Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has hailed the impact of captain Vincent Kompany after two injury-ravaged seasons at the club but admits they still need to sign a back-up option for their central defender. Kompany made a fifth consecutive appearance in the starting line-up and scored his second goal since returning last month in City’s 5-0 victory over Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday. “(Five games played in a row for Vincent) is a huge step,” Guardiola told reporters. “I spoke to him at the beginning of the season, saying we need to make small steps. “(Former manager)…
Author: David Folami
Ajax Amsterdam weathered an Olympique Lyonnais storm to reach the Europa League final 5-4 on aggregate after suffering a 3-1 away defeat in a thrilling clash on Thursday. They will face Manchester United in the showpiece match in Stockholm on May 24 after the Premier League side beat Celta Vigo 2-1 on aggregate after a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford. Kasper Dolberg opened the scoring for Ajax in the semifinal second leg but Alexandre Lacazette’s double just before halftime put Lyon ahead on the night and substitute Rachid Ghezzal added another goal for the hosts late on. But Ajax, who…
Benfica won the Portuguese league in style on Saturday, thrashing Vitoria Guimaraes 5-0 to clinch the title for the fourth season in a row. The Eagles took an unassailable eight-point lead over arch-rivals Porto who have only two games left to play. Benfica, whose coach Rui Vitoria spent four years at Guimaraes, quickly settled their nerves when Franco Cervi and Raul Jimenez put them 2-0 ahead after only 16 minutes. Pizzi added the third after a one-two with Jonas and an emphatic finish and Jonas himself lobbed the fourth before halftime as Guimaraes, who had won their last seven league…
Manchester City enjoyed a huge let-off in their quest for a top-four finish in the Premier League while Arsenal edged to within a point of fourth-placed Liverpool with an impressive victory on Saturday. A freakish penalty ‘miss’ by Leicester City’s Riyad Mahrez at the Etihad Stadium allowed Manchester City to squeeze out a 2-1 victory that lifted them to third place, above Liverpool. Mahrez beat Willy Caballero with 13 minutes remaining but had slipped in his run-up and inadvertently struck the ball twice, once with each foot. Eagle-eyed referee Robert Madley correctly applied the law and City breathed deeply before…
Arsenal’s “fighting spirit” has returned, manager Arsene Wenger said after his side completed a third Premier League victory in a week to roar back into contention for a top-four finish. After a 2-0 loss at rivals Tottenham Hotspur last month, Arsenal looked dead and buried in pursuit of a 21st successive Champions League qualification but the Gunners have climbed to within a point of fourth-placed Liverpool. Their impressive 4-1 victory at Stoke City on Saturday followed similarly convincing 2-0 wins against Southampton and Manchester United respectively. The Gunners still need Liverpool or Manchester City to drop points before they stand…
Arsenal maintained their pursuit of a top-four finish with an impressive 4-1 victory at Stoke City but the Gunners still need other favourable results if they want to play in the Champions League for a 21st consecutive season. Restored to the starting line up, Olivier Giroud opened the scoring from close range after 42 minutes and Mesut Ozil doubled the advantage after the break. He collected Alexis Sanchez’s defence-splitting pass before beautifully chipping Jack Butland. Peter Crouch set up a potentially nervous finish with a 66th-minute goal – though replays appeared to show the ball going in off the forward’s…
“It takes 10 years to be an overnight success,” a popular maxim goes. But for Victor Moses, it took four exhausting, frustrating and uncertain years to get here. After three underwhelming loan spells at Liverpool, Stoke City and West Ham, Moses returned to Chelsea short of confidence, iffy, and confused about place at the club. Fast forward to the night of Friday, May 13 he has been drenched with champagne, celebrating a Premier League title with Chelsea. He’s not just celebrating a title that has been won by his club and teammates, he is toasting to the deserved recognition of…
Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba has lost his dad who died at the age of 79 after a long battle with illness. Fassou Antoine Pogba, a Guinean who moved to Paris at the age of 30 is the father to Pogba and his older twin brothers. In March, Pogba shared a photo of his dad in a hospital bed on his 79th birthday. “Happy birthday dear Dad, I feel blessed to be your son #pogdaddy #fighter #pogbance,” he wrote alongside the post. He was a former footballer with a career which began in Guinea. He however dumped it to became…
Free-scoring Monaco could wrap up a first Ligue 1 title in 17 years on Sunday as defending champions Paris Saint-Germain need a near-miracle to earn a fifth straight championship. Monaco enjoy a three point lead, have a massive goal difference advantage of 19 and even hold a game in hand as they host 11th placed Lille, with the Parisians facing a tough trip to Saint Etienne’s raucous stadium. A Monaco victory would all but mathematically secure the title, while PSG must at least match their result to keep alive any semblance of suspense. Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev bought Monaco in…
Fela is a motivational speaker, corporate strategist and business strategist. Born Oluwafeolami Durotoye May 12, 1971 in Ibadan, South West Nigeria, Fela is a motivational speaker has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science with Economics, Masters degree in Business Administration (M.B.A) and a Master of Philosophy Degree (M.Phil) in Strategic Management, from the Obafemi Awolowo University. He is also an Alumnus of the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University in the United States. During his Masters Degree in Business Administration (MBA) (1995-1997), he started “The Pool Bar”, which was the number one Hang-Out on the campus. Fela moved…
Riyad Mahrez’s disallowed penalty allowed Manchester City to take a significant step towards Champions League qualification with a 2-1 victory over Leicester City on Saturday. All of the goals came in the first half at the Etihad Stadium, with David Silva’s opener for the home side allowed to stand despite a strong suggestion of offside. Gabriel Jesus’s penalty increased their lead, before Shinji Okazaki pulled one back with a spectacular volley. The oddest moment of the match, though, came in a scrappy second half, when Mahrez slipped as he converted a penalty that would have made it 2-2 and touched…
Publicity Secretaries of state chapters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have been advised not to see the party’s critics as enemies. National Publicity Secretary of the party, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, gave the advice at the opening of a two-day External Communication and Social Media Workshop organised for them in Abuja on Friday. The workshop was organised by the party, in collaboration with the International Republican Institute (IRI), a non-profit and non-partisan organisation which advocates freedom and democracy worldwide. “As a party that was in the opposition, we went round the country asking people to vote for us and made…
Album – Believe Artiste – Sugarboy Record Label – G-Worldwide (2017) Duration- 78 minutes Within Sugarboy, there’s enough talent to make him a pop star. But it is not being manifested at the level that he thinks it is. After spending many years in the music industry under the name A1, he found a new lease of life under G-Worldwide, and has gone on to benefit from the attention on his colleague, Kiss Daniel. Piggy-backing on his shine by proxy, he has been able to score many eyes looking at his brand. But on the music front, he is yet…
CDQ Olowo drops new tune – ‘Ko funny’ featuring Davido. The song certain to be well received by the streets follows ‘Say baba’ remix featuring DJ Maphorisa. Davido of course brings his star energy to the song. Check it out.
Nigerian singer, songwriter and producer Mystro, who recently signed a contractual agreement with Sony/ATV Music Publishing, South Africa is back with a new anthem. The new song titled ‘Lagos @ 50’ features Nigerian King of Fuji music, Wasiu Ayinde Marshal ‘K1’ . It was produced and written by Mystro as they team up to create a melodious street anthem for Lagos state with it’s 50th anniversary celebration in the air. According to Mystro, “everyone loves the city of Lagos and as the state celebrates it’s 50th year anniversary, it’s only proper to appreciate and give back to the state for…
The Nigerian Army has reacted to the recent video posted by Boko Haram sect showing some abducted Chibok school girls explaining why they would prefer to remain in the group’s custody. The video was dismissed by the Nigerian Army in a recent statement by the Director Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Sani Kukasheka Usman. Usman said: “The attention of Nigerian Army has been drawn to two video clips released by one of the released Boko Haram terrorists in exchange for the abducted Chibok school girls. “In the first clip the terrorist, among other things, made boastful and spurious allegations, while…
Mr Mahmud Sani, Manager, Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, says the approval of the second runway in the 2017 budget will make the airport the hub in air transport in West Africa. Sani, who disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Friday in Abuja, said the current state of the airport had also made it the best in the country. “Abuja airport, I believe is the best airport in Nigeria and it is our hope that with the second runway coming which gracefully has been approved in the 2017 budget, Abuja is a hub.…
The Benin Monarch, Oba Ewuare 11 has warned against illegal extortion under guise of palace authorization. The monarch in a statement issued on Saturday in Benin by his Chief Press Secretary, Desmond Agbama, alleged that some groups were extorting using the name of the palace. He said that a group, Association of Sand Quarry Owners, was hiding under the guise of paying royalty to the palace to increase prizes of various categories of sand in the state. The oba said that any group bent on inflicting hardship on the public, using the palace authority as cover would be dealt with…
Bayern Munich defender and former international Holger Badstuber will not return to the German champions after his loan spell at Schalke 04 at the end of the season, the Bavarians said on Friday. Badstuber, plagued throughout his career by serious injuries, had joined Schalke in January to get match practice. The 28-year-old, who joined Bayern 15 years ago, is likely to continue his career abroad as a free agent, Bayern said. “It was clear from the start that Holger Badstuber, after his loan spell at Schalke, would seek a new experience most likely abroad,” Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said in…
Very early into the bruising friendly match between Nigeria and Senegal in London, skipper Ogenyi Onazi was taken out by Mame Diouf in an aerial challenge. He was replaced by John Ogu of Hapoel Beer Sheva. Ogu proceeded to help Nigeria get a hold in the match which was threatening to be in total Senegalese control. Any nerve before coming on, I asked him? “I was 100% fit. I had played over 40 games for my club and it was not my debut so I was pretty relaxed. I had noticed they wanted to bully us so I was determined…