28/04/2026

SPORTS TUESDAY | APR 28, 2026

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Kane’s right priority

INTER MILAN’S charge to the Serie A title was held up yesterday after they threw away a two-goal lead to only draw 2-2 at Torino, while a goalless draw between AC Milan and Juventus left the Champions League race open. Leading just after the hour mark through two headed goals from Marcus Thuram and Yann Bisseck, Inter looked set to stroll to victory in Turin. But Giovanni Simeone got Torino back into the match out of nowhere in the 70th minute when he dinked a fin ish over Yann Sommer, and Nikola Vlasic earned the hosts a point from the penalty spot nine minutes later. “You think everything is easy and that you have everything under con trol when you’re two goals ahead. Then you concede to make it 2-1 because of a mistake while playing out from the back and you get nerv ous,“ Inter coach Cristian Chivu said. “To be honest it could have been worse.” Yesterday’s draw should only be a bump in the road for Inter who will secure a 21st league crown if they beat Parma at the San Siro this week end. With four games left in the season, Inter are 10 points ahead of their near est challengers Napoli, who won the Scudetto last year. Chivu’s side will be heavy favour ites to seal the deal next weekend in front of their home support as Parma are a team with nothing left to play for this season. Inter are also on for a domestic double after coming back from two goals down to win a thrilling Italian Cup semifinal with Como last Tuesday. Luciano Spalletti said that the bat tle for a top-four spot “will go down to the wire” following a drab match at the San Siro which left Milan and his Juventus team looking over their shoulders. Juve sit fourth and are three points ahead of both Como, 2-0 winners at Genoa earlier yesterday, and sixth placed Roma. Milan are three points ahead of Juve in third and should have a big enough gap separating them from Como and Roma to return to the Champions League after going with out European football this season. “Roma and Como both won so we still have a few matches we need to win before we can say we deserve our place in that tournament,” said Spalletti. – AFP Inter’s title charge hits speed bump

SIDENETTING Marseille see CL chance slip further away

H AVING decisively ended his own silverware drought with back-to-back Bundesliga titles, Harry Kane’s team-first approach has been key for a Bayern Munich side now chasing club football’s biggest prize. Whoever makes it through Bayern’s Champions League semifinal against holders Paris Saint-Germain, with the first leg in the French capital tomorrow (3am Malaysian time), will be the favourites for the final in Budapest in May. Last season’s Bundesliga title was Kane’s maiden team trophy, at the age of 31. Having added another league crown this season, Bayern’s habit of hoover ing up trophies is already rubbing off on the England captain. As always, Kane’s individual statistics this year have been stunning. The former Tottenham forward has 53 goals in 45 games in all competitions, the most by an Englishman in any league in almost a century. And this time around, Kane’s goals have come at crucial moments of big games. Against Real in Madrid, his long-range strike proved to be the winner. In the second leg, Kane’s first-half goal brought Bayern level on the night and put them ahead in a quarterfinal tie which was in danger of getting away from them. Kane left England 47 goals shy of Alan Shearer’s Premier League scoring record, with some commentators wondering why he would leave with the mark in sight. But while Kane developed a reputation at Spurs for stacking up individual records rather than team honours, in hindsight the striker’s pursuit of goals was a clear example of his team focus. Since moving to Bayern, a club with quality across the pitch and a number of threats, Kane often drops to help in the build-up, sometimes deep into midfield. Kane’s willingness to sacrifice individual honours for team objectives has never been more evident than in recent weeks, when Bayern had the league largely wrapped up and needed to focus on Europe. After Bayern beat Dortmund in February, Kane had scored four consecutive braces. With 30 goals in 24 games, he looked on course for Robert Lewandowski’s single season record of 41 goals. But since then, Kane has started just one of Bayern’s seven league games, as Vincent Kompany has wrapped him in cotton wool for the big stage. After coming off the bench to help Bayern come from three goals down to win 4-3 at Mainz on Saturday, Kane told reporters where his true focus lay. “It’ll be tough,” Kane said of chasing down Lewandowski’s record. “Obviously I’m here to try and win the Champions League and try and win the German Cup. “So, ultimately that takes priority. All I can do is when I’m on the pitch, try and score, try and impact the game.” Kane called PSG “the reigning European champions for a rea son,” adding the French champions are “a really strong side with some great quality and are well-coached”. “There’s going to be a lot of activity. It’s going to come down to moments and quality.” One challenge for Bayern is the absence of coach Vincent Kompany, who is suspended for the opening leg. Kompany’s English assistant Aaron Danks will be in the dugout. Kane said Bayern, who have lost just twice in all competitions this season, are well-drilled enough without the Belgian barking orders. “Of course we’ll miss him on the sideline. He’s our boss and our leader. But everyone knows what needs to be done, even if the boss isn’t on the sideline.” – AFP Team-first Harry propelling Bayern to glory as PSG showdown looms

MARSEILLE saw the prospect of Champions League football slip further away as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Nice at the Velodrome yesterday. The Marseille hierarchy hoped a verbal blast from sporting director Medhi Benatia following a pitiful 2-0 defeat to Lorient the previous weekend would fire the players to a desperately-needed three points to relaunch their bid for a top-four place in Ligue 1. Captain Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg put them ahead with a diving header in the second half, but Elye Wahi grabbed a point for the visitors with a “Panenka” penalty in the 88th minute. To rub salt into Marseille’s wounds, Wahi was one of their high-profile signings in 2024 before leaving the club after just six months. The draw leaves Marseille sixth and staring at a financially damaging failure to qualify for Europe’s top club competition. The top three teams in France earn Champions League places while the fourth-placed club goes into the qualifying rounds. Marseille are four points behind Lyon and Lille, who both have 57 points, and three behind Rennes. Keepers sent off for stoppage-time brawl REAL ZARAGOZA goalkeeper Esteban Andrada was sent off for punching Huesca captain Jorge Pulido in a fiery Spanish second division clash yesterday that descended into a mass brawl, with Huesca keeper Dani Jimenez dismissed for punching Andrada. Zaragoza’s Dani Tasende was also dismissed after a VAR review of the brawl. With tensions simmering in a relegation scrap, Argentine Andrada lost his composure moments before the final whistle. Ignoring the run of play, he approached Pulido and struck him in the face with his right hand, sparking chaotic scenes eight minutes into stoppage time. Huesca manager Jose Luis did not attempt to defend the scenes. “It’s hard to explain; I think it’s a complete loss of control. I can put myself in their shoes, given what was at stake and all. But it’s unjustifiable. It’s just that I don’t know what to do or how to stop it; a brawl breaks out,” he said. “It’s ugly; this was supposed to be a celebration of Aragonese football.” Oscar Sielva’s goal secured a 1-0 win for Huesca, lifting them to 36 points in 19th place, while Zaragoza remain second-bottom on 35. Dortmund seal Champions League spot BORUSSIA DORTMUND cruised to a 4-0 home win over Freiburg in the Bundesliga yesterday to lock in Champions League qualification for next season. Maximilian Beier, Serhou Guirassy, Ramy Bensebaini and Fabio Silva all scored for Dortmund, who are 10 points clear of fifth-placed Hoffenheim with three games to play. Dortmund drew 1-1 with Freiburg earlier in the season but have now scored three goals or more against the Black Forest club in eight of their past nine meetings. “We’ve made sure of the Champions League so of course now we want to lock in second spot,“ Beier told DAZN . “The sun is shining, we’ve qualified for the Champions League, it feels good.” Freiburg sit in eighth place but are through to the Europa League semifinals, where they face Braga.

Bayern’s Harry Kane celebrates after scoring against Real Madrid in Champions League quarterfinal on April 16. – REUTERSPIC

Struggling Sevilla suffer late blow away to Osasuna SEVILLA moved closer to relegation from La Liga by losing 2-1 at Osasuna yesterday, while Elche picked up three vital points with a 2-1 win at Real Oviedo. “I have a knot in my throat,” said Sevilla defender Gabriel Suazo. “We have to keep moving forward, we have to keep fighting, there are five finals left, and whoever gets to play – if it’s me – I’m going to put my life on the line for this club.”

At the other end of the table high-flying Villarreal defeated Celta to move five points clear of fourth-place Atletico Madrid. Gerard Moreno’s early penalty sent the Yellow Submarine ahead and Nicolas Pepe doubled their lead to give them a comfortable advantage at half time. Celta, seventh, still have hope of qualifying for European football next season and pulled one back through a Borja Iglesias spot-kick, retaken after encroachment when his first effort was saved. Ferran Jutgla hit the post for the Galicians but they could not find an equaliser, suffering a fifth consecutive defeat across all competitions. – AFP

Villarreal continued their strong season with a 2-1 victory over Celta Vigo to tighten their grip on third place. Luis Garcia Plaza’s Sevilla took the lead through Neal Maupay in the 69th minute but Raul Garcia pulled the hosts level and Alejandro Catena struck in stoppage time to deal a blow to the Andalucians’ survival hopes. The seven-time Europa League winners are 18th, a point behind Mallorca in 17th, after the islanders lost at Alaves on Saturday.

Elche moved up to 13th with their victory, three points above the drop zone, but are still looking nervously over their shoulders. Only six points separate Athletic Bilbao, 10th, from Sevilla, with the remaining five rounds of fix tures offering plenty of intrigue as to who will ulti mately drop out of the top flight. The only side cut badly adrift are Oviedo, who are seven points from safety with only 15 left to play for.