Author: Nurudeen Obalola
By Korede James Super Eagles defender Calvin Bassey’s strike proved to be the match winner as Fulham defeated top-four hopefuls Nottingham Forest 2-1 at Craven Cottage in the English Premier League on Saturday. It was Bassey’s first league goal in his 24th appearance for the Cottagers this campaign. The last time he scored was in the 2-1 win against Manchester United at Old Trafford last February. Also in action in the encounter were Nigeria internationals Alex Iwobi and Ola Aina who both made their 25th league appearances. Bassey scored in the 62nd minute to put Fulham 2-1 ahead after Chris…
By Korede James A second half brace from Mikel Merino earned a depleted Arsenal side a 2-0 victory against Leicester City at the King Power Stadium in the English Premier League on Saturday. The Gunners are now four points off leaders Liverpool in the league table, with the Reds in action on Sunday. Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Leicester remain in the relegation zone in 18th place, two points from safety. Super Eagles midfielder Wilfred Ndidi was in action for Leicester City, making his 16th appearance in the English top flight this campaign. Going into the tie, the discussions had centered around…
Top-ranked tennis player Jannik Sinner accepted a three-month ban in a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and said Saturday the agreement ends a case that was “hanging over me” since his two positive doping tests nearly a year ago. WADA, which was seeking to ban the three-time Grand Slam champion from the sport for at least one year, had challenged a decision last year by the International Tennis Integrity Agency not to suspend Sinner for what the ITIA judged was accidental contamination by a banned anabolic steroid last March. Sinner’s explanation — that trace amounts of Clostebol in his doping sample was due to…
By Nurudeen Obalola Kenyan runner Edwin Kibet has emerged as the winner of the 2025 Access Bank Lagos City Marathon, while Ethiopia’s Guta Meseret Hirpa was the first woman to reach the finish line on Saturday morning. The victories for Kibet and Hirpa continued a long tradition of athletes from Kenya and Ethiopia sweeping the top prizes of the prestigious annual race held in Nigeria’s commercial capital. Kibet beat over 60,000 participants of the 42 kilometre race, completing the run in <span;>2 hours 14 minutes 6 seconds to clinch the $50,000 prize. Fellow Kenyans finished second and third behind Kibet,…
By Korede James Brighton and Hove Albion made it back-to-back victories against Chelsea with a comfortable 3-0 win at the Amex Stadium in the English Premier League on Friday night. The Seagulls also accounted for Chelsea’s exit in the FA Cup thanks to a 2-1 win at the same venue last Saturday. A brace from Yankuba Minteh and a world-class strike from Kaoru Mitoma sealed the points for Brighton on Friday against a subdued Chelsea side. It was the first time since September 2021 against Manchester City that Chelsea have failed to register a shot on target in a Premier…
By Korede James Egyptian giants Zamalek have announced the appointment of former Super Eagles head coach Jose Peseiro as their new handler. Peseiro joined Zamalek after signing a one-and-a-half-year contract. “Zamalek sign Portuguese Jose Peseiro as technical director of the team,” the club announced on Friday. “Welcome our new coach.” Peseiro arrived in Cairo on Thursday to finalise the deal as he replaced Swiss coach Christian Gross who replaced another Portuguese, Jose Gomes, who left the team in November. “Happy, honoured to represent Zamalek! And with a lot of ambition,” the 64-year-old Peseiro wrote on X in reaction to his…
Not a single female athlete features in the top 100 spots in a newly published list of sport’s highest earners in 2024, with male footballer Cristiano Ronaldo on top of the pile. The list does, however, demonstrate the spending power of the Saudi Pro League. Ronaldo heads the list thanks in no small part to the mega-money deal he signed with Al-Nassr during the 2022-2023 season, while fellow Saudi-based star Karim Benzema is also in the top 10. Players’ salaries and winnings are combined with off-field earnings, with footballers making up half of the top 10. Former Paris Saint-Germain team-mates Lionel…
Flying Eagles of Nigeria head coach Aliyu Zubairu is not losing sleep over his side’s prospects at the 2025 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations despite being drawn in a tough group. The seven-time African U-20 champions were on Thursday drawn against South Africa and fellow former champions Egypt and Morocco in Group C of the tournament scheduled for Cote d’Ivoire from April 26 to May 18. In his reaction to the draw, Zubairu said: “It’s a very good draw. If a team truly aspires to reach the FIFA World Cup, there is no need to shy away from any opponent.…
By Korede James Super Eagles striker Taiwo Awoniyi is set to start wearing a protective mask after he suffered a broken nose in Nottingham Forest’s FA Cup fourth round clash with Exeter City on Tuesday night. The Nigeria international scored Forest’s second goal as they went on to win on penalties, but had an aerial collision with Exeter goalkeeper Joe Whitworth and had to be stretchered off the pitch after suffering a concussion and a broken nose. As a result, just like his Super Eagles teammate Victor Osimhen, Awoniyi is set to start using a protection mask. Osimhen started using…
By Korede James Super Eagles right-back Bright Osayi-Samuel was in action for Fenerbahce in their 3-0 home win against Anderlecht in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League play-off tie. The Nigeria international, who was in the starting line-up for his seventh appearance in the Europa League this season, was replaced in the 46th minute. Dusan Tadic (11th minute) Edin Dzeko (42nd minute) and Morocco’s Youssef En-Nesry (57th minute) were the scorers for the Turkish club. In the Netherlands, Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen’s Galatasaray suffered a 4-1 defeat away to AZ Alkmaar. Osimhen did not feature in the…