Pistons top Heat in overtime, Cavs cruise past Nets

RIYADH: Al-Hilal drew 1-1 with Al-Riyadh on Friday to slump to a second successive draw and lose ground on Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League.

Just six days after drawing 2-2 with Damac, the champions could not find a way to victory and they could fall four points behind Al-Ittihad if the Tigers win on Saturday.

It could have been worse as Al-Hilal could have been more than one goal down at the break.

Mohamed Konate hit the back of the net after 24 minutes. Sekou Lega swung over a beautiful cross from the left and Konate rose high in the area to head past Yassine Bounou. The effort, however, was ruled out for offside.

Konate did net in first-half added time, though, to give the visitors the lead. He ran onto a long ball, chested the ball down on the edge of the penalty area, and then lifted his shot into the back of the net with the classiest of finishes.

Al-Hilal’s players trudged off at the break with manager Jorge Jesus looking less than impressed.

The second half proved better for the hosts but Al-Riyadh had the ball in the net again just before the hour. This time it was Lega who finished smartly in the area but, once more, VAR intervened and it was no goal.

Just moments later, Al-Hilal were level with the sweetest of strikes. Marcos Leonardo’s defense-splitting pass found Salem Al-Dawsari arriving from the left and the winger took one touch inside the area and then slipped the ball past the goalkeeper with ease.

There was more pressure from the home team but they could not quite find the all-important winning goal.

Chances were missed but the home team seemed to have been given a route to victory when Abdulelah Al-Khaibari was ruled to have handled in the box. Referee Ivan Barton pointed to the spot but his decision was reversed following a VAR review.

That was that and Al-Hilal’s mini-slump continued.

LEVERKUSEN, Germany: Bayer Leverkusen striker Victor Boniface is “happy” and “focused” even though a potential January move to Saudi Arabia fell through last month, the German club’s sporting director Simon Rolfes said Friday.
Boniface was left out of training and one matchday squad in January while Leverkusen were set to receive up a reported $73.50m from Saudi side Al-Nassr, according to German media.
Instead, the Saudi club signed Aston Villa forward Jhon Duran.
Boniface, 24, returned to training with the defending Bundesliga champions and has scored two goals in three games, including an extra-time winner in Leverkusen’s German Cup quarter-final win against local rivals Cologne.
Rolfes said on Friday that Boniface was fully focused and did not feel his chance of a big move had passed.
“He’s very good now and I think he’s happy. He’s happy with the guys. That’s what I feel every day when I see him.
“He’s laughing in the locker room with the other crazy guys.
“They have a lot of fun together and he knows he has a bright future, so it’s not a once-in-a-lifetime chance.”
Rolfes, who brought Boniface to the club in the summer of 2023, did not comment on the reported transfer fee or salary, but said it was “normal” for a player and a club to consider big offers.
“He likes the club, the teammates, our ambitions, but for sure when it’s a certain amount in salary the player also starts thinking about it and I think that’s normal and there was never a problem.”
“Sporting-wise, we have no doubt about his quality,” Rolfes said, adding “Xabi (Alonso), myself and the club, we wanted to keep Victor but for a certain amount you have to be open to speak.”
Leverkusen, who qualified directly for the Champions League last 16 and are through to the final four of the German Cup, host league leaders Bayern Munich on Saturday.