FOOTBALL | Page 2 NNBABA | Page 5 City on verge Cavaliers of title aft er survive as 3-1 victory LeBron breaks over Everton Jordan’s record Sunday, April 1, 2018 CRICKET Rajab 15, 1439 AH Bavuma misses ton GULF TIMES but South Africa take total control in Jo’burg SPORT Page 4 FOOTBALL LA LIGA Messi rescues Asian history Barca with beckons for Qatar late equaliser Al Sadd, Rayyan and Gharafa could join Duhail in the last 16, marking the first occasion when all four participating teams from the country will have qualified for the knockout stage of the lucrative tournament By Sports Reporter week long International Friendship Doha Championship in Basra, Iraq. The six – Saad al-Dosari, Hassan al-Haydos, Salem al-Hajri, Akram atari club football is shin- Afi f, Pedro Miguel and Abdelkarim ing brighter than ever with Hassan – all took art in training ses- Al Sadd, Al Rayyan and Al sions under the watchful eye of coach Gharafa poised to follow Jesualdo Ferreira and will be keen to Qalready qualifi ed Al Duhail into the keen to record their second straight last-16 stage of the Asian Champions win over Al Wasl and put the team on League. the path to qualifi cation. But while QNB Stars League cham- Also tomorrow, Al Rayyan will pions Al Duhail became the fi rst team take on Iran’s Estheglal in Group D Barcelona’s Lionel Messi celebrates scoring their second goal as Sevilla’s Ever to book their spot in the knockouts at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran, with Banega looks dejected. with four victories in as many match- both teams hoping to grab a second es, the other three still have some win and qualify for the knockouts. Reuters Barca were instantly lifted by the work to do to ensure their passage. Both teams are on six points, hav- Barcelona Argentine’s arrival and Luis Suarez Success for the troika over the next ing drawn three of the four matches rattled the near post but Sevilla con- couple of weeks will be a cause for and the winning side would make the tinued to pour forward and Vazquez celebration as it will be the fi rst time knockouts as it would ensure a bet- ionel Messi came off the bench and Muriel missed clear chances to put ever that all four teams from Qa- ter head-to-head record against their to preserve Barcelona’s unbeat- the game to bed. tar playing the lucrative continental opponents. en run in La Liga with a sensa- They paid dear for their wasteful- tournament will have survived the Runners-up last year, Al Hilal re- Ltional late equaliser in a thrill- ness as Suarez pulled one back for Bar- group phase cut. alistically need to defeat Al Ain in ing 2-2 draw at Sevilla yesterday as the ca with an acrobatic fi nish in the 88th Percentage wise that means Qatar the United Arab Emirates to have a runaway leaders came back from two minute following a corner and Messi would have contributed a stagger- chance of progression, while a draw goals down in the space of a minute. whipped in the equaliser in the 89th ing 25% of the 16 teams qualifying Young fans take a selfie with Al Sadd captain Xavi Hernandez prior to a coupled with an Esteghlal win over Al Franco Vazquez opened the scoring with a venomous left-foot strike. from the vast continent – no mean training session in Doha yesterday. PICTURE: Noushad Thekkayil Rayyan would seal their elimination, from close range in the 36th minute The goal stretched the Catalans’ un- achievement considering the fact as would a loss. and Colombia international Luis Mu- beaten league run to 37 games and if that the tournament involves teams won the title under coach Jorge Fos- would ensure they return to the last Al Ain have drawn all four of their riel doubled the home side’s lead by they avoid defeat next week at home to from traditional Asian powerhouses sati in 2011, will clash with the UAE’s 16 for a second year running, while a games so far, but a win would give smashing in on the rebound fi ve min- Leganes they will equal Real Sociedad’s such as Japan, South Korea, Iran, Al Wasl tomorrow hoping to consoli- draw would also be enough as it would them a fi ghting chance of a top-two utes into the second half. Liga record of 38 games without defeat, Australia and Saudi Arabia. date their position. Al Sadd have won leave the Iranian side – currently fi nish. Whatever the outcome, the Messi had began the game on the which has stood since 1980. Such a scenario would be hard to three of their four matches so far and three points ahead of Nasaf – with Emiratis’ fate will be decided on a bench due to continued muscle dis- Barca top the standings on 76 points digest for Saudi Arabia and the UAE top Group C on goal diff erence, with a better head-to-head record than Matchday Six visit to Al Rayyan. comfort which caused him to miss Ar- but if second-placed Atletico Madrid who had unsuccessfully tried to lob- Iran’s Persepolis second, followed by Monday’s opponents. Meanwhile, in Group A, Al Gharafa gentina’s friendlies against Italy and beat Deportivo La Coruna today their by the Asian Football Confederation Uzbekistan’s Nasaf and Al Wasl. Should Nasaf win then the group would be aiming to beat Al Jazira of Spain and the league’s top scorer was advantage at the top will be cut to nine. (AFC) to have their clubs’ matches Al Wasl have been already elimi- goes down to the wire, there remains the UAE in Doha, with both teams on called into action in the 58th minute, Champions Real Madrid are third on 62 against Qatari teams played at neu- nated having lost all their four a slight possibility that all three fi ve points from their four previous replacing Ousmane Dembele. after beating Las Palmas 3-0. tral venues. matches, but Nasaf have six points teams end up on 12 points after six matches. “We hope that the other three and can still qualify if they win their games in a scenario that would need Al Gharafa lost their opening game teams also qualify. Not only it would remaining two matches. calculators at the ready. to Al Jazira but, after scoring two CRICKET be an historic occasion for Qatar, it Al Sadd will secure their place in Al Sadd, who beat Al Wasl 2-1 away away goals in Abu Dhabi, would be would also mean the Gulf crisis has the next round if they beat Al Wasl earlier in the tournament, have been in a strong position if they defeat had no eff ect on our football,” said an and Nasaf fail to take all three points training hard for the match since the Emiratis. The most unlikely sce- offi cial. against Persepolis. Wednesday after six of their top nario sees all four teams end on eight Sarfraz grateful as West Former champions Al Sadd, who A Persepolis win in Uzbekistan players returned to the club after the points. Indies fl y in for T20s BOTTOMLINE Reuters Karachi akistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed thanked the West In- Aussies ‘hurting’ over dies for touring the country, Pas the Caribbean side arrived in Karachi yesterday in the latest step towards the resumption of top-level cricket in the South Asian nation. scandal as defeat looms The West Indies will become only the third international team to play a AFP “So far it hasn’t happened but “We’ve tried to really care for each I was just moving with the belief that bilateral series on Pakistani soil since a Johannesburg the eff ort has been there. There’s other this week,” said Saker. “We’re later on it would get easier and the militant attack on the Sri Lankan team no doubt in the dressing room realists and we’re going to go out and bowlers would get tired and I would bus in Lahore in March 2009. that the guys are trying their try and play as well as we can, to put get opportunities to score.” The 13-member team and staff ar- ustralia bowling coach Dav- hardest. It just hasn’t worked in in a performance that the Australian Bavuma said the Australians, rived late yesterday in two groups and id Saker said yesterday that this game.” public and our group are proud of. also missing the injured fast bowler were ushered into a bullet proof bus to the ball-tampering scan- “So far it hasn’t happened but Mitchell Starc, had bowled well. their hotel. dal had been a factor in a South Africa’s bowling but added: the eff ort has been there. There’s no “I had to respect that. My confi - Some 1,000 policemen and para- and when they go back they will tell Adisastrous day for the tourists in the “Obviously after the week we’ve had doubt in the dressing room that the dence and comfort came from know- military staff were deployed along players from other countries to come fourth Test against South Africa and there’s a lot of disappointment in the guys are trying their hardest. It just ing that I’d be able to score my runs their route to guard the team, which to Pakistan.” admitted “the dressing room is hurt- room that we can’t put something to- hasn’t worked in this game.” later on.” will fl y out soon after the third match Zimbabwe travelled to Lahore for ing”.