Barcelona cruised to a 4-0 victory over Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday at an uncharacteristically bouncing Camp Nou, which is reaping the benefits of expanding the singing section. Barca killed the game off before half time with a brace from Rafinha and a strike from Luis Suarez. The second half was all about the return of Lionel Messi, who quickly found the net after coming on. Barca missed chances to heap further misery on their opponents, who were reduced to 10 men when Laure was sent off for elbowing Neymar, and can now focus their attention on Wednesday’s Champions League…
Author: David Folami
Three points from Chelsea 3-0 Leicester in the Premier League on Saturday. In Saturday’s battle of the last two English title-winners, only one side lived up to the billing as a resurgent Chelsea destroyed Leicester City 3-0. Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has drastically changed his formation to a 3-4-3 and that has completely changed the mood at the club. Where they had recently been dysfunctional, they were rampant here, regularly ripping the champions apart. Defeat at Stamford Bridge represented a continuation of Leicester’s season so far; this their third heavy defeat to one of the big clubs in the opening…
It was a frustrating afternoon for Manchester City. Pep Guardiola’s team didn’t play particularly badly, but they weren’t at their most cutting edge and it allowed a very organised and stubborn Everton side to battle out a hard-earned draw. The home team were probably the more deserving of the victory, though having missed two penalties they can’t grumble at the outcome. Positives There were few positives to be taken from the match, though Kevin De Bruyne made it through 90 minutes on his return from injury earlier than expected. At times, City’s forward play looked back to its best, but…
Tottenham endured a frustrating outing against West Brom on Saturday, drawing 1-1 with them for the third time in a row. In fact, they very nearly lost at The Hawthorns. Former Spurs man Nacer Chadli struck against his old club in the 82nd minute, and it took an 89th minute reply from Dele Alli to earn Mauricio Pochettino’s visitors a point from a game they had dominated. Positives Spurs showed their character to come from behind and grab a draw — as they had done against Everton and Liverpool earlier in the season — and maintain their record of being…
Are Liverpool the real deal this season? Monday’s Anfield clash against bitter foes Manchester United promises to provide definitive evidence. Jurgen Klopp’s team are within two points of the top, despite playing only two of their seven games at home so far because of stadium improvements. They’ve often looked dynamic and exciting, and away wins at Arsenal and Chelsea already suggest that Klopp might do for Liverpool what he did for Borussia Dortmund: win trophies. But now comes another confrontation with Jose Mourinho, who has plenty of experience managing against Liverpool at Anfield going back to those thunderous Champions League…
Gareth Bale will ask to be paid a gross wage of £750,000 a week, the same amount as Cristiano Ronaldo, in order to sign a new six-year contract with Real Madrid, the Times reports. Bale currently takes home £525,000 a week before tax but wants a significant increase to reflect his level standing in the squad with Ronaldo, who is also negotiating an extension to his current deal. That will net the Wales international £20 million a year after tax.
Manchester United are ready to break the world transfer record again next summer in their pursuit of Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann, the Mirror claims. United spent £89.3 million on Paul Pogba in August but are already laying the groundwork for another massive move knowing that others could attempt to rival their interest in Griezmann. The 25-year-old France international, who won the Golden Boot at Euro 2016, is aware of United’s interest and Atletico’s status as a selling club if big enough offers are tabled.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has dismissed the theory that the Premier League is the most intense league in the world. Many in England have often claimed that when it comes to intensity, the Premier League outrivals La Liga and the Bundesliga. However, having worked in both Spain and Germany with Barcelona and Bayern Munich respectively, Guardiola believes there is little truth in that idea. “I hear a lot of times about the intensity of the Premier League when none of you have been in La Liga or the Bundesliga to know how it is,” Guardiola said. “The problem here…
Sadio Mane has said it was his decision, not Southampton’s, to reject the opportunity to join Manchester United in 2015. Mane, 24, could have moved to United under Louis van Gaal but instead chose to continue his development under Ronald Koeman at St. Mary’s, but when Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool approached him 12 months later he took the chance to move on. “In honesty, there were some clubs interested at that time [in 2015] but I never made any choices then,” he told the Sunday Telegraph. “I did not say I thought of any club and I wanted to play…
Paul Pogba has said he needs more time to adapt to Manchester United and that he responds to criticism by dancing. The United midfielder, who has made an unconvincing start to the season since a world record £89.3 million move, also said in the interview with Telefoot that fellow summer signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic is like a “big brother.” Pogba was quoted by the Independent as saying: “I will need a little time to adapt in Manchester, time for the machine to start working. I am adapting. “People like to talk about Paul Pogba. The critics, they stay for a day,…
Jose Mourinho’s comments about the appointment of referee Anthony Taylor for Manchester United’s match at Liverpool on Monday are to be looked at by the Football Association, Press Association Sport reports. Mourinho was asked about Manchester-based Taylor — who is registered with the Cheshire FA — being given the game after Keith Hackett, former head of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited body, criticised the move. Hackett said he felt it placed undue pressure on the official. “I think Mr Taylor is a very good referee but I think somebody with intention is putting such a pressure on him that…
Some of the names of the 21 Chibok girls released by Boko Haram on Thursday, October 13, 2016 have been revealed. In a recent report by SaharaReporters, 11 names were released hours after the rescued girls were received by the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo. Here are the names. 1. Deborah Ja’afaru 2. Maryam Lawan 3. Jummai John 4. Maryam Basheer 5. Comfort Amos 6. Mary Usman 7. Rahap Ibrahim 8. Gloria Mainta 9. Asabe Goni 10. Glory Adamu 11. Helen Musa 21 of the abducted Chibok girls were rescued in a deal carried out by the Nigerian Department of State…
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has expressed delight at the release of 21 Chibok girls from the hands of the deadly insurgents, Boko Haram. In his speech while welcoming the 21 girls back home, Osinbajo also said that President Muhammadu Buhari is excited about the girls release saying “The president in particular, has asked me to tell you, how excited he is. When you were away, he kept saying that if it were his daughter he wouldn’t even know what to do.” Speaking further Osinbajo said: “I am sure you know that the whole country has been waiting for you to…
The National leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu on Thursday, October 13, lauded President Muhammadu Buhari on the release of some of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls. Twenty-one of the more than 200 girls, who were kidnapped by Boko Haram from their school dormitory in April 2014, were rescued in the early hours of Thursday following a successful negotiation between the government and the sect. Tinubu said the rescue shows the progress and commitment of the APC-led government in defeating Boko Haram. In a statement issued on his behalf by Tunde Rahman, the APC leader described the girls’…
Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose on Thursday, October 13, led security men to arrest cows for violating the anti-grazing law. Fayose was said to have swung into action after citing some cows grazing on the Afao-Ekiti road, Irepodun-Ifelodun local government area of the state. The herdsmen with the cows fled into the bush upon citing Fayose’s security men and some youths, report said. In the anti-grazing law, which the Governor signed some weeks ago, grazing of cattle is only permitted within the hours of 7am- 6pm. “Governor Fayose was on his way to Ikole Ekiti yesterday, he came across herdsmen…
The Buhari Media Support Group (BMSG), has described the release of 21 Chibok girls as not just cheering news but a clear evidence of President Muhammadu Buhari’s pragmatic approach to resolving national challenges. Reacting to the release of the girls in a statement issued by its Chairman, Malam Muhammad Labo in Abuja on Thursday, the BMSG commended the president for the release. Labo noted that it was an attestation of the pragmatism of the government in resolving issues that had become national challenge. He congratulated the parents of the released girls and Nigerians on the release of the girls. “The…
Former aide to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, Reuben Abati has said that Nigeria’s Presidential Villa is an evil place. According to Abati, evil occurrences in the Villa have become a common occurrence. He also advised the Nigerian government to abandon the Villa and turn it into a spiritual museum. He made his comments in an article titled “Rituals, blood and death: The spiritual side of Aso Villa.” Read it below: People tend to be alarmed when the Nigerian Presidency takes certain decisions. They don’t think the decision makes sense. Sometimes, they wonder if something has not gone wrong with the thinking…
President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday condoled with the entire royal family, the government and people of Thailand on the death of His Majesty, King Bhumibol Adulyadej. President Buhari, in a statement, extolled the monarch’s extraordinary and committed leadership to his people over a period of seven decades. The statement was issued by the president’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja. The President noted the deceased’s exceptional stewardship which saw Thailand emerged as one of South East Asia’s leading economies. He said that the “highly revered monarch will be long remembered for his towering role…
President Muhammadu Buhari’s comments about his wife, Aisha, belonging in a kitchen and some ‘other room’, is an utter shame and should be condemned in the strongest terms possible by everyone. Worse, it brings to the fore the President’s utter disdain for women in an age where the womenfolk is tearing down gender barriers, showing the menfolk exactly how to run democracies, transforming moribund board-rooms into profitable ventures and breaking sporting records. We shouldn’t even be discussing gender gaps in the 21st century because there no longer exist–there shouldn’t exist. But here we are. First Lady Aisha Buhari has been…
Ex-Head of State, Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar on Friday expressed delight over the release of 21 0f the over 200 Chibok girls abducted by the Boko Haram insurgents in 2014. Abubakar expressed his feelings while addressing newsmen at Ake Palace in Abeokuta after a courtesy call on the Alake and Paramount Ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that over 200 female students were kidnapped in April 2014, at Government Secondary School Chibok in Borno. He commended the Federal Government, other nations and organisations involved in the negotiation leading to the release. Abubakar, who, described…