PARIS: Arsenal and Chelsea closed in on the Europa League last four on Thursday after the Gunners saw off highly-fancied Napoli 2-0 at the Emirates, while Marco Alonso’s late header earned Maurizio Sarri’s side a hard-fought win at Slavia Prague.
Unai Emery’s Arsenal hold a healthy advantage going into next week’s second leg thanks to a fine early strike from Juventus-bound Aaron Ramsey and an unfortunate Kalidou Koulibaly own goal midway through the first half, and can rue missed chances that would have put the tie completely beyond the Italians’ reach.
“To keep a clean sheet and score a couple of goals is a lovely way to start the first leg. We’re delighted with that,” said Ramsey, who should have added the third when he blazed over with nine minutes left, to BT Sport.
“We can go into the second leg with a little bit of a cushion, but we know it will be a difficult place to go... They are a quality team.”
Chelsea meanwhile escaped from Eden Arena after a bitty display that saw Kepa Arrizabalaga have to make some fine saves to keep the Czechs out before Alonso nodded home Willian’s pinpoint cross four minutes from time to seal a 1-0 win.
The Blues remain unbeaten in the Europa League, keeping eight clean sheets in the competition this season, and it was that solidity that saw them through on a tricky evening in Prague.
The Premier League pair remain on a collision course for the final in Baku, with both sides set to avoid each other if they make it through next week’s second legs.
Arsenal were all over Napoli from the kick-off and got their deserved opener with 14 minutes on the clock, Ramsay waltzing in at the end of a beautiful passing move to calmly stroke home Ainsley Maitland-Niles’s neat lay-off.
Napoli were completely out of sorts, barely able to get the ball out of their own half at times, and 10 minutes later the Gunners doubled their lead.
Former Sampdoria midfielder Lucas Torreira won possession in midfield and charged toward goal before letting off a weak shot that flicked off Koulibaly and flew past a bamboozled Alex Meret in the Napoli goal.
Arsenal should have made more of their first-half dominance over Carlo Ancelotti’s slipshod side, but were not punished by the Serie A outfit, who through Piotr Zielinski should have bagged an away goal to take back to Naples in the second half.
“I was surprised by the lack of courage and personality from my players at the start,” Carlo Ancelotti told Sky Sport.
“Turning this around will be difficult now, but we’ll be home at the San Paolo, and our supporters will help us.”
Arsenal will almost certainly take on Valencia should they hold on at what will be an intimidating Stadio San Paolo after the La Liga side scored twice in stoppage time to win 3-1 at fellow Spaniards Villarreal.
Goncalo Guedes scored twice, including what could be the decisive third three minutes into added time, as Marcelino’s side struck with two clinical breakaway goals to give them a great chance of making the semis.
Chelsea meanwhile will likely play Benfica should they go through after 19-year-old Joao Felix became the youngest ever player to score a Europa League hat-trick and set up the other goal in 4-2 win over Eintracht Frankfurt that leaves the Bundesliga side, who had to play with 10 men for 70 minutes, with an uphill task to make the last four in Germany next week.
Felix, a revelation in his first season in the Benfica first team, got the ball rolling from the spot in the 21st minute after Evan N’Dicka was sent off for shoving over goal-bound Gedson Fernandes.
He put the hosts back in front just before the break after Luka Jovic — on loan from Benfica — scored a shock leveller against his parent club in the 40th minute.
Ruben Dias made it three when he headed in Felix’s flick-on a from a corner, and the 19-year-old side-footed home Alex Grimaldo’s cross to complete his treble nine minutes into the second half, before Goncalo Paciencia pulled one back with his head from a corner to keep the tie alive.
Arsenal, Chelsea put one foot in Europa League semis
Arsenal, Chelsea put one foot in Europa League semis
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.
