FFORMULAORMULA 1 | Page 2 RRUGBYUGBY | Page 4 Albon trades Jones silent on places with Te’o’s absence Gasly at Red Bull from England F1 team squad Tuesday, August 13, 2019 CRICKET Dhul-Hijja 12, 1440 AH England’s Archer GULF TIMES throws down gauntlet to Aussie batsmen SPORT Page 3 HORSE RACING FOOTBALL / LIGUE 1 Sheikh Abdullah’s French King wins Gr1 in Germany Neymar not Agencies Olivier Peslier. He came with an Berlin, Germany authoritative run 300m from the line to dominate the race, with Communiqué and Old Persian missed as PSG rench King, bred and behind him. owned by His High- “French King has really im- ness Sheikh Abdullah proved and changed. He has won bin Khalifa al-Thani, here against confi rmed Group breeze to 3-0 Fcontinued his incredible series 1 horses, and in style,” Pantall of success winning the 129th said. “He is easier to ride now, Longines Grosser Preis von Ber- as he was a bit keen as a three- lin (Group 1) at Hoppegarten on year-old. He showed a smart win over Nimes Sunday. turn of foot to beat some top- Trained by Henri-Alex Pan- class horses. After this win, we tall, the bay colt began this year can dream of the Qatar Prix de by winning HH The Amir Tro- l’Arc de Triomphe, a bit… phy at the QREC Al Rayyan Park “The Grosser Preis von Baden in Qatar. He then lined up in the is also an opportunity, but I don’t Carl Jaspers-Preis (Group 2) for want to do too much with him another win, followed by the as his long-term objective is to Grosser Hansa Preis (Group 2). run in Qatar this winter, and so Olivier Peslier rides French King to Grosser Preis von Berlin (Group 1) in Hoppegarten, Germany, on He won this Sunday following I would prefer not to over-race Sunday. (Frank Sorge) a textbook hold-up ride from him.” FOOTBALL / AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Al Sadd, Al Duhail in blockbuster Qatari giants played out 1-1 draw last week and are clash today playing for a last eight spot By Sports Reporter Doha l Sadd and Al Duhail Paris Saint-Germain’s Angel Di Maria (right) is congratulated by lock horns again today teammate Kylian Mbappe after scoring a goal during the Ligue 1 in the second leg of the match against Nimes Olympique in Paris, France, on Sunday. (AFP) 2019 AFC Champions ALeague Round of 16 after the two after jinking through the massed Agencies sides played out a 1-1 draw at Al Paris, France Nimes defence. Janoub Stadium last week. The two Qatari giants were VAR controversy present at the quarter-fi nal aris St Germain’s star- They were awarded a penalty stage last year, but there is only studded attack brushed by VAR midway through the fi rst room for one of them amongst off the absence of Ney- half, as a corner struck Nimes Asia’s top eight this time mar as Edinson Cavani, defender Pablo Martinez on the around. And if last week’s match PKylian Mbappe and substitute arm after Diallo ducked under is an indicator, the today’s clash Angel Di Maria all got on the the ball while standing right in is set to be explosive. scoresheet in a comfortable 3-0 front of him. Akram Afi f’s fi rst-half goal home win over Nimes in their Cavani slammed the spot-kick gave Al Sadd the lead on the Ligue 1 opener on Sunday. into the net, before Nimes coach night and the away goal advan- Al Duhail players take part in a training session on the eve of the AFC Champions League tie against Al Sadd yesterday. PICTURES: Anas Khalid PSG were awarded a penalty Bernard Blaquart was booked for tage, meaning a goalless draw at courtesy of VAR when referee his protestations. Jassim bin Hamad Stadium to- will be without central defender Clement Turpin reviewed foot- A pedestrian aff air, with Nimes day would be enough for Xavi’s Medhi Benatia who suff ered a age of a corner and deemed happy to almost exclusively keep side to reach the continental knee injury 18 minutes into the Nimes defender Pablo Martinez all 11 men behind the ball, had to quarter-fi nals for the sixth time fi rst leg. The Moroccan inter- had handled the ball. wait until the 57th minute for a in their history. national underwent surgery The Nimes players and coach- second goal when Mbappe slot- Awaiting the aggregate winners in France last week and will be es protested because play was ted in to open his league account of the two Qatari sides is a quar- sidelined for up to four weeks. allowed to continue for more for the campaign. ter-fi nal date with Saudi Arabia’s In another blow, defender Sul- than a minute before the referee Di Maria came off the bench Al Nassr, who beat UAE’s Al Wah- tan al-Brake was also ruled out looked at the incident, but their and drilled into the bottom cor- da on a 4-3 aggregate. of the fi xture, causing defensive complaints were to no avail and ner after an excellent pass from On the match eve, Xavi said headache to Faria. Cavani slammed home the spot Mbappe with 20 minutes re- his players were ready to put on However, Faria will be en- kick in the 24th minute. maining, and PSG played out the a top show but expected Duhail couraged by the positive per- Mbappe doubled the advantage most comfortable of wins — fi n- to pose a tough challenge. In his formances of Youssef Msakni, 11 minutes into the second half, ishing with 74 percent of posses- fi rst match in charge, the Span- who netted Al Duhail’s goal in thumping a fi rst-time shot into sion as goalkeeper Alphonse Ar- iard employed a high pressure, the fi rst leg on his return from the top left corner, and Argen- eola did not face a shot on target. pressing game in the fi rst leg and a loan spell at KAS Eupen, and tine winger Di Maria fi red home a Earlier on Sunday, new sign- will more likely employ the same Iraqi striker Mohanad Ali, who sweet left-foot strike in the 69th ing Victor Osimhen marked his strategy in the second leg. showed glimpses of his ability in minute to complete the rout. Ligue 1 debut with two goals “We are very motivated, just his 25-minute cameo. PSG sit level with Lyon, who as last year’s runners-up Lille like how we were in the fi rst leg. “It will be very diffi cult beat Monaco 3-0 on Friday, at kicked off their new campaign I am very happy with the players Al Duhail coach Rui Faria and (right) Al Sadd coach Xavi Hernandez. against a strong team. Sadd too the top of the fl edgling table, and with a 2-1 victory over Nantes. and I am confi dent in what they are one of the best teams in the will be hoping to occupy that po- Christophe Galtier’s hosts, off er. We are positive for the game that Duhail are strong; they have a are one of the best teams in the Khoukhi’s participation today. Middle East, and they have an sition for the rest of the season. who fi nished 16 points behind and are ready for it,” he said in a special coach. We always suff er in Middle East and it will be diffi cult “Khoukhi is one of the best away goal advantage,” Faria said Thomas Tuchel handed Ligue PSG last term, were indebted to press conference yesterday. front of him, but we are confi dent to beat them.” players but he joined the camp yesterday. 1 debuts to centre-back Abdou Nigerian Osimhen, who scored a “There are many areas where of achieving a positive result,” he Xavi confirmed there are no very late. I will decide before “But we are ready for the Diallo, signed from Borussia fabulous 80th-minute winner at we can improve, especially in de- added. injuries in the Sadd squad. He match whether to play him or match. We know it is a diffi cult Dortmund in the close-season, the Stade Pierre-Mauroy. fence. We must play a high pres- Asked if he would play defen- also did not confirm or deny not. He is an important player, task but we are ready to give our and midfi elder Pablo Sarabia, “When I have opportunities, sure game. We did play well in the sively to protect the away goal ad- if defender Bualem Khoukhi not only in this game but also best. We have analysed the pre- who joined from Sevilla. I don’t want to miss them,” said fi rst leg, but there is still a lot to vantage, Xavi said: “Our aim is to will make the starting XI to- the upcoming games,” Xavi said. vious game and the mistakes we The champions monopo- the 20-year-old. “I’m not yet develop in the team. There is no focus on all lines, not just defence. day. The Qatari international Duhail coach Rui Faria, on the committed. Now we have cor- lised the ball from the off , with 100% but I’m training hard and I doubt that tomorrow’s game will We will play on creating opportu- did not play in the first leg and other hand, has no such luxu- rected them so we are ready for Mbappe shooting straight at vis- know that with time I’ll be in top be diffi cult one.