Hearts winger Alexandros Kyziridis said his side went from "heaven to hell in 90 minutes" after Celtic snatched what would have been a first league title in 66 years from the Edinburgh club's grasp. The fallout from Saturday's title decider rumbles on after Celtic fans spilled on to the pitch following the final goal of their side's 3-1 win before confronting Hearts players in chaotic scenes. Kyziridis had been one of Hearts' star players as they came within minutes of a draw that would have ended a 41-year wait for a team other than Glasgow giants Celtic and Rangers to win the Scottish title.
Al Nassr and Al Hilal face each other in a title-defining clash in the 2025–26 Saudi Pro League, giving Cristiano Ronaldo the opportunity to win his first title with the club. With both teams fighting for the league title, the match is expected to be highly competitive. Al Nassr and Al Hilal faced each other in a match that seemed destined to decide the Saudi Pro League champion. Jorge Jesus’ team did not start the game well, as they were dominated by Simone Inzaghi’s side during the first half. Despite this, a goal from Mohamed Simakan appeared to turn the match around, bringing Cristiano Ronaldo closer to his first league title with the team. However, a mistake from Bento handed the equalizer to the opposition in the final minutes For much of the first half, Al Hilal established as the dominant side. Relying on high pressing and excellent collective play, they managed to pin Al Nassr back inside their own area. Nevertheless, Karim Benzema and Kanno failed to convert their scoring chances, missing a huge opportunity to put the match away efficiently. Then, Mohamed Simakan scored a goal that completely changed the course of the game. Although Jorge Jesus’ team were dominated during the first half, they still managed to remain competitive thanks to Sadio Mané, who led the entire attack with an outstanding performance. Nevertheless, it was Simakan’s goal that changed the game, as Al Hilal dropped deep into their own area while Al Nassr began to take control. Far from slowing down, they maintained that same intensity in the second half, but failed to extend their lead. Ruben Neves looks on following the Saudi Pro League match between Al Nassr and Al Hilal. Simakan’s goal for Al Nassr was overshadowed by Bento’s mistake Toward the end of the first half, Al Nassr caught Al Hilal by surprise, regaining momentum on the counterattack and earning a corner kick. After an excellent delivery from Marcelo Brozović, several players attempted to strike the ball without success. Nevertheless, a rebound fell kindly to Mohamed Simakan, who did not hesitate to unleash a powerful shot, beating Yassine Bounou and seemingly handing Cristiano Ronaldo the Saudi Pro League title. 🚨قووووووووووووووووووووول 🔥🔥#النصر_الهلال #SPL#دوري_روشن_السعودي #النصر #AlNassr pic.twitter.com/VdRV7Hhrzp— رتيبان الدوسري | RTIBAN (@Rtiban1) May 12, 2026 After a very balanced second half, the match appeared set to end in a victory for Jorge Jesus’ team. Nevertheless, in the 90+8th minute, a powerful throw-in from an Al Hilal player reached Bento Krepski. Although the Brazilian goalkeeper had delivered a strong performance throughout the match, he failed to control the ball properly, allowing it to slip through his hands and resulting in an own goal that handed the equalizer to the opposition. Bento with an unfortunate 90+8' own goal ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/IaBAaeIf6v— Roshn Saudi League (@SPL_EN) May 12, 2026
Defeat for the champions at Motherwell and a win for the leaders at home to Falkirk will secure them a first league title time since 1960It is a sign of shifting attitudes that the fact Hearts could claim the Scottish Premiership title on Wednesday was somewhat lost in analysis of the weekend’s events. Given Celtic’s form such a scenario is an unlikely one, but that it exists at all is remarkable: a Hearts win at home to Falkirk, coupled with defeat for Celtic at Motherwell, means the Edinburgh club will become champions for the first time since 1960.“It’s nice to be able to hear ‘Hearts could win the league at Tynecastle,’” says their manager, Derek McInnes. “I don’t know how many people have been able to say that in their lifetime. The likelihood is we are going to have to win two games or certainly pick up four points.” In a quirk of history, both of Hearts’ titles in the 20th century were secured at St Mirren’s former Love Street ground. Continue reading...
Cristiano Ronaldo and Al-Nassr are preparing for a massive showdown against Karim Benzema and Al-Hilal on Matchday 33, with the outcome expected to shape the final stretch of one of the most dramatic title races in recent league history. The Saudi Pro League season has reached the moment everyone in Riyadh, and far beyond the Middle East, has been waiting for. Cristiano Ronaldo and Al-Nassr are preparing for a massive showdown against Karim Benzema and Al-Hilal on Matchday 33, with the outcome expected to shape the final stretch of one of the most dramatic title races in recent league history. One of the biggest storylines surrounding the derby remains the rivalry between Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema. The former Real Madrid teammates are once again fighting for silverware, only now on opposite sides of Saudi Arabia’s biggest soccer rivalry. Benzema’s arrival strengthened Al-Hilal significantly during the season and added another superstar dimension to the championship battle. Ronaldo, meanwhile, continues to lead from the front at 41 years old and recently reached another remarkable milestone. Millions are expected to watch the match live as both teams battle for supremacy in Riyadh. Heading into Matchday 33, Al-Nassr sits first with 82 points from 32 matches, while Al-Hilal follows with 77 points from 31 matches and still holds a game in hand. Jorge Jesus’ players have produced an outstanding campaign so far, winning 27 matches while scoring 86 goals and conceding only 26. Al-Hilal, meanwhile, remains unbeaten in league play this season, although eight draws have prevented the club from overtaking its rival at the summit. What happens if Al-Nassr wins? The significance of Tuesday’s derby becomes even clearer when examining the remaining fixtures. Al-Nassr will play one final league match after the derby, away against Damac, while Al-Hilal still has two more matches remaining because of its game in hand. Al-Nassr’s victory over Al-Hilal would put Jorge Jesus’ team at 85 points, eight points ahead of Al-Hilal, and guarantee the Saudi Pro League championship. Any outcome versus Damac on the last Matchday would be irrelevant in that case. Cristiano Ronaldo of team Al Nassr FC after the Saudi Pro League game between Al Nassr and Al Ahli Additionally, Ronaldo would win his first league championship in six years; his most recent domestic victory occurred with Juventus in 2020. Since arriving in Riyadh, he has collected goals, records, and global headlines, but the league title has remained the one major prize still missing. What happens if the match ends in a draw? A draw would keep Al-Nassr in control of the race, although tension would remain until the final days of the season. Al-Nassr would move to 83 points, while Al-Hilal would rise to 78 with two matches still left against Neom and Al-Fayha. For Ronaldo to win the league, all he would need is a tie in Al-Nassr’s last game. However, this scenario would leave the door slightly open for Al-Hilal, but Simone Inzaghi’s side would still need to win the next two games. The pressure would then shift toward Ronaldo and his teammates to avoid any mistake against Damac in its final league fixture. Theo Hernandez of Al Hilal celebrates after scoring For the visitors, even a draw would preserve hope because of the extra fixture. The Blue Waves surely understand that remaining unbeaten this deep into the campaign still gives the club a realistic chance to complete a late comeback. What happens if Al-Hilal wins? The entire title race could be flipped upside down if Al-Hilal leaves Al Awwal Park with all three points. A victory for Al-Hilal would reduce the gap to only two points, while the club would still possess a game in hand against Neom. Cristiano Ronaldo of Al-Nassr reacts during the Saudi Super Cup final between Al-Nassr and Al-Ahli Should Al-Hilal then defeat both Neom and Al-Fayha, the club could finish the season on 86 points. Even if Al-Nassr wins against Damac afterward a
The Prague derby between Slavia and Sparta was abandoned after a pitch invasion marred their Czech league title clash. Slavia hosted their bitter city rivals on Saturday and were set to win the title as they led 3-2 in the final moments of the match. Slavia fans ran onto the pitch moments before they would have won the title@majkeI1999 X With less than four minutes to play in stoppage time, a swarm of fans stormed the pitch in what appeared to be some early celebrations. However, as hundreds took to the playing field with flares, the scenes turned ugly as the players ran to the tunnel for safety. Sparta goalkeeper Jakub Surovcik appeared to be hit in the face by a cup of beer, and went down in apparent pain. He was then helped back onto his feet as security officials rushed to contain the horde of Slavia supporters. Czech FA statement “The further fate of the unfinished match between Slavia Prague and Sparta Prague will be decided by the LFA Disciplinary Commission in accordance with the relevant regulations, which has convened an extraordinary meeting for Sunday morning. “The case will be assessed on the basis of all relevant materials, in particular the match report, reports from delegated persons, and other available documents, including any possible sporting consequences arising from the relevant regulations.” Sparta later announced on X that they left Fortuna Arena due to the security concerns. “We cannot look for any mitigating circumstances for ourselves; our fans ran onto the pitch and objectively interrupted the match before its end,” Slavia chairman Jaroslav Tvrdik said. “The opponent reported an assault on one or two players. I believe it is legitimate that the match was terminated. “When I talked with our players, if something similar had happened to us at their place, we would have acted the same way. We can only apologize. “We must respond to this in the future so that we simply do not repeat such situations. It is difficult. “Three, four minutes separated us from championship celebrations; I believe the players would have handled it. View Tweet: https://t.co/tfpiMIlHyt One fan threw beer in the face of Surovcik@majkeI1999 X The goalkeeper went down, but then made his way off the pitch@majkeI1999 X “Instead, this is probably the greatest disgrace I have experienced in eleven years at the club. “I apologise to all the normal fans who stayed in the stands; I apologise to all the viewers in front of their screens. It is a disgrace; we must live with it.” Live commentary on the league’s official website confirmed that the match was ‘ended prematurely’ as a result of the pitch invastion. It also claimed that a couple of the Sparta players were injured, and that a forfeiture could be expected. Slavia finished top of the Czech First League in the regular season on 71 points, with Sparta eight points behind them. Both sides were joined by the rest of the top six in the Championship group in a format similar to that of the Scottish Premiership. Smoke from the flares added to the crazy scenes in Prague@majkeI1999 X Slavia, who faced Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur earlier this season, beat Slovan Liberec 2-1 in the first match to reach 74 points. A win over their Prague rivals would have extended their lead to 11 points, handing them the title with three games to play. However, due to the abandonment of the match, their wait to win back-to-back league crowns looks set to wait. Should the match be forfeited as suggested earlier, Sparta could win the three points and reduce the gap to just five points. Whoever finishes top automatically qualifies for the league phase of next season’s Champions League. Second will enter in the third qualifying round, whilst third and fourth earn the Europa League and Conference League respectively.
