Dolphins defender Victor Ezuruike has said his side will upturn the slim 0-1 defeat at Leones Vegetarianos of Equatorial Guinea in the Caf Confedration Cup competition. . The Garden City host the West African challengers in the reverse fixture on Saturday at the Liberation Stadium in Port Harcourt. . Ezuruike said his teammates have decided to put aside the domestic difficulties to win big for themselves. . “We’ve decided to succeed against Leones Vegetarianos on Saturday irrespective of the tough challenges confronting us at the moment. . “The encounter is certain to be difficult but we’ve agreed among ourselves to…
Author: David F.
Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim has warned Arsenal ahead of their Champions League last 16 first leg on Wednesday that the French side with the mean defence will be tough to break down. . “We’ll play it solid and stop Arsenal’s midfield and attackers from finding a way through,” The Portuguese coach promised on the eve of the match. . Monaco may be finding it difficult to find goals after the departure of James Rodriguez and Radamel Falcao last summer, but they currently have the tightest defence in Ligue 1, with just 19 goals conceded in 25 matches. . “We will…
Juventus overcame a blunder by defender Giorgio Chiellini and a first-half injury to playmaker Andrea Pirlo to beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in a fast and furious Champions League tie on Tuesday. . Carlos Tevez tapped in from close range to give the Serie A champions a 13th minute lead, only for a slip by Chiellini five minutes later to let in Marco Reus for a clinically-taken equaliser. . In a passionate atmosphere, Juventus suffered another blow in the last 16, first leg when Pirlo went off injured just after the half hour. . But a superbly-taken goal by Alvaro Morata…
KAA Gent attacking winger Moses Simon’s younger brother has become the target of some of Europe’s top clubs, supersport.com has been informed. . Thankgod Daddy Simon is a gifted winger like his older brother Moses, who has been hogging the headlines in Europe as one of the hottest young talent following his switch from AS Trencin to Belgian Jupiler side KAA Gent. . The 17-year-old is now scheduled to leave the famous GBS Academy in Jos, Nigeria, for Europe, according to the academy’s head of operations, Ibrahim Ahmed. . But Thankgod Simon will have to wait till he turns 18…
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone says concentration and control will be key for last season’s finalists when they face Bayer Leverkusen away in Wednesday’s Champions League last-16, first leg tie. . Madrid arrive in Germany in a rich-vein of form with ex-Bayern Munich striker Mario Mandzukic having claimed 20 goals in all competitions this season and the defending champions third in La Liga. . Bayer, who reached the 2002 Champions League final where they were beaten by Real Madrid, are struggling for form having leaked a late equaliser at Augsburg on Saturday in a 2-2 draw and are winless in…
League Two side Bury have reached an agreement to lease Manchester City’s former training ground in Carrington from 1 March. . The 22-acre site has been acquired on a five-year deal. . The Premier League champions have moved into a new £200m training complex in the city centre at the Etihad Campus. . “The facility at Carrington is out of this world and it was an opportunity that we simply could not turn down,” said Bury chairman Stewart Day. . “We are thrilled to have reached this agreement particularly given the keen interest in a number of parties in leasing…
Burnley boss Sean Dyche has defended forward Ashley Barnes following his challenge on Nemanja Matic in Saturday’s draw at Chelsea. . Matic was sent off after reacting angrily to being struck on the shin by Barnes, with Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho describing the tackle as “criminal”. Barnes was not punished during the match and faces no FA action. . Dyche said he found Mourinho’s view “hard to believe”, adding: “In live time no-one reacts, apart from Matic.” . Barnes played the ball but caught the Serbia midfielder high on the shin with his studs as he followed through after making…
Barcelona are not clear favourites to beat Manchester City and reach the Champions League quarter-finals, says coach Luis Enrique. . The Catalan club are aiming to reach the last eight for a ninth straight season, while City have never gone beyond the last 16. . “I don’t think there is a favourite,” said Enrique, ahead of Tuesday’s first leg at Etihad Stadium. Barca beat City 4-1 on aggregate at the same stage last season. . Enrique said: “It is dangerous to speak of favourites in the Champions League – you have to demonstrate yourself on the field.” . Midfielder Samir…
Cardiff City’s board members will boycott Tuesday’s Championship game at Wigan in protest at what they allege to be a club owned and managed by racists. . At least two members of the board were planning to travel but owner Vincent Tan has instructed them not to and they are said to support his position. . Wigan owner Dave Whelan was fined £50,000 for making racist comments about Jewish and Chinese people and served a six-week ban from football. Wigan declined to comment on Tuesday. . The Football Association disciplinary commission that punished Latics owner Whelan said it was “satisfied”…
Tottenham Hotspur’s 96th minute equaliser by Harry Kane in a 2-2 home draw against West Ham United on Sunday should not have stood but the referee was not brave enough to disallow it, said visiting manager Sam Allardyce. . With four minutes and 48 seconds of five additional minutes having been played, and Spurs trailing 2-1, they were awarded a penalty when Kane was felled by Alex Song. . At the awarding of the penalty the clock was not stopped but the laws of the game dictate that a spot kick must be taken if it is awarded inside the…
Chelsea were left seething after midfielder Nemanja Matic’s suspension was cut from three matches to two by the FA on Tuesday, meaning he will miss Sunday’s League Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley. . Under a headline saying they were appalled, the London club added in a statement: “The Chelsea Football Club board is extremely disappointed and frustrated the regulatory commission has decided not to reduce Matic’s suspension to the maximum extent permitted.” . The Serbian international received his ban after being sent off for pushing Ashley Barnes to the ground after the Burnley striker’s dangerous studs-up challenge in…
Dutch striker Bas Dost’s sensational form continued as his double lifted second-placed VfL Wolfsburg to a 2-1 win over Hertha Berlin in the German Bundesliga on Sunday. . Dost struck early in the game only to see second-bottom visitors Hertha hit back on the half-hour through Julian Schieber. . But Wolfsburg stayed eight points behind leaders Bayern Munich after Dost pounced for the winning goal with 16 minutes left. . The 25-year-old has now scored nine goals in Wolfsburg’s five league matches since the winter break and he also netted twice in Thursday’s Europa League game against Sporting Lisbon. .…
Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago Alcantara started individual training with a footballon on Tuesday for the first time in four months as he works towards his comeback. . The Spaniard, who last trained on October 14, had to undergo further knee surgery that month after an injury setback. . “Getting used to the ball was what was on the programme today,” Bayern said in a statement. “It is the next small step towards a comeback.” . Bayern coach Pep Guardiola last week sounded confident the player could be back in team training in a matter of weeks but did not give…
Philippe Coutinho scored a magnificent goal as Liverpool overcame Southampton 2-0 in a controversial game on Sunday to close to within two points of the Premier League’s top four. . Coutinho opened the scoring with a stunning 30-yard effort in the third minute and Raheem Sterling added a second goal towards the end, but it was the performance of referee Kevin Friend that was to prove the biggest talking point on a cold, squally evening at St Mary’s. . The official turned down two strong penalty appeals from Southampton and was barracked by their supporters throughout, as Ronald Koeman’s side…
Jose Mourinho accused Burnley’s Ashley Barnes of making a “criminal” tackle on Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic as the Blues’ boss let rip at refereeing standards and media coverage of his team. . Matic was sent off for his angry reaction to Barnes’ tackle in the 70th minute of Chelsea’s 1-1 draw against struggling Burnley at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. . While Serbian midfielder Matic was dismissed, Burnley forward Barnes went unpunished by referee Martin Atkinson and the Clarets took advantage of their numerical advantage to snatch a late equaliser. . Mourinho had little to say in his post-match press conference, simply…
Luis Suarez will have another chance to justify the massive fee Barcelona paid for him Tuesday when he returns to England to face Manchester City in the Champions League round of 16 . The history of football is full of players weighed down by a massive price tag, and this is currently the case with Luis Suarez. . Tuesday will see Suarez return to England for the first time since his July move from Liverpool to Barcelona, to face Manchester City in a Champions League round of 16 first leg. . Barca raised eyebrows by paying Liverpool a club record…
Manchester City midfielder Samir Nasri told his teammates on Monday that they must shed any sense of inferiority if they are to outwit Barcelona in the Champions League last 16. . Nasri was a member of the City team beaten 4-1 on aggregate by Barcelona at the same stage of last season’s competition, which was the third time he had fallen foul of the Catalan giants in his career. . Barcelona are favourites to progress ahead of Tuesday’s reunion at the Etihad Stadium, but with an extra year’s experience and a close to full-strength squad, Nasri feels City are now…
Juventus goalkeeper and captain Gianluigi Buffon has called for full commitment when the Italian champions host Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, looking to put one foot in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. . The Turin giants welcome Jurgen Klopp’s side on a high, having boosted their Serie A lead over challengers Roma to nine points at the weekend. . Buffon, who admitted to getting frustrated with himself and the team during difficult encounters in recent weeks, said he has every respect for the Germans. . Dortmund beat Juventus 3-1 to win the 1997 European Cup and were beaten in the…
Bayern Munich stretched their lead in the Bundesliga to 11 points following a crushing 6-0 win at Paderborn on Saturday, while Augsburg goalkeeper Marwin Hitz scored a stoppage-time equaliser against Bayer Leverkusen. . Bayern were held scoreless by Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Tuesday but the title holders have now scored 14 goals in two league matches. . Robert Lewandowksi’s first-half double on his return to the starting line-up got Bayern on their way, while Arjen Robben is now the league’s top scorer after getting his 15th and 16th goals of the season. . Franck Ribery and Mitchell…
Germany star Marco Reus committed himself to Borussia Dortmund until 2019 with the aim of bringing another Bundesliga title back to the Ruhr, he has revealed. . “That is and remains my biggest goal. I want to experience another one of the days we have had in this city,” the Dortmund-born winger told magazine Kicker. . Borussia won the 2011 and 2012 German titles while Reus was playing for Moenchengladbach but he said: “I’d give anything for that and I have a strong feeling that we’ll do it sometime.” . Reus has yet to win a major title in his…