Paul Pogba’s agent says the France international chose to return to Manchester United rather than take the easier route at Real Madrid because of the challenge on offer at Old Trafford. Pogba left United in 2012 after not renewing his contract, joining Juventus and going on to win four consecutive Serie A titles and reach the final of the Champions League with the Turin club. The midfielder was linked with a host of clubs during the transfer window but chose to return to United, doing so in a world-record transfer worth £89million. Pogba was the headline arrival in a busy…
Author: David Folami
Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho says he is saddened by his team’s latest defeat against Watford, but insists he will not hit the panic button. Two goals in the final seven minutes gave the Hornets a thrilling 3-1 Premier League win over United at Vicarage Road on Sunday, condemning the visitors to their third consecutive defeat in all competitions. Mourinho has been affected by a spell that has seen them lose to rivals Manchester City, Feyenoord and Watford and acknowledges the latest loss will have an impact on his players. But the former Chelsea boss stressed the importance of seeing…
Real Madrid brushed off the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale to beat Espanyol 2-0 away and maintain their 100 percent start to the league season while matching the La Liga record of 16 consecutive victories. James Rodriguez scored his first Real goal in five months to give the visitors the lead in stoppage time before the break and Karim Benzema sealed the points in the 70th minute with a close-range finish past former Madrid goalkeeper Diego Lopez. Athletic Bilbao beat Valencia 2-1 to pile more pressure on the visitors’ beleaguered coach Pako Ayesteran, Villarreal downed Real Sociedad 2-1…
Bayern Munich’s Brazil winger Douglas Costa was on Sunday ruled out for the foreseeable future with a hamstring injury, 10 days before their Champions League clash at Atletico Madrid. Costa suffered the injury in the second-half of Bayern’s 3-1 comeback win at home to Ingolstadt in the Bundesliga on Saturday, which preserved their 100 percent record after three league games under new coach Carlo Ancelotti. Having come off after 83 minutes, Costa’s injury was confirmed by Bayern’s team doctor Volker Braun, but the club gave no details on Sunday of how long the Brazilian will be out for. Bayern face…
Paul Scholes criticised Manchester United’s “sloppy” display after their 3-1 loss away to Watford in English Premier League action on Sunday. Goals from Etienne Capoue, Juan Zuniga and Troy Deeney, with a late penalty, saw the Hornets to a comfortable win at Vicarage Road as United, whose lone goal came from teenage striker Marcus Rashford, suffered a third straight defeat under manager Jose Mourinho. Former United midfielder Scholes, now a television analyst with BT Sport, didn’t spare his old side. “The quality on the ball was as poor as you’ve seen from a Man United team, and that’s just the…
After falling behind to Etienne Capoue’s first half opener, United equalised through Marcus Rashford and looked the more likely winners until defensive errors allowed Juan Camilo Zuniga to fire Watford ahead in the 83rd minute. Troy Deeney’s stoppage-time penalty rubbed salted into United’s wounds, but it was United left-back Luke Shaw’s failure to stop Watford’s second that most frustrated Mourinho. “Their second goal is a mistake that goes against our plan and our training, because our intention was for their wing-backs to be pressed and not let them progress,” he said. “And what happened was the guy gets the ball…
Jose Mourinho says Manchester United’s humiliation at Watford underlines how much work needs to be done to transform his spluttering side into title contenders. Mourinho’s men crashed to their third successive defeat on Sunday as Watford’s shock 3-1 victory condemned United and their manager to an historically bad day. It was the first time United had lost to Watford in 30 years and the first occasion Mourinho had been beaten in three consecutive matches since 2002 when he was in charge at Porto. After defeats against bitter rivals Manchester City in the Premier League and then Feyenoord in the Europa…
Misfiring Manchester United crashed to a third consecutive defeat on Sunday as manager Jose Mourinho saw his side deservedly beaten 3-1 at Watford in the Premier League. It is the first time Mourinho has lost three straight games within the same season since he was at Porto in 2002 and it left United six points behind early pace-setters Manchester City. Tottenham Hotspur went third after beating Sunderland 1-0 with a goal from Harry Kane, who later limped off. Crystal Palace crushed Stoke City 4-1 and Southampton edged Swansea City 1-0. “We started the season very well and had good results,”…
Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane will undergo tests on Monday after injuring his right ankle during his side’s 1-0 win over Sunderland on Sunday, manager Mauricio Pochettino said. Kane had to be stretchered off after badly turning his ankle in a sliding challenge on Papy Djilobodji, having earlier scored the game’s only goal in the 59th minute. The England striker, 23, was pictured on social media leaving the ground on crutches and with his right foot in a protective boot. “We’ll see tomorrow how is his ankle,” Pochettino told Sky Sports at White Hart Lane. “I’m happy for him, but…
Midfielder Dele Alli has signed a new deal with Tottenham Hotspur which will keep him at the north London club till 2022, the Premier League side said on Monday. The 20-year-old, who had also signed a contract extension in January, enjoyed an excellent season last campaign, scoring 10 goals and providing 11 assists in 46 matches. The former Milton Keynes Dons midfielder picked up the Professional Footballers’ Association Young Player of the Year award and was also named in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year last season. Ali’s dazzling performances at Spurs also earned the midfielder his England…
The Lagos State Commissioner for Environment, Dr Babatunde Adejare, on Thursday, said the state-wide Operation Clean Lagos will resume on September 16, 2016. This is contained in a statement issued by Mr Tunde Awobiyi, the Director of Public Affairs, Lagos State Ministry of Environment. According to him, the operation will complement an earlier campaign initiated by Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode. He stated that “this state-wide operation which will last till end of December is being co-ordinated by the Enforcement and Advocacy Department of the ministry, headed by Dr Abiodun Afolabi. “Other agencies involved in the operation include LAWMA, KAI, the Civil…
Bauchi chapter of the Diabetes Association of Nigeria (DAN) has introduced a 50 per cent subsidy on drugs purchased by diabetic patients at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) Teaching Hospital, Bauchi. Secretary of the association in the state, Mrs Uwa Abubakar, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Bauchi on Thursday that the measure was aimed at making the drugs affordable to the over 3000 registered members of the association in the state. She said a N1.5 million assistance given to the association by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, would be used to…
Sex appeal is a key feature in show business. It is assumed that to be successful in this business, a female celebrity has to have sex appeal. With generalization comes the exception. Some female celebrities- actresses and singers- have been able to ply their trade without a fixation on their boobs or ass. From Whoopi Goldberg to Tracy Chapman have gotten by (and well too) with little attention on their physical appearance. Our own songbird Asa who presently perches in France could be said to be among these group of exceptional females but her latest photos have started making a…
John Stones insists he doesn’t feel any extra pressure after becoming the world’s second-most expensive defender when he joined Manchester City in the summer. City paid £47.5 million to bring in the England international from Everton in a deal, which also made him England’s second-most expensive player ever after teammate Raheem Sterling. Certainly the huge transfer fee doesn’t seem to have impacted on his game with the 22-year-old quickly settling into a City side that has won seven out of seven games. Stones says he doesn’t give much consideration to his price-tag and is simply interested in trying to justify…
Wayne Rooney’s absence from the Manchester United side makes them much less likely to win a game, according to stats from the past four years. Rooney was left out of the squad for the Europa League match away against Feyenoord, which ended in a 1-0 defeat for Jose Mourinho’s men. It was the first time that the United captain (who needs just four goals to beat Sir Bobby Charlton’s club record of 249 ) has not been on the field this season. But, since 2012-13, United’s win percentage with Rooney in the side is more than 10 percent higher than…
Former Ogun State governor, Gbenga Daniel, has alleged that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) offered to sell him a senatorial ticket in 2015. Daniel made the disclosure on Wednesday, September 14, while speaking at a social media forum, Premium Times reports. “I was offered the ticket at a price but I rejected it because I could not come to terms morally and in good conscience with purchasing a ticket to contest election to serve,” he said. “Some people even tried to pay the price but I stopped them. Insiders are fully aware of these details. Just setting records straight with…
Former aviation minister, Femi Fani-Kayode has criticized President Muhammadu Buhari for urging Igbos to forget about Biafra. Buhari made the comment on Tuesday, September 13, 2016 while receiving members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in his hometown Daura, Katsina state. Fani-Kayode reacted via a post on his Facebook page. The post reads: You bathed in the blood of Biafrans, you crushed their bones and stripped away their dignity and self-respect just to keep Nigeria one. Now you say their children have no right to ask for self-determination simply because you killed their fathers and mothers during the war…
The Minister of finance, Kemi Adeosun has revealed that the Federal Government will pump N350b into the economy, to boost it. Adeosun also said what the government wants to do is to push money into the economy to jumpstart the economy. The minister also revealed that the government has released over N420b, which was invested in the power, works and housing sector of the economy. She said “What government wants to do is to step in and begin to spend and pushing more money into the economy and then get things moving again. “Since the budget was passed in May…
The Minister of finance, Kemi Adeosun has assured Nigerians that the recession will end soon. She said the Federal Government has put measures in place to bring the economy back on its feet. According to her, the government has released over N420b, which was invested in the power, works and housing sector of the economy. Adeosun also said “We have a strategic plan that will take us out of the recession we have found ourselves in; we want to make sure the recession is as short as possible because we do not want a prolonged recession. “From what we are…
The Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh has revealed that the Federal Government imports $6m worth of rice daily. Ogbeh said this while speaking to selected farmers in Ebonyi state. He also revealed that the funds to sustain the importation of rice is no longer available. Ogbeh added that the Federal Government has also decided to give priority to rice production. He also said the Buhari administration will support farmers to engage in all year farming. Ogbeh said “The Federal Government would support you through the provision of inputs, access to financing among other interventions, to achieve improved yields from your…