Football
Victor Osimhen: Napoli clears Super Eagles medics of any wrong doing
Napoli has denied reports from Italian media that Nigerian doctors complicated Victor Osimhen’s shoulder during the first treatment. Tuttosport claimed Napoli medic revealed that their Nigerian counterparts caused more damage to the shoulder in the process of treatment before he returned to Italy. However, Napoli and the player on Saturday afternoon took to their social media handle to debunk the reports and clear the Super Eagles team doctor of any wrongdoing. “The current situation regarding the injury of Victor Osimhen is only a consequence of the dislocated right shoulder,” Napoli said in a tweet. Osimhen dislocated his shoulder while in action for Super Eagles of Nigeria last month at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City. The striker went down in the second under a challenge fro...
Eberechi Eze named Crystal Palace Player of the Month
Eberechi Eze has expressed his delight after he was named Crystal Palace’s W88 Player of the Month for November. “It’s a great privilege and I’m grateful the fans have been entertained by my performances. It’s a great pleasure. “Leeds was a huge game for me. It was the perfect opportunity for me to come in and to stake my claim. It was a great performance by the boys, great points on the board.” The summer signing shone for netting his first Premier League goal in style, rifling home a free-kick against Leeds United at the start of the month and bagging an assist in the same game. Frustrating results followed for the Eagles, but fans felt Eze stood out, choosing him for the POTM accolade with almost 64% of the vote. Eze beat Nathaniel Clyne (10%) to first place in the vote after the defend...
Napoli stadium officially renamed ‘Stadio Diego Armando Maradona’
After city mayor Luigi De Magistris initially suggested the name change last week, the city of Naples has officially approved the proposal to rename the Napoli stadium in honor of Diego Maradona. As announced in an official statement this afternoon, the stadium based in the neighbourhood of Fuorigrotta in the west end of the city will formally change its name from the ‘Stadio San Paolo’ to ‘Stadio Diego Armando Maradona’. Napoli’s legendary number 10 had passed away on November 25 at the age of 60, having spent 7 years as a player in Campania, leading the club to its sole two league titles to date as well as a Coppa Italia and a UEFA cup success in 1989. Get more stories like this on Twitter You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a datin...
Paul Mukairu nominated for Anderlecht Goal of the Month Prize
Nigeria forward Paul Mukairu is in the running for Anderlecht player of the month award for November. Mukairu’s superb strike from outside the box on his league debut for Anderlecht handed Vincent Kompany’s side all three points against Royal Antwerp. The young forward replaced Sierra Leone’s Mustapha Bundu three minutes after the hour mark and scored the winning goal in the 76th minute. The 20-year-old is nominated along with three other players; Lukas Nmecha, Laura Deloose and Laura De Neve for the award. He provided the assist for Nmecha’s goal in the 2-1 away defeat at Beerschot. Mukairu, who linked up with Anderlecht on loan from Turkish outfit Antalyaspor at the start of the season has scored one goal in four league appearances for the club. Get more stories like this on Twitter You ...
Gareth Bale scores 200th career goal
Tottenham and Wales forward Gareth Bale scored his 200th career goal as he equalised for Spurs against LASK in the Europa League. Gareth Bale scored his 200th career goal on Thursday after he netted for Tottenham in their Europa League clash with LASK. Wales international Bale had been stuck on 199 goals for club and country since he scored for Spurs in their 2-1 Premier League win over Brighton at the start of November. He went close to reaching the milestone during Tottenham’s 4-0 win over Ludogorets in the Europa League on November 26, but hit his 200th goal in Spurs’ next European outing. Bale’s landmark strike – his first away goal for Spurs in Europe since he scored a hat-trick at the San Siro against Inter in 2010 – came from the penalty spot, Bale restoring parity after Peter Micho...
UEFA Nations League: France draw Belgium, Italy to face Spain in semi-finals
The draw for the UEFA Nations League finals has been conducted, with World Cup holders France set to square off against world number ones Belgium while hosts Italy face Spain next October. The European governing body rubber-stamped Milan and Turin as the cities set to welcome the second edition of the tournament’s showpiece last four event on Thursday, confirming that the Group 1A winners would be on home soil. Roberto Mancini’s Azzurri will welcome La Roja under the stewardship of Luis Enrique to San Siro on October 6, while Didier Deschamps’ Bleus will face Les Diables Rouges led by Roberto Martinez at Allianz Stadium a day later. The winners will then meet in Milan three days later on October 10, with the third-place play-off unfolding in Turin upon the same date. The second semi-final ...
Mikel Arteta expects difficult January transfer window
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says the club do not have much room to manoeuvre in the January transfer window and may have to offload players before they can add to the first-team squad. Arsenal are reportedly looking for a creative midfielder, with RB Salzburg’s Dominik Szoboszlai and Olympique Lyonnais’ Houssem Aouar among the options being considered, while Arteta would also like to improve his defensive options. “We are planning, talking with (technical director) Edu and with the club about the things we can do in January,” Arteta told reporters. “But at the moment it’s pretty difficult, unpredictable as well. In terms of places, we are very restricted in the moment. “We will need to do something knowing the limitations of that market in January and the limitations we have as well to si...
Quique Setien: Barcelona yet to inform me of sack
Former Barcelona coach Quique Setien claims the Catalans have not compensated him for his early dismissal, or even called to inform of his contract termination three months on. Setien replaced Ernesto Valverde in January signing on a contract until 2022 as the club hoped to reconnect with their philosophy of exciting, possession-based football. However, Setien’s time at Barça was marred with problems, from an apparently strained relationship with talisman Lionel Messi that reportedly spread to other members of the squad, to underwhelming results and performances on the pitch. The culmination of numerous issues at the club was the 8-2 humiliation by Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-final. The embarrassing result contributed to Messi’s desire to leave and effectively spelled the...
Napoli boss rues Victor Osimhen’s absence
Napoli manager Gennaro Gattuso says the absence of Victor Osimhen is being felt within the team despite Sunday’s 4-0 win over Roma in a Series A tie. Osimhen suffered a shoulder injury while on duty for the Super Eagles during the international break, which has seen him miss a couple of games for the San Paolo Stadium outfit. And Manager, Gattuso while reacting to Napoli’s big win over Roma praised his team’s mentality but rues the absence of the Nigeria international. “We have missed Osimhen in recent weeks, remember, he is an important player,” Gattuso said of the Forward, who is gradually returning to fitness having commenced light training and gym work. Osimhen linked up with the Partenopei from French club Lille in a record deal in the summer. He has played a total of six matches for ...
Fulham shock Leicester to go out of relegation zone
Fulham climbed out of the Premier League relegation zone after finally solving their penalty woes in a shock 2-1 win at Leicester on Monday. Scott Parker’s side won for just the second time in the league this season thanks to Ademola Lookman’s opener and Ivan Cavaleiro’s penalty. Fulham had missed three of their four previous penalties this term, but Cavaleiro held his nerve to convert from the spot for the crucial second goal. It was an emotional success for the Cottagers, with Lookman celebrating his goal by displaying one of Papa Bouba Diop’s Senegal shirts after Fulham’s former midfielder died aged 42 at the weekend. Harvey Barnes scored for Leicester in the closing minutes, but Fulham held on and move one point above the bottom three. It was only Fulham’s second away win in the past 2...
Harry Redknapp ‘lucky’ to have managed ‘special’ Papa Bouba Diop
Harry Redknapp has expressed his delight to have managed “special talent” Papa Bouba Diop during his time at Portsmouth. The former Senegal international spent three years with Pompey after teaming up with the club from Fulham in 2007. Diop played a key role for Redknapp’s side as they clinched the FA Cup in 2008 and featured in more than 50 games for the club under the English tactician before leaving for AEK Athens. The midfielder passed away on Sunday at the age of 42 after a long illness and Redknapp has expressed his sadness for his demise, while eulogizing him for his contributions during his playing years. “I was very lucky to have managed such a fantastic boy – he was special. He did a great job for me at Portsmouth and I think the Portsmouth fans loved him,” Redknapp told BBC Spor...
Austin Okocha: Super Eagles don’t have natural offensive midfielders
Former Super Eagles captain, Austin Okocha, has revealed that the current team lacks ‘natural’ offensive midfielders, newsmen report. Okocha believes the Eagles need midfielders who can get on the ball and pick a pass as well as drive at the opposition consistently. Gernot Rohr in the last one year played Alex Iwobi and Joe Aribo in the No.10 role for the Eagles but both players have not been convincing in recent games. “What the Eagles need now are natural midfielders who can create chances and change the course of a game. “We need midfielders who can run at defenders and a pick their teammates with good passes,” Okocha said during a radio programme ‘No Holds Barred’ on Brila FM. “We have good midfielders but not in at that level at the moment. Some of them are just scared and the fact th...
