbach burst through to fi nish off a Gonzalo on the hour mark. Atalanta failed to take at the Stadio Bentegodi after Christian Napoli 1 (Milik 64) Parma 2 (Kulusevski Higuain cross on 36 minutes. Leonardo advantage of their numerical superiority Ansaldi scored a brace with Alex Beren- 4, Gervinho 90+3); Genoa 0 Sampdoria 1 Bonucci sealed the three points just be- late on, as Bologna played the fi nal fi ve guer also on target for the visitors. But Gabbiadini 85) top spot fore the break when he headed in from minutes a man down after Brazilian de- the hosts hit back with three goals after Today: Cagliari v Lazio (1945)

FOCUS Rooney confi dent he could still

Wolfsburg’s German midfielder Maximilian Arnold (left) celebrates thrive in Premier League scoring the 2nd goal in the dying minutes of their Bundesliga match AFP was able to play into his late thir- against VfL Wolfsburg yesterday. (AFP) London ties in the Premier League and Gareth Barry says he wants to do AFP the net from close range to score it at 40. Berlin his fi rst of the season. Gladbach ayne Rooney be- “It’s important to understand hit back two minutes later how- lieves he could still football. It is not all about run- ever, with Switzerland forward make an impact in ning round, it is about using your orussia Moenchenglad- Embolo smashing in a looping the Premier League head to play the game. Some- bach failed to return to cross from Alassane Plea at the Was the former Manchester Unit- times that gets lost, because the top of the Bundes- back post to make it 1-1. ed star targets a return to the you don’t score as many goals or liga yesterday after Max From there, the encounter top-fl ight with Derby. Rooney whatever. Given the right team Arnold’sB thundering injury time turned scrappy, with six yellow will resume his career in England around me, then I could still play volley consigned them to a 2-1 cards handed out, three in each next month after joining sec- in the Premier League. The two defeat at Wolfsburg. half, as each side pushed for a ond-tier Derby as player-coach teams I played for in the Premier Moenchengladbach arrived at winner. With the clock wind- from MLS side DC United. League were Manchester United the Volkswagen Arena knowing ing down, Arnold met a poorly The 34-year-old striker will and Everton. I am at Derby now, a third straight win would send cleared ball at the edge of the work as an assistant to Rams and hopefully we can get there them back to number one spot box and struck the ball cleanly boss Phillip Coco, with promo- with them.” above Leipzig who hammered past goalkeeper Yann Sommer to tion back to the top fl ight the aim Former England captain Fortuna Duesseldorf 3-0 on claim the three points. as he tries to prove he can still Rooney, whose tally of 208 Pre- Saturday. Arnold’s eff ort 42 sec- The Wolves move above Hof- compete with the sport’s elite mier League goals is bettered onds into added time came after fenheim to eighth place, while even in the twilight of his career. only by Alan Shearer, went to Breel Embolo had responded Gladbach fall back to second af- “I still felt I could do it when I America in June last year af- for the travelling side following ter 10 weeks on top of the table was at Everton, but other people ter leaving fi rst club Everton, Xaver Schlager’s opener within and are now two points behind made their decisions on that,” whom he re-joined from United the fi rst quarter of an hour. leaders Leipzig. Rooney was quoted as saying in following a 13-year stay at Old Things started poorly for In last night’s late game, the British media. Traff ord. the visitors, who looked off the Schalke were taking on Eintra- “Now my ambition is to Derby are 16th in the Champi- pace after their midweek Europa cht Frankfurt with the chance get Derby back in the Premier onship, nine points off the play- League exit. The hosts opened to leapfrog Bayern Munich into League and hopefully play my off places after Saturday’s 1-0 the scoring after 13 minutes, fourth place, the last Champions part there for them. Ryan Giggs loss to Millwall. with Schlager side-footing into League spot, with a victory. Gulf Times Monday, December 16, 2019 7 SPORT

PREMIER LEAGUE Atletico go fourth De Bruyne leads Man aft er dominant win over Osasuna Reuters fewer matches. “We play every Madrid game as if it were our last and we were very keen to win tonight. City to crushing win We needed to and the team gave tletico Madrid moved another big response after the back into the top four huge eff ort we made on Wednes- by earning a command- day,” Simeone said. ing 2-0 win at home to “We created a lot of chances, OsasunaA yesterday for their fi rst especially in the fi rst half when victory in four La Liga games. their goalkeeper was fantastic, over woeful Arsenal Diego Simeone’s side dominated but we are pleased we were able the match and Osasuna goal- to score twice because football is keeper Sergio Herrera had to all about taking your chances.” Spurs grab late win at Wolves, Greenwood rescues United against Everton make seven saves in the fi rst half to keep the game goalless. SPANISH LA LIGA RESULTS Atletico fi nally broke the Getafe 2 (Cucurella 36, Angel deadlock when their top scorer 82) Real Valladolid 0; Celta Vigo Alvaro Morata headed home a 2 (Rafinha 20, Aspas 50-pen) free kick from Kieran Trippier Mallorca 2 (Salva Sevilla 33-pen, in the 67th minute. Midfi elder Saul Niguez made sure of victory Budimir 83); Espanyol 2 (Darder by scoring with a dinked fi nish 19, Bernardo 41) 2 in the 75th minute, starting the (Iglesias 4, Bartra 67); Sevilla 1 move by winning the ball back (Munir 61) Villarreal 2 (Albiol 13, deep in Osasuna’s half. Toko Ekambi 74) The win rounded off a positive On Saturday: Granada 1 (Machis week for Atletico, who sealed a 60) Levante 2 (Rochina 55, Bar- place in the last 16 of the Cham- dhi 89); Real Sociedad 2 (Oiarza- pions League with a win over bal 12-pen, Isak 62) Barcelona Lokomotiv Moscow, and took 2 (Griezmann 38, Suarez 49); them up to fourth spot in the 0 Eibar 0; Atletico standings on 29 points after 17 Madrid 2 (Morata 67, Niguez 75) games. They are six points adrift Osasuna 0 of leaders Barcelona who have a game in hand and fi ve behind On Friday: Alaves 1 (Joselu 81) Real Madrid who have played two Leganes 1 (Braithwaite 43)

Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne scores against Arsenal during the Premier League game at the Emirates Stadium in London yesterday. (Reuters)

AFP Pep Guardiola’s men had been ruth- home next weekend and Mourinho has en goals in his breakthrough season after London lessly cut apart on the counter-attack in his sights of qualifying for next season’s netting twice in his previous appearance losing to Manchester United last week- Champions League. “We went about a against Alkmaar in the Europa League on end. But the visitors doubled their lead year without winning a Premier League Thursday. anchester City got back on just 15 minutes in with De Bruyne the cre- game away and we’ve managed two in a It was fi tting that Greenwood scored track as the Premier League ator as he carried the ball forward before short amount of time,” Mourinho added. in the 4,000th senior match in succes- champions swept to a 3-0 squaring for Sterling to slot home his 16th “Now we are not looking to the bottom of sion in which at least one youth graduate win against woeful Arsenal, goal of the season. table, we’re looking higher up. This game was represented in United’s fi rst-team or Mwhile Tottenham maintained their revival De Bruyne showed his superior quality is a special game because the opponent is matchday squad, an extraordinary record under Jose Mourinho with a dramatic 2-1 to any other player on the pitch again fi ve a special opponent.” stretching back over nine decades. For victory at Wolves yesterday. minutes before half-time as this time he United are one point behind Totten- Duncan Ferguson, Everton’s caretaker City’s masterclass in north London and curled into the bottom corner from out- ham in sixth place after the momentum manager, this spirited performance built Jan Vertonghen’s last-gasp winner for side the box. from their impressive recent run stalled on the momentum from last weekend’s Tottenham shared the spotlight on a day “We made an incredible result but in the Everton draw. Ole Gunnar Solsk- win over Chelsea. when Manchester United’s teenage strik- the way we played against Manchester jaer’s side fell behind to Victor Lindelof’s But Ferguson, a popular club legend, er Mason Greenwood rescued a 1-1 draw United was better in many, many things,” controversial fi rst half own-goal after insisted he isn’t the right man to lead against Everton. Guardiola said. “We sometimes played United’s appeals for a foul on David de the Toff ees in the long-term. “I think it’s Kevin De Bruyne scored twice and teed much better than today and lost. I know Gea were ignored by VAR. “It was a clear buying them a bit of time until they can up Raheem Sterling for City’s other goal we are judged on the result but I have a foul but there’s no point me complaining. get the right man in. That’s what a couple as Arsenal crumbled to another humiliat- duty to judge the performance, not just It (VAR) will be better next year. They’ll of results does, so we can make that proc- ing home defeat. Victory sees City close the result.” have to look at it,” Solskjaer said. ess more diligent,” he said. the gap on runaway leaders Liverpool At Molineux, Mourinho’s men had to But Greenwood, introduced in the back to 14 points and edge to within four dig deep against in-form Wolves to infl ict second half, underlined his vast poten- ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE RESULTS tial with a clinical strike 13 minutes from of second-placed Leicester, who they the hosts’ fi rst league defeat in 12 games. Arsenal 0 Manchester City 3 (De Bruyne host next weekend. Adama Traore’s spectacular strike had full-time. The 18-year-old is the third 2, 40, Sterling 15); Manchester United Arsenal, on the other hand, remain cancelled out Tottenham winger Lucas youngest player to score a Premier League 1 (Greenwood 77) Everton 1 (Lindelof ninth on the back of just one win in their Moura’s early opener before Vertonghen goal at Old Traff ord after former United 36-og); Wolves 1 (Traore 67) Tottenham 2 last 12 games in all competitions. City stooped to guide home Christan Eriksen’s forwards Federico Macheda and Danny (Moura 8, Vertonghen 90) struck in the second minute when Gabriel corner in stoppage-time. Welbeck. Atletico Madrid’s Spanish forward Alvaro Morata (left) vies for the Jesus’s low cross picked out De Bruyne to Spurs can now move into the top four Bradford-born Greenwood, a product Playing today: Crystal Palace v Brighton ball with Osasuna’s Argentinian defender Facundo Roncaglia during fi re into the roof of the net. before Christmas if they beat Chelsea at of United’s youth academy, now has sev- (1945 GMT) the La Liga match in Madrid on Saturday. (AFP)

FOCUS SPOTLIGHT Lampard wants Chelsea players Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana Co. celebrates Abdulla’s success aleh Al Hamad Al Mana win in 2016 and second-place the rally collecting a total of 95 to show more Co., the exclusive agent wins in 2017 and 2018, we are points and securing the fi rst of Nissan in Qatar, wel- now at the top. Sponsors play place, surpassing the second personality comed the international a major role in my success, as place by 73 points. QatariS rally champ Adel Hussein playing this kind of sport is ex- “The trophy is very impor- Reuters Abdulla, winner of Manateq Qa- pensive, and couldn’t have been tant to me, and this competi- London tar International Rally 2019, who done without their support”. tion is an added value to my list won the fi rst place on his Nissan Praising the capabilities and of achievements and has proved Patrol. Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana durability of Nissan Patrol, the that we are in a good position, helsea manager Frank Co. Nissan Qatar is the main vehicle he drives in his local both locally and internationally,” Lampard said he under- sponsor of the Qatari champion and international competitions, added Abdulla. stood the frustration of since 2016, helping him accom- Adel Abdulla said: “For me, Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana Co., supporters after his side plish a series of achievements – choosing to drive Nissan Patrol the exclusive agent of Nissan failedC to excite them once again local and international competi- is fundamental. I have special in Qatar, have been support- in their 1-0 Premier League home tions – on his favourite vehicle, admiration and a strong rela- ing and sponsoring the Qatari defeat by Bournemouth on Sat- Nissan Patrol, the Hero of All tionship with Nissan, especially rally champ Adel Hussein Ab- urday. Lampard’s fourth-placed Terrain. the Patrol Safari, which I have dulla since 2016, and he has been team suff ered their fourth loss in Hisham Saleh Al Mana, been driving since 2016. Nis- driving the Nissan Patrol since fi ve games with midfi elder Dan Chairman and Managing Direc- san is the Hero of All Terrain, then. The winner of Manateq Gosling sealing all three points tor of Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana and this vehicle has proved that Qatar International Rally 2019 for the visitors, who ended their Co, said: “We would like to ex- many times. won the fi rst place on his Nissan fi ve-match losing streak. Former tend our warm congratulations “At the World Rally Cham- Patrol, the vehicle which con- England international Lamp- to the Qatari champion Adel pionship, we cross terrain with quered all the terrains. ard said that his youthful team, Hussein Abdulla for winning sand, mud, rocks, ponds and riv- The Patrol and Patrol Super which had racked up a string of the fi rst place and attaining the ers. We are not allowed to sub- Safari are a series of four-wheel victories earlier in the campaign, trophy of Manateq Qatar Inter- stitute any of the spare parts or drive vehicles manufactured by lacked the urgency and person- national Rally 2019 (Baja Qatar). modify the vehicle. Despite that, Nissan. The slogan of Patrol is ality needed to carve open strug- This win demonstrates the high Nissan proved the capabilities ‘Hero of All Terrain’, thanks to gling Bournemouth. “In front of skills of our Qatari drivers and of the Patrol and accomplished its high performance, durability our fans we’re not playing well the exceptional capabilities of great trophies both locally and and capability to tackle all chal- enough and getting enough re- the Nissan Patrol. On this oc- internationally”. lenges and weather conditions. sults,” Lampard told reporters. casion, we reiterate our com- al achievements in the future. 2019 Champion stated: “This supporters, especially Saleh Al Adel Abdulla was fi rst in the The Nissan Patrol has always Chelsea suff ered a similar 1-0 mitment to support and sponsor We again thank our champ Adel is a very important title for me, Hamad Al Mana Co. and Nissan fi fth round and second in the had a reputation for being one home defeat against West Ham Qatari heroes who bring pride for his great eff ort and dedica- and it adds great value to my ex- Qatar who have been support- fi nal round with 14 teams of of the most durable, reliable United last month and were to Qatar at international events. tion in winning such a prestig- isting achievements, as I over- ing me since 2016 to help me ac- prominent drivers from Qatar, and capable off -road cars in the comprehensively beaten 3-1 at We present this prestigious tro- ious title.” came some of the best drivers complish this achievement. Our Kuwait, Jordan, Oman, Rus- market. Since its launch, the Pa- Everton after another lacklustre phy to the people of Qatar and Adel Hussein Abdulla, Man- in the world. Special thanks and relationship is built on trust and sia, Spain, and Italy participat- trol became a benchmark in its performance last weekend. promise them more internation- ateq Qatar International Rally appreciation to my sponsor and vision. Following our fi rst place ing. Abdulla won the trophy of category and drew its own line.

Monday, December 16, 2019 GULF TIMES SPORT

HORSE RACING MOTORSPORT Al-Qubaisi and Umm Qarn’s Yazeed al-Sulaiti share QSTK600 opening round honours shines in Qatar slow riders and I preferred to se- By Sports Reporter Doha cure the second place. In second race, I decided to push from the beginning, so I kept the rhythm atar’s Abdulla al- and stayed in front until the end Qubaisi and Saeed al- of the race,” said al-Sulaiti. Sulaiti won a race each Al-Naimi said he had some National Day Trophy in the opening round problems with his front tyre and ofQ Qatar Superstock 600 Cham- was hoping to solve it for the pionship at the Losail Interna- coming round. “The fi rst race Ghazali saddles two winners on the day — Deebaj and Mr Diamond tional Circuit. In the fi rst race, was diffi cult. I was fast in the al-Qubaisi, the last season’s middle of the race but I couldn’t overall runner-up, led from pole follow Abdulla and Saeed. The position to win. Al-Sulaiti came bike was perfect in the second second, followed by Mashel al- race, I stayed with Abdulla and Naimi. The newcomer from Bul- Saeed the fi rst half of the race garia, Mihail Florov fi nished in but after that I had a problem fourth place. In the second race, with the front tyre and almost al-Sulaiti pushed from the start crashed. Overall I am happy and clinched the victory ahead of and hope the next round will be al-Qubaisi and al-Naimi. better. Thanks to Ooredoo for Al-Qubaisi was pleased with sponsoring me and to QMMF his performance during the and LCSC for their support,” al- weekend. “In the fi rst race, the Naimi said. bike was very good and I made a In the QSTK Trophy Race 1, gap from the beginning but in the Rayad al-Emadi fi nished fi rst last two laps I started to lose the followed by the French rider Jer- front tyre and almost crashed. emy Parola and the Australia’s Saeed almost caught me in the Alastair Cunliff e respectively. In last lap but I managed to hold on. the second race, Parola took the In Race 2, I was able to fi nish in victory followed by al-Emadi and the fi rst position but in the last the Kuwaiti rider Alexander Qa- laps, I came across with the slow bazard. Trophies were presented riders and they made me slow my by Major General Mohamed Saad rhythm,” he said. al-Kharji (Director General of The defending QSTK600 Traffi c Headquarters), Eng. Fa- champion, al-Sulaiti, was sat- had Rashid al-Kaabi (Manateq isfi ed with his results. “It was a CEO), Jaber Bin Talib Bin Afi fah diffi cult round as Abdulla and (former rally driver), Abdulrah- Mashel are very well prepared. In man al-Mannai (QMMF Presi- race 1, I noticed that Abdulla and dent), Khalid al-Remaihi (LCSC Mishal slowed their rhythm due Vice President and General Man- to a problem with the front tyre ager) and Abdulrazak al-Kuwari and I took advantage of that and (QMMF General Secretary) got closer to them. In the last two The second round of Qatar Su- laps, I was trying to overtake Ab- perstock Championship will be dulla but it was too risky with the held on January 10th & 11th.

Qatar Equestrian Federation (QEF) and Asian Equestrian Federation President Hamad Abdulrahman al-Attiyah (third from left) and QREC CEO Nasser Sherida al-Kaabi (right) with the winners of The Late Sheikh Jassim Bin Mohammed Al Thani Trophy - Qatar National Day Trophy at Al Rayyan Park yesterday. PICTURES: Juhaim

By Sports Reporter Doha

mm Qarn’s Yazeed won The Late Sheikh Jassim Bin Moham- med Al Thani Trophy - Qatar National Day Trophy for the Abdulla al-Qubaisi, Saeed al-Sulaiti and Mashel al-Naimi in action Usecond straight year with Ronan Thomas during the the opening round of the Qatar Superstock 600 Champi- riding the six-year-old at the Qatar Rac- onship at the Losail International Circuit. ing and Equestrian Club’s Al Rayyan Park yesterday. The turf may have been softer due to recent rains, but Alban de Mieulle- trained colt had little trouble stamp- ing his authority in the 2,000m race for Purebred Arabians, following up his excellent fi fth-place fi nish at the Qatar Arabian World Cup in October with a win at home. Yazeed, a contender for all top Ara- bian races around the world, beat Hadi Nasser al-Ramzani-schooled Akmar by a little more than a length, while stable- mate Tayf, helmed by Soufi ane Saadi in the Umm Qarn colours, completed the top three. Two-and-a-half weeks after landing a dirt feature under Thomas, Ab- dulaziz Ali al-Kathiri’s Cristofano Allori Director General of Traff ic Headquarters Major General Mohamed made a successful switch to turf with the Saad al-Kharji (second right), Manateq CEO Engineer Fahad Rashid jockey in the saddle yet again. al-Kaabi (right), former rally driver Jaber bin Talib bin Afifah (second In the Thoroughbred Conditions left) and QMMF president Abdulrahman al-Mannai pose with the event, a six-furlong sprint, the fi ve-year- QSTK podium winners. old had little trouble negotiating the soft ground for a memorable win with a little more than a length to spare at the post. Harry Bentley rides Al Naif Racing’s Molheb Al Naif to Local Purebred Arabian Conditions (National Day Cup) victory yesterday. Mohamed Jassim Ghazali saddled two Al-Attiyah receives Middle East winners on the day — Deebaj and Mr Dia- helmed Deebaj in the Purebred Arabian three-and-a-half years as the gelding Time: 00:58.89. Owner: Al Jasra Stud. mond — both for the colour of Khalifa bin Handicap event for horses rated 95 and won the Thoroughbred Handicap event Trainer: Ahmed Kobeissi. Rally Championship trophy Sheail al-Kuwari. below and did well to win the miler by for horses rated 75-95 by half-a-length. Race 5: 1. Mr Diamond (JP Guillambert), Qatari apprentice rider Saleh Salem al- half-a-length. The six-year-old was helmed by Al Moat- 2. Zarandi (Anas al-Seyabi), 3. Venedegar Marri continued showing promise as he In the Thoroughbred Plate event for asem al-Balushi in the mile-long race. In (Alexander Reznikov), 4. Cococabala three-year-old horses, J P Guillambert the fi rst race of the day, Osama Omer al- (Ivan Rossi). Won by: ½, ¾, Shd. Time: rode Mr Diamond to a close victory, the Dafea’s Tahar shed his maiden status in a 1:24.32. Owner: Khalifa bin Sheail al-Ku- gelding’s fi rst in Qatar. On his debut at Al close fi nish that saw jockey Ryan Curatolo wari. Trainer: Mohamed Jassim Ghazali. Rayyan Park, the Mr Diamond had fi n- notch his 17th victory of the season. ished midfi eld in a Group 3 and did well Race 6: 1. French Encore (Al Moatasem over seven furlongs yesterday. RESULTS al-Balushi), 2. Beachwalk (Luca Maniezzi), 3. Shaheen (Eduardo Pedroza), 4. Hajaj Ghazali’s father and champion train- Race 1: 1. Tahar (Ryan Curatolo), 2. AJS Al er, Jassim, was denied a winner for two (Carlos Henrique). Won by: ½, Nk, Shd. Uraiq (Al Moatasem al-Balushi), 3. Florin straight races. Ibrahim al-Malki-trained Time: 1:37.34. Owner: Ahmed Hassan De Faust (Gary Sanchez), 4. Forgehill Al Haitham and Ahmed Kobeissi- al-Malki al-Jehani. Trainer: Hamad Ahmed Chiraz (Saleh Salem al-Marri). Won by: ½, schooled Shobrom held off two contend- al-Malki al-Jehani. 1 ½, ¾. Time: 1:46.97. Owner: Osama Omer ers each from Ghazali Senior’s stables to Race 7: 1. Cristofano Allori (Ronan Tho- al-Dafea. Trainer: Osama Omer al-Dafea. emerge winners in two Thoroughbred mas), 2. Munira Eyes (Eduardo Pedroza), Handicap events. However, it was the Race 2: 1. Deebaj (Saleh Salem al-Marri), 3. Receding Waves (Marco Casamento), trusty old Molheb Al Naif that saw the 2. Mehdi (Ronan Thomas), 3. Diese 4. Midaawi (Pier Convertino). Won by: 1 ¼, champion trainer enter the winner’s cir- (Soufiane Saadi), 4. Haddaj Dukhan (Ivan ¾, 1 ¾. Time: 1:11.55. Owner: Abdulaziz Ali cle yesterday. Coming into the race Local Rossi). Won by: ½, 1 ½, 2 ½. Time: 1:46.63. al-Kathiri. Trainer: Abdulaziz Ali al-Kathiri. Purebred Arabian Conditions (National Owner: Khalifa bin Sheail al-Kuwari. Race 8: 1. Molheb Al Naif (Harry Bentley), Day Cup), the Amer colt had fi nished out- Trainer: Mohamed Jassim Ghazali. side the money only twice in his 21-race 2. Aahil (Ronan Thomas), 3. Jenjal (JP Race 3: 1. Al Haitham (Anas al-Seyabi), career, including 15 victories. Guillambert), 4. Kasser (Meteb Ali al- 2. Yaarmen (Marco Casamento), 3. Tre- Yesterday, the seven-year-old, ridden Marri). Won by: 5 ¾, 5, No. Time: 1:31.16. mendous Leap (Harry Bentley), 4. Qatar by champion jockey Harry Bentley in the Owner: Al Naif Racing. Trainer: Jassim colours of Al Naif Racing, only improved Bolt (Ronan Thomas). Won by: Hd, Hd, Mohamed Ghazali. ¼. Time: 2:05.33. Owner: Sheikh Faisal his strike rate when he landed the seven- Race 9: 1. Yazeed (Ronan Thomas), 2. bin Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani. Trainer: furlong run in spectacular fashion, going Akmar (Luca Maniezzi), 3. Tayf (Soufiane Ibrahim al-Malki. past the post almost six lengths ahead of Saadi), 4. Djelamer (Carlos Henrique). Qatari legend Nasser al-Attiyah poses with the FIA Middle East Umm Qarn’s Aahil. Race 4: 1. Shobrom (Ivan Rossi), 2. Noble Won by: 1 ¼, Shd, Nk. Time: 2:16.02. Rally Championship (MERC) trophy at a ceremony in Bierut, For Hamad Ahmed al-Malki al-Jeha- Masterpiece (Harry Bentley), 3. Midsum- Owner: Umm Qarn. Trainer: Alban de Lebanon, yesterday. Al-Attiyah won a record 15th MERC title Ali Khalid al-Mosallam rides Al Fakhama ni-schooled French Encore, it was a re- mer Knight (JP Guillambert), 4. Catch Mieulle. earlier this year. to Maseela race victory yesterday. turn to the winner’s circle after a gap of A Wave (Ryan Curatolo). Won by: ½, 1, 1.