FORMULA 1 | Page 4 NBA | Page 6 McLaren will Lowry stars be champs, as Raptors predicts stun Cavs Ron Dennis to tie series Wednesday, May 25, 2016 FOOTBALL Sha’baan 18, 1437 AH Ronaldo confi dent GULF TIMES of C’League glory despite injury scare SPORT Page 3 AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE / PREVIEW AL SADD STADIUM, 7PM Jaish aim to wrap up slot in quarters as Lekhwiya hope for Emir Cup inspiration Sabri Lamouchi’s team go into this second-leg Round of 16 tie with a 4-0 advantage over Djamel Belmadi’s boys El Jaish coach Sabri Lamouchi (L) and Lekhwiya coach Djamel Belmadi during the pre-match press conference yesterday ahead of their AFC Champions League Round of 16 tie. PICTURES: Anas Khalid AFC derrazzaq Hamedalleh and Mohamed result in the fi rst leg and this result got D fi xtures, before picking up a draw Lekhwiya, meanwhile, will be look- di, who will again be without injured Doha Methnani have put El Jaish in a com- us closer to the next round,” said Lam- against Uzbekistan’s Nasaf to secure ing for an early goal if they are to have striker Mohammed Muntari. manding position to advance to their ouchi yesterday. their last 16 qualifi cation with two any chance of advancing to the last “But we will not give up and we will fi rst ever quarter-fi nal of the conti- games to spare. eight for the second successive year. try our best to get the best possible re- oach Sabri Lamouchi is urging nental competition. NOT EASY “We need to fully concentrate and And they go into the tie with re- sult. In football anything is possible and caution ahead of El Jaish’s AFC But after suff ering a heavy 4-1 defeat “However, that doesn’t mean our task play as if we didn’t win the fi rst leg. Le- newed confi dence following a penalty we will be fi ghting to win until the end. Champions League Round of to Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia in their pre- will be easy because I believe Lekhwiya khwiya’s win in the Emir Cup [over Al shootout victory against Al Sadd after “We have prepared well for the 16 second-leg clash with fel- vious home fi xture in the tournament, will be strongly motivated to avenge Sadd on Saturday] will give them moti- a 2-2 saw them lift the Emir Cup at the match and hopefully we can have a Clow Qataris Lekhwiya today despite El Jaish will need to be wary of compla- their defeat.” vation to win this match and we should weekend. good performance and get the result their four-goal lead from the fi rst leg. cency ahead of the clash at Jassim Bin Making only their second appear- not underestimate them,” added Lam- “We know that our task will be very we are looking for,” added the Algerian. A brace from Brazilian Romarinho Hamad Stadium. ance in the AFC Champions League, ouchi, whose side were eliminated at hard after the big defeat in the fi rst leg,” Now to see what happens when the and further goals from Moroccan Ab- “We achieved an important and big El Jaish won their opening three group the Round of 16 in the 2013 edition. said Lekhwiya coach Djamel Belma- two rivals face each other today. AFC ROUND-UP Wu’s late winner puts Shanghai through AFP be the visitors’ best moment as they Shanghai went down 3-2 on aggregate, after the fi rst leg fi nished 1-1. Leonardo fi zzed a free kick into the u Lei’s dramatic injury- side-netting on 19 minutes before he time winner put Sven- recalibrated and hit the far top corner Goran Eriksson’s Shanghai from an acute angle 10 minutes later. SIPG into the AFC Cham- Leonardo rattled a stanchion with Wpions League quarter-fi nals against a another free kick after half-time and dumbfounded FC Tokyo yesterday. then shot inches wide, before thumping The Japanese visitors were seconds home Ricardo Lopes’s inviting square away from Asia’s last eight until Wu ball to make it 2-0 on 71 minutes. struck in the 91st minute for a 1-0 win, With six minutes left, Berisha sparking chaotic celebrations among squeezed home a tight near-post fi nish the SIPG players and fans. from Jai Ingham’s cross, but there was SIPG’s win on the away goals rule, to be no miracle, last-gasp revival for after the last-16 tie’s fi rst leg fi nished FC Tokyo. 2-1, means Eriksson’s side have reached South Korea’s Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors midfielder Leonardo Pereira (L). the quarter-fi nals at their fi rst attempt Results after coming through qualifying. away the loose ball before wheeling away ons Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors beat Mel- Although SIPG are debutants, the and being mobbed by his teammates. bourne Victory 2-1 to reach the last eight. Jeonbuk (South Korea) 2–1 Melbourne well-travelled former England coach SIPG will now believe fate is on their The dead-ball specialist, who buried Victory (Australia) has seasoned performers to call on side as they fl y the Chinese fl ag in the a superb free kick in last week’s fi rst leg, Shanghai SIPG (Chin)a 1-0 FC Tokyo including Elkeson and Dario Conca, latter stages, after the demise of hold- fi red home another in the opening half (Japan) who have both lifted the trophy with ers Evergrande and fellow big-spenders before scoring a sizzling second goal af- Lok. Tashkent (Uzbekistan) 2-1 Al-Hilal Guangzhou Evergrande. Jiangsu Suning. ter the break. (Saudi Arabia) And it was Elkeson’s rocket of a shot Wu Lei (front) of China’s Shanghai SIPG celebrates after scoring a goal during the Earlier Brazilian maestro Leonardo Besart Berisha gave Victory hope but Tractor (Iran) 3-1 Al Nasr (UAE) which rebounded to Wu, who tucked AFC Champions League round of 16 second leg tie against Japan’s FC Tokyo. bagged a brilliant brace as 2006 champi- his late strike on 84 minutes proved to Gulf Times 2 Wednesday, May 25, 2016 FOOTBALL SPOTLIGHT SUPPORT Van Gaal deserved more respect: Blind Cantona sideswipe Reuters Lagos etherlands international Daley Blind believes sacked Manchester United manager Louis as Mourinho closes Nvan Gaal deserved more respect, better treatment and faced unfair speculation over his future before being dismissed on Monday. “I always worked well with him and would have been keen that the co-operation lasted longer. The manager of a top File picture of then Manchester in on Man Utd job club in England is naturally un- United manager Louis van Gaal der much more pressure but over with midfielder Daley Blind. the last six months he has not ‘Guardiola is in Manchester, but at the wrong one. I love Jose Mourinho, but in terms been treated fairly,” Defender good season in which I played 57 Blind told reporters at the Dutch matches plus a few internation- of the type of football he plays I don’t think he is Manchester United’ team’s training camp in Portugal. als,” he said. “I think a manager like Louis Team mate Memphis Depay AFP van Gaal, who has achieved so said he believed his future at the London much already, deserved more club was safe despite Van Gaal’s respect,” added Blind from the departure. “I don’t know why Netherlands’ base for three post- it wouldn’t be. I am happy to be ose Mourinho was closing in on season internationals over the there and the management know becoming Manchester United’s next fortnight. I’m happy to be there,” said the new manager yesterday despite “Even through there was 22-year-old forward, who was club great Eric Cantona saying in- so much being written about left out of the FA Cup fi nal squad. Jcoming Manchester City boss Pep Guar- him losing his job over the last “A love-hate relationship? diola would have been a better pick. months, he always looked to pro- I’m not sure about that. But him Mourinho’s agent Jorge Mendes was tect and shelter us. It is not easy leaving is part of life in football in talks with United’s executive vice- for a coach if you are repeatedly and you learn from that and it chairman Ed Woodward, British media being fi red in the newspapers. makes you stronger.” reported, less than 24 hours after Louis “Still, we as a squad kept be- Finishing the season with the van Gaal’s troubled two-year reign came lieving in the manager and showed Dutch national team, added De- to a sour end. that with our FA Cup win (over pay, would be a chance “to train Former Chelsea boss Mourinho, one Crystal Palace on Saturday). at a high level and hopefully play of football’s most intriguing characters, “That we did together for the some internationals, a fi ne way would march into Old Traff ord boasting a supporters, the manager and for to end the season”. personal trophy haul that includes three ourselves. It was in the end, a “Of course, I want to show English Premier League titles and two good fi nish to the season,” added here that I can play football. It is Champions League crowns. the 26-year-old Blind, who Van a good opportunity to play again But Cantona, whose goals helped fi re Gaal brought across from Ajax after being on the bench for a lot United to four Premier League titles in Amsterdam when he took over at of games,” he said.