SASSUOLO, Italy: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen scored first-half goals as Napoli opened an 18-point lead in Serie A with a 2-0 win at Sassuolo on Friday.
Giovanni Simeone, the son of Atlético Madrid coach Diego Simeone, thought he’d made it 3-0 in injury time but his goal was ruled out for offside.
Simeone had come on late for Osimhen as Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti made his five substitutions presumably with Tuesday’s visit to Eintracht Frankfurt in mind.
His team had shown no sign of conserving any energy for the Champions League clash.
Kvaratskhelia got the visitors off to a great start in the 12th minute when he won the ball in the center circle and tore off toward goal, skipping over a challenge and then finding the space to shoot through a defender’s legs and inside the left post.
Armand Laurienté struck the post in response for Sassuolo before Osimhen took over. The Nigeria striker scored a hat trick in Napoli’s 4-0 win over Sassuolo in October and seemed keen to repeat the feat.
Osimhen hit the left post in the 27th, then scored in the 33rd, when he squeezed the ball inside the near post from a narrow angle despite facing two defenders.
Osimhen almost made it 3-0 minutes later when he headed just wide from Kvaratskhelia’s cross.
Laurienté replied with a fine finish for Sassuolo, but the goal was ruled out after a VAR check as teammate Gregoire Defrel was offside when he impeded Napoli defender Mathias Olivera.
Osimhen could have scored again after the break. He had an uncharacteristically poor touch with only goalkeeper Andrea Consigli to beat, then Consigli pulled off a good save as the visitors kept pushing forward.
Osimhen had to be content with one goal. He now has nine in his last seven league matches and 18 in Serie A this season.
Second-place Inter Milan hosts Udinese on Saturday.
Napoli increases lead at top of Serie A to 18 points
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Napoli increases lead at top of Serie A to 18 points
- Second-place Inter Milan hosts Udinese on Saturday
Bayer Leverkusen win the German Cup and complete undefeated domestic double
- Leverkusen won the Bundesliga unbeaten, a historic feat
- The only blip on the record of Xabi Alonso’s team this season was losing the Europa League final to Atalanta 3-0 on Wednesday in Dublin
BERLIN: Granit Xhaka’s early strike was enough for Bayer Leverkusen to win the German Cup final 1-0 over Kaiserslautern for an unbeaten domestic double on Saturday.
Xhaka fired the ball in under the crossbar from distance in the 16th minute. It proved to be enough against second-division Kaiserslautern despite losing defender Odilon Kossounou to a second yellow card just before the break.
Leverkusen won the Bundesliga unbeaten, a historic feat. The only blip on the record of Xabi Alonso’s team this season was losing the Europa League final to Atalanta 3-0 on Wednesday in Dublin. That ended Leverkusen’s record 51-game unbeaten run across all competitions. It was their only loss in 53 games this season.
“The whole journey, the whole season was wonderful,” the Spanish coach said after doubling Leverkusen’s trophy haul in just one season. “What we did this season is unbelievable.”
Alonso and his players ran to their fans after the whistle on Saturday in Berlin’s Olympiastadion. They had supported the team loudly throughout, though were drowned at times by the even more vociferous Kaiserslautern supporters.
They displayed a spectacular tifo of a red devil grasping the trophy in front of a hellish background of fire and brimstone before the game. Flares sending red smoke into the sky embellished the effect – and gave an inkling of what was to come.
The stadium announcer’s repeated requests to stop the pyrotechnics were met with continued indifference. The second half began to a huge fireworks display from the Leverkusen fans.
Despite the smoke above, there was little fire on the field after a long hard season. Kossounou was booked for stopping Kenny Prince Redondo’s break in the third minute, then issued another yellow for a foul on Boris Tomiak in the 44th.
It didn’t stop the Leverkusen machine from grinding out the win. Jeremie Frimpong should have made it 2-0 in the 75th after going past the goalkeeper.
It’s Leverkusen’s second German Cup title after beating Hertha Berlin’s reserve team in the 1993 final. Leverkusen’s other trophy is the 1988 UEFA Cup.
PSG win the French Cup and the double in Kylian Mbappe’s last game
- Mbappe: Now, I have nothing left with PSG. But I’m very happy to have been able to finish with a trophy
- PSG won the league and cup for the first time since 2020 when they achieved a domestic treble by also lifting the now defunct League Cup
VILLENEUVE D’ASCQ, France: Paris Saint-Germain beat Lyon 2-1 in the French Cup final and completed the domestic double in Kylian Mbappé’s last game for the club on Saturday.
France winger Ousmane Dembele and Spain midfielder Fabian Ruiz scored for PSG in the first half.
Lyon defender Jake O’Brien got a consolation goal in the second half.
PSG won the league and cup for the first time since 2020 when they achieved a domestic treble by also lifting the now defunct League Cup.
Mbappe celebrated with a big roar after the final whistle. With an equally big smile on his face, he hugged and high-fived his teammates. The ecstatic PSG staff lifted Mbappe and threw him in the air.
“You feel a bit more the weight of things because you realize that it’s really over,” Mbappe told broadcaster beIN Sports. “When I said goodbye to the Parc des Princes, there were still some games left, so you are still focused on what awaits you. Now, I have nothing left with PSG. But I’m very happy to have been able to finish with a trophy.”
Despite losing in the final, Lyon still qualified for the Europa League by finishing sixth in the league.
Dembélé opened the scoring in the 22nd minute by heading home a cross from Nuno Mendes.
Ruiz doubled the lead by converting a rebound in the 34th after his header was blocked by O’Brien.
Lyon goalkeeper Lucas Perri pulled off some outstanding saves in the opening minutes, denying Bradley Barcola and Warren Zaire-Emery, but misjudged the flight of the ball when Mendes made the cross for the opener.
O’Brien cut the deficit to 2-1 by heading in a corner in the 55th.
PSG has struggled in the air this season and nearly conceded from another corner in the 64th, but goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma tipped a header from Lyon left back Nicolas Tagliafico over the bar.
“The players are disappointed but let’s not forget that we must also be proud of what we have done,” Lyon coach Pierre Sage told broadcaster beIN Sports.
Lyon was bottom of the league in December but racked up more points than any other club in the second half of the season to finish sixth.
Mbappe tried hard to find the net in his last outing for PSG. A curling shot from the edge of the box didn’t trouble Perri in the 20th and he volleyed over the bar in the 41st.
In seven seasons with PSG, Mbappe has won 15 trophies, including four French Cups.
Although Mbappe did not add to his tally, he leaves as PSG’s all-time top scorer in all competitions with 256 in 308 appearances.
“I’m happy to have been part of its history and to have made it a bit,” Mbappe said.
The French Cup final was marred by violence as Lyon and PSG supporters clashed on a highway leading to the venue a few hours before kickoff.
Supporters threw flares and windows were smashed on buses full of supporters. Some buses were set on fire.
The match was relocated to Stade Pierre Mauroy in the north of France because of preparations for the Olympic Games.
Villeneuve d’Ascq became the first city outside the Greater Paris area to host the French Cup final since the competition’s inception in 1917.
Violence mars French Cup final as Lyon and PSG ultras clash before game
- Lyon and PSG ultras have a long-standing rivalry and were expected to travel to Villeneuve d’Ascq for the final
VILLENEUVE D’ASCQ, France: Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain supporters clashed on a highway leading to the venue of the French Cup final a few hours before kickoff on Saturday.
Supporters threw flares and windows were smashed on buses full of supporters. Some buses were set on fire.
The final was deemed a very high security risk by the national police division for the fight against hooliganism, which put the threat level at five on a scale of five, according to RMC Sport.
Lyon and PSG ultras have a long-standing rivalry and were expected to travel to Villeneuve d’Ascq for the final.
PSG supporters also caused trouble in the youth French Cup final, a curtain-raiser to the French Cup final, by throwing projectiles at Marseille Under-19 goalkeeper Aboubaka Dosso. The game was suspended for about 10 minutes in the second half before resuming. Marseille beat Nancy 4-1.
The French Cup final was relocated to Stade Pierre Mauroy in the north of France because of preparations in Paris for the Olympic Games. PSG beat Lyon 2-1.
Violence has stained French football all season.
A Nantes supporter was stabbed to death by a driver whose vehicle was carrying Nice supporters before a league game in December.
A league game between Montpellier and Clermont was abandoned in October after a Montpellier supporter threw onto the field a firecracker which exploded near Clermont goalkeeper Mory Diaw.
Also in October, a league game between Marseille and Lyon was postponed after then Lyon coach Fabio Grosso suffered a serious head injury when the team bus was hit by thrown objects on the way to Stade Velodrome, shattering some windows. Grosso’s deep cut above his left eye required stitches and he wore a large bandage around his head. Inside the stadium, Lyon supporters were also seen making Nazi salutes and monkey gestures.
Last month, a violent street brawl involved dozens of ultras before a game between Rennes and Toulouse. French media reports said one Toulouse fan needed hospital treatment for head trauma.
Ultras have been targeting buses carrying supporters and there have been more than a dozen attacks this season.
Jofra Archer stars as England beat Pakistan in second T20
- Skipper Jos Buttler, who smashed 84 off 51 balls, was the star of the England batting
- Babar Azam praises Pakistani bowlers but says that the team could not finish well
BIRMINGHAM: Jofra Archer claimed two wickets on his long-awaited return to international cricket as England beat Pakistan by 23 runs at Edgbaston to move 1-0 up in the four-match T20 series.
England captain Jos Buttler won man-of-the-match after he smashed 84 off 51 balls to set the hosts a target of 184.
But it was Archer’s return that caught the eye as he made a case for selection in next month’s T20 World Cup in the United States and West Indies no harm.
The fast bowler has been beset by elbow injuries since his starring role in helping England win the 50-over World Cup in 2019.
On his first international appearance for 14 months, and first on home soil since 2020, Archer bounced back from an expensive first over, which went for 15 runs, to finish with two for 28.
“I thought Jofra Archer was brilliant,” said Buttler. “You could see his emotion taking wickets for England again but we need to temper those expectations because he’s not going to be the same straight away.
“I’m really pleased with the whole bowling group.”
Muhammad Rizwan was removed in the first over by Moeen Ali and Reece Topley took three wickets for 41.
Buttler was the star of the England batting with three sixes and eight fours.
He was ably supported by 37 from Will Jacks and Jonny Bairstow’s 21 but England failed to build on the platform given to them by their skipper.
Five wickets fell for just 25 runs as Pakistan battled back with Shaheen Shah Afridi the pick of the bowlers, taking 3-36.
“We got them to a par score, our bowlers bowled very well and we had our moments when we were batting,” said Pakistan captain Babar Azam.
Fakhar Zaman’s 45 from 21 balls gave the Pakistan chase some impetus, but after he departed the pace of Archer, Topley and Chris Jordan ripped through the tourists’ tail with four balls to spare.
“We didn’t finish well. We had a small partnership, myself and Fakhar but we didn’t get any other 40 or 50 partnerships that England did,” added Azam.
England lead the four-match series 1-0 after the first match was washed out on Wednesday.
Crespo’s Al Ain beat Yokohama 5-1 to win Asian Champions League
- Al Ain won the inaugural Champions League final in 2003 and were runners-up in 2005 and 2016
- Crespo had promised “hell” for Yokohama and thousands of fans in white robes and headdresses let off flares and chanted outside before packing out Hazza bin Zayed Stadium
AL-AIN, UAE: Hernan Crespo’s Al Ain steamrollered 10-man Yokohama F-Marinos 5-1 in the Asian Champions League final return leg to lift the trophy for the second time in their history on Saturday.
The hosts trailed 2-1 from the away fixture but two goals from Soufiane Rahimi, a Kaku penalty and Kodjo Laba’s late double ensured a 6-3 aggregate victory after Yokohama goalkeeper William Popp saw red just before half-time.
Al Ain, the United Arab Emirates’ most successful club, won the inaugural Champions League final in 2003 and were runners-up in 2005 and 2016.
Harry Kewell’s Yokohama were attempting to become the fourth Japanese winners after Gamba Osaka, Kashima Antlers and three-time winners Urawa Red Diamonds.
The win will be all the sweeter for Crespo after the 2005 European Champions League final, when the ex-Argentina international scored twice for AC Milan before Kewell’s Liverpool came back to win on penalties.
Crespo had promised “hell” for Yokohama and thousands of fans in white robes and headdresses let off flares and chanted outside before packing out Hazza bin Zayed Stadium.
With temperatures still hovering above 30 degrees Celsius (97 degrees Fahrenheit) at the 8:00 p.m. kick-off, Al Ain were ahead after just nine minutes.
Yahia Nader’s sweet backheel wrong-footed the defense and tournament top-scorer Rahimi rifled a low shot into the net for his 12th of the competition.
Ken Matsubara had a fizzing shot tipped wide but Al Ain doubled their advantage in the 34th minute after Shinnosuke Hatanaka brought down Rahimi in the box.
After a VAR review, Uzbek referee Ilgiz Tantashev pointed to the spot and Paraguay international Kaku smashed it into the bottom right, sparking delirium in the stands.
Al Ain’s joy was doused as Yokohama’s Yan Matheus stole a bouncing ball from Kouame Kouadio, then turned the defender inside-out and finished left-footed to make it 2-1 and 3-3 on aggregate.
But the half — which stretched to an extraordinary 62 minutes — finished badly for Yokohama when goalkeeper William Popp felled the on-rushing Rahimi and was sent off deep into injury time.
After the restart, a depleted Yokohama lived dangerously when Hatanaka, under pressure from Rahimi, parried a deep cross onto his own crossbar.
The visitors were creaking and on 67 minutes, Rahimi picked up a rebound, rounded a defender and lashed it past substitute ‘keeper Fuma Shirasaka at his near post.
The goal knocked the stuffing out of Yokohama, who also had Hatanaka stretchered off, and Togolese substitute Laba pierced their porous defense twice in another long spell of injury time.
Al Ain had already won bragging rights over neighboring Saudi Arabia, whose teams spent more than a billion dollars on players including Cristiano Ronaldo last year, with their Asian campaign.
Crespo’s side ousted Ronaldo’s Al Nassr in the quarter-finals before halting Al Hilal’s top-flight-record streak of 34 consecutive wins when they met in the semis.
With their victory, Al Ain also reach the new-look, 32-team Club World Cup, whose inaugural staging is scheduled for June and July next year in the United States.
