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Man Utd aim to keep Man City title celebrations on ice London (AFP) – Manchester City could wrap up a third Premier League title in four seasons on Sunday, but Manchester United can keep their local rivals waiting by inflicting further damage on Liverpool’s hopes of a return to the Champions League next season. City’s 10-point lead with just five games remaining means it is a matter of when, not if, they will collect the second trophy of a potential treble. Pep Guardiola’s men lifted the League Cup for the fourth consecutive season last weekend before taking a huge step towards the Champions League final with a 2-1 semi-final, first leg win away to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday. The return leg against PSG is likely to play a big factor in Guardiola’s team selection for Saturday’s trip to Crystal Palace. However, one of the hallmarks of City’s success this season has been their strength in depth, giving Guardiola plenty of options should he choose to rotate his squad once more. Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, Sergio Aguero, Fernandinho, Ferran Torres and Aymeric Laporte are among those who did not get off the bench in Paris in midweek and could start against the Eagles. Palace have won just once in their last seven games as they meander towards the end of the season with safety in the top-flight secured for another season. – United ‘expect to win’ – Should City move to within three points of the title on Saturday, all eyes will turn to Old Trafford as last season’s champions will look to clinch them the title. Liverpool are far more desperate for the points than United with their chances of Champions League football next season fading fast. Jurgen Klopp’s men are four points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea and could be seven behind by the time they kick-off with the Blues hosting struggling Fulham on Saturday. United finished 33 points behind Liverpool last season as the Red Devils only secured a top-four finish on the final day of the season. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men have turned that gap around this season as they are set to match their best league finish since Alex Ferguson retired as boss in 2013. But United captain Harry Maguire insisted they cannot settle for being second best. “It’s a big game whenever we play Liverpool,” Maguire told ESPN. “We want to win and we expect to win. “I joined the club to win trophies, to lift trophies. Every player who plays for Manchester United expects to win trophies. In recent years, we haven’t managed to do that, so we’ve got to improve.” – No complacency for Chelsea – Chelsea may be in pole position for the fourth Champions League place, but Thomas Tuchel’s men can ill afford to be distracted by the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid on Wednesday when facing Fulham in a west London derby. The Blues opened up a three-point cushion over fifth-placed West Ham with a 1-0 win at the London Stadium last weekend. But Chelsea face a tough run in with matches against City, Leicester and Arsenal plus another meeting with Leicester in the FA Cup final in the final month of the season. Any slip-ups could not only offer encouragement to West Ham and Liverpool, but also Tottenham and Everton’s slim chances of Champions League qualification. Spurs host already relegated Sheffield United hoping to put their cup final disappointment behind them. Everton are six points off the top four with a game in hand and need to end a wretched run at home when they face Aston Villa on Saturday to remain in the hunt. Third-placed Leicester look to have learned from their mistakes in falling out of the top four in the final weeks of the campaign last season. Victory at Southampton on Friday would take Brendan Rodgers’s men 10 points clear of the chasing pack with just 15 left to play for. Fixtures (all times GMT) Friday Southampton v Leicester (1900) Saturday Crystal Palace v Manchester City (1130), Brighton v Leeds (1400), Chelsea v Fulham (1630), Everton v Aston Villa (1900) Sunday Newcastle v Arsenal (1300), Manchester United v Liverpool (1530), Tottenham v Sheffield United (1815) Monday West Brom v Wolves (1700), Burnley v West Ham (1915)

London (AFP) – Manchester City could wrap up a third Premier League title in four seasons on Sunday, but Manchester United can keep their local rivals waiting by inflicting further damage on Liverpool’s hopes of a return to the Champions League next season. City’s 10-point lead with just five games remaining means it is a matter of when, not if, they will collect the second trophy of a potential treble. Pep Guardiola’s men lifted the League Cup for the fourth consecutive season last weekend before taking a huge step towards the Champions League final with a 2-1 semi-final, first leg win away to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday. The return leg against PSG is likely to play a big factor in Guardiola’s team selection for Saturday’s trip to Crystal Palace. However, one of the hallmarks of City’s success this season has been their strength in depth, giving Guardiola plenty of options should he choose to rotate his squad once more. Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, Sergio Aguero, Fernand...

South America’s football federations to receive coronavirus vaccines Asuncion (AFP) – South America’s football governing body, CONMEBOL, said Thursday it was all set to distribute, free of charge, 50,000 coronavirus vaccines donated by China among its 10-member federations. The shipment of vaccines produced by China’s Sinovac pharma company arrived Wednesday in Montevideo, Uruguay, from where they will be dispensed. “The vaccines will… make the international competitions safer, starting with the CONMEBOL Copa America 2021, due to start on June 13,” the confederation said. The Copa America tournament, like the European Championship, was due to take place last year but was postponed by 12 months due to the coronavirus pandemic. It will be co-hosted by Argentina and Colombia, both countries with a high burden of coronavirus cases and deaths. CONMEBOL said it would target thousands of players competing in both the men’s and women’s competitions, referees, technicians and other staff. In the case of unused vaccines, individual associations must allocate doses to people who need them, subject to CONMEBOL approval, the body said. “The criterion is that no vaccine is wasted, and that the football environment is given priority,” it added. Earlier this month, Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez cast doubt over the Copa America, saying: “I don’t want to frustrate the Copa America spectacle but I want us to be very sensible, very careful.” The following day, Colombia’s sports minister insisted the tournament will be played “with or without fans.”

Asuncion (AFP) – South America’s football governing body, CONMEBOL, said Thursday it was all set to distribute, free of charge, 50,000 coronavirus vaccines donated by China among its 10-member federations. The shipment of vaccines produced by China’s Sinovac pharma company arrived Wednesday in Montevideo, Uruguay, from where they will be dispensed. “The vaccines will… make the international competitions safer, starting with the CONMEBOL Copa America 2021, due to start on June 13,” the confederation said. The Copa America tournament, like the European Championship, was due to take place last year but was postponed by 12 months due to the coronavirus pandemic. It will be co-hosted by Argentina and Colombia, both countries with a high burden of coronavirus cases and deaths. CONMEBOL said it would target thousands of players competing in both the men’s and women’s competitions, referees, technicians and other staff. In the case of unused vaccines, individual associations must allocat...

Bittersweet victory for Emery as Villarreal spare 10-man Arsenal Madrid (AFP) – Unai Emery won his big reunion with Arsenal but 2-1 might prove a small reward for Villarreal, who failed to take advantage of Dani Ceballos being sent off in a frantic Europa League semi-final first leg on Thursday. Manu Trigueros and Raul Albiol gave Villarreal a dream start at La Ceramica and the tie looked to be slipping away from Arsenal when Ceballos was shown a second yellow card early in the second half. But 10-man Arsenal rallied and grabbed an away goal when Nicolas Pepe converted a penalty in the 73rd minute, before Villarreal’s Etienne Capoue also saw red with 10 minutes left to play. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang might even have snatched a late equaliser for the visitors but Mikel Arteta will be delighted his team are not just in the contest but in a healthy position too, with an away goal to take back to London next week. For Villarreal, a chance was missed but the lead is still welcome and Emery will take comfort from the fact that they were the better side for the best part of an hour, even before Ceballos was dismissed. Emery said on Wednesday he would always have a “place in his heart” for Arsenal, despite a turbulent 18 months in charge of the club before he was sacked in 2019. He might also look on with little envy at his successor Arteta, who is under pressure now to win the Europa League and qualify for the Champions League, with Arsenal sitting 10th in the Premier League table and nowhere near the top four. Villarreal took the lead in the fifth minute with a free-flowing move out from the back that Arteta would be proud of. It started with the goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli and finished with Samuel Chukwueze driving into the box, the ball spilling out to Trigueros, who drove into the far corner. There were not even 30 minutes gone when Villarreal made it two, this time from a simpler source as Dani Parejo’s corner was flicked on by Gerard Moreno and Albiol stuck out a foot at the back post. Emery brought on Francis Coquelin to add some protection but the dynamic of the game changed just before the hour, when Ceballos arrived late on Parejo’s ankle to earn a second yellow card. Moreno should have made it three but Bernd Leno pushed his shot over and then Arsenal were given a lifeline, Bukayo Saka nipping between Capoue and Trigueros before tumbling over. Pepe drilled the penalty down the middle and in. Villarreal’s lead had been cut and then their numerical advantage vanished too as Capoue flew in late on Saka to see red, while injuring himself in the process. Arsenal sensed an equaliser and Aubameyang, on as a substitute, might even have found it when he was slipped in on the right of the area but Rulli made the save.

Madrid (AFP) – Unai Emery won his big reunion with Arsenal but 2-1 might prove a small reward for Villarreal, who failed to take advantage of Dani Ceballos being sent off in a frantic Europa League semi-final first leg on Thursday. Manu Trigueros and Raul Albiol gave Villarreal a dream start at La Ceramica and the tie looked to be slipping away from Arsenal when Ceballos was shown a second yellow card early in the second half. But 10-man Arsenal rallied and grabbed an away goal when Nicolas Pepe converted a penalty in the 73rd minute, before Villarreal’s Etienne Capoue also saw red with 10 minutes left to play. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang might even have snatched a late equaliser for the visitors but Mikel Arteta will be delighted his team are not just in the contest but in a healthy position too, with an away goal to take back to London next week. For Villarreal, a chance was missed but the lead is still welcome and Emery will take comfort from the fact that ...

Man Utd hit Roma for six to banish semi-final hoodoo Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Bruno Fernandes and Edinson Cavani each scored twice as Manchester United took a huge stride towards the Europa League final by coming from behind to thrash an injury-hit Roma 6-2 at Old Trafford. Fernandes’s early opener was quickly cancelled out by Lorenzo Pellegrini’s penalty before Edin Dzeko put Roma in front at half-time. But the Italians lost three players to injury before the break and United took advantage with a dominant second-half performance. Two predatory finishes from Cavani turned the tie around before Fernandes also fired home from the spot. Paul Pogba and Mason Greenwood rounded off the scoring in a sensational second-half performance. United are aiming to get to a final under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at the fifth time of asking after four semi-final defeats in the past two seasons. But only a second leg collapse will prevent them from facing Villarreal or Arsenal in Gdansk on May 26. In contrast to the vast majority of games this season, United came flying out the blocks and led after just nine minutes. Pogba and Cavani teed up Fernandes, who dinked the ball over the advancing Pau Lopez for his 25th goal of the season. Roma fans had urged their side to “make sure he remembers us” after taking umbrage to Solskjaer’s admission he did not know much about the current Roma squad in his post-match interview after seeing off Granada in the quarter-finals. Sitting seventh in Serie A, this competition represented Roma’s last realistic chance to qualify for the Champions League next season and they reacted like a side whose season depended on it. Pogba was penalised for handball as he slid in to try and block Rick Karsdorp’s cross and Pellegrini confidently beat David de Gea from the spot. Dzeko was a persistent thorn in United’s side in four years as a Manchester City player and scored for the sixth time at Old Trafford when he tapped home Pellegrini’s low cross on 34 minutes. By that stage Jordan Veretout and Lopez had hobbled off injured and Leonardo Spinazzola followed before the break, leaving Roma without the chance to make any further substitutions in the second-half. United seized upon their opportunity with arguably their best 45 minutes of the season after the break. Another fine team move involving Pogba, Fernandes and Cavani ended with the Uruguayan firing into the top corner three minutes into the second-half. Cavani was then guilty of missing a glorious chance from Luke Shaw’s cutback, but was in the right place for a tap in when substitute goalkeeper Antonio Mirante parried Aaron Wan Bissaka’s shot into his path. Two Roma players Solskjaer would have been aware of were Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Chris Smalling, who were both making their return to Old Trafford. Smalling had a night to forget, but was harshly penalised when he clashed with Cavani as a ball flashed across the Roma goal. Fernandes was clinical from the spot to give United breathing space. The Portuguese turned provider for Pogba to power home a header 15 minutes from time. And Greenwood came off the bench to land the final blow as he rounded off a counter-attack thanks to some more weak goalkeeping by Mirante.

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Bruno Fernandes and Edinson Cavani each scored twice as Manchester United took a huge stride towards the Europa League final by coming from behind to thrash an injury-hit Roma 6-2 at Old Trafford. Fernandes’s early opener was quickly cancelled out by Lorenzo Pellegrini’s penalty before Edin Dzeko put Roma in front at half-time. But the Italians lost three players to injury before the break and United took advantage with a dominant second-half performance. Two predatory finishes from Cavani turned the tie around before Fernandes also fired home from the spot. Paul Pogba and Mason Greenwood rounded off the scoring in a sensational second-half performance. United are aiming to get to a final under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at the fifth time of asking after four semi-final defeats in the past two seasons. But only a second leg collapse will prevent them from facing Villarreal or Arsenal in Gdansk on May 26. In contrast to the vast majority of games th...

Minnesota duo fined over Salt Lake skirmish: MLS Los Angeles (AFP) – Minnesota United duo Hassani Dotson and Chase Gasper have been fined an undisclosed amount for their part in a postgame skirmish following the team’s defeat to Real Salt Lake last weekend, Major League Soccer disciplinary officials said Thursday. Dotson and Gasper were both hit in the pocket after being found to have incited or escalated the confrontation involving players from both teams which flared after the final whistle on Saturday. Dotson and Gasper had confronted Real goalkeeper David Ochoa after the Salt Lake stopper kicked the ball into a section of the stands holding Minnesota fans after the whistle. The MLS disciplinary panel said Ochoa had been fined for his actions while both Real and Minnesota have been issued warnings for violating the league’s mass confrontation policy. In a separate ruling on Thursday, the disciplinary committee announced that Philadelphia Union forward Sergio Santos has been fined for simulation. The 26-year-old Brazilian was adjudged to have dived in the penalty area in the 30th minute of his team’s game against Inter Miami on Saturday.

Los Angeles (AFP) – Minnesota United duo Hassani Dotson and Chase Gasper have been fined an undisclosed amount for their part in a postgame skirmish following the team’s defeat to Real Salt Lake last weekend, Major League Soccer disciplinary officials said Thursday. Dotson and Gasper were both hit in the pocket after being found to have incited or escalated the confrontation involving players from both teams which flared after the final whistle on Saturday. Dotson and Gasper had confronted Real goalkeeper David Ochoa after the Salt Lake stopper kicked the ball into a section of the stands holding Minnesota fans after the whistle. The MLS disciplinary panel said Ochoa had been fined for his actions while both Real and Minnesota have been issued warnings for violating the league’s mass confrontation policy. In a separate ruling on Thursday, the disciplinary committee announced that Philadelphia Union forward Sergio Santos has been fined for simulation. The 26-year-old Brazilian was...

Barcelona’s shock defeat keeps La Liga title race wide open Madrid (AFP) – Barcelona spurned the chance to go top of the table on Thursday as a shock 2-1 defeat by Granada added another twist to La Liga’s most unpredictable title race in years. Barca could have taken control at the top by moving a point ahead of Atletico Madrid but Granada came from behind to snatch a stunning win at Camp Nou, in what will be a huge boost to the other title contenders. Lionel Messi scored his 33rd goal of the season to put Barcelona in front but they failed to put the result beyond doubt and Granada hit back, Darwin Machis driving in and Jorge Molina’s header completing a remarkable turnaround. Defeat means Barca took nothing from their game in hand except disappointment, which might be difficult to shake ahead of two crunch games now away at Valencia and at home to Atletico Madrid. They stay third, level on points with Real Madrid, as Atletico retain their two-point advantage at the top, while Sevilla in fourth remain just three points off first. Any of the four contenders could be crowned champions next month, with all of the top three squandering opportunities to take the lead in the last week. Real Madrid were held to a goalless draw by Real Betis on Saturday before Atletico failed to take advantage as they were beaten by Athletic Bilbao. Those results opened the door to Barcelona, but now they too have stumbled. Granada’s victory adds another significant chapter to what has been an incredible season for Diego Martinez’s side, who reached the Europa League quarter-finals earlier this month only to be beaten by Manchester United. They close to within five points of Villarreal, with European qualification not yet out of sight. It started well for Barcelona, who pulled in front in the 23rd minute, a delightful turn and pass by Antoine Griezmann allowing Messi to drive into the far corner from the angle. The chances were there for a second, the best of them falling to Sergi Roberto, who volleyed over a cut-back from Frenkie de Jong, but Granada remained in touch. Roberto Soldado might have equalised had he not opted to pass instead of shoot and then Marchis did, latching onto a superb pass by Luis Suarez and finishing past Marc-Andre ter Stegen. Coach Ronald Koeman was sent to the stands for his protests and Gerard Pique almost turned in a Griezmann ball to the front post, after Messi’s free-kick had spun wide off the wall. Instead, Granada came again, more good work from Suarez in midfield allowing Adrian Marin to cross into the box, where Molina did brilliantly to dip his head and glance the ball into the far corner.

Madrid (AFP) – Barcelona spurned the chance to go top of the table on Thursday as a shock 2-1 defeat by Granada added another twist to La Liga’s most unpredictable title race in years. Barca could have taken control at the top by moving a point ahead of Atletico Madrid but Granada came from behind to snatch a stunning win at Camp Nou, in what will be a huge boost to the other title contenders. Lionel Messi scored his 33rd goal of the season to put Barcelona in front but they failed to put the result beyond doubt and Granada hit back, Darwin Machis driving in and Jorge Molina’s header completing a remarkable turnaround. Defeat means Barca took nothing from their game in hand except disappointment, which might be difficult to shake ahead of two crunch games now away at Valencia and at home to Atletico Madrid. They stay third, level on points with Real Madrid, as Atletico retain their two-point advantage at the top, while Sevilla in fourth remain just three points of...

FC Goa’s foreign contingent leaves India over record virus surge New Delhi (AFP) – Foreign players and staff of FC Goa will leave India “immediately”, the club said Thursday, as a growing number of countries impose bans on travellers over a massive spike in Covid-19 cases. The South Asian nation of 1.3 billion people is battling a record-breaking rise that has seen it report more than 2.4 million infections over the past seven days. The foreign staff were allowed to leave ahead of FC Goa’s last Asian Champions League match against the UAE’s Al Wahda in Goa on Thursday. “While the AFC Champions League remains an important competition for FC Goa, the club management felt that the wellbeing of the players to be its first and foremost responsibility,” the Indian Super League side said in a statement. “This comes as a pre-emptive measure in view of recent policies being taken by European and other countries in regards to travellers from India.” FC Goa’s foreign contingent includes head coach Juan Ferrando, Spanish players Edu Bedia, Ivan Gonzalez and Jorge Ortiz and Australia’s James Donachie.

New Delhi (AFP) – Foreign players and staff of FC Goa will leave India “immediately”, the club said Thursday, as a growing number of countries impose bans on travellers over a massive spike in Covid-19 cases. The South Asian nation of 1.3 billion people is battling a record-breaking rise that has seen it report more than 2.4 million infections over the past seven days. The foreign staff were allowed to leave ahead of FC Goa’s last Asian Champions League match against the UAE’s Al Wahda in Goa on Thursday. “While the AFC Champions League remains an important competition for FC Goa, the club management felt that the wellbeing of the players to be its first and foremost responsibility,” the Indian Super League side said in a statement. “This comes as a pre-emptive measure in view of recent policies being taken by European and other countries in regards to travellers from India.” FC Goa’s foreign contingent includes head coach Juan Ferrando, Spanish players Edu Bedia, Ivan Gonzal...