Author: Nurudeen Obalola
By Nurudeen Obalola Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen was the hero for Galatasaray on Thursday night, scoring twice in their 3-2 UEFA Europa League home victory over Tottenham Hotspur, as his compatriot Cyriel Dessers netted for Rangers in their 1-1 draw at Olympiacos. Osimhen struck twice within eight minutes to take the contest away from Spurs, who had pulled it back to 1-1 after Galatasaray opened the scoring. Yunus Akgun gave Galatasaray an early lead in the sixth minute but Spus responded quickly, William Lankshear scoring his first goal for the club 12 minutes later. Osimhen then took over, netting…
By Nurudeen Obalola Nigeria’s representatives in this year’s CAF Women’s Champions League, Edo Queens, will earn at least $150,000 (about N250 million) from the competition, with as much as $600,000 (about N1 billion) at stake. The Confederation of African Football confirmed the cash prizes on offer at the competition on Thursday, with all eight clubs guaranteed at least $150,000, which is what teams finishing bottom of the two groups will earn. The clubs finishing third in the two four-team groups will be paid $200,000 each, while losing semi-finalists will receive $300,000. The third-place match winners will get $350,000, with the…
Fans from Paris St Germain’s Auteuil Kop unveiled a giant ‘Free Palestine’ banner before the kick-off of their UEFA Champions League game against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, eight days before France take on Israel in Paris in a Nations League game. “War on the pitch, but peace in the world,” a message underneath said. During the match, they unrolled another message that read: “Does a child’s life in Gaza mean less than another?” PSG said they had not been aware “of any plans to display such a message”. “Paris St Germain recalls that the Parc des Princes is — and…
Second-half goals from Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman and Nicolo Zaniolo earned Atalanta a 2-0 win at VfB Stuttgart in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday and the Italian side are yet to concede a goal in this season’s competition. The opener came in the 51st minute when Lookman tapped in a cross from Charles De Ketelaere and, with the home side struggling to find a way through, Zaniolo struck the decisive second two minutes from time. It was Lookman’s second goal in the Champions League this season and his eighth in 13 appearances across all competitions, along with five…
By Nurudeen Obalola Victor Osimhen will return to the Super Eagles squad, joining captain William Troost-Ekong, Ademola Lookman and 20 other players for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying clashes against Rwanda and Benin Republic later this month. Reigning African Player of the Year Osimhen missed the last round of qualifiers against Libya in October with injury, as the Super Eagles won the first leg 1-0 in Uyo before boycotting the return fixture. The three points were awarded to Nigeria by the Confederation of African Football following their mistreatment in the North African country. Head coach Austin Eguavoen has…
Benjamin Mendy has won his legal battle against Manchester City for the majority of his unpaid £11 million wages while he faced rape charges. Mendy was cleared of raping a woman at his £4m mansion and trying to rape another woman following a trial last year. City halted Mendy’s £500,000-a-month salary in 2021 when the Frenchman was arrested for the second time. Mendy, who joined City for £49m from Monaco in 2017, responded by taking the English Premier League champions to an employment tribunal, and he has won the fight for most of his unpaid salary after making a claim for ‘unauthorised…
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has admitted that he is very concerned about the Spanish and European champions’ recent slump. The UEFA Champions League holders fell to a second successive defeat on Tuesday, as they lost 3-1 to AC Milan in the competition, days after a humiliating 4-0 defeat to Barcelona in LaLiga. Tuesday night’s result makes it a difficult task for the 14-time champions to secure automatic qualification to the last 16 of the competition, as they have now only won 50% of their league phase matches. It is also a result that confirms Real Madrid’s tough start to the season,…
There were hat-tricks for Viktor Gyokeres and Luis Diaz on Tuesday, both forwards firing their sides, Sporting Lisbon and Liverpool, to big victories in the UEFA Champions League. Sporting marked the final home game of Manchester United-bound coach Ruben Amorim’s reign with a stunning 4-1 thrashing of Manchester City to continue their fine start in the competition. The Portuguese league leaders were second best for most of the first half and should have trailed by more than Phil Foden’s early goal, but Sweden striker Gyokeres equalised before the break. City were shocked at the start of the second half as Maximiliano Araujo…
The Super Falcons are scheduled to play France in a friendly match in France on Saturday, November 30, the Nigeria Football Federation has announced. The NFF confirmed the France match on Tuesday, days after the Super Falcons defeated Algeria 2-0 and 4-1 in friendlies in Ikenne-Remo and Lagos respectively, with a largely home-based squad coached by Justine Madugu. The encounter with the Les Bleues will be held at the Stade Raymond Kopa in Angers, with kick-off set for 9.30pm French time. While the Bleues use the game as part of their preparations for the UEFA Nations League in the spring…
Two men found guilty of the murder of Kenyan-born Ugandan 3,000m steeplechase athlete Benjamin Kiplagat last December have each been sentenced to 35 years in prison. Eldoret High Court’s Justice Reuben Nyakundi ruled on Tuesday that both scientific and circumstantial evidence by the prosecution had linked Peter Ushuru, 30, and bodaboda rider David Ekai, 25, to the murder of three-time Olympian on the night of December 31, 2023. Delivering the sentence on Tuesday, Justice Nyakundi noted that the accused persons intentionally killed the athlete and, hence deserved a harsh sentence. The High Court Judge said the accused persons were not…