Games
Ndifreke Effiong: No regrets scoring against Abia Warriors
Akwa United’s striker Ndifreke Effiong says he has no regrets scoring against his former team, Abia Warriors. Ndifreke was the hero as his brace sunk his former club at the Nest of champions in Uyo on Saturday. The former Attacker later revealed to the club’s official website that scoring against Abia Warriors special for him. “It was really a special day for me to open my team’s goal account for the new season. ” I have no regret scoring against my former team. We needed to get our season on track after dropping five points in two successive games. It was the first time I scored against Abia Warriors since l left them to join Akwa United. ”As a professional, my job is to score goals and I’m working hard to ensure I score more goals that will be enough for us to achieve our aim at the end ...
Newcastle desperate to secure Chelsea’s Fikayo Tomori
Newcastle United are interested in securing Chelsea centre-back Fikayo Tomori. The youngster has not played as much as he expected in the first half of this campaign. Tomori is sidelined given the preference of manager Frank Lampard of playing Thiago Silva and Kurt Zouma in central defense. According to FourFourTwo, the 23-year-old is attracting interest from the Magpies, along with Leeds United and Burnley. Any move would be a loan for the second half of the season. Tomori did not even play in the FA Cup third round game against Morecambe for Chelsea, further indicating a move could be imminent. Blues boss Lampard told football.london: “The situation with Fikayo is open at the moment. There is a possibility he could be going on loan to get games somewhere else. “So that would have to be t...
Jadon Sancho happier at Borussia Dortmund after Manchester United transfer saga
Jadon Sancho says he’s feeling happy and settled at Borussia Dortmund. Sancho has insisted he has put his Manchester United transfer saga behind him and is “raring to go” again at Borussia Dortmund after scoring in the weekend win over RB Leipzig. The 20-year-old winger missed out on a summer switch to Old Trafford as United refused to meet Dortmund’s £108million asking price. “Obviously this season has been very difficult for me personally,” Sancho said. “So I knew when I went away, I just focused on my game and came back raring to go. “I’m working hard every day in training and on the pitch so I’m just happy to get my goals and assists.” After the match, Dortmund boss Edin Terzic discussed Sancho’s contribution and outlined his hopes for further improvement to come. “We spoke a lot but J...
Japan detects new coronavirus variant
Japan on Sunday reported that four people who had arrived in Tokyo from Brazil were found to be infected with a new variant of the coronavirus. The four passengers, who landed at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on January 2 from the state of Amazonas, Brazil, tested positive after spending time in the airport in quarantine, Japan’s Health Ministry announced. Takaji Wakita, head of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, said the variant was different from those already spreading in Britain and South Africa, Kyodo News reported. The institute reported that there was no evidence at present that the new strain was more contagious. Of the four, a man in his 40s had been hospitalized after his breathing difficulties worsened, a woman in her 30s complained of a sore throat and headaches, and a mal...
‘Christmas village’ boost Akwa Ibom economy with N1 billionn revenue – official
Mr. Orman Esin, the Akwa Ibom Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, has said the ‘Christmas Village’ generated more than N1 billion to the state economy since Dec. 1, 2020. Esin announced this to newsmen in Uyo on Friday. He said that the opening of the village had brought some life back to holidaymakers and citizens of the state. “The Christmas village has created value of more than N1 billion since it was opened on Dec. 1, 2020,’’ he said. “More than 600 vendors attract thousands of visitors every evening, adding that the Christmas village became a must-visit place in Nigeria every December. “With the ravaging Covid19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown, the 2020 Christmas season looked bleak. “Annual events were cancelled all over the world including the record-setting annual 999 events in...
Manchester United star Donny van de Beek urged to consider January transfer exit
Ajax and Netherlands legend Ronald de Boer has advised Donny Van De Beek to leave Manchester United in this January transfer window. Van De Beek has struggled for game time since his £39million move from Ajax. The 23-year-old has started just two Premier League games this season and has been completely left out the squad for United’s last three fixtures. And De Boer thinks the Holland international should consider leaving with the Euros coming up this summer. He told AD: “The European Championship is coming, he will undoubtedly want to be there. “Maybe it would be good for him to discuss with the club exactly what they want with him. “If the view on playing time does not improve, he may have to declare that he should be loaned or even sold. “You have to be lucky every now and then. Of cour...
Chelsea boss admits to facing ‘reality check’ after Manchester City drubbing
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard acknowledged that he was given a sharp jolt of reality as the Blues capitulated at home to Manchester City on Sunday. Lampard’s charges have been in torrid form since the start of December, following up a run of nine unbeaten Premier League games with four defeats in their last six outings. The latest, a 3-1 reverse at Stamford Bridge at the hands of City, was concerning not just for the result but also the subdued display offered by the hosts. Chelsea mustered just two shots on target to give debutant goalkeeper Zack Steffen a quiet afternoon between the posts, and only troubled the scorers late into injury time through Callum Hudson-Odoi when the game was already out of reach. And with the Blues having slipped down to eighth as a result of their recent woes,...
Frank Lampard under serious threat of being sacked as Chelsea boss
According to a damning on-the-whistle report from The Athletic, Frank Lampard’s job at Chelsea is under serious threat after the 3-1 defeat to Manchester City. The loss to Pep Guardiola’s side marked Chelsea’s fourth in their last six Premier League games, the Blues have won just once over this period – against West Ham – who they are now level on points with. It’s not just the results though, the Blues have lost to sides that are firmly contenders for European competition like Wolves and Everton – whilst they were stunned by rivals Arsenal on Boxing Day. The Athletic report that the west London outfit have now begun to ‘explore alternative plans’ in regards to the team’s future, with the consideration that Lampard will be sacked if this run continues. Chelsea now sit eighth in the Premier...
Leicester edge up to second despite draw vs Crystal Palace
A much-changed Leicester moved up to second in the Premier League thanks to Harvey Barnes’ late equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace on Monday. Wilfried Zaha’s stunning near post volley put the Eagles in front against the run of play after Kelechi Iheanacho had a first-half penalty saved for Leicester. With little over 48 hours rest between the Foxes’ 2-2 draw with Manchester United on Saturday and the trip to Selhurst Park, Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers made seven changes with Jamie Vardy and Youri Tielemans among those left on the bench. Both were introduced midway through the second-half and Leicester’s pressure was rewarded with an equaliser when Barnes fired in a low shot from the edge of the box for his eighth goal of the season. Despite the upheaval of missing many of their st...
Bernd Leno: Arsenal ‘don’t have time’ to feel sorry for themselves
Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno says there is no time for the players to feel sorry for themselves after an eighth Premier League defeat of the season ramped up the pressure on manager Mikel Arteta. Sunday is an unhappy first anniversary for the Gunners boss as he reflects on a 2-1 reverse at Everton that extended their winless run to seven league matches and left them just four points above the Premier League’s bottom three. “A lot of things are going wrong for us but we don’t have time to feel sorry for ourselves, we have to fight for every ball, for our team-mates,” said Leno. “Now the confidence is not at the top level but the only thing that can be said is we should stick together and come out of this situation.” The 28-year-old German said Arsenal showed a good attitude in the second h...
Tijani Babangida: Gernot Rohr to blame for Eagles poor form
Former Super Eagles winger Tijani Babangida has blamed Gernot Rohr for the national team’s poor form after ending the 2020 calendar year without a win. Babangida made this known during an interview on Friday. The Eagles drew 4-4 against Sierra Leone in Benin City and 0-0 in Freetown in their final games of 2020, and thus failed to clinch an early ticket for the Africa Cup of Nations scheduled for Cameroon in 2021. Former Ajax winger Babangida blamed Rohr for the national team’s woes. “The coach of the Eagles is the one to be blamed for the poor form of the team. He is the one in charge of the team and one thing I know he has deviated from is that he has not followed the football culture of Nigeria’s national team,” Babangida said. “We used wingers during our time with the team, but looking...
Wolves want Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City
Manchester City renewed Oleksander Zinchenko until 2024, but his future may not lie at the Etihad… or with a Barca team that took an interest in him months ago. According to the ‘Daily Star’, Wolves will bid for the Ukrainian player in January. Oleksander Zinchenko has always been under the magnifying glass at Manchester City. He was convincing at times as a winger and in the centre of the field. He aroused some interest from FC Barcelona in the summer. The Catalan media considered him the “favourite” for the left-back position, although the economy did not allow him to move. To this was added the fact that Zinchenko had renewed until 2024 with Manchester City. In the meantime, some are trying to take him away from City and from Barca in January. We are talking about Wolverhampton Wanderer...
