30/04/2026

SPORTS THURSDAY | APR 30, 2026

30

SHORTS

Sports after the match yesterday. The Saints will be involved in the playoffs, featuring the teams finishing third to sixth, that will determine which other team enters the Premier League. “We have clarity now and we need to get ready for the playoffs,“ said Saints boss Tonda Eckert. Ipswich will play their final Championship match of the season at home against QPR on

celebrate when Cyle Larin put the Saints ahead with 10 minutes of normal time remaining. But Ipswich were back level in the 87th minute when, following a corner, substitute Jack Clarke drilled a left-footed shot from the edge of the area past Saints goalkeeper Daniel Peretz into the bottom left corner. Clarke almost sealed victory two minutes later when his shot hit the base of the post, ricocheted past Peretz and then rolled past the post for a corner. And in the third of five minutes of added-on time, Ipswich put the ball into the net again only for the effort to be rightly ruled out for offside. “You probably can’t come much closer to getting promoted than we were at the end,” Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna told Sky

The England international, who has made 293 appearances for City, will go on a free transfer when his contract expires. Stones, a £47.5m (RM247m) signing from Everton, has helped City win six Premier League titles and trebles in 2018-19 and 2022-23, including City’s first Champions League title three years ago. “What does Manchester City mean to me?”he asked in an Instagram post when he revealed his departure. “It has been my home for the last 10 years and it will be my home for the rest of my life. “This is my team forever and always will be. At the start of my career here I never would thought I would be in this position. Firstly, to achieve everything but to have the love, the bond with everyone. Every dream has been smashed out of the park.” Stones praised Pep Guardiola, who he called “the best manager in the world”, adding: “I feel very grateful and lucky for what he has done for me.”

Ipswich sweating on promotion THE race for automatic promotion to the Premier League will go down to the final day of the regular season after second-placed Ipswich were held to a thrilling 2-2 draw at Southampton yesterday that ended the hosts’ bid for a guaranteed return to the top flight. Ipswich’s Wes Burns opened the scoring early in the second half but the visitors’lead lasted just 10 minutes, with Southampton, fresh from their FA Cup semifinal defeat by Manchester City, equalising through Ryan Manning’s free-kick. And home fans at St. Mary’s had even more to

May 2 (7.30pm Malaysian time). Stones to leave Man City

JOHN STONES has announced he will leave Manchester City at the end of the season after a decade at the Etihad Stadium.

Aston Villa’s Pau Torres (right) in action against Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White during their Premier League match on April 12. – REUTERSPIC

6124/2026

29/04/2026 (WED)

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Draw Date: 29/04/26 (Wed)

Draw No: 6071/26 Venue: WISMA GENTING, KL

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Past giants square off

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Villa, Forest revive European glory days in semifinal showdown A STON VILLA and Nottingham Forest, two clubs rich in European history, are one step from a first continental final in decades as they meet in the last four of the Europa League.

RM149,608.90

included spells in the lower tiers of English football. Villa have flourished since Emery joined the club in 2022 and are favourites to end their 30-year wait for a major trophy, with Freiburg or Braga awaiting the winners in next month’s final in Istanbul. Two years ago Villa reached the semifinals of the Uefa Conference League in their first taste of European competition for 13 years. Last season they gave Paris Saint Germain a scare before bowing out 5-4 on aggregate to the eventual winners in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. And Emery is no stranger to Europa League glory, having won the second-tier competition four times during his spells at Sevilla and Villarreal. “I know how difficult it is to win a European trophy. European competition is very important to us, and it’s given me so much in my career as a coach,” said the Spaniard. “Now I’m trying to experience that with the players and supporters at Aston Villa. “Forest have a history in Europe as well, because they won the European Cup like Aston Villa, so it is something special for us and for them.” Winning the Europa League would give Forest access to the Champions League for the first time since 1980, when they were the holders. Should Villa win the Europa League and finish fifth, the sixth-placed team in the Premier League would qualify for the Champions League. Forest host Villa in the first leg of the semifinal on Thursday, with the second leg taking place next week. – AFP

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658 443 + RAT

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RM1,185,833.30

961 374 + HORSE

English clubs dominated the European Cup, now known as the Champions League, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, with two triumphs for Forest and one for Villa. But the clubs – just 80km apart in the English Midlands – have had contrasting seasons as they prepare for the first leg tomorrow (3am Malaysian time). Unai Emery’s Villa are on course for a return to Europe’s top club competition after a strong Premier League campaign. Forest, by contrast, remain at risk of relegation, though the club have turned a corner under Vitor Pereira, who is their fourth manager during a chaotic campaign. The club are unbeaten in eight games in all competitions, reaching a first European semifinal in 42 years. A 5-0 demolition of Sunderland last week followed a 4-1 victory over Burnley, with goals suddenly flowing for a side that had been blunt under Nuno Espirito Santo, Ange Postecoglou and Sean Dyche. “Everyone is scoring, which makes us happy,” said Pereira. “It’s a good feeling. We’re eight games unbeaten now, and it’s important to keep this mentality.” Forest’s heyday came under Brian Clough, who masterminded back-to-back European Cups in 1979 and 1980, while Villa were continental champions two years later. But both teams have been starved of success in the decades since, which have

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