26-11-2021

FriDAY, NoveMber 26, 2021
9
Man City beats PSG, both advance
in Champions League
SportS DeSk
Fresh from scoring Manchester City's
winner, Gabriel Jesus surely would not
have intended to have a dig at Paris
Saint-Germain, reports AP.
Even if the striker's comment after
City's 2-1 win on Wednesday - as both
teams advanced in the Champions
League - did cut to the heart of the
contrasts in their performances.
"We have a lot of players who can
help the team," he said. "Everyone
wants to give good balls to other
players. Nobody is selfish."
PSG had its 11 players on the field at
the Etihad Stadium - with Lionel Messi,
Neymar and Kylian Mbappe leading
the attack - but it didn't always seem
there was a complete team out there.
"They have a lot of quality," City
manager Pep Guardiola said. "We try to
keep the players far away from the
goal." It was the less glamorous
Brazilian attacker on the scoresheet
rather than Neymar in the chill of
Manchester. Brought off the bench in
the second half to give City a No. 9,
Gabriel Jesus completed the City
comeback with a scuffed shot after
being teed up by Bernardo Silva.
"We attack well in the spaces and the
quality from Bernardo," Guardiola
said. "When you talk about the right
technique, it is that. The right tempo
and doing it in the right moment to give
your team-mate the best chance to
score the goal."
City clinched top spot in Group A and
a meeting with a runner-up in the
round of 16 in February.
"It was a bit frustrating in the first
half," Silva said, "because it felt like we
were controlling the game, we felt like
we were pressing high, winning the
ball, having the possession, but it felt
like we were not scoring again."
The clash of the competition's
wealthiest teams, who are yet to win
European football's top prize, fully
came to life in the 50th minute when
Mbappe put PSG ahead after an
interchange between Messi and
Neymar. But the attacking dominance
by City that defined the first half saw
Raheem Sterling's outstretched left foot
nudge in a cross from Kyle Walker to
equalize before the winner came in the
76th. "After the goal, we conceded at
the beginning of the second half, the
team had a great reaction," Silva said.
PSG is also sure of going through as
runner-up thanks to Leipzig beating
Club Brugge 5-0.
All four English teams will now be in
the knockout stage with a game to
spare, with City joining defending
champions Chelsea, Liverpool and
Manchester United.
Pochettino, who reached the 2019
Champions League final with
Tottenham before being fired, was
hesitant in committing his future to
PSG. "The players know very well our
situation," he said. "They know their
situation. We are living in a business
where rumours are there."
The Champions League is the trophy
Pochettino has to deliver for the Qatari
ownership. Just as Guardiola is striving
to deliver the prize with so much
investment from Abu Dhabi.
It encouraged Guardiola that his
team beat PSG -- just like in the
semifinals last season -- after losing 2-0
in the group game in Paris in
September.
"They have a lot of quality defensively
with short passes and everything,"
Guardiola said. "We had a good game,
but the most important thing was of
course today we did it again and against
a top side."
Manchester City defeated paris Saint-Germain 2-1 on Wednesday - as both teams advanced in the
Champions League - did cut to the heart of the contrasts in their performances.
photo: Ap
Australian bowling coach
Cooley back with
England ahead of Ashes
SportS DeSk
England have appointed
Troy Cooley as a consultant
pace bowling coach ahead of
the upcoming Ashes series,
reports BSS.
The England and Wales
Cricket Board announced
Wednesday that the 55-
year-old Australian will aid
the tourists' quicks in
Brisbane under the direction
of elite pace bowling coach
Jon Lewis.
He will then assist the
seamers in England's
second-string Lions squad
when they face Australia A
in a four-day match that
starts on December 9.
Cooley was England's
bowling coach during their
2005 Ashes series success
and subsequently took up a
similar role with Australia.
He joined the England and
Lions players during the
three-day intra-squad
warm-up match that started
in Brisbane on Tuesday.
ECB performance director
Mo Bobat said in a
statement: "It's great to have
someone with Troy's
expertise and experience
supporting our Ashes prep
and also working closely
with our Lions pace bowlers.
"Troy's understanding of
what it takes to be successful
in Australian conditions is
second to none, and the
players are sure to benefit
hugely."
Joe Root's men are
looking to regain the Ashes
from arch-rivals Australia
following a drawn 2019
series in England.
The first Test of an
upcoming five-match
campaign starts at
Brisbane's Gabba ground on
December 8.
Maradona is dead, long
live Maradona! World
honors 'Golden Kid'
SportS DeSk
The world will on Thursday mark the oneyear
anniversary of the death of Diego
Maradona, regarded by some as the best
player of all time and a man adored in his
home country Argentina despite, or perhaps
because of, his human flaws, reports BSS.
Argentine club matches are to mark a
minute of silence and players will arrange
themselves in a "10" formation on the pitch
to honor Maradona's famous jersey number,
while special masses will be held -- including
in the Buenos Aires slum where Maradona
grew up, to mark the day he passed away.
In Naples, where he spent part of his
career, two statues for the striker are set to be
unveiled. "We'll miss you for the rest of our
lives," said the Argentine Football League in
homage on the eve of the anniversary, with a
video of the life, goals, and many trophies of
the man nicknamed "Pibe de Oro" (Golden
Kid). Maradona died of a heart attack last
November at the age of 60, weeks after
undergoing brain surgery for a blood clot.
The former Boca Juniors, Barcelona and
Napoli star had battled cocaine and alcohol
addictions for years, and was suffering from
liver, kidney and cardiovascular disorders
when he died.His death shocked fans around
the world, and tens of thousands queued to
file past his coffin, draped in the Argentine
flag, at the presidential palace in Buenos
Aires during three days of national
mourning.
He may be dead, but in Argentina
Maradona is everywhere. From ubiquitous
mural frescos that portray him as a deity to
television series about his life and even a
religion bearing his name. His two goals in
the 1986 World Cup quarter-finals, which
saw Argentina triumph over England just
four years after the Falklands War, made
Maradona an instant hero.
EU calls for 'verifiable proof'
from China on Peng Shuai
SportS DeSk
The EU is calling on China to provide
"verifiable proof" of the whereabouts and
welfare of tennis champion Peng Shuai, who
has accused a powerful politician of sexual
assault, reports BSS.
"We urge a full and transparent
investigation" into the accusations, a
spokeswoman for the EU's diplomatic service
told AFP on Wednesday.
Peng, a 35-year-old Wimbledon and
French Open doubles champion, was not
seen for more than two weeks following her
allegations that former vice-premier Zhang
Gaoli, now in his 70s, forced her into sex
during a years-long on-off relationship.
On Sunday, official photos of a Beijing
tennis tournament showed Peng among
attendees, and she participated the same day
in a video call with the head of the
International Olympic Committee.
Last week, a Chinese state-run media outlet
published what it said was a screenshot of an
email by Peng which stated that the
accusations made by tennis star were "not
true" and that "everything is fine" with her.
"We have seen Peng Shuai's presumed
remarks and footage from her public
appearance. However, the reports, both about
the allegations of abuse and the fact that she
had not been seen for two weeks, remain very
worrying," the EU spokeswoman, Nabila
Massrali, said in a statement to AFP.
A below-strength South African team will be seeking a clean sweep when they play the Netherlands
in a three-match one day international series starting at SuperSport park on Friday. photo: Ap
Australia's Boyle
sees red as Hibs
lose to Ross County
SportS DeSk
Australia's Martin Boyle was
sent off following Hibernian's
1-0 loss at Ross County on
Wednesday, just days after his
hat-trick sent the Edinburgh
club into the Scottish League
Cup final, reports BSS
Boyle's treble was the
centrepiece of Hibs' 3-1 semifinal
win over Rangers at
Hampden Park on Sunday
that secured an appearance in
next month's final against
Celtic, the other half of
Glasgow's Old Firm.
But it was a different story
on Wednesday as Hibs
suffered a fifth consecutive
loss in the Scottish
Premiership.
Blair Spittal's 72nd-minute
goal separated the teams at
Dingwall after the substitute's
cross evaded everyone before
finding the back of the net.
To make matters worse for
Hibs, they also had Christian
Doidge sent off after he
appeared to rake his studs
down the leg of David
Cancola, with Boyle seeing
red for comments made
towards referee Gavin
Duncan after full-time.
"I know it's for something
the referee said Martin said to
him, which Martin says he
didn't," Hibs manager Jack
Ross told BBC Radio.
Below-strength South Africa
seek breathing room from
one-day series
SportS DeSk
A below-strength South African team will be
seeking a clean sweep when they play the
Netherlands in a three-match one day
international series starting at SuperSport
Park on Friday, reports BSS.
The series forms part of the International
Cricket Council's World Cup Super League
which is a qualifying tournament for the
2023 Cricket World Cup.
Hosts India and the best-placed seven
other teams will qualify automatically for the
World Cup, with the remaining five teams in
the Super League having to play in a tenteam
qualifying tournament to fill the other
two places in India.
Although the Covid-19 pandemic has
caused an imbalance in the number of
fixtures played in the league, South Africa are
currently in ninth place, outside the
automatic qualifying places.
Victory against the Netherlands and in a
home series against Bangladesh in March
will give the Proteas some breathing space in
their qualifying bid, with potentially difficult
series against India, Australia and England
to come.
South Africa have taken a minor gamble by
resting six key players, including regular
white-ball captain Temba Bavuma, ahead of
a Test series against India next month.
They were further weakened on
Wednesday when Cricket South Africa
announced that fast bowler Lungi Ngidi had
been withdrawn from the squad after testing
positive for Covid while fellow paceman
Lizaad Williams was injured.
South Africa should still be too strong for a
Netherlands team that failed to win a match
and were eliminated after the first round of
the recent T20 World Cup.
The hosts will nevertheless be wary of the
underdogs, who beat Ireland 2-1 in June in
the only series they have played in the league.
A month later South Africa could only share
the honours against Ireland, suffering an
upset defeat in one match with another game
being rained off.
The Netherlands team includes five South
African-born players, including veteran leftarm
spinning all-rounder Roelof van der
Merwe, 36, who played in 13 one-day
internationals and 13 T20 internationals for
South Africa between 2009 and 2011.
Squads: South Africa: Keshav Maharaj
(capt), Junior Dala, Daryn Dupavillon,
Zubayr Hamza, Reeza Hendricks, Sisanda
Magala, Janneman Malan, David Miller,
Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo,
Dwaine Pretorius, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz
Shamsi, Kyle Verreynne (wkt), Khaya
Zondo.
Netherlands: Pieter Seelaar (capt), Colin
Ackermann, Bas de Leede, Scott Edwards
(wkt), Clayton Floyd, Brandon Glover, Boris
Gorlee, Viv Kingma, Fred Klaassen, Stephan
Myburgh, Musa Nadeem, Max O'Dowd,
Timm van der Gugten, Roelof van der
Merwe, Saqib Zulfiqar.
Djokovic won't want to risk
missing Australian Open - Tiley
SportS DeSk
Nine-time Australian Open champion
Novak Djokovic won't want to risk
missing out on winning a record 21st
Grand Slam title, tournament chief
Craig Tiley predicted Thursday as a
bumper series of lead-up events was
announced, reports BSS.
All players heading to Australia for
the opening major of the year in
January must be vaccinated against
Covid, casting doubt on whether the
Serbian world number one will play.
Djokovic, who is gunning for a
record-breaking 21st Slam crown, has
refused to reveal if he has been
inoculated. "He has not shared his
status with anyone," Tiley told sports
radio station SEN.
"He believes that what you say
around your medical position is private
and he believes people should have the
right to choose."
But Tiley added: "Novak has won
nine Australian Opens and I'm sure he
wants to get to 10.
"He's on 20 Grand Slam titles as is
Rafa Nadal, who is coming, and Roger
Federer, so one of them is going to
surpass the other.
"I don't think Novak will want to
leave that feat to someone else.
"One thing is for sure, if he is playing
here in January, then he is vaccinated."
Djokovic said at the weekend that
"we'll have to wait and see" when asked
whether he will be at Melbourne Park
to defend his title.
Currently around 85 percent of
players have got the jab and Tiley said
he expected that to reach between 95
and 100 percent by January.
"We take a lot of credit for that
because we put a vaccination
requirement on it (coming to
Australia)," he said.
His comments came as the seasonopening
schedule was released after
repeated delays as organisers worked
out what could be played where as
Australia gradually relaxes state and
international borders after long Covid
lockdowns. All Australian Open leadup
events took place at Melbourne Park
this year in bio-secure conditions after
players were forced to quarantine in
hotels for 14 days. Fully vaccinated
players are expected to be able to enter
Australia without being quarantined or
confined to bubbles in 2022, with
Sydney and Adelaide returning to the
calendar. Brisbane, Perth and Hobart,
which traditionally hold events, miss
out for a second year, as does
Auckland in New Zealand.
"It is not news to anyone that the
pandemic, closed borders and varying
rates of vaccination created a massive
Nine-time Australian open champion Novak Djokovic won't want to risk
missing out on winning a record 21st Grand Slam title. photo: Ap
challenge for us and led to the changes
specifically for the summer," said Tiley.
"It's why we waited as long as
possible to secure optimal conditions
for the players and fans in as many
locations as we could."
The men's ATP Cup, won this year
by a ruthless Russian team
spearheaded by Daniil Medvedev
and Andrey Rublev, and by
Djokovic's Serbia the year before,
will kick off the season on January 1
in Sydney.