logo
Dembele voted player of the year in France

Dembele voted player of the year in France

Malay Mail12-05-2025

PARIS, May 12 — Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembele was named the Ligue 1 player of the year on Sunday, after leading the club to a 13th French title and the Champions League final.
Dembele is the top scorer in Ligue 1 this season with 21 goals and has struck 33 times in 46 matches across all competitions, including eight goals in Europe.
He succeeds Kylian Mbappe who won the prize five times in a row before departing for Real Madrid at the end of last season.
Luis Enrique earned coach of the year honours at the UNFP (French players' union) Trophies gala, while Desire Doue took home the prize for the best young player in Ligue 1.
Lille's Lucas Chevalier denied PSG a clean sweep of the accolades as he beat Gianluigi Donnarumma to the best goalkeeper award.
PSG are on course for a treble after easing to an 11th Ligue 1 title in 13 years. They will play Inter Milan in the Champions League final on May 31, a week after facing Reims in the French Cup showpiece. — AFP

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Gutsy Gauff clinches second Grand Slam title with thrilling comeback win over Sabalenka at French Open
Gutsy Gauff clinches second Grand Slam title with thrilling comeback win over Sabalenka at French Open

Malay Mail

timean hour ago

  • Malay Mail

Gutsy Gauff clinches second Grand Slam title with thrilling comeback win over Sabalenka at French Open

PARIS, June 8 — Coco Gauff battled back from a set down to beat world number one Aryna Sabalenka in a Grand Slam final for the second time with a dramatic victory in the French Open showpiece yesterday. The second-ranked American dug deep to claim a 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 6-4 victory and her second major title after also defeating Sabalenka at the 2023 US Open. The 21-year-old more than made amends for her emotional 2022 final loss to Iga Swiatek at Roland Garros, outlasting Sabalenka over two hours and 38 minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier. 'I was going through a lot of things when I lost in this final three years ago. A lot of dark thoughts, so it just means a lot to be here,' said Gauff. 'I didn't think honestly that I could do it.' 'I also felt like this is one I really wanted, because I do think this was one of the tournaments that, when I was younger, that I felt I had the best shot of winning,' added Gauff. 'I just felt like if I went through my career and didn't get at least one of these, I would feel regrets and stuff.' It was a second straight Grand Slam final loss for Sabalenka after her defeat by Madison Keys at the Australian Open in January. Gauff was rock solid after falling a set down, while Sabalenka made 70 unforced errors in windy conditions in a match which followed a very similar pattern to Gauff's victory at Flushing Meadows two years ago. 'Honestly guys, it hurts so much, especially after such a tough two weeks when I played such great tennis in these terrible conditions,' said Sabalenka, whose unforced error tally in the final was the highest by any player in a women's match this tournament. 'To show such terrible tennis in the final, it does really hurt.' Belarusian Sabalenka was aiming to become the only current women's player to win three of the four Grand Slam events after her US Open triumph last year and back-to-back Australian Open titles in 2023 and 2024. But Gauff instead moved 6-5 ahead in their head-to-head record, proving the more consistent player in the first women's Slam final between the world's top two since Caroline Wozniacki beat Simona Halep in Melbourne in 2018. Only Gauff, Swiatek, Naomi Osaka and Maria Sharapova have won multiple Slam titles before turning 22 in the last 20 years. Marathon first set The 27-year-old Sabalenka quickly asserted herself, racing ahead by taking four of the first five games. The top seed led 4-1 with a double-break in her semi-final win over Swiatek before being forced into a tie-break. She gifted Gauff a glimmer of hope too, throwing away the sixth game from 40-0 up with two double-faults and a tame backhand into the bottom of the net. Gauff made it 12 points in a row and levelled the set on her fifth break point of the eighth game when Sabalenka fired another groundstroke long. She could not build on that momentum and immediately gave the break straight back. But Sabalenka failed to serve out the set in a tense game, missing two set points—the first with another double-fault—as Gauff eventually extended the opener by taking her fifth break point. Both players continued to struggle on serve in the breeze, Sabalenka breaking for fourth time in the set but again unable to close it out. The first tie-break in the opening set of a women's French Open final since 1998 saw Sabalenka finally clinch the set after 77 minutes with a run of four straight points. It was the longest set in a women's Grand Slam final since the Williams sisters faced off at Wimbledon in 2002 and longer than last year's final between Swiatek and Jasmine Paolini. Gauff started the second set on the front foot, though, moving into a 4-1 lead with a double-break. Unlike Sabalenka in the first set, Gauff saw it out with few problems, sending the match into a decider on her first set point with a confident smash at the net. The US star also struck first blood in the third, breaking in game three as Sabalenka sent down her fifth double-fault. Sabalenka managed to drag it back to 3-3, but immediately was broken to love as Gauff edged towards the title. Gauff was denied on her first match point by a booming Sabalenka return onto the baseline and then had to save a break point. But she got over the line at the second time of asking, falling to the clay in celebration. — AFP

Kane saves England as Dutch and Austrians open World Cup campaigns with wins
Kane saves England as Dutch and Austrians open World Cup campaigns with wins

New Straits Times

time3 hours ago

  • New Straits Times

Kane saves England as Dutch and Austrians open World Cup campaigns with wins

BARCELONA: England kept their World Cup qualifying on track with an ugly 1-0 win while Austria and the Netherlands made belated starts to their campaigns with victories on Saturday. Harry Kane's 72nd international goal ensured England avoided the ultimate embarrassment of failing to beat Andorra. Even so, Thomas Tuchel's side were booed off in Barcelona after struggling to impress against a team ranked 173rd in the world. Tuchel is the first England manager to win his first three competitive games without conceding a goal. But given the paucity of opposition provided by Andorra, Latvia and Albania in the Group K qualifiers, that achievement rings a little hollow after this miserable display. "I'm not happy with the performance. We completely lost the momentum and couldn't get it back. We ended up in a place that was not good enough in terms of urgency," Tuchel said. "We can just admit it that it's not what we expect from us. I was most worried in the last 20 minutes because I didn't like the attitude we ended the game with. "I didn't like the lack of urgency. It did not match the occasion. It is still a World Cup qualifier." England pulled five points clear after three matches in Group K as second-placed Albania drew 0-0 at home with Serbia. Rey Manaj of Albania wasted a penalty in first-half added time. Serbia was one of three teams playing their first qualifying match Saturday after they had been involved in Nations League playoffs. Netherlands made their debut with a crisp 2-0 win over Finland in Helsinki. Memphis Depay scored after six minutes. Denzil Dumfries, one week after his unhappy experience playing for Inter Milan in the Champions League final, added the second after 23 minutes. Netherlands jumped to third in Group G, overtaking Lithuania and Malta who drew 0-0. The Dutch are one point behind Finland and three behind leaders Poland who did not play. Marcel Sabitzer and Michael Gregoritsch scored as Austria beat Romania 2-1 in Vienna. Florin Tanase headed an added-time reply for the visitors who had squandered several chances in the closing stages. Bosnia-Herzegovina lead Group H on nine points after Edin Dzeko scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory home over San Marino. Romania, Cyprus and Austria all have three points.

Italy's 3-0 Loss to Norway Puts World Cup Hopes in Jeopardy
Italy's 3-0 Loss to Norway Puts World Cup Hopes in Jeopardy

The Sun

time12 hours ago

  • The Sun

Italy's 3-0 Loss to Norway Puts World Cup Hopes in Jeopardy

ITALY'S World Cup qualification campaign has barely begun and already the country is worried about the shocking possibility of failing to reach the final tournament for a third consecutive time after a humiliating defeat by Norway. Norway already had two wins under their belt in Group I before Friday's match in Oslo, while Italy had yet to play, having been involved in the Nations League quarter-finals in March, losing out to Germany. A 2-1 defeat at the San Siro in the first leg left Italy chasing the tie in Germany and they found themselves 3-0 down at the break before staging a second-half comeback to salvage a draw, and some pride. It was the same story on Friday for Italy at the Ullevaal Stadium, at least as far as the opening act went. Norway roared into a 3-0 lead in the first half but this time there was no Italian fightback in a goalless second half. "Enough!" screamed the Gazzetta dello Sport front page on Saturday, after Italy suffered their third loss in a four-game winless run, with the newspaper adding that for Italy the "World Cup is already at risk". Next year's World Cup takes place in the United States, Canada and Mexico but in the two decades since Italy won the tournament for the fourth time, they have struggled to perform or, more recently, to even get there. Berlin 2006 seems a lifetime ago now, with Zinedine Zidane sent off for his head butt to Marco Materazzi's chest and Italy lifting the trophy after a penalty shootout win over France. The next two World Cups saw Italy exit at the group stage, and while they triumphed at Euro 2020, on either side of that success they missed out on the World Cup after playoff defeats to Sweden and North Macedonia. With Italy now playing catch-up and only the group winners qualifying automatically, La Repubblica's front-page headline "Azzurri humiliated in Oslo, the playoff nightmare returns" hints at the frightening possibilities ahead. Italy's loss came less than a week after Inter Milan's 5-0 mauling at the hands of Paris St Germain in the Champions League final and on both occasions the tired-looking losers were outclassed by a hungrier, more creative side. Italy manager Luciano Spalletti was spared following last year's dismal Euros but is now under real pressure and nothing but a convincing win at home to Moldova on Monday will do, with media and fans increasingly calling for a change of leadership.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store