17/03/2026

SPORTS TUESDAY | MAR 17, 2026

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Malaysian Paper

/thesundaily /

I NTERIM Tottenham boss Igor Tudor hailed an “amazing” spirit from his depleted squad to snatch a 1-1 draw at Liverpool yesterday and bolster their chances of avoiding relegation from the Premier League. Richarlison’s 90th minute equaliser snapped a club record run of six straight defeats that had sunk Spurs to the brink of fal l ing into the bottom three. A draw edges them one point clear of relegation rivals Nottingham Forest and West Ham. “The team spirit was amazing. This was the main demand. The quality is there,” said the Croatian. “We hope today is a turning point.” Tudor was without a dozen first Milan give Inter Scudetto reprieve

Turning point? Spurs strike late to stun Reds, end losing streak

Spurs hope for salvation JUST moments away from another damag ing defeat in a dismal season that threatens to end in the humiliation of relegation, Tottenham savoured a moment of hope when Richarlison’s scuffed strike hit the back of the net at Anfield. Instead of sitting level on points with third-bottom West Ham and fourth-bottom Nottingham Forest, 16th placed Tottenham hold a slender one-point advantage over their relegation rivals. With a crucial clash against Forest scheduled for next week, Spurs still have their fate in their own hands. Undav sinks Leipzig STUTTGART’S Deniz Undav scored the only goal in a 1-0 home win over RB Leipzig yes terday, sending the fourth-placed hosts three points clear of the visitors. Undav pounced on an error from Leipzig goal keeper Maarten Vandevoordt to score his 16th goal of the season and move Stuttgart level with third-placed Hoffenheim on 50 points. Bayer Leverkusen, who were held to a 1-1 draw by a nine-man Bayern on Saturday, sit five points behind Stuttgart and two behind fifth-placed Leipzig in a tight race for next season’s Champions League. Stuttgart play at Porto in the Europa League on Friday seeking to overturn a 2-1 first-leg deficit and reach the quarterfinals of the competition for the first time since reaching the 1989 final. Elsewhere, Jeong Woo-yeong scored in stoppage time and goalie Matheo Raab pro duced a spectacular late save on his Union Berlin debut as the visitors won 1-0 at Freiburg. Mainz won 2-0 at Bremen to over take the hosts and move three points clear of the relegation play-off spot. Bremen’s woes deepens after a 2-0 defeat to Mainz. Lyon fail to retake third LYON’S bid for automatic Champions League qualification suffered another blow in a 0-0 draw at 10-man Le Havre yesterday as they failed to retake third place in Ligue 1 from Marseille. Paulo Fonseca’s men have gone four league games without a win to slip from the fringes of the title race to fourth, two points behind OM. Lille climbed to fifth with a 2-1 victory at Rennes, with goals in either half from Matias Fernandez Pardo and Hakon Haraldsson. Gary O’Neil’s Strasbourg fell six points off the European places after a goalless stalemate with Paris FC. Toulouse ended a six-match winless run in the league as Mario Sauer scored a dra matic 99th-minute winner in a 4-3 victory at bottom club Metz. “They have experienced this far too many times, more times than they are used to and that is completely normal that they show their frustration,” added Slot. “I’m 100 per cent sure that if they show up on Wednesday that they will be supportive again from the start, but if the team doesn’t perform to the standards that they are used to, I think it is completely normal that they are frustrated.” – AFP Arne Slot’s men edge ahead of Chelsea into fifth, but remain at serious risk of missing out on the Champions League next season. It was a familiar tale this season for the defending English champions as they conceded late after failing to kill the game off. “Again in the last minute, and again we leave the pitch with a disappointing result,” said Slot. The Dutchman had no complaints that his side were booed off at Anfield, but is confident the fans will rouse themselves to back his side in Wednesday’s Champions League last 16 tie against Galatasaray. Liverpool trail 1-0 to the Turkish giants heading into the second leg.

even field a full compliment of substitutes. The former Juventus boss was forced to throw on 19-year-olds Callum Olusesi and James Rowswell in the second half. “It is an amazing, incredible point we take here, and deserving,” added Tudor. “Congratulations to the guys. It is very difficult to even explain our circumstances. In training, we prepared in one way. “This morning, Conor (Gallagher) says that he is not able to play so we need to change the players and positions. The moment is really strange and even more challenging to show who we are. The players were really amazing.” By contrast, Liverpool blew a huge chance to climb into the top four.

team players due to injury or suspension, meaning that he could n o t

SIDENETTING

Let Dowman enjoy the moment: Rooney

AC MILAN missed the chance to pile pressure on local rivals Inter in the Serie A title fight after falling to a 1-0 defeat at Lazio yesterday, as Como beat 10-man Roma 2-1 to increase their hopes of a shock Champions League qualification. Faced with the chance of cutting Inter’s league lead to five points, Milan fluffed their lines and fell to a second defeat in four matches. Gustav Isaksen’s second half goal allowed Inter to increase the gap separating them from Milan to eight points even though they only managed to draw 1-1 with Atalanta on Saturday. It was a huge let-off for Inter, who lost the Milan derby last weekend but with nine matches left in the season remain big favourites to reclaim the league title from Napoli. “Everyone was talking about the Scudetto after Inter drew but you have to be realistic,” said Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri. “We’re doing good things this season and we have to concentrate on our objective which is (qualifying for) the Champions League otherwise we risk ruining what we’ve built.” Milan are still on course for that goal as they are seven points ahead of fifth-placed Juventus. Trailing at the break to Donyell Malen’s early penalty, Como showed why they have shaken things up in Italy’s top flight by coming back to beat a key rival for the final spot in Europe’s elite club competition. “I’m pleased with the desire and mentality shown by the team,” said Fabregas. “We’re a young team and we still have a lot to learn… we can’t let ourselves get big-headed because of this win.” Roma, in sixth, haven’t qualified for the Champions League since 2018 and trail Como by three points with nine matches left remaining in the season. – AFP

FORMER Man United striker Wayne Rooney said Arsenal’s Max Dowman should be allowed to enjoy his achievement after becom ing the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history during Sunday’s 2-0 win over Everton. At 16 years and 73 days old, Dowman set the record after scoring with virtu ally the last kick of the match at Emirates Stadium. While Arsenal will try to make sure the young ster keeps his feet on the ground, it was important Dowman be given room to grow, said Rooney, who scored for Everton against Arsenal in 2002 at self,” the former England forward said on BBC’s The Wayne Rooney Show . “Mikel Arteta, some of the senior players in the Arsenal squad, will not let him get ahead of himself. But I think you have to enjoy it as well.” Arsenal, who are top of the league with 70 points from 31 matches, next face Bayer Leverkusen tomorrow in the second leg of their Champions League tie. City slump amid Haaland barren spell MAN CITY remain alive for now in four com petitions, but their season is at risk of unrav elling quickly. Draws against two of the sides in the relegation battle – West Ham and Nottingham Forest – in their last two league games have allowed Arsenal to gallop clear at the top. City have a mountain to climb when 15-time European champions Real Madrid visit the Etihad Stadium tomorrow protecting a 3-0 first-leg lead. And they go head-to-head with Arsenal for the first silver ware of the season in next weekend’s League Cup final. Early in the campaign, City were able to rely on a steady stream of Erling Haaland goals to keep pace at the top of the table, but the Norwegian’s form has tailed off in 2026. Of Haaland’s 42 goals for club and country this season, 38 came in his first 28 appearances of the campaign. And two of his four in the 18 games since have come from the penalty spot. the age of 16 years and 360 days. “Let him enjoy it and go and express him

Spurs’ Richarlison celebrates after scoring the late equalizer against Liverpool during the Premier League match at Anfield yesterday. – REUTERSPIC

Raphinha treble, Barca thrash rca thrash Sevilla

RAPHINHA bagged a hattrick as Barcelona thrashed Sevilla 5-2 to restore their four-point lead at the top of La Liga on Sunday after Real Madrid cut the gap by beat ing Elche 4-1. Dani Olmo and Joao Cancelo also struck for Hansi Flick’s side, who host Newcastle in the Champions League on Thursday. Barca members streamed to the stadium before the game to vote in the outfit’s presidential elections, with Joan Laporta cho sen to lead the club for five more years. “Three points more, one game less and we scored five goals, it was good to see,”Flick told report

has been very tough, if I’m honest,” Gavi told DAZN of his recovery process, on his first appearance since August. The Spain interna tional also missed most of the 2023/24 season out injured. Elsewhere Real Betis, fifth, and Celta Vigo, sixth, shared a 1-1 draw, in the tussle for a Europa League qualification spot. Real Sociedad climbed to seventh with a 3-1 win over Osasuna. Mallorca climbed out of the relegation zone with a 2-1 victory over Espanyol. – AFP

ers after the game. “We have to be focused for the next game because Newcastle is a great team. I’m not negative, I just think about what can be better.” Barca coach Flick sent on 21-year-old midfielder Gavi for the final 10 minutes after a severe knee injury, and Ronald Araujo handed him the captain’s arm band. “ I t s u r e