MANCHESTER: Manchester City moved closer to qualifying for the Champions League as Kevin De Bruyne sealed a vital 1-0 win against Wolves on Friday.
Pep Guardiola’s side are embroiled in a tense battle for a top five finish in the Premier League and De Bruyne lifted them to third place with his first half strike at the Etihad Stadium.
For just the second time in a turbulent campaign, City have reeled off five successive wins in all competitions.
It was a major boost to City’s hopes of securing a place in Europe’s elite club competition.
“We are better than we were weeks ago. If we play like we did today, it is really good but we cannot relax. Winning in that way is good because it will make us realize that we still need to work,” Guardiola said.
After 10 years with City, it was De Bruyne’s penultimate appearance at the Etihad after the midfielder was told he will not get a new contract when his present deal expires at the end of the season.
It was only the sixth goal this season for the 33-year-old Belgian, underlining why Guardiola has decided to release him after an injury-plagued decline over the last two years.
But De Bruyne’s contribution could be crucial for City, who have three matches left and hold a four-point advantage over sixth-placed Nottingham Forest, who play their game in hand against Crystal Palace on Monday.
Fourth-placed Newcastle and fifth-placed Chelsea also have a game in hand over City heading into the weekend’s fixtures.
Hinting he could stay in the Premier League after leaving City, De Bruyne said. “A lot of teammates have said that it’s sad I have to go, but that’s just how it goes sometimes in life.
“I don’t know what the future will be, but I know that I can still play here. I try to play as much good football as I can. I’m still enjoying it.”
Guardiola saluted De Bruyne, saying: “Just thank you. His contribution in the game against Crystal Palace when we were 2-0 down and he delivers, and today the goal again.
“I want the best for Kevin. It cannot be possible to have done these many years without him.
“He has been an incredible player but the situation is what it is. It’s almost impossible to replace this kind of player.”
Even qualifying for the Champions League and winning the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace will not salvage the season in Guardiola’s eyes after their four-year reign as English champions came to a limp end.
Surrendering the title to Liverpool was bad enough, but missing out on a place in the Champions League for the first time since 2010-11 would be a complete catastrophe and this result kept them on course to avoid that fate.
Guardiola sprang a surprise by naming Erling Haaland as an unused substitute as the Norway striker returned ahead of schedule from the ankle injury he suffered at Bournemouth in March.
Wolves arrived buoyed by six successive top-flight victories for the first time since 1970-71 and their confidence was clear after such a successful streak.
Not for the first time this season, City were creaking at the back.
They rode their luck to escape as Rayan Ait-Nouri fired against the post from close-range before his effort from the rebound was cleared off the line by Josko Gvardiol.
Guardiola’s men recovered their composure and the breakthrough came in the 35th minute with the kind of flowing move that has been City’s trademark in De Bruyne’s decade in Manchester.
Ilkay Gundogan made a break from midfield and slipped his pass to Jeremy Doku, who deftly eluded his marker before pulled the ball back to the unmarked De Bruyne.
Having cleverly found space just inside the Wolves area, De Bruyne held his nerve to slot past Jose Sa, a finish that showed City what they will miss next season.
Wolves still carried a threat and Matheus Cunha rattled the post with a stinging strike from the edge of the area in the second half.
Man City climb to third as De Bruyne sinks Wolves
https://arab.news/zundg
Man City climb to third as De Bruyne sinks Wolves
A powerful rivalry: Sabalenka and Svitolina set for Australian Open semifinal showdown
- Top-ranked Sabalenka, who is seeking a third title in four years in Australia, is from Belarus
- Players from Ukraine do not shake hands with players from Russia or Belarus at the net after matches
MELBOURNE: Naturally there’ll be attention on the backstory when Aryna Sabalenka and Elina Svitolina meet in the Australian Open women’s semifinals.
Top-ranked Sabalenka, who is seeking a third title in four years in Australia, is a 27-year-old from Belarus. She’s popular on TikTok for her humorous posts and dance routines.
Svitolina is a 31-year-old Ukrainian who will be returning to the Top 10 next week for the first time since returning from a maternity break she took in 2022. She reached her first Australian Open semifinal with a lopsided win over No. 3 Coco Gauff, needing only 59 minutes to end her run of three quarterfinal losses at Melbourne Park.
They’re both regularly asked questions relating to Russia’s war on Ukraine. Both have regularly said they want the focus to be on tennis. Svitolina is trying to bring joy to the people of Ukraine, of course. Sabalenka said she supports peace.
“It’s very close to my heart to see a lot of support from Ukrainians,” she said. “So I feel like (I) bring this light, a little light, you know, even just positive news to Ukrainian people, to my friends when they are watching.”
Players from Ukraine don’t shake hands with players from Russia or Belarus at the net after matches. It’s accepted on both sides.
They’re both on 10-match winning streaks so far in 2026 and entered the season’s first major with titles in warmup tournaments — Sabalenka in Brisbane, and Svitolina in Auckland, New Zealand, her 19th career title. That was Svitolina’s first foray back after an early end to the 2025 season for a mental health break.
Sabalenka, who has 22 career titles including back-to-back Australian championships in 2023 and ‘24 and back-to-back US Open triumphs in 2024 and last year, is 5-1 in career meetings with Svitolina. She is into the final 4 at a major for the 14th time, and has made the final seven times.
“It’s no secret that she’s a very powerful player. I watched a little bit of her (quarterfinal) match. She was playing great tennis, and I think, the power on all aspects of her game is her strengths,” Svitolina said of Sabalenka. “She’s very consistent. For me, I’ll have to ... try to find the ways and the little holes, little opportunities in her game.
“When you play the top players, you have to find these small opportunities and then be ready to take them.”
Svitolina is playing her fourth semifinal at a major — 2019 and 2023 at Wimbledon and the 2019 US Open — and aiming for her first final.
Sabalenka played her quarterfinal against 18-year-old Iva Jovic before the searing heat forced organizers to close the roof of the Rod Laver Arena stadium on Tuesday. She was long gone before Svitolina and Guaff played under the roof at night. At that stage, she didn’t know who she’d next be playing, but was sure “it’s going to be a battle.”
“Because whoever makes it there, it’s an incredible player,” she said. “I think my approach going to be the same. Doesn’t matter who I’m facing.
“I’ll just go, and I’ll be focused on myself and on my game.”
Rybakina-Pegula, 5 vs. 6
Sixth-seeded Jessica Pegula completed the final 4 when she held off fellow American Amanda Anisimova 6-2, 7-6 (1) to move into a semifinal against 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.
Pegula beat 2025 champion Madison Keys in the previous round before ending Anisimova’s run of back-to-back Grand Slam finals.
The sixth-seeded Pegula is hoping to emulate Keys’ run here last year and claim her maiden Grand Slam title in Australia.
“I’ve been waiting for the time when I can kind of break through,” Pegula said. “I feel like I really play some good tennis here and I like the conditions.”
With a 7-5, 6-1 victory in the center court opener Wednesday, Rybakina, the 2023 Australian Open runner-up, ended No. 2-ranked Iga Swiatek’s bid to complete a career Grand Slam — at least for this year.
Rybakina, who was born in Russia but represents Kazakhstan, said she’d focus on the lessons she’d taken from previous trips to the deciding end of the majors.
“Now I’m more calm. In the beginning, when it’s the first final and you go so far in the tournament, of course you are more emotional,” she said. “Now I feel like I’m just doing my job, trying to improve each day. So it’s kind of another day, another match.”
