Duhail hit Ahli for six, Rayyan claim much-needed victoryBy Sports ReporterDoha

Al Duhail unleashed their at-tacking power yesterday with a 6-0 thrashing of Al Ahli in the QNB Stars League yes-

terday. The victory at the Hamad bin Khalifa Stadium breathed a fresh life into Red Knights title challenge.

The former champions, with 25 points, are now three points behind leaders Al Sadd, who have played a game less. Duhail’s rout of Al Ahli started with a own goal by The Brig-adiers’ Talal Behzad in the fourth minute. Then, Michael Olunga (sev-enth minute), Nam Tae-Hee (28th minute), Almoez Ali (44th minute), Abdullah Abdulsalam (71st minute) and Edmilson Junior (80th minute) found the net once each for Duhail.

Luis Castro’s men had lost 1-2 to Umm Salal in the previous round, and this give victory game them a much-needed lift.

Al Ahli, who had registered their fi rst victory in the previous round with a 1-0 verdict over Al Sailiya, are 10th on nine points after their fourth defeat.

Olunga and Edmison combined in a goalbound move and Behzad ended up putting the ball into his own net.

Duhail increased their lead through Olunga, who sent in a rebound off Yazan Naim after the goalkeeper fi rst blocked Nam’s shot.

Ahli tried to organize their ranks and close the spaces, but Nam managed to score with a neat header following a cross from the right by Mohamed Alaaeldin who came in for Ismail Mo-hamed. Close to the end of fi rst half, Almoez found the mark with assist from Nam.

Duhail had a goal ruled out, after be-

ing referred to VAR, in the 57th minute. Al Duhail continued to dominate the match and scored twice more through Abdullah Abdulsalam and Edmilson.

“We made our task easier by scoring early goals,” Al Duhail’s Assem Madbo said after the match yesterday.

“We needed to show a strong per-formance after suff ering defeat against Umm Salal and I am happy the way we

have played today. We need to continue with this performance in the remain-ing season,” he added.

Earlier at the Al Ahli Stadium, Lau-rent Blanc-coached Al Rayyan defeat-ed Al Shamal 2-1, improving two places to 8th position with 12 points. Both The Lions goals were scored in the fi rst half, with Hashem Ali (24’) and Yacine Brahimi (41’) on target.

Al Shamal fought back with Muath Yahya’s goal in the 68th minute but Al Rayyan denied them an equaliser to claim much-needed three points in their quest for top-4 fi nish.

Al Rayyan, however, could have scored another goal but Brahimi wast-ed a penalty in the 39th minute. Late in the match, Al Rayyan also saw their penalty denied by VAR.

Meanwhile, fourth-placed Al Gharafa continued their impressive run in the QSL as they blanked Al Saili-ya 3-0 at the Al Gharafa Stadium.

Almahdi Ali scored the opener in 32nd minute with Ahmed Alaaeldin doubling the advantage for the home side three minutes later. Gabiel Perez completed the victory with a strike in 67th minute as Al Gharafa moved to 19 points with their sixth victory. It was eighth defeat for Al Sailiya, who are placed 11th in the standings.

AL SADD’S TIE AGAINST AL WAKRAH POSTPONED

The Qatar Stars League management yesterday postponed Al Sadd’s clash against depleted Al Wakrah today. The decision was taken after several of Wakrah players tested positive for coronavirus. The the new date for the match will be announced by the Com-petitions Committee.

While Al Sadd are leading the stand-ings, Al Wakrah are fi fth on the table with 16 points.

The Red Knights, with 25 points, are now three points behind leaders Al Sadd, who have played a game less

Thursday, December 30, 2021Jumada I 26, 1443 AH

SPORTGULF TIMES

TENNIS

Djokovic skips ATP Cup, adding to Australian Open doubtsPage 3

days to go

326326

QNB STARS LEAGUE

By Sports ReporterDoha

Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah will be gunning for his fourth Dakar title, when the treacherous rally begins in Saudi Arabia on

Saturday, January 1. The Qatari ace and his French co-driver Matheiu Baumel will go into the 14-day event as favour-ites with the pair behind the wheels of new Toyota GR DKR Hilux T1+.

The new car features a twin-tur-bocharged V6 petrol engine from the new Toyota Land Cruiser. It also sports larger wheels, a new, single-shock sus-pension system with more travel, and a bold new look, which gives al-Attiyah an advantage for the gruelling rally.

Al-Attiyah – who recently was crowned the 2021 FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies champion – is taking part in his 19th Dakar Rally. Al-Attiyah sealed the World Cup vic-tory after winning four of this year’s six events, including the Andalusia Rally, Rally of Morocco, Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, and the Hail International Rally.

Al-Attiyah has fi nished on the po-dium nine times – with the Qatari win-ning the event in 2011, 2015 and 2019. The Qatari fi nished second in the last year’s event and will be eager to go all the way this season. Al-Attiyah said: “We are very proud of winning the 2021 World Cup – the third victory for Toy-ota Gazoo Racing. The car that brought

us all the wins in 2021 was extremely reliable and very fast, but the new car is defi nitely better. We’re ready to at-tack from the start at the Dakar Rally, as we’ll be aiming for the top step of the podium.”

The rally will kick-off on Saturday with a liaison from Jeddah to Ha’il. The road section covers 815 kilometres and will be followed by a short timed sec-

tion of 19km, which the organisers will use to determine the starting orders for Stage 1.

The route then moves in a clockwise direction, visiting towns such as Al Ar-tawiyah and Al Qaisumah before reach-ing the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh. Here, the bivouac will remain in place for several days until the rest day on 8 January. The race will continue to Al

Dawadimi, Wadi Ad Dawasir and Bisha, from Riyadh, before concluding in Jed-dah on January 14.

Al-Attiyah’s toughest challenge will come from nine-time World Ral-ly Champion Sebastien Loeb, who is aiming for a fi rst Dakar Rally victory. Loeb has teamed up with new naviga-tor Fabian Lurquin following his high-profi le split from long-time co-driver

Daniel Elena earlier this year, and nar-rowly missed out on victory in the Baja Aragón in the Prodrive-run Hunter.

Although Loeb elected to skip the traditional pre-Dakar warm-up event in Ha’il in early December, he reckons the time spent forging a partnership with Lurquin during the testing regime is starting to bear fruit.

Loeb said: “I hope [the partnership with Fabian] will be enough, for sure. We haven’t worked together very long, compared to some of the other crews

like Nasser al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel who know each other very well, but I think we have a good collabora-tion already and a good understanding of each other. We have the same vision of the Dakar regarding the navigation so we can work in a clever way to try to optimise our way of collaborating. We both have a little experience of this race, and we are both approaching it in the same way. We know what we have to do, and I think we are ready. But like we know, it’s complicated.”

Al-Attiyah starts favourites in pursuit of fourth Dakar titleMOTORSPORT

Nasser al-Attiyah will be driving a new Toyota GR DKR Hilux T1+ at the Dakar Rally, which begins in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

Nasser al-Attiyah with his French co-driver Matheiu Baumel in Saudi Arabia.

Al Duhail’s Michael Olunga (right) celebrates with teammates after scoring against Al Ahli during the QNB Stars League match at the Hamad bin Khalifa Stadium yesterday. PICTURE: Noushad Thekkayil

Fourth-placed Al Gharafa (in yellow) continued their impressive run in the QSL as they blanked Al Sailiya 3-0 yesterday. PICTURE: Ram Chand

ReutersPretoria

South Africa captain Dean Elgar scored an unbeaten 52 against India as the hosts showed a dogged

determination to stay in the fi ght on a spicy wicket and closed the fourth day on 94 for four in the fi rst Test at Centurion Park yesterday.

South Africa are still 211 runs off their record victory target at the venue of 305 on a wicket that is treacherous for the bats-men with sideways movement but also variable bounce. Some deliveries are staying low and others spitting off the surface with exaggerated bounce. They will need to negotiate the skilful India attack on the fi nal day as the tourists attempt to secure a victory on the way to a hoped for fi rst ever series win in South Af-rica with tests in Johannesburg and Cape Town to follow.

“The wicket has variable bounce so if we keep bowling the right areas then we’re in a good position in the game,” India bat-ting coach Vikram Rathour told reporters. “If we can carry on doing that tomorrow, I think we will create lot of opportunities... We need to keep hitting those lengths consistently.”

South Africa lost Aiden Markram (one), Keegan Petersen (17), nightwatchman Keshav Ma-haraj (eight) and Rassie van der Dussen, who got 11 from 65 balls before being bowled by Jasprit Bumrah (2-22) with a superb

in-swinger while not off ering a shot.

The highest fourth innings score to win at Centurion Park is 251 for eight by England in 2000, an infamous test where both teams agreed to forfeit an in-nings after rain to force a result.

“We have to show belief,” South Africa fast bowler Kagiso Rabada said. “We will strategise overnight and work out how we want to approach this.

“Dean has done this count-less times, where he shows fi ght when it is toughest. He will know his job is not over, he is leading

from the front.”India were earlier bowled out

for 174 in their second innings, the South African seamers ex-pertly using the conditions with Rabada (4-42) and 21-year-old

left-arm debutant Marco Jansen (4-55) the chief wicket takers.

None of the tourists’ batsmen were able to get settled at the crease with Rishabh Pant (34) the top scorer as he tried to take

the attack to the bowlers.There was more disappoint-

ment for India captain Virat Kohli (18) as he chased a wide delivery for the second time in the test and was caught by wick-etkeeper Quinton de Kock off the bowling of Jansen.

SCOREBOARDIndia first innings 327South Africa first innings 197India second innings(overnight 16-1)K. Rahul c Elgar b Ngidi 23M. Agarwal c De Kock b Jansen 4S. Thakur c Mulder b Rabada 10C. Pujara c De Kock b Ngidi 16V. Kohli c De Kock b Jansen 18A. Rahane c Van der Dussen b Jansen 20R. Pant c Ngidi b Rabada 34R. Ashwin c Petersen b Rabada 14M. Shami c Mulder b Rabada 1J. Bumrah not out 7M. Siraj b Jansen 0

Extras (b17, lb4, nb6) 27Total (50.3 overs) 174Fall of wickets: 1-12 (Agarwal), 2-34 (Thakur), 3-54 (Rahul), 4-79 (Kohli), 5-109 (Pujara), 6-111 (Rahane), 7-146 (Ashwin), 8-166 (Pant), 9-169 (Shami)Bowling: Rabada 17-4-42-4 (6nb), Ngidi 10-2-31-2, Jansen 13.3-4-55-4, Mulder 10-4-25-0South Africa second inningsA. Markram b Shami 1D. Elgar not out 52K. Petersen c Pant b Siraj 17H. van der Dussen b Bumrah 11K. Maharaj b Bumrah 8Extras (lb1, nb4) 5Total (40.5 overs) 94Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Markram), 2-34 (Petersen), 3-74 (Van der Dussen), 4-94 (Maharaj)Bowling: Bumrah 11.5-2-22-2 (2nb), Shami 9-2-29-1, Siraj 11-4-25-1, Thakur 5-0-11-0 (2nb), Ashwin 4-1-6-0Match situation: South Africa need 211 to win with six wickets remaining.

India in driving seat despite skipper Elgar’s resistance

Warner eyes one more crack at England in 2023AFPMelbourne

David Warner has hint-ed he is keen for one last Ashes tour in 2023 to make amends for his

failed campaign in England two years ago, drawing inspiration from veteran seamer Jimmy An-derson. The explosive Australian opener would be approaching 37 should he retain his place that long and in all likelihood would have joined the 100-Test club. He currently has 89 caps.

Winning in India is also on his bucket list before pulling up stumps on a Test career that has so far yielded 7,551 runs at 48.40.

“Winning the Ashes here was obviously a big one,” Warner said after Australia crushed England in the third Test in Melbourne to retain the Ashes. “We still haven’t beaten India in India, that would be nice to do. And England away - we had a drawn series (in 2019) but hopefully if I manage to get that opportunity, I might think about going back.”

England hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for Warner, who had a horror tour in 2019, when he managed just 95 runs at 9.50 from fi ve Tests with Stuart Broad dismissing him seven times.

“In terms of 2019 it was obvi-ously in England so he (Broad) was able to get the ball to come back into us and away from us,”

said Warner, who has been a mainstay at the top of the Aus-tralian order for a decade.

“For me it was one of those tours where I didn’t back my game plan and I went too defensive and I didn’t attack. That was my fault, and he bowled really well.”

Whether Warner can still be competitive into 2023 remains to be seen, although he has been written off previously and come

roaring back, most recently at the Twenty20 World Cup. He was dropped by his Indian Premier League team Sunrisers Hyderabad ahead of the World Cup, lead-ing some pundits to suggest his best days were over. But Warner responded in the only way he knows, by scoring runs, and was named player of the tournament as Australia lifted the trophy. He pointed to England’s Anderson,

still going strong at 39, as an ex-ample of cricketers performing at their peak well into the twilight of their careers. “James Anderson sets the benchmark for older guys these days, we look up to him get-ting on in our days,” Warner said after Anderson bowled beauti-fully in the Melbourne Test.

“For me it’s just about per-forming to the best of my ability and putting runs on the board.”

‘If we keep bowling the right areas then we’re in a good position in the game’

ASHES

CENTURION TEST

CRICKET

Gulf Times Thursday, December 30, 20212

Woakes backs Root to remain England Test captain despite Ashes failure

ReutersSydney

England all-rounder Chris Woakes has supported Joe Root to continue as the team’s Test skipper

despite their humiliating Ashes capitulation to Australia.

England suff ered an innings and 14-run loss to Australia on Tuesday in Melbourne as Root’s team surrendered the fi ve-Test Ashes series with two Tests to spare. Root, who was reluctant to discuss the longterm future of his captaincy after the Ashes defeat in the third Test, has not won any of his three Ashes se-ries in charge.

The 30-year-old has also suff ered a record nine defeats in 2021 as the captain. Asked if the England team would sup-port Root’s continuation as skipper, Woakes told British media yesterday, “Absolutely.

“It’s clear that the captaincy isn’t having an eff ect on his batting, which a lot of the time with captains can be the case.”

Root has proved a virtual lone hand with the bat and, after scoring 50 and 28 in Mel-bourne, he fi nishes the calen-dar year with 1,708 runs - the third-highest after Mohamed Yousuf (1,788) and Viv Richards (1,710).

“The fact that he’s scor-ing the runs he is, is great for the team,” Woakes added. “It would be great if we could help him out with that and build some partnerships with him, and score a few more runs around him. “But Joe is a great cricketer, he’s got a great crick-et brain. I think his record as England captain is pretty good, as far as I’m aware. I defi nitely feel like Joe will continue.”

Asked if coach Chris Silver-wood also has the same sup-port, Woakes added: “Who am I to talk about people’s futures other than my own, to be bru-tally honest? We have two more games and we want to show a lot of character, a lot of fi ght.

“The group of players, the management and the staff we have out here have the backing of the players to hopefully put things right, over the next two games in particular.”

FOCUS

Boland fi ghting for Test future despite dream debutScott Boland wrote his name into Australian Ashes folklore with his magical 6-7 against England in Melbourne, but his fairytale debut could incred-ibly be his last Test. The 32-year-old was called up for his expertise on his home Melbourne Cricket Ground as cover with Jhye Richardson, Michael Neser and Josh Hazlewood either rested or not fit for the third Test.And he grabbed the opportunity with both hands, helping inspire Australia to victory by an innings and 14 runs to retain the Ashes urn in style. Not only did Boland become just the second Indigenous man - after Jason Gillespie - to play Test cricket for Australia, he also won the Johnny Mul-lagh medal as man-of-the-match for decimating the tourists in a four-over second-innings blitz.It was fitting - Mullagh was also an Indigenous cricketer, who led an all-Aboriginal team to Britain in 1868. Yet despite equalling the record for the fastest five-wicket haul in Test history, Boland could well be overlooked for the fourth Test in Syd-ney starting on January 5. “That could conceivably be the last Test that he plays,” former skipper Ricky Ponting told cricket.com.au.“It’s staggering to think. He’s almost 33, he’s just taken six for seven. Hoff (Hazlewood) has got to come back, Jhye’s probably ahead of him in the pecking order as well.“If there’s any worry at all with (Hazlewood) - which one do they pick out of Richardson and Boland? That’s going to be the big selection point I think.”Australian captain Pat Cummins also flagged the possibility of leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson making his debut at the Sydney Cricket Ground, tradition-ally the most spin-friendly of the Australian Test venues, another factor working against Boland.“I thought it was a really brave call by the selectors to bring in Scotty for this game. Full credit. They’ve

made the right call,” said Cummins. “Good luck for Sydney. “Jhye will hopefully be available, Joshy will hopefully be available and we’ve still got Michael Neser here in the squad. “No idea (who will get the nod) -- it might be a spinning track and you’ve got Mitchell Swepson bowling beautifully. It’s a luxury.”Boland, who hails from the Gulidjan tribe in west-ern Victoria state, knows he may have played his one and only Test. “It’s probably wait and see,” he said. “But firstly we’ll enjoy winning the Ashes.”

FEEBLE ENGLAND’S ASHES CAPITULATION IN NUMBERS

Australia demolished England by an innings and 14 runs in the third Test in Melbourne on Tuesday to retain the Ashes.It caps a shambolic tour for Joe Root’s men, who were also well beaten in the Tests in Brisbane and Adelaide.And it could yet get worse, with two more Tests - in Sydney and Hobart - still to play. AFP Sport looks at the numbers behind Eng-land’s Ashes humiliation:

Most defeats:The tourists’ defeat at the MCG was their ninth Test loss in 2021 - a joint record for a calendar year along with Bang-ladesh in 2003. With the fourth Ashes Test starting on January 5, England will be glad to see the back of 2021. Disastrous batting: England’s poor batting has been central to their demise. Skipper Joe Root, along with Dawid Malan, has been a rare bright spot. Root has 1,708 runs for the calendar year, at an average of 61.00. But a distant second to him for England in 2021 is maligned opener Rory Burns (530 runs), then Jonny Bairstow (391).Sitting ducks: Malan, Jack Leach, Mark Wood and Ollie Robinson all went for 0 as England folded for a paltry 68 in their second innings in Melbourne. Cricket experts Wisden said that was a record-equalling 54 Test ducks for England in 2021.Century record: Led by veteran fast bowler Jimmy Anderson, England gave themselves a chance in the third Test, before their batting again let them down. Australia’s first-innings total of 267 was the lowest to win a men’s Test by an innings this century, Wisden said.Unplayable Boland: Bowler Scott Boland had a dream debut for Australia on home turf at Melbourne Cricket Ground, taking five wickets in just 19 balls, the joint-fastest five-wicket haul in Test history. He finished with incredible figures of 6-7 off four overs to write himself in Ashes folklore.

England captain Joe Root.

South Africa’s Dean Elgar watches the ball after playing a shot during the fourth day of the first Test against India at the SuperSport Park in Centurion yesterday. (AFP)

South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada (right) celebrates with teammate Rassie van der Dussen after dismissing India’s R Ashwin (not in the picture) during first Test yesterday. (AFP)

SPORT3Gulf Times

Thursday, December 30, 2021

Djoko skips ATP Cup, adding to Australian Open doubts

TENNIS

AFPSydney

Novak Djokovic has pulled out of this week’s ATP Cup in Sydney, or-ganisers said yesterday,

heightening doubts over whether he will defend his Australian Open title.

There has been intense specu-lation as to whether he will travel to Australia, having refused to confi rm if he has been inoculated against the coronavirus.

“World No 1 Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the 2022 ATP Cup,” organisers said in a statement ahead of Saturday’s start to the team tournament.

“Team Serbia will now be led by world No 33 Dusan Lajovic.”

Djokovic, the nine-time Aus-tralian Open champion, could win a record 21st Grand Slam ti-tle if he plays at Melbourne Park next month, but to enter Austral-ia he and members of his entou-rage have to be vaccinated.

He has previously expressed his opposition to the vaccine and his father Srdjan said in late November that Djokovic would probably not play the fi rst Grand Slam of the year, accusing the or-ganisers of “blackmail”.

Djokovic has been named in the entry list for the Australian Open, which starts on January 17, but he could yet withdraw. He was also originally on the entry list for the ATP Cup.

Tennis Australia has organ-ised charter fl ights to bring in-ternational stars into Melbourne and Sydney. Defending wom-en’s Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka was among those to touch down on Tuesday, but Djokovic was not on board. Play-ers can also opt to fl y commer-cial. The ATP Cup has been hit by several withdrawals - either be-

cause of Covid or injury - and as a result France will replace Austria in Group B after Dominic Thiem and Dennis Novak pulled out, or-ganisers said yesterday.

France had not initially met the criteria to participate in the international outdoor hard court men’s tournament between competing nations. “France has become a late addition to the 16-country 2022 ATP Cup, re-placing Austria in Group B fol-lowing the withdrawals of Do-minic Thiem and Dennis Novak,” read a statement on the tour-

nament website. Captained by Nicolas Copin, the French team will include 35th ranked Ugo Humbert, Arthur Rinderknech, ranked 58, and doubles special-ists Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Fabrice Martin.

Thiem, ranked 15, pulled out of the Australian tournament as he recovers from a wrist injury.

Team Russia’s Andrey Rublev, who has Covid, Aslan Karatsev and Evgeny Donskoy have also withdrawn, the ATP Cup said, as has the USA’s Austin Krajicek.

Covid looks set to cast a dark

shadow over the Australian Open and the raft of tournaments in the country beforehand.

Spanish superstar Rafael Nad-al, who was due to play a warm-up event in Melbourne next week, was among several players to have contracted the virus at an Abu Dhabi exhibition tourna-ment this month. His Abu Dhabi opponent, Wimbledon semi-fi nalist Denis Shapovalov, also later tested positive.

Three female players at the same event also tested positive - Olympic gold medallist Be-

linda Bencic, US Open champion Emma Raducanu and Wimble-don quarter-fi nalist Ons Jabeur.

Earlier Wednesday, Nick Kyr-gios urged Nadal and Djokovic to play at the Australian Open, say-ing it would be a “disaster” if the ‘Big Three’ were missing.

Swiss ace Roger Federer has already pulled out as he recovers from a knee injury and Nadal’s plans are unclear. The dominant ‘Big Three’ have won 20 Grand Slam titles each and Kyrgios said tennis still needs them, starting in Melbourne next month.

‘No ‘Big Three’ would be disaster for Australian Open’AFPMelbourne

Nick Kyrgios has urged Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic to play at the Austral-

ian Open, saying yesterday it would be a “disaster” if the ‘Big Three’ were missing.

Swiss ace Roger Federer has already pulled out as he re-covers from a knee injury and Nadal’s plans are unclear after contracting Covid-19.

Djokovic is on the entry list for the fi rst Grand Slam of the year, which begins in less than three weeks, but has refused to confi rm if he has been vac-cinated, casting doubt on whether he will turn up.

The dominant ‘Big Three’ have won 20 Grand Slam titles each and Kyrgios said tennis still needs them, starting in Melbourne next month.

“I honestly don’t know No-vak’s current situation with anything Covid-related or what he needs to play,” the colourful Kyrgios told the Mel-bourne Age newspaper. “I hope he’s had a good Christmas and I hope he’s able to play in the sport for as long as possible be-cause I’ve voiced before I think Federer, Nadal and Djokovic need to be (playing).

“If all three aren’t there, it’s a disaster. It’s an absolute disas-

ter for the fans and the people that enjoy tennis.

“Yes, it’s obviously a good opportunity for some of the younger guys to come through and make an impact, but as a whole, we do need them to be part of the sport.”

Adding to the Australian Open woes, Dominic Thiem, who lost to Djokovic in a fi ve-set classic in the 2020 fi nal, said late Tuesday he would miss the event with a wrist injury.

Meanwhile, Russian world number fi ve Andrey Rublev and Canada’s Wimbledon semi-fi nalist Denis Shapovalov are also recovering from coronavi-rus, casting a shadow over their preparations. The Australian Open starts at Melbourne Park on January 17.

Australia’s Kyrgios, who has slipped to 93 in the world, has not played since the Laver Cup in late September, citing a knee injury, and said he was looking forward to performing again in front of his home fans.

“My knee is something that has been hindering my career for a while now, it’s just some-thing I had cleaned up last year and it feels good,” he told the newspaper.

“I want to enjoy myself, I want to be happy, and that is it.” He is set to kickstart his 2022 campaign at the Mel-bourne Summer Set event from January 4.

SPOTLIGHT

Covid has hampered Man United progress: RangnickAFPLondon

Ralf Rangnick said yes-terday that the upheaval caused by the coronavi-rus crisis had hindered

his eff orts to stamp his authority on the under-performing Man-chester United squad. United are unbeaten in all four games they have played under the German, who replaced Ole Gunnar Solsk-jaer on an interim basis late last month.

But a Covid-19 outbreak at the club meant United had not played a match for more than two weeks before Monday’s dis-appointing 1-1 Premier League draw at struggling Newcastle. United, who host Burnley to-day, are seventh in the Premier League table, seven points be-hind fourth-placed Arsenal, but with two games in hand.

Asked if he had achieved as much as he had wanted in his fi rst weeks in charge, Rang-nick said: “Of course not. Every coach, every ambitious coach — and there’s no diff erence be-tween other coaches and my-self in that area — wants to take faster steps and larger steps forward. But in order to do that, you need to be able to train. As you know, we had to close Car-rington (training base) for four days. Before that we had eight or nine outfi eld players in train-ing, so directly after the Norwich game, and they only came back in small bits and pieces.

“The last three days we were almost back to full strength with regard to the size of the squad, but we couldn’t do that much in

training.”Rangnick said his players had

looked good in the few training sessions they had managed be-fore the Newcastle game, which made Monday’s performance a “negative surprise”. French international Raphael Varane made his fi rst appearance since November 2 at St James’ Park in a central defensive partnership with Harry Maguire, which was far from convincing.

However, Rangnick defended the former Real Madrid man. “Rafa hasn’t played for the last

fi ve or six weeks and even before the Tottenham game he was in-jured so in total in the last three months he hasn’t played that many games,” he said. “Yes, he made a mistake before the fi rst goal that we conceded, but apart from that, I think he was OK. I wouldn’t say that he was outstanding and the same with Harry, but they did OK.”

Defender Victor Lindelof, who missed the trip to Newcastle af-ter testing positive for corona-virus, will still be absent for the Burnley match, while Paul Pogba

remains out with a thigh prob-lem. Bruno Fernandes will be unavailable due to a one-match suspension, after collecting his fi fth yellow card of the Premier League season.

Rangnick said United must fo-cus on improving as a team and not place too much emphasis on individual performances as they seek a turnaround in form. Third-bottom Burnley have 11 points from 15 matches, two points behind Watford in the safety zone but with two games in hand.

FOOTBALL

More Real Madrid, Barca players test positive for Covid-19AFPBarcelona

Four more Real Madrid players, and three from Barcelona, have tested positive for Covid-19,

the two clubs said yesterday as new infections hit record highs in Spain. Real Madrid’s Belgian keeper Thibaut Courtois, Uru-guay midfi elder Federico Val-verde, French midfi elder Edu-ardo Camavinga and Brazilian winger Vinicius Junior are all infected, the La Liga leaders said in a statement.

A spokeswoman for the club declined to say how many players are currently infected with the virus but since mid-December eight other players have tested positive including Gareth Bale and Luka Modric. Meanwhile Barcelona said its forward Ousmane Dembele, defender Samuel Umtiti and midfi elder Gavi have tested positive for Covid-19.

The three players join left-back Jordi Alba, centre-back Clement Lenglet and defender Dani Alves, who also tested positive this week. Barcelona, currently seventh in La Liga, travel to Real Mallorca on Sunday. Several other Spanish clubs, including Cadiz, Real Sociedad and RCD Mallorca, have reported Covid cases but no match has yet been post-poned. Under Liga protocols, a club must have at least 13 play-ers, at least fi ve of them fi rst-teamers and one a goalkeeper, available to play a match.

Vaccinated players can re-turn as soon as they test nega-tive. This puts Sunday’s match

between Atletico Madrid and Rayo Vallecano at risk because the latter team has up to 17 infected players, according to press reports, making it the hardest-hit squad in the fi rst division. Spain on Tuesday confi rmed a record 99,671 new infections in the last 24 hours, bringing the 14-day infection rate to 1,360 cases per 100,000 residents, nearly twice the level from a week earlier.

CHELSEA LEGEND TERRY RETURNS TO CLUB IN CONSULTANCY ROLE

Former Chelsea captain John Terry is returning to the club where he won 17 trophies in-cluding fi ve Premier League ti-tles and the Champions League in a coaching consultancy role at their Academy. “I’m delight-ed to announce that I’m com-ing home, and have taken up a consultancy role at ChelseaFC academy,” the 41-year-old former defender said on social media. “As well as delivering on fi eld coaching sessions I will be involved in coaching discus-sions and mentoring our acad-emy players.”

The former England skip-per, who has been out of a job since leaving his role as assist-ant coach at Aston Villa in July, will focus on Chelsea’s youth development programme.

“The Blues legend will work with our young players and coaching staff in our youth de-velopment programme, shar-ing the vast experience gained from his 20-year playing ca-reer and recent spell as assist-ant coach at Aston Villa,” the club said in a statement on its website.

FOCUS

Team Serbia will now be led by world No 33 Dusan Lajovic

Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick. (Reuters)

Novak Djokovic, the 9-time Australian Open champion, could win a record 21st Grand Slam title if he plays in Melbourne next month. (Reuters)

Salah headlines Egypt’s Cup of Nations squad

Liverpool star Mohamed Salah, the all-time top African goal scorer in the Premier League, headlines Egypt’s Africa Cup of Nations squad named yesterday. Although the off icial date for the release of players to join their national teams was December 27, tournament organisers pushed back the deadline until January 3, which allows Salah to feature in Liverpool’s crucial Premier League clash with Chelsea this Sunday. How-ever, midfielder Mohamed Magdy, recent winner of the African Super Cup with Cairo club Al Ahly, and winger Mostafa Fathi of Egyptian rivals Zamalek, were both overlooked by coach Carlos Queiroz for the tournament in Cameroon which runs from January 9 to February 6. Both had featured in the Arab Cup in Qatar earlier this month.Seven-time tournament win-ners Egypt, who last lifted the trophy in 2010, are among the favourites and open with a Group D clash against Nigeria on January 11.

SQUAD Goalkeepers: Mohamed el-Shennawi, Mohamed Abu Gabal, Mohamed Sobhi, Mohamed Gad. Defenders: Akram Tawfik, Omar Kamal Abdel Wahed, Ahmed Hegazy, Mahmoud Hamdy El Wensh, Ayman Ashraf, Ahmed Abou El Fotouh, Mohamed Abd El Moneim, Mahmoud Alaa. Midfielders: Amr al-Suleya, Hamdi Fathi, Emam Ashour, Abdallah Said, Mohamed Elneny, Zizo, Mohanad Lasheen.Strikers: Omar Marmoush, Mohamed Sherif, Mostafa Mohamed, Mohamed Salah, Trezeguet, Ramadan Sobhi.

Thursday, December 30, 2021

GULF TIMES SPORT

Mater beats Dukhan in a close contest to win Bu Samrah Cup

HORSE RACING

Throughout the FIFA Arab Cup 2021, fans were treated to a se-ries of cultural activations that showcased Qatar’s rich history

and the diversity of its many communi-ties. Organised by the Supreme Com-mittee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) and its partners, the activities formed a key part of the fan experience, which saw wide support for the 16 participating nations in tournament.

Activities commenced before the tournament kicked off along Doha’s iconic Corniche Street, which saw a number of performances, light shows and festivities taking place alongside the 11th annual Qatar International Food Festival (QIFF), a Qatar Tourism initiative that celebrates the country’s diverse food, beverage and hospitality off erings. From 26 November until 3 December, more than 22 communities put on displays set against the city’s breathtaking skyline.

“The Arab Cup was an event that was embraced by a huge number of dif-ferent communities across Qatar, and so it was the perfect opportunity to showcase Qatar’s beautiful culture and the many other cultures that call Qa-tar their home. Throughout the tour-nament, spectators enjoyed musical performances and traditional dances up and down the country - from metro

stations to stadium precincts. That diversity of cultures and the range of amazing performances for fans to en-joy was a truly special aspect of our tournament,” said Khaled al-Suwaidi, the SC’s Stakeholder Relations Senior Manager.

One of the key partners that de-livered the wide array of activations throughout the FIFA Arab Cup was the Ministry of Culture, which put forth a series of cultural displays designed to highlight Qatar’s heritage to spectators, many of whom were visiting the coun-

try to attend the tournament. “It was important for us to celebrate

Qatari culture with our fellow Arabs at the tournament, and we look forward to sharing all the beautiful cultures of Qatar and this region when we host the World Cup in just under a year’s time,” said Sheikha Najla al-Thani, Director of Heritage and Identity Department at the Ministry of Culture.

“We are all proud of those stadiums whose design is inspired by Qatari her-

itage, and we renew our commitment to continue working with Qatar 2022 or-ganisers to support local talent and co-operate across cultural sectors to host a historic version of the World Cup next year,” added Najla al-Thani.

One of the most iconic performances took place at Al Bayt Stadium, which hosted both the opener and fi nal of the FIFA Arab Cup. The 60,000 seater, with its designed inspired by traditional tents used in Qatar and throughout the

region came to life during the tourna-ment with folkloric dances and games performed by the Al Khor Girls Center.

“The magnifi cent Al Bayt Stadium provided us with the perfect venue to showcase traditional Qatari games and folk dances. Our students were excited to join in this wonderful celebration that brought Arabs together and we look forward to taking part in the World Cup next year,” said Jana’a al-Murakhi, Executive Director of Al Khor Girls Center at the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

In under one year, the FIFA World Cup will come to the Middle East and Arab world for the fi rst time, allow-ing fans to learn more about Qatar’s signature hospitality and to embrace the region’s diverse cultures and mu-sical traditions. “The Arab Cup came to life through our musicians. Fans were treated to traditional artists from throughout the region, and we look forward to welcoming the world in 2022 and celebrating all the talent this re-gion has to off er,” said Khalid al-Salem, General Manager of the Musical Aff airs Center at the Ministry of Culture.

The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 is set to kick off on November 21 at Al Bayt Stadium, with the fi nal match be-ing played on 18 December at the Lusail Stadium.

By Sports ReporterDoha

Mater overcame a late surge from Dukhan to clinch the Bu Samrah Cup, winning the Lo-cal Thoroughbred Handicap

title during Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club’s (QREC) 23rd race meeting at Al the Rayyan Racecourse yesterday.

Carlos Henrique rode Ahmed Hassan al-Malki al-Jehani-owned four-year-old, who was dominating the feature race before Szczepan Mazur-helmed Dukhan made a late fi ghtback to threaten his lead. However, Mater continued the good pace to complete a thrilling win in the QR100,000 race, securing a prize money of QR57,000 for his team. QREC Racing Manager Abdulla Rashid al-Kubaisi pre-sented the trophies to the winners of the event.

Also yesterday, Ahmad Mubarak al-Kuwari’s Tamih sealed a comfortable vic-tory in the Purebred Arabian Handicap. Guided by J P Guillambert, the Mohamed Rashid Seif al-Kuwari-trained fi ve-year-old won the race by fi ve lengths, sealing a double of the day for the jockey.

Guillambert earlier steered Fahad bin Mubarak bin Jassim al-Groon-owned and trained Mallhog to a thrilling vic-tory in the 1600m Local Thoroughbred Maiden Plate.

Jockey Tomas Lukasek also bagged a ti-tle yesterday, guiding Al Thumama Rac-ing’s X Force to an easy win in the 1,200m Thoroughbred Conditions. X Force is trained by Ibrahim Saeed al-Malki.

Millions, trained and owned by Ab-dulaziz Ali al-Kathiri, was also impres-sive yesterday winning the Thoroughbred Handicap title after a 2¼-length victory. Rashid Ali al-Saaq rode the three-year-old gelding, who won the race after a late surge in the 1,200m run.

In the Purebred Arabian Novice Plate, Marco Casamento rode Ali Yousuf al-Kubaisi-trained Majd’or to win, while Mohamed Ghazali-trained Arges claimed the Thoroughbred Maiden Plate title, with David Allan in the saddle.

Earlier, jockey Szczepan Mazur helmed Sergeant Major for a victory in the Thor-oughbred Handicap (Class 6) in the open-ing race of Bu Samrah Cup Day.

WINNERS (Horse, Trainer, Jockey) 1. Bu Samrah Cup - Local Thoroughbred HandicapMater, Hamad al-Jehani, Carlos Henrique2. Purebred Arabian HandicapTamih, Eng. Mohamed Rashid Seif al-Kuwari, J P Guillambert3. Thoroughbred Conditions (Class 2)X Force, Ibrahim Saeed al-Malki, Tomas Lukasek4. Thoroughbred Handicap (Class 4)Millions, Abdulaziz Ali al-Kathiri, Rashid Ali al-Marri5. Purebred Arabian Novice PlateMajd’or, Ali Yousuf al-Kubaisi, Marco Casamento6. Local Thoroughbred Maiden PlateMallhog, Fahad Bin Mubarak al-Groon, JP Guillambert7. Thoroughbred Maiden Plate (2yo only) Arges, Mohamed Ghazali, David Allan8. Thoroughbred Handicap (Class 6)Sergeant Major, Osama Al al-Dafea, Szczepan Mazur

Al-Kuwari’s Tamih seals a comfortable victory in the Purebred Arabian Handicap

Qatar’s cultural heritage on display throughout FIFA Arab CupSPOTLIGHT

Liverpool need to improve for Chelsea clash, says Van Dijk

PREMIER LEAGUE

AFPLondon

Liverpool captain Vir-gil van Dijk says he and his teammates need to “look in the mirror and

improve” after the 1-0 loss to Leicester dealt a blow to their Premier League title prospects. Leaders Manchester City can extend their advantage to nine points if they beat Brentford late last night.

Chelsea could leapfrog Liver-pool into second too if they over-come Brighton also late last night — though the Reds will have a game in hand over both. Van Dijk did not look for excuses for the loss on Tuesday despite Leices-ter’s goal scored by Ademola Lookman coming from their only shot on target after Mohamed Salah missed a fi rst-half penalty for Liverpool.

Liverpool — who failed to score for the fi rst time in 29 league matches — will look to strike back in the title race at Chelsea on Sunday. However, Van Dijk says the players need to refl ect on why they under-performed against a Leicester side who were beaten 6-3 by Manchester City at the weekend.

“Everyone has to look in the mirror and improve,” the Dutch defender said. However, Van Dijk said it was no time to give up hope as other factors may still play a role in who is crowned champion. “We’re in December. The season is so, so long,” he said.

“You have seen it with Covid and injuries — lots of things can change. There’s no point looking at (Manchester) City or Chelsea or the other teams around us. We

should look at our performance today and improve.”

Liverpool will also have to cope without Salah and another key player, Sadio Mane, for what could be as long as a month with both heading off for the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon after Sunday’s match. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, though, is more concerned that his side rediscover their brio for the Chelsea match.

“It’s a big gap,” Klopp said. “To top that, Chelsea and us play against each other. It was not our plan to give City the chance to run away. If we play like tonight we cannot think about catching up with City.”

Klopp was bemused by the under-par performance and said fi nding an answer to that conundrum was his priority. “If we play our football and we can win games, we can see how many points we can get and what that means,” the German said.

“I don’t have a proper expla-nation for tonight — to fi nd it is my main concern, not City. “It didn’t look like us, and that’s ob-viously the one thing we have to think about and change imme-diately. We have to learn and we will.”

Leicester have struggled to replicate their form from the last two seasons, when they narrowly missed out on a top-four fi nish on both occasions, this cam-paign.

But they battled to get back into the game at leaders Man-chester City on Boxing Day and again worked incredibly hard on Tuesday, against a much fresher Liverpool, and this time their ef-forts were rewarded with three points.

MBAPPE DOWNPLAYS TRANSFER TALK, TARGETS TROPHIES WITH PARIS ST GERMAIN INSTEADParis: Kylian Mbappe said he does not plan to leave Paris St Germain in January despite mounting speculation about his future and that he hoped to add to his trophy haul at the end of the season. Earlier this year, PSG turned down multiple bids from Real Madrid for the 23-year-old, who can leave as a free agent at the end of the season when his contract expires. Mbappe is free to negotiate with Real and other clubs next month but said he was focused on beating the Spanish side

when they face off in the Champions League last 16 in February.

“I’ll give everything I have to win the Champions League, the league and cup. And to give all the pleasure to the fans because they deserve it,” Mbappe told CNN, adding he did not regret telling PSG in July that he wanted to leave. “I was honest. I gave a feeling, I gave what I have in my heart,” he said, adding, “I’m happy to stay.”

Mbappe said he enjoyed working with Argentina striker Lionel Messi,

who joined from Barcelona in August. “It’s a big pleasure for me to say to my kids, my friends, I play with him,” he said. “We have to enjoy seeing him in Paris... It’s an amazing moment in the history of the game.”

ARSENAL’S ARTETA TESTS POSITIVE FOR SECOND TIME

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has test-ed positive for Covid-19 for a second time and will miss the Premier League clash with leaders Manchester City on

Saturday, the club said. The 39-year-old Spaniard’s first positive test was in March 2020 which prompted English football to shut down as the pandemic took hold.

He is the latest Premier League manager to test positive in the last few weeks following Aston Villa’s Steven Gerrard and Patrick Vieira of Crystal Palace. Arteta — whose side have rebounded from a disappointing start to rise to fourth place after winning their last five matches in all competi-

tions — is still expected to conduct his press conference today. “This is really disappointing,” Arteta told the BBC. “I took the test after feeling poorly. I will be at work as soon as I’m allowed.”

Arsenal have closed the club’s London Colney training ground and club staff who had recent contact with Arteta will now self isolate. Assistants Albert Stuivenberg and Steve Round will be in charge on match day.

The Gunners were without a number of players during their 5-0 win at

Norwich on Sunday due to corona-virus, with Calum Chambers, Cedric Soares, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Ainsley Maitland-Niles among those infected.

Arsenal’s Premier League match against Wolves on Tuesday was postponed because their opponents had a surfeit of Covid cases. Newcas-tle’s clash at Everton too today has been postponed after a coronavirus outbreak in Eddie Howe’s squad. It is the 16th English top-flight match to be postponed due to Covid issues.

QREC Racing Manager Abdulla Rashid al-Kubaisi (third left) poses with the connections of Mater, which won the Bu Samrah Cup yesterday.

Jockey Carlos Henrique guides Mater to the Bu Samrah Cup victory at the Al Rayyan Racecourse yesterday. PICTURES: Juhaim

Organised by the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) and its partners, the cultural activities formed a key part of the fan experience.

Leicester City’s Ademola Lookman (right) celebrates after scoring against Liverpool during the Premier League match in Leicester, central England, on Tuesday night. (AFP)