Barcelona midfield maestro Andres Iniesta could miss Saturday’s La Liga game at home to Valencia after tests on Thursday showed he suffered a bruised pelvis in Wednesday’s 3-1 Champions League win at Paris St Germain. . Iniesta had to be taken off for Xavi eight minutes into the second half of the quarterfinal, first leg at the Parc des Princes after tangling with PSG midfielder Javier Pastore. . “According to the club’s medical staff, tests conducted on Thursday … confirmed heavy bruising in the sacroiliac joint,” Barca said on their website (www.fcbarcelona.es). . The La Liga leaders did not say…
Author: David Folami
Luis Suare, recently ‘ the disgraced one’ after the World Cup biting incident when Barcelona paid 81 million euros to buy him from Liverpool last July and a slow start in Spain prompted many to question the wisdom of the deal. . Nine months after and Suarez has silenced the doubters with a run of scoring in crucial games that has helped ensured the Catalan giants stay firmly on course for a repeat of their 2009 treble of Champions League and Spanish League and Cup titles. . The Uruguay forward scored both goals in Barca’s 2-1 win at Manchester City…
If Szczesny was still Arsenal’s 1st choice goalkeeper he would be sitting on the bench watching Saturday’s FA Cup semifinal against Reading rather than featuring in it, said manager Arsene Wenger. . But unlike last year’s semifinal when he was among the substitutes watching fellow Polish international Lukasz Fabianski featuring against Wigan Athletic, Szczesny will man the post while Colombia keeper David Ospina has the afternoon off. . It might also be one of Szczesny’s last appearances for the club after nine years in north London as Wenger could not say for certain that the Pole would be content to…
Jose Mourinho’s table-toppers are currently 7 points in front of second-placed Arsenal, who are involved in FA Cup semifinal action against Reading this weekend. . Third-placed Man United are a point further back, having played a game more than CFC, but Louis van Gaal’s men will arrive in London on a run of six consecutive victories. . Chelsea need just twelve points from their seven remaining matches to win their first league title since 2010 and while a defeat on Saturday wouldn’t spell the end of their challenge, it would give the chasing pack a glimmer of hope. . The…
Porto have one foot in the Champions League’s semifinals after their shock 3-1 win at home over Bayern Munich in Wednesday’s Champions League quarterfinal, first leg. . Porto carry a weighty advantage to Munich for Tuesday’s return leg at the Allianz Arena while Bayern have a glimmer of hope after their away goal, but still need to score at least twice at home. . “That result is a surprise and we knew it wouldn’t be easy against a side who control possession,” said Porto captain and goal-scorer Jackson Martinez. . “But we took our chances and proved that we can…
Luis Suarez scored a fantastic 2nd-half double as Barca appeared to crush Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League dream for another year with a 3-1 quarterfinal, first leg win at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday. . The visitors’ star-studed attack made their class count as Neymar solemlly converted from a Lionel Messi assist in the 18th minute to put Luis Enrique’s men in control, before Suarez produced two sublime finishes in the final quarter of the game. . PSG scored one in the 92nd minute from what was credited as a Jeremy Mathieu own-goal from a Gregory van der Wiel shot,…
It’s looking like it
Sevilla resurrected from 2-0 down to make the La Liga title something to watch out for with a 2-2 draw against leaders Barcelona on Saturday. . Fantastic finishes from Lionel Messi and Neymar inside the first 45 minutes was set to seal Barca’s victory. . However, Ever Banega pulled a goal back before halftime thanks to an error from Claudio Bravo and the hosts improved display after the break was handsomely rewarded when Kevin Gameiro slotted home Aleix Vidal’s cross in the 93rd minute. . Real Madrid’s 3-0 win over Eibar earlier in the day means the European champions are…
Suspicious calm yesterday, took over Bayelsa, yenegoa to be precise in Nigeria, as the presidential results were announced late in the evening, revealing to Nigerians that APC candidate, Mohammadu Buhari was visibly in the lead. . Most of the country’s commercial banks were closed before noon as results were about to be announced to Nigerians. . The move, Theinfostrides learnt was a safety measure in case of violent attacks that might occur after the result announcement. . A source in one of the banks said to us: “It was a precautionary measure taken due to the tension in the air…
R&B sensation, Praiz has brought the date of his UK promo tour forward. The tour was earlier scheduled to start this week in London. The X3M Music act made this known by releasing an apology to his dear fans on Instagram, saying that a new date will be known to Nigerians soon. . His statement read thus: ‘I regretfully wish to inform all my fans and supporters that due to unforeseen circumstances that are beyond our control, I will not be able to carry out my UK Promo tour as earlier announce. Apologies to all the fans for inconvenience caused.…
Fans will protest against the price of match tickets by staging a demonstration outside a meeting of Premier League club executives. . Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore is to present a letter to shareholders during their scheduled summit at a central London hotel. . He will do so on behalf of the Football Supporters’ Federation (FSF) and fan groups from all 20 top-flight clubs. . The letter renews a demand for away tickets to be capped at £20. . In addition, fans are also calling for: Every Premier League club to set aside £1m per season, primarily to subsidise…
Eight months after the champagne corks popped following their World Cup triumph in Rio de Janeiro, head coach Joachim Loew has cause for concern as Germany’s Brazil 2014 hangover continues. . Only Lukas Podolski’s 81st-minute equaliser prevented Germany suffering a shock defeat to Asian champions Australia in Kaiserslautern on Wednesday in a 2-2 friendly draw. . Next comes Sunday’s Euro 2016 qualifier away to second-from-bottom Georgia with Germany in the unusual position of joint second in Group D, three points behind leaders Poland and level on seven with scotland and ireland. . But what would normally be anticipated in Germany…
Moghreb Tetouan captain, Mohamed Aberhoune, has assured that he and his teammates are ready to claim a big win over Kano Pillars in the Caf Champions League. . The Tetouan team host Kano Pillars on Saturday in the first leg of the round of 32 in Africa’s premier club competition. . Aberhoune is hoping that Moghreb can score as many goals as possible to give themselves a cushion ahead of the second leg in Kano. . “We should win here and score many goals before travelling to Kano. There (in Kano) we will not play that good, as we will…
Juventus forward Alvaro Morata is likely to feature up front for Spain in Friday’s Euro 2016 qualifier against Ukraine in Seville, coach Vicente del Bosque said on Thursday. . Morata is the obvious choice in the striker’s role for the European champions following the withdrawal due to injury of Diego Costa as second-placed Spain look to maintain pressure on Group C leaders Slovakia. . “We have been training with all the players we have, we have deployed them in the positions they are going to play and we have a lot of expectations of Morata,” Del Bosque told a news…
The Nigeria Football Federation on Wednesday night held showdown talks with the players at a meeting held after Nigeria’s loss to Uganda in an international friendly at the Uyo International Stadium. . Apparently, the Super Eagles 1-0 loss to Uganda didn’t sit down with the hierarchy and a meeting was held at the Le Meridian abode of the Super Eagles to iron out the issues as Nigeria’s fortunes at senior level continue to dwindle. . A source in the Nigeria Football Federation, spoke to supersport.com under anonymity said it was a clear the air talks as NFF President Amaju Pinnick…
Luis Suarez has labelled his El Clasico winner as “the most important goal” of his Barcelona career. . The former Liverpool star trapped a long punt from Dani Alves and fired past Iker Casillas in the 55th minute to put Barca 2-1 up against Real Madrid at the Nou Camp. . And it was enough for the Catalan giants to extend their lead at the top of La Liga to four points over their great rivals from the Spanish capital. . It was Suarez’s 14th goal in all competitions for Barcelona since making a £75million switch from Anfield last summer.…
Real Madrid would consider selling Cristiano Ronaldo back to Manchester United for £65million. . That’s the opinion of Spanish football expert Pete Jenson, who believes that Madrid are open to losing either Ronaldo or Gareth Bale this summer. . United have been linked with a big-money move for their former player, with reports claiming that the Portugal international is unhappy at the Santiago Bernabeu. . And speaking in an El Clasico Q&A for the Daily Mail, Jenson revealed that Ronaldo could be back at Old Trafford if the price is right. . When asked, ‘What’s the situation with Ronaldo and…
Paddy Power has offered £50,000 for Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney to fight Phil Bardsley in boxing match . The leaked video of Wayne Rooney being knocked out by Phil Bardsley was the talk of the whole weekend. . First the video was leaked, then Rooney mocked it with his Manchester United goal celebration – but the story isn’t over yet. . Bookmaker Paddy Power have now offered a £50,000 charity prize for Rooney to take on Stoke City defender Bardsley in an official boxing rematch. Seriously. . The event would be broadcast live on TV and possibly take place at…
Former Nigeria international striker, Ben Akwuegbu has heaped plaudits on the National U-20 Flying Eagles, following their triumph in the concluded Africa Youth Championship, AYC, in Dakar, Senegal on Sunday. . The Nigeria squad edged hosts, Senegal 1-0 to lift the trophy, their seventh win of the continental diadem since its inception. . Akwuegbu who is now the manager of FC Gratkorn of Austria, said the combination of Manu Garba which produced such a smooth playing, disciplined, cohesive and attacking minded team is no doubt the best the country has had in recent time. . “I’m pleased with the performance…
Irked by the disappointing 1-1 draw with Mali, Super Falcons Chief Coach Edwin Okon has called up two foreign based strikers to boost the team for the second and final leg qualifier for the 2015 All Africa Games. . Okon who revealed this in a chat with Complete Sports said he missed the scoring abilities of the duo of Asisat Oshoala and Desire Oparanozie in the game in Bamako, decided to invite the duo for the match scheduled to hold on April 12 in Nigeria. . “I have spoken with the two girls and they have given me their words…