Football
Barcelona’s domestic woes continue with Alaves 1-1 draw
Antoine Griezmann helped to salvage a point for Barcelona as their struggles in La Liga continued with another disappointing result; a 1-1 away draw against 10-man Deportivo Alaves on Saturday. The visitors, who had lost their prior two league matches, were behind in the first half after a goalkeeping blunder by Neto allowed Luis Rioja to open the scoring. Barca actually started the match brightly. Their gifted youngster Ansu Fati raced clear of the Alaves defence early on but could only strike his effort wide. However, the visiting defence appeared to lack confidence and looked vulnerable on the counter. Alaves left midfielder Luis Rioja tried to exploit this but brought a smart save out of Barca keeper Neto after fine play by Brazilian centre forward Deyverson. It was from another such A...
Kylian Mbappe on target as PSG win without injured Neymar
Kylian Mbappe scored from the penalty spot as Paris Saint-Germain eased to their seventh straight Ligue 1 win on Saturday, beating Nantes 3-0 away to move provisionally three points clear at the top of the table. All the goals came in the second half at the Stade de la Beaujoire, with Ander Herrera opening the scoring two minutes after the restart and Mbappe converting a 65th-minute spot-kick before Pablo Sarabia secured the points late on. PSG have now taken maximum points since starting the season with back-to-back defeats and the reigning champions are three clear of Lille and Rennes at the summit. Lille, who are unbeaten, can rejoin the club from the capital at the top if they beat Lyon on Sunday. Rennes beat Brest 2-1 on Saturday. “I am very happy. We made lots of changes because we f...
Manchester United’s Luke Shaw set to end England exile
Getty Images Manchester United fullback Luke Shaw is set for an England recall next week. Shaw hasn’t been included in a Three Lions squad since September 2018. And despite emerging as a regular at Old Trafford during that time, he has struggled to persuade Gareth Southgate that he should be England’s first choice. But Southgate was much criticised for using Kieran Trippier at left wing-back last month, although he also handed Arsenal teenager Bukayo Saka his bow in the same position. Now Shaw, reports the Daily Star, will join Chelsea defender Ben Chilwell – back fit and Southgate’s first choice – in the squad for the international friendly with the Republic of Ireland and UEFA Nations League clashes with Belgium and Iceland, when it’s announced on Thursday. Shaw has won just eight caps s...
Barcelona boss offers Antoine Griezmann surprise praise after win vs Juventus
Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman was full of praise for Antoine Greizmann after victory at Juventus. Griezmann hit the post and had another chance of scoring during the 2-0 Champions League win. After using the France attacker sparingly so far this season, Koeman offered Griezmann encouraging words, stating: “We had a very good chance to score more goals. “Antoine (Griezmann) was unlucky tonight. His first strike early in the match, he could not do better and the same for the second. “He has to keep working, but he’s getting opportunities, which is positive.” 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 dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money...
Zlatan Ibrahimovic ‘always wants to play’ – Milan coach
Zlatan Ibrahimovic always wants to play, AC Milan coach Stefano Pioli said on Wednesday, before their Europa League game against Sparta Prague. “I won’t ask Zlatan if he wants to play, because I already know the answer,” said Pioli amid a tight schedule of games every three days. “There will be changes, but I don’t like talking about turnover, I have many starters and I will field the best team. “If I ask Ibra if he feels like it, he will always tell me yes.” AC Milan are top of the Serie A table after five games as the 18-times champions target a first league title since 2011 when Ibrahimovic last played for the club. Pioli’s side won their Europa League opener 3-1 at Celtic and next travel to Sparta Prague before a home tie against French club Lille next week. “We have a lot of games so ...
AFCONQ: Kaizer Chiefs confirm Daniel Akpeyi’s Super Eagles call-up
South African giants, Kaizer Chiefs, has confirmed that goalkeeper, Daniel Akpeyi, has received a call up for Super Eagles’ 2022 Africa Cup of Nations double-header against Sierra Leone in November. The Eagles are billed to face the Leone Stars in a Group L fixture at the newly refurbished Samuel Ogbemudia stadium in Benin on November 13 before playing the return leg four days later in Freetown. Akpeyi manned the posts in the Eagles opening two games of the qualifiers against Benin and Lesotho in November 2019, but missed out of the team’s international friendly games against African champions Algeria and Tunisia earlier this month in Austria. Amakhosi confirmed Akpeyi’s invitation on their website, “Chiefs will be well represented on the international front next month during the internati...
CAF president confirms candidacy for re-election
Agence France-Presse/Getty Images The Confederation of African Football President Ahmad Ahmad has announced his intention to run for a second term in office. Ahmad’s confirmation comes on the back of a reported endorsement from 46 African Federations who are rooting for his success in the elective Extraordinary General Assembly in Morocco on March 12, 2021. Three years ago, Ahmad ended Issa Hayatou’s 29-year reign as Caf boss, after defeating the Cameroonian by 34 votes to 20. “I accepted to be a candidate while listening to the presidents of the federation, around 46 of whom asked me after receiving my assessment of my initial mandate,” Ahmad told BBC Sport Africa. “As I have previously announced, I said I would pursue a second mandate if the need was there. “This is an outcome of working...
How fans pushed Al Nassr to sack Super Eagles skipper
More facts are emerging as to how Ahmed Musa suddenly became clubless. On Monday, Al Nassr confirmed that the Super Eagles captain was leaving. The 28-year-old is now a free agent after parting ways with the Saudi Pro League outfit on ‘mutual terms’. However, speaking with newsmen, Mohamed Hamdy Ahmed who writes for Merca Today in the Gulf State, gave more details on Ahmed’s departure. “There was great anger that caused this decision. The fans are sad about the player’s performance with the team. “The fans were not satisfied with the level of the player so the management took this decision,” Ahmed said. The Nigerian winger in 58 appearances scored 11 goals and got 14 assists, while helping the team win the 2018/2019 Saudi top-flight diadem and the 2019 Saudi Super Cup. But it was not enoug...
FIFA president tests positive for coronavirus
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has tested positive for coronavirus, the world football governing body announced on Tuesday. Infantino has been confirmed to have contracted the virus and is now entering a period of self-isolation. The 50-year-old is said to have shown just ‘mild symptoms’ of Covid-19, and all those who have come into contact with him in previous days are said to have been informed. In a statement by FIFA it was outlined that Infantino will remain in complete isolation for ‘at least ten days.’ The statement read: “FIFA President Gianni Infantino has received confirmation today that he has tested positive for coronavirus. “The FIFA president, who has reported mild symptoms, has immediately placed himself in self-isolation and will remain in quarantine for at least ten days. ...
Zinedine Zidane includes Eden Hazard in Real Madrid trip to Germany
Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has included Eden Hazard in the squad that will take on Borussia Monchengladbach. Hazard suffered a series of injuries in his campaign to life at Real Madrid, with ankle injuries hampering his performances. The Belgian attacker trained with the rest of the group on Sunday, as Real Madrid got back to work following El Clasico, and is now one of the 21 players in the midweek squad. The likes of Dani Carvajal and Alvaro Odriozola, as well as Nacho will miss out in the clash against Borussia Monchengladbach. Zidane will not count on Martin Odegaard and Mariano due to injury. The complete squad for the Borussia Monchengladbach trip is as follows: Thibaut Courtois, Andry Lunin, Diego Altube, Eder Militao, Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane, Marcelo, Ferland Mendy, S...
Andrey Arshavin: Moses is a strong character for Russian championship
Former Russian attacking midfielder Andrey Arshavin says Victor Moses’ arrival has strengthened Spartak Moscow and expects him to help the club this season. Moses scored his first goal in Russian football as Spartak Moscow thrashed their hosts Krasnodar 3 – 0 last weekend. The former Nigerian international was also involved in the Moscow derby against CSKA eight days ago. Speaking on the impact of Moses on Spartak Moscow since his arrival, Arshavin who also played for the club during his days, said Moses is a strong character for the Russian championship and has improved the team. “I think it was clear that this is a strong footballer for our championship. Moses has strengthened the necessary position for Spartak.” Andrey Arshavin said “I remember how he played for Wigan against us. He pla...
Jordan Henderson: Liverpool don’t need excuses over heavy schedule
Jordan Henderson says Liverpool are not making any excuses ahead of a period filled with matches. The Reds face four huge games in the next 12 days, including an away trip to Manchester City. “We do have a tough period coming up, yeah, but we love playing football. We want to play these games,” Henderson said. “If you look back a few months ago and were sitting in the house during lockdown, couldn’t go out…we’d have played football every single day if we could. There are a lot of things going on in the world and it’s tough for people sitting at home. These things have a huge impact on people. So we really have to try and put a smile on the face – even if it is just for tonight. “So for us, it is physically demanding, but we are used to it. And we enjoy it. “We will use all the lads in the ...
