08/03/2026

theSun on Sunday MAR 8, 2026

SPORTS 13

Napoli secure first home win NAPOLI recorded their first home win in Serie A since late January with a 2-1 defeat of Torino yesterday to tighten their grip on third place and a Champions League spot. The reigning champions won thanks to goals from Alisson Santos after seven min utes and a 68th-minute strike from Eljif Elmas before Cesare Casadei scored a late consola tion for Torino. Napoli move to within a point of second-placed AC Milan, who need to beat lead ers Inter in the Milan derby on tomorrow (3.45am Malaysian time) to have any chance of staying in the title hunt. To add to Napoli’s posi tive night, Kevin De Bruyne came on as a second-half substitute for his first appear ance since tearing his ham string in October. In the post-match press conference, head coach Antonio Conte praised the team’s spirit and the balance shown by the players during the match, emphasising that the performance was not affected by the absence of sev eral key players and that the team maintained its usual fight ing identity. Conte said, “I am very happy with what the team has deliv ered; everyone played with high spirit and understood our tactics excellently.” Conte gave special praise to Elif Elmas, saying: “He plays like a saint, he deserves a statue! “He is a player who under stands football deeply, capable of playing in more than one position, and has firmly estab lished himself as a regular in the lineup with great consistency.” Conte added that Elmas has been delivering an outstanding performance since the start of the season and contributes sig nificantly to the team’s success both defensively and offen sively. Conte also spoke about the injury developments within the team, explaining that Anguissa is nearing a return, and he hopes to have McTominay back in training next week, which will expand the team’s tactical options. He affirmed that integrating the returning players will increase Napoli’s strength in the upcoming matches and boost their ambition to finish the sea son in the positions qualifying for the Champions League. McTominay absence has been felt in Napoli’s perform ance, which has only managed to win one of the three matches in which the Scot was unavail able. His outstanding season has not gone unnoticed outside Italy. Several Premier League clubs are monitoring his con tractual situation and see the possibility of bringing him back to English football favorably. – AFP/Agencies

Real lucky Valverde strikes late as Los Blancos beat Celta Vigo

in the second half of last season on their way to winning the Champions League. “We are clearly in difficulty at the moment but we need to maintain hope that will change,” he added. “Confidence is not just something you buy at the supermarket.” One plus was the latest return from injury of last year’s Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele, who came off the bench in the second half. Monaco have won five and drawn two of their last seven Ligue 1 games and are now fifth in the table. “I am proud of the team,” said Monaco coach Sebastien Pocognoli. “We feel there is a really positive momentum building.” – AFP opening exchanges. Arbeloa’s side started well and Vinicius Junior struck the post before Tchouameni put them ahead in the 11th min ute. The French midfielder pro duced a fine finish from the edge of the box as Madrid worked a corner to him, his strike hitting the upright on its way in. Celta were not discouraged though and some poor defend ing from Trent Alexander Arnold let them back in. The England international allowed Williot Swedberg to get in behind him and then lacked the agility to block off the Swede, who cut the ball across for Iglesias to finish. Courtois made a good save to keep Swedberg at bay before the break, as sixth place Celta largely gave as good as they got. Madrid appealed for a pen alty when Ferran Jutgla han dled the ball in the box, but a VAR review showed there was a push on a Celta defender just before and no spot kick was awarded. Celta substitute Iago Aspas hit the post late on and it seemed like his team were des tined for a point as the clock ticked down. However in the final minute of stoppage time Valverde’s effort from the edge of the box hit Alonso and left Celta goal keeper Ionut Radu wrong footed. “We hardly gave up any chances, and the shot at the end was well defended, so we’re a bit annoyed (to lose),” Iglesias told Movistar . Arbeloa said he hoped Madrid’s determination to claim the three points could be a platform to build from going forward. “I know we can do a lot of things better, but with the per sonality and character we showed today, I hope that this is a turning point and from here everything goes a lot bet ter,” added Arbeloa. – AFP

Enrique. “When you play like that against a team in a very positive dynamic like Monaco, you pay for it.” The result is a setback for PSG in their bid to win a fifth consecutive Ligue 1 title, with closest challengers Lens now able to trim their lead at the top from four points to one by beating bottom side Metz today. This was PSG’s fourth league loss in 25 games this season, as many defeats as in the last two seasons combined. They have now been beaten seven times in all competitions in 2025/26, and four times this calendar year. Luis Enrique will be concerned at how far away his team are from the remarkable form they showed FEDERICO VALVERDE’S heav ily deflected 95th-minute drive snatched injury-hit Real Madrid a 2-1 win at Celta Vigo in La Liga yesterday. The Uruguayan midfielder needed a stroke of fortune at the death to pull his team to within one point of leaders Barcelona, who visit Athletic Bilbao overnight. Aurelien Tchouameni opened the scoring for Los Blancos early on but Borja Iglesias soon pulled Celta level at their Balaidos stadium. Alvaro Arbeloa’s Madrid, without injured striker Kylian Mbappe, had lost their previ ous two league games and are struggling to find consistent form. Valverde’s shot, which flew into Celta’s net after bouncing off former Barcelona defender Marcos Alonso, stopped his side going three consecutive La Liga matches without a win. “There’s a long way to go in La Liga, a lot of points left to play for, at this point it’s almost like La Liga has not started yet,” Arbeloa told reporters. “Every game you’re playing against a team that has their own objectives and each game will be a war. “We came here with 10 play ers out so I think our win deserves a lot of credit.” As well as French superstar Mbappe, the team’s top goals corer, Arbeloa was without several other players includ ing Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo Goes and Eduardo Camavinga. Despite the victory, Madrid’s form and their injury list does not inspire confi dence ahead of next week’s Champions League last 16 clash against Manchester City. Arbeloa started 18-year-old midfielder Thiago Pitarch for the first time and he offered a decent display even as his team failed to impress. Iglesias forced Madrid goal keeper Thibaut Courtois into a solid low save with a drive from the edge of the box in the

Real’s Federico Valverde (right) celebrates after scoring the winning goal in the La Liga match against Celta Vigo z in Vigo, Spain yesterday. – REUTERSPIC

Monaco stun PSG ahead of Chelsea showdown

seeking revenge after a 5-4 aggregate defeat by PSG in the Champions League knockout phase playoffs last month, when they squandered a two-goal lead before losing 3-2 in the first leg and came up short with a 2-2 draw in the return. That result allowed Luis Enrique’s side to reach the last 16 and they will now put their title on the line against Chelsea, with the first leg in Paris on Thursday (4am) and the return the following week. That will be a season-defining tie for PSG, who won the Champions League for the first time last season, before losing 3-0 to Chelsea in the Club World Cup final. “It is not the best result going into the Champions League. We are very aware of that,” said Luis

US NATIONAL TEAM star Folarin Balogun was among the scorers as Monaco won 3-1 at Paris Saint Germain yesterday, dealing a blow to the side from the French capital before they face Chelsea in a crunch Champions League last-16 tie. Maghnes Akliouche gave Monaco a first-half lead at the Parc des Princes and Aleksandr Golovin doubled their advantage early in the second half of the Ligue 1 clash. Bradley Barcola pulled one back for the reigning European champions, but Balogun struck shortly after with a fifth goal in his last five games as Monaco claimed a precious win in their quest to qualify for Europe next season. The principality side were