Al Shabab joined Al Nasr in reaching the semi-finals of the GCC Club Cup after a 3-1 win over Bahraini side Al Riffa at the Maktoum Stadium.
Chilean schemer Carlos Villanueva found the bottom of the net with a crisp left-foot shot from the edge of the area to open the scoring on 21 minutes but were pegged back by Abbas Mohammed’s equaliser from an improbable angle just shy of the hour-mark.
Shabab’s lead was quickly restored though through a Dawood Ali volley on 64 minutes and Henrique made sure of the result six minutes later with a deft chip over the advancing Riffa goalkeeper.
In the night’s other match, Kuwait’s Al Jahra went down 2-0 at home to Omani club Al Seeb. Al Nasr reached the last four on Tuesday after defeating Al Tawoon of Saudi Arabia 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out.
In other football news ...
Germany
Bayern Munich have been flooded with ticket requests for their home Uefa Champions League semi-final after their historic 6-1 drubbing of Porto, which saw Pep Guardiola’s trousers rip in celebration. Guardiola’s sideline jubilation after one of Bayern’s five first-half goals in Munich on Tuesday led to the dapper Spaniard’s tailored suit ripping on his left leg in what German daily Bild has dubbed a “Goal-gasum” (‘Tor-gasum’ in German).
Italy
Palermo striker Paulo Dybala has hinted he would prefer a move to Juventus, potentially ending the hopes of Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea to lure the Argentine starlet away from Serie A. Dybala is one of the hottest properties in Italy’s top flight, scoring 13 league goals so far, creating several more and hitting the woodwork several times for the Sicily-based side. Amid reported interest from some of Europe’s top clubs, including PSG and Chelsea, Palermo owner and president Mauro Zamparini has slapped a €40m (Dh157.8m) price tag on the 21-year-old frontman.
Scotland
A ruling by the Scottish Football Associaiton that is likely to see a player banned from the Scottish Cup final for a handball the referee missed is wrong and could set a dangerous precedent, Fifa’s referee chief Jim Boyce said yesterday. Inverness Caledonian Thistle defender Josh Meekings handled the ball with the score at 1-0 during Sunday’s semi-final against Celtic, which Inverness won 3-2 to reach the final for the first time. Referee Steven McLean and his assistants all missed the incident, but the Scottish FA’s compliance officer Tony McGlennan issued a “notice of complaint” following an appeal by Celtic on Monday.
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