Hindustan Times ST (Mumbai) - Live
Man United, Chelsea draw as Ronaldo strikes again
MANCHESTER: Cristiano Ronaldo’s fifth goal in three matches salvaged a point for Manchester United in a 1-1 draw against Chelsea that further damaged his team’s chances of securing a top-four finish in the Premier League.
Ronaldo ran onto a ball over the Chelsea defence from Nemanja Matic and delivered a clinical finish in the 62nd minute, merely two minutes after Marcos Alonso had given the visitors the lead.
Reece James later curled a shot against the post for Chelsea, who dominated the first half but found United goalkeeper David de Gea in fine form. On 17 goals, Ronaldo is tied with Son Heung-min in second place in the Premier League scoring charts behind Mohamed Salah.
With only three games left to play in the league, United stayed in sixth place — five points behind fourth-placed Arsenal and having played two matches more than their rivals for Champions League qualification. Tottenham are between the two teams, in the fifth spot, with three more points than Manchester United and two games in hand. Chelsea consolidated third place and are six points above Arsenal.
Meanwhile, it was announced on Friday that United’s interim manager Ralf Rangnick was appointed as the Austrian national team coach on a two-year deal.
Benzema, Vinicius set to miss Real’s title decider
MADRID: Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior will likely be rested on Saturday for the match that can give Real Madrid the Spanish league title, coach Carlo Ancelotti said here on Friday.
Madrid need a draw against Espanyol at the Santiago Bernabeu to clinch their record-extending 35th league title, and second in three seasons.
Ancelotti said everyone wants to play in the possible title decider, but he has to take into account that Madrid face a must-win game against Manreaching
chester City next week in the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals. “I think Benzema and Vinicius will get some rest,” Ancelotti said.
Frankfurt stun West Ham 2-1 in Europa semis
LONDON: Eintracht Frankfurt are just one step away from
their first European competition final in more than 40 years after beating West Ham 2-1 in the first leg of the Europa League semi-finals here on Thursday.
The German team had knocked out Barcelona in the quarter-finals and took no time in shocking West Ham when Ansgar Knauff scored 51 seconds after kick-off at the London Stadium.
An all-German final in the second-tier European competition is a possibility after Leipzig scored late to defeat Rangers 1-0 at home in the other semi-final.
Spurs boss Conte labels PSG link as ‘fake news’
LONDON: Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has slammed “fake news” reports that he is a contender to take charge at Paris Saint-Germain.
Conte was linked with the French champions this week after reports emerged that their current boss Mauricio Pochettino, himself a former Spurs manager, is likely to leave at the end of the season.
“I think that it’s good that other clubs appreciate my work. This is one thing. But the truth is that I don’t like when people try to (invent) news only to speak, only to create problems,” Conte said. “In this situation, who works in football, players or managers, know very well that at this point of the season, a lot of fake news starts to go out.”