Al-Ittihad est le champion saoudien de la Pro League après que sa victoire lui ait valu les trois points dont il avait besoin pour remporter le championnat.
Al-Nassr devait gagner ce soir et espérer qu’Al-Ittihad perde des points.
Mais Al-Ittihad s’est imposé 3-0 à Al Feiha.
Si les équipes sont à égalité de points, dans la Ligue saoudienne, elles sont décidées par leur bilan en tête-à-tête. La victoire d’Al-Ittihad sur Al-Nassr en mars s’est avérée cruciale après un match nul entre les équipes plus tôt dans la saison.
Advertisement
Ainsi, Al-Ittihad n’a eu besoin que d’une victoire sur les deux derniers matchs pour conclure le titre de champion.
L’équipe d’Al-Nassr de Ronaldo a pris du retard sur le but de Youssoufou Niakaté à la 43e minute qui a donné l’avantage à Ettifaq.
Mais Luiz Gustavo a riposté pour qu’Al-Nassr égalise à la 56e minute.
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino says it is important that the club’s fans and players “move on” after Raheem Sterling was booed by supporters.
Sterling faced criticism from sections of the Stamford Bridge crowd during Chelsea’s 4-2 win over Leicester City in the recent FA Cup quarter-final.
Pochettino was jeered for his decision to substitute Mykhailo Mudryk instead of Sterling in the 78th minute.
“We now need to move on. It will help if we do,” said Pochettino.
“What we cannot do is create bigger things from this now because we know fans love our players and I know they will support him and the rest of the team.
Advertisement
“Raheem is a spirited player and he understands it all.”
Pochettino’s Chelsea will have home advantage against lowly Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday, when supporters will expect another victory.
Sterling missed a first-half penalty against Leicester and blazed a free-kick well over the crossbar in the second half, which prompted jeers among the home crowd.
Before the match, Chelsea Supporters’ Trust raised “significant concerns” about the club’s future in a lengthy letter to co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali.
It said there was growing concern that Chelsea are becoming “a ‘laughing stock’, both on and off the pitch”.
Advertisement
“We need to be careful in the way we talk and give our opinions because there needs to be a strong relationship between everyone,” said Pochettino.
“I just want our players to play really well. I was also suffering the anger of the fans and their disappointment; in fact, the whole team suffered in this situation.”
Everton manager Sean Dyche says there was “nothing” in an altercation between himself and defender Nathan Patterson.
Reports suggested Dyche hit Patterson, 22, with a “playful slap” during a warm weather training camp earlier this month, resulting in a heated row.
“I tapped him on the head like an older brother would and he didn’t get the joke. It’s really that simple,” said Dyche, 52.
“Never let the truth get in the way of a good story. Nothing in it really.”
Scotland international Patterson has played 25 times for Everton this season but his last appearance came in January.
Advertisement
The incident reportedly occurred during the Toffees’ trip to Portugal prior to the international break with defender James Tarkowski having to step in.
Patterson played twice for Scotland during the international break, first against the Netherlands and then Northern Ireland.
Dyche hoping for quick resolution to latest charge
Dyche says he is also hoping for a quick resolution to the club’s latest charge for allegedly breaching the Premier League’s financial rules – and that it “comes to nothing”.
Everton were docked 10 points in November, reduced to six on appeal, for breaking profit and sustainability rules in the three-year period to 2021-22 but received a second charge in January for the three years to 2022-23.
They are currently 16th in the Premier League, four points above Nottingham Forest who were themselves docked four points earlier this month.
Advertisement
“We’re just waiting, really, like we did last time,” Dyche said. “I’m sure everyone’s hoping that it’s fast-tracked slightly, but we’ll have to wait and see.
“I don’t think anyone has concrete proof of how or which way these things will go, particularly after the first one.
“We can only give the information that’s appropriate. I wasn’t there, obviously, but I’m told we’ve given every bit of information that we can give.
“We hope that they see, accordingly, what the club has been trying to do to make sure we’re within the right areas that they need us to be in. So, therefore, we’ll hope that it comes to nothing.”
Manchester City defender Kerstin Casparij has been charged by the Football Association with making an alleged offensive gesture during the Manchester derby on 23 March.
The Netherlands international’s charge relates to an incident in the 37th minute in City’s 3-1 win at the Etihad.
Jess Park gave City the lead eight minutes before half-time, when Casparij is alleged to have made a gesture towards Manchester United’s away support.
Casparij has until 3 April to respond.
City’s win took them top for 24 hours in the Women’s Super League, before Chelsea’s victory against West Ham restored the Blues’ lead at the top on goal difference.
The Premier League has apologised after Nottingham Forest’s trip to Tottenham in less than two weeks’ time was brought forward by 24 hours.
The fixture, due to take place on Monday, 8 April, will now be at 18:00 GMT on Sunday, 7 April because of London Underground and train strikes.
The local authority’s Safety Advisory Group deemed the required level of safety for fans was not possible as a result of the action.
The league apologised “unreservedly”.
Tottenham said only one of the six stations that serve the stadium will run as normally on 8 April.
Advertisement
“All tickets will remain valid for the new date – we shall shortly be contacting all ticket holders to outline options if they are no longer able to attend,” they said.
A Premier League statement said: “The change has been made due to matters beyond the League’s control, namely the decision to implement rail and tube strikes on Monday, 8 April and the subsequent reduction in available travel services.
“This has resulted in the local authority’s Safety Advisory Group determining that it is not possible to stage the match with the required levels of safety for attending fans.”
Manchester United have entered the race to sign Spain international Dani Olmo, who has a £52m release clause to leave RB Leipzig this summer. The 25-year-old winger is also interesting Real Madrid, Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham. (Daily Mail)
Manchester United representatives have been to Spain to identify potential transfer targets and 34-year-old Spain striker Joselu, who is on loan at Real Madrid from Espanyol, is one of the names on their list. (Relevo – in Spanish)
United will have to pay at least 60m euros (£51.3m) for Brazil international Gleison Bremer, 27, who plays for Juventus, and the Red Devils’ striker Mason Greenwood, 22, could be included in the deal. (Gazetta dello Sport – in Italian)
Manchester City and Newcastle United will rival Manchester United for the signing of Everton and England Under-21 centre-back Jarrad Brathwaite, 21. (Football Transfers)
Advertisement
Italian club Genoa are expecting to receive bids in the summer for 26-year-old Iceland forward Albert Gudmundsson, who has been linked with Tottenham and West Ham. (Fabrizio Romano)
Newcastle United ran the rule over several Brazil players during their friendly against England last week, with Barcelona winger Raphinha, 27, and Juventus defender Gleison Bremer, 27, thought to be on their radar. (Newcastle Chronicle)
Manchester United and Tottenham target Jean-Clair Todibo, the 24-year-old France international centre-back, could be available for £40m from Nice this summer. (Talksport)
Crystal Palace want to sign 19-year-old Valencia defender Cristhian Mosquera in the summer but face competition for the Spain Under-21 international from Atletico Madrid. (Evening Standard)
Chelsea will replace Todd Boehly as chairman in 2027. (Mail)
There is a strong temptation for Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku, 30, currently on loan at Roma from Chelsea, to move to Saudi Arabia. (Calcio Mercato – in Italian)
Paris St-Germain will face French rivals Lyon in the semi-finals of the Women’s Champions League after beating Hacken to reach the final four.
PSG were dominant in the second leg, opening the scoring when Tabitha Chawinga fired into the bottom corner.
United States midfielder Korbin Albert extended their lead when she sent a long-range drive past Jennifer Falk.
Marie-Antoinette Katoto then headed home Sakina Karchaoui’s cross to seal victory.
PSG led 2-1 on aggregate going into the second leg and never looked like letting their lead slide.
Advertisement
It took them until the 70th minute to follow up Chawinga’s opener, but they troubled Hacken throughout with Katoto having an earlier header cleared off the line.
Hacken were unable to make any real impression at Parc des Princes as the Swedish side were forced to sit back without the ball.
PSG were beaten on penalties by Lyon in the 2016-17 Champions League final and are currently seven points behind them in Division 1 Feminine.
Holders Barcelona beat Brann to set up a Women’s Champions League semi-final against Chelsea.
Barcelona won the first leg 2-1 and extended their aggregate lead when Aitana Bonmati hooked an effort past Aurora Mikalsen in the 23rd minute.
They netted again through Fridolina Rolfo, who bundled home when Mikalsen failed to clear a goalmouth scramble.
Tomine Svendheim pulled one back for Brann, but Patri Guijarro scored an 88th-minute tap-in to seal Barca’s win.
With England internationals Lucy Bronze and Keira Walsh in their line-up, Barcelona dominated the second leg at Estadi Johan Cruyff as they managed 26 shots to seven from their Norwegian visitors.
Advertisement
Beating Brann sets up a repeat of last year’s semi-final, when Barcelona beat Chelsea 2-1 on aggregate before going on to win the competition.
They will host the first leg in Barcelona on 20-21 April, with the second leg being played at Stamford Bridge on 27-28 April.
The Catalan giants also thrashed Chelsea 4-0 in the 2020-21 final when they won the competition for the first time.
Leicester City have sacked manager Willie Kirk following an investigation into an allegation he had a relationship with a player.
Kirk, 45, was suspended by the Women’s Super League club earlier this month to “assist with an internal process”.
The Scottish boss has not been on the touchline for the past three games.
“Willie was determined to have breached the team’s code of conduct to a degree that makes his position untenable,” Leicester said in a statement.
Following Kirk’s suspension, assistant manager Jennifer Foster and first-team coach Stephen Kirby took charge for the Women’s FA Cup quarter-final at Liverpool on 9 March.
Advertisement
The Foxes won 2-0 to reach the last four of the competition for the first time.
Leicester have lost the two matches they have played since, being beaten by Tottenham and Brighton in the WSL.
Foster and Kirby will continue to lead the team while Leicester begin the search for a new permanent manager.
Former Everton manager Kirk joined the Women’s Super League club in the summer of 2022, initially as a director of football before succeeding Lydia Bedford as boss that November.
Last season he guided Leicester from the bottom of the WSL to safety and they were seventh in the table this season when he was suspended.
Advertisement
Leicester said the code of conduct which Kirk breached was “established and implemented” before the 2023-24 season.
“The code forms part of the club’s ongoing commitment to professionalising the women’s game since the takeover of LCFC Women in 2020, promoting a performance-led culture among players, coaches and technical staff,” Leicester added.
Their decision, announced on Thursday, comes amid scrutiny of player-coach relationships in women’s football.
In February, former Leicester manager Jonathan Morgan was sacked by Sheffield United after “new information came to light about his conduct” before he joined the club.
Morgan’s former management agency ended their relationship with him and said in a statement it had “learnt new information regarding Jonathan Morgan and a relationship with a player”.