Barcelona and Juventus will rekindle their intense rivalry when they meet at the Camp Nou in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. The two heavyweights will be meeting in the competition for the third time in the last four years. Barcelona won their fifth and most recent Champions League title when they defeated Juventus in the final in 2015, while Juventus amazingly knocked Barcelona out of the competition in the quarterfinals last season. Barcelona enter with a 21-game unbeaten streak at home in the competition, dating back to a loss to Bayern Munich in the second…
Author: David Folami
Victor Lindelof will recover from a difficult start to life at Manchester United and be a success at Old Trafford, former defender Henning Berg has said. Lindelof is ready to make his first start of the season when United face Basel on Tuesday. He said: “Victor is struggling a little bit with getting used to English football. “For some players it can take time but he did very well at Benfica and I am sure he will come good and take the next step. “It is difficult because in the Premier League you don’t get many opportunities and you have…
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has assured fans of the Manchester United that he is “almost” ready to make his Manchester United return. “The knee is almost there,” Ibrahimovic said in Gothenburg. “I want everybody to have patience, and when I come back, the world will know. Keep supporting me, have patience, and I will come back stronger than ever.” He was absent from the session at Carrington on Monday afternoon as his teammates got ready for the start of their Champions League campaign against Basel. Marcos Rojo, who suffered a similar injury in the same game against Anderlecht, did participate along with…
Gareth Bale has said he had to take “a lot of painkillers” to be able to feature last season and admits he should not have been so much in a hurry to come back from injury. The Wales international declared himself fit in the week ahead of the Champions League final in his hometown of Cardiff, where he appeared for the final 13 minutes of Madrid’s 4-1 win over Juventus. That was a memorable end to what was otherwise a frustrating season for Bale, with the former Tottenham man conceding that playing through the pain barrier was an error. “I…
Zinedine Zidane has said Cristiano Ronaldo is “very focused” on returning to what he does best by playing in Wednesday’s UCL Group H opener at home to Apoel Nicosia. “Cristiano is very good, very focused on what he has to do,” Zidane said. “He is very happy to be back playing, it is what he likes, what he wants to do more than anything else. We are happy to have him back, physically he is very fit, and mentally with all that has happened, all the talk, he is very good.” “Everyone knows who Cristiano is,” he said. “I always…
Filipe Luis has come out to say Brazil teammate Neymar “made the right decision” to leave Barcelona for PSG this summer. Filipe Luis rejected suggestions the 25-year-old had left Barca for financial reasons, telling Spanish football magazine Panenka: “[Neymar] made the right decision joining PSG. “You can see he is different. He is free and happy. At the level Neymar moves at, you do not change teams for money.” “Paulinho will also surprise many people,” he said. “If he does not fit at Barca, he would at Atletico.” “I admire [Messi],” he said. “He never reproached me about anything in…
After mixed reactions to his red card on Saturday, Sadio Mane will have to serve the full length of his three-match ban for his dismissal against Manchester City, the Football Association confirmed on Tuesday. Liverpool had appealed the ban, but it will stay at three games as originally stated by the FA. The Senegalese was sent off by referee Jon Moss for lifting his foot very high and clashing with City goalkeeper Ederson in Liverpool’s 5-0 defeat on Saturday. The Brazilian goalkeeper went through eight minutes of treatment before he was taken off on a stretcher and wearing an oxygen…
Kenyans are extremely pissed after paying for a Tekno concert and receiving “very little value for cash.” According to fans who attended the show, the organisation of the concert was poor, and Tekno’s bad performance made thing worse, after fans had waited for many hours to watch him perform. One concert-goer who saw enough to write it down, said Tekno’s 28-minute performance was a “Joke”. “After what seemed like forever, the man of the hour got on stage. It was 3am and my friends and I were finally ready to have a good time. He started off well with one…
Kanye West is attempting to end his infernal disagreement with former mentor Jay-Z, according to reports. The US rappers are not talking due to a current row, and Kanye made things that much worse last autumn via on-stage rants about Jay Z wanting to have him killed. And on Jay-Z’s new album 4:44 several disses to “insane” Kanye were made, including hints that a great deal of unpaid debt exists on West’s side. Then, apparently in response, Kanye removed all his music from Jay’s streaming platform Tidal. That beef remains confusing – though various rumours claim they’re divided over music…
One of the most surprising statements made at the Newshub Leaders Debate was National Party leader Bill English confessing to liking “all seasons” of cult TV show Prison Break. Requests for confirmation of his love of Prison Break – and if that included the much-maligned season five – were met with a polite rejection by Mr English’s team, citing his busy schedule. But nonetheless, it’s a fascinating news – and his opponent Jacinda Ardern did opt to comment. New Zealand filmmaker and journalist David Farrier, a recovering Prison Break fan himself, says he feels both “excitement and dread” over Mr…
Adele, Coldplay and David Bowie helped British music enjoy record success overseas last year, new figures show. British musicians earned £365m around the globe for record labels in 2016 – up 11% on the previous year, according to trade body the BPI. And it’s a rise of 72% compared with the 2010 figure. The most popular albums included Adele’s 25, Coldplay’s A Head Full of Dreams, David Bowie’s Blackstar and The Rolling Stones’ Blue & Lonesome. Geoff Taylor said the success of the UK music industry would help the economy as Britain prepares to leave the EU. “Music by brilliant…
Simi is presently doing well with her single ‘Joromi’. The track which was released last week. The song, which is a new expression of love, gets its title and style from a legendary Nigerian single – Sir Victor Uwaifo’s ‘Joromi’. ‘Joromi’ is the lead single off her now released album, “Simisola”. Asked how “Joromi” came about in a recent interview, she said “Actually, I had already finished most of the songs on my album, we thought it was already complete. Oscar my producer said he was going to send me a beat, but I was actually tired of writing already.…
Popular music artiste, Olamide Adedeji, aka Olamide Baddo, says that he may have been lucky to actualise his dream despite dropping out of school, but he would advise younger ones to stay in school and get proper education. Olamide had told a group of students last week how he dropped out of the Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijebu Ode, when his parents could no longer sponsor his education. However, some people were of the opinion that Olamide’s story could actually have a negative effect on the students because he eventually became successful without going to school. He said, “I…
In the months since Usher made headlines for allegedly infecting a woman with herpes, the Grammy-award winning singer has yet to address the scandal head on. It seems as the weeks pass by, bizarre details of the STD saga aren’t letting up. But, the Confessions crooner appears to be unbothered ― and much of the same could be said for frequent collaborator and veteran producer Jermaine Dupri. In the weeks since the accusations came to light, Jermaine has taken to social media to post several photos of him and Usher spending time between the studio, Sin City, and the beautiful…
Being treated like royalty is nothing new to Beyonce. She turned the tables as she returned to Houston – her hometown – to assist the victims of Hurricane Harvey. Giving Blue Ivy a lesson of humility, the mother had her daughter help her staff a feeding station, giving out meals of rice and beans to people in need. The five-year-old, dressed in a simple white T-shirt, looked on as her smiling mother talked to every person she served. The set of pictures showing the visit were posted to Beyonce’s Instagram on Sunday. They also showed the pair handing out supplies.…
Singer Ciara turned heads in a glittering purple gown as she attended the star-studded Harper’s Bazaar ICONS party for New York Fashion Week on Friday. The 31-year-old beauty showed off her endless, toned legs in the gown, which featured a racy thigh high slit to display plenty of skin. With its low-cut neckline, the gown gave exposed Ciara’s amazing cleavage, and she ensured that she worked every angle of her sensational physique as she attended the star-studded party. Ciara shrugged a longline blazer over her shoulders, which matched the royal hue of her dress, and added a complementing purple choker…
Superstar Rihanna brought much needed glamour to New York Fashion Week Sunday, with motorcycle stunt riders soaring over giant pink sand dunes in her latest fashion collaboration for Puma. After spending the last two season in Paris, the 29-year-old hitmaker brought her spring 2018 collection back to the US cultural capital in a look more sporty than ever, waving and blowing kisses to her fans at the end from the back of a motorcycle, arm around a helmeted driver. Her models paraded in whites, pinks and electric blues down a catwalk with glistening pink sand dunes in the background –…
Willie Obiano, has said his decision to contest for a second term in office is to make the state self sufficient. “In agriculture, the state is doing very well and has attained self-sufficiency in rice production. We consume 320,000 metric tonnes and now we produce 375,000 metric tonnes per annum, from 80,000 metric tonne when we assumed office. “What I want to leave behind as my legacy when I leave office after eight years is to ensure that Anambra State is self-sufficient in its revenue sources so that we will not have to be waiting for Abuja to run the…
Senator Gbenga Ashafa, has stated that the National Assembly is fully committed to the success of President Buhari’s vision for the transport sector which would be beneficial to all Nigerians. In his words, “Let me seize this August occasion to remind you that the National Assembly is your partner, as we are fully committed to ensuring the success of President Muhamadu Buhari’s vision for the transport sector, for the benefit of all Nigerians.” He also stated that “transportation sits at the heart of trade facilitation” and that the age of intermodalism, the various modes of transportation in Nigeria have worked…
Dayo Adeyeye has blasted the apointment of Gov. Ayo Fayose’s deputy, Prof. Kolapo Olusola, as the PDP flag bearer ahead of the state’s governorship election. Owoseni Ajayi; and a former Nigerian High Commissioner to Canada, Dare Bejide, also described the process that made Olusola emerge winner as illegal. “It is important to note that the PDP, as a political party, is bigger and larger than any individual no matter how highly placed as to override the rules and regulations of the party which are sacrosanct in the election of any candidate for elective position. “PAMM rejects the purported adoption of…