Sports World: Albirex's title hopes even slimmer now

Albirex's title hopes even slimmer now

Albirex Niigata's three-season reign in the Singapore Premier League is almost certainly over, after they lost 2-1 to Warriors FC yesterday at Jurong East Stadium.

The White Swans' Daizo Horikoshi's 55th-minute equaliser cancelled out Kento Fukuda's first-half opener but Jonathan Behe netted the winner four minutes later.

Albirex stay fourth on 32 points with four matches left, behind Hougang (39), Brunei DPMM (38) and Tampines (36). Warriors are seventh on 22 points.


Inter coach defends treatment of Icardi

MILAN • Antonio Conte insisted yesterday that aggrieved Inter Milan striker Mauro Icardi has been treated correctly by the Serie A giants.

The Argentinian - who was stripped of the captaincy last season amid a long contract dispute - has begun legal action, demanding to return to full training and €1.5 million (S$2.3 million) in compensation.

"Everything was done as correctly as possible," said Conte, who replaced Luciano Spalletti as coach ahead of the new season. "There are no disturbances in the changing room, we've been talking about this affair for eight months and I don't want to get into it."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE


Zhang is China's first UFC champ after win

SHENZHEN • Zhang Weili thrilled her home crowd with an upset knockout of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) strawweight champion Jessica Andrade in just 41 seconds yesterday, making her China's first champion in the world's biggest mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion.

The experienced Andrade, who came into the fight tied for the most wins by a woman in UFC history with 11, charged the underdog from the start.

But the Brazilian ran into a barrage of punches and knee kicks from Zhang that sent her staggering to the canvas as the referee waved the fight over.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE•

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on September 01, 2019, with the headline Sports World: Albirex's title hopes even slimmer now. Subscribe