NAPLES, Italy: Napoli can finally end a 33-year wait for the Serie A title on Sunday when they take on Salernitana with potentially one more win enough to take them over the line.
Authorities in Naples are steeling themselves for a wave of partying should the current crop of stars emulate Diego Maradona and seal a third Scudetto for Napoli, with fans ready to unleash an explosion of joy after three decades of pent-up frustration.
In order to win the league a record-breaking six matches before the end of the season, Napoli have to hope closest challengers Lazio do not to win at Inter Milan in Sunday’s early kick-off.
Luciano Spalletti’s side will then seal the deal if they beat Salernitana in what will be a colorful stadium named after their Argentine icon.
Whether it comes on Sunday, midweek against Udinese or the following weekend against Fiorentina, Spalletti says Napoli need to emulate icon Diego Maradona, the talisman behind their previous two titles in 1987 and 1990, and give fans the chance to let loose in southern Italy’s biggest city over May Day weekend.
“It’s above all about them who we should be thinking about... Let’s think about them because they’ve had the joy of watching a group of committed players who give everything for them,” added Spalletti.
“They have shown a lot for us, and have been really important in us having such an exciting end of season.”
The match with Salernitana was pushed back a day as a security measure due to a number of other events happening in the city, including a major comic book convention being held all weekend a stone’s throw from the Stadio Maradona.
The decision angered Salernitana owner Danilo Iervolino, who told the Gazzetta Dello Sport on Saturday that it “sets a very dangerous precedent.”
Iervolino is livid as his team, who are not safe from relegation, have one day less to prepare for Wednesday’s home match with Fiorentina.
“No-one has thought about our needs,” said Iervolino.
“The dignity of one team has been trampled on in favor of another team’s... I hope it never happens again.”
With a 17-point lead at the top there is next to no chance of Napoli not winning the league, even if it doesn’t come this weekend.
As such, Naples has been raring to party for weeks, with flags, banners and cardboard cutouts of players dotted around the city that is preparing for an invasion of supporters from all over Italy.
Enthusiasm is such that some fans have even floated the idea of celebrating by setting off a small artillery’s worth of flares on the summit of Mount Vesuvius to simulate an eruption of Europe’s last remaining active volcano.
Opposition supporters often insult Naples and Neapolitans with offensive chants about Vesuvius “washing with fire” the city, taunts that Napoli fans have reappropriated and thrown back at their rivals.
The plan has been blasted by the Vesuvius National Park Authority, who called the idea “dangerous and not feasible” and asked local authorities to stop any intrusion on the volcano’s fragile ecosystem.
Napoli ready to end long wait for Italian title
https://arab.news/wmjm9
Napoli ready to end long wait for Italian title
- Luciano Spalletti’s side will then seal the deal if they beat Salernitana in what will be a colorful stadium named after their Argentine icon
Kroos criticizes match officials for offside call in Bayern-Madrid semifinal
- “It’s bad handling. You have to let play continue,” the Germany player said in a podcast he runs with his brother Felix.
- “I think the mistake is primarily the linesman’s”
BERLIN: Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos criticized match officials for their controversial offside call which benefited his team against Bayern Munich during the Champions League semifinals.
Bayern defender Matthijs de Ligt thought he’d equalized to send last week’s game to extra time when he fired the ball into Madrid’s net in the 13th minute of stoppage time.
But referee Szymon Marciniak had already blown his whistle after his assistant quickly raised his flag for a possible offside infringement.
Too quickly, Kroos said Wednesday.
“It’s bad handling. You have to let play continue,” the Germany player said in a podcast he runs with his brother Felix. “I think the mistake is primarily the linesman’s.”
Bayern were trailing 2-1 and needed a goal to force extra time to keep alive their hopes of reaching the final. UEFA tells match officials not to stop play immediately for tight offside calls. And TV replays showed it was a very close call.
“If he raises the flag now, the referee assumes that his linesman sees it exactly that way and trusts him that it was probably three meters offside,” said Kroos, who said he understood Bayern’s frustrations.
“The anger is justified because you just have to play the situation to the end, 100 percent.”
Kroos said he was unsure if Madrid defenders would have stopped de Ligt’s shot had there not been an intervention from the referee.
“I don’t know if there was a collective switching off because you could hear the whistle very early,” Kroos said. “You could tell the tension dropped among everyone who wanted to defend this goal.”
Madrid won the second leg 2-1 to reach the final in London on June 1.
Borussia Dortmund will try to stop the Spanish giant from claiming its 15th European title.
Real Madrid present Spanish league trophy to fans and then rout Alaves 5-0
- Coach Carlo Ancelotti used the regular starters again after giving them some rest in a 4-0 win at Granada
- It was the ninth straight league win for Madrid and sixth in their last seven matches in all competitions
MADRID: Real Madrid presented their 36th Spanish league trophy to their fans at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Tuesday, then followed up the celebrations with a 5-0 rout of Alaves that featured a pair of goals by Vinicius Junior and another by Jude Bellingham.
Federico Valverde and Arda Guler also scored for Madrid, who were yet to play at the Bernabeu since clinching the league two rounds ago. The club celebrated the title on Sunday through the streets of Madrid, but it couldn’t go through its traditional celebration at the Bernabeu because of a concert at the stadium.
They couldn’t celebrate when they clinched the title in advance with a win against Cadiz on May 4 because it had to play Bayern Munich a few days later in the semifinals of the Champions League, a game they won 2-1 to make it to the June 1 final against Borussia Dortmund in London.
“I’m really pleased with the team’s performance, we need to get into a good rhythm. We have a very important game left to crown our season,” Vinicius said. “We always enjoy wearing this shirt and playing for these fans at this stadium. My dream since I was a child was to play here and now we have the opportunity to deliver this victory for many kids who want to be here but can’t.”
Alaves’ players gave Madrid a guard of honor before the match, lining up near the sideline and applauding Madrid players as they entered the field. Madrid captain Nacho Fernandez stepped onto the field carrying the league trophy.
The other 35 league trophies were represented in images placed around the midfield circle.
Coach Carlo Ancelotti used the regular starters again after giving them some rest in a 4-0 win at Granada on Saturday.
Bellingham opened the scoring in the 10th minute, Vinicius scored his first goal in the 27th and Valverde found the net in first-half stoppage time. Vinícius got his second in the 70th and Guler sealed the result in the 81st.
It was the ninth straight league win for Madrid and sixth in their last seven matches in all competitions. They reached 93 points from 36 matches, 17 points more than second-place Barcelona.
Earlier, relegation-threatened Mallorca drew 1-1 at Osasuna, moving to 15th place and staying seven points from the demotion zone.
Girona missed a chance to overcome Barcelona for second place after a 1-0 loss to mid-table Villarreal at home. Girona stayed in third place after the loss, one point from Barcelona and five ahead of fourth-place Atletico Madrid.
Atletico visit mid-table Getafe on Wednesday, while Barcelona are at last-place Almeria on Thursday.
Haaland double puts Man City on brink of Premier League history
- The build-up to the game in north London was dominated by a fierce debate over whether home fans wanted their own team to lose in order to leave City in the driving seat, with Arsenal their nearest challengers
LONDON: Erling Haaland scored twice to settle Manchester City’s nerves as the Premier League champions beat Tottenham 2-0 to take a giant step toward a historic fourth consecutive English title on Tuesday.
The Norwegian forward tapped home a pinpoint Kevin De Bruyne cross early in the second half to score City’s first-ever league goal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and netted a late penalty to seal the three points.
It takes Pep Guardiola’s team two points clear of Arsenal at the top of the table and means victory at the Etihad against West Ham on Sunday will make them champions for a fourth straight season, regardless of the Gunners’ result against Everton.
No team in English top-flight history has ever won four titles in a row.
Defeat for Spurs also guarantees that Aston Villa will finish in the fourth Champions League spot, joining City, Arsenal and Liverpool in Europe’s top-tier competition next season.
The build-up to the game in north London was dominated by a fierce debate over whether home fans wanted their own team to lose in order to leave City in the driving seat, with Arsenal their nearest challengers.
The Spurs supporters made their feelings toward their bitter local rivals clear in the opening minutes, with chants of “Stand up if you hate Arsenal” ringing around the stadium.
Both sides settled quickly and Spurs had the first sight of goal when a raking ball from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg found Brennan Johnson on the right.
Johnson squared for Rodrigo Bentancur, who unleashed a fierce shot that Ederson tipped over.
Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario kept out Phil Foden’s close-range shot after 15 minutes with a strong right hand.
City, who came into the match on an unbeaten run of 21 matches, were short of their fluent best while Spurs struggled to put the finishing touches to their attacking moves.
The game opened up toward the end of the first period, with City defender Josko Gvardiol flashing a shot over the bar from a tight angle but the sides finished the opening 45 minutes with just one shot on target apiece.
Moments after the re-start Vicario was forced to dive full length to keep out a stinging De Bruyne effort while Son Heung-min went close at the other end after being found by Johnson.
But City broke the deadlock in the 51st minute when Bernardo Silva found De Bruyne in the box and the Belgian crossed for Haaland to slot home from point-blank range.
Thousands of Spurs fans chanted “Are you watching Arsenal” as the City fans celebrated in their corner.
The game then became disjointed as first De Bruyne was hurt by a Pape Sarr tackle on his ankle before Ederson took a blow to the head in denying Cristian Romero and was replaced minutes later by Stefan Ortega.
The German was called into action immediately, keeping out substitute Dejan Kulusevski’s close-range shot with his legs.
The visitors’ hearts were in their mouths when Son burst through with five minutes of normal time remaining but Ortega saved with his legs when he seemed likely to score.
Guardiola fell to the ground, clutching his head in disbelief.
Instead City were awarded a penalty when Pedro Porro brought down substitute Jeremy Doku and Haaland smashed home in the 91st minute to spark wild celebrations from the players in front of the City faithful, taking his league tally to 27 goals for the season.
Last year’s treble winners will prepare for Sunday’s finale knowing they stand just 90 minutes away from creating another slice of football history.
Abu Dhabi owners of Man City and Girona given options to meet Champions League entry rules
- The teams have severely tested UEFA’s rules on multi-club ownership that guard against collusion in games
- Failing to comply with UEFA’s rules with a proposal by June 3 should see one of the two teams, likely Girona, demoted to the second-tier Europa League
GENEVA: The Abu Dhabi investors in Manchester City and Girona have been offered divestment options by UEFA to let both compete in the Champions League next season by complying with integrity rules for teams that share owners.
Girona have made a stunning run to a guaranteed top-four finish in Spain’s La Liga, with three key players either loaned or sold via Man City’s influence including Brazilian star Sávio.
On merit, Girona will join Man City, the 2023 Champions League winner which will finish in the top two of the English Premier League.
But the teams have severely tested UEFA’s rules on multi-club ownership that guard against collusion in games.
Failing to comply with UEFA’s rules with a proposal by June 3 should see one of the two teams, likely Girona, demoted to the second-tier Europa League. The team finishing higher in their domestic league take priority.
According to a UEFA document seen on Tuesday by The Associated Press, two options are open to City Football Group (CFG), the Abu Dhabi-created operation with stakes in 13 clubs worldwide including 100 percent of Man City and 47 percent of Girona.
CFG could solve the problem by selling shares to an independent third party that reduces one ownership stake to below 30 percent, or transfer all shares in one club to a blind trust overseen by a panel appointed by UEFA.
The trustee could be picked by CFG in a UEFA-approved model that applied this season in a compliance deal for AC Milan, Toulouse and their United States investor Red Bird Capital.
The multi-club ownership issue for UEFA and CFG has loomed since Girona’s league-leading fast start in September.
UEFA declined comment all season pending Girona’s confirmed qualification in the Champions League this month.
On Tuesday, UEFA’s club finance monitoring panel wrote to soccer stakeholders to clarify updates to its multi-club rules for entry to European club competitions that were first drafted in the 1998-99 season.
Man City and Girona drew scrutiny for CFG having “decisive influence” over both because the Abu Dhabi operation holds at least 30 percent of the shares in both, and because of the clubs’ transfer dealings this season.
Girona seemed to meet the UEFA panel’s criteria for clubs that “transferred, permanently or temporarily, three or more players with the other club, directly or indirectly via related parties, during the season.”
Girona have two players on their squad who belong to other CFG clubs: Right back Yan Couto, on loan from Man City, and winger Sávio, on loan from French club Troyes.
Sávio is the revelation of the season in Spain. His dribbling and speed on the left flank has caused mayhem in opposing defenses. The 20-year-old has scored 10 times and is one of the league’s top assist-makers with nine passes for goals.
Couto has excelled in joining in the attack from his position of right back, delivering eight assists. Both are in Brazil’s squad for the end-of-season Copa America in the US
After completing a loan at Girona, City also then sold Venezuela midfielder Yangel Herrera to their sibling club last July.
Man City was bought in 2008 by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and a member of Abu Dhabi’s royal family.
The CFG was formed five years later, with Man City — by now a Premier League champion for the first time — acting as the flagship club in a worldwide portfolio that soon contained teams across multiple continents.
First came New York City in 2013, then Melbourne City in Australia’s A-League, Girona in Spain, Yokohama F. Marinos in Japan, Sichuan Jiuniu FC in China, Club Atletico Torque in Uruguay and Mumbai City in India joined the group, which also had a “collaboration agreement” with Venezuelan team Atletico Venezuela.
In recent years, the CFG has acquired stakes in European clubs Lommel in Belgium, Palermo in Italy and Troyes.
PSG star Mbappe will join Madrid: La Liga chief
- “He’s Madrid’s next season, yes,” Tebas told Argentine daily sports newspaper Ole
- Mbappe is set to join a star-studded Madrid team led by Brazil’s Vinicius Junior and England international Jude Bellingham
BUENOS AIRES: La Liga president Javier Tebas says Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe will join Real Madrid next season.
The 25-year-old France captain announced last week he is leaving PSG at the end of his contract this summer, without specifying his destination, and Madrid are poised to sign him after years of failed attempts.
“He’s Madrid’s next season, yes,” Tebas told Argentine daily sports newspaper Ole on Monday.
“If they’ve signed a five-year deal, he has five seasons of opportunity (to win the Champions League).”
Mbappe is set to join a star-studded Madrid team led by Brazil’s Vinicius Junior and England international Jude Bellingham.
Los Blancos strolled to the Spanish title and are in the Champions League final at Wembley against Borussia Dortmund on June 1.
“(Mbappe) is one of the best players in the world, but Vinicius and Bellingham are there too, Madrid will have a great squad,” continued Tebas. “But that does not guarantee you will win leagues.”
Mbappe is PSG’s all-time record scorer with 256 goals, having joined the club from Monaco in 2017 for 180 million euros ($194 million).
With PSG he won six French league titles but failed to earn Champions League glory, finishing as runners-up to Bayern Munich in 2020.
By joining record 14-time winners Real Madrid, Mbappe would increase his chances of finally earning club football’s most prestigious trophy.
