CHINTHANA WASALA THE PENINSULA

Points leaders Al Duhail suffered a setback when they were held to a one-all draw by relegation-threatened Umm Salal while a superb double by striker Akram Afif sealed a victory for defending champions Al Sadd as Round 18 of the QNB Stars League season continued yesterday.

At Al Janoub Stadium in yes-terday’s first game, Al Duhail took the lead through their star striker Almoez Ali in the 49th minute. Almoez made no mistake in his penalty kick as the Qatari inter-national scored his seventh goal of the season.

However, gutsy Umm Salal, placed 10th in the standings, equalised through Ayyoub Azzi in the 52nd minute.

The draw, Al Duhail’s fourth this season, added just one point to their total which stands at 43 points (13 wins, four draws and one defeat).

The draw against one of the strongest teams in the League took Umm Salal’s total number of points to 15.

They were ties at 14 points along with Al Khor, but now stand a point clear of the Knights.

They have so far won three matches and secured six draws and have suffered nine defeats. For the Moroccan Aziz Ben Askar-coached side, yesterday’s draw is a morale boosted as the League heads into the final stretch of the season.

Al Duhail, coached by Ben Askar’s countryman Walid R e g r a g u i , d o m i n a t e d

possession, but Umm Salal put up a spirited fight throughout the clash. The closest Al Duhail came to scoring in the first half was in the 21st minute when Han Kwang-Song’s rising shot hit against the left upright after Umm Salal goalkeeper Baba Malick failed to get his hand on to the swerving ball.

Han then sent his shot over and Yousef Msakni had his shot deflected wide by the rival team’s defence. At the other end, Umm Salal’s Walid Mesloub failed to find the target with his free-kick from the left.

Almoez took Al Duhail ahead

not long after the resumption of play by converting a penalty, which was awarded when Abdul-rahman Mohammed’s shot was handled by Umm Salal’s Omar Yahya.

Umm Salal soon drew parity as Ayoub Azzi headed in Mesloub’s corner from the left, beating the challenge of Sultan Al Breik.

Almoez headed over and Umm Salal’s Mahmoud Al Mawas’ fierce shot was saved by goalkeeper Mohammed Al Bakri as both sides settled for a draw.

Elsewhere, at Al Sadd Stadium, last year’s AFC Player of the Year Afif was the star of the day for the

hosts who are currently placed in third in the standings. Afif struck in the 25th and 47th minutes as the reigning champions sealed their 11th win this season.

Al Khor’s only goal was scored by Tiago Bezerra in the 27th minute.

Al Sadd, however, survived a late scare thanks to Saad Al Sheeb’s brillant skills as the Qatari goalkeeper made a brilliant save off a penalty by Bezerra.

The win meant Al Sadd’s points tally moved to 35 while Al Khor’s 10th loss out of 18 matches moved them to 11th position in the standings.

SPORT | 18

Andalucia MotoGP:

Marquez quits

as Quartararo

grabs pole

SPORTBroad sparkles

as England

dominate at

Old Trafford

SPORT | 19

SUNDAY 26 JULY 2020

Brilliant Aspetar lands Group 2 victory at York StakesTHE PENINSULA – YORK

H H Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Thani’s homebred Aspetar (FR) (Al Kazeem x Bella Qatara) was an impressive winner of the Group 2 Sky Bet York Stakes, yesterday.

Second to Magny Cours on his reappearance, the 5-year-old gelding was never in danger this time. He won the 2100-metre race for 3-year-olds and older by one and a half lengths under Jason Watson for trainer Roger Charlton. Fox Chairman (IRE) (Kingman x Starfish) was the runner up under Silvestre De Sousa.

He is trained by Andrew Balding. Lord Glitters (FR) (Whipper x Lady Glitters) was a further half length behind in third. He is trained by David O’Meara and was ridden by Daniel Tudhope.

The winning jockey said: “He’s been very progressive. We’ve always liked him, and this year he’s been a lot more relaxed at home. We’ve taken our time with him. He ran a nice race back at Sandown a couple of weeks ago and we’ve come here quite confident. Although he’s not always the most straightforward, he’s matured plenty and he put the

race to bed very well today. He’s quite versatile with trip. A mile, a mile and a quarter, a mile and a half!

"He’s a small horse, but well-built with a good turn of foot. That’s what some of these stayers lack, which plays into our hands. I didn’t have to do a lot today - nice and smooth through the gears and he’s done it well. It was a competitive race today and I didn’t think we’d win like we did. He’s improved massively and keeps on improving, so we’ll just see how he comes out of this, but he was impressive today,” he said.

ROUND 18: RESULTSAl Gharafa 1 - 0 Al ArabiQatar SC 1 - 2 Al Rayyan

Al Duhail 1 - 1 Umm SalalAl Sadd 2 - 1 Al Khor

TODAY'S FIXTURES4:45pm - Al Wakrah vs Al

Sailiya at Al Janoub Stadium7:00pm - Al Shahania vs Al Ahli

at Al Sadd Stadium

Xavi tests positive for coronavirusQNA – DOHA

Coach of Al Sadd and former Barcelona Star Xavi Hern-andez (pictured) today announced that he has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19).

The 40-year-old Spaniard revealed the news on his Instagram account and Al Sadd put out his statement on its website.

“A few days ago, following the QSL protocol, I tested positive in the last COVID-19 test,” he said.

“Fortunately, I’m feeling ok, but I will be isolated until I am given the all clear.

“When the health services allow it, I will be very eager to return to my daily routine and to work,” Xavi said.

“I’d like to thank all the authorities, especially those working in QSL, QFA and Al Sadd for supplying the means of early detection, reducing the spread of infection and that guarantees the normal development of the compe-tition,” He added.

Xavi’s is the first COVID-19 case to be officially con-firmed in the Qatari league.

On July 5, Al Sadd Announced extending Chave’s contract for an additional season, which somewhat eased the press reports on the possibility of his transfer to Bar-celona, to succeed Kiki Citin.

Umm Salal hold leaders Al Duhail;Afif double powers Al Sadd to win

Jockey Jason Watson guiding H H Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Thani-owned Aspetar (FR) towards victory in Group 2 Sky Bet York Stakes, yesterday.

Al Sadd's Akram Afif (right) celebrates after scoring his second goal yesterday.

Action during the QNB Stars League's Round 18 match

between Al Duhail and Umm Salal, played at Al Janoub Stadium,

yesterday.

18 SUNDAY 26 JULY 2020SPORT

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Petronas Yamaha SRT’s French rider Fabio Quartararo takes part in the third MotoGP free practice session of the Andalucia Grand Prix at the Jerez race track in Jerez de la Frontera, yesterday.

Andalucia MotoGP: Marquez quits as Quartararo grabs pole

AFP – JEREZ DE LA FRONTERA

World champion Marc Marquez will not start the Andalucia MotoGP

in Jerez after dropping out of quali-fying yesterday four days after an operation on a broken arm.

“Marc Marquez will not start tomorrow’s AndaluciaGp,” tweeted the MotoGP organisers shortly after qualifying ended.

The six-time Spanish MotoGP champion broke his right arm in a crash at the delayed season-opening Spanish Grand Prix on the same

track last Sunday and underwent surgery on Tuesday. He was declared

fit to race on Thursday.The Honda rider sat out practice on

Friday and struggled in yesterday’s third session before dropping out of opening

qualifying without recording a time.Frenchman Fabio Quartararo, who won

his maiden MotoGP race last week, grabbed pole with a lap of 1min 37.007 sec to edge Yamaha’s Maverick Vinales by 0.095sec.

It was the second consecutive pole position, and eighth in his MotoGP career, for the young Frenchman who rides for the Yamaha satellite team.

Francesco Bagnaia, an Italian with Pramac Racing, was third fastest, 0.169sec behind Quartararo, to complete the front row

of the grid. Veteran Italian Valentino Rossi was fourth quickest for Yamaha.

In the opening practice session of the morning, Spaniard Vinales had broken the track record set by Quartararo the previous week with a time of 1:36.584, but times slowed in the intense heat.

Marquez meanwhile recorded only the 20th best time, 1.3sec behind Yamaha’s Vinales. He was 16th fastest in the second session, 0.99sec behind Takaaki Nakagami, who set the fastest time, but as the session progressed, Marquez began to struggle to hold the line on corners, frequently slowing and swinging wide.

Unusually, he rode back into the pit lane a few minutes before the end of the session.

Because he had failed to record one of the top 10 times, Marquez did not have a bye for the first qualifying session. He started but returned to the pits without posting a time, climbed off his bike and walked out of the garage.

A bad qualifying session for the Marquez family ended with younger brother Alex heading for a medical exam-ination after crashing his bike on turn five. Honda quickly tweeted that “Alex is back in the box and has avoided any series injuries. Rider OK.”

Alex Marquez did record a time, but it was the slowest of the qualifiers and left him 21st and last on the grid.

Neymar seals French Cup glory for PSGREUTERS - PARIS

Paris St Germain's Neymar struck early to secure a 1-0 win over 10-man St Etienne as they claimed a record-extending 13th Coupe de France on Friday in a near empty stadium as French soccer came out of a four-month break due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Brazilian scored on the rebound in the 14th minute after PSG fellow forward Kylian Mbappe sprinted clear and saw his shot blocked by goalkeeper Jessy Moulin, with only 5,000 fans in the 80,000-seater Stade de France due to strict health protocols.

Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron had met the players on the pitch but kept his distance and wore a face mask.

The atmosphere in the run-up to the first professional game in France after the long hiatus was far from festive with only a handful of people around the stadium before the match.

The contest got off to an eventful start with Yvann Macon felling Neymar in the opening seconds to earn a yellow card and St Etienne's Denis Bouanga hitting the post in the fifth minute. But it was the Parisians who scored when Neymar pounced on Mou-lin's save to fire in.

Loic Perrin's rough tackle in the 26th put Mbappe out of the game. The St Etienne captain

was sent off in his last game and four other players were booked as tempers briefly flared.

With Ligue 1 champions PSG chasing a quadruple of titles this season, the few fans in the stands breathed a sigh of relief when Mbappe returned on crutches to the bench after the interval, joking and laughing with his team mates.

"It went crack," Mbappe was heard telling Macron of his injury during the trophy

ceremony. Macron then asked whether anything was broken and Mbappe said "No, I don't think so."

St Etienne kept finding ways into the PSG box even after going a man down but missed out on adding to their six Cup wins.

"We won the final and that is what matter," PSG coach Thomas Tuchel said. His team had lost last year's final to Stade Rennes on penalties.

Paris St Germain’s Thiago Silva celebrates with team-mates after winning the Coupe de France after beating AS Saint-Etienne at the

Stade de France in Paris, on Friday.

AFP - PARIS

Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel said “everyone is worried” after Kylian Mbappe hobbled off in the first half of Friday’s French Cup final with an ankle injury after a dreadful tackle by Saint-Etienne captain Loic Perrin.

Mbappe received lengthy treatment but was eventually substituted after his right ankle was caught by a clumsy Perrin challenge that resulted in a red card for the centre-back in likely his final game for Saint-Etienne.

“Everyone is worried. Everyone who saw the foul is worried. Of course I’m worried,” said Tuchel after his team’s 1-0 win.

“We have to be patient because we don’t have any news. I think he will undergo tests tonight.” A tearful Mbappe was replaced by Pablo Sarabia but the greater concern for PSG will be the severity of his injury ahead of next month’s Champions League quarter-final against Atalanta in Lisbon.

PSG face Lyon in the French League Cup final next Friday before resuming their European campaign in a unique straight knockout tournament at the Estadio da Luz on August 12.

Mbappe injured in final asChampions League looms

CSL starts season after long delayAP – BEIJING

Eight-time champion Guangzhou Evergrande made a winning start to its Chinese Super League (CSL) title defense yesterday after a five-month delay caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Players from all teams will be cut off from their families for months to reduce the risk of them being infected. Guangzhou beat Shanghai Shenhua 2-0 with Wei Shihao scoring twice at the Dalian Sports Center Stadium, while Wuzan Zall beat Qingdao Huanghai by the same score at the Suzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium.

Barrera suspended80 gamesafter positive PED testAGENCIES – WASHINGTON

Washington Nationals catcher Tres Barrera was handed an 80-game suspension by Major League Baseball yesterday for violating the league’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

Barrera, 25, was sus-pended without pay after a test showed performance-enhancing drug Dehydrochlo-rmethyltestosterone in his system.

Barrera was a sixth-round draft choice by the Nationals in 2016 and spent the majority of last season at Double-A Harrisburg, though he made a brief appearance with the major league club and was hitless in two pinch-hit t ing opportunities.

In 101 games with the Harrisburg Senators in 2019, Barrera hit .249 with eight home runs and 23 doubles.

In spring training this year, Barrera appeared in six games and had one hit in seven plate appearances.

REUTERS - NEW YORK

The WTA has a strategy in place to cope with the financial strain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic but chief executive Steve Simon thinks the elite women’s Tour will not return to any semblance of normality before 2022.

The WTA, which has lost a big chunk of tournaments since the forced shutdown in early March, will finally resume after a five-month break with the Palermo Open from August 3.

All of its tournaments in China this year were cancelled on Friday after the country’s Sports Ministry said it would not host any international events this year apart from 2022 Winter Olympic trials.

“The WTA is no different than any other business in this world and everybody’s been affected financially by this,” Simon said from the United States.

“And we’ve been hit hard, just as many other companies have been as well. If we’re not operating and you’re losing 50 to 60% of your year, your finan-cials and your revenues are going to drop significantly.

“Do we have some big chal-lenges financially? Absolutely. But we do have a strategy, we do have a plan in place that’s going to allow us to operate.”

Simon, who took over as the CEO in 2015, said the plans would evolve over the remainder of the year but it has ensured that the body would

survive the economic crisis. “And from a good news stand-point, our tournaments seem to be strong and stable as well, and are weathering it,” he said yesterday.

“You never know where you might lose one. But it appears that most of our calendar will stay intact if obviously the con-ditions allow for sporting events to be held going forward.”

China featured prominently in the provisional calendar for the remainder of 2020 with seven tournaments, including the $14m season-ending WTA Finals in Shenzhen.

With some 200,000 new COVID-19 cases being reported globally every day and interna-tional travel restrictions still in place, Simon said plans were

changing on an hourly basis and visibility for the rest of the year remained clouded.

“I don’t think that we will be back to what we used to take as ‘normalcy’ probably until 2022,” he said. “So we’re now also looking at how are we going to manage 2021, because I don’t think this goes away as of January.

“There’s a tremendous amount of planning and sce-narios going in as to what that year might look like.

“But it is watching and mon-itoring and working with the health experts to get their opinions, and then try to put our plans in place as best as we can so that we can operate as effi-ciently and as healthy as we possibly can.”

19SUNDAY 26 JULY 2020 SPORT

8th-placed Al Ahli see chance to move up the points tableDOHA - THE PENINSULA

Al Ahli coach Nebojsa Jovovic yesterday said his team would be looking to move up the points table in the QNB Stars League when they play Al Shahania in a round 18 clash today.

Al Ahli are placed eight on the points table whereas Al Shahaniya are at the bottom in the 12-team league.

“We had worked during the break to prepare the team well and improve the performance. There was a focus on the physical and technical aspects in order to be better in the upcoming matches,” Jovovic said yesterday.

“Certainly, the competition will not be easy as all clubs have full squads at their disposal.

“Everyone has the motivation to give their best,” he added.

“Al Shahania match is the first after the break and I have prepared the team for a game that will not be easy. Al Shahania are looking for a positive result for them to survive.

“They are a strong side. It is true that they are in the last position in the table, but they will fight like all clubs to achieve victories in the remaining five matches,” Jovovic said.

“There is no doubt that Tunisian striker Ahmed Akaichi is an important addition to our ranks. He joined the squad recently and trained well. He is a big name and has the quality Al Ahli are seeking.

“All clubs want to achieve victories in the last rounds and provide the best levels. What is certain is that clubs

have prepared well for this stage,” Jovovic added.

Al Ahli player Nabil El Zhar said yesterday: “The preparations were mainly aimed at achieving the best physical and technical readiness when the action resumes. The players have a big desire and enthusiasm to provide good performances after being away from competitive matches for more than four months. Everyone waited for a long time to return to the sta-diums and that will have a positive impact on the players’ desire to provide the best level.”

El Zhar added: “Al Shahania match will not be easy and we are aware of its importance. They will fight to improve their position and all matches will be difficult. But we, the players, are ready to give our best to achieve victories.”

Al Shahania coach Nabil Anwar

said yesterday: “We could reach a good level technically and physically, and I hope the team will succeed in the difficult next stage, especially since it is coming after a long break.”

Anwar added: “I thank the club man-agement for its confi-dence in assigning me the task of training the team. I am not a stranger to the team and I have been

working with the squad for three seasons. and I know all the players and their capabilities. No doubt, it’s a dif-ficult task. However, I am confident we will overcome the challenge.”

Nabil said: “Regarding the departure of Tunisian strikers Ahmed Akaichi and Ali Ferydoun, I would say their exit is a loss for the team. I respect their decisions.”

Al Shahania player Saad Hussein said yesterday: “Our preparations for the Al Ahli match went off well in the last few days. We are in a difficult position. Our goal is to stay in the top flight. However, nothing is impossible in football and we are used to these competitions. God willing, we will achieve our goal of staying in the First Division. As far as coach Nabil is con-cerned, I would say former coach (Jose) Murcia had a style of his own and so does Nabil.”

Al Ahli coach Nebojsa Jovovic

We have prepared well, says Al Sailiya coachDOHA - THE PENINSULA

Al Sailiya coach Sami Trabelsi yesterday said his team has 'prepared well' for their week 18 clash against Al Wakrah today.

Al Sailiya are in sixth spot in the QNB Stars League points standings fol-lowed by Al Wakrah at number seven.

“We returned after a difficult period for everyone because of coro-navirus (Covid-19) crisis. We made good preparations in the last stage although they were difficult, especially under the precautionary measure,” Trabelsi said at a pre-match press conference.

“We were committed during the training period. There is a great disci-pline in following the instructions from the Ministry of Public Health. Thank God, we are resuming competitions,” he added.

“I congratulate everyone for suc-cessfully overcoming the challenges we faced together to resume the

league, which is not easy, as we have seen some European countries cancel their championships despite their high capabilities. We always face this problem of absences, we depend on the group more than the individual side, despite Mubarak Boussoufa leaving. He is a distinguished player, but I am confident our players can do well. We are ready and I believe that the basis at this stage is mental focus before any other things.”

Meanwhile, Al Wakrah coach Marquez Lopez revealed his team went through sluggish training sessions.

“In the beginning, the preparation was not good for everyone. For the first two weeks, we made individual training, we could not train together as a team,” Lopez said yesterday.

“Of course, I understand the general situation, but I must pay tribute to the role played by the Qatar Football Asso-ciation and Qatar Stars League, so eve-rything was very well organized in

terms of the hotel and buses. But of course, the training was not easy for us. After two weeks, the team was allowed to work in group and this of course was better. I think it was a short period, but after the competition returns again, the team level will improve for the best,” Lopez said.Al Wakrah players are seen during a training session.

Broad sparkles as England dominate at Old TraffordAP - MANCHESTER

With Ben Stokes retreating to a back-seat role, Stuart Broad filled in as England’s all-action allrounder to move the team within sight of a Test series victory over the West Indies yesterday.

Broad smashed a counter-attacking 62 in a return to form with the bat then played a lead role as part of England’s destructive pace quartet to

leave the West Indies on the ropes after day two of the deciding third test.

In reply to England’s first innings of 369, the tourists were 137-6 when bad light forced stumps at Old Trafford on a day the forecast rain never came.

They trail by 232 runs, with the follow-on still very much in play.

Broad was dropped for the first Test that England lost in Southampton, and showed his

disgust and disappointment in a TV interview midway through the match. Restored for the second Test in which he took three wickets in each innings, Broad continues to take his anger out on the West Indies.

Resuming on 258-4, England collapsed to 280-8 after losing wickets in four con-secutive overs, only for Broad to do his best impression of Stokes with a belligerent 45-ball 62 before lunch.

It was the left-hander’s highest Test score since 2013 and the best he has looked with the bat since breaking his nose while batting against India at Old Trafford a year later, an incident which he acknowl-edged drained him of confi-dence against pace bowling and led to him using a sports psy-chologist. Broad smashed nine fours and a six in a potentially game-defining ninth-wicket partnership with Dom Bess worth 76 runs. His 33-ball half-century tied him for third place on the all-time list of England’s fastest Test fifties.

The West Indies came out to bat after lunch under gray, threatening skies at Old Trafford, horrible conditions to face one of the strongest and deepest pace attacks England has put out. By stumps, Broad, James Anderson, Jofra Archer and Chris Woakes all had wickets and the West Indies was

looking battered and beaten. Stokes, struggling for full fitness after his starring role in the second Test, is unlikely to bowl in Manchester and wasn’t looking needed.

Broad took the wicket of Kraigg Brathwaite (1) in his first over - England’s second - and also trapped Roston Chase lbw

in the final session to finish with figures of 2-17.

Anderson also had 2-17 on his home ground.

The West Indies closed with Jason Holder on 24 and Shane Dowrich on 10, their bid to capture a Test series in England for the first time since 1988 looking in ruins.

England’s Stuart Broad celebrates

the wicket of Roston Chase of the West Indies during the third

Test at Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain,

yesterday.

England (I innings)R Burns c Cornwall b Chase .............................57D Sibley lbw b Roach ..........................................0J Root run out (Chase) ........................................17B Stokes b Roach .............................................. 20O Pope b Gabriel ................................................ 91J Buttler c Holder b Gabriel ..............................67C Woakes b Roach ................................................ 1D Bess (not out) ................................................. 18J Archer c Holder b Roach ................................... 3S Broad c Blackwood b Chase ......................... 62J Anderson c Cornwall b Holder .......................11Extras (B12, LB4, NB6) ...................................22Total (all out) ........................................ 369Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-47, 3-92, 4-122, 5-262, 6-267, 7-272, 8-280, 9-356, 10-369Bowling: Roach 25.4-4-72-4; Gabriel 23.2-5-77-

2 (5nb); Holder 24.5-5-83-1 (1nb); Cornwall 27-5-85-0; Chase 11-3-36-2West Indies (I innings)K Brathwaite c Root b Broad ..............................1J Campbell c Burns b Archer ............................32S Hope c Buttler b Anderson ............................ 17S Brooks c Buttler b Anderson .......................... 4R Chase lbw b Broad ........................................... 9J Blackwood b Woakes .....................................26J Holder not out ..................................................24S Dowrich not out ..............................................10Extras (B4, LB5, W5) .......................................14Total (6 wkts) ........................................ 137To bat: R Cornwall, K Roach, S GabrielFall of wickets: 1-1, 2-44, 3-58, 4-59, 5-73, 6-110Bowling: Anderson 11-4-17-2; Broad 10-3-17-2; Archer 13.1-1-55-1 (5w); Woakes 13-1-39-1

SCOREBOARD

You don't have many days that you, individually, can go, ‘Wow, that was a great day'. You have to cherish the days things go OK for you but they don't mean anything if you don't win the game: Stuart Broad

'WTA can weather revenue hit but no normalcy until 2022'

Retired Swiss player Martina

Hingis returns a shot to compatriot

Patty Schnyder during their match at the Swiss Tennis Pro Cup exhibition tournament in Biel

yesterday.

AFP - SUZHOU, CHINA

The Chinese Super League held a minute’s silence yesterday before the season kicked off five months late because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Players bowed their heads to remember virus victims and honour medical staff as Fabio Cannavaro’s reigning cham-pions Guangzhou Evergrande beat FA Cup winners Shanghai Shenhua 2-0.

Wuhan Zall, the club from the city that was ground zero

of the pandemic, played newly promoted Qingdao Huanghai in Suzhou, near Shanghai.

The opening match of the badly delayed campaign was played in an empty stadium in the city of Dalian, which along with Suzhou is hosting behind-doors games for the next two months.

A smattering of security personnel and doctors wearing

white coats were allowed to watch the match in the stands in recognition of their efforts against the virus. All had face masks on.

Moments before kick-off, Evergrande’s captain Paulinho, the Brazilian international mid-fielder, and his team-mates unfurled a banner reading: “Salute to medical workers.”

Shenhua’s players wore

T-shirts to honour coronavirus “heroes”.

Chinese international forward Wei Shihao scored both goals for Cannavaro’s side, one in each half.

The number of virus infec-tions has dwindled markedly in China but Dalian is currently the scene of a small cluster of fresh cases, putting Chinese football officials on edge.

The Chinese Football Asso-ciation and Chinese Super League (CSL) are taking no risks with the new season, which was supposed to begin in February but became one of the earliest sporting victims of the health crisis. The 16 CSL teams have been divided into two groups, in Suzhou and Dalian, and players must spend the first two months living in sealed-off

hotels. The likes of Brazilians Paulinho, Oscar and Hulk, and former Manchester United mid-fielder Marouane Fellaini, will see only their hotel, training pitches and stadiums. They are not allowed to meet their fam-ilies and will be tested for coro-navirus once a week.

The 32-year-old Belgian Fellaini is the only known coro-navirus case in the CSL and spent three weeks in hospital before his release in April. He was not seriously ill.

China observes a minute's silence for virus victims