Author: Nurudeen Obalola
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has admitted that his team ‘maybe the worst’ in the 147-year history of the club. United’s 3-1 defeat by Brighton on Sunday was the fourth in their last five home English Premier League games. They have collected only 11 points in 11 league games since Amorim replaced was appointed in November, and United are 13th in the table — 10 points clear of the relegation zone but seven behind 10th-placed Fulham. The result was Manchester United’s sixth home Premier League defeat of the season, their most from their opening 12 home matches of a league…
By Korede James Nigeria stunned New Zealand to claim victory in their first-ever completed ICC Women’s U-19 World Cup clash on Monday. Making their ICC Women’s U-19 World Cup debut, the Nigerians were left to wait for an opportunity after their contest with Samoa on Saturday was abandoned due to the rain. Wet weather again threatened proceedings in Sarawak, but the African nation made the most of their chances once it was confirmed there would be play, albeit a reduced contest of 13 overs each. Nigeria scored 65-6 batting first, before producing an energetic display in the field that…
By Korede James Enyimba have been eliminated from this season’s CAF Confederation Cup after losing 3-1 to Zamalek in their final Group D match on Sunday night in Cairo. The People’s Elephant needed to win and for Al Masry to fail to beat Black Bulls Maputo in the group’s other fixture. Zamalek took the lead in the 29th minute through Mostafa Shalaby, while Seifeddine Jaziri made it 2-0 on 48 minutes. Ifeanyi Ihemekwele pulled a goal back for Enyimba in the 57th minute to give the two-time CAF Champions League winners some hope. However, any thoughts of a possible comeback…
By Korede James Super Eagles striker Cyriel Dessers netted a hat-trick and also provided an assist in Rangers’ 5-0 win against fifth-tier club Fraserburgh in the round of 32 of the Scottish Cup on Sunday. Clinton Nsiala and Ross McCausland were the other scorers for Rangers. Former Super Eagles defender Leon Balogun was not included in Rangers’ squad for the Cup tie. The 30-year-old Dessers also scored in Rangers’ 3-0 win against Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership in midweek. The Nigeria international gave Rangers the lead in the 27th minute before Nsiala made it 2-0 on 52 minutes. Dessers made…
By Korede James Manchester United could not build on their recent impressive results as they fell to a 3-1 English Premier League defeat to Brighton at Old Trafford on Sunday. Yankuba Minteh, Kaoru Mitoma and substitute Georginio Rutter struck for the visitors as they secured a third straight league win over Manchester United at Old Trafford. Minteh gave Brighton the lead just five minutes into the game but Bruno Fernandes drew United level on 23 minutes from the penalty spot. Joao Pedro thought he had restored Brighton’s lead on 53 minutes but his goal was disallowed by VAR. The disallowed…
The Australian Open men’s quarter-finals on Tuesday will be Novak Djokovic versus Carlos Alcaraz, and No. 2 Alexander Zverev versus No. 12 Tommy Paul. Djokovic, who has won 10 of his 24 Grand Slam titles at Melbourne Park, defeated No. 24 Jiri Lehecka 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on Sunday, while Alcaraz advanced when No. 15 Jack Draper quit because of a hip problem after two sets. Zverev, a two-time major runner-up, defeated No. 14 Ugo Humbert 6-1, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2; Paul, a semi-finalist in Australia in 2023, eliminated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-1, 6-1, 6-1. In women’s singles, Coco Gauff’s consecutive-set streak ended at…
Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo is confident that Super Eagles striker Taiwo Awoniyi will be back to his best form soon. Awoniyi has been working hard to get back to fitness and sharpness since missing a large part of pre-season. The Nigeria international scored his first goal of the campaign in the 3-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers earlier this month. The striker made the line-up for last weekend’s FA Cup before returning to the bench for Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw with his former club Liverpool. “He can absolutely get back (to that previous level). Yes, absolutely. Because he shows…
LaLiga club Real Betis are closing in on a loan deal with Manchester United for their Brazilian forward Antony. According to European transfer expert Fabrizio Romano on Sunday, the Spanish club and the English club are working on the final details of an agreement. The deal would see Antony move on loan to Real Betis until June, with no option or obligation to buy. Antony is reportedly open to the potential move, with Manchester United to cover part of his salary while on loan. Also TEAMtalk reported that the Manchester United board is open to offloading Antony this month and…
By Korede James Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman scored his 10th Serie A goal of the season on Saturday night but it was not enough as Atalanta lost 3-2 to visiting Napoli. Lookman, the current African Player of the Year, is just one goal shy of equaling his league tally for the whole of last season. Atalanta have now gone five consecutive matches without a win, recording three draws and two defeats, while Napoli’s winning run has extended to six games on the bounce. Atalanta got off to a good start as Mateo Retegui gave them the lead in the…
By Korede James Arsenal missed the chance to close the gap on Liverpool as they let slip a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with Aston Villa in the English Premier League on Saturday at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners looked to be cruising to victory after Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz scored in either half to take them 2-0 up. But Youri Tielemans and Olie Watkins struck to help Villa to a share of the spoils. The draw means Arsenal are on 44 points, six points behind Liverpool who have a game in hand. Mikel Arteta’s side needed to put…