CONTACT US AT: Hazard’s goal helps Chelsea lift FA...
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Sports ❘ 07 CONTACT US AT: 8351-9190, [email protected] Monday May 21, 2018 IT was a day of celebration but also of tears as Juventus captain Gianluigi Buffon played his last match for the Bianconeri after 17 years at the club. Juventus beat already-rel- egated Hellas Verona 2-1 in the final round of Serie A on Sat- urday, an hors d’oeuvre to the main course that was bidding an emotional farewell to Buffon and receiving the league trophy for a record-extending seventh successive time. Buffon, widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers ever, announced Thursday he was leaving Juventus although the 40-year-old World Cup winner has put off retirement to consider offers to play overseas. “Today, it was right that Gigi Buffon was honored for all he has done, there was no better way to finish this year,” said Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri, who has worked with Buffon since joining the club in 2014. “I was moved for him. In these four years I have seen him do impressive things and he deserved a goodbye like this. There was a wonderful atmo- sphere.” Buffon was last onto the podium after the match to lift the Serie A trophy as fans and teammates alike chanted his name and applauded. The tributes — and the tears — started even before kickoff. Buffon ran out for the warmup first as defender Andrea Barzagli held back his teammates for a few seconds to let the goalkeeper enjoy the reception on his own. The former Italy captain spent several minutes under one of the stands behind the goal and had tears in his eyes as he hugged many fans. A huge banner of Buffon was unveiled before kickoff, while there were continuous chants and songs about him during the match. Buffon, who could be seen at times wiping away tears, had hardly a save to make. His counterpart Nicolas was far busier and saved a late pen- alty from Stephan Lichtsteiner, who was also playing his farewell match for Juve. (SD-Agencies) THE latest installment in the rivalry between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic met expec- tations for one tight set. Then Nadal pulled away for a 7-6 (4), 6-3 win to reach the Ital- ian Open final Saturday. In their 51st meeting but first in more than a year, Nadal’s court coverage eventually proved too much to handle for Djokovic, who is still regaining his form from a persistent right elbow injury. “That was a tough battle, a good level of tennis, a combination of good tactics and great shots from both of us,” said Nadal, who has had injury trouble of his own over the past year. Nadal’s opponent in the final will be defending champion Alexander Zverev, who recov- ered from an early break in the second set to beat Marin Cilic 7-6 (13), 6-4. Zverev destroyed his racket near the end of the tiebreak in which he saved five set points. The German player is aiming for his third title in three weeks after lifting trophies in Munich and Madrid — but he hasn’t beaten Nadal in four tries. “On this surface (Nadal) is almost unbeatable,” Zverev said. “I’ll have to play my best.” If Nadal wins his record- extending eighth Rome title, he will replace Roger Federer at No. 1. Federer is sitting out the clay season to prepare for Wimble- don. A FIRST-HALF penalty dis- patched by Eden Hazard, awarded after he was brought down by Phil Jones, gave Chel- sea a 1-0 win against Manches- ter United in the FA Cup final Saturday. “It was not an easy game,” Hazard said. “If we want to win a lot of games we have to play better, because today we played defensively.” Whether Hazard remains a Chelsea player next season could depend on whether “good play- ers” are signed in the offseason, based on the winger’s pre-match comments. When asked about his future amid the celebrations, Hazard was coy. “I’m just happy,” Hazard told the BBC. “You see the fans celebrating with the trophy. We didn’t play a great season but at least we finished well.” Even if Hazard stays, it looks increasingly unlikely Antonio Conte will. The rapid collapse in the English Premier League made Conte’s future look increasingly precarious. “We needed to achieve this goal for everybody, no matter what happens in the future,” captain Gary Cahill said. After lifting the Premier League trophy last season, Chelsea finished 30 points BAYERN Munich’s 2017-18 season ended in dramatic, con- troversial and disappointing fashion Saturday – with only one trophy after a 3-1 DFB Pokal final loss to Eintracht Frankfurt. But many Bayern fans will feel their team should have had 30 more minutes to claim a second. Deep in stoppage time, Javi Martinez was cleaned out by Kevin-Prince Boateng’s clumsy clearance attempt in the penalty area. Bayern players surrounded the referee, who put his hand to his ear, then signaled for a VAR review. He himself went over to the side of the field to watch the replay. Everybody in the stadium, along with everybody watching on TV, assumed he would come away from the pitchside monitor and point to the penalty spot. Instead, incredibly, he pointed to the corner, and upheld the call on the field. From that corner, with Bayern goalkeeper Sven Ulreich up from the back, Frankfurt broke away. Mijat Gacinovic’s empty-net goal clinched victory. It was the final kick of the game. It incited incredible scenes. Frankfurt’s entire bench ran the half-length of the field to celebrate. So did manager Nico Kovac, who will now take over at Bayern as the German superclub’s new boss. (SD-Agencies) Spain’s Rafael Nadal hugs Serbia’s Novak Djokovic (R) after winning their semifinal match in Rome, Italy, on Saturday. SD-Agencies Hazard’s goal helps Chelsea lift FA Cup behind newly crowned cham- pion Manchester City to finish fifth last week and out of the Champions League places. “This was to save our season,” Cahill said before collecting the FA Cup. “I’m not saying we’ve had a magnificent season by any stretch. But we are used to win- ning, not in an arrogant way, but we have to try to win things.” Victory for Conte — his first in a cup final — meant Jose Mourinho finished his second season at United empty-handed, paying the price for an insipid first-half display and coming to life only after the break. United took until the 56th minute to register a shot on target when Marcus Rashford struck at goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who later rushed off his line to block the forward. “I don’t think they deserved to win,” Mourinho said. “I am quite curious because I can imagine if my team played like Chelsea what everyone would be saying.” United did finish second in the Premier League, the club’s highest finish since Alex Fer- guson retired as a champion in 2013. (SD-Agencies) Nadal beats Djokovic at Italian Open On the women’s side, top- ranked Simona Halep rallied past three-time Rome cham- pion Maria Sharapova 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 and will again face Elina Svitolina for the trophy. Svitolina comfortably defeated Anna Kontaveit 6-4, 6-3 in the other semifinal. In last year’s final, Svitolina came back to beat Halep after the Romanian rolled her ankle. “I hope I don’t get injured again,” Halep said. “It’s a great opportunity.” This is the last major warmup before the French Open starts next weekend. The first set alone of Nadal- Djokovic made the Open era’s most prolific men’s rivalry worth watching. Djokovic recovered from an early break with excel- lent shot-making and Nadal converted his first set point with a return winner on the line after Djokovic followed his serve to the net. During one particularly enter- taining point midway through the first set, Nadal ran down a drop shot and forced Djokovic to retreat with a smartly angled response before Djokovic came forward again to finish the point off with a volley winner. Fans stood up and applauded them on multiple occasions. “It was a really good qual- ity match,” Djokovic said. “I enjoyed it.” (SD-Agencies) Bayern loses German Cup fi nal Juve marks Buffon’s last match Juventus’ goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon greets fans during the Italian Serie A match against Verona at the Allianz Stadium in Turin on Saturday. SD-Agencies Chelsea’s Eden Hazard lifts the trophy as they celebrate winning the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday. SD-Agencies
Transcript of CONTACT US AT: Hazard’s goal helps Chelsea lift FA...
Sports x 07CONTACT US AT: 8351-9190, [email protected]
Monday May 21, 2018
IT was a day of celebration but also of tears as Juventus captain Gianluigi Buffon played his last match for the Bianconeri after 17 years at the club.
Juventus beat already-rel-egated Hellas Verona 2-1 in the fi nal round of Serie A on Sat-urday, an hors d’oeuvre to the main course that was bidding an emotional farewell to Buffon and receiving the league trophy for a record-extending seventh successive time.
Buffon, widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers ever, announced Thursday he was leaving Juventus although the 40-year-old World Cup winner has put off retirement to consider offers to play overseas.
“Today, it was right that Gigi Buffon was honored for all he has done, there was no better way to fi nish this year,” said Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri, who has worked with Buffon since joining the club in 2014.
“I was moved for him. In these four years I have seen him do impressive things and he deserved a goodbye like this. There was a wonderful atmo-sphere.”
Buffon was last onto the podium after the match to lift the Serie A trophy as fans and teammates alike chanted his name and applauded.
The tributes — and the tears — started even before kickoff.
Buffon ran out for the warmup fi rst as defender Andrea Barzagli held back his teammates for a few seconds to let the goalkeeper enjoy the reception on his own.
The former Italy captain spent several minutes under one of the stands behind the goal and had tears in his eyes as he hugged many fans.
A huge banner of Buffon was unveiled before kickoff, while there were continuous chants and songs about him during the match. Buffon, who could be seen at times wiping away tears, had hardly a save to make.
His counterpart Nicolas was far busier and saved a late pen-alty from Stephan Lichtsteiner, who was also playing his farewell match for Juve. (SD-Agencies)
THE latest installment in the rivalry between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic met expec-tations for one tight set.
Then Nadal pulled away for a 7-6 (4), 6-3 win to reach the Ital-ian Open fi nal Saturday.
In their 51st meeting but fi rst in more than a year, Nadal’s court coverage eventually proved too much to handle for Djokovic, who is still regaining his form from a persistent right elbow injury.
“That was a tough battle, a good level of tennis, a combination of good tactics and great shots from both of us,” said Nadal, who has had injury trouble of his own over the past year.
Nadal’s opponent in the fi nal will be defending champion Alexander Zverev, who recov-ered from an early break in the second set to beat Marin Cilic 7-6 (13), 6-4.
Zverev destroyed his racket near the end of the tiebreak in which he saved fi ve set points. The German player is aiming for his third title in three weeks after lifting trophies in Munich and Madrid — but he hasn’t beaten Nadal in four tries.
“On this surface (Nadal) is almost unbeatable,” Zverev said. “I’ll have to play my best.”
If Nadal wins his record-extending eighth Rome title, he will replace Roger Federer at No. 1.
Federer is sitting out the clay season to prepare for Wimble-don.
A FIRST-HALF penalty dis-patched by Eden Hazard, awarded after he was brought down by Phil Jones, gave Chel-sea a 1-0 win against Manches-ter United in the FA Cup fi nal Saturday.
“It was not an easy game,” Hazard said. “If we want to win a lot of games we have to play better, because today we played defensively.”
Whether Hazard remains a Chelsea player next season could depend on whether “good play-ers” are signed in the offseason, based on the winger’s pre-match comments.
When asked about his future amid the celebrations, Hazard was coy.
“I’m just happy,” Hazard told the BBC. “You see the fans celebrating with the trophy. We didn’t play a great season but at least we fi nished well.”
Even if Hazard stays, it looks increasingly unlikely Antonio Conte will. The rapid collapse in the English Premier League made Conte’s future look increasingly precarious.
“We needed to achieve this goal for everybody, no matter what happens in the future,” captain Gary Cahill said.
After lifting the Premier League trophy last season, Chelsea fi nished 30 points
BAYERN Munich’s 2017-18 season ended in dramatic, con-troversial and disappointing fashion Saturday – with only one trophy after a 3-1 DFB Pokal fi nal loss to Eintracht Frankfurt.
But many Bayern fans will feel their team should have had 30 more minutes to claim a second. Deep in stoppage time, Javi Martinez was cleaned out by Kevin-Prince Boateng’s clumsy clearance attempt in the penalty area.
Bayern players surrounded the referee, who put his hand to his ear, then signaled for a VAR review. He himself went over to the side of the fi eld to watch the replay. Everybody in the stadium, along with everybody watching on TV, assumed he would come away from the pitchside monitor and point to the penalty spot. Instead, incredibly, he pointed to the corner, and upheld the call on the fi eld.
From that corner, with Bayern goalkeeper Sven Ulreich up from the back, Frankfurt broke away. Mijat Gacinovic’s empty-net goal clinched victory. It was the fi nal kick of the game. It incited incredible scenes. Frankfurt’s entire bench ran the half-length of the fi eld to celebrate. So did manager Nico Kovac, who will now take over at Bayern as the German superclub’s new boss.
(SD-Agencies)
Spain’s Rafael Nadal hugs Serbia’s Novak Djokovic (R) after winning their semifi nal match in Rome, Italy, on Saturday. SD-Agencies
Hazard’s goal helps Chelsea lift FA Cup
behind newly crowned cham-pion Manchester City to fi nish fi fth last week and out of the Champions League places.
“This was to save our season,” Cahill said before collecting the FA Cup. “I’m not saying we’ve had a magnifi cent season by any stretch. But we are used to win-ning, not in an arrogant way, but we have to try to win things.”
Victory for Conte — his fi rst
in a cup fi nal — meant Jose Mourinho fi nished his second season at United empty-handed, paying the price for an insipid fi rst-half display and coming to life only after the break.
United took until the 56th minute to register a shot on target when Marcus Rashford struck at goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who later rushed off his line to block the forward.
“I don’t think they deserved to win,” Mourinho said.
“I am quite curious because I can imagine if my team played like Chelsea what everyone would be saying.”
United did fi nish second in the Premier League, the club’s highest fi nish since Alex Fer-guson retired as a champion in 2013.
(SD-Agencies)
Nadal beats Djokovic at Italian Open
On the women’s side, top-ranked Simona Halep rallied past three-time Rome cham-pion Maria Sharapova 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 and will again face Elina Svitolina for the trophy.
Svitolina comfortably defeated Anna Kontaveit 6-4, 6-3 in the other semifi nal.
In last year’s fi nal, Svitolina came back to beat Halep after the Romanian rolled her ankle.
“I hope I don’t get injured again,” Halep said. “It’s a great opportunity.”
This is the last major warmup before the French Open starts next weekend.
The fi rst set alone of Nadal-Djokovic made the Open era’s most prolifi c men’s rivalry worth
watching. Djokovic recovered from an early break with excel-lent shot-making and Nadal converted his fi rst set point with a return winner on the line after Djokovic followed his serve to the net.
During one particularly enter-taining point midway through the fi rst set, Nadal ran down a drop shot and forced Djokovic to retreat with a smartly angled response before Djokovic came forward again to fi nish the point off with a volley winner.
Fans stood up and applauded them on multiple occasions.
“It was a really good qual-ity match,” Djokovic said. “I enjoyed it.”
(SD-Agencies)
Bayern loses German Cup fi nal
Juve marks Buffon’s last match
Juventus’ goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon greets fans during the Italian Serie A match against Verona at the Allianz Stadium in Turin on Saturday.
SD-Agencies
Chelsea’s Eden Hazard lifts the trophy as they celebrate winning the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday. SD-Agencies
