THE PENINSULA – DOHA

Qatar is getting set to host the world’s best men squash players again at the 2020 Qatar Classic, the 19th edition of the annual interna-tional squash tournament, which takes place at the Khalifa Interna-tional Tennis and Squash Complex from November 1 to 7.

Forty six players including the world’s top-eight are featuring at the prestigious tournament, one of the signature events on the Profes-sional Squash Association (PSA) Tour, which carries a total prize purse of $175.000 cash prize.

Players expected in Doha include defending champion and World No.1 Ali Farag, three-time champion and the World No.2 Mohammed El Shorbagy, 2016 champion and World No. 3 Karim Adbel Gawad, Tarek Momen, the 2017 finalist and the World No.5 Paul Coll.

Other stars on the card include

Diego Elias (World No. 6), World No. 7 Marwa El Shorbagy and the eighth-ranked Simon Rosner, the 2018 finalist. The 2005 champion James Willstrop will also be strutting his stuff along with Grégory Gaultier, the 2011 champion who has been given a wildcard.

The event, being held against the backdrop of the global COVID 19 pandemic, is doubtlessly a testi-monial to the undaunted spirit and passion of all the stakeholders for the sport, as well as the unwavering commitment of the organisers to the tournament.

All eyes will be on the top-ranked Mohammed El Shorbagy, who holds the enviable record of the only person to win three times at the tournament, as he embarks on the journey of making it four conquests.

The 28-year-old Egyptian has been in fine form this year, winning the Manchester open on September

22 after 192 days of recess due to the COVID-19 pandemic. His Man-chester title was the 42nd PSA title of his career, moving him to fifth on the all-time squash win list.

Qatar’s most successful player and World No. 27 Abdullah Mohammed Al Tamimi will be leading the home charge alongside

Syed Azlan Amjad (a wildcard entrant).

Tamimi stunned the world with his superb performance at last year’s PSA Men’s World Squash Championship where he reached the Round of 16, narrowly losing to eventual champion Tarek Momen.

Tournament Director Tareq Zainal said, “We are happy to be hosting the tournament again after the break occasioned by the hosting of last year’s World Cham-pionship. Without any doubt, Qatar is passionate about squash, and we are committed once more to hosting an eventful event - a tour-nament will linger for a long time in the memories of all participants. We are leaving no stone unturned to ensure the safety of all partici-pants, given the current global coronavirus pandemic, and eve-ryone is assured of a safe and hitch-free tournament besides our well acknowledged world-class hospitality.”

TUESDAY 20 OCTOBER 2020

Barca not among Champions League favourites, says copach Koeman When you’re at Barcelona you always want to be there fighting for trophies, be it in La Liga or Europe. We aren’t the favourites, but we can go far.

Sport | 11

Bf

ff

Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman

Sport

Qatar’s most successful player

and World No. 27 Abdullah

Mohammed Al Tamimi to join a

star cast which includes

three-time champion and the

World No.2 Mohammed El

Shorbagy, 2016 champion and

World No. 3 Karim Adbel Gawad,

Tarek Momen, the 2017 finalist

and the World No.5 Paul Coll at

the19th edition of the annual

international squash

tournament.

MLB - CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: (GAME 7) Los Angeles Dodgers beat Atlanta Braves 4 - 3 (Dodgers advance to World Series)

Champions League: PSG kicks off campaign with eye on titleAFP – PARIS

Paris Saint-Germain came so close to winning the prize they crave more than anything in last season’s Champions League and are hoping to go one better this time, but there are concerns that the Qatar-owned club might actually have gone backwards in recent months.

Bayern Munich’s greater experience told in Lisbon in August, and there were tears at the end for Neymar as the French champions agonisingly lost 1-0 in their first ever Champions League final.

Two months on, Thomas Tuchel’s side begin their latest bid for European success at home to Manchester United today, in a rematch of the last-16 tie in 2019 which PSG lost to a controversial late penalty.

It therefore brings back memories of just one of several painful defeats in the Champions League in recent years, but the reality is that Paris should be con-sidered favourites against the Old Trafford side and to win a group also containing RB Leipzig and Istanbul Basaksehir.

Yet whether this will be the season that they do go all the way remains to be seen.

Tuchel has been the first to complain that his squad is weaker than it was last season as PSG -- having already seen several key players depart over the summer -- have started the new cam-paign hamstrung by injuries, suspensions and coronavirus cases.

Right-back Thomas Meunier and all-time record goal-scorer Edinson Cavani left when their contracts ended, not even sticking around for the latter stages of

the Champions League in August -- Cavani is now at United and so could come back to haunt his old side this week.

Skipper Thiago Silva did stay for the ‘Final Eight’ in Lisbon but has since joined Chelsea and complained that sporting director Leonardo had been “clumsy and rushed” in refusing to offer him a deal to stay.

“Not only with me,” the Brazilian told France Football. “Cavani is the top scorer

in PSG’s history. I am saying this so that the club progresses and doesn’t make the same mistakes in future.” Tuchel would appear to agree with that view, with his apparently difficult relationship with the man who makes the signings producing regular headlines in France.

“We will do everything we possibly can and we will never accept excuses but we have to face up to the reality and that is that we have lost players,” the German, who is in the final year of his

contract, said earlier this month as he indicated PSG could not win the Cham-pions League without major strengthening.

“We didn’t like what he said. The club didn’t like it and I didn’t like it either,” said Leonardo.

“If you decide to stay, you have to respect the club’s sporting policy, the internal rules and the situation at the club.”

But if there was no love lost just a few weeks ago, Tuchel would have been pleased to see several new signings arrive just before the transfer window closed on October 5.

PSG signed two new midfielders, with Portuguese international Danilo Pereira arriving on loan from Porto and Rafinha joining on a three-year deal from Barcelona.

Italy striker Moise Kean was also captured on loan from Everton to strengthen the attack.

Neymar and Kylian Mbappe are still there of course, and so is Angel di Maria, but they still look light in defence.

Friday’s 4-0 win over Nimes was their fifth in a row in Ligue 1 after starting the campaign with two straight defeats, yet question marks remain about their longer-term prospects this season.

Meanwhile in the short term PSG are still missing a host of players for the start of their European campaign.

Influential left-back Juan Bernat is out with a knee injury, while midfield duo Marco Verratti and Leandro Paredes are expected to miss Tuesday’s game and Mauro Icardi is absent too.

Di Maria, at least, can play here while he serves a ban domestically.

World No. 1 Farag leads star cast at Qatar Classic

Boli strikes as Al Rayyan beat Al Wakrah; Al Arabi clinch first win of QSL seasonTHE PENINSULA – DOHA

Ivorian Yohan Boli was the star of the day for Al Rayyan who defeated Al Wakrah while Al Arabi clinched their maiden win of the season as the fourth round of QNB Stars League concluded yesterday.

At Al Gharafa Stadium, both Al Rayyan and Al Wakrah were involving in a tough battle right from the kick off with both teams being missing out several chances to score. Following a goalless first half, the eight-time champions, Al Rayyan started to apply more pressure on their opponents and the Ivorian forward succeeded in the 49th minute with a powerful strike to beat Al Wakrah goalkeeper Saud Al

Khater from the right side of the penalty area.

The victory raised Al Rayyan's points total to seven, while Al Wakrah remained six points.

Earlier, Al Arabi defeated Umm Salal 2-1 at the Al Arabi Stadium with a last-gasp goal by Mehrdad Mohammadi (90+4).

Abdulaziz Al Ansari (45+1) had earlier put Al Arabi on top before Abdennour Belhocini pulled one back for Umm Salal in the 68th minute through a penalty.

After being held 2-2 by Al Khor in Week 1, Al Arabi had lost 0-2 to Al Ahli and 1-2 to Al Gharafa.

The win lifted their points tally to four. Umm Salal have only the point

that they earned from their goalless draw with Al Khor in Week 2. The Orange Fortress had lost 0-3 to Al Duhail in their opener and then 0-2 to Al Wakrah in Week 3.

Al Ansari’s goal, a header, resulted from Mehrdad’s free-kick.

Al Arabi continued their attacking ways in the second session, but Umm Salal managed to draw level through Belhocini’s penalty awarded when Al Arabi’s Khalaf Saad ‘handled the ball’ on the edge of the penalty box.

When the game headed towards a draw came a brilliantly-executed bicycle kick by Mehrdad that beat Umm Salal goalkeeper Baba Malick hands down after Abdullah Al Marafi crossed the ball from the right.

Al Rayyan's Yacine Brahimi (centre) vies for the ball with Al Wakrah players during yesterday's match.

United without Cavani and Maguire for trip to PSG

REUTERS – LONDON

Edinson Cavani’s hopes of making his Manchester United debut against former club Paris St Germain in the Champions League were dashed after the Uruguayan striker was left out of the travelling squad yesterday.

United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed Cavani as well as captain Harry Maguire, Mason Greenwood, Eric Bailly and Jesse Lingard have missed the trip to the French capital for today’s opening group stage match.

Solskjaer confirmed Cavani still needs to work on his fitness levels, while Maguire has sus-tained a minor knock.

Cavani, who joined United on a free transfer after his PSG contract expired last season, had to self-isolate for 14 days on arrival in the United Kingdom. The 33-year-old fin-ished his spell in Paris as the French club’s most prolific scorer with 200 goals but has not played since March.

In Maguire’s absence, United playmaker Bruno Fern-andes will captain the side for the first time, which he dis-covered while sitting alongside his manager for the news conference.

Paris Saint-Germain players in action during a pre-match practice session yesterday, on the eve of their Champions League match against Manchester United. INSET: PSG's Neymar during the practice session.

World No.1 Ali Farag

11TUESDAY 20 OCTOBER 2020 SPORT

Atletico's Costa set to miss Bayern tripREUTERS – MADRID

Atletico Madrid’s Diego Costa is being treated for a thigh injury sustained against Centa Vigo at the weekend, the club confirmed yesterday, potentially ruling out the striker for tomorrow's Champions League tie against Bayern Munich.

The club have not put a timescale on Costa’s return to action, but local media reports suggest he will miss the next three weeks, starting with the visit to face the European champions in Munich.

“Diego Costa had to be replaced in the second half of our side’s game against Celta Vigo. Costa underwent tests at the Clinica Universidad de Navarra that confirmed he has suffered a muscle injury in the left thigh,” an Atletico Madrid statement said, adding that they are awaiting his response to treatment.

Barca not among Champions League favourites: KoemanREUTERS – BARCELONA

Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman believes his side are not among the favourites to win this season’s Champions League with the Catalans having made a stuttering start to the new season.

Speaking ahead of today’s visit of Hungarians Ferencvaros in their Champions league Group G opener, Koeman played down media talk that the Catalans could be European champions.

“When you’re at Barcelona you always want to be there fighting for trophies, be it in La Liga or Europe. We aren’t the favourites, but we can go far,” he told a news conference.

Barca’s recent Champions League failings - they have just one semi-final appearance since last winning the competition in 2015 - were cited by many as talisman Lionel Messi’s main reason for attempting to leave the Nou Camp in the transfer window.

The Argentina forward has fre-quently voiced his desire to lift the trophy again and this season could be a final chance to do it with Barca as his current contract expires next year.

“Right now, you could maybe say his performances could be better,” Koeman said of his 33-year-old captain after Barca lost 1-0 at

unfancied Getafe in la Liga on Saturday.

“But when you see him on a day-to-day basis, he’s happy and wants to play and be the team’s captain. I don’t have any complaints or doubts about his effort.”

The Ferencvaros game comes four days before the first Clasico of the

season at home to Real Madrid but Koeman said his side are only focusing on the Champions League for now.

“We know it won’t be an easy game. We’ll put out a strong team. Saturday’s game isn’t important right now - the important one is tomor-row’s game. It will be a tough match as there’s no such thing as an easy

opponent nowadays,” added the Dutchman.

“It’s always important to win the first Champions League group game, especially at home.”

He will be without goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Jordi Alba plus long-term injury absentee Samuel Umtiti.

Leipzig to launch European campaign in front of 999 fansAFP – BERLIN

RB Leipzig will be allowed to welcome 999 fans to the Red Bull Arena for their Champions League opener against Istanbul Basaksehir today.

Despite rising numbers of coronavirus cases across Germany, the local health authority in Leipzig has granted permission for up to 999 spectators to attend, down from the usual number of 8,500 fans allowed for home Bun-desliga games.

The seven-day rate of infection for corona-virus in Leipzig on Monday was close to 20 per 100,000 inhabitants, far lower than Berlin with 87 and Munich with 70.

Champions League holders Bayern Munich will face Atletico Madrid behind closed doors on Wednesday at the Allianz Arena.

Bundesliga leaders Leipzig are eager to get an opening win before heading to Manchester United, then hosting Paris Saint Germain -- who beat them in last season’s semi-finals -- in con-secutive weeks.

Leipzig reached the last four earlier this year by beating Tottenham and Atletico Madrid, having reached the knock-out stage for the first time.

Leipzig warmed up with an impressive 2-0 win over in-form side Augsburg on Saturday to stay top of the Bundesliga, with on-loan Man-chester City left-back Angelino and Denmark striker Yussuf Poulsen providing the goals.

PSG withoutVerratti, Paredes for United clash

AFP – PARIS

Paris Saint-Germain will have to do without midfield duo Marco Verratti and Leandro Paredes for their Champions League group-stage opener at home to Manchester United today, coach Thomas Tuchel has confirmed, but captain Marquinhos could return.

Verratti suffered a leg muscle injury on inter-national duty with Italy and could be sidelined for up to three weeks, sports daily L’Equipe reported.

Paredes injury a thigh muscle playing in Fri-day’s 4-0 win at Nimes in Ligue 1.

In addition, Argentina striker Mauro Icardi is absent with a knee problem, while the defensive pair of Thilo Kehrer and Juan Bernat are also on the sidelines.

However, speaking to reporters yesterday, Tuchel said Brazil centre-back Marquinhos and Germany’s Julian Draxler had been back in training.

“I hope that they will be able to play for us tomorrow,” said Tuchel, who also has Portugal midfielder Danilo Pereira available for the first time after arriving on loan from Porto.

Cavani swaps life on farm for United spotlight AFP – LONDON

Marcus Rashford insists Edinson Cavani will prove a valuable addition for Manchester United after the veteran Uruguay striker swapped life o n the farm for the Old

Trafford spotlight.Cavani signed a two-

year contract worth £210,000-per-week ($271,000)

on transfer deadline day.The 33-year-old missed Saturday’s 4-1

victory at Newcastle -- United’s first match since his signing -- after going into quarantine for 14 days following his arrival in England.

Cavani scored 200 goals in seven years with PSG, but he left the Ligue 1 cham-pions in June, missing their run to the Champions League final.

His age and lack of recent action prompted some United fans to label Cavani a panic buy after their failure to land Borussia Dortmund forward Jadon Sancho.

Cavani spent the last few months shearing sheep on his farm back home in Uruguay and indulging his unlikely passion for ballet -- even featuring in an advert for a Montevideo dance school.

But, while he relishes his quiet life away from football and could easily have slipped into retirement, Cavani’s love affair with the game was strong enough to persuade him to accept a new chal-lenge with United, regardless of what the critics say.

“I had a lot of different opportunities, I was excited to play in the Premier League and even more so for Manchester United,” Cavani said.

“I am very motivated because I always want to play as much as possible, work, train and give the best of myself.”

Cavani and his girlfriend contracted Covid-19 over a month ago after a holiday

in Ibiza, but he is recovered and ready to add his experience and predatory instincts to a young United team in need of guidance. While their free-scoring victory at Newcastle suggested United already have enough attacking talent, the truth is Rashford, Mason Greenwood and Daniel James are all still relatively raw, capable of excellence and head-scratching incon-sistency in equal measure.

Rashford hopes Cavani can emulate the impact made by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who joined the club in 2016 having left PSG as a free agent. Ibrahimovic, who was also in his 30s during his time at Old Trafford, bagged four goals in his first five United appearances and finished with 28 in his debut season as his talismanic presence took the pressure off his team-mates.

“As a forward line it is something to look forward to,” Rashford told Sky Sports.

“Hopefully he comes in and scores goals, because he can definitely help us win games and points. He can be a massive player for us this season. To win two or three trophies in a season you need a squad, it’s not possible if you don’t have people who can score goals one week and the next week. Growing up, United always had four or five forwards who could score goals at any time. The closer we get to that, the more strength we’ll have.”

I had a lot of different

opportunities, I was excited to play

in the Premier League and even

more so for Manchester United.

I am very motivated because I

always want to play as much as

possible, work, train and give

the best of myself.

CL group stage kicks off: What’s on the cards todayAP – PARIS

A look at what’s happening around the Champions League today:

GROUP EChelsea start their group stage cam-

paign as something of an unknown quantity. Spending nearly $300m on transfers this summer has given manager Frank Lampard a squad swelling in domestic and foreign talent, but there’s still the feeling the rookie coach doesn’t know his best lineup. There are also concerns about his defense, which has already conceded three goals twice in five English Premier League games and will be without injured goalkeeper Edouard Mendy - one of the new recruits - against Sevilla.

The Spanish team is a serial winner of the Europa League, including last season, but has never gone beyond the quarterfinals in the Champions League. It is coming off its first loss this season, to Granada on Saturday.

Rennes hosts Krasnodar in the other game as the French and Russian clubs

each make their debuts in the Cham-pions League.

GROUP FBorussia Dortmund pushed Paris

Saint-Germain hard in the first knockout round last season as Erling Haaland scored both goals in a 2-1 first-leg win, before the German team lost the second leg 2-0.

Haaland and his strike partner Jadon Sancho return for Dortmund with more experience, but the team can be defensively fragile and will miss the sus-pended Emre Can against Lazio. Lazio is back in the group stage for the first time in 13 years with European Golden Shoe winner Ciro Immobile facing his former club.

Belgian champion Club Brugge has been hit by a wave of coronavirus cases and will travel to Zenit St. Petersburg without goalkeeper Simon Mignolet. The Belgium international tested pos-itive for COVID-19 alongside two other players - Michael Krmencik and Odilon Kossounou.

They all have been ruled out and

placed in quarantine. Under the helm of striker Hans Vanaken, Brugge has been in great attacking form since the season resumed, scoring 22 goals in nine games to lead the standings.

GROUP GJuventus are without Cristiano

Ronaldo and without its top form entering its opener at Dynamo Kyiv. Ronaldo tested positive for the corona-virus last week while on international duty with Portugal and is still quaran-tined at home in Turin.

Without Ronaldo, Juventus struggled to draw at promoted Crotone 1-1 in Serie A on Saturday. As new Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo has acknowledged, his team is still a work in progress.

Barcelona begin their campaign against Ferencváros with new coach Ronald Koeman saying he doesn’t see the Catalan club as the top favourite to win the European title this season.

Ukrainian club Dynamo is back in the group stage for the first time since 2016, and Hungarian champion Fer-encváros was last there in 1995.

GROUP HParis Saint-Germain host Man-

chester United for one of the standout games of the opening round.

They met in the last 16 two seasons ago, when United advanced in dramatic fashion thanks to a stoppage-time penalty winner in the second leg in Paris.

A big subplot could be the presence of Edinson Cavani in United’s squad for what could be his debut for the English team. He joined as a free agent this month following his departure from PSG, where he scored 200 goals in 301 games.

Neymar should be feeling fresh for PSG, last season’s beaten finalist, having been left out of the win over Nimes on Friday. PSG coach Thomas Tuchel has fitness concerns over center back Mar-quinhos and midfielders Marco Verratti and Leandro Paredes. Leipzig, a semi-finalist last season, is at home to Istanbul Basaksehir, the Turkish champion, in the other game.

Faced with a tricky draw in a group containing two European heavyweights, Leipzig will be keen to make home advantage count against Champions League first-timer Basaksehir.

Paris Saint-Germain host Manchester United in

opening round blockbuster.

Juventus are without Cristiano Ronaldo and

without its top form entering its opener at Dynamo

Kyiv.

Barcelona begin their campaign against

Ferencváros

Manchester United's Edinson Cavani in action during a training session. PIC: Twitter / @ManUtd

Barcelona players in action during a training session.

Pic: Twitter / @FCBarcelona

AFP – MILAN

Andrea Pirlo takes his first managerial steps in the Cham-pions League at Dynamo Kiev today, a game which pits the fledgling Juventus coach against his vastly experienced former mentor Mircea Lucescu.

Lucescu, 75, and 41-year-old Pirlo have both taken over their respective clubs this season.

But while Italy footballing legend Pirlo never coached before stepping up at his former club, Lucescu has over four decades experience throughout Europe.

And it was the former Romanian international who gave a 16-year-old Pirlo his first Serie A start in the Italian’s hometown club Brescia 25 years ago.

The much-travelled Lucescu also later coached Pirlo at Inter Milan in 1998.

For Lucescu, who won six league titles as a player with Dinamo Bucharest in the 1960s and 1970s, seeing Pirlo on the opposition bench comes as no surprise.

“I was always convinced he would become a coach,” said Lucescu.

“I thought it about Andrea, and also Diego Simeone, who was one of my players at Pisa.

“Pirlo had a different per-sonality than ‘Cholo’ (Simeone) but he was just as charismatic and with a lot of character. Above all, he never came on the pitch to do nothing, he was decisive. As well as being a cre-ative player, he was someone who organised everything, which is yet another skill.”

Whether he can follow former players Pep Guardiola and Zinedine Zidane’s mana-gerial success remains to be seen.

“It’s possible, I hope he does,” the Romanian told Turin daily Tuttosport.

“But a coach needs at least six months to stamp his mark on a team.” Pirlo took over the reigning nine-time Serie A champions after Maurizo Sarri was sacked following Juventus’ Champions League last 16 exit to Lyon.

Juve hope Pirlo, who won a World Cup, two Champions Leagues and six Italian league titles as a player, can transmit his vision of the game.

The team are chasing a third Champions League title after 1985 and 1996, with seven runners-up finishing including in 2015 and 2017. But for Pirlo, his Juventus are “under con-struction, a young team who need to gain experience”.

A season-opening 3-0 win over Sampdoria was followed by draws at AS Roma (2-2) and promoted Crotone (1-1), with two red cards in as many games.

To complicate the task, Cris-tiano Ronaldo is quarantined because of coronavirus, and will miss the Kiev trip and possibly the game against Barcelona in Turin. As models Pirlo cites the Barcelona teams of Guardiola and Johan Cruyff, Louis van

Gaal’s Ajax, Carlo Ancelotti’s AC Milan and Antonio Conte’s Juventus.

But first up are Lucescu’s Ukrainian league runners-up.

“It’s a competition that I’m accustomed to,” said Lucescu whose appointment as Kiev boss had sparked an uproar after his successful 12-year spell in charge of bitter rivals Shakhtar Donetsk, where he won the 2009 UEFA Cup.

“It’s a competition that I’m accustomed to. I’ve been involved in more than 130 games.

“The Champions League anthem is like your national anthem.” Lucescu’s Dynamo are also “a very young squad”.

“My aim is to build this team,” he said.

“It’s not possible in football to start and get results straight away. There are no miracles in football.” Over his 40-year career, Lucescu has coached the Romanian and Turkish national teams as well as clubs in Romania, Italy, Turkey, Ukraine and Russia.

“I find motivation in my passion for football,” he told UEFA.com.

“I tried to stop last year, because I’ve worked for 50 years without a break, but it was impossible.

“I wanted to come back, there was so much I could still give to football, especially to young players.

“So, I came back and I feel good being back at work.”

10 TUESDAY 20 OCTOBER 2020SPORT

Pirlo faces mentor Lucescu in CL opener

Dynamo Kiev’s Romanian coach Mircea Lucescu

Juventus’ Italian coach Andrea Pirlo

Pirlo had a different

personality than ‘Cholo’

(Simeone) but he was just as

charismatic and with a lot of

character. Above all, he never

came on the pitch to do

nothing, he was decisive. As

well as being a creative

player, he was someone who

organised everything, which

is yet another skill: Dynamo

Kiev coach Mircea Lucescu

Man City’s Aguero must show he deserves new contract: GuardiolaREUTERS – LONDON

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says Sergio Aguero can still play an important role for the club after returning from a serious knee injury but the Argentine striker has to show he can deliver on the pitch if he is to earn a new contract.

Aguero, who joined City in 2011 and is their all-time leading scorer with 254 goals, is out of contract at the end of the season and can speak to overseas clubs from January.

The 32-year-old sustained the injury in June and made his return in Saturday’s 1-0 home win over Arsenal.

“Sergio now has to show, like every one of us, that he deserves to continue here -- keep playing well, scoring goals and winning games -- and after that the club and I will decide,” Guar-diola told British media.

“But if he’s playing in his level we don’t have any doubts that he’s a player to stay until he decides because he’s unique. He’s important for us, our fans and everyone.”

“But he was out four months and he has to start training regularly and start to score goals. Having Aguero on the pitch, we’re better, safer.

We missed him in the important moments at the end part of last season.”

City, who are 10th in the Premier League

with seven points from four matches, begin their Champions League cam-

paign on Wednesday against Porto

before a league meeting with West Ham United at t h e weekend.

Van Dijk to undergo knee surgeryREUTERS – LONDON

Liverpool have been a dealt a huge blow with news that centre back Virgil van Dijk needs surgery on damaged knee liga-ments sustained in Saturday’s Merseyside derby draw against Everton.

The Premier League cham-pions confirmed on Sunday that the Dutchman, ever-present in the league for the last two seasons, would need an oper-ation, although they did not say how long he would likely be missing.

Van Dijk was substituted early in the game when Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford made a reckless chal-lenge in the box, which left Liv-erpool manager Juergen Klopp fuming.

“Liverpool can confirm Virgil van Dijk will undergo surgery on the knee injury he sustained during Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Everton,” the club said in a statement.

“The centre back damaged knee ligaments following an incident involving Blues goal-keeper Jordan Pickford after six minutes at Goodison Park.”

Van Dijk has reportedly damaged cruciate ligaments, an injury that normally requires months of recovery, potentially ruling him out for the rest of the season while also dealing a blow to the Netherlands ahead of the Euros next year.

“If you asked me at the start of the season who is the one player Liverpool don’t want to be missing for a chunk of the season, for me it would be Van Dijk,” former Liverpool

midfielder Graeme Souness told Sky Sports.

“He is the catalyst for eve-rything they do. It’s a major blow and the last thing they needed.”

Reigning league champions Liverpool are third in the standings after five games, three points behind Everton.

Van Dijk was bought for 75m pounds ($96.85m) -- a club-record signing -- and has played 50 games in each of the last two seasons for Liverpool.

Liverpool are also short in

central defence with Joe Gomez and Joel Matip the only fit senior centre backs available ahead of a congested schedule where they play six times in 18 days before next month’s interna-tional break.

Liverpool begin their Cham-pions League group stage cam-paign at Ajax Amsterdam on Wednesday and Van Dijk’s absence leaves another hole at the back with goalkeeper Alisson Becker also sidelined with injury.

Everton’s English goalkeeper Jordan Pickford (centre) tackles Liverpool’s Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk during their English Premier League match at Goodison Park in Liverpool, in this file photo taken on October 17.

Rooney to miss games despite negative testREUTERS – LONDON

Derby County forward Wayne Rooney said yesterday he had tested negative for COVID-19 but must self-isolate for 10 days after coming into contact with a friend who tested positive.

Former England captain Rooney, player-coach at Championship (second-teir) side Derby, added that he was “angry and disappointed” with the friend who had visited him despite being told to take a COVID-19 test and later testing positive.

“Just received the news that my COVID-19 test has shown I do not have the virus,” Rooney wrote on Twitter.

“Delighted for myself and family but obviously angry and disappointed that I now have to

self-isolate and miss vital games for @dcfcofficial (Derby).” Derby confirmed Rooney must self-isolate until Oct. 29, in line with UK government and English Football League guidelines.

It means the 34-year-old will miss Derby’s next three league games at Huddersfield Town on Tuesday and Nottingham Forest on Friday plus the home game with Cardiff City on Oct 28.

“We are positive that Wayne will be available for selection for the club’s Championship fixture at AFC Bournemouth on October 31,” the club said in a statement.

Rooney played in Derby’s 1-0 home defeat by Watford on Friday, a day after the friend visited him at his home.

Derby are 21st in the standings after five games.

Liverpool must sign defenderto replace Van Dijk: CarragherREUTERS – LONDON

Liverpool centre back Virgil van Dijk’s lengthy absence through a knee injury has opened up the Premier League title race and the champions must look to sign a replacement in the January transfer window, former defender Jamie Carragher said.

Dutchman Van Dijk will have surgery for damaged liga-ments sustained in Saturday’s Merseyside derby draw against Everton after a challenge by goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

“The big question you’re looking at now is, can Liverpool win the league without Van Dijk there? I think

it blows the title race wide open,” Carragher told Sky Sports.

“I still felt at the start of this season Liverpool were the team to beat. With Van Dijk out for what looks like the whole season, it’s going to be all on for Liverpool.

“Liverpool have to go into the market in January and not just because of Van

Dijk’s injury. They were weak in that area anyway. They lost

(Dejan) Lovren before the start of the season... others in those positions are injury prone.”

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09TUESDAY 20 OCTOBER 2020 SPORT

Roglic looks to retain title at virus-threatened VueltaREUTERS — PARIS

Primoz Roglic will be looking for more redemption after his Tour de France heartbreak as he prepares for a COVID-19-threatened Vuelta a Espana as Chris Froome bids farewell to Ineos-Grenadiers after 11 years with the British outfit.

Slovenian Roglic, who lost the Tour on the last competitive stage to his compatriot Tadej Pogacar, won the Liege-Bas-togne-Liege ‘Monument’ classic and is in prime position to retain his title in Spain when the race begins today.

Backed by a strong Jumbo-Visma team featuring top climbers Sepp Kuss and George Bennett, Roglic is well armed for one of the toughest first weeks in a grand tour, featuring three mountain-top finishes after the planned Grand Depart from the Netherlands was scrapped amid the COVID-19 crisis.

Spain has been hit hard by the novel coronavirus and organisers have ruled teams will be ejected from the race should two riders test positive for COVID-19 within a one-week period.

No rider tested positive on the Tour de France in Sep-tember, but this month’s Giro d’Italia has seen two teams, and some top riders, leave the race after being infected by the virus.

Jumbo-Visma was one of them but they are expected to be at full strength for the Vuelta,

with Roglic co-leading the team alongside former Giro d’Italia champion Dutchman Tom Dumoulin.

“During the Vuelta it will become clear who will be our main man. Our team is at the start with two favourites for the final victory, one of them is last year’s winner”,” said sports director Grisha Niermann ahead of the first stage in Irun.

FROOME QUESTION Their main rival is expected

to be 2019 Giro champion Richard Carapaz of Ecuador, whose target this season was the Italian race before he was included at the last moment in the Ineos-Grenadiers squad for the Tour after Froome and Geraint Thomas were omitted because of poor form.

Four-time Tour champion Froome, also twice a Vuelta winner, has yet to recover his top form after a freak crash last year and the

Briton will be eager to leave Ineos-Grenadiers at the end of the season in style.

But the 35-year-old, who will ride for Israel-Start Up Nation next year, has not made it into the top 10 of any race since taking third place overall in the 2018 Tour and seeing him among the top contenders would be a huge surprise.

“I think it’s quite hard

to say where I am at the moment g i v e n

that I h a v e n ’ t

done many stage races recently,” Froome was quoted as saying by Velonews.

“Signs in training have got better and better and I am feeling more like myself again, which is fantastic. It’s hard to quantify that when I haven’t been able to race against rivals.

“After the first few stages, I will be able to have a more clear plan for the rest of the race, and know what kind of job I can fulfil at that point.”

Other contenders include France’s Thibaut Pinot, a stage winner on all three grands tours and a former Tour de France podium finisher whose chances in his home race were ruined after he sustained a back injury in a first-stage crash.

The top guns have already marked two stages where the

race could be won or lost - the sixth ending on top of the Col du Tourmalet in France, where Pinot won on the Tour last year, and the 12th,

finishing atop the brutal ascent to the Angliru.

Team Jumbo-Visma rider Primoz Roglic of Slovenia, wearing the overall leader’s yellow jersey, finishes Stage 20 of Tour De France in this September 19, 2020 file photo.

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Pakistan rest Amir, Malik and Sarfaraz for Zimbabwe seriesAFP — KARACHI

Pakistan yesterday opted to rest senior players Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Amir and Sarfaraz Ahmed for their limited over series at home against lowly ranked Zimbabwe starting later this month.

Head coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq said it was a “strategic decision” to allow younger players a chance to feature in upcoming matches.

Tho two sides will play three one-day internationals and three Twenty20 games, with the 22-man squad also allowing for new players to try out in the shortest format.

“We are trying some new players in Twenty20s but not in the ODIs because they lead towards automatic qualification for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 and are more important,” Misbah said in a press conference in Lahore.

The ODIs -- starting in Rawalpindi on October 30 -- are part of the ODI League from where the top seven out of 13 teams will qualify for the 2023 World Cup to be hosted by India.

Zimbabwe, who rank as low as 14 in ODIs and 11 in Twenty20s, will arrive in Islamabad today and quar-antine for a week before they start practising.

The remaining one-day matches will also be played in Rawalpindi on November 1 and 3.

The three Twenty20 interna-tionals are in Lahore on November 7, 8 and 10. Rookie batsman Abdullah Shafique, who turns 21 next month, has earned a maiden call after scoring 358 runs with a hundred in ten matches in the National Twenty20 which concluded on Sunday.

Nineteen-year-old wicketkeeper batsman Rohail Nazir who is a former Pakistan’s Under-19 team skipper also earned a call. Babar Azam will lead the team in both ODIs and T20s.

Babar Azam (captain), Abdullah Shafiq, Abid Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Sohail, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Rizwan, Rohail Nazir, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Usman Qadir, Zafar Gohar, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Musa Khan, Shaheen Shah, Wahab Riaz.

PAKISTAN SQUAD

Misbah-ul-Haq

Malan joins Hobart Hurricanes for BBL 10IANS - HOBART

England batsman Dawid Malan has been signed by Hobart Hurricanes for the upcoming edition of the Big Bash League (BBL).

Malan took the ICC T20I batting top spot during England’s campaign against Australia during September in Southampton.

“The Big Bash is recognised as one of the leading T20 leagues in the world, and I’m excited to be joining the Hurricanes”, said the England batter.

“I love the whole ethos of

Australian sport, and really enjoy playing in front of Aussie crowds,” he added.

Hobart Hurricanes head coach Adam Griffith said Malan will fit the group well.

“I’m very excited to have someone of Dawid’s talent and experience join the team,” said Griffith.

“He is a proven performer at T20 cricket on the international stage and I’m looking forward to seeing him hopefully replicate that for the Hur-ricanes. I spent some time with him when he was playing at Middlesex and he will fit into our group very well,”

he added. Hobart Hurricanes general manager Scott Barnes said that the big-name signing builds off a solid foundation.

“The Hurricanes team that’s been built under Adam’s leadership over the last couple of seasons is strong”, said Barnes.

“We have a group that know each other well and play together well.

“The Big Bash League is all about our fans, and with a name like Dawid Malan stepping up we’re sure that they will be thoroughly entertained through the summer,” the general manager added.

Wallabies leave with hope despite Eden Park maulingREUTERS — MELBOURNE

The Wallabies leave New Zealand after a traditional Eden Park spanking but showed enough on the two-test tour to give fans hope of a genuine contest in the remainder of the Bledisloe Cup and the upcoming Rugby Champi-onship.

Australia predicted a backlash in Auckland after the Wellington draw, and the All Blacks duly delivered in a 27-7 victory that extended a 34-year winning streak over the Wal-labies at the Auckland venue.

The Wallabies now trail 1-0 in the four-test Bledisloe, the annual series contested by the trans-Tasman nations, ahead of the third clash in Sydney in two weeks’ time.

However, the Australians are buoyed that the series remains alive -- a novelty after two tests in New Zealand -- and expect to be stronger on home soil.

“The good thing is we get to play them in two weeks’ time and I can guarantee it will be a better outcome,” Wallabies prop James Slipper told reporters yesterday.

“Yes, we’ve got a lot of work to do, but we don’t feel like we’re too far away, as well.”

The 20-point loss might suggest otherwise but despite handling errors and some 40 missed tackles there were some good signs from the Wallabies in just their second match under Dave Rennie.

The set piece was steady, with hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa helping to straighten the lineout after Folau Fainga’a’s throwing troubles in Wellington.

Their attack also showed plenty of variation, only for poor finishing to cost two tries in the second half, easing the

pressure on the home side.Wallabies teams of recent

years might have capitulated after falling 20 points behind early in the second half but Rennie’s side buckled down to stave off a confidence-sapping humiliation.

Still, Rennie and his staff may be worried about how to replace inside centre Matt Toomua, who came off in the first half after aggravating a recurring groin problem.

The team lost shape and a defensive bulwark without second playmaker Toomua, and his absence put more pressure on flyhalf James O’Connor, who was unable to repeat his standout per-formance in Wellington.

Toomua’s injury did allow Jordan Petaia to come on for a livewire cameo at centre, with Hunter Paisami shifting forward to 12.

But persisting with such a raw midfield could prove risky in a potentially decisive third Bledisloe match, which doubles as the opener of the depleted Rugby Championship.

Rennie mentioned the uncapped Irae Simone as another option at centre but may prefer the experience of utility back Reece Hodge if Toomua loses the race to be fit.

The good thing is we get

to play them in two

weeks’ time and I can

guarantee it will be a

better outcome. Yes,

we’ve got a lot of work to

do, but we don’t feel like

we’re too far away, as

well.

James Slipper

Wallabies prop

Buttler stars as Rajasthan Royals seal comfortable win over Chennai Super KingsIANS — ABU DHABI

Former champions Rajasthan Royals (RR) gave themselves a new lease of life yesterday with a convincing seven-wicket win over three-time winners Chennai Super Kings (CSK), a result that lifted them from the bottom of the Indian Premier League (IPL) points table to the fifth spot.

Before the game started yes-terday, RR were lying at the bottom of the eight-team points table. After they won with 2.3 overs to spare, thanks to Jos Buttler’s 48-ball 70 not out, they climbed to the fifth spot with eight points from 10 matches. Steve Smith’s team is very much in the race to qualify for the play-offs.

The top four teams qualify for the playoffs after each team has played 14 matches each in the league phase.

CSK, on the other hand, have looked completely off-colour this season and the defeat at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium has pushed them to the bottom of the points table. CSK will now have to win all their

remaining four matches and pray to qualify for the playoffs.

Chasing CSK’s 125/5, RR finished at 126/3 in 17.3 overs.

Smith remained unbeaten (26 off 34 balls) while speedster Jofra Archer bowled a miserly spell of four overs, picking up the wicket of in-form Faf du Plessis and conceding just 20 runs.

Earlier, CSK won the toss and batted in a match that was captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s 200th in the IPL; he thus became the first player to play 200 IPL matches.

Ravindra Jadeja top scored with 35 not out (off 30 balls) while Dhoni made 28 off 28 before being run out due to his own fault.

Jadeja and Dhoni added 53 runs in 7.4 overs as they struggled to get going. The two had joined hands at the fall of Ambati Rayudu’s wicket. CSK were struggling at 56/4 in 10 overs at the time.

Spinners Shreyas Gopal and Rahul Tewatia conceded just 32 runs in eight overs combined, picking up a wicket each.

CSK: 125/5 wkts in 20 overs (R Jadeja 35 not out, MS Dhoni 28, S Curran 22, S Gopal 1/14, R Tewatia 1/18, J Archer 1/20) lost to RR: 126/3 in 17.3 overs (J Buttler 70 not out, S Smith 26 not out, D Chahar 2/18) by seven wickets

BRIEF SCORES

Jos Buttler in action yesterday.

08TUESDAY 20 OCTOBER 2020Sport‘Roger Federer Arena’ plan fails to rally signatures

AFP - GENEVA

A push to rename Basel’s main sports arena after local tennis superstar Roger Federer (pictured) fell through yesterday after it failed to garner enough signatures.

Hampered by the corona-virus pandemic, Federer fans fell 1,800 signatures short of the 3,000 required to trigger a local public vote on the proposal.

But hopes that the St. Jakobshalle will be renamed he Roger Federer Arena are stil l burning despite the setback, Swiss news agency ATS reported.

St. Jakob-shalle hosts the Swiss Indoors men’s tennis t o u r n a m e n t , which reigning c h a m p i o n F e d e r e r won for the 10th time l a s t

year. Basel-born Federer, 39, used to live in the

suburb where the hall is located.

A s a youngster,

he spent t w o years as a ball

boy at the S w i s s I n d o o r s and now-

a d a y s holds a

post-tour-nament pizza

party for the ball boys and

girls in homage to his formative years crouching at the net.

In Switzerland, renaming streets, squares and the like

after public figures is typically a posthumous honour.

The idea to change the arena’s name has been floating around since 2012 but all attempts have so far flopped.

The initiators believe the move would have a positive impact on the city, tourism and tennis.

They nonetheless sub-mitted their petition to the Basel City cantonal authorities on Monday in the hope that the request will be met.

The 12,400-capacity St. Jakobshalle opened in 1976.

The arena completed a three-year renovation in 2018 at a cost of around 100m Swiss francs ($110m). The last time Federer played the Swiss Indoors and failed to reach the final was in 2003.

Currently the world number four, Federer has won 20 Grand Slam singles titles -- a record now shared with Rafael Nadal after the Span-iard’s 2020 French Open victory.

He topped the 2020 Forbes magazine list of highest-paid global athletes, raking in pre-tax earnings of $106.3m -- with $100m coming from appearance fees and endorsement deals.

Hampered by the

coronavirus pandemic,

Federer fans fell 1,800

signatures short of the

3,000 required to

trigger a local public

vote on the proposal.

But hopes that the St. Jakobshalle will be renamed he Roger Federer Arena are stil l burning despite the setback, Swissnews agencyATS reported.

St. Jakob-shalle hosts the Swiss Indoorsmen’s tennis t o u r n a m e n t , which reigningc h a m p i o n F e d e r e r won for the 10th time l a s t

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Murray pulls out from ATP's Cologne event with pelvic problemREUTERS — LONDON

Andy Murray has suffered another injury setback and has pulled out of this week’s ATP Tour event in Germany due to a lingering pelvic problem, the former world number one said, raising doubts over his partici-pation for the remainder of the year.

The Briton returned from a second hip surgery in January 2019 to win the Antwerp title seven months later - his first since 2017 - raising hopes of a return to the top echelons of men’s tennis.

But he again suffered complications with his hip following the Davis Cup in November and only returned to the circuit after the lengthy COVID break.

Murray played the first of back-to-back events in Cologne, where he was

knocked out in the first round by Fernando Ver-dasco last week.

He said he was suffering from tendonitis in his left psoas, the muscle which connects the lower back to the top of the leg.

“It’s been kind of on and off since the US Open,” Murray said in a video message on Facebook.

“I’ve been trying to deal with it in training, and in the matches, and unfortunately after my match here this week it’s flared up again.

“I’ve been practising the last few days and trying to manage it, but after playing some points today, I decided that it was not going to be good enough to play.”

The three-time Grand Slam champion also fell in the first round of the French Open after suffering a second-round defeat in the US Open.

Brady outplays Rodgers; Titans and Steelers remain unbeatenAFP — LOS ANGELES

Tom Brady won the battle of the Super Bowl-winning quarter-backs, outduelling Aaron Rodgers as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers routed the previ-ously unbeaten Green Bay Packers 38-10.

Brady completed 17 of 27 passes for 166 yards and two scores, and Ronald Jones rushed for 113 yards and two touch-downs as the Buccaneers handed the Packers their first loss of the season.

Brady’s sidekick Rob Gronkowski also got into the act as the dynamic duo connected for their 91st career touchdown pass, as the Bucs improved to 4-2 on the NFL season.

The 12-yard score with 62 seconds left in the second quarter capped a 28-point second quarter that set the tone for the rest of the contest at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

“He played great today. We got to try and keep getting him and the tight ends the ball,” said Brady of Gronkowski.

Six-time-Super Bowl champion Brady joined the Buccaneers this season after spending two decades with the New England Patriots.

Rodgers finished 16 of 35 for 160 yards with two interceptions.

Elsewhere, Derrick Henry’s 5-yard overtime touchdown run kept the Tennessee Titans unbeaten, while the Pittsburgh Steelers routed Cleveland to join them at 5-0.

Ryan Tannehill threw for 364 yards and four touchdowns, and Henry ran 22 times for 212 yards and two touchdowns to lead Tennessee over Houston 42-36, while the Steelers ripped Cleveland 38-7.

The Titans improved to 5-0, matching their 2008 start for the best in club history, while the Texans sunk to 1-5. Houston’s Deshaun Watson completed 28 of 37 passes for 335 yards and four touchdowns, including a one-yarder to Brandin Cooks that gave the Texans a 36-29 edge with 1:50 to play.

Tannehill marched the Titans 76 yards and hit AJ Brown with a 7-yard touchdown pass with four seconds remaining in regulation to lift Tennessee level.

Tannehill drove the Titans 82 yards in six plays in overtime to set up Henry’s winning run.

Ben Roethlisberger com-pleted 14 of 22 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown, and James Conner ran 20 times for 101 yards and a touchdown to lead the Steelers, who are 5-0 for the first time since 1978.

Pittsburgh jumped ahead 24-0 thanks to a 33-yard

Minkah Fitzpatrick interception return touchdown, Roethlis-berger’s 28-yard touchdown pass to James Washington, Con-ner’s three-yard touchdown run and a 35-yard Chris Boswell field goal.

Cleveland’s Baker Mayfield threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Rashard Higgins in the second quarter, but Chase Claypool scored on a three-yard run in the third and Benny Snell added a one-yard touchdown run in the fourth for the Steelers to seal the victory.

The NFL’s two other unde-feated teams, Seattle (5-0) has a bye week.

No new positive Covid-19 tests were reported Sunday, allowing all games to be played as scheduled after a week that saw disrupted practices for multiple teams with at least one positive test.

- Ryan powers Falcons win -

Matt Ryan threw for 371

yards and four touchdowns to lead the Atlanta Falcons to their first victory, 40-23 at Min-nesota, while Philip Rivers threw for 371 yards and three touchdowns to power Indian-apolis over visiting Cincinnati 31-27.

Nick Foles threw for one touchdown and ran for another to lead Chicago over host Carolina 23-16, while Detroit’s D’Andre Swift ran for 116 yards and two touchdowns to power the Lions over Jacksonville 34-16.

The host New York Giants won their first game of the year 20-19 over Washington after the visitors went for a two-point conversion instead of a tying kick and misfired on a throw.

Giants receiver CJ Board was immobilized and carted off the field with a neck injury after being hit by Washington’s Des-hazor Everett in the third quarter.

Tom Brady (centre) takes a snap against the Green Bay Packers during their NFL game.

LA Dodgers early favourites over Rays in Fall Classic

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Julio Urias (foreground) and catcher Will Smith celebrate after defeating the Atlanta Braves in game seven of the 2020 NLCS.

REUTERS — LOS ANGELES

With Los Angeles’ 4-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday in Game 7 of the National League Champi-onship Series, the match-up is finally set for the 2020 World Series, with the Dodgers taking on the Tampa Bay Rays in the best-of-seven series, beginning today in Arlington, Texas.

The games will be played at a neutral site, in front of about 11,000 fans at Globe Life Field, with Los Angeles, thanks to its better regular-season record, as the home team for Games 1 and 2, and then 6 and 7 if it goes that far.

Los Angeles is opening as the betting favourite, with FanDuel listing the Dodgers as -210 and the Rays +165. DraftKings also favors the Dodgers (-200) over the Rays (+160).

The Dodgers (43-17) and Rays (40-20) have been on a crash course to meet in the Fall Classic after finishing as the only two teams to reach 40 victories during the regular season, topping the National and American leagues, respectively.

“From the moment that we were able to put a season together, once they figured out the COVID thing, eve-rybody was expecting us to get to the World Series,” said Enrique Hernandez, who belted a game-tying pinch-hit homer for the Dodgers in the sixth inning Sunday.

“We were expecting us to get to the World Series.”

Still, it’s just the fourth time since the postseason expanded to eight teams in 1995 that the teams with the best record in each league meet in the World Series.

But it took seven games in the Championship Series for each to earn a coveted spot in the Series.

The Dodgers came back from a 3-1 deficit against the Braves in the NLCS while the Rays held off the surging Houston Astros, culminating with Saturday’s 4-2 Game 7 win to take the ALCS.

This will be Los Angeles’ third World Series appearance in four years and its 12th since moving to Los Angeles in 1958. But the Dodgers haven’t won since 1988 after coming up short in seven games to the Astros in 2017 and five games to the Boston Red Sox in 2018.

The Rays, on the other hand, are in the Fall Classic for just the second time in their history after losing to the Philadelphia Phillies in five games in 2008. They are one of six franchises (Colorado, Milwaukee, Texas, San Diego and Seattle) still seeking their first World Series title.

The matchup pits the dominant pitching staff of the Rays, led by the ace trio of Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Charlie Morton, against the quick-strike explosive bats of the Dodgers, who led MLB with 118 homers during the regular season and added 18 more during the postseason.

Qatar Football Family e-Sports Tournament final to be played todayTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Qatar Football Family (QFF) e-Sports Tournament, jointly organised by the Qatar Football Asso-ciation, Qatar Stars League and Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, will conclude at the Mall of Qatar, today.

The tournament, which started on October 6 with the participation of a number of e-sports fans in the State of Qatar only on PlayStation 4, is a new initiative aimed at raising awareness of the game of football and reaching out to all sections of the community.

The semi-finals and final will be broadcast on the Oasis Stage Giant Screen at the Mall of Qatar, in addition to the tournament’s account via Twitch, a social media specialised in electronic games.

The FIFA 20 winners and champion will be crowned at the end of the competition. A number of val-uable prizes, offered by the tourna-ment’s sponsors and partners, are up for grabs for top 100 players according to the final rankings.

The FIFA 20 winners and

champion will be crowned at

the end of the competition.

Golf: Kokrak claims first-ever Tour title with CJ Cup victoryREUTERS — LAS VEGAS

American Jason Kokrak fired off eight birdies in a flawless final round for his first-ever PGA Tour victory at the CJ Cup in Las Vegas, Nevada on Sunday, clinching his maiden title on the 233rd try.

The 35-year-old outclassed a crowded field of elite performers, carding an eight-under-par 64 at the Shadow Creek Golf Course, draining a 20-foot putt on 10, one of 11 putts he made from further than 10 feet away through 72 holes.

The tournament, typically part of the PGA Tour’s Asian swing, was moved to the Las Vegas venue due

to the COVID-19 pandemic, and featured a crowded field of top talent warming up for the Masters next month, including four-time PGA Tour winner Xander Schauffele, who finished second.

Schauffele carded a near-flawless 66 with a single bogey on 16, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a disappointing two-over-par third-round performance, “a rookie move” that lost him the lead.

Elsewhere in the field, 29-year-old Briton Tyrrell Hatton (65) and three-time PGA Tour winner Russell Henley (70) finished tied at third.

Jason Kokrak poses with the winner’s trophy after the final round of the CJ Cup.