Fans of Wuhan Zall, the Chinese football club from the epicentre of the coronavirus, will Sunday attend their first match since lockdown -- and many were so excited they couldn t sleep. For some, like Gao Yajun, it is the first time they have left the central city of Wuhan since the coronavirus emerged there late last year. The 42-year-old is a Wuhan Zall fanatic who has her nails painted in their orange-and-white colours, an orange streak in her hair and a face mask with the team s fiery emblem. "I don t think I can fall asleep tonight, we couldn t even get to sleep last night because we were so excited," Gao said on the eve of the Chinese Super League (CSL) clash against title contenders Beijing Guoan in Suzhou, near Shanghai. "I saw that everyone else was awake too, chatting in the (online) group. "And then at 4:00 am someone said, Forget it, don t sleep, just get up and let s meet ." Gao, a drummer for the Wuhan fans, was among an advance party of about 50 chanting diehards who arrived in Suzhou by high-speed train on Saturday with flags and banners, including one that read: "Defend Wuhan." "We have hearts of absolute sincerity and stay united through the wind and waves," they sang after boarding a coach to their hotel. Along with Dalian, Suzhou is hosting games this season in the CSL, which has been reformatted and kicked off five months late because of the virus. The CSL has been slowly opening up to a very limited number of spectators in recent weeks, having started the season behind closed doors in July, as long as they pass a coronavirus test in the week leading up to the game. - Wuhan spirit - Fans going to football matches is more evidence of China s recovery from the coronavirus -- the number of new infections has plummeted since the country shut down in February. However, the return of Wuhan Zall supporters -- nine months after they last saw their team in the flesh in the CSL -- is especially significant. In late January, Wuhan and its 11 million people was the first city in the world to go on a coronavirus lockdown. It dragged on for 76 days and was especially harsh. "The entire city pressed the pause button," said Gao, describing how the streets were left deserted. "But now after the restart (of life) and our return to the stadium, we can show the spirit of the Wuhan people and our fans to other fans across the country, and even to the whole world." About 300 Zall supporters are expected to make the 750-kilometre (450 miles) trip eastwards to Suzhou for the Beijing game. The club is giving away tickets for free. A few "ultras" sneaked into a match at the start of the season but for most this is a moment they have been waiting a long time for. For 74-year-old Shi Anshi, a Wuhan native who has supported the team since its founding in 2009, it is his first time out of the city since coronavirus. "From last year until now I have been frustrated and yearn for football," said Shi, sporting an orange jersey with the signatures of players scribbled on it. "I don t care about the result against Beijing, I only want to feel the team s fighting spirit." - Cheer with us - Zall s coach Jose Gonzalez, whose side was stranded in Spain during pre-season because of the virus, told a pre-match press conference that having the fans in the stadium was "special". "I am very grateful to them and they can bring a lot of help to the team," said the Spaniard, who has overseen five victories in eight games this campaign. Zall will leapfrog Beijing into second place in the Suzhou group of eight teams with victory. Shi, who has had "several" coronavirus tests, and the others are aware that a stigma surrounds their city. He has a message: "Wuhan is definitely safe now, I hope you all come to Wuhan for sightseeing. "And if you are a football fan, come and cheer for the team with us."

Luka Modric blows out his cheeks. "It would be a huge loss," he says. "Like when Cristiano left. But you can t think about the past. It s football and that s it." Modric has faced Lionel Messi 21 times and is the only player since 2008 other than Cristiano Ronaldo to beat him to the Ballon d Or. He knows what it would mean if he leaves. "If it happens it will be a huge loss for the prestige of the league," he tells AFP. "But we need to go forward. Other players will become stars. "When Ronaldo left, the same thing happened, the life of Real Madrid went on without him and it will be the same for Barcelona and La Liga without Messi." After Ronaldo, Real Madrid needed two sacked coaches and the return of the old one to get back on their feet, a recovery still not complete as shown by a second consecutive exit in the Champions League last 16. Messi s departure, even his unhappiness, would give Madrid an opening, not only to win La Liga again but to establish their own period of supremacy in Spain. The first step is defending the title they won in July. "We don t have a young team but we have an experienced team," says Modric. "We have young players, who will get better. I don t know if we will buy players but even if it stays like this, we have enough quality. "We showed it in La Liga and we know we can do it again. After the suspension, we came back so motivated. We missed football, we missed winning games. "We had worked so hard, I think physically we were the best team in the league and that s why we won it. It was my second La Liga title and I want to win more." - Dressing room leader - Modric was arguably Real Madrid s best player during the 11-game run-in, perhaps benefitting more than anyone from the three-month pause, after a period when he found himself rotated. "I had two injuries that set me back and then other players took their opportunity," Modric says. "It wasn t easy for me, but maybe now Zizou sees it differently because I never gave up and in the end I was playing again. I feel well now, I feel fit, I feel motivated." He turns 35 next week but Modric still feels instrumental to this Real Madrid, his calm masking an inner-steel that is well-suited to Zidane and perhaps symbolic of the team as a whole. In his autobiography, My Game , released last month, Modric said Zidane urged him to be more of a leader and he has been supporting Eden Hazard during the Belgian s injury-ravaged opening year. "Eden is a great guy and a special player," says Modric. "But he was playing with pain and when you re on the pitch, people always expect the best. They don t care if you have little problems. "I spoke to him and said, Eden maybe you need not to play now and recover because next season we need you at your best. This is a season where you re getting to know everything but next season you need to be 100 per cent because if not, it s going to be difficult . "Hopefully he comes back without any problems and then I m sure he ll show his potential and why the club bought him because we will need him a lot." - Zidane one of the best - Hazard retains the confidence of Zidane but the same cannot be said for Gareth Bale, whose prospects look bleaker than ever if he stays. Modric has spent 12 years playing with Bale, four at Tottenham and eight with Madrid, and he is one of those closest to the Welshman in the dressing room. "Gareth is a great, great player," Modric says. "But his situation is not easy. He always has my support but he needs to decide what is best for him and what he wants to do now with his career. "It was not an easy season for him but it is what it is. Maybe now he needs to get back to his best. Maybe to fight or... We ll see what happens with him." Unlike Bale, Modric trusts Zidane absolutely, dismissing those who claim he is a motivator graced with good luck. "He just perfectly understands players," Modric says. "He is one of the best coaches, definitely. "What we have achieved is unimaginable and still people say it s because of luck or this or that, and they don t give him the recognition he deserves -- but he doesn t need it. His results speak for themselves." Modric recalls one of his first meetings with Zidane in 2016, which he cites as a turning point in his career. "I remember it word for word," says Modric. "He said, I see you as a player who can one day win the Ballon d Or . I d never even thought about the Ballon d Or before but when someone like Zizou tells you that, you feel so much confidence. "It s why we ve always had such a great relationship and I hope he stays at Madrid for a long, long time." Luka Modric s autobiography, My Game , was released on August 20 in the UK, France and Spain.

Lionel Messi s father arrived in Spain early Wednesday and is expected to meet with Barcelona club officials to discuss his son s future. Jorge Messi, who is also Lionel Messi s agent, landed in Barcelona from Argentina. He is expected to meet with club president Josep Bartomeu and other team officials, but it s unclear when then meeting will take place. ``I don t know anything, Jorge Messi said briefly after being questioned at the airport. Lionel Messi last week told Barcelona he wanted to leave the club and invoked a contract clause that allowed him to depart for free at the end of the season. But Barcelona claimed the clause expired in June and said he must see out his current contract until June 2021, or leave by paying the buyout clause of $700 million euros ($837 million). Barcelona has been saying it will not facilitate Messi s departure and will only negotiate a contract extension. The club has offered the Argentine a two-year extension that would keep him with Barcelona through the 2022-23 season. In addition to meeting with Messi s father, Barcelona said it also wanted to meet personally with the player to try to change his mind about leaving. The club said it has been doing everything to try to convince Messi to finish his career at the club where he started nearly 20 years ago. Lionel Messi hasn t met with club officials since announcing his decision to leave and hasn t said anything publicly since Barcelona s 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinals on Aug. 14. The defeat that capped a difficult season for the club, its first without a title since 2007-08. The 33-year-old Messi had been outspoken against club officials during the season and he hasn t shown up at the club since the squad returned to training on Monday. He also skipped the required coronavirus tests the team underwent on Sunday. Lionel Messi s representatives claim he was allowed to invoke the clause to leave the club because this year the season was pushed back by the coronavirus pandemic. Barcelona is scheduled to begin its season against Villarreal in the Spanish league at the end of the month.

Marcus Rashford has formed a taskforce with some major food brands to help tackle hunger among children, the Manchester United and England forward said on Tuesday. Rashford had earned widespread praise after the 22-year-old successfully campaigned for school food vouchers to be provided over the summer holidays in Britain, revealing that he had relied on such support as a boy. Announcing the child food poverty group that includes Aldi, Asda, Tesco, Deliveroo, Sainsbury s and Kellogg s among others, Rashford wrote an open letter to parliament endorsing three policy recommendations of the National Food Strategy. The points include the expansion of free school meals to children whose families are on universal credit, expansion of holiday provision to all children on free school meals, and increasing the value of Healthy Start vouchers. "I feel like at times people think they are being looked down on if they ask for help, and I think in this generation... that is something that should change," Rashford told the BBC. "You should feel free if you want to ask for help...hold your head up high and, if you need help, go and get help. "...we had to think about the best way to do it, to think about how these families can eat long term and not have issues. We wanted to do it the best way...introduce the best people into our group, and see if using them (we) can push it even more." Rashford had also helped to raise around 20 million pounds ($26.9 million) with charity Fareshare UK to supply meals to struggling families during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former European football chief Michel Platini arrived for a meeting with the Swiss public prosecutor on Monday as part of proceedings investigating a two million Swiss franc ($2.2 million) payment he received in 2011. Platini was summoned to the Swiss capital Bern by prosecutor Thomas Hildbrand. Sepp Blatter, the former president of the sport s world governing body FIFA, is due to meet the prosecutor on Tuesday as part of the same probe. Platini, the former head of European football s governing body UEFA, arrived at the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) complex in a taxi accompanied by his lawyer Dominic Nellen. Wearing a suit and blue shirt without a tie and carrying a blue folder, he said "hello" towards waiting journalists and smiled briefly as he went to the registration office. He briefly came out again to enter the main premises through a revolving metal gate. Platini and Blatter each face interrogation from the public prosecutor as part of the proceedings, which were opened in 2015. In June, Hildbrand formally added Platini to an investigation into the payment he received from FIFA in 2011 for an advisory job completed in 2002, on suspicion of "complicity in unfair management, embezzlement and forgery in securities". The 65-year-old former French football great now has the status of "accused" alongside Blatter. Platini said at the time that the OAG had "confirmed in writing in May 2018" that his case was closed. - Back pay - Two other former FIFA executives, Frenchman Jerome Valcke, the former secretary-general, and German Markus Kattner, the former financial director, are being investigated on "suspicion of unfair management", the OAG said. Kattner will be questioned on September 4. Platini said he was being persecuted by FIFA. "After five years, it is quite possible that FIFA will continue to harass me through complaints with the sole aim of keeping me out of football and smearing my reputation," he said in June. Blatter, who is 84, told AFP the payment was above board. "It was a back pay for work done by Michel Platini. The sum was validated by the finance commission. It cannot be a criminal offence," Blatter said, adding that he was "serene" ahead of the new hearing. FIFA deemed the sum a "disloyal payment" and suspended Blatter and Platini from all football-related activities, which prevented the former UEFA chief from running for the FIFA presidency in 2016. Platini appealed against his suspension at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which reduced it to four years, then the Swiss Federal Court and finally at the European Court of Human Rights. Hildbrand questioned Blatter in late July and early August in connection with a separate investigation into television rights contracts issued to the Caribbean Football Union.

La Liga on Sunday released a statement saying Lionel Messi s Barcelona contract was still valid, days after his shock announcement that he wants to leave the club and hours after he failed to attend a pre-season medical on Sunday. The ruling body said the only way for the Argentine forward to be released from the contract was to trigger a 700-million euros ($833 million) release clause. "In compliance with the applicable rule, La Liga will not approve a request to be de-registered as a player with the Spanish football federation, unless the amount in the release clause has been paid," La Liga said in a statement. Messi did not attend a medical with Barcelona on Sunday, a Barca club source confirmed. Reuters footage showed players arriving for coronavirus tests on Sunday morning and Messi did not appear. He had been due at Barcelona s training ground at 10.15am local time. The 33-year-old six-times world player of the year informed his lifelong club on Tuesday he wished to leave immediately, plunging Barca into new turmoil less than two weeks after their humiliating 8-2 Champions League quarter-final defeat by Bayern Munich. Messi s lawyers plan to invoke a clause in his four-year contract, signed in 2017, which would have allowed the forward to leave the club for free if he had requested it by June 10. They will argue that that date - nominally the end of the season - is now irrelevant after the coronavirus delays that led to the season’s extension and the team playing deep into August.

Lionel Messi has provoked a football frenzy by announcing he wants to leave Barcelona, the club he joined as a 13-year-old in 2000 and has led to four Champions League titles. This has been a season of problems, on and off the field for Barcelona, but Tuesday s declaration of divorce, though more extreme than anything in his past, is not the first sulk in Messi s 20 years at Camp Nou. 2012: Patience wears thin Despite a reputation as a discreet and approachable team-mate, the Argentine has repeatedly lost patience with other Barca players. In September 2012, he gesticulated angrily at Spanish striker David Villa, forced to play on the wing, for failing to cross the ball quickly enough against Granada in La Liga. Messi s gestures effectively confirmed rumours circulating for several months of tensions between the two, who were no longer speaking to each other. Once, in training, Messi reportedly told striker Cristian Tello: "You re new here and you re nothing at all. Pass me the ball. You re here to play for me." Chilean striker Alexis Sanchez, who arrived in 2011 at a cost of 37 million euros ($53 million at the time), is said to have attracted Messi s wrath. "Considering how bad you are, I ve no idea how you cost so much," Messi once told Sanchez. Messi also feuded with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Samuel Eto o, who both fled to Italy. 2013: Ronaldo makes more, Messi sulks Already a four-time Ballon d Or winner and at the peak of his career, Messi signed a five-year contract extension in February 2013, with an estimated salary of 12 million euros. A few months later, his long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo signed a deal with Real Madrid worth 17 million euros a year. The Argentine reacted by demanding a pay rise. Javier Faus, Barca s vice-president in charge of finance, responded that there was no reason "to improve the contract of someone who already received a rise six months ago". Messi abandoned his usual media discretion to respond that Faus "knows nothing about football". The spat ended with Faus making a public apology. "Messi is right, I don t know anything about football," he said. "It was just a little misunderstanding that we sorted out with him and his father. We gave him a new contract." A year later, the Argentine s salary rose to more than 20 million euros, making him the best-paid footballer in the world. 2015: Told off by Luis Enrique, Messi fuels Chelsea rumours In January 2015, coach Luis Enrique reportedly interrupted a training session to accuse Messi of making himself "the master of the dressing room". Luis Enrique relegated Messi to the bench for the next match against Real Sociedad. He did not take part in the next training session, officially for medical reasons. Messi fuelled rumours of his possible departure by following Chelsea, and two of their players, Cesc Fabregas and Filipe Luis, on Instagram. To this day, he only follows four clubs: Newells Old Boys, where he started, Barcelona, Chelsea and Manchester City. 2017: Tortuous negotiations By 2017, Messi s contract was running out and a climate of tension had built up around negotiations. Luis Suarez, Messi s attacking partner, became involved, calling for the extension "at all costs". Sporting director Oscar Grau replied that he would use "common sense and discretion". In the mixed zone after a game in January, Suarez fired back: "What we need to do is extend it, not show common sense." The soap opera ended when Messi finally signed a deal on November 25 that ran to 2021, and, according to "Football Leaks" documents, lifted his salary to more than 70 million euros. The deal also included a "loyalty bonus" of 70 million euros if Messi sees out the contract. 2020: Abidal upsets Messi In February, Messi reacted angrily after Eric Abidal, the club s then sporting director, said players were to blame for the sacking of coach Ernesto Valverde the month before because they were "not giving all they could." Messi responded on Instagram, telling his former team-mate to "name names" and saying "those in charge of sports management should also face up to their responsibilities".

Gareth Southgate has defended his decision to pick players from Manchester City and Manchester United in his latest England squad despite prolonged campaigns for the two clubs. The England boss opted to call up players from the Etihad and Old Trafford for next month s Nations League fixtures away to Iceland and Denmark even though they featured in European club competitions in August. While Harry Maguire was removed from the squad after being given a suspended prison sentence in Greece, his United team-mates Mason Greenwood and Marcus Rashford are in the squad alongside City trio Kyle Walker, Phil Foden and Raheem Sterling. England s games come before the start of the new Premier League season, with both Manchester clubs given the opening weekend off after their long seasons. But Southgate is adamant there was no reason he should not have included players from the two teams in his own plans for next month. "If I was a club manager, I wouldn t be happy with this window where it is, for sure," he said on Tuesday. "I think they are two massive clubs with teams packed full of internationals who are used to dealing with these situations where their players go away. They accept probably better than any other clubs, or with less fuss than other clubs. "But everybody knows that this is a slightly unique period, not season but two seasons, really, so there is no ideal preparation for anybody." With a condensed 2020/21 fixture calendar leading into the postponed European Championship next summer, Southgate hinted a lack of winter break within the Premier League programme could be more of an issue than this international break. "I think the big concern for everybody will be where are we in December, January on everybody s load and what does that look like, no winter break for all of the clubs, which is surprising, really, given the context of the season and the number of games everybody s got to play," he said. "But resting a player in September is not going to resolve that issue, the issues are going to be later in the season."

The current season of the Egyptian Premier League will end by the end of October or the start of November, and there will be an interval of 10 days or two weeks ahead of the new season, chief executive of the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) Walid El-Ataar revealed early on Tuesday. The prestigious domestic tournament usually ends in July, but this season it resumed in August after almost four months of suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic. Teams are yet to play 13 matches before ending the competition. “The interval between the current season and the new one [2020/2021] will be from 10 to 15 days,” the EFA official told ON Time Sports TV channel. “We are trying to play Egypt Cup matches in the empty days during this season. We are working hard to end the season perfectly,” he said. Title holders Ahly are firm favourites to win a fifth straight title since they top the table with 56 points after 21 games, 16 ahead of the nearest challengers, archrivals Zamalek.

There was something appropriate in the way that Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich celebrated his team’s Champions League triumph over Paris St Germain on Sunday. More than 90 minutes after the final whistle had blown on the 1-0 victory, Kimmich sat in the centre circle, in front of 65,000 empty seats at the Estadio da Luz, banging on a drum. It was not quite full-on social distancing - the full-back was joined in the middle of the field by team-mates Serge Gnabry and David Alaba - but it was poignant nonetheless. This has been a Champions League season that was stopped, like so many aspects of life, in March by the COVID-19 pandemic but which was completed in the Portuguese capital, albeit in highly unusual circumstances. Seven games in 11 days were played in two venues in Lisbon, culminating in Sunday’s final, but fans were not allowed into the stadiums with those present limited to a handful of team officials, security and medical staff and media. Somehow, despite the alien surrounds and the lack of anything resembling a football atmosphere, the players produced some memorable games with Bayern deservedly crowned European champions. “It has been an extreme challenge for us,” Aleksander Ceferin, president of European soccer’s governing body UEFA told Reuters before Sunday’s final. “The most challenging was everything connected to health and this virus which is spreading all around the world,” he said. “We try to control everybody, to be locked to be, separated from the rest of the world, but it is a huge task. That was the main challenge.” While players were kept in team hotels and training facilities, isolated from the outside world, UEFA carried out regular testing throughout the tournament and together with the Europa League, UEFA Youth League and Women’s Champions League, over 12,000 tests have been carried out. The Champions League final is supposed to be a festival of football though, a chance for fans to enjoy a weekend in a European city and celebrate their team’s success while partying night and day. But not even in a personal invite from the Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa could persuade more than a handful of supporters to travel to Lisbon for games they could not attend. “It is different, but today it is what we have to put up with in daily life, we have to adapt, but what is important is the love of the game that we have to preach and love for the team: Go Bayern!” said Jaice Domingues, a Brazilian living in Lisbon who was taking pictures next to the huge inflatable Champions League cup in the main Rossio square. Some fans from France waited at Paris St Germain’s hotel to try to raise their spirits when the team’s bus returned with the defeated players. Even amid his team’s celebration, Bayern coach Hansi Flick acknowledged the absent element to his team’s memorable sixth European Cup win. “What is missing are the fans. Maybe the future will bring games with fans again - this sport, or a stadium like this one here, simply deserves that”.

Ahly coach Rene Weiler admitted that he was disappointed to see his side succumb to a 3-1 loss to Zamalek in Saturday s Cairo derby in the Egyptian Premier League, but said he is not too worried over the team s African Champions League prospects. Both sides clashed on Saturday with an eye on the Champions League semis, where Ahly will meet Wydad and Zamalek will take on fellow Moroccan side Raja in the semi-finals next month. Although Ahly pinned Zamalek in their own half for long spells, the White Knights managed to make the most of some devastating counter attacks to claim a derby win in the league for only the third time in the last 15 years. "I m disappointed and unhappy, especially after we wasted some goal-scoring chances. But this is football; we have to move on and prepare for the coming matches," Swiss coach Weiler, under whom Ahly look destined to win a fifth consecutive league title, told the post-match news conference. "But I m not worried [over Ahly s prospects] in the African Champions League," he added. Zamalek took a 13th-minute lead after surviving some early Ahly pressure, with winger Ahmed Zizo firing into an empty net after brilliant individual work from Moroccan winger Achraf Bencharki on the left. Ahly s central defender Yasser Ibrahim, at fault for Zamalek s opener after letting Bencharki skip past him, made up for the mishap to bring the Red Devils level two minutes past the hour mark, finding the net following a goal-mouth scramble. However, he was again overpowered as striker Mostafa Mohamed restored Zamalek s advantage in superb fashion, chesting a cross from Hazem Emam despite being closely marked by Ibrahim, swiveling and hitting an unstoppable volley into the bottom corner. Just as Ahly appeared close to leveling the score again after mounting a late onslaught, youngster Osama Faisal, who came on as a substitute in the final stages, slotted home into an empty net three minutes into the additional time to round off another breakaway and wrap up Zamalek s win. "We changed our strategy after falling behind in the first half but were not lucky enough," Weiler added. Ahly remain top of the table with 56 points, enjoying a comfortable 14-point lead over second-placed Zamalek.

The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) has said that Croatian referee Ivan Bebek will officiate Saturday s anticipated Cairo derby between Ahly and Zamalek in the 21st round of the Egyptian Premier League. The 43-year-old will be assisted by Goran Pataki and Ivica Modric and Fran Jovic as fourth official. Goran Gabrilo will serve as VAR referee, assisted by Tomislav Petrovic. Bebek is familiar with Egyptian football, having supervised a 2007 derby in the Egyptian Premier League. In that game, Ahly defeated Zamalek with a single goal. He was also one of the referees of the FIFA U-20 World Cup which Egypt hosted in 2009, refereeing a group-stage game between the hosts and Paraguay. Defending champions Ahly currently sit at the top of the league table, 17 points above second-placed Zamalek. The match will take place at Cairo International Stadium.

Barcelona have appointed Ronald Koeman as their next coach, the club said in a statement on Wednesday, as the Catalans look to rebuild after their 8-2 thrashing by Bayern Munich in the Champions League last week. Koeman, who has left his role as manager of the Netherlands, has signed a two-year-deal with Barcelona, who sacked Quique Setien on Monday after he presided over the club s worst defeat ever in European competition. Koeman, who will be officially presented at the Camp Nou stadium later on Wednesday, is dearly loved at Barca for his role in Johan Cruyff s hugely successful side known as the Dream Team and for scoring the goal that delivered the club s first ever European Cup in 1992. The defender later became the club s assistant coach before embarking on a career as a head coach, managing Dutch sides Ajax Amsterdam, PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord plus Premier League sides Southampton and Everton and La Liga s Valencia. "Barcelona and Ronald Koeman have come to an agreement for him to be the team s coach until 30 June 2022," said Barca s statement. "A club legend and Barca s hero at Wembley who gave fans their first European Cup, Koeman is coming back to the Camp Nou. But this time he will be in the dugout to lead the team."

Defending champions Ahly returned to winning ways on Monday with a 3-0 win over struggling Aswan to boost their confidence before next weekend s Cairo derby against Zamalek. Angolan winger Geraldo broke the deadlock as early as the 9th minute while veteran forward Walid Soliman and Aliou Badji secured the points of the game late in the second half on minutes 83 and 94 respectively. The victory extends Ahly s unbeaten run this season as they claimed their 18th victory in 20 games and bring back some calm to the Red Devils who had a frustrating week. A week that saw them drop rare points against El-Entag El-Harby (1-1) and off the pitch controversies including a shocking rejection from star winger Ramadan Sobhi to extend his stay and disciplinary decision to axe departing keeper Sherif Ekrami for social media comments. Ahly had a promising start of the game and looked determined to quickly score an opening goal. They eventually got what they deserved after only nine minutes when an excellent cross by Mohamed "Afsha" Magdi was met by Geraldo to head home from point blank to make amend for an earlier miss. The Cairo giants seemed the better side but a string of injuries made things difficult for Ahly as the game progressed. Defender Mahmoud Metwalli left in tears after 23 minutes with a knee injury while winger Ahmed El Sheikh had also to leave just before the break with a foot injury. The first half became less entertaining and lacked creativity. However both sides struck the woodwork in the first half. Aswan s forward Mostafa El-Badry latched onto a long ball to break the offside trap and send the ball past keeper Mohamed El Shennawy only to be denied by the post. At the other end Afsha s shot struck both uprights following an excellent combination with Ahmed Fathi and Amr El-Sulaya. After the interval Aswan upped their game though they still barely created any danger. But with their visitors moving forward in an attempt to get the equalizer, Ahly exploited their spaces at the back. Second half substitute Walid Soliman put the game beyond doubt with a powerful strike from inside the box while Senegalese striker Badji completed the rout with a powerful shot just from the edge of the area after being set up by an excellent back heel from El Sulaya. Just before the end of the game Geraldo has been limped off with a muscle strain to add to Ahly s injury woes before next Saturday clash against Zamalek.

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said that he plans to strengthen his squad ahead of next season following a 2-1 defeat to Sevilla in the Europa League semi-finals in Cologne on Sunday. Having already fallen twice at the semi-finals stage in cup competitions this season, United were looking to go one better by reaching Friday’s Europa League final. And they looked to be on course to do just that after Bruno Fernandes converted their 22nd penalty of the season in the ninth minute in the RheinEnergieStadion. However, goals from Spanish winger Suso and former Newcastle United striker Luuk de Jong ensured five-time Europa League winners Sevilla will face either Inter Milan or Shakhtar Donetsk in the final, while ensuring United finish the season trophyless. “I cannot say when or if transfers are going to be done, but we are looking at it,” Solskjaer said. “It is a quick turnaround (until the start of the new season). We just have to be 100% sure when we do those deals. “The players worked so hard, showed the right mentality, but we need to strengthen the squad depth, of course. It will be a long season.” Missed chances cost United against Sevilla, whose goalkeeper Bono was in inspired form. Over the course of United’s quarter-final against FC Copenhagen and their semi-final on Sunday they had 46 shots but managed just two goals — both penalties. “The keeper’s had a fantastic game,” Solskjaer added. “Of course it’s disappointing that we don’t score. We know we have players who have the quality to score, but that’s the game. “When you don’t take your chances, it’s going to be hard.” Sevilla have reached their sixth UEFA Cup/Europa League final - at least twice more than any other side in the history of the competition - with the victory over United taking them to 20 games unbeaten in all competitions. “This is the best Manchester United of the last few years and the form team in England, so it is normal that we had to suffer,” said Sevilla boss Julen Lopetegui. “This was a team effort. If you beat a team like United in a semi-final, you have to do it as a unit. That’s what we did tonight. I’m really proud of my team. “We are very excited for the final, but it will be the hardest game yet and we have to prepare.”

Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne was named the Premier League Player of the Season on Sunday, becoming just the third Belgian to win the award for the league s top performer. The 29-year-old set up 20 goals in the 2019-20 campaign, equalling the record for most assists in a Premier League season set by Arsenal striker Thierry Henry in 2002-03. He also scored a personal best 13 goals but was unable to help City defend their top-flight crown, with Pep Guardiola s side finishing 18 points behind champions Liverpool. De Bruyne beat Liverpool trio Jordan Henderson, Sadio Mane and Trent Alexander-Arnold, Southampton striker Danny Ings, Leicester City s Golden Boot winner Jamie Vardy and Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope to the award. De Bruyne s former City team mate Vincent Kompany and ex-Chelsea winger Eden Hazard are the two other Belgians to win the accolade. Alexander-Arnold was named Young Player of the Season earlier this week, while Juergen Klopp won the Manager of the Season award.

Lionel Messi might never have been faced with a more daunting task at Barcelona than engineering a victory against Bayern Munich in Lisbon on Friday. The only surviving former winners of European club football s greatest prize -- with five titles each -- meet in a heavyweight Champions League quarter-final behind closed doors at the Estadio da Luz. It is not often that Messi s Barcelona come into such a big European tie as the underdogs, but they have this time, with Quique Setien s team having lost out to Real Madrid in the Spanish title race while Bayern appeared flawless on the way to winning a German league and cup double. Messi is now 33, yet Barcelona appear more reliant on him than ever. He scored twice against Bayern in the quarter-finals in 2009 when Barcelona went on to win the Champions League under Pep Guardiola. He hit four against Arsenal the following year and five against Bayer Leverkusen in 2012 but on both occasions, Barca were favourites. Messi also sank Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2011 when his double in the first leg of the semi-final, including one of the finest goals the competition has ever seen, transcended a rivalry that had been dragged to its ugliest point. And he was part of perhaps the tournament s greatest comeback, the 6-1 destruction of Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 after Barcelona lost 4-0 in the first leg of that last-16 tie. Yet this time threatens to be different. With Luis Suarez and Antoine Griezmann alongside him, Frenkie de Jong and Sergio Busquets behind him and Jordi Alba out wide, Messi should not be on his own. Even in defence, Gerard Pique still has a claim to be the best defender in La Liga and Marc-Andre ter Stegen is among the most impressive goalkeepers in the world. "Bayern are playing really well and are full of confidence but we have the weapons to beat them," Griezmann told Barca TV. - Isolated Argentine - But the sense remains that Messi must perform if Barcelona are to defeat Bayern, widely seen as the favourites to lift the trophy on August 23, at the end of the express knock-out tournament in Lisbon. It will take something very special not only to lift his own team out of the doldrums but also to neutralise an opponent that many believe are the most complete side in Europe. Barcelona therefore must first of all hope that Messi shows no ill effects from the ankle knock he suffered in last weekend s last-16, second-leg win over Napoli -- he has been back training normally. The Catalans should certainly wonder how it got to this point, given they spent more than 500 million euros ($590m) over the last three seasons, bringing in players that should have complemented, not isolated, the Argentine. The worry is that Bayern might not just beat Barcelona at the Estadio da Luz, but humiliate them. If they do, Setien is likely to pay with his job, even if he only took over as coach in January, replacing Ernesto Valverde, who was also unable to shake this current crop into life. The alternative is a statement performance that vindicates Setien, establishes him for next season and sends Barcelona into the semi-finals with the kind of momentum that could even take them all the way. "We have to be optimistic, we are in good shape," said Setien after the Napoli game. However, it would be a surprise to see Barcelona go on and lift the trophy, and it seems unthinkable they could do it without an intervention from Messi, who must be wondering too how the club that won the treble five years ago have come to rely on him so completely. The challenge is not beyond Messi. But Barcelona must know he deserves more.

Qualifying matches in Asia for the 2022 Qatar World Cup have been postponed until next year due to the coronavirus pandemic, world governing body FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation said in a statement on Wednesday. The second round of Asian qualifiers were originally scheduled to take place during the international windows in October and November but they would not go ahead due to the “COVID-19 situation in many countries”. It marks the second time the qualifiers, which also serve as the road to the 2023 Asian Cup in China, have been pushed back as matches in March and June were also postponed due to the pandemic. “With the aim of protecting the health and safety of all participants, FIFA and the AFC will continue to work together to closely monitor the situation in the region and to identify new dates for the respective qualifying matches,” the statement said. “Further details on the new dates for the next round of qualifying matches for the FIFA World Cup 2022 and the AFC Asian Cup 2023 will be announced in due course.” The AFC also suspended its elite club competition, the Asian Champions League (ACL), in early March because of the virus. Qatar will be the regional hub for matches in West Asia when the ACL resumes on Sept. 14. Malaysia was named the centralised hub in East Asia with matches in the region due to restart in October.

The Scottish Premiership matches of champions Celtic and Aberdeen will be postponed due to breaches of Scotland s strict coronavirus quarantine rules in a "yellow card" to the sport, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Tuesday. Sturgeon warned that clubs would put the new season in jeopardy if they failed to respect the rules. Celtic s game with St Mirren on Wednesday will not go ahead after Belgian defender Boli Bolingoli admitted he had failed to observe quarantine protocols after a trip to Spain. Anyone returning to Scotland from Spain must spend two weeks in quarantine. Bolingoli, 25, played in the 1-1 draw with Kilmarnock on Sunday, the team s second match of the season. The Scottish government is already furious at eight Aberdeen players who visited a bar last week. Two of them subsequently tested positive, forcing the postponement of last Saturday s game with St Johnstone. Aberdeen s home game with Hamilton on Wednesday is now off as well and Saturday s match between Celtic and Aberdeen has also been postponed. - Yellow card - Sturgeon said Bolingoli s case was a "flagrant breach of the rules." "As a minimum, you should not be expecting to see Aberdeen and Celtic play over the course of the coming week and we ll see what the other conclusions are," said Sturgeon. Sturgeon -- whose administration by coincidence held talks with Premiership managers and captains on Monday -- issued a thinly-veiled threat. "Consider today the yellow card. Next time it will be the red card because you will leave us with absolutely no choice." Although Bolingoli apologised for his behaviour, Celtic did not hide their fury in a statement released later on Tuesday, saying: "It is difficult to imagine a more irresponsible action in current circumstances." Bolingoli apologised to his manager, teammates, supporters "and so many others for letting them down so badly". "I am guilty of a major error of judgement," the 25-year-old added. "I know what I did was wrong and I know that I must now deal with the consequences." Celtic said Bolingoli would feel the full force of their disciplinary procedures. "Celtic unreservedly condemns and apologises for the behaviour of the player Boli Bolingoli in travelling to Spain without informing the club and in failing to observe quarantine restrictions," the club said. "It is difficult to imagine a more irresponsible action in current circumstances and we find it beyond explanation. "The club will take immediate action through our own disciplinary procedures. "Celtic are in touch with every SPFL club today, and with all relevant authorities, to apologise for the fact that one of our employees has created so much additional difficulty through his actions." Celtic manager Neil Lennon said he was "absolutely livid" at what he called "a total betrayal of trust." Steven Gerrard, manager of Celtic s bitter rivals Rangers, said the message coming out of the talks with the administration had been crystal clear about clubs responsibilities. He said the "severity" of the warnings had shown "how important it is that everyone behaves in the right way". "And it is a concern and a worry because if mistakes continue to happen, there is no doubt about it, the football season will be cancelled and that s not what I want or what anyone wants at Rangers, or throughout Scottish football."

Monday s Egyptian Premier League match between Masry and Harras El-Hodoud has been postponed indefinitely after 16 Masry members tested positive for coronavirus, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) announced. "Amid attempts to play the match on time, scans on Monday morning revealed that 12 cases of Masry team members are still testing positive for coronavirus. The EFA board decided to postpone the match due to limited time," reads a stament by the EFA. On Sunday, the Port-Said based club announced that 12 players and four members of the technical staff tested positive for coronavirus after they took PCR tests during a training camp in Alexandria. Masry s management asked the EFA to postpone the game, but the governing body initially turned down their request and blamed the club for the infections. "The EFA managment decided that league matches would only be postponed in the future if 10 players of one team test positive for the coronavirus. The board also asks all teams to follow all the precautionary messures for the safety of their players and technical staff members in order to keep the competition going," the EFA s Monday statment added. Masry are the second team to confirm more than a dozen coronavirus cases after El-Entag El-Harby, who had their match against FC Masr rescheduled after 19 players and non-playing staff had tested positive. After being given the green light by the government to resume the league competition, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) ordered all clubs to run PCR tests ahead of every game. The domestic competition restarted on Thursday after a five-month hiatus due to the pandemic. Masry had their latest PCR tests after Thursday s 1-0 loss to Zamalek. Almost three dozen cases were discovered at several clubs, although all of the infected members only had mild symptoms. Holders Ahly are leading the league table with 49 points after playing 17 matches, 16 points over second placed Arab Contractors, who played one game more. Masry lie in tenth place with 20 points from 17 matches.