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In today's QNB Stars League Round 21 match against Al Wakrah, Al Gharafa will be aiming for all three points as the Cheetahs battle for a spot in next year's AFC Champions League. The Week-21 match, which was originally scheduled for April 6, was moved up due to Al Gharafa's play-off with FC AGMK of Uzbekistan in Doha on April 7 place in the AFC Champions League group stage this year. The match at Al Gharafa Stadium is scheduled to begin at 5:00

Borussia Moenchengladbach coach Marco Rose paid tribute to Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola ahead of the two sides' Champions League last 16 second leg, saying the Premier League team are almost playing 'Total Football'. Guardiola's City are league leaders in the English top-flight, boasting a 14-point lead over second-placed and rivals Manchester United. Guardiola, who has guided City to two Premier League titles since arriving in 2016, used the Dutch tactics of 'Total Football' at former club Barcelona after having played under Johan

LONDON: The three remaining Twenty20 matches between India and England in Ahmedabad will be held behind closed doors due to a rise in COVID-19 cases in Gujarat, the state's cricket association (GCA) said on Monday (Mar 15). A sizeable crowd attended the world's biggest cricket stadium for the first two matches of the series, with most fans in the stands not wearing masks. The series is tied at 1-1 and the final three games of the five-match series will be played on Tuesday,

BARCELONA: Lionel Messi celebrated his record-equalling 767th appearance for Barcelona by scoring two goals in a 4-1 La Liga victory over Huesca which helped the Catalans to move within four points of the top of the table on Monday. Spectacular first-half strikes by Messi and Antoine Griezmann from long-range appeared to have put Barca in the driving seat with the visitors rarely threatening. However, Barca keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen was adjudged to have felled Rafa Mir on the stroke of halftime as the

WOLVERHAMPTON: Liverpool breathed new life into their chances of a top-four finish in the Premier League as Diogo Jota returned to haunt Wolves with the only goal in a 1-0 win at Molineux on Monday (Mar 15). A disappointing night for the hosts ended with a bigger concern than just the result as goalkeeper Rui Patricio had to be stretchered off after 15 minutes of treatment for a head injury after he collided with his own player Connor Coady in the closing stages.

Paris Saint-Germain star Angel Di Maria was withdrawn during his side's loss to Nantes on Sunday after he received news that his home had been burgled, AFP reported. PSG told AFP that Di Maria was one of two players who were victims of burglaries during the game. A source close to the investigation told AFP on Monday that although the burglary took place in the presence of Di Maria's family at their home in Hauts-de-Seine, there was no violence. PSG's sporting director Leonardo

Pele has congratulated Cristiano Ronaldo after the Portuguese forward surpassed the Brazilian soccer great's tally of goals scored in official matches. Ronaldo netted a hat trick in Juventus' 3-1 win over Cagliari on Sunday to move onto 770 career goals, three more than Pele. The 35-year-old Ronaldo took to Instagram to recognize his achievement as well as the Brazilian's influence on his career, prompting Pele to reply. "Life is a solo flight. Each makes his own journey. And what a beautiful journey you

KUALA LUMPUR: South Korea will host North Korea for a series of World Cup and Asian Cup qualifiers later this year, the Asian Football Confederation said on Friday (Mar 12). South Korea, who reached the 2002 World Cup semi-finals on home soil, are one of eight countries hosting their respective Asian qualifying groups, in a new format intended to reduce coronavirus risks. China, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Japan are among the other hosts for the postponed games, which will be played from May

First day of pre-season testing delivers surprise as world champions Mercedes endure difficult start with new W12 car; Max Verstappen two tenths ahead of Lando Norris at head of timesheet in the new Red Bull; Ferrari also hit early reliability trouble Red Bull's Max Verstappen led McLaren's Lando Norris on the opening day of 2021 testing in Bahrain as world champions Mercedes endured an uncharacteristically difficult start to pre-season with their new car. At the start of F1's shortened three-day track build-up to

West Ham manager is hoping Jesse Lingard sees his future to West Ham; Lingard is on loan from Manchester United until the end of the season; watch Manchester United vs West Ham live on Sky Sports Premier League on Sunday from 7pm David Moyes believes Jesse Lingard will want to stay at West Ham after his loan deal ends. Lingard has been in outstanding form since moving on a temporary deal from Manchester United in January. The 28-year-old England international has four goals

Ind vs Eng: England Wins 1st T20: The World No. 1 England team has registered easy 8 wicket victory over India. Chasing India’s 125 runs target, England won with more than 27 balls to spare. For England Jason Roy scored 49, while Jos Butler contributed 28 runs. Virat Kohli’s team India was no match for the England team in all departments of the game. Especially while batting India’s top order KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli failed miserably as India could only score 124

Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan, a top Qatari pair, had a strong showing at the Katara Beach Volleyball Cup 4-star, but they were unable to turn a one-set lead into victory in the quarterfinals, losing to Czechia's Ondrej Perusic and David Schweiner in a thrilling tiebreaker. They settled for the fifth spot at the Doha 1-star just two weeks after winning their first FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour gold as a team. Cherif, who has a habit of setting high goals, was dissatisfied

Participants of the MotoGP family visiting Doha can receive the Covid-19 vaccine. In 2021, the country greatly increased its Covid-19 vaccination schedule, and as a result of this development, it is now able to provide the vaccine to all traveling participants of the MotoGP paddock. Qatar will host all pre-season practice for all classes of the championship and the first two Grands Prix, this season, with the entire MotoGP family in attendance for up to five weeks. The Qatar government has provided MotoGP

Roberto Bautista Agut advanced to the Qatar ExxonMobil Open final for the second time on Friday, winning 6-3, 6-3 over third-seeded Russian Andrey Rublev in 74 minutes to stretch his winning streak in Doha to nine tournaments. On Saturday, he will play Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili in the Doha final for a chance to win his 10th ATP Tour title. After overcoming American Taylor Fritz in two pairs (7/6 and 6/1) in the second semi-final match, Georgian player Nikoloz Basilashvili qualified for Qatar's final

The AFC has named the centralized venues for Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and the AFC Asian Cup China 2023, contested from May 31 to June 15, 2021. The AFC announced on its website that FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar will host Group E opponents Oman, Afghanistan, India, and Bangladesh, with Japan hosting matches in Group F, including Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Myanmar, and Mongolia. Group A, which includes leaders Syria, the Philippines, the Maldives, and Guam, will be hosted

Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho dismissed arch rivals Arsenal as a threat ahead of Sunday's (Mar 14) Premier League north London derby, saying he only looked up the table and not at clubs below them. Spurs are seventh in the standings with 45 points, seven points ahead of 10th-placed Arsenal, who they beat 2-0 in the reverse fixture in December when Mourinho's side were top of the league. Spurs have since lost ground in the title race and though they have not won

Roger Federer has pulled out of an upcoming tennis tournament in Dubai after returning to action following a 13-month injury layoff. The 20-time grand slam champion hadn't played competitively in over a year after undergoing two knee surgeries in 2020 but won his comeback match against Dan Evans at the Qatar Open on Wednesday. The 39-year-old was then beaten by Georgia's Nikoloz Basilashvili -- 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 -- in the quarterfinals on Thursday. Federer was due to continue his comeback at the Dubai

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane says he is unsure whether captain Sergio Ramos will stay at the club. Centre-back Ramos, 34, is out of contract at the end of the season. The Spain international has won four Champions League, four Club World Cup and five La Liga titles in 16 years at the Bernabeu since arriving from Sevilla in 2005. "I want to be honest and I have to say I don't know what's going to happen with him," Zidane said. "We want

A magnificent bowling performance set England on the way to a comprehensive eight-wicket victory over India in the first Twenty20 in Ahmedabad. Jofra Archer's 3-23 spearheaded a relentless showing from the pace bowlers, while leg-spinner Adil Rashid opened the bowling and dismissed home captain Virat Kohli for a duck. Only Shreyas Iyer, with 67 from 48 balls, got to grips with the England attack and the two-paced pitche as India struggled to 124-7. England sauntered in the chase, Jason Roy crashing 49 from

LONDON - The Premier League plans to welcome up to 10,000 fans in stadiums for the final two rounds of matches this season, chief executive Richard Masters said on Friday. The British government last month set out a four-stage easing of England’s COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. Under the third stage of the “roadmap”, very large outdoor stadiums will - if all conditions are met - from May 17 be able to have up to 10,000 people or 25% capacity, whichever is lower. “Hopefully the