Midtjylland striker Paul Onuachu says he “expected more” from Manchester United, following his team’s 2-1 Europa League win vs. the Red Devils. Onuachu, 21, scored the winner for the Danish champions in the 77th minute after coming on as a substitute on the hour mark. Memphis Depay’s close-range finish had put United in front in the 37th minute, but Pione Sisto equalised seven minutes later to set up Onuachu’s late heroics. After the win, Onuachu admitted that his side perhaps caught their Premier League opponents off guard. “I think I expected more from them but we gave them what they…
Author: David Folami
Jurgen Klopp admitted he was “not satisfied” with Liverpool’s performance after they survived a late scare to draw 0-0 at Augsburg in Thursday’s Europa League round-of-32 first leg. The Reds were unable to take their chances at the WWK Arena in southern Germany, and were almost punished when Augsburg substitute Ji Dong-won struck a post with five minutes left. Daniel Sturridge had earlier failed to connect properly in front of goal when Roberto Firmino and James Milner combined to set him up early in the second half, and had another effort deflected and saved. Firmino, too, saw a deflected shot…
Manchester United added David De Gea to their long injury list after the goalkeeper injured his knee in the warm-up ahead of Thursday’s 2-1 defeat to Midtjylland in the Europa League. He was replaced in the starting XI by Sergio Romero for the round-of-32, first-leg clash in Denmark. Romero made a number of fine saves in his first United appearance since the defeat on penalties to Middlesbrough in the Capital One Cup, but he could not prevent a shocking result. After the game, manager Louis van Gaal said the damage was to De Gea’s knee, but he could confirm the…
Louis van Gaal admitted that Manchester United’s travelling fans had been right to curse at his team in Thursday’s 2-1 Europa League loss at Midtjylland. The last-32 first leg in Herning, Denmark, saw United produce yet another unconvincing display as they threw away the lead against the Danish champions. Red Devils supporters made their feelings known at the end, with explicit chants of “we’re f—— s—” coming from among the approximately 800 who had made the trip to the MCH Arena for a game that cost £71 per ticket. When asked about that chant afterward, Van Gaal said: “The fans…
An elated but pragmatic Zinedine Zidane has quickly turned his mind from the Champions League victory against AS Roma to Real Madrid’s seemingly impossible task to catch Barcelona in La Liga. Real are getting better under Zidane, unbeaten in seven matches in all competitions after Wednesday’s 2-0 win in the first leg of their last-16 tie in Rome, thanks to a brilliant Cristiano Ronaldo. But only a couple of hours earlier, Barcelona had left Real and Atletico Madrid with a tough task to overhaul them in the league race when they secured a six-point cushion with a 3-1 win at…
Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink has reminded Eden Hazard of his priorities, asking the midfielder to focus on improving his form and fitness rather than contemplating a potential move at the end of the season. Ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Paris St Germain (PSG), Hazard left the door open on a move to Spanish giants Real Madrid or the French club to fulfil his ambition of winning the Champions League. The 25-year-old told Le Parisien he would find it “hard to say no” if PSG bid for him at the end of the campaign, but Hiddink suggested the player…
Guus Hiddink accused Watford of trying to provoke Diego Costa after the Chelsea striker was involved in a series of clashes during a feisty 0-0 draw at Vicarage Road. Costa appeared fortunate to avoid a red card after he pushed over Watford defender Sebastian Prodl and then shoved Juan Carlos Paredes later in the first half. The second offence infuriated Watford’s players and finally prompted referee Mike Dean to book Costa. The Spain international had already been given a retrospective three-game ban this season after Dean failed to send him off following clashes with Arsenal pair Laurent Koscielny and Gabriel.…
Nigeria international striker, Odion Ighalo says he almost moved to the Chinese Premier League at the start of the season. The attacker revealed that he rejected a summer move to China worth almost £300,000-a-week to chase his Premier League dream. Ighalo, who has scored 14 times in the top-flight this season, had the chance to join the money-spinning Chinese league over the summer. The Super Eagles man was promised a sum of £40 million over the course of a four-year contract as the Hornets were on the brink of returning to the top-flight. Ighalo declined, but the offers kept coming,…
Watford striker Troy Deeney has the right credentials to make his England debut as a replacement for injured skipper Wayne Rooney, manager Quique Sanchez Flores said. Rooney, England’s record goalscorer, is sidelined for six weeks after picking up a knee injury last weekend. Although the Manchester United captain is expected to be back in action well before the start of the Euro 2016 campaign in June, he could miss next month’s friendlies against World Cup holders Germany and the Netherlands. Despite struggling earlier in the campaign, Deeney has scored eight goals and claimed eight assists in his 26 Premier League…
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said that the current shortage of petrol being experienced in Lagos State is due to a leadership battle between a branch of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) union and the national leadership of the union. This was contained in a statement released by NNPC spokesperson, Ohi Alegbe on Wednesday, February 17, 2016. The Pipeline and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of the NNPC, has however assured that the issue would soon be resolved due to its intervention in the disagreement. The PPMC also said that there is sufficient fuel in Lagos and…
As part of the Kaduna State Government’s civil service reforms to enhance output, Gov. Nasiru El-Rufai has approved the appointments of 11 new permanent secretaries into the service. This is contained in a statement signed by Mr Samuel Aruwan, the Special Assistant to the governor on Media and Publicity, and made available to newsmen in Kaduna on Thursday. The statement said six other permanent secretaries had been redeployed while three others were retained in their ministries. ADVERTISING “The new permanent secretaries are: Esther Sawok, (Women Affairs); Mahmud Yamusa,(Budget and Planning); Esther Christopher, (General Services in the office of the SSG)…
A labour leader, Issa Aremu, has advised the Federal Government to compel power distribution companies to obey the directive of the National Assembly to suspend implementation of the new electricity tariff. Aremu, the Secretary General, National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN) gave the advice in a statement issued on Thursday in Kaduna. “We call on stakeholders to take advantage of the proposed public hearing to bring to the fore all the issues dealing with the value chain in the power sector. “We particularly commend the Senate for the directive to the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission,…
The Commissioner for Information in River State, Dr. Austin Tam-George, has call on President Muhammadu Buhari to allow oil-producing states have full control of their oil resources. Tam-George said the 1969 Petroleum Act, which gives the Federal Government the power to own revenues from petroleum resources, should be reversed. Tam-George said this in Lagos on Tuesday, February 16, while addressing newsmen. He said the Federal Government is at variance with the spirit of true federalism. The Commissioner, who lauded Buhari’s anti-corruption war, urged the government to also battle ‘structural corruption’ in the country. Hhe said, “We align with the Federal…
Ekiti state governor, Ayodele Fayose, has blamed President Muhammadu Buhari for the continuous fall of the naira, saying the currency was stronger under Goodluck Jonathan’s administration. With the US Dollar exchanging for N350 as the time of filing this report, Fayose said the President lacks the mental capacity to resolve the economic challenges confronting the country. He said Buhari’s foreign trips is a sign that he is insensitive to the hardship confronting Nigerians. In a statement released by his special assistant on public communications and new media, Lere Olayinka, he said after nine months in office, the President has not…
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has said that former president, Goodluck Jonathan almost turned Nigeria into a pariah state during his tenure. Mohammed made the comment on Wednesday, February 17, 2016, while addressing journalists at the Presidential Villa, Punch reports. “You do not run a country by being isolated and the personal presence of the President in many of these forums is very important because before now, we were almost a pariah state,” he said as justification for President Muhammadu Buhari’s frequent foreign trips. “The two things that have been driving investments away from this country are…
Former aide to ex-President, Goodluck Jonathan, Doyin Okupe has described new Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman, Ali Modu Sheriff as the wrong candidate for the job. Okupe made the comment via a post on his Facebook page today, February 18, 2016. It reads: “The capability of our party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and its leadership to make grave errors of judgement is legendary. What is intriguing is that even out of power that tendency seems unabating.” “Alhaji Ali Sheriff is a longstanding political associate of mine and a very adroit and astute politician of perhaps a sublime class. But…
One of the contestants for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairmanship, Alhaji Shehu Musa Gabam, has said that he has no regrets losing the position to a former governor of Borno State, Ali Modu Sheriff. Gabam in a statement said the emergence of Sheriff was a decision taken by some governors of the People’s Democratic Party when their screening was ongoing. He said as a young man who labored among others to ensure the creation of the PDP, he will not leave but work to ensure that they return to power. “I want to use this opportunity to express…
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has warned Nigerians to stop calling its new Chairman, Ali Modu Sheriff a “Boko Haram Sponsor.” The PDP made the call via a statement released on February 17, 2016, by its National Auditor, Alhaji Adewole Adeyanju. “We are very much aware that some elements are jittery over PDP’s decision to pick him as its national chairman and the only way out for them is to label him as Boko Haram sponsor,” he said. “They cannot succeed in their new plot because the government would have arrested and charged him to court as done to a…
Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose has said that President Muhammadu Buhari lacks the mental capacity to solve Nigeria’s problems. Fayose made the remark via a statement released by his media aide, Lere Olayinka on Wednesday, February 17, 2016. It reads: “It is worrisome that President Buhari does not have any economic team and there is no policy direction yet, despite spending close to nine months in office.” “The implication of the President’s obvious lack of the required mental capacity to tackle the nation’s economic problems and the resultant effects are human right abuses, prices of goods and services skyrocketing, daily…
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Bode George has said that the new Chairman of the party, Ali Modu Sherriff will only be in office for three to four months. George made the comment in reaction to the controversy caused by Sherriff’s appointment. “Some people were happy about his emergence just as some people were unhappy about it. But what we should bear in mind is that he (Sheriff) is only a transitional chairman,” he told Punch. “He’s there to fill the remainder of the tenure of our former chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu. He would be the chairman for three to…