ARAB TIMES, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2021 SPORTS 14 City have broken transfer record EPL looks to be 4-team title fi ght LONDON, Aug 10, (AP): Manchester City have broken its transfer record, Chelsea looks to be on the brink of do- ing the same, while Manchester United have spent around $150 million in fi x- ing two of its weakest positions. Liverpool? Well they’re just happy to have their best player back from a serious injury. For very different reasons, each of the Premier League’s top four teams from last season appear to be in a healthy position heading into a 2021- 22 campaign that will be played in front of capacity crowds for the fi rst time in 17 months. England’s lucrative top division for some time has had a so-called “Big Six” of City, United, Chelsea, Liver- In this, May 23, 2021 file photo, pool, Tottenham and Arsenal. Leices- Tottenham’s Harry Kane runs for ter, an unlikely champion in 2016 and a the ball during the English Premier fi fth-place fi nisher the last two seasons, League soccer match between can rightly argue it should be a “Big Leicester City and Tottenham Hot- Seven.” spur at the King Power Stadium, in The coming season, though, looks to Leicester, England. (AP) be a four-team race for the title, even since joining late in 2018. United may if things could change dramatically by just be a defensive center midfi elder some late movement in a transfer win- away from having a title-winning team, dow that closes on Aug. 31. but even that mightn’t stop them this Manchester City season. Signing Jack Grealish for $139 mil- Key will be striker Edinson Cavani lion was a big statement of intent by staying fi t and if Mason Greenwood, City, but that only served to strengthen the young forward carrying so much a midfi eld department where Pep Guar- hope and expectation, kicks on again. diola already had enviable riches. It is Paul Pogba appears to be staying for a striker the champions really need fol- another season, and Solskjaer will hope lowing the departure of Sergio Aguero the midfi elder can transfer his interna- after 10 years, and there’s one they are tional form with France to his club. targeting in particular. United fi nished in second place, 12 Manchester City’s Jack Grealish (left), duels for the ball with Leicester’s Ayoze Perez during the English FA Community Shield soccer match between Harry Kane would cost more than points behind City, last season and will Leicester City and Manchester City at Wembley stadium, in London, on Aug 7. (AP) Grealish - potentially much, much believe the gap can be closed. more - and City appears willing to Liverpool spend another British-record fi gure if Liverpool’s defense of its 2019-20 only Tottenham would negotiate. But, title can best be described as under- B’desh ‘dominate’ Australia, according to Guardiola, that isn’t cur- whelming - the team went from cham- rently the case, even if Kane seems pions by 19 points to trailing home 17 Scally shines on keen on the move. points behind City in third place - but complete T20 series victory there was one big reason for that. SOCCER Virgil van Dijk’s knee injury kept DHAKA, Bangladesh, Aug 10, (AP): Christian (3) and Mitchell Marsh (4). him out for all but one month of the Left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan re- Shakib then got the better of campaign and capped a season when If it happens - and it’s a big “if” giv- Gladbach debut turned a remarkable fi gure of 4-9 as Ashton Turner for his 100th wicket. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was Bangladesh held Australia to its lowest In between Saifuddin, one of the en how tough a negotiator Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is - City would struck by one defensive injury after Twenty20 cricket score in winning the two changes by Bangladesh, ripped another. In the end, creeping into the fi nal game of their series by 60 runs. through the Australian middle order. have a squad mighty enough to blow Hoffenheim beat Viktoria 3-2 away its rivals. There would barely be Champions League qualifi cation posi- Shakib became the second bowler Shakib then ensured Australia tions after a strong fi nish was regarded to take 100 T20 wickets, after Sri would fail to reach its previous low of a weakness. Even City’s second team could mount a top-four challenge. as a success. BERLIN, Aug 10, (AP): campaign for people to and get Lanka’s Lasith Malinga, as Bangla- 79 against England at Southampton in Van Dijk is back now, though he vaccinated against the coronavi- desh defended 122-8 by bowling Aus- 2005. As it is, the lack of a genuine top- American teen Joe Scally class striker - Gabriel Jesus doesn’t might need another month to get back made his debut for Borus- rus. The team’s jerseys had the tralia out for 62 in 13.4 overs. Bangladesh batsmen also were not to full fi tness, and that will come as a words “Vaccinate! Now!” written comfortable in this extremely slow convince as a fi nisher, despite his work sia Mönchengladbach rate - leaves England’s other top teams huge relief to Klopp, who have rein- on the front, and the club also CRICKET track after their captain Mahmudullah with a glimmer of hope. forced his defense further by signing when he helped the team to offered vaccinations in a tent at the decided to bat fi rst. Chelsea Ibrahima Konate from Leipzig. Sud- a 1-0 win over former heav- stadium for fans. Pacer Mohammad Saifuddin ended Opener Mohammad Naim top- Chelsea have already proved a genu- denly, the biggest issues might be in yweight Kaiserslautern in Ingolstadt defeated Erzgebirge with 3-12 to play a key role in trig- scored for the side with 23 and Mah- ine rival for City, having won their last midfi eld. Aue 2-1, and another second-divi- gering Australia’s collapse as Bangla- mudullah made 19. three meetings - capped by a 1-0 vic- Georginio Wijnaldum’s departure to the fi rst round of the Ger- sion side, Karlsruher SC, defeated desh won the series 4-1. Mahedi Hasan opened with Naim tory in the Champions League fi nal in Paris Saint-Germain robs Liverpool of man Cup. Only two Australian batsmen instead of out-of-form Soumya Sarkar May. one of its most consistent performers of fourth-tier Sportfreunde Lotte 4-1. reached double fi gures with captain as Bangladesh got a good start. the last four years and he hasn’t been The 18-year-old Scally, who Bayern’s first-round game Having built the sturdiest defense Matthew Wade scoring 22 and Ben The pair added 42 runs in 4.3 overs in Europe, with Jorginho and the in- replaced. That will place more strain joined Gladbach from New York against Bremer SV on Friday was McDermott making 17. before offspinner Turner removed on captain Jordan Henderson, who City FC in January, shone despite defatigable N’Golo Kante protecting postponed from until Aug. 25 due Shakib got the fi rst of his four Mahedi for 13. a back fi ve, Chelsea manager Thomas starting to pick up injuries regularly, playing on the left of defense. He to a number of coronavirus infec- wickets, baffl ing Wade with quicker Australian pacers then stalled Tuchel has focused on adding an at- and Fabinho. Klopp will need Thiago usually likes to play on the right. tions among the fifth-tier team’s deliveries after left-arm spinner Na- Bangladesh’s progress, varying their tacking spearhead to the team and that Alcantara to have a better second sea- Scally played in Patrick Her- players. sum Ahmed dismissed opener Dan pace. looks like being Romelu Lukaku. The son than his fi rst, when he struggled to rmann, who hit the post before Belgium striker reportedly underwent a adapt to the pace of the league. the break, and made a good case medical examination on Monday ahead That said, the front four of Diogo Jota, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and for his Bundesliga debut against of a club-record $135 million transfer Djokovic out of Western & Southern Open from Inter Milan. Roberto Firmino can be relied upon Bayern Munich in the league- Lukaku’s return to Stamford Bridge for plenty of goals. And with Van Dijk opener on Friday. NEW YORK, Aug. 10, (AP): Novak - he was at Chelsea from 2011-14 - will mopping up at the back, another title Djokovic pulled out of the Western & turn the London club into a huge title charge is likely at Anfi eld. Southern Open, meaning the next time challenger, potentially giving Tuchel Other Top-Four Contenders SOCCER he will be in action will be as he tries to as strong a squad as Guardiola has. Af- Expect Leicester to have another complete a calendar-year Grand Slam ter all, it comes after Chelsea’s spend- solid year, especially now it has plenty Lars Stindl’s early goal was at the U.S. Open. ing spree of nearly $300 million in the of options in attack following the sign- The top-ranked Djokovic wrote on last offseason. ing of Patson Daka, but the team just enough for Gladbach to beat doesn’t have the fi nancial strength of Kaiserslautern and give new coach social media that he needs “a bit longer A prolifi c striker was the only thing to recover and recuperate after quite a missed for Tuchel last season and Lu- the top four and will again have to bal- Adi Hütter a winning start on his taxing journey from Australia to To- kaku would solve that.