17/05/2025

SPORTS SATURDAY | MAY 17, 2025

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Scudetto race reaches climax

Fight for last Euro place in Ligue 1 finale

TITLE-WINNERS Paris Saint-Germain still have the Champions League final to look forward to later this month but the Ligue 1 season reaches its climax today with European places still up for grabs and a quartet of clubs scrapping to avoid relegation. PSG secured a fourth consecutive domestic title more than a month ago and will collect their trophy following Saturday’s match at home to Auxerre. Luis Enrique’s side will then turn their thoughts to the French Cup final against Reims on May 24 and the Champions League final against Inter Milan in Munich a week later. Behind them, Marseille and Monaco clinched podium places, and guaranteed access to next season’s Champions League, with victories last weekend combined with favourable results elsewhere. That leaves one spot in Europe’s elite club competition to be decided, with four teams – Nice, Lille, Strasbourg and Lyon – still in contention for a place in the third qualifying round of the Champions League. Nice, who fell short in the Champions League playoffs in 2017, are best-placed to take the remaining spot as they come into their final match at home to Brest in fourth place and with the best goal difference. A 1-0 win for the Ineos-owned outfit would leave Lille needing to win by six goals, or Strasbourg requiring an eight-goal margin of victory for them to go above Nice. “I prefer to be slightly above the others in the table than slightly below them,” admitted Nice coach Franck Haise, who took Lens into the Champions League two years ago. “To get fourth place, which would not be trivial, first of all we need to win. We know that.” A slip-up would give a real chance to Lille, who finished fourth last season and then came through the qualifying rounds of the Champions League before going on to reach the last 16. Strasbourg also retain hope of a first campaign in Europe’s elite competition since 1979/80, despite the frustration of seeing a 12-game unbeaten run ended in a 2-1 loss at Angers last weekend. – Agencies European walkout after late Infantino show FUMING European delegates staged a walkout at Fifa’s Congress in Paraguay yesterday after world football chief Gianni Infantino jetted in late for the session following meetings in Saudi Arabia and Qatar with US President Donald Trump. Fifa President Infantino’s belated arrival at the global governing body’s annual meeting caused a delay of more than two hours. Several representatives from European football associations – including Uefa President Aleksander Ceferin – cut short their attendance after Infantino called a recess at the event taking place in Luque, outside Asuncion. Uefa issued a strongly worded statement following the walkout, describing the disruption caused by Infantino’s late arrival as “deeply regrettable”, accusing the Fifa chief of putting his “private political interests” ahead of the sport. Norwegian Football Federation president Lise Klaveness also expressed dismay at Infantino in a statement circulated to reporters, describing the incident as “disappointing and concerning.” Infantino for his part issued an apology for his tardiness in remarks to the congress before the delegates left. Infantino blamed flight problems for his late arrival but stressed the importance of attending the meetings in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the hosts of the 2022 and 2034 World Cups respectively. Alejandro Dominguez, the head of South American federation Conmebol, meanwhile used the occasion to comment on preparations for the 2030 World Cup. Dominguez, who has recently pushed a controversial proposal for the tournament to be expanded from 48 to 64 teams, said he believed “no-one” should be left out of the event, which marks the World Cup’s centenary. “A World Cup is the most popular celebration on planet Earth, and no one should be left out of that celebration,” Dominguez said, without explicitly mentioning his idea of expansion. – AFP

NAPOLI will have their first opportunity to win their fourth Serie A title on Monday (2.45am Malaysian time) when the league leaders travel to Parma with a slender lead over Inter Milan heading into the penultimate weekend of the season. Antonio Conte’s team are just one point ahead of reigning champions Inter after being held by Genoa last weekend, but a win over Parma could seal a second Scudetto in three seasons. Conte said after last weekend’s draw that Napoli had “lost their bonus” by shaving off just one of the seven points – now six – they needed to get to guarantee the title. “We have to go and win the other two matches, that’s all there is to it,” said Conte.

Napoli take on Parma while Inter host Champions League chasing Lazio at the San Siro, where fans will be buoyant after watching their team reach the Champions League final and cut the gap at the top of Serie A. Anything but a win over Lazio could well hand Napoli the title as both teams play at the same time on Monday. Nine matches will kick off at 2.45am (Malaysian time) with only one – Atalanta’s match at mid-table Genoa – being of no consequence and all the others potentially decisive for the title, European qualification or relegation. And the season finale has been thrown into chaos with the closing set of fixtures potentially being moved from next weekend

to this coming Wednesday and Thursday as a Scudetto playoff becomes an increasing possibility. Should Napoli and Inter finish on the same points the destination of the title will be decided by a single contest between the pair, in theory at the San Siro as Inter would lead Napoli on goal difference. However an eventual playoff could be moved to Rome’s Stadio Olimpico should Italy’s public safety authorities deem it necessary. If a play-off can still happen after this weekend’s matches the final fixtures will be rescheduled for midweek so that any Scudetto showdown is held at the weekend, giving Inter a full week of preparation for the Champions League final. – AFP

Yamal seals title for Barca Flick’s team moves seven points clear of Real Madrid with only two games left to play A stunning Lamine Yamal strike helped crown Barcelona La Liga champi ons with a 2-0 win at local was the “family” the club has become.

“I think the most important thing is... it’s really fantastic that everyone at this club has their job and they’re doing it with a lot of passion, a really good attitude and mentality, and everyone knows how important they are,” Flick told reporters. “This helps a lot to reach our goals, and of course the players and the atmosphere in the dressing room, this is so great, I never had this before. “Everyone really takes care of each other and... it’s unique.” When Xavi Hernandez’s Barca won the title at the RCDE Stadium they were chased off the pitch by angry home fans who rushed towards them. “On the pitch it was clear we could not celebrate there... two years ago (there was trouble),” Flick continued. “It’s also about respect for the fans here, (so) of course we celebrated in the dressing room, fantastic, the players could do that, really good. “Tomorrow I will stand a little bit in the background and I also will enjoy it. When I see the people are happy and smiling I will enjoy it.” Despite his joy at winning the league, Flick also thought about some negative moments during the season, including the shock death of club doctor Carles Minarro in March. “Carles is now here,“ said Flick, pointing towards the ceiling. “He (would be) very proud about our team, what (we) saw in the last couple of months, so we think about him always. “(We don’t) forget him, because he was a great part of our team and will always have a place in our hearts.” – AFP/The Independent remains in the dugout next year. “Before, we were reliant on other results: now we’ve got our own say. We want to win and we have to win. When we do it, then we’ve done a good job, but it’ll be damn tough. “It’s a nice feeling to be up there again,” Kovac said of Dortmund’s chances, but added “we worked long enough towards it, but now it’s about taking the last step, but that last step can sometimes be the hardest”. The coach said his side wanted to reach the top four on their own and would not be focused on what was happening in the parallel match. “First things first, we need to win. We don’t need to turn our eyes towards Freiburg – they need to turn their eyes to us.” – AFP

rivals Espanyol yesterday, with vic tory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the Champions League escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2023. Yamal opened the scoring after 53 minutes of a tense derby clash with a brilliant curling effort, before Lopez added another in the 95th minute to secure victory. The 17-year-old Yamal took the ball on the right touchline and made a superb lateral run parallel to the edge of the box before unleashing a curling strike between two defenders and into the top corner. “Lamine’s goal is a move he practices a lot, he had scored twice today in the warm-up the same way. “We have to look after him and let him enjoy it, he is fantastic,” his teammate Pedri told Movistar Plus . “You don’t win a league every day so now we need to enjoy it and celebrate this trophy. “It was one of the most complicated titles. We are happy with the year we have had. We’ve enjoyed it and so have the fans.” Barcelona coach Flick said the backbone of their La Liga triumph

Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal shoots to score his team’s first goal during their La Liga match against Espanyol. – AFPPIC

Dortmund hope for unlikely top-four rescue act BORUSSIA DORTMUND can take the “final step” in their miraculous run to the Bundesliga top four with a big win at home against Holstein Kiel today (9.30pm Malaysian time). After a 2-0 loss at RB Leipzig in March, Dortmund were 11th and did not look like finishing in the top half of the table, let alone the top four. Kiel, who have already been relegated. Dortmund need to win by three goals to guarantee a spot in the top four regardless of other results, although a two-goal victory is likely to be enough. If Frankfurt beat Freiburg or draw, Dortmund will also be through to the top four, provided they beat Kiel.

But since then, Dortmund have won six and drawn one of their seven games, putting the chance of qualifying for the Champions League through a top-four finish firmly in their own hands ahead of today’s final Bundesliga matchday. With third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt playing at fourth-placed Freiburg, fifth-placed Dortmund have a simple assignment against

Champions League qualification is crucial for Dortmund, who rely heavily on European income to compete. Missing the competition, a year after reaching the final, would dent Dortmund’s short-term ambitions and maybe lead to player sales. The excellent form will all but ensure Niko Kovac, Dortmund’s third coach this season,