Author: Nurudeen Obalola
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…
Novak Djokovic will not be playing in the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy from Sunday, meaning his season is over, the Serbian star announced on Tuesday via social media. Following his withdrawal from the Paris Masters, 37-year-old Djokovic had just one event left to contend with: the ATP Finals in Turin, which he has won seven times and is the defending champion. However, due to injury, the 24-time Grand Slam winner will not be present in Italy and will therefore have to call time on his season. As a result, Djokovic will have to wait to win his 100th ATP…
By Nurudeen Obalola Fulham manager Marco Silva has named Super Eagles midfielder Alex Iwobi as one of the players that are difficult to drop this season. Iwobi played the full game on Monday night as Fulham came from behind to beat Brentford 2-1 in their English Premier League clash at Craven Cottage, the two goals coming in stoppage time. Harry Wilson came off the bench to score the equaliser and and the winner, but he has struggled to get playing time this season. Silva explained that the form of the likes of Iwobi is keeping Wilson on the bench. “It’s…
Ruben Amorim has joked that he may be seen as the new Sir Alex Ferguson by Manchester United fans if his Sporting Lisbon side beat Manchester City on Tuesday night. Amorim will join United officially after the international break as permanent replacement for Erik ten Hag, who was sacked by the Red Devils last week after a dismal start to the season. The 39-year-old Portuguese has two more games as Sporting head coach before taking over at Old Trafford, with one of them the UEFA Champions League home clash against United’s neighbours on Tuesday. “If the result is very negative,…
Football in Spain should have been completely suspended after the worst flash floods in decades swept the eastern region of Valencia last week, killing at least 215 people, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said on Monday. Real’s visit to Valencia on Saturday was one of the several LaLiga games postponed after the Spanish FA (RFEF) ordered to re-schedule all games scheduled for Valencia at the weekend in addition to seven cup ties last week. Ancelotti said it was nonsense that in other places of the country the competitions continued as expected and argued that there was no enthusiasm in Spain…
The investigative committee set up by the now defunct sports ministry to look into the failings at the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics has made its report public. The committee was set up by then sports minister John Enoh following Team Nigeria’s dismal showing at the Olympics, where the country did not win a single medal despite a budget of billions of naira, and the Paralympics. According to the Chairman of the committee, leading sports journalist Dr Mumini Alao, the report was submitted to Enoh on October 22, with new National Sports Commission Chairman, Shehu Dikko, approving its release.…
Mikel Arteta is to lose a key ally at Arsenal with highly-rated sporting director Edu set to leave the club. The Brazilian, a former Arsenal midfielder, has been responsible for capturing key signings such as Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice and in leading Arsenal’s strong performance in recruitment and delivering key players to the club. He is widely thought of as one of the leading sporting directors in world football for masterminding the change in Arsenal’s signing surge as well as supporting the offloading of troubled stars such as Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, who were considered to be part of a…