Football
Wolves boss ‘confident’ Raul Jimenez will return this season
Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo is “totally confident” Mexico striker Raul Jimenez will be back from his fractured skull before the end of this season. Jimenez has been out of action since he suffered the horrific injury in a clash of heads with Arsenal’s David Luiz during Wolves’ Premier League win at the Emirates Stadium in November. The 29-year-old has now returned to light training and Nuno expects his star forward to feature before the season ends on May 23. “Totally confident, for sure,” Nuno said on Friday when asked about a likely return for the player this season. Jimenez scored 27 goals in all competitions for Wolves last season and has netted seven times in 15 appearances for club and country during the current campaign. Following Jimenez’s injury, Wolves won only one of thei...
Zlatan Ibrahimovic: Brazil legend Ronaldo ‘the best player in history’
Milan star Zlatan Ibrahimovic has named Brazil legend Ronaldo as ‘the best player in history’. Ibrahimovic expressed his admiration towards the World Cup winner ahead of Milan’s Europa League clash with Red Star Belgrade on Thursday night, while putting him ahead of modern-day greats such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the all-time list of top players. The 39-year-old thinks Ronaldo Nazario, who inspired Brazil to World Cup glory in 2002, transcended the game with his unique talents and still stands out as the unrivalled master of the footballing craft to this day. Zlatan told Discovery Plus: “I don’t need to describe Ronaldo, ‘The Phenomenon’. “I always say you have the players that play the game, and the players that are the game. For me, Ronaldo is the game. When you watch him...
Dimitar Berbatov warns Manchester United’s Shola Shoretire not to relax
Manchester United Double winner, Dimitar Berbatov, has warned Shola Shoretire not to relax. The 17-year-old came off the bench to make his senior debut against Newcastle at the weekend, playing the final minutes in what he described as a “dream come true”. Berbatov told Betfair: “It is a great moment for a player at 17 to make his debut at Old Trafford. He must have shown something in training and the youth teams which made that happen. “He has made the first step and now the difficult thing is to show Ole and the coaching staff that he can back that up. He has to prove he belongs there. He just needs to keep pushing and show himself in the eyes of the coaching staff. “In Shola’s situation, you must train like your life depends on it. “You need to show everyone that you are here and are wa...
AFCONQ: Super Eagles will fall in Benin – Razak Omotoyossi
Benin Republic forward, Razak Omotoyossi says he’s optimistic the team will defeat the Super Eagles 2-0 in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier. The last time the two teams met, Nigeria triumphed 2-1 over the Squirrels at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo. Currently, the three-time AFCON champions are top of Group L on Eight points while Benin sit second on seven points. However, in an interview with Footballlive, Omotoyossi said that they are battle-ready to defeat the Super Eagles at home. “I believe Benin will win 2-0, but you must tell Mr. Musa (Ahmed) to prepare the team, as the captain,” said Omotoyossi. “Nigeria won the reverse fixture, the Super Eagles picking up a 2-1 victory in Uyo. “It’ll be my dream to play for a bigger team and move to a team where I can play even in in th...
Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets group for U-17 AFCON revealed by CAF
Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets have been drawn in Group B of the 2021 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations to be hosted by Morocco. Five-time world champions are one of three top seeds for today’s draw along with host nations Morocco and defending champions Cameroon. CAF revealed the draw via their Twitter handle as Golden Eaglets avoided the Group of Death after pitted alongside Tanzania, Algeria and Congo. Hosts Morocco head Group A along with Uganda, Zambia and Cote d’Ivoire, while defending champions Cameroon will battle it out with Senegal, Mali and South Africa in Group C. The overall winners of the three groups, as well as the best runners-up from all three groups, will advance to the semifinals of the competition. The competition will start in Morocco on March 13. Nigeria may have conquered the wo...
Tottenham players unhappy with Jose Mourinho methods
Tottenham Hotspur players are reportedly frustrated with Jose Mourinho’s training methods a scenario which has split the dressing room. Mourinho is under pressure following a return of 12 points from Tottenham’s last 12 Premier League games. Spurs were knocked out of the Emirates FA Cup at the last-16 stage by Everton earlier this month, though they are still in the Europa League and through to April’s EFL Cup final. However, The Athletic claims that Mourinho is losing support from some key members of his squad due to the way that he works. The former Manchester United and Chelsea boss is said to have drastically altered the approach taken by predecessor Mauricio Pochettino, whom he replaced in November 2019, by easing the workload on his players – something that has not gone down well ami...
Robert Lewandowski discusses potential move to MLS
Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski has said he knows a lot about MLS but wouldn’t be drawn on a possible move to North America in the future. Lewandowski’s wife has said in the past that her husband is interested in ending his career in Los Angeles, which is no doubt intriguing to both LA Galaxy and Los Angeles FC. Although the 32-year-old isn’t closing any doors, he has indicated that he is not thinking much about his long-term future right now. In an interview with CBS Sports, the Bayern star said: “Playing in the USA? I don’t know because I don’t know what it means for me and when. For sure I know a lot about MLS because a few Polish players and also German players played there and they talk to me about the life there, but also about MLS. “They say that every year there is a step up ...
Victor Osimhen likens his unconscious 30 minutes to a brain reset
Super Eagles and Napoli forward Victor Osimhen has said his 30 minutes of unconsciousness Sunday, ‘felt like a brain reset’ Osimhen was discharged to return to Naples on Monday after spending the night under observation at a hospital in Bergamo following an alarming collapse towards the end of the club’s 4-2 Serie A defeat by Atalanta on Sunday. Osimhen was knocked unconscious in a scary incident during the final minutes of the game after a challenge with Cristian Romero; he was stretchered off the pitch and taken directly to hospital. A close adviser to the player told ESPN that a disoriented Osimhen was shocked when he saw the video of the incident. “He could not believe it when they showed him the video from the incident,” the adviser said. “He said it felt like a brain reset.” Multiple...
RB Leipzig boss emerges as Tottenham’s ‘top target’ to replace Jose Mourinho
RB Leipzig boss Julian Nagelsmann has emerged as the likely candidate to replace Jose Mourinho, should Tottenham’s current slump continue. Spurs began the season in excellent form and even topped the table as recently as early December, yet just a few months later, Mourinho’s men find themselves 23 points behind leaders Manchester City and with a real job to do to secure a top-four spot. Their defeat to London rivals West Ham United on Sunday means they are now nine points behind the Hammers in fourth, albeit with a game in hand on David Moyes’ side. Despite a late rally in that game, inspired by half-time substitute Gareth Bale, Tottenham’s defensive woes once again came to the fore, the centre-back pairing of Eric Dier and Davinson Sanchez looking particularly shaky in recent weeks. With...
RB Leipzig boss emerges as Tottenham’s ‘top target’ to replace Jose Mourinho
RB Leipzig boss Julian Nagelsmann has emerged as the likely candidate to replace Jose Mourinho, should Tottenham’s current slump continue. Spurs began the season in excellent form and even topped the table as recently as early December, yet just a few months later, Mourinho’s men find themselves 23 points behind leaders Manchester City and with a real job to do to secure a top-four spot. Their defeat to London rivals West Ham United on Sunday means they are now nine points behind the Hammers in fourth, albeit with a game in hand on David Moyes’ side. Despite a late rally in that game, inspired by half-time substitute Gareth Bale, Tottenham’s defensive woes once again came to the fore, the centre-back pairing of Eric Dier and Davinson Sanchez looking particularly shaky in recent weeks. With...
Leon Balogun impresses at right back in Europa League for Rangers
Super Eagles center back Leon Balogun impressed in a right-back role as Rangers won in a seven -goal thriller in the Europa League round of 32 clash against Royal Antwerp at Bosuilstadion on Thursday night. With 24 minutes played, the Nigeria international came off the bench to replace Rangers skipper James Tavernier, who was not able to continue due to an injury. The right-back position is not entirely new to Balogun as he has played in that role for the national team, Mainz and Brighton & Hove. In fact, he made his debut for the Super Eagles as a right-back when he replaced Efe Ambrose in the second half of a pre-World Cup friendly against Mexico in March 2014. “I was back to an old role and I was happy I can still play it,” Balogun said at yesterday’s press conference. “I think the ...
Arsenal set unwanted record in Europa League tie vs Benfica
Arsenal set an unwanted record during Thursday night’s Europa League draw with Benfica which ended 1-1 after being caught offside 10 times. A Bukayo Saka equaliser saw Arsenal fight back from a goal down to snatch a draw – and an all-important away goal – in their Europa League last-32 first-leg clash in Rome. Incredibly, the North Londoners were caught offside a staggering 10 times, which is more than any other Premier League side in all competitions this season. Club captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was responsible for four of those. The previous record had been held by Manchester United, who were flagged eight times during their goalless Premier League draw with Liverpool last month. Crystal Palace were caught offside seven times in their 7-0 home mauling at the hands of Liverpool in D...
