Nagoya Grampus on Wednesday became the fourth Japanese team to make the last 16 of the AFC Champions League, while the Newcastle Jets kept Australian hopes alive.
Yoshizumi Ogawa scored twice as Nagoya beat South Korea’s Ulsan Hyundai 4-1, ensuring they secured top spot in Group E with 11 points from five games, five ahead of Ulsan and Newcastle, who eased past Beijing Guoan 2-1.
Defending champions Gamba Osaka, who kept their 100 percent record intact with a 1-0 win over China’s Shandong Luneng, have already qualified for the knockout stage, along with Kawasaki Frontale and Kashima Antlers.
The win means Newcastle, who are now second in Group E behind Nagoya, can go through to the playoff stage if they earn a point in their final group match against Ulsan in South Korea on May 20.
In west Asia, Group A will go down to the wire as to who ends up topping it after Uzbek powerhouses Pakhtakor beat bottom-placed Al Ahli of the UAE 2-0.
The Uzbek side have already secured a place in the next round as have Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal, who ensured they stayed in the hunt for top place by beating Iranian outfit Saba Battery 1-0 away.
The two will fight it out in a mouthwatering head to head battle in Saudi Arabia on May 20 with the Uzbeks needing just a point to finish top.
Group B remains a three-horse race despite a shake-up of the table following the withdrawal of Sharjah this week.
The UAE club, who pulled out to focus on escaping relegation in their domestic league, were on zero points and all their previous results are considered null and void.
Saudi Arabia’s Al Shabab could only draw 0-0 at home to Al Gharafa, but it ensured they stayed a point ahead of Wednesday’s opponents in the group.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
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