Author: Nurudeen Obalola
Liverpool were crowned English Premier League champions on Sunday after a 5-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield. The triumph drew Liverpool level with Manchester United on 20 top flight titles — as Tottenham were demolished on a day of wild celebrations and emotion at Anfield. Arne Slot’s side needed only a point to complete the formalities of their coronation, although Spurs briefly threatened a plot twist when former Liverpool striker Dominic Solanke headed them into an early lead. The shock jolted Liverpool into action, and the title was signed and sealed with three goals before the break that sent…
Inter Milan fell to a third consecutive defeat across all competitions on Sunday as they were beaten 1-0 in Serie A by AS Roma at San Siro. Matias Soule scored the only goal of the match to earn Claudio Ranieri’s Roma all three points in Milan. The result handed Napoli a huge chance to leapfrog Inter and take the lead in Serie A just four games from the end of the season. Inter’s season is falling apart at the most crucial part of the campaign, with the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final against Barcelona coming up on…
Aaron Gordon slammed down a dunk as time expired to give the Denver Nuggets a dramatic and much-needed 101-99 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday in Game 4 of their first-round series at Inglewood, California. Nikola Jokic airballed a 3-pointer as the clock wound down and Gordon leaped to catch the ball and released his dunk just before the red light came on the backboard. A replay review upheld the ruling and the basket allowed Denver to even the best-of-seven Western Conference series at two games apiece. Jokic had 36 points, 21 rebounds and eight assists as the…
Jules Kounde struck in the dying minutes of extra-time to hand Barcelona a dramatic 3-2 win over fierce rivals Real Madrid in an enthralling Copa del Rey final on Saturday night. Barcelona won a record-extending 32nd Spanish Cup title thanks to a stunning strike from the French defender, who slotted in a low drive into the bottom corner from 25 yards in the 116th minute. Pedri put the Catalans ahead in the 28th minute with a brilliant curling strike into the top corner from outside the box in a first-half dominated by Barcelona. However, Real Madrid took control in the…
Crystal Palace reached the FA Cup final in spectacular style on Saturday as Eberechi Eze and Ismaila Sarr fired them to a fully deserved 3-0 victory against Aston Villa at Wembley. Eze, the England forward with Nigerian blood, unlocked a tense semi-final after 31 minutes when he rifled a magnificent drive high past helpless Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez from the edge of the penalty area. Palace’s Tyrick Mitchell miskicked in front of an open goal before the break, then Jean-Philippe Mateta failed from the spot when his penalty glanced off the post. But the Eagles kept pushing to increase their…
Chelsea returned to the UEFA Champions League places in the English Premier League with a 1-0 victory over Everton at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. The victory moved the Blues up to fourth in the Premier League, level on points with Nottingham Forest and a point ahead of Newcastle, who play Ipswich later on Saturday. With Forest and Aston Villa in FA Cup semi-final action this weekend, Chelsea will hold on to a top-five spot at least until Thursday, when Forest host Brentford. The crucial three points were sealed by striker Nicolas Jackson, who ended a 13-match goalless run stretching back…
The President of the Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN), Francis Orbih, has been elected as a council member of the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The election took place during the BWF Annual General Meeting held on Saturday in Xiamen, China, where Orbih emerged victorious over top contenders from other African countries. He will join Cameroon’s Odette Assembe Engoulou on the council, while Chipo Zumburani (Zimbabwe) and Hadia ElSaid (Egypt) missed out. Orbih expressed his gratitude to fellow badminton presidents across the globe for their trust and support. “I am deeply honoured by the trust placed in me by my peers…
FIFA President Gianni Infantino attended Pope Francis’ funeral on Saturday and announced a charity game in September to honour the Pontifex. Infantino had discussed the idea with the Pope in February during the World Meeting on Children’s Rights in Rome. “In our last meeting, a couple of months ago, we discussed organising a game for the kids featuring world legends to unite his passion for football and promote unity among young people,” Infantino told Sky TG 24 on Saturday. “We thought about playing this game in September, and at this point, we’ll surely do it to honour his memory, uniting the best…
A last-gasp own goal gave Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa an upset result over holders Al Ahly on Friday night and a place against another Egyptian club, Pyramids, in next month’s CAF Champions League final. Al Ahly defender Yasser Ibrahim turned the ball into his own net in stoppage time at the end of a semi-final second-leg tie in Cairo to see Sundowns eliminate the Egyptian giants on the away goals rule after a 1-1 draw. Later in the Egyptian capital, Pyramids twice came from behind to beat Orlando Pirates of South Africa 3-2 with Fiston Mayele scoring twice for…
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has expressed its shock and sadness over the death of former President of the Nigeria Referees Association (NRA), Otunba Tade Azeez. Azeez, 63, was reported to have passed away at about 2.45pm on Friday after a brief illness. NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, was stunned when first notified of the demise of Azeez, who was also Vice Chairman of the Lagos State Football Association during the tenure of former NFF 1st Vice President, Seyi Akinwunmi. “What? Are you serious? This is shocking; we didn’t even know that he was sick. Another big loss to the…