THE PENINSULA – DOHA

Al Sadd's 2020 AFC Champions League (ACL) campaign ended after losing 1-0 to Persepolis in their Round of 16 clash at the Education City Stadium yesterday.

Issa Alkasir scored the winner for the Iranian side in the 88th minute.

“I feel very sad. This was a good chance to qualify,” Al Sadd's coach Xavi said after the match.

“I think the game was really equal. We had more possession, more shots and better opportu-nities, but as I told the players, in this competition you make just one mistake and you’re out.”

“We made a mistake from a set-piece, a corner, and we didn’t focus. We controlled the game, we created chances, we had a very good attitude and we were aggressive. We were focused until the last minute, but one mistake and we are out. This is the com-petition, and this is football. We have to accept it and learn from our mistakes,” the Barcelona great said after his team exited from the premier club championship in Asia.

The game got off to a calm start with no real chances until the 13th minute, when Santi Cazorla’s powerful left-footed shot was kept out by the Persepolis keeper Hamed Lak.

At the other end, Persepolis had a big opportunity, with Bashar Resan trying a shot from inside the box but Tarek Salman blocked it by sliding into its way. Vahid Amiri then had a go, only to see his attempt miss the target.

In the 33rd minute, Abdelkarim sent in a great low cross aimed at Bounedjah, but the Persepolis keeper was able to grab the ball before it reached the Algerian international. The first half went on to end in a goalless stalemate.

Al Sadd emerged after the break without making any changes, and looked to translate their superiority on the pitch into goals.

In the 55th minute, Abdelkarim tried a shot from just outside the box but it was too high, sailing over the crossbar. A few minutes

later, Cazorla floated in a free-kick, and the ball deflected and fell right in front of the unmarked Akram Afif, but his shot flew over as well.

Al Sadd were then saved by the crossbar in the 62nd minute, when Alkasir’s shot hit the crossbar and went out.

Coach Xavi Hernandez made his first change in the 66th minute, sending on Hassan Al Haydos in place of Mohammeed Waad, as he looked to freshen up the attack. Al Haydos got involved immediately, and set up Pedro for a run into the box but the right-back was brought down. The referee waved play on, despite the Al Sadd players appealing for a penalty.

Persepolis then had a golden opportunity through a quick counter a minute later, but once again Alkasir saw his attempt come back off the crossbar.

In the 75th minute, Afif set up teed up Nam Tae-hee nicely for a shot on the edge of the box; however, the South Korean’s shot was saved by Lak in the Persepolis goal.

Finally, Al Sadd were dealt a huge late blow after Alkasir headed in following a corner in the 88th minute. Despite the team’s best efforts in the remaining period, including five minutes of stoppage time, they were unable to equalise and ended up losing 1-0.

Persepolis join Saudi Arabia's Al Ahli Saudi FC and Pakhtakor of Uzbekistan in the quarter-finals, with the draw scheduled for today.

Later, at the same venue, a late goal by Abderrazak Hamdallah powered his team into the quarters with a win against Saudi’s Al Taawoun.

MONDAY 28 SEPTEMBER 2020

MotoGP: Quartararo wins Catalonia Grand Prix to retake championship leadI am not completely 100 percent but I went step by step. I am very happy with this win. I suffered in my head a lot in the last month, not getting on the podium, it wasn’t easy.

Sport |09

MGIvm

Petronas Yamaha SRT’s French riderFabio Quartararo

Sport

NBA: (WEST. CONF. FINALS) Game 5: Los Angeles Lakers 117, Denver Nuggets 107 (LeBron 38 pts, Davis 27) * Lakers won series 4-1

YESTERDAY’S RESULTS Persepolis FC (IRN) 1-0 Al Sadd (QAT)

Al Nassr (KSA) 1-0 Al Taawoun FC (KSA)

Leicester City’s Jamie

Vardy celebrates

after scoring the third

goal against Manchester

City yesterday.

Vardy hat-trick helps Leicester sink Man City 5-2REUTERS – MANCHESTER

A Jamie Vardy hat-trick and a superb James Maddison goal steered Leicester City to a stunning 5-2 win at Manchester City yesterday and kept them top of the Premier League with a maximum nine points from three games.

City looked to be in cruise control after a sublime volley from Riyad Mahrez against his former club gave the home side a fourth-minute lead, as they dominated the first half until Vardy equalised with the first of two penalties.

The striker drove his spot-kick into the top right corner in the 37th minute after he was fouled by Kyle Walker and then turned the match on its head in the 54th, beating goalkeeper Ederson at the near post with a deft touch.

Vardy completed his hat-trick four minutes later with a second penalty, drilling his shot into the bottom-left corner this time after Eric Garcia had hauled him down in the area.

Substitute Maddison made it 4-1 when he curled a brilliant shot from 20 metres into the top left corner

before centre back Nathan Ake pulled one back for City with a header.

With Vardy limping off with a hamstring strain in the closing stages, Youri Tielemans converted Leicester’s third penalty of the match in the 88th minute to put the icing on the cake for the visitors.

The outcome snapped City’s 11-match unbeaten home run in the league dating back to last season and it was also their first defeat in their opening top-flight home game since a 2-1 loss to Southampton in 1989.

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE RESULTSSheffield United 0 Leeds 1 (Bamford 88)

Tottenham 1 (Moura 25) Newcastle 1 (Wilson 90+7-pen)

Manchester City 2 (Mahrez 4, Ake 84) Leicester 5 (Vardy 37-pen, 54, 58-pen, Maddison 77, Tielemans 88-pen)

PLAYED ON SATURDAYBrighton 2 (Maupay 40-pen, March 90+5) Manchester United 3 (Dunk 43-og, Rashford 55, Fernandes 90+10-pen)Burnley 0 Southampton 1 (Ings 5)Crystal Palace 1 (Kouyate 26) Everton 2 (Calvert-Lewin 10, Richarlison 40-pen)

West Brom 3 (Robinson 4, 25, Bartley 27) Chelsea 3 (Mount 55, Hudson-Odoi 70, Abraham 90+3)

We are very disappointed forfans, says Xavi after ACL exitTHE PENINULA – DOHA

Al Sadd's Spanish great Xavi Hernandez yesterday expressed his disappointment for the club fans after his team's 2020 ACL campaign ended yesterday.

The former champions Al Sadd suf-fered a 1-0 loss in the hands of Iran's Perse-polis in the pre-quarter final at the Edu-cation City Stadium.

“I feel very sad. This was a good chance to qualify,” the Barcelona legend told Al Sadd's web site after the match yesterday.

Issa Alkasir's 88th minute header sealed a berth in the quarter-finals for the Iranian side yesterday.

“We are really disappointed, for the fans, and for the club. Of course, we didn’t deserve to go home. But this is the score. You must want to take revenge all the time. This is the way,” Xavi said.

Despite the outcome of the match, Xavi said both teams played equally well.

“I think the game was really equal. We had more possession, more shots and better opportunities, but as I told the players, in this competition you make just one mistake and you’re out,” the former Al Sadd captain turned coach Xavi said.

“We must accept the reality, we lost today because of small details. We were controlling the game and created enough

chances to score, we had many shots from outside the box, and many corners. In my opinion, we were

better than Persepolis in footballing terms, but we are out because of a small detail. We have to accept that, and con-

tinue. It’s a pity because after a game like that, normally you have to win. Sometimes, football is not fair,” Xavi said.

“It’s a matter of mistakes. We have to control the details. This is football. It would

have changed the result if we had scored one goal. I think we were a bit better than the opponent, but we are out. We have to accept it. We have to congratulate the other team. This is sport,” Xavi said.

Xavi, however, regretted VAR tech-nology was not in use for the championship.

"In my humble opinion, it’s a big shame that this competition, the best in Asia, does not have VAR. It’s a big shame,” Xavi said.

An appeal for a penalty was denied after Al Sadd's Pedro Miguel was brought down in the box. It was a golden oppor-tunity for Al Sadd to open the goal account. Xavi said it was unfair.

“Everybody saw what happened and it’s really unfair. This is the truth, and the main reason is because we didn’t have VAR. With VAR, everybody can see on the TV. What can I say? I cannot add anything. This is the truth," Xavi said.

“If we had VAR today, there would be a penalty for us. I don’t want to talk about referees because I know that their job is really difficult, and sometimes football is very fast, and you have to make decisions in

seconds. But VAR helps the referees a lot. If we had VAR today, we would be talking about a different result.”

“The best competition in Asia deserves the best conditions to play, and today we didn’t have that,” a dejected Xavi added.

Al Sadd's skipper Hassan Al Haydos yesterday said he and his team-mates apologize to the loyal Wolves fans and will do their best in the upcoming challenges.

“All the players wished to reach the far-thest stage in the Champions League. We had ambitions and a big dream, but unfor-tunately we did not succeed in this match against Persepolis,” Al Haydos said.

He added: “We apologise to our fans who had placed great hopes in us for this tournament and the loss is painful. In such

matches, there are small details that settle

things in the end, and this is what happened.”

" E v e r y o n e bears responsi-

bility and I am the first to take responsibility. We promise our fans

that we will do our best in the upcoming

challenges,” Al Haydos said.

Late Alkasir goal ends Al Sadd’s campaign

e opinion, it’s a big shameion, the best in Asia, does a big shame,” Xavi said.

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shame that this competition, the

best in Asia, does not have VAR.

It’s a big shame.

Xavi Hernandez

Persepolis’ goalkeeper Hamed Lak (right) grabs the ball ahead of Sadd’s forward Baghdad Bounedjah during the AFC Champions League Round of 16 match, played at the Education Stadium yesterday.

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Al Nassr’s forward Abderrazak Hamdallah celebrates after

scoring his team's winning goal against Saudi’s Al Taawoun, at the Education City Stadium, yesterday.

11MONDAY 28 SEPTEMBER 2020 SPORT

Dynamite retain BBCL titleTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Dynamite successfully defended the Bravo Box Cricket League (BBCL) title they won last year at the Bravo Cricket Academy-organised tour-nament held at the academy training grounds in Al Wukair recently.

The final was a repeat of the last edition with United Man-galore finishing second.

The other teams which took part were M3B3, Cloud 7, 7 Wonders, Desert lions, EVO and United Lankan.

Hassan, skipper of team

Dynamite won the Man-of-the-series title, the Best Batsman title went to Sunil from United Mangalore.

The Tournament was spon-sored by MR. Perfect Laundry and Hot Burger.

“It’s been long since the entire sporting world has come to a standstill because of Covid and the fear is over now.

Many passionate cricketers who were longing to play one of the shortest and very exciting League Bravo Box cricket League tuned up for the tour-nament after Qatar government and Ministry of Health relaxed

their restrictions and opened the outdoor activities after 4 long months,” said Christopher, Head of Bravo Cricket Academy.

Christopher, while thanking the sponsors for their support and encouragement and said this type of tournaments will be made every quarterly.

Christopher added that this format will help batsmen in their running between the wickets and to look out for the gaps, and to play along the ground as hitting out of the fence will mean a loss of wicket.

Dynamite captain (third left) receiving the trophy.

I’m done for 2020, says Venus after defeat in first round REUTERS — PARIS

American veteran Venus Williams said she will not play again this year after losing 6-4 6-4 in the first round of the French Open to Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova yesterday.

The 40-year-old, playing in her 87th Grand Slam, fought hard but ultimately could find no way past her younger opponent as she suf-fered a third straight first-round loss at Roland Garros.

Having also lost in the opening round in Rome, it has been a lean time for the seven-times Grand Slam champion.

“I’m going home from here. I’m done. If there is somewhere to play, I won’t be there,” Williams told reporters.

With her ranking down at 76th -- the lowest it has been since 2012 -- the inev-itable questions are being asked as to how long she will continue her career.

The way she fought against Schmiedlova for more than two hours on a blustery and damp claycourt, however, did not look like a player ready to hang up her racket.

She saved two match points after fighting back from 4-1 down in the second set but fell short.

“Even on my really good shots she had a lot of amazing replies that just kind of came out of nowhere. Give her credit to playing an amazing match,” Williams, runner-up at Roland Garros in 2002, said.

Asked if she would be back next year, she said she “definitely” would be although she said a 2020 hit by the COVID-19 pandemic had been a tough one.

Schmiedlova, who ended a run of 12 successive first-round defeats at Grand Slams, said she hoped Wil-liams would be back com-peting in 2021.

“I still hope that this won’t be the end for her, I respect her a lot. She’s had an incredible career and is still playing really good,” she said.

Venus Williams reacts during her match yesterday. ‘Ridiculous’ cold sparks French

Open revolt as Wawrinka winsAFP — PARIS

Roland Garros got underway in the “ridiculous” chill and damp of Paris yesterday with Victoria Azarenka walking off court, complaining that it was “too cold” to play, before Stan Wawrinka brushed aside fellow three-time major winner Andy Murray in the day’s marquee clash.

The French Open, which was pushed back from its tradi-tional May-June slot due to the coronavirus, began in steady drizzle and temperatures strug-gling to reach 10 degrees (50F).

It was all too much for Aza-renka, 31, who left the almost deserted Court Suzanne Lenglen after just three games.

“I don’t see the point of sitting on the court when it’s eight degrees,” fumed two-time major winner Azarenka.

On court she complained: “We are sitting like ducks. It’s too cold, it’s eight degrees, I live in Florida. This is getting a little ridiculous. I’m not waiting,” she said before storming off to seek shelter.

She returned to complete a 6-1, 6-2 win, playing in black leggings and a tracksuit top.

“Does it increase the risk of players getting injured? Abso-lutely, I think that it does,” she added ahead of a week in which the cold, wet conditions are forecast to continue.

That echoed fears expressed by 12-time champion Rafael Nadal who said the conditions combined with a new heavier ball could cause elbow and shoulder problems for players.

On Court Simonne Mathieu, Belgian 16th seed Elise Mertens and Russia’s Margarita Gasparyan twice left the arena after also halting play due to the slippery conditions.

At least the rain had cleared by the time 2015 champion Wawrinka and Murray walked out on to Court Philippe Chatrier with the retractable roof opened for the first time in the day.

Murray, playing his first clay court match since losing a

five-set semi-final to the Swiss star in 2017, may have wished it had remained shut as 16th seed Wawrinka swept to a 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 win.

The 35-year-old fired 42 winners past wildcard Murray, now ranked at 111 in the world after being pushed to the brink of retirement by his lengthy battle with a hip injury.

“I should be analysing that hard and trying to understand why the performance was like that,” said 33-year-old Murray.

On a grim day for Britain, ninth seed and 2019 semi-finalist Johanna Konta was knocked out by teenage sen-sation Coco Gauff.

The 16-year-old American, making her debut in the main draw having been the junior champion just two years ago, eased to a 6-3, 6-3 win despite serving up 12 double faults.

Top seed and 2018 champion Simona Halep swept into the second round with a

6-4, 6-0 victory over Spanish world number 70 Sara Sorribes Tormo.

Playing under the roof, second-ranked Halep trailed 4-2 but claimed the final 10 games to progress in 82 minutes.

“The perfect present was that I won today,” said Halep who was celebrating her 29th birthday.

Italian teenager Jannik Sinner had the honour of claiming the first ever win under the roof, demolishing Belgian 11th seed David Goffin 7-5, 6-0, 6-3.

Another rookie winner was Sebastian Korda, the son of 1992 Roland Garros runner-up and 1998 Australian Open champion Petr, who saw off Andreas Seppi of Italy 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Venus Williams, now 40 and who played her first Roland Garros in 1997, saved two match

points but not the third as she fell to a 6-4, 6-4 defeat to Anna Karolina Schmiedlova of Slo-vakia who hadn’t won a match at a Slam in five years.

Williams, runner-up to sister Serena in 2002, has now lost in the first round in Paris for three years in a row.

Schmiedlova will face Aza-renka in the second round.

Wintry weather, expected to last all week, was the last thing organisers needed after playing cat and mouse with the impact of Covid-19.

A resurgence of cases has cut attendance to just 1,000 spec-tators a day. In 2019, more than 500,000 people watched the two-week tournament on site.

Those few who were on site on Sunday wore scarves, winter coats as well as the mandatory masks. Normally bustling shops, food outlets and other com-

mercial stalls are shuttered.Nadal, bidding to win a 13th

Roland Garros and move level with the absent Roger Federer on a record 20 majors, plays today against Egor Gerasimov, the 83rd-ranked Belarusian.

World number one Novak Djokovic, chasing an 18th major, will get underway tomorrow boasting a record in 2020 of 31 wins and just one loss due to his US Open default. The 33-year-old Serb faces Sweden’s Mikael Ymer.

Serena Williams, pursuing an elusive 24th major, starts today against fellow American Kristie Ahn.

Belarus’ Victoria Azarenka (right) and Montenegro’s Danka Kovinic come back to the pitch for their women’s singles first round match at the Suzanne Lenglen court on opening day of French Open, yesterday.

Romania’s Simona Halep returns the ball to Spain’s Sara Sorribes during their women’s

singles first round match.

Selected Men’s First Round

Jurij Rodionov (AUT) bt Jeremy Chardy (FRA)3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-4, 10-8

Stan Wawrinka (SUI x16) bt Andy Murray(GBR) 6-1, 6-3, 6-2

Benoit Paire (FRA x23) bt Soonwoo Kwon(KOR) 7-5, 6-4, 6-4

Jannik Sinner (ITA) bt David Goffin (BEL x11)7-5, 6-0, 6-3

Sebastian Korda (USA) bt Andreas Seppi(ITA) 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3

John Isner (USA x21) bt Elliot Benchetrit(FRA) 6-4, 6-1, 6-3

Kei Nishikori (JPN) bt Dan Evans (GBR x32)1-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7/3), 1-6, 6-4 Women’s First Round

Simona Halep (ROM x1) bt Sara Sorribes Tormo (ESP) 6-4, 6-0

Martina Trevisan (ITA) bt Camila Giorgi (ITA)7-5, 3-0 - retired

Ekaterina Alexandrova (RUS x27) bt Maddison Inglis (AUS) 6-3, 6-3

Caroline Garcia (FRA) bt Anett Kontaveit (ESTx17) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4

Elise Mertens (BEL x16) bt Margarita Gasparyan (RUS) 6-2, 6-3

Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (SVK) bt VenusWilliams (USA) 6-4, 6-4

FRENCH OPEN RESULTS

COURT PHILIPPE-CHATRIER 7-Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) v

Oceane Dodin (France) Marin Cilic (Croatia) v 3-Dominic

Thiem (Austria) Kristie Ahn (US) v 6-Serena Williams

(US) Egor Gerasimov (Belarus) v 2-Rafa

Nadal (Spain) COURT SUZANNE-LENGLEN

Katarina Zavatska (Ukraine) v 5-KikiBertens (Netherlands)

3-Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) v VarvaraGracheva (Russia)

8-Gael Monfils (France) v AlexanderBublik (Kazakhstan)

4-Daniil Medvedev (Russia) v MartonFucsovics (Hungary)

COURT SIMONNE-MATHIEU 14-Fabio Fognini (Italy) v Mikhail

Kukushkin (Kazakhstan) Tamara Zidansek (Slovenia) v

11-Garbine Muguruza (Spain) Kamil Majchrzak (Poland) v 15-Karen

Khachanov (Russia) Chloe Paquet (France) v Alize Cornet

(France)

ORDER OF PLAY

Samson, Tewatia help Royals complete record IPL chaseIANS — SHARJAH

Rahul Tewatia’s five sixes off the 18th over bowled by Sheldon Cottrell coupled with Sanju Samson’s 85 off 42 balls helped Rajasthan Royals overhaul a target of 224 set by Kings XI Punjab yesterday at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. RR won the match by four wickets and thus broke the record for the highest successful run chase in the IPL history.

Mayank Agarwal’s century and his epic 183-run opening stand with captain KL Rahul helped KXIP score 223/2. RR in reply ended the match on 226/6 with three balls to spare.

RR lost their first wicket early in the form of the dan-gerous Jos Buttler.

Samson and captain Steve Smith, however, ensured that their side reach 100 before the

10th over. Smith soon fell on 50 off 27 deliveries off the last ball of the ninth over after which Tewatia was promoted ahead of Robin Uthappa.

In stark contrast to the way he played towards the end of the innings, Tewatia struggled to score runs for much of the early part of his innings while Samson went big guns at the other end.

The latter eventually fell

to Mohammed Shami, thus making it look like KXIP are closing in on an easy victory.

However, Tewatia, who at one point had scored just eight runs off 19 balls, smashed 30 runs off the 18th over to flip the tables on KXIP.

He was eventually dis-missed on 53 but Jofra Archer saw them over the line with 13 runs off just three balls.

Earlier, Mayank scored 106 from 50 balls, his innings punctuated by as many seven sixes and 10 fours. Rahul, on the other hand, scored 69 off 54, smashing seven fours and one six.

It was the second fastest ton by an Indian and eighth overall in the 13-year history of the T20 league. Yusuf Pathan, then representing Rajasthan Royals, had scored a century off just 37 balls against Mumbai Indians at the Brabourne Stadium.

Brief Scores KXIP 223/2 in 20 overs

(Mayank Agarwal 106,

KL Rahul 69; Ankit

Rajpoot 1/39) vs RR

226/6 in 19.3 overs

(Sanju Samson 85, Rahul

Tewatia 53; Mohammed

Shami 3/53)

Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka in action

during his first round match against

Britain’s Andy Murray, yesterday.

AFP – LONDON

Newcastle manager Steve Bruce said the stoppage time penalty that allowed his side to snatch a 1-1 draw at Tottenham yesterday was a “nonsense” in another Premier League clash decided by the controversial interpretation of the handball rule.

Spurs had just Lucas Moura’s goal to show for a dominant first-half display and were made to pay when Eric Dier was penalised after a VAR review as the ball brushed his arm in challenge with Andy Carroll.

Callum Wilson converted the penalty with Newcastle’s first shot on target, prompting Jose Mourinho to march down the tunnel before the full-time whistle had been blown.

Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson said on Saturday the spate of penalties being awarded for contentious handball decisions was “ruining” football.

“I can understand why Spurs will go beserk and Roy Hodgson reacted like he did. It is a total nonsense,” said Bruce.

“We should be jumping through hoops, but I would be devastated if that was us.” Mourinho complained that Tottenham were not being treated equally to other clubs after a similar incident when the ball struck Newcastle

captain Jamaal Lascelles on the arm was not punished.

“We know there are boxes and boxes, there are boxes for Tottenham and boxes for other teams. So we kept them away from the box and, on one occasion we couldn’t, we lost two points,” said Mourinho.

“We deserve the points and deserve respect. At this moment we don’t have the points and we don’t have the respect.” For all their com-plaints, Mourinho’s men will also have to reflect on not

taking their chances before the break in front of the watching Gareth Bale.

The Welshman was all smiles in the stand, but was still not fit enough to make his second Spurs debut due to a knee injury, while Mourinho left Dele Alli out of his 18-man squad completely for the second straight league game.

Karl Darlow in the visitors’ goal was busy from the third minute as he clawed out Giovani lo Celso’s free-kick

and got up to block Harry Kane’s follow-up effort.

The England captain tested the Newcastle stopper again with a diving header moments later.

Kane provided four assists for Son Heung-min in a 5-2 thrashing of Southampton last weekend and was the creator when Spurs did finally break the deadlock on 25 minutes.

Moura’s place is most at risk when Bale is fit to return, but reminded Mourinho of the threat he can post by bundling

home his first Premier League goal since December from Kane’s low cross.

Son then hit the woodwork twice with shots from outside the box, while Darlow made another fantastic save from Kane’s long-range effort to crucially keep Newcastle’s deficit down to just one before half-time.

Spurs’ attacking flow was interrupted in the second-half without Son, who was replaced at half-time and is now an injury doubt for Tottenham’s hectic week ahead as they face Chelsea in the League Cup on Tuesday, Maccabi Haifa in Europa League qualifying on Thursday and travel to Man-chester United in the Premier League next Sunday.

Yet, there was still precious little from Newcastle for Tot-tenham to fear at the other end until the dramatic finale.

Indeed, the closest the vis-itors came to scoring before the penalty was when Ben Davies smashed a clearance into his teammate Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and the ball ricocheted wide a minute from time.

But on a weekend already marked by complaints over the handball law, Spurs were stung despite Dier clearly having no intent to handle the ball.

Hugo Lloris got a hand to Wilson’s penalty, but could not keep it out, prompting Mourinho to storm off in disgust.

10 MONDAY 28 SEPTEMBER 2020SPORT

Ahsan Pachisa wins QGL Golf TournamentTHE PENINSULA – DOHA

Dr. Ahsan Pachisa played fabulous golf to emerge victorious in the 195th monthly Golf tournament organized by Qatar Golf Lovers at the Doha Golf Course over the weekend.

Akshay Randeva was declared runner up of the competition that was played on a “Four Club Chal-lenge” format where players were allowed to play with only 4 Clubs in their bag.

Dr. Amitav Mitra won the ‘longest putt’ award, and Kumar Natarajan won the ‘closest to rope’ award.

QGL hosted a prize distribution dinner for all golfers.

QGL President Manoj Megchiani gave away prizes to all the winners.

Also during the event, QGL Vice-President Sanjay Jain welcomed 13 new members to the club. The new members are currently undergoing coaching organised by QGL.

Prize winners of the 195th monthly Golf tournament organized by Qatar Golf Lovers posing for a photograph with Officials. STANDING FROM LEFT: Kumar Natarajan, VP Sanjay Jain, Dr. Ahsan Pachisa, QGL President Manoj Megchiani. FRONT ROW: Dr. Amitav Mitra and Akshay Randeva

British minister urges PL to give financial aid to smaller clubsAFP – LONDON

The British minister with responsibility for sport has urged the Premier League to give financial support to cash-strapped Football League clubs in a bid to ease the financial damage caused by the corona-virus pandemic.

The English Football League says its teams will lose £200m ($255m) this season while matches are played behind closed doors due to the pandemic.

Having already lost £50 million last season after the lockdown forced spectators out of stadiums, there are fears some clubs in the three divisions below the Premier League could go out of business without financial help.

Britain’s Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden believes it is the wealthy Premier League that should step in with a bailout package rather than the government.

“We stand ready to support clubs because they are such an important part of our local com-munity,” he told Sky News.

“The first thing we need to look to is the Premier League and I’ve been in contact with them this week.

“We’re all agreed the Premier League needs to step up to the plate and they’re having intensive discussions with the EFL over how they can support those clubs.

Clubs in Brazil vote against plan for fans’ returnREUTERS – SAO PAULO

Brazil’s first division clubs voted unanimously against allowing fans to return to soccer stadiums on Saturday, rejecting an earlier Health Ministry decision to permit grounds across the country to admit up to 30% of their capacity.

The Brazilian Football Con-federation (CBF) said it agreed with the veto, although it is in favor of a gradual return once all health and safety measures are in place.

The CBF and clubs will meet again in two weeks to debate the issue once more, it said in a statement.

All bar one of the 20 teams supported the ban, with Fla-mengo the only club not sending a representative to Sat-urday’s meeting.

The decision comes four days after Brazil’s Health Min-istry gave the green light to fans returning.

Under its proposals, a crowd of around 25,000 would be permitted in Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana stadium.

The plan was widely criti-cized in Brazil, one of the nation’s worst hit by the new coronavirus pandemic.

Referee Peter Bankes speaks to Tottenham Hotspur’s Colombian defender Davinson Sanchez (left) and English midfielder Harry Winks (second right) after they conceded a penalty against Newcastle United during their English Premier League match in London, yesterday.

Controversial Newcastle penaltydenies win for dominant Spurs

Real Madrid’s Spanish defender Sergio Ramos celebrates after scoring

against Real Betis in Seville, on Saturday.

Real beat Betis as VAR takes centre stageAP – SEVILLE

Sergio Ramos’ late penalty helped Real Madrid win at 10-man Real Betis 3-2 after the video assistant referee spotted a handball in the Spanish league on Saturday.

The handball was called against Betis defender Marc Bartra when VAR revealed he touched the ball with his arm during a brush with Madrid substitute Borja Mayoral in the area. It seems Mayoral’s attempt to kick the ball pushed Bartra’s arm into the ball.

Ramos converted the spot kick for the 82nd-minute winner. Madrid played with an extra man from the 67th when Betis defender Emerson was red-carded for fouling Luka Jovic with only the goalkeeper to beat. The refe-ree's decision was also aided by video.

Karim Benzema, the heart of Madrid’s title run last season, once again led the side. He set up Federico Val-verde for the 14th-minute opener and scored his own goal early in the second half after Betis went ahead 2-1.

Aissa Mandi and William Carvalho scored for a Betis that had won its first two matches under new coach Manuel Pellegrini. Midfielder Sergio Canales provided key passes in both Betis goals.

Pacquiao, McGregorto fight next yearREUTERS – MANILA

Philippine boxing champion Manny Pacquiao will face former two-weight UFC champion Conor McGregor in the ring next year, and part of proceeds from the fight will go to corona-virus victims in his country, his office said on Saturday.

Both fighters are “getting ready for this one epic last boxing fight,” said Jayke Joson, special assistant to Pacquiao, who is also a Philippine senator.

Joson’s statement followed a tweet by Irishman McGregor in which he said that he would be “boxing Pacquiao next in the Middle East”.

“We don’t deny it,” Joson said of the former UFC feath-erweight and lightweight champ’s tweet.

McGregor announced on Twitter in June that he was retiring from the sport for the third time. He first quit in April 2016. In March 2019, he again announced he was hanging up his gloves, but on both occasions the retirements were short-lived. Negotiation between the two camps “is now starting to move on”, Joson said, adding a “huge portion” of Pacquiao’s earnings would go to those who were affected by the pandemic.

Hoffenheim end Bayern’s 32-match unbeaten runREUTERS – BERLIN

Quadruple winners Bayern Munich slumped to a shock 4-1 loss at Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga yesterday to end their 32-match unbeaten run in all competitions stretching back to last year.

Bayern, winners of the Super Cup against Sevilla after extra time on Thursday, had not lost since Dec. 7, 2019, and had gone 21 consecutive Bundesliga matches without defeat, winning their last 15.

The European champions, who face Borussia Dortmund in Germany’s Super Cup on Wednesday, conceded two goals in eight minutes as their usually solid defence collapsed under Hoffenheim pressure.

“It was clear it would happen at some point,” said Bayern coach Hansi Flick, who won four titles after taking over in November.

“I cannot accuse my team of a lack of will or commitment. We now need to put it behind us,” he said.

Ermin Bicakcic put the hosts ahead, nodding in a corner at the near post. A mistake by Bayern defender Benjamin Pavard in the 24th minute then allowed Munas Dabbur to break free and beat keeper Manuel Neuer with a

fine finish. Bayern, with top scorer Robert Lewandowski on the bench at the start, stepped on the gas after the second goal and Joshua Kimmich’s superbly curled shot from 18 metres out cut the deficit in the 36th.

Neuer then kept the Bavarians in the game, tipping an Andrej Kramaric effort onto the post and Bayern striker Joshua Zirkzee almost bagged an equaliser in the 56th but his shot bounced off the bar.

Bayern showed signs of fatigue as Hoffenheim again

pressed forward and Kramaric, who had scored a hat-trick last week, killed off the visitors’ hopes in the 77th minute, con-trolling a cross with his back to the goal and turning beau-tifully to beat keeper Manuel Neuer.

A stoppage-time penalty by the Croatia forward Kramaric crowned a memorable win for Hoffenheim and their new coach Sebastian Hoeness, a Bayern youth coach until last season and nephew of longtime club boss Uli Hoeness.

Hoffenheim’s Croatian forward Andrej

Kramaric scores the 4-1 goal against

Bayern Munich from the penalty spot

during the German Bundesliga match played in Munich,

yesterday.

AFP SOCHI, - RUSSIA

Valtteri Bottas took full advantage of a troubled day for his Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton to claim the ninth win of his career with a measured drive to victory in yester-day’s incident-packed Russian Grand Prix.

The Finn swooped to take second place at the start and inherited the lead when the runaway series leader and six-time champion took an extended pit-stop to serve two five-second penalties for irregular pre-race practice starts.

A disgruntled Hamilton, aiming to win and equal Michael Schu-macher’s record of 91 Grand Prix tri-umphs, re-joined in 11th place, but fought back to finish third behind Bottas and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

His second win in Russia and second this season reinvigorated Bottas’ challenge for the drivers’ title and reduced Hamilton’s lead to 44 points.

Sergio Perez came home fourth for Racing Point ahead of Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo, who had to take a five-second penalty for an infringement, and Charles Leclerc, who was sixth for Ferrari.

Esteban Ocon was seventh for Renault ahead of local hero Daniil Kvyat and his Alpha Tauri team-mate Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon, who was also given a five-second penalty, in the second Red Bull.

Hamilton did not want to talk about his penalty

“It doesn’t matter. It’s done now. I’ll take the points and move on, but congratulations to Valtteri. A big thank-you to the fans here this weekend - spasibo,” he said. “It’s not the greatest day, but it is what it is...”

Bottas yesterday said: “It’s very nice to get a win. It’s been a while! I need to try and keep the momentum. I’ve managed to squeeze a few points over Lewis, but there’s still quite a few races to go so you never know. I’ll keep pushing. I won’t give up.”

Verstappen said yesterday: “We split the Mercedes again so that is good -- and we can be happy with that.”

All three Formula One drivers wore their racing overalls on the podium after the race, obeying the latest revised rules from the sport’s ruling body not to wear any items carrying ‘political’ messages.

Hamilton had made a solid start from his record 96th pole and fended off the slipstreaming Bottas, who had passed Verstappen’s Red Bull.

‘THIS IS RIDICULOUS!’ The Dutchman, recovering from

a ragged getaway, ran off-line to defend against a rapid Ricciardo

before two first lap crashes behind them ended the early action and brought out the Safety Car.

McLaren’s Carlos Sainz hit a wall in the run-off area at Turn Two after losing control before Racing Point’s Lance Stroll was nudged from behind by Leclerc and spun into the barriers.

Sainz almost collected several other cars including team-mate Norris who managed to avert a col-lision, but felt he suffered some damage.

The action resumed on lap six, when Hamilton’s penalties were announced.

“What happened? What hap-pened?” he responded on team radio. “Those starts, going to the grid, we got five seconds for each -- out of position,” he was told.

“Where is that in the rule book?” said a disgruntled Hamilton. “Any-thing to slow me down, but it’s ok. I can take it.”

Hamilton was also given two more penalty points on his racing licence and, with a total of 10 in 12 months, moved within two of an automatic one-race ban.

He reacted by pushing to open a 2.5 seconds lead on Bottas before pitting on lap 17 for hard tyres and his combined 10-seconds penalty.

“This is ridiculous, man,” said a disgruntled Hamilton before re-joining 11th.

At the front, Bottas reeled off fastest laps to open a clear lead before pitting on lap 27, retaining his advantage ahead of Leclerc’s Ferrari with Verstappen, having pitted earlier in third.

By lap 32, Bottas was in command with a 12 seconds lead over Ver-stappen and Hamilton up to third after slicing through the field, many of whom had pitted.

The charge had given enter-tainment to the 30,000 spectators, the first significant crowd at a sports event in the Covid-19 era.

With 20 laps to go, he was 22 seconds behind Bottas and 10 off the Dutchman, but his prospects of a 91st win on Russian soil had gone.

The other record-chaser Kimi Raikkonen finished 14th for Alfa Romeo on the day when he equalled Rubens Barrichello record of 322 race starts.

09MONDAY 28 SEPTEMBER 2020 SPORT

Bottas exploits record-chasing Hamilton’s troubles in Russia

Mercedes’ Finnish driver

Valtteri Bottas

celebrates after

winning the Russian Grand Prix

in Sochi yesterday.

Russian Grand Prix Results

At Sochi AutodromSochi, Russia

Lap length: 5.00 kilometers(Start position in parentheses)

1. (3) Valtteri Bottas, Finland, Mercedes, 53 laps, 1:34:00.364, 26 points.2. (2) Max Verstappen, Netherlands, Red Bull Racing Honda, 53, +7.729 seconds, 18.3. (1) Lewis Hamilton, Great Britain, Mer-cedes, 53, +22.729, 15.4. (4) Sergio Perez, Mexico, Racing Point BWT Mercedes, 53, +30.558, 12.5. (5) Daniel Ricciardo, Australia, Renault, 53, +52.065, 10.6. (10) Charles Leclerc, Monaco, Ferrari, 53, +1:02.186, 8.7. (7) Esteban Ocon, France, Renault, 53, +1:08.006, 6.8. (11) Daniil Kvyat, Russia, Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda, 53, +1:08.740, 4.9. (9) Pierre Gasly, France, Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda, 53, +1:29.766, 2.10. (15) Alexander Albon, Thailand, Red Bull Racing Honda, 53, +1:37.860, 1.11. (17) Antonio Giovinazzi, Italy, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 52, +1 lap.12. (18) Kevin Magnussen, Denmark, Haas Ferrari, 52, +1 lap.13. (14) Sebastian Vettel, Germany, Ferrari, 52, +1 lap.14. (19) Kimi Raikkonen, Finland, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 52, +1 lap.15. (8) Lando Norris, Great Britain, McLaren Renault, 52, +1 lap.16. (20) Nicholas Latifi, Canada, Williams Mercedes, 52, +1 lap.17. (16) Romain Grosjean, France, Haas Ferrari, 52, +1 lap.18. (13) George Russell, Great Britain, Wil-liams Mercedes, 52, +1 lap.19. (6) Carlos Sainz Jr, Spain, McLaren Renault, did not finish.20. (12) Lance Stroll, Canada, Racing Point BWT Mercedes, did not finish.

DRIVER STANDINGS1. Lewis Hamilton, Great Britain, Mercedes, 190 points.2. Valtteri Bottas, Finland, Mercedes, 135.3. Max Verstappen, Netherlands, Red Bull Racing Honda, 110.4. Lando Norris, Great Britain, McLaren Renault, 65.5. Alexander Albon, Thailand, Red Bull Racing Honda, 63.6. Lance Stroll, Canada, Racing Point BWT Mercedes, 57.7. Daniel Ricciardo, Australia, Renault, 53.8. Charles Leclerc, Monaco, Ferrari, 49.9. Sergio Perez, Mexico, Racing Point BWT Mercedes, 44.10. Pierre Gasly, France, Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda, 43.11. Carlos Sainz Jr, Spain, McLaren Renault, 41.12. Esteban Ocon, France, Renault, 30.13. Sebastian Vettel, Germany, Ferrari, 17.14. Daniil Kvyat, Russia, Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda, 10.15. Nico Hulkenberg, Germany, Racing Point BWT Mercedes, 6.16. Kimi Raikkonen, Finland, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 2.17. Antonio Giovinazzi, Italy, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 2.18. Kevin Magnussen, Denmark, Haas Ferrari, 1.

MANUFACTURERS STANDINGS1. Mercedes, 325.2. Red Bull Racing Honda, 173.3. McLaren Renault, 106.4. Racing Point BWT Mercedes, 92.5. Renault, 83.6. Ferrari, 66.7. Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda, 53.8. Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 4.9. Haas Ferrari, 1.10. Williams Mercedes, 0.

MOTOGP 1. Fabio Quartararo (FRA/Yamaha-SRT) 40min 33.176sec.2. Joan Mir (ESP/Suzuki) at 0.9283. Alex Rins (ESP/Suzuki) 1.8984. Franco Morbidelli (ITA/Yamaha-SRT) 2.8465. Jack Miller (AUS/Ducati-Pramac) 3.3916. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA/Ducati-Pramac) 3.5187. Takaaki Nakagami (JPN/Honda-LCR) 3.6718. Danilo Petrucci (ITA/Ducati) 6.1179. Maverick Vinales 13.607 (ESP/Yamaha)10. Cal Crutchlow (GBR/Honda-LCR) 14.483 CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS MOTOGP (AFTER 8 RACES)1. Fabio Quartararo (FRA) 108 points2. Joan Mir (ESP) 1003. Maverick Vinales (ESP) 904. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) 845. Franco Morbidelli (ITA) 776. Jack Miller (AUS) 757. Takaaki Nakagami (JPN) 728. Alex Rins (ESP) 609. Miguel Oliveira (POR) 5910. Brad Binder (RSA) 58

Mercedes’ Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas steers his car during the Formula One Russian Grand Prix at the Sochi Autodrom Circuit in Sochi yesterday.

Mercedes’ British driver Lewis Hamilton reacts on the podium after finishing third in the Russian Grand Prix at the Sochi Autodrom Circuit in Sochi yesterday.

MotoGP: Quartararo wins Catalonia Grand Prix to retake championship leadAFP - BARCELONA

Fabio Quartararo produced a thrilling ride to claim a resounding victory at the Cata-lonia MotoGP yesterday, his third of the season which sends him top of the world championship standings.

Joan Mir, on a Suzuki, came through to take second and is now eight points behind Quartararo in the standings, while Alex Rins completed the podium.

The race began in dramatic fashion with Andrea Dovizioso, who led the title race by a single point from Frenchman Quartararo and Maverick Vinales, was taken out in the opening lap after tangling with Johann Zarcho.

Quartararo, on a Yamaha, won the opening two races of the season but has struggled since then, failing to reach the podium in the last five races.

But the 21-year-old, who showed signs of a return to form in last week’s Emilia-Romagna MotoGP when he came fourth, was back to his best in Barcelona, although his bike almost blew the race.

“The race was very hard for me,” said Quartararo.

“My back tyre was completely wrecked and we knew how strong the Suzukis were. I am not

completely 100 percent but I went step by step and I am very happy with this win.

“I suffered in my head a lot in the last month, not getting on the podium, it wasn’t easy.”

Starting from pole, alongside the fellow Yamahas of Franco Morbidelli and Valentino Rossi, he set a fierce pace which put the pressure on the field, especially those trying to close him down.

One who suffered was Rossi, who had taken advantage of a wobble by Morbidelli with 11 laps to go to move into second spot.

Two laps later, however, trying to make up ground on the flying Quartararo, the 41-year-old slid into

the gravel on turn two, his race over. Morbidelli, who won in San

Marino two races ago, looked good to take second but could not hold off Mir who swept past him with two laps to go.

“We had a great race,” said Mir whose second place puts him within touching distance of Quartararo.

“We needed one more lap as I could see that Fabio was losing ground but I couldn’t catch him,” said Mir.

Morbidelli then lost his place on the podium as Rins, who started down in 13th, put the gloss on an excellent race.

Quartararo heads the standings with 108 points, eight clear of Mir.

MARINI DOMINATES MOTO2

Moto2 championship leader Luca Marini, on a Kalex, tightened his grip on the title race with a pole to line victory which marked the Italian’s third win of the season.

Britain’s Sam Lowes fin-ished second with 21-year-old Italian Fabio Di Giannan-tonio in third for his first podium of the year.

Marini now holds a 20-point lead in the title race ahead of fellow Italian Enea Bastianini, who finished sixth.

The South African Darryn Binder took his first win in

Moto3 as two of the main world title contenders, Albert Arenas and John McPhee, both had to abandon.

The 22-year-old Binder, whose older brother Brad rides for KTM in MotoGP, started way back in 20th position on the grid but came through to take the victory ahead of the Italians Tony Arbolino and Dennis Foggia.

“It is an extraordinary feeling. I have waited a long time but today I did everything I could,” said Binder, who rides for the CIP Green Power team.

Japanese rider Ai Ogura finished 11th and leads the championship, three points ahead of Arenas.

Petronas Yamaha SRT’s French rider Fabio Quartararo competes during the MotoGP race at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo on the outskirts of Barcelona yesterday.

All drivers wore their racing overalls on the podium after the race, obeying the latest revised rules from the sport’s ruling body not to wear any items carrying ‘political’ messages.

F1 drivers entertain 30,000 spectators, the first significant crowd at a sports event in the COVID-19 era.

Catalonia Grand Prix results

08MONDAY 28 SEPTEMBER 2020SportJames powers Lakers past Nuggets into NBA FinalsAFP — MIAMI

The Los Angeles Lakers, fueled by a triple-double from superstar LeBron James, beat the Denver Nuggets 117-107 to reach the NBA Finals.

With the win in the league’s quarantine bubble in Orlando, the Lakers completed a 4-1 victory over the Nuggets in the best-of-seven Western Con-ference finals.

James scored 16 of his 38 points in the fourth quarter as the Lakers remained perfect in elimination games this post-season.

Denver, already the first team to twice come back from 1-3 series deficits in the same play-offs, couldn’t work the magic again.

James added 16 rebounds and 10 assists, and Anthony Davis scored 27 points for the Lakers, who are back in the championship series for the 32nd time -- and the first time since they lifted the trophy for the 16th time in 2010.

Kobe Bryant was NBA Finals MVP that year, and it has been an emotional road to the finals this season for the Lakers after the death of Bryant in a heli-copter crash in January.

They will take on the winners of the Eastern Con-ference final series between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat. The Heat lead that series 3-2

with game six coming up today.“We’re going to enjoy it

tonight, but we understand we’ve got bigger fish to fry,” James said as the Western Con-ference title was celebrated on court.

“We understand there’s a bigger goal.”

Nikola Jokic and Jerami Grant scored 20 points apiece for the Nuggets and Jamal Murray added 19 points with eight assists despite being slowed by injury.

A tight first quarter that fea-tured nine lead changes ended with the Lakers up 33-30, with reserve Alex Caruso pushing the

Lakers’ lead in the closing seconds with a layup off an assist by James.

With 14 points from James in the second quarter the Lakers began to separate themselves, leading by as many as 11 points and taking a 61-51 lead into halftime.

It looked like the Lakers might run away with it when they built a 16-point lead early in the third quarter.

But Denver kept chipping away. Murray, drove for a basket and was fouled, con-verting the free throw to cut the Lakers’ lead to two points.

His two free throws with 11

seconds left in the third made it 84-84 before Davis drained a three-pointer to put the Lakers up 87-84 heading into the final period.

That’s when James took over. Fouled on back-to-back baskets he made the free-throws to stretch the Lakers lead to 95-88 with 9:33 remaining.

James scored nine straight points late in the period -- a stretch capped by a three-pointer that put the Lakers up 115-103 with 1:57 left.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever witnessed a guy take over a game the way he did in the fourth quarter tonight in person,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said of James, who is in the NBA Finals for the 10th time -- and the first time with the Lakers. “It was remarkable.”

Davis is in the champi-onship series for the first time in his first season in Los Angeles, after his move from New Orleans.

“Feels good,” Davis said. “It’s good to get something like this accomplished with this group of guys.

“We battled through a lot this year, starting with the beginning of the season. We know the job’s not done. It’s a great feeling, but we got four more to win for the ultimate goal.”

Nuggets star Jokic said he and his teammates would never forget their experience in the bubble, where the NBA resumed play in July four months after halting play in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We had a really good group of guys,” Jokic said.

“There was a lot of fight in us. We had six elimination games. “Today, they were better,” he said.

“They won the game. LeBron was amazing.”

LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrates after the win.

We’re going to enjoy it

tonight, but we

understand we’ve got

bigger fish to fry. We

understand there’s a

bigger goal.

LeBron James

France's Alaphilippe in rainbow jersey after world title winAFP — IMOLA, ITALY

France’s Julian Alaphilippe yesterday fulfilled his “career dream” of pulling on the rainbow jersey after winning the men’s world road race title at Imola yesterday.

Alaphilippe crossed the line alone ahead of Belgian Wout van Aert and Swiss Marc Hirschi after more than six and a half hours in the saddle fol-lowing the 258km race through the hills of Romagna.

“For the moment it’s very hard to find the words,” said the 28-year-old, who became the first French rider to claim the world title since Laurent Bro-chard in 1997.

“It was the dream of my career. I’ve been so close so many times but I had never even been on the podium,” he said.

“I came here with a lot of ambitions. It’s a dream day for me. I want to thank everyone who follows me and support me. Today the France team has been very strong.”

Alaphilippe attacked on top of the final climb less than 12km from the finish line for a solo ride home, 24 seconds ahead of his rivals at the Imola racetrack.

The French rider had won the second stage of the Tour de France in Nice on August 30, having spent 14 days in the yellow jersey in the 2019 edition.

Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar vainly launched an attack on the penultimate climb at Gallisterna, 42km from the line.

But the 22-year-old Slov-enian was reeled in by van Aert’s team-mates.

France’s Julian Alaphilippe cries on the podium after winning the Men’s Elite Road Race, yesterday.

Chicago Cubs clinch third division title in 5 seasonsREUTERS — NEW YORK

Jose Abreu drilled a go-ahead, bases-clearing double in the fourth inning and James McCann and Yoan Moncada homered to lift the host Chicago White Sox past the Chicago Cubs 9-5 on Saturday to snap a six-game losing streak.

Despite suffering their sixth loss in seven games, the Cubs clinched the National League Central when the St. Louis Cardinals lost earlier in the night. It’s the Cubs’ third division title in the past five seasons and first since 2017.

The White Sox still could join the Cubs as division champs. The White Sox remained one game behind the American League Central-leading Minnesota Twins entering Sunday’s regular-season finale and are one game ahead of the third-place Cleveland Indians.

Chicago owns the tie-breaker on Minnesota, but Cleveland holds the tiebreaker

on Chicago. Moncada, Abreu, McCann and Nick Madrigal had two hits apiece for the White Sox, with Abreu and Moncada both driving in three runs.

Brewers 3, Cardinals 0 Brandon Woodruff

allowed just two hits in eight innings to lead Milwaukee past host St. Louis to keep its playoff hopes alive.

These teams split the first four games of their five-game NL Central showdown heading into Sunday’s critical game. The loss prevented the Cardinals from clinching a berth in the National League postseason bracket.

Woodruff (3-5) only allowed singles by Kolten Wong in the first inning and Yadier Molina in the second. He struck out 10 batters overall and retired 19 consec-utive batters after Molina’s hit. Josh Hader pitched the ninth to earn his 13th save. Losing pitcher Adam Wainwright (5-3) allowed three runs on

eight hits in 6 2/3 innings.Padres 6, Giants 2

San Diego dealt host San Francisco a damaging blow in their quest to make the National League playoffs when right-hander Zach Davies and five relievers com-bined on a seven-hitter.

The loss dropped the Giants into a tie with the Mil-waukee Brewers for the second NL wild-card playoff position, and kept the Phila-delphia Phillies alive in a con-gestion that won’t be settled until the dirt has settled on Sunday’s final day.

The Padres, meanwhile, have clinched second place in the NL West and the No. 4 NL playoff position, which guar-antees home-field advantage in the first round of next week’s play-offs.

With his team’s top two starting pitchers -- Mike Clevinger and Dinelson Lamet -- battling injuries, Davies gave the Padres a boost with three shutout innings.

Chicago White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu hits a three run triple against the Chicago Cubs during the fourth inning.

NHL: Perry sparkles as Dallas Stars keep Cup hopes alive

REUTERS — EDMONTON

Corey Perry scored the double-overtime winner as the Dallas Stars beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on Saturday to keep their National Hockey League Stanley Cup hopes alive and send the best-of-seven final to a Game Six.

Trailing the series 3-1 Perry came to the rescue scoring his second of the game, jamming home a loose puck past Andrei Vasilevskiy from a scramble in the front of the Tampa net 13:15 into the second overtime.

Game six of the series will go today in Edmonton, one of two Canadian hub cities for the playoffs being used to limit travel and minimize COVID-19 risks.

The Stars still face an uphill climb with the 1942 Toronto

Maple Leafs the only team in NHL history to come back from a 3-1 deficit in a final to hoist the Stanley Cup.

Facing elimination Dallas came out with purpose, Perry potting the only goal of a fast-paced opening period before Tampa would answer in the second with Ondrej Palat col-lecting his 11th of the play-offs.

The Lightning took the lead early in the third when Mikhail Sergachev’s shot from the point ricocheted in off the post but with six minutes left in the period Joe Pavelski sent the contest to overtime stabbing a rebound past Vasilevskiy.

The goal was the 61st of the NHL play-offs for Pavelski, making him the all-time leading American scorer.

Corey Perry (right) is congratulated by his team-mates after scoring the game-winning goal.

Patriots place Andrews and rookie Uche on injured reserveREUTERS — NEW YORK

The New England Patriots placed center David Andrews and rookie linebacker Josh Uche on injured reserve, the team announced.

Andrews, 28, reportedly underwent right thumb surgery on his snapping hand while Uche is nursing a foot injury.

Both players will sit out the Patriots’ games against the Las Vegas Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos before they are eligible to return.

Also on Saturday, the Patriots signed offensive lineman James Ferentz to the 53-man roster from the practice squad. They also ele-vated defensive lineman Nick Thurman and wide receiver Isaiah Zuber to the 53-man roster from the practice squad.

Andrews, a team captain, started the first two games this season after missing the entire 2019 season due to blood clots in his lungs. He has started 59 of 62 games played since entering the league with New England in 2015.

Uche, 22, was selected by the Patriots in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He was inactive for the season opener against Miami before missing last week’s game versus Seattle.

Ferentz, 31, has played in 38 NFL games, including two starts last season -- one at guard, one at center -- for New England. He saw action in 21 games with the Denver Broncos in 2015-16 and 17 with the Patriots in 2018-19.

Thurman, 25, made one tackle in his first NFL game last week versus the Seahawks.