FFOOTBALLOOTBALL | Page 2 TTENNISENNIS | Page 3 Kane keen for Prize pot of strong fi nish £34mn with Spurs at ‘greener’ ahead of WC Wimbledon Wednesday, May 2, 2018 CRICKET Sha’baan 16, 1439 AH Bangalore edge GULF TIMES out Mumbai Indians by 14 runs SPORT Page 4 FOOTBALL / UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Liverpool on brink of fi nal as tensions mount in Rome Former Roma striker Salah scored two goals as Liverpool went five up at Anfield before two late goals gave Italians hope AFP Rome iverpool return to the scene of two of their most famous Euro- pean triumphs amid tight secu- rity ahead of today’s Champi- Lons League semi-fi nal, second leg clash in Rome. Jurgen Klopp’s side are on the brink of reaching the fi nal of Europe’s elite club competition for the fi rst time since 2007 as they look to defend a three- goal advantage against AS Roma in the Italian capital. But off -pitch tensions are high as Liverpool supporter Sean Cox lies in a coma after being attacked before last week’s fi rst leg in Anfi eld. Two Roma supporters were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp. (AFP) Roma coach Eusebio Di Francesco. (AFP) club legend Francesco Totti has ap- pealed for “fair play, hospitality and “the brain” by the German, stepped Having earned their place in the last respect for our opponents”. aside for personal reasons this week. four after overcoming a 3-0 fi rst-leg Rome is on red alert with 3,000 po- Buvac, who was on the bench with defi cit to Barcelona in the quarter-fi - lice offi cers deployed to avoid ugly Klopp for Saturday’s goalless draw nals, Di Francesco believes he can mas- scenes during today’s match. against Stoke, has been the German’s termind what would be another spec- Former Roma striker Mohamed Salah trusted right-hand man for the last 17 Mohamed Salah has already scored 43 goals for Liverpool across competitions this season. (AFP) tacular comeback. scored two brilliant goals and set up years. “We’ve done something extraordi- two more as Liverpool went fi ve up at Added to the distractions is star Premier League titles 28 years ago. semi-fi nal to fi nish fi rst.” without Kevin Strootman as Roma tar- nary in the Champions League this sea- Anfi eld before two late goals gave Roma striker Salah’s image-rights dispute Since then the Reds lifted the Cham- “It would be a rare thing to do, a get just their second fi nal — 34 years af- son,” said Di Francesco. hope of a potential fi ghtback. with the Egyptian football association. pions league trophy in 2005, when they unique moment in our lives, in mine. ter that fateful defeat to Liverpool. The “This team has had a great journey Klopp’s side are bidding for a sixth The Roma game also comes days be- fought back to stun AC Milan on penal- It’s my fi rst Champions League season.” 28-year-old midfi elder suff ered a leg and we don’t want to stop now. We European title having won two, in 1977 fore Liverpool clash with Chelsea in the ties after conceding three-fi rst goals in Klopp will be without midfi elder Alex injury in the fi rst leg and he still hasn’t want to believe in this comeback.” and 1984, at the Stadio Olimpico — the Premier League. Istanbul, and two years later when they Oxlade-Chamberlain, out for the sea- been cleared to be fully fi t. Di Franc- And Czech forward Patrik Schick latter on penalties against Roma. “Liverpool always has to take the lost to the Italians in Athens. son with a knee injury, with Georginio esco is likely to play a 4-3-3 formation, warned they had spotted Liverpool’s Both teams are third in their domestic slightly more diffi cult way and it’s again “Nothing is won so far,” warned Bra- Wijnaldum likely to be the only change which will see Lorenzo Pellegrini re- weaknesses. “We saw that they’re not leagues and in the running for Champi- like this,” said Klopp. “We created a ba- zilian forward Roberto Firmino, looking from the fi rst leg. place the Dutch player. as strong at the back as in attack, we ons League football next season. sis and now we have to fi nish it.” towards the May 26 fi nal against either Emre Can (back) and Adam Lallana Roma, who won the last of their three have the chance to score three goals at But Liverpool have suff ered serious It’s a clash between two sides who have Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in Kiev. (hamstring) are also struggling with Serie A titles in 2001, warmed up for home. In my opinion we have to go on disruption in the buildup after Klopp’s not won the domestic title in years. “There is a possibility of winning the injuries. Liverpool with a 4-1 win over Chievo in the pitch without fear, with great de- right-hand man, Zeljko Buvac, dubbed Liverpool won the last of their 18 Champions League — but we have a Eusebio Di Francesco looks set to be which Edin Dzeko bagged a brace. termination and great courage.” FOCUS Perfect 10: A look back at QSL’s decade long run he Qatar Stars League (QSL) Al Rayyan has come Al Gharafa a long way Al Duhail 2 1 since its titles title Tformation in 2008. 6 The Qatar Profes- titles sional Football League Development Committee was set up in December 2006 by the Qatar Football Associa- tion (QFA) to lead the enhancement of pro- fessional football in the country. This new body was a permanent committee within the QFA and was eventu- ally turned into what is now known as the QSL in 2008. The ambition was to champi- develop professional raise the bar on itself. ons with 56 points. Al Sadd, Al Rayyan Then came Al Rayyan’s incredible Al Sadd football within Qatar Right from the inaugural edition and Qatar SC fi nished behind them in achievement after earning promotion 1 while fulfi lling the Asian Football Con- in 2008-09 till this season, 10 league that order. from the Second Division. The Lions title federation’s requirements as a profes- competitions have been held with high In the 2009-10 season too, Al Gharafa amassed a whopping 62 points from 26 sional league. success rate. emerged as the winners with 53 points games, 14 more than runners-up El Jaish The QSL is responsible for managing all The 2017-18 season witnessed a slim- to complete a hat-trick of titles. They (merged with Lekhwiya to form Al Duhail commercial, broadcast, marketing, ticket- mer and sleeker QNB Stars League with were followed by Al Sadd, Al Arabi and in 2017). ing and administrative matters relating to 12 teams instead of 14 and 22 rounds of Qatar SC. It was The Cheetahs’ best time Al Duhail again lifted the coveted the league, and its 12 member clubs. action compared to 26 in the previous ever and the squad included the likes of league shield by coming on top in the Its vision is to be among the top three year. The tournament was rebranded Brazilian stars Juninho as well as Clem- following season and they went one step leagues in Asia by 2020. Mission is to pro- and a new logo was launched. The Qatar erson Soares, and Iraqi striker Younis higher this time by triumphing with an mote, develop and support a professional National Bank became the title sponsor Mahmoud. unbeaten record and 60 points, 11 more football platform in order to bring all people for six seasons. In 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons, Al than second-placed Al Sadd. together through passion for the game. Duhail (Lekhwiya) emerged as victorious, In the history of past 10 QSL editions, The QSL has always been working in Here’s a brief look at the past 10 edi- while Al Sadd became the 2012-13 win- Al Duhail (including, as Lekhwiya) won close co-ordination and co-operation with tions: ners. The following two seasons also saw the title six times, Al Gharafa twice, and all partners and stakeholders in order to In 2008-09, Al Gharafa were crowned- Al Duhail (Lekhwiya) top the table. Al Sadd and Al Rayyan once. (QSL) Gulf Times 2 Wednesday, May 2, 2018 FOOTBALL PREMIER LEAGUE Kane keen for strong fi nish with Spurs ahead of World Cup Striker scores his 38th goal of the season in Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-0 win over Watford at Wembley AFP the past few weeks, he is human like London everyone else, and was a little bit af- fected,” said Pochettino. However, the Argentine has no con- arry Kane admitted it has taken cerns over Kane’s mental toughness to him time to recover top form lead England in Russia. “He scored. He after an ankle ligament injury, needs to improve his performance still, but believes he still has time to but 150 games in the Premier League, Hrediscover his best ahead of shoulder- 105 goals, what we can say more? He ing England’s World Cup hopes. Kane is a fantastic striker. He’s a strong guy, scored his 38th goal of the season as Tot- physically and mentally. I am sure he is tenham Hotspur edged closer to a third going to perform for us in a very good consecutive season in the Champions way and arrive in a good condition for League by opening up a fi ve-point lead the World Cup.” on fi fth-placed Chelsea with just three An 11th defeat in their last 12 away games of the Premier League season to games leaves Watford still in need of go thanks to a 2-0 win over Watford at a point to mathematically secure sur- Wembley on Monday night.