BISHA, Saudi Arabia: A fourth Dakar Rally title is in reach for Qatari driver Nasser Al-Attiyah, who will take a 33-minute lead into the last stage.
Al-Attiyah stuck fast to his nearest rival Sebastien Loeb on the 11th stage on Thursday and ended up gaining some seconds after the Frenchman was penalized five minutes for speeding in a restricted zone.
Instead of finishing runner-up to Carlos Sainz on the 346-kilometer loop stage into the Saudi dunes north of Bisha, Loeb’s time penalty dropped him to eighth.
Instead of gaining more than four minutes on Al-Attiyah, he lost 39 seconds. His sixth bid for a first Dakar title appears over.
The standings aren’t expected to change on the last stage on Friday, a short 164-kilometer sprint from Bisha to Jeddah, where the rally started on New Year’s Day.
Al-Attiyah has led the entire way.
“To control the Dakar is not easy, but I think we have a lot of experience now and we just need to manage the situation and to finish,” he said.
Saudi driver Yazeed Al Rajhi, racing his third Dakar at home and lying third overall more than an hour behind, is expected to make the podium for the first time.
Sainz led the penultimate stage throughout, winning his second stage of this Dakar and 41st in his career. Lucio Alvarez of Argentina was three minutes behind in second, and Mattias Ekstrom of Sweden third. Al-Attiyah was seventh.
British rider Sam Sunderland regained the overall motorbike lead by taking fast advantage of others’ tracks as he expected to when he was the 14th starter in the morning.
“Not just me, but a lot of guys sort of took it easy yesterday on the stage to have a better start position today,” Sunderland said. “You saw that today. Everybody pulled the pin; it was, ‘Let’s go.’ I was the same, all in, and here we are. It’s not a smart plan until the race is finished and you’ve done the job.”
Sunderland, the 2017 champion, has led for most of the rally until this second week, but wasn’t too unhappy with his position on Wednesday night. He showed why on Thursday.
He was among the leaders at every checkpoint, and was beaten to the stage win by four seconds by Kevin Benavides, the defending champion who suffered mechanical problems and didn’t finish on Wednesday but was allowed, under new rules, to continue racing.
Sunderland’s main rivals, Matthias Walkner of Austria and Pablo Quintanilla of Chile, were five and seven minutes back at Bisha.
The biggest loser was Adrien van Beveren, who had the overnight race lead. The Frenchman was among the riders to open the way and suffered navigation errors. He lost more than 19 minutes, and dropped from first to fourth overall, more than 15 minutes behind Sunderland.
Sunderland goes into the last stage leading Quintanilla and Walker by around seven minutes. With the end in sight, the trio will believe they can win. Van Beveren has likely missed out on a first Dakar podium finish.
Al-Attiyah 33 minutes up on Loeb before last Dakar stage
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Al-Attiyah 33 minutes up on Loeb before last Dakar stage
- Instead of finishing runner-up to Carlos Sainz on the 346-kilometer loop stage into the Saudi dunes north of Bisha, Loeb’s time penalty dropped him to eighth
- The standings aren’t expected to change on the last stage on Friday, a short 164-kilometer sprint from Bisha to Jeddah, where the rally started on New Year’s Day
Swiatek roars into French Open semis as Alcaraz battles Tsitsipas
- Swiatek is on course to become the first woman to lift the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen three years in a row
- “Honestly I think everything worked,” said the 23-year-old Swiatek
PARIS: Reigning women’s champion Iga Swiatek continued her ruthless demolition of French Open opponents Tuesday as she stormed into the semifinals, while Carlos Alcaraz and Stefanos Tsitsipas square off in a repeat of last year’s quarter-final.
Swiatek thrashed Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 6-0, 6-2 to set up a last-four showdown with American third seed Coco Gauff, the player she beat in the 2022 Roland Garros final.
World number one Swiatek improved her career record in Paris to 33-2 and is on course to become the first woman to lift the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen three years in a row since Justine Henin in 2005-07.
After Swiatek’s 40-minute rout of Anastasia Potapova in the last 16, the only consolation for Vondrousova was her snapping the Pole’s incredible run of 20 consecutive games won early in the second set.
“Honestly I think everything worked,” said the 23-year-old Swiatek. “I felt like I was in the zone today.”
Since saving a match point against Naomi Osaka in round two, Swiatek has looked every bit the tournament favorite and goes into her semifinal with Gauff having won 10 of their 11 meetings, all in straight sets.
Gauff has come up short against Swiatek in four attempts on clay and was beaten by the top seed on her way to the title in Rome last month.
“You don’t want to change your routines. Not to put too much baggage on your shoulders, just treat it like any other match and not something huge,” said Swiatek.
“Against Coco it’s not easy, she really likes playing on clay especially here, I think so I’ll just focus on myself.”
Gauff passed her toughest test of the fortnight as she fought back from a set down to beat three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
The 20-year-old Gauff is set for a third straight Grand Slam semifinal, after also making the last four at the Australian Open.
Tunisian eighth seed Jabeur is still waiting for a maiden major title, having lost three finals and four quarter-finals.
Alcaraz appears to be moving through the gears in Paris after an injury-hit preparation, taking care of 21st seed Felix Auger-Aliassime with minimal fuss Sunday to make the last eight here for the third year on the trot.
Next up is an opponent he has dominated in his young career, winning all five previous encounters with Tsitsipas. Three of those have come on clay, including Alcaraz’s straight-sets win in the 2023 French Open quarter-finals.
“I’m really looking forward to playing this match. I love this challenge and these kind of matches,” said the 21-year-old Spaniard, attempting to add to his Wimbledon title from a year ago and the 2022 US Open.
“I have seen a lot of matches from Stefanos lately. He has a lot of confidence right now and is playing great tennis. I think I have the key against him so I will try to make him in trouble.”
Tsitsipas found himself in danger of falling two sets behind against Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi in the last 16, saving four set points before swinging the match in his favor.
The Greek ninth seed, who lost the 2021 French Open final in five sets to Novak Djokovic, hopes to put a stop to Alcaraz’s dominance.
“He has said in the past he likes playing against me, so I hope he gets to like it a little bit less this time,” said Tsitsipas.
Jannik Sinner dropped his first set of the tournament against Corentin Moutet, but the second seed quickly righted the ship to ease into a seventh Grand Slam quarter-final.
It is the first time he has made the last eight at Roland Garros since the pandemic-delayed 2020 edition, when he was beaten by Rafael Nadal in a match that finished at 1:26am.
That had stood as the record for the latest ending at the French Open prior to Djokovic’s 3:07am conclusion against Lorenzo Musetti in the early hours of Sunday.
Sinner next plays Grigor Dimitrov, the 10th seed from Bulgaria who is set for his first Roland Garros quarter-final on his 14th visit.
Pochettino highlights Chelsea's 'big improvement' on his watch
- The Argentine left the club by mutual consent last month despite a strong end to a turbulent season
- "I am so pleased with the level the team reached and the way the players and staff have all worked so hard to increase their standards," Pochettino said
LONDON: Mauricio Pochettino said Chelsea had shown a "big improvement" during his single season as manager in his first public comments since his Stamford Bridge exit.
The Argentine left the club by mutual consent last month despite a strong end to a turbulent season in which they spent much of the campaign languishing in mid-table in the Premier League.
The Blues won their final five games to finish sixth and earn a place in the UEFA Conference League, also reaching the final of the League Cup and the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
On Monday, Chelsea appointed Leicester boss Enzo Maresca as Pochettino's successor on a five-year deal.
Addressing the club's ownership and supporters via social media, Pochettino, 52, he said he had worked hard to "give you a Chelsea you can be proud of".
The former Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain boss said the team had progressed after finishing a lowly 12th in the Premier League in the 2022/23 season.
"I am so pleased with the level the team reached and the way the players and staff have all worked so hard to increase their standards, they deserve great credit and I hope you felt that too in how they performed on the pitch," Pochettino said in an Instagram post on Tuesday.
"We know there have been ups and downs but we always believed in this team and that we would arrive at a consistent level.
"I believe the experiences of this season and big improvement we saw, I hope will only make the players stronger for the future. It has been a pleasure to work with them all and we appreciate the strong bonds we created in this last year together."
Pochettino said he would return to Stamford Bridge on Sunday for the annual Soccer Aid celebrity charity match to raise funds for UNICEF, where he will manage a World XI against an England team.
Dravid to bow out as India coach after T20 World Cup
- Dravid oversaw India’s runs to the finals of both World Test Championship and their home 50-over World Cup last year
- India have not won T20 World Cup since inaugural edition in 2007 and they have not lifted one-day World Cup since 2011
NEW YORK: Rahul Dravid said Monday that he will leave his post as India coach at the end of the T20 World Cup after almost three years in charge.
Dravid’s contract runs out at the end of the month and he will not re-apply for the job, which has been advertised by India’s governing cricket body, the BCCI, since last month.
“It is going to be the last one that I am in charge of,” the 51-year-old told reporters ahead of India’s opening match against Ireland in New York on Wednesday.
“Unfortunately, the kind of schedules and where I find myself at this stage in my life, I don’t think I’ll be able to re-apply.
“I love doing the job. I’ve really enjoyed coaching India and I think it’s a truly special job to do.”
The former India captain took over the team from Ravi Shastri after the 2021 T20 World Cup.
This year’s edition in the United States and West Indies is his last chance to end the country’s global trophy drought, which stretches back to the 2013 Champions Trophy.
Dravid oversaw India’s runs to the finals of both the World Test Championship and their home 50-over World Cup last year, but they came up short against Australia each time.
“I enjoyed working with this team and it’s a great bunch of boys to work with,” Dravid said.
“To be very honest, I think we’ve actually played really well in these tournaments.
“The World Test Championship is slightly different in terms of it’s not one tournament but a whole cycle, but playing extremely well in the cycle to get to the final there again.
“The 50-over World Cup we had a great run and went into the final. I think we’ve been right up there with some of the best teams.”
India have not won the T20 World Cup since its inaugural edition in 2007 and they have not lifted the one-day World Cup since 2011.
India face Pakistan on June 9 and tournament hosts USA three days later in New York, before concluding their group fixtures against Canada in Lauderhill, Florida, on June 15.
2023-24 Saudi Pro League review: The hits and misses
- Hilal, Mitrovic and Ronaldo emerge with praise while it has been a season to forget for Al-Ittihad and Neymar
A Saudi Arabian football season for the ages is in the can.
With the eyes of the world directed toward the Kingdom after last summer’s revolutionary transfer spree, we witnessed Al-Hilal in all-conquering form, Al-Nassr icon Cristiano Ronaldo showcase his evergreen abilities, and much more.
Here, Arab News dissects the high and lows from an unforgettable 2023-24:
Best team: Al-Hilal
Al-Hilal not only produced Saudi Arabia’s strongest campaign, but one of the greatest in football history.
Their numbers were staggering. The returning Jorge Jesus orchestrated a clean domestic sweep of Saudi Super Cup, Roshn Saudi League and King Cup; a World Record 34-consecutive victories across all competitions; won 31 out of 34 top-flight fixtures, netting 101 goals and conceding just 23.
They had to be this good to repeatedly disappoint 2023-24’s finest performer.
Best player: Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nassr)
Ronaldo stood tallest, even amid an injection of world-class talent.
A final-night brace against long-dethroned champions Al-Ittihad — emphatically celebrated — set a new benchmark for goals in a RSL season, with 35. Only Al-Ahli’s Riyad Mahrez (13) and compatriot Ruben Neves (12) bettered his 11 assists.
Moments of unmatched quality and unquenched desire underlined the 39-year-old’s merciless ability to defy the waning effects of time, especially November’s ludicrous lob against Al-Okhdood. There was even opportunity to collect four RSL match-balls, for hat-tricks.
Best Saudi player: Saud Abdulhamid (Al-Hilal)
Saud Abdulhamid deserved to head this prestigious list for unleashing a trademark ‘‘chair” celebration in April’s heated King’s Cup semifinal versus boyhood club Al-Ittihad, let alone his imperious 2023-24 displays.
The ceaseless 24-year-old right-back looked effortlessly at ease amid a stellar new cast. A career-best three league goals, also, equalled his tally from all prior campaigns.
Links to Ligue 1’s Toulouse provided a tantalising glimpse of a global future for this defender, who overshadowed celebrated colleague Salem Al-Dawsari and Al-Ahli’s 19-goal striker Firas Al-Buraikan.
Best coach: Pericles Chamusca (Al-Taawoun)
It takes something special to outshine Al-Hilal’s Jesus.
Pericles Chamusca delivered this for dark-horses Al-Taawoun. The gregarious Brazilian defied a slew of summer exits headlined by assist-machine Kaku and versatile Saudi Arabia defender Hassan Kadesh, plus winter sale of influential Spanish midfielder Alvaro Medran.
Amid this maelstrom, a fourth-placed finish — five-points ahead of fallen giants Al-Ittihad — secured AFC Champions League Two qualification. He departs to ambitious Yelo League-outfit NEOM SC with head held high.
Best goal: Bernard Mensah (Al-Tai 1-4 Al-Ahli)
Take your pick from Bernard Mensah’s monumental campaign at relegated Al-Tai.
February’s George Weah-esque run from deep through several Al-Ahli defenders and pin-point low finish past Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy just edges May’s logic-defying slaloming run through a packed penalty box against Al-Fateh.
Best signing: Aleksandar Mitrovic (Al-Hilal)
An addition who was worth the wait.
Al-Hilal spent all summer haggling with Fulham for their colossal Serbia center forward. This push was rewarded by 40 goals in 43 games, including an early King Cup final opener, hat-trick in September’s emblematic 4-3 victory at holders Al-Ittihad and brace in December’s 3-0 Riyadh Derby triumph versus Al-Nassr.
This prized eye-for-goal, plus an unquantifiable indefatigable nature, helped to move Mitrovic beyond team-mates Malcom and Neves, plus Al-Nassr’s Marcelo Brozovic, Al-Ahli’s Franck Kessie and Al-Fayha’s Fashion Sakala.
Worst signing: Habib Diallo (Al-Shabab)
Eighth-placed Al-Shabab’s season to forget was exemplified by Diallo’s travails.
The recruit from Strasbourg struck only six times in 30 league run-outs, also enduring a near five-month goal drought between his second and third strikes.
This middling contribution by the Senegal striker ranked lower than then-England captain Jordan Henderson’s brief sojourn at Ettifaq and a heart-breaking early end to a Brazil megastar’s campaign.
Biggest disappointment (Neymar — Al-Hilal)
Events on the other side of the globe reverberated in the Kingdom.
October’s catastrophic knee injury incurred by Neymar on World Cup 2026-qualifying duty for Brazil brought a shuddering halt to his Al-Hilal duties. This burst the rampant excitement generated by August’s epic unveiling in Riyadh, on arrival from Paris Saint-Germain.
The maverick Brazil forward only played three RSL games and netted a solitary AFC Champions League effort. There should be so much more to come in 2024-25.
Season to forget: Al-Ittihad
Things can only get better for Al-Ittihad after a dismal RSL title defense.
A quantum leap had been predicted once the end of a 14-year top-flight trophy wait was followed by the additions of Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema, France midfielder N’Golo Kante and Brazil anchorman Fabinho. RSL-winning manager Nuno Espirito Santo, however, departed in October with his deflated squad a distant sixth.
Coveted replacement Marcelo Gallardo then endured a one-sided 3-1 thumping by Egypt’s Al-Ahly in Jeddah during December’s Club World Cup’s quarter-finals, with the trophy-less team limping home fifth — 42 points behind Al-Hilal — and outside AFC Champions League Elite qualification. A disrupted campaign also saw Benzema net just 16 times in 33 run-outs.
Funniest moment: Noureddine Zekri’s survival celebration
A bewildered Sadio Mane came close with a hilarious pre-match double-take after seeing club-mate Ali Lajami’s mirror image of twin Qassem, in Al-Fateh’s line-up.
But nothing beats Noureddine Zekri’s iconic reaction to keeping debutants Al-Okhdood up. The 59-year-old manager went viral with a slow-motion run across the pitch and “superman” flop at the final whistle of matchweek 34’s relegation-decider at doomed Al-Tai.
Ones to watch: (Al-Qadsiah)
A club owned by Saudi Aramco are expected to make a big splash in 2024-25.
Dominant Yelo League winners Al-Qadsiah emphasized their expectant status last month by beating Roma to Uruguay midfielder Nahitan Nandez’s signature, with much more to come.
A repeat of promoted Al-Ahli’s charge to third is not out of the question, judging by early impressions. Their recent reputation as a yo-yo outfit should be shredded.
‘Al-Hilal have broken all the records possible’: Jorge Jesus and Yassine Bounou celebrate SPL Manager and Goalkeeper of the Season awards
- Riyadh club claimed an invincible title after winning 31 out of 34 league matches, with Bounou keeping 15 clean sheets
RIYADH: Al-Hilal duo Jorge Jesus and Yassine Bounou have spoken of their pride at receiving the Roshn Saudi League 2023/24 Manager and Goalkeeper of the Season awards.
An incredible campaign for Al-Hilal saw the Riyadh club claim an invincible title after winning 31 out of 34 league matches.
Jesus’ men also created football history, and global headlines, by setting a world, top-flight record for the number of successive victories — winning 34 games in a row across all competitions between September and April.
Appointed last summer for his second stint in charge of Al-Hilal, Jesus said: “It was a fantastic season. When I arrived in Saudi Arabia, I was thinking that we could be champions of the league, but not breaking all those records. Beyond being champions, we broke so many records — most goals scored, most wins, best defense, biggest points difference with the second-ranked team. In Saudi football history, Al-Hilal have broken all the records possible.
“I am very proud of my players, they have so much quality. We made a very strong group; beyond the technical ability, they first thought about the team. This made the successes appear more easily.”
The spine of Al-Hilal’s team was a major factor in their success over the season. At the base, goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, the Moroccan World Cup hero signed from Sevilla in the summer, was a constant reassuring presence. By earning 15 clean sheets and conceding the least number of goals, 20, Bounou was a deserved winner of the Roshn Saudi League 2023-24 Goalkeeper of the Season award. He played in 31 of Al-Hilal’s 34 league matches during the season.
Bounou said: “I’m really pleased to win the award. We had a very, very good season. And it was a very good experience for me too. I’m very happy. I think all the saves I have made are important. After that, I think it’s thanks to the whole team, to all the people who work around me. It’s really a group effort.
“It’s a great pleasure to be goalkeeper of the season. It’s not always easy to be consistent in football. This year, more or less, I’ve been able to find that consistency and now, as I said, I’m really pleased and it’s mainly thanks to those around me.”
Edouard Mendy, the Al-Ahli goalkeeper who also achieved 15 clean sheets, conceding 33 goals in the league season from the same number of games, ran Bounou very close for the award.
Speaking about the quality of the goalkeepers in the league, Bounou said: “It’s clear there are some very good goalkeepers out there. This year, Edouard showed that he was a top goalkeeper, a very great goalkeeper. He confirmed that throughout the season.”
Al-Hilal’s Guinness World Record, run between September and April, made news across the globe. Winning 28 games in a row — which was then increased to 34 — overtook Welsh club The News Saints’ run of 27 wins achieved in season 2016-17. Prior to that, the record stood for 44 years after Dutch giants Ajax’s 26-game winning streak between 1971 and 1972.
“At the beginning of the season, we weren’t thinking about it. It happened naturally,” Jesus said. “We were then told about this Guinness World Record — and then told that we could break this record of 27 consecutive wins. It was a motivation that we transmitted to the players, and they loved the idea. It was one of the keys to our success this season. Not only the Guinness World Record but the motivation, the objective of winning more than 27 consecutive matches. And we did more than 27, we won 34 consecutive matches.”
Asked if there was one specific match that stood out across the season, Jesus elected for a game before the winning run — the 4-3 victory in Jeddah over Al-Ittihad on Sept. 1 aided by Aleksandar Mitrovic’s hat-trick.
Jesus said: “Yes, there are always some games that make the difference during the season. The game which launched us on our path was the one against Al-Ittihad. Our 4-3 victory gave us huge confidence to keep believing in our objectives in the process of our training, and in the process of our games. And then, the objective of the Guinness World Record: ‘You have to keep winning, you have to keep winning.’ That put the players in a winning mentality. It was one of the key points for the team.”
Jesus previously managed Al-Hilal in season 2018-19, where he guided the club to Saudi Super Cup success. In between his two stints, Jesus also managed Flamengo in Brazil and Fenerbahce in Turkiye. He won trophies at both, much to the delight of each team’s supporters, and his triumphs at Al-Hilal have resulted in similar adoration from the club’s legions of followers.
Jesus said: “Coming from Flamengo, where 70,000 fans in every game were yelling for me — and coming from Turkiye, same thing, 50,000 fans, yelling my name in every game. So, I was used to this during my first year in Al-Hilal — ‘I love you, Jesus. I love you, Jesus.’ This is a mark of affection, and this is very important for me to feel that the fans love me.”
The 2023-24 campaign was a game-changing season for the Roshn Saudi League. It began with major internationals signings, such as Bounou joining the likes of Neymar, Ruben Neves and Mitrovic at Al-Hilal, with players such as Karim Benzema, Riyad Mahrez, Sadio Mane, N’Golo Kante and Georgino Wijnaldum joining other clubs. Some 156 players from 54 countries provided a crucial part of the game-changing Roshn Saudi League season.
Jesus said: “During my first stay in Al-Hilal, there was not such a quality of great players coming from Europe like now. Today, the Roshn Saudi League has a very high level, it is a top five league for me. Year after year, more great players will come to the league, and great managers will come as well. It will become a league that is very tough to win.”
