PARIS: Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne is targeting another deep Champions League run, although Pep Guardiola’s side must first negotiate a tricky last 16 second-leg against Monaco this week.
City recovered from twice falling behind to outgun the French league leaders 5-3 in the opening leg in Manchester, but Monaco’s formidable attacking threat could still shatter the Premier League club’s aspirations.
Under Manuel Pellegrini last season City reached the semifinals for the first time, losing to eventual champions Real Madrid 1-0 on aggregate, and De Bruyne is confident they can go further with Guardiola.
“I think we can reach the final, but of course the other teams will think the same and that doesn’t make it easier,” the Belgium international told UEFA.com
“It will be very tough against Monaco, they’re doing extremely well at the moment, but we are very positive and if we beat them we are through to the quarterfinals.
“After that, the final isn’t that far away,” he added.
Guardiola has won all seven previous last-16 ties with Barcelona and Bayern Munich, but City’s recent away form is mediocre at best with just one victory in their last six games in Europe.
“We’d like to go through, but we cannot forget the team we are going to play. Their attack is the best, by far,” Guardiola said after City defeated Middlesbrough 2-0 on Saturday to reach the FA Cup semifinals.
“It will be tough but we’ll try to play our game and try to be one of the best eight teams in Europe.”
Radamel Falcao, who scored twice at the Etihad Stadium, is set to return to the starting line-up on Wednesday after coming off the bench in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Bordeaux that kept Monaco three points clear at the top.
Eighteen-year-old starlet Kylian Mbappe has scored nine goals in his last eight appearances, including the opener against Bordeaux, and will have a key role to play if Monaco are to continue their strong record in two-legged ties against English teams, having won four out of five times.
Jamie Vardy’s goal in Spain ensured Leicester City remain firmly in the hunt for a quarterfinal berth despite a 2-1 first-leg defeat at Sevilla.
The Foxes used a 10-day gap in the fixture list to hold a training camp in Dubai ahead of Tuesday’s return leg at the King Power Stadium.
Craig Shakespeare has been named as the club’s manager until the end of the season, and Austrian left-back Christian Fuchs said the trip to the Middle East was a welcome breather.
“It was an intense time over the last couple of weeks. It’s good to come down and work a little on team spirit. When you win two games, that’s the best medicine for team spirit,” Fuchs told Leicester’s in-house TV channel, with the Premier League champions coming off back-to-back 3-1 wins over Liverpool and Hull.
Fernando Torres is expected to return for Atletico Madrid for their second leg at home to Bayer Leverkusen after a sickening clash of heads in a 1-1 draw with Deportivo La Coruna 10 days ago.
Diego Simeone’s side, runners-up twice in the past three seasons, hold a 4-2 advantage going into Wednesday’s clash in Spain.
Captain Gabi and defender Filipe Luis are suspended for Atletico, while Tayfun Korkut is the new man in charge for Leverkusen after replacing Roger Schmidt last week.
Porto faces a monumental challenge to overturn a 2-0 deficit away to 2015 finalists Juventus.
The Italian giants are unbeaten at home since August 2015 and extended their incredible 17-month winning league run in Serie A as Paulo Dybala scored a controversial last-gasp penalty in a 2-1 victory over AC Milan last Friday.
Man.City dreams big as Leicester wrestles Sevilla
Man.City dreams big as Leicester wrestles Sevilla
FIA President Ben Sulayem welcomes Trump to Miami Grand Prix
- The former US president witnessed maiden Formula 1 win for McLaren’s Lando Norris
MIAMI: Former US president Donald Trump was welcomed to the Miami Grand Prix by FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, where he saw McLaren’s Lando Norris notch up his first Formula 1 victory.
Sunday’s race saw British driver Norris take the checkered flag from three-time world champion Max Verstappen in the Red Bull Racing car. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc came third.
Trump, along with a number of famous athletes and other celebrities, delighted the audience by engaging with fans and attendees. He was also invited behind the scenes to tour the McLaren pit garage accompanied by the team’s CEO, American Zak Brown.
A spokesman for the Miami Grand Prix said the race weekend had sold out, with more than 275,000 fans in attendance to witness the high-octane atmosphere and exciting result.
Sandhagen to face Nurmagomedov at UFC fight night in Abu Dhabi
- The event will take place at the Etihad Arena on Aug 3
ABU DHABI: UFC has announced that its return to Abu Dhabi will see No. 2 ranked bantamweight Cory Sandhagen face No. 9 ranked Umar Nurmagomedov on Saturday, Aug. 3 at Etihad Arena.
Tickets for the event, held in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism — Abu Dhabi go on sale from on Tuesday, May 7
Sandhagen, with a record of 17-4 and fighting out of Aurora, Colorado, returns to the UAE capital to cement his status as top contender in the bantamweight division. The Colorado native boasts wins over Rob Font, Chito Vera, and soon-to-be UFC Hall of Famer Frankie Edgar. He now hopes for a convincing win over rising star Nurmagomedov to make his case for a title shot.
Nurmagomedov, 17-0, fighting out of Chelyabinsk, Russia, looks to put the division on notice by taking out a top-ranked opponent and making his first Octagon appearance in Abu Dhabi. He made his mark in the division after delivering dominant performances over Raoni Barcelos, Brian Kelleher and Sergey Morozov.
Now, he sets his sights on securing the biggest win of his career by getting his hand raised against Sandhagen.
Al-Itttihad fined $37,000 for King’s Cup misconduct
- The reigning Saudi Pro League champions lost 2-1 to Al-Hilal last week in the semifinals of the Kingdom’s renowned competition
RIYADH: Al-Ittihad Football Club have been fined $37,000 (SR140,000) for misconduct by players and fans in its recent 2-1 defeat by Al-Hilal in the semi-final of the King’s Cup.
A statement issued by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation’s disciplinary and ethics committee said Abderrazak Hamdallah and Saad Al-Mousa were each fined around $5,300 for not fulfilling their post-match media duties.
The committee also imposed a fine of $27,000 on the Jeddah club after fans threw bottles at opposition players from the stands. Nobody was harmed as a result of the incidents.
The authorities stressed that the three decisions are not subject to appeal.
Mitchell rallies Cavs for series-clinching Game 7 win over Magic
- Cavs move on to second round a year after a stinging first-round loss to the New York Knicks
- The Celtics will host Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Tuesday
LOS ANGELES: Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers silenced the young guns of Orlando, beating the Magic 106-94 in Game 7 of their NBA playoffs first-round series Sunday to book a meeting with Eastern Conference top seeds Boston.
It was another magisterial performance from Mitchell, who scored 39 points two days after pouring in 50 in the Cavs’ Game 6 defeat.
This time he had plenty of scoring support from teammates as the Cavs erased an 18-point second-quarter deficit to clinch a series in which the home team won every game.
Caris LeVert scored 15 points off the bench and Max Strus scored 11 of his 13 points in the third quarter, when the Cavs outscored the Magic 33-15 to take charge.
Evan Mobley scored 11 points with 16 rebounds and five blocked shots and Darius Garland chipped in 12 points to help Cleveland withstand a 38-point performance from Paolo Banchero.
The Cavs, with starting center Jarrett Allen sidelined a third straight game with bruised ribs, moved on to the second round a year after a stinging first-round loss to the New York Knicks.
“I didn’t want to go home,” Mitchell said of the mindset that saw him score 17 points in the third quarter as he virtually willed Cleveland to the lead.
The Magic delivered a strong first punch, Banchero scoring 10 points in the first period as Orlando grabbed a 24-18.
In the face of Orlando’s suffocating defense the Cavs connected on just six of 22 shots in the first quarter and didn’t make a three-pointer until Sam Merrill drilled one midway through the second quarter.
The Magic pushed their lead to as many as 18 points in the second quarter before the Cavs clawed back to cut the lead to single digits.
Banchero’s layup in the closing seconds of the first half saw Orlando take a 10-point lead into the break, but momentum was on Cleveland’s side and they overwhelmed the Magic in the third.
“I didn’t feel our confidence waver much, even when we had 18 points in the first quarter,” Mitchell said.
“They came out and jumped on us,” he added, saying the key was for the Cavs “to respond the way we did, keep plugging, just keep chipping away.”
Mitchell, again relentless in the paint, tied it at 64-64 with a floater and LeVert drained a pair of free throws to give the Cavs their first lead since the first quarter.
Strus hit back-to-back three-pointers as Cleveland built a 76-68 lead going into the final period.
The Cavs pushed their advantage to 14 points in the final frame, fans chanting “We want Boston” as the final minutes ticked off.
The Celtics will host Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Tuesday, and Mitchell vowed the Cavaliers will be ready for the team that posted the best record in the regular season.
“We didn’t make the group we made just to win the first round,” he said. “We accomplished one goal. Now we have to do it again.”
It was a crushing end to a strong season for the Magic, collectively the second-youngest team in the playoffs behind the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Wendell Carter Jr. scored 13 points and Jalen Suggs added 10 for the Magic, but Franz Wagner was held to just six as Orlando remained in search of a first playoff series victory since 2010.
Mitchell heaped praise 21-year-old Banchero, the top pick in the 2022 draft.
Banchero himself said the Magic’s fight back from 0-2 down in the series to force game seven “just shows where we’re headed.”
Sporting Lisbon win Portuguese league after Benfica stumble
- Last season’s victors stumbled 2-0 at Famalicao to complete Sporting’s triumph after Ruben Amorim’s triumphant side thrashed Portimonense 3-0 on Saturday
- Sporting will face Porto in the Portuguese Cup final on May 26, aiming to secure a double
LISBON: Sporting Lisbon were crowned champions of Portugal for only the second time in 21 years on Sunday after second-placed Benfica lost.
Last season’s victors stumbled 2-0 at Famalicao to complete Sporting’s triumph after Ruben Amorim’s triumphant side thrashed Portimonense 3-0 on Saturday.
Sporting, the division’s top scorers by far with 92 goals in 32 matches, are eight points clear of Benfica with just two games remaining.
Amorim’s side have lost just two times this season on the way to securing the club’s 20th league title, trailing Porto on 30 and record winners Benfica on 38.
Swedish forward Viktor Gyokeres’ goals have powered Sporting’s title success and he netted his 27th of the campaign on Saturday to wrap up their victory.
The striker signed from Coventry City last summer for a club record fee of 20 million euros ($21.5 million) plus add-ons.
It is the second league trophy brought to the club by former Benfica player Amorim, who led Sporting to glory in the 2020/21 season.
Sporting will face Porto in the Portuguese Cup final on May 26, aiming to secure a double.
