Sports

AMMAN —  Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah, the most successful driver in the history of Middle East motor sport, tops the entry for next weekend’s Jordan Rally, round two of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship according to the Jordan Motorsport Media Service.

The current series leader and a 13-time winner of the Jordan event heads to the Kingdom fresh from securing a recent narrow victory at the Andalucia Rally in Spain. On this occasion he and French co-driver Matthieu Baumel return to a trusty Volkswagen Polo GTi, run on regional Middle Eastern rallies by Autotek Motorsport.

Of the 13 entrants registered for the FIA category, Attiyah faces competition from three Rally2 drivers. His cousin and former FIA vice-president Nasser Khalifa Al Attiyah teams up with Nasser’s former navigator Giovanni Bernacchini to drive a Ford Fiesta and the event sees the return of Hamed Al-Wahaibi (Škoda Fabia) in a two-car team from Oman with young Abdullah Al Rawahi driving another Ford Fiesta.

Six crews have registered to compete in Group NR4 to chase points in the MERC2 category. Kuwait’s Meshari Al Thefiri is the multiple defending champion and starts as the favourite to continue his successes with a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X. 

Standing in his way will be the Jordanian drivers, Shabi Shaban and Ihab Al Shourafa, Lebanese youngster Alex El Feghali and fellow Lebanese drivers, Ahmed Khaled and Shadi El Fakih.

Henry Kahy returns to try and continue his remarkable run of successes in a two-wheel-drive car in the MERC 3 section. He teams up with Carlos Hanna in his trusty Škoda. Local driver Asem Aref is also entered in a little Renault Clio RS.

Rounding off the entry is the talented Saudi off-road specialist Saleh Al Saif at the wheel of a Can-Am Maverick X3. FIA T4 cars are permitted to tackle gravel rounds of the regional rally series this season and Al-Saif finished sixth overall at the opening round in Qatar and currently leads the championship category. 

Absent from a revised regional rallying calendar in 2020 because of the global Covid-19 situation, this year’s event has been pushed back one week in the calendar by Jordan Motorsport but retains its spot as the second round of the MERC following the postponement of the event in Oman. 

Jordan Motorsport recently released details of the itinerary for the rally that features two legs of six and four gravel stages in the Dead Sea and Mount Nebo areas, which hosted the FIA World Rally Championship on three occasions (2008, 2010 and 2011).

Two loops of three specials make up the itinerary for the opening leg on May 28, with crews set to face the 9.8km of Syagha, a demanding assault on the 34.70km of a brand new Adasiyah special and a run through the 11.34km of a stage near the Baptism Site in a leg comprising 123.02 competitive kilometres. 

The punishing Jordan River stage of 31.01km gets leg two (114.72km) under way and there is no respite for competitors with a pass through the new challenge of Joufeh (26.35km) before the midday regroup and service at the Dead Sea. Both stages are repeated in the afternoon, prior to the podium finish and post-event press conference, scheduled from 5:30pm onwards.

This year’s rally is based at the Crown Plaza Dead Sea Resort and Spa, where all necessary COVID-19 protocols will apply, including proof of negative tests (48-hour validity) before any access is given to the service park area.

AMMAN — Jordan’s Faisali and Salt, host their group matches in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup — the second-tier Asian club competition, kicking off in Amman on Friday.

Salt will start their inaugural AFC Cup campaign when they play 2008 champions Bahrain’s Muharraq in their first match in Group B which also includes Lebanon’s Ansar and Palestine’s Balata playing at the Amman International Stadium.

Meanwhile, King Abdullah Stadium in Quweismeh will see Faisali host Palestine’s Ama’ri in Group C which also includes three-time champs Kuwait Club, and Syria’s Tishreen. The top team in each group alongside the best second placed team move on to the zonal semifinals before teams play the advanced inter zonal knockout stages and final.

Lebanon’s Al Ahed are the reigning titleholders. In the 2020 AFC Cup, Faisali played alongside Jazira before the tournament was scrapped with the COVID-19 pandemic halting regional and international sporting agendas. 

Kuwait Club and the Iraqi Air Force Club are AFC Cup record winners having been crowned champs three times each. Faisali won the AFC Cup title in 2005 and 2006, and Shabab Urdun won in 2007. Other Jordanian teams participating in previous editions include Wihdat, Ramtha, Hussein, That Ras and Ahli. 

The 2021 AFC Cup is the 18th edition of the tournament. The winners will automatically qualify to the 2022 AFC Champions League, and will enter the qualifying play-offs if they have not qualified through their domestic performance. 

Earlier this month, Wihdat played the continent’s leading tournament — the AFC Champions League but were eliminated in the group stages after an impressive performance in Leg 2 where they beat Iran’s Foolad 1-0, Saudi Arabia’s Nassr 2-1 and lost to Qatar’s Al Sadd 2-0 to finish 3rd in Group D. In Leg 1, they lost 3-1 to two-time champs Al Sadd, 1-0 to Foolad and held Nassr 0-0. Group leaders and top three second place finishers moved on to the knockout stage.

Wihdat became the first of the Kingdom’s clubs to play in the round robin group stages of the AFC Champions League. None of the Kingdom’s clubs have ever made it past the AFC Champions League preliminary round where Faisali played in 2020 and 2018, Wihdat in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019 and Shabab Urdun in 2014.

The local 2021 season started off with Wihdat beating Jazira to win the Jordan Super Cup after they lost to newcomers Jalil in the JFA Shield final. Last season, Wihdat were crowned Pro League and Jordan Football Association Shield champions leaving Faisali to take home the 17th Jordan Super Cup while the Jordan Cup was not held.

REGGIO EMILIA, Italy — Gian Piero Gasperini can cap his transformation of Atalanta into a team now among the elite of European football with his first coaching trophy in the Italian Cup final against Juventus in Reggio Emilia on Wednesday.

The 63-year-old has revolutionised the Bergamo side since taking over five years ago.

On Wednesday, they bid for just their second ever trophy, after the 1963 Italian Cup, as fans return to football stadiums in Italy for the first time in over a year.

Juve’s season is now effectively in the hands of Gasperini’s side who have already assured themselves a third consecutive season of Champions League football.

But Juventus’ top-four finish will be dependent on Atalanta beating European rivals AC Milan in Bergamo next Sunday.

It has been a mixed debut season for rival coach Andrea Pirlo who is chasing a second trophy after beating Napoli to win the Italian SuperCup in January.

The Turin club’s Champions League qualification will go down to the wire in Sunday’s final game at Bologna.

“Clearly it is an important final we are playing against Juventus,” said Gasperini of a trophy which would cap a stellar season for Atalanta.

“For the fans, the cup represents a trophy, and we will do everything to please them.”

Atalanta are also in the running for a club high second-placed finish in Serie A behind champions Inter Milan, and can also exceed their best-ever points tally, already equalled with 78.

In addition, they could claim a club record number of league games won, now equalled with 23, and already have the top attack in the league with 90 goals scored.

‘Growth path’

Gasperini has put the northern Italian club among the elite of European football for the first time.

“When I first signed, qualification in the Europa League was also unimaginable,” conceded the former Palermo and Genoa coach.

“It is the result of a growth path during these five years and I must say that this year was more difficult than the others.

“It is always said that you have to raise a trophy otherwise it seems that nothing has been won.

“Instead I am convinced that what we have done at Atalanta is equivalent to many victories on the pitch.

“We have also scored 78 points this year, equalling the historical record. 

“We have the possibility to improve them, we have set the target around 80 points in the league for three years in a row.” 

Fans return

As Atalanta, also three-time Cup runners-up in 1987, 1996 and 2019, approach the game serenely, Juventus are under pressure.

Pirlo won his first trophy, albeit a minor one, in a season of slip-ups and errors, but chalking up another with a 14th Coppa Italia trophy would be a lift going into a key weekend.

Without the Champions League, the club’s already shaky finances would take a big hit. 

“I made many mistakes, but I’d make them all again,” said Pirlo. 

“This is my first season, I needed those experiences for the present and the future.”

“This was a more complicated campaign,” added veteran captain Giorgio Chiellini, who in addition to nine league titles has also won four Coppa Italia trophies with the club.

“We’ll keep trying till the end.”

The Coppa Italia final will have a limited number of fans present with 20 per cent of the Mapei Stadium in Reggio Emilia, home to Serie A side Sassuolo, open to the public.

Fans are returning for the first time in more  COVID-19 pandemic, having also been allowed during the Italian Open tennis in Rome last week.

Rome’s Stadio Olimpico will also be at least 25 per cent capacity for Italy’s Euro 2020 matches next month.

MADRID — Diego Simeone hailed Luis Suarez as “extraordinary” on Sunday after the Uruguayan scored the goal that could win Atletico Madrid La Liga, his late winner snatching a dramatic 2-1 win over Osasuna.

Atletico trailed Osasuna with nine minutes to go at the Wanda Metropolitano and faced a defeat that would not just have postponed their bid to be champions but allowed Real Madrid, who were beating Athletic Bilbao, to go top with one game left. 

Instead, Atletico scored in the 82nd and 88th minutes to pull off a stunning turnaround. Renan Lodi smashed in an equaliser before Suarez proved the hero, firing in from eight yards to spark mass celebrations.

“He’s extraordinary,” said Diego Simeone. “He came here wanting to prove people wrong, wanting to show that he was a forward still at the top of his game. Who better than him to decide a match that seemed to be getting away from us?”

Atletico’s players and substitutes piled onto Suarez in the corner and at full-time, some of their players dropped to their knees, not with ecstasy, but relief, the title now just one win away. 

“These are moments of happiness,” said Suarez. “It was one of the best first halves of the season. We missed a lot of chances, me in particular, but to win the league you have to suffer and today we stepped up.”

To be crowned champions with a game to spare, Atletico needed Real Madrid to slip up at San Mames but Nacho Fernandez put Real ahead in the second half and Atletico’s priority quickly became preservation. 

Victory maintains their two-point advantage and another win away at Real Valladolid next weekend will guarantee a second league title in 25 years. 

Barcelona are out of the running after they lost 2-1 at home to Celta Vigo. Santi Mina scored twice, including an 89th minute winner for Celta after Lionel Messi headed in the opener. 

Suarez, who was forced to leave Barca last summer, has scored 20 goals this season, with his latest strike putting his new team on the brink of the title. 

After more than a year away, fans finally returned to La Liga but only for the two games in the Valencia region, where the coronavirus infection rate has dropped below the target rate set by the government.

At Villarreal the maximum 5,000 fans cheered their team to a 4-0 home victory over high-flying Sevilla. 

But 60 kilometres down the Mediterranean coast, Valencia, whose relations with their fans are strained, sold ony 3,000 of the available places. The impact was similar as the home team beat struggling Eibar 4-1. 

In Madrid, no fans were allowed in the Wanda Metropolitano, but they gathered outside and cheered as the team bus arrived. 

Atletico had 16 shots in the first half but could not find a way through. 

Fireworks

The best of them came from an Angel Correa cross but Suarez took too long and with three Osasuna players in front of him, he could only pick out the post. 

Atletico’s players might have thought Real Madrid had conceded when a huge cheer came from the fans outside, but it was Barca who had let in an equaliser against Celta Vigo. All the top three were being held at half-time.

Atletico thought they were ahead on the hour as Stefan Savic finished from Trippier’s cross. Fans outside set off fireworks, but Savic was just offside and the goal was ruled out. 

Atletico put the ball in the net again, only for flag to go up again, Carrasco nipping behind too early before powering in. 

The flag stayed down at San Mames a few minutes later though as Nacho gave Real Madrid the lead in the 68th minute, Karim Benzema, who was offside, missed Casemiro’s cross and Nacho prodded in. 

Real Madrid were going top and seven minutes later, things got worse for Atletico as Ante Budimir was free at the back post to head in a free kick. The fans outside went silent. 

Simeone brought on two substitutes and they combined to level. Joao Felix scooped a superb pass through for Lodi to thunder in with eight minutes left. 

There was hope and in the 88th minute there was joy, Carrasco latching onto a Trippier pass and pulling back perfectly for Suarez, who arrived late, fired in and ran to the corner.

MILAN — Juan Cuadrado scored twice, including a late penalty, as Juventus beat Inter Milan 3-2 to keep their Champions League hopes alive on Saturday in a game where three spot kicks were awarded and both teams finished a man down.

Juve moved up to fourth equal on points with third-placed AC Milan and two points ahead of Napoli who both play on Sunday.

The win ended the 20-match unbeaten run for Antonio Conte’s Inter who had denied Juventus a 10th consecutive league title this season.

“It was important for us to win so we can keep hoping,” said coach Andrea Pirlo. 

“If we’d shown the same desire and determination as in our last few games, we’d be in a different position. 

“If we’re going into the final game of the season fighting for fourth place, clearly we’ve come up short somewhere.”

Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty after 24 minutes but turned in the rebound to bring his tally to a Serie A leading tally 29 goals this campaign.

But Inter got back level nine minutes later with a Romelu Lukaku penalty, to move him second behind Ronaldo with 23 goals.

Juve pulled ahead before half-time when Cuadrado blasted in past Samir Handanovic.

But the hosts played most of the second half a man down after Rodrigo Bentancur was sent off for a second yellow card for a Lukaku tackle.

Ronaldo was substituted off with 20 minutes to go with Alvaro Morata coming off the bench.

“Cristiano was perhaps happy for the first time to be subbed off because we were down to 10 and he would have had to run in a vacuum for the rest of the game,” said Pirlo. 

Captain Giorgio Chiellini turned into his own net with seven minutes to go, but in a dramatic end to the game Juventus were awarded another penalty for an Ivan Perisic foul on Cuadrado which the Colombian converted.

Inter also finished the game a man down with Marcelo Brozovic getting a second booking in injury time.

“This is a massive win,” said Chiellini.

“I don’t know if it will help us qualify for the Champions League but at the moment we deserve the position we’re in. 

“We haven’t been consistent enough and we know that.”

Roma end Lazio hopes

Earlier Atalanta sealed their spot in the Champions League for a third consecutive season with a 4-3 win over Genoa.

The Bergamo side are second, three points ahead of AC Milan and Juventus, and are assured of elite European football before the two teams go head-to-head next weekend.

Atalanta paved the way with three first half goals. 

Ruslan Malinovskyi set up Duvan Zapata for the opener and then scored himself, with Robin Gosens grabbing a third before the break.

Mario Pasalic added a fourth six minutes after the break before 14th-placed Genoa hit back with an Eldor Shomurodov brace either side of a Goran Pandev goal just after an hour.

“For us, returning to the Champions League this year tastes better,” said coach Gian Piero Gasperini, who brought the Bergamo side to elite European football for the first time in the 2019-2020 season.

“Three times in the Champions League is a great achievement. The trophy would be the icing on the cake, but we are convinced that we have won a lot anyway.”

Atalanta will bid for just their second ever trophy in the Coppa Italia final against Juventus next Wednesday in Reggio Emilia.

The club won the Coppa Italia back in 1963.

Even if Milan, who host 16th-placed Cagliari on Sunday, win their last two matches, Atalanta are now assured of a top-four finish.

Roma won their first derby since 2018 against Lazio 2-0 with goals in either half from Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pedro, ending their city rivals’ hopes of a return to the Champions League.

Lazio are eight points behind Juventus having played a game less.

PARIS — Lille stand tantalisingly close to a first Ligue 1 title in a decade, but Kylian Mbappe is convinced that Paris Saint-Germain will only have themselves to blame if they fail to retain their crown.

PSG have won the French title in seven of the last eight seasons and were fully expected to do so again this year given the huge financial advantage the Qatar-owned club enjoys.

Despite possessing the two most expensive signings in football history in Mbappe and Neymar, Mauricio Pochettino’s team find themselves second, three points behind Lille with two games remaining.

PSG’s 1-1 draw at Rennes last weekend followed a 3-0 victory for Lille at Lens, and left the northern club requiring four points from their last two outings to be sure of becoming champions for the first time since 2011.

It would be a remarkable success story for Lille, but also a damning indictment of PSG’s failings in a campaign in which they have lost eight times already, as many as in the last two seasons combined and the most they have suffered in a single season since 2010-11.

“If we don’t win the league it will have been us who failed to win it rather than them who won it,” Mbappe told Eurosport after PSG beat Montpellier on penalties in midweek to reach the French Cup final.

After his comments caused a backlash, Mbappe took to social media to explain himself.

“Lille would make for great champions if they are crowned but with eight defeats, if we lose the title we will be fully responsible,” Mbappe wrote alongside the hashtag #Respect.

Lille, who took four points out of a possible six against Paris this season, could even win the league with a game to spare this Sunday.

In the seemingly unlikely event that PSG fail to beat mid-table Reims, Christophe Galtier’s Lille will be champions by bettering the capital side’s result when they host Saint-Etienne.

PSG fans will of course disagree, but a Lille success would certainly be a shot in the arm for the French game four years after Monaco — with a young Mbappe in their ranks — took the title away from Paris. 

Pochettino’s team could still end the season without a major trophy, and could even miss out on a top-three finish and Champions League qualification with both Monaco and Lyon just behind them.

However, they could also still finish with a domestic double following their Champions League semi-final loss to Manchester City. As well as trying to reel in Lille they play Monaco in the French Cup final next Wednesday.

Player to watch: Burak Yilmaz

The veteran Turkish striker has been the driving force behind Lille’s title charge. His tally of 15 goals this season is the second highest for a player aged 35 or older in any of Europe’s five leading leagues behind Cristiano Ronaldo (27).

Yilmaz, signed for free from Besiktas, is one of five nominees for France’s player of the year, voted by his fellow professionals. He has stiff competition in Neymar, Memphis Depay, Wissam Ben Yedder and, above all, Mbappe. Despite that Yilmaz would surely deserve the award if Lille do take the title. 

MADRID — Eden Hazard’s 94th-minute equaliser salvaged Real Madrid a dramatic 2-2 draw against Sevilla on Sunday as an extraordinary penalty decision swung La Liga’s title race back in Atletico Madrid’s favour. 

Zinedine Zidane’s side had levelled through Marco Asensio midway through the second half and thought they had a penalty when Karim Benzema was brought down after rounding Sevilla goalkeeper Yassine Bono. 

But VAR prompted referee Juan Martinez Munuera to check an Eder Militao handball a few seconds before, with a huge decision seeing Madrid’s penalty cancelled and a spot-kick awarded to Sevilla instead.

Ivan Rakitic converted and while Madrid still managed to hit back in injury time, Toni Kroos’ shot deflecting in off Eden Hazard’s foot, the draw hands the advantage back to Atletico at the end of another dramatic weekend in the Spanish title race.

“They have to explain the exact rules of the hands to me,” said Zidane afterwards. “But now we have to think about the next game. It is not up to us now, but we will fight to the end, to the death.”

After Barcelona and Atletico played out a goalless draw on Saturday at Camp Nou, the second instalment of La Liga’s blockbuster weekend also finished honours even, meaning the situation at the top is unchanged with three games now remaining. 

Atletico are two points clear of both Real Madrid and Barcelona, with the title very much back in their hands.

A Sevilla victory might have given them an outside chance but instead they remain six points back and are surely out of the running. 

“We’re disappointed but we are not going to give up,” said Sevilla coach Julen Lopetegui. “We are going to try to keep this dream going a little longer.”

With a superior head-to-head record over Barcelona, Real Madrid scraping a draw could also yet prove decisive, given they only have to overtake one team now instead of two. 

“It’s a shame but we’re alive,” said Luka Modric. “We have seen that everyone is dropping points so you have to have faith.” 

Hazard had to come off the Real bench after his controversial reaction to the Champions League defeat by Chelsea and while the equaliser was eventually credited to him, there was hardly a sense of redemption given how little the Belgian knew about it.

Sevilla had 75 per cent of the ball in the first 10 minutes but it felt like more, with Madrid chasing shadows and incapable of escaping their own half. 

They scored with their first attack, Benzema rising above Jules Kounde to head in, only for the goal to be chalked off, with Alvaro Odriozola offside in the build-up. 

Madrid looked jaded, the usually reliable Modric guilty of sloppy passes while Kroos and Casemiro struggled to affect the game. 

Sevilla took the lead in the 22nd minute and it was brilliantly worked, a short free-kick down the right improving the angle before Rakitic’s cool header down gave Fernando Reges the chance. He dummied past the diving Casemiro before slotting in. 

Asensio’s rapid response

Madrid emerged early after half-time. Vinicius Junior poked onto the outside of the post after a clever short corner before Modric departed for Asensio, who scored 65 seconds after coming on. 

Sevilla’s Joan Jordan was caught in midfield and Benzema sped away. Asensio looked like he had overrun the ball, but it was returned to him by Kroos and he swept first time into the net. 

Madrid had the momentum and they thought they had a penalty before the pendulum swung one way and then the other in a matter of seconds. 

Sevilla’s corner was cleared and Benzema was sent through one-on-one, rounding Bono and going down for what looked an obvious spot-kick. 

Instead, Martinez was prompted to look at the monitor, where he saw Militao had dangled an arm onto the ball before Sevilla’s corner was cleared. 

Both benches made their feelings clear while the voices from the stand in front of Martinez, most of them belonging to Madrid, insisted the ball had struck Militao’s back. 

But Martinez cancelled Madrid’s penalty and awarded one to Sevilla instead, with Rakitic stepping up and slotting into the corner. 

Hazard came on and the drama was not yet finished. Kroos ghosted forward in the 94th minute and fired off a shot that deflected off the Hazard’s foot and in. 

Madrid still had two minutes to find a winner and they almost got it, Casemiro’s effort curling agonisingly wide.