Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has instructed his players to forget about their slender away-goal advantage ahead of Thursday’s Europa League quarterfinal second leg against his former club Borussia Dortmund. Liverpool secured a 1-1 draw in last week’s first leg in Germany, with Divock Origi’s first-half opener for the visitors cancelled out by a header from Mats Hummels. But with Dortmund having plundered 119 goals in all competitions this season, Klopp does not expect Origi’s goal to prove decisive. “I think we can ignore the first leg,” said the German, for whom the Europa League represents the last chance to crown…
Author: David Folami
Instead of hoping for a slip-up from Premier League leaders Leicester City, Tottenham Hotspur must win their remaining five games to give Spurs their best chance of winning their first league title since 1961, midfielder Erik Lamela said. The 24-year-old winger has shone under manager Mauricio Pochettino this season, but his four goals and six assists might still not be enough, as second-placed Spurs are still seven points behind Claudio Ranieri’s men. “We still believe… Our task is to win all the remaining games. Whether Leicester win or lose, the important thing is that we are concentrated on the job…
Leicester City’s extraordinary rise to the top of the Premier League has been recognised with the inclusion of three Foxes stars — Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and N’Golo Kante — on the shortlist for the Professional Footballers’ Association Players’ Player of the Year award. The Leicester trio make up 50 percent of a six-strong panel that also includes Tottenham Hotspur’s 22-goal striker Harry Kane, West Ham’s France star Dimitri Payet and Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil. They are all in the running to succeed 2015 winner Eden Hazard, in an award which is voted for by their peers. Kane is also…
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique admitted his side are suffering a slump in form after a third defeat in four games saw them dumped out of the Champions League by Atletico Madrid. Antoine Griezmann struck twice for Atletico in a 2-0 win Wednesday to seal their passage to the last four at Barcelona’s expense for the second time in three years, 3-2 on aggregate. “It is clear that we are not in our best form, especially if you consider how we were playing before, but we need to lift ourselves,” said Enrique, whose side’s dreams of a treble were dashed. Barca…
Van Gaal went on to claim that United had exhibited a similar level of control against West Ham as they had at Tottenham, where Mauricio Pochettino’s side struck three times in six second-half minutes, but that the result at White Hart Lane had prevented him from saying so. “We controlled the game,” he said. “But I cannot say that when we lose 3-0. The next day it’s: ‘Man United has played very lousy.’ But it was not true. “I’m very happy that in spite of that defeat, 3-0, we can have the spirit this evening again like we have showed…
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal hailed Marcus Rashford’s startling self-awareness after the 18-year-old striker’s memorable goal inspired his side to FA Cup victory at West Ham United. Rashford broke the deadlock in the 54th minute of Wednesday’s quarter-final replay, shimmying inside James Tomkins and arcing an unstoppable shot into the top-right corner. Marouane Fellaini added a second and although Tomkins replied late on, visiting goalkeeper David de Gea brilliantly held West Ham at bay to send United into the last four for the first time since 2011. Hailing Rashford, who has now scored six times in 11 games, Van…
The Premier League have replaced self-confessed Leicester City fan Kevin Friend with referee Neil Swarbrick for Tottenham Hotspurs’ clash with Stoke City, following an outcry on social media. Spurs are second in the table, seven points behind leaders Leicester City ahead of the North London club’s visit to Stoke on Sunday. Leicester will seal their maiden top-flight title if they win three of their next five games, while Spurs are chasing a first league title since 1961. The Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL) do not pick Friend, who lives in Leicester, to oversee Foxes’ games, but do not usually…
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone praised his team’s spirit after knocking holders Barcelona out of the Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesday. “There is a virtue in this team,” he said. “We are a group of honest workers who can win or lose. We make ourselves strong with the tools we have. Today, once again, we have won a tremendously difficult game.” Simeone’s side lost the first leg of the tie 2-1 after having Fernando Torres sent off in the 35th minute, but were spurred on by a raucous crowd in the Vicente Calderon and two goals from Antoine Griezmann sealed…
Philipp Lahm says Bayern Munich have no intention of playing it safe as they take a precarious 1-0 aggregate lead into their Champions League quarter-final second leg at Benfica on Wednesday. The Bundesliga heavyweights earned a slender advantage from the first meeting between the teams at Allianz Arena last week, Arturo Vidal scoring the only goal of the game just two minutes into the match. Many observers expected Bayern to win more comfortably at home and the result left Pep Guardiola’s side vulnerable to an upset at Estadio da Luz. But club captain Lahm, speaking to reporters before flying to…
David Ginola has warned Manchester United against making a move for Paris Saint-Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, stating: “I don’t want to see mercenaries in football.” Ibrahimovic is out of contract in the French capital at the end of the season, with United among a host of clubs linked with his signature. But former Newcastle United and Tottenham attacker Ginola does not believe the 34-year-old would be a worthwhile signing and urged the Old Trafford club to focus on developing young talent. “He is reaching 35 and is probably at the end of his career,” Ginola told talkSPORT. “I don’t think…
Kevin De Bruyne insisted Manchester City would be ready for a tough test in the Champions League semi-finals after his goal secured a 3-2 aggregate victory over Paris Saint-Germain to secure their place in the last four. After Sergio Aguero missed a first-half penalty at the Etihad Stadium, City looked set to progress on the away goals rule having drawn 2-2 in Paris in the first leg, but De Bruyne struck a curling shot from the edge of the penalty area to ensure victory. Real Madrid secured their place in the semi-finals on the same night, and De Bruyne expects…
Gareth Bale believes Real Madrid’s successful Champions League recovery against Wolfsburg has proven to the world what the club is capable of. The Wales winger played for the full 90 minutes at Santiago Bernabeu as Cristiano Ronaldo’s hat-trick saw Zinedine Zidane’s men win 3-0 on Tuesday to seal a 3-2 aggregate victory, having lost the first leg of the quarter-final in Germany. Madrid have now reached the semi-finals of the competition for six consecutive seasons and Bale thinks the dramatic fightback has proven a point about the team’s quality and spirit. “We showed the world what we are capable of,”…
Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri is convinced closest rivals Tottenham Hotspur will not give up easily and predicted a “terrible” last five games for his team who continue their surge for a maiden Premier League title. Leicester, seven points ahead of second-placed Tottenham, are three victories away from capturing their first English top-flight title but Ranieri would take nothing for granted. “It’s not done yet though. We’re in the Champions League, but the last five games will be terrible. Tottenham won’t give up and we have to stay focused,” Ranieri told Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport. “Our work rate? That’s…
No fewer than 2,375 shops were razed by fire in various markets in Sokoto, Zamfara and Kebbi States in the last four months. This figure is contained in the quarterly report of fire incidents in the three states released by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Tuesday in Sokoto. The report was signed by Mr Thickman Tanimu, the Acting Head of the agency in Sokoto Operations Office. The breakdown showed that four Local Government Areas in Sokoto state were affected by fire disasters during the period. They are Sokoto North, Tangaza, Bodinga and Gwadabawa. It said that 59 distress…
The minister of foreign affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama has revealed that China has offered Nigeria a $6b loan to fund projects on infrastructural development. Onyeama said “It is a credit that is on the table as soon as we identify the projects. “It won’t need an agreement to be signed; it is just to identify the projects and we access it.” Also, the Central Bank Of Nigeria (CBN), signed an agreement with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC) on foreign exchange transactions. This will pave way for the addition of the Chinese currency in our foreign exchange reserves.…
President Buhari’s trip to the Peoples Republic of China certainly seems to be yielding the desired results. The Government of China has increased its annual scholarship to Nigerian students from 100 to 700. This is in addition to a $6b loan for infrastructure and another $15m to boost agriculture in Nigeria. The Chinese President, Xi Jinping also expressed his support for Buhari’s war against corruption. China also offered to exchange ideas in the area of civil service and military capacity building. President Jinping also assured Buhari that his country will help Nigeria achieve its desire to diversify its economy. The…
The spokesman of the Senate, Senator Aliyu Sabi has called on the Presidency to accept that it made a mistake by not adding the Lagos-Calabar railway project in the 2016 budget, rather than beating around the bush. Sabi said “That we say it (Lagos-Calabar rail project) is not in the budget does not undermine the fact it is very important. “We have proffered a way forward. Bring a supplementary budget regarding this project or anyother one. We are more than willing take it and cooperate. National Assembly is open whenever the Executive bringa the supplementary budget. “But we must be…
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has announced that it will investigate Nigerians named in the Panama Papers scandal. The leaked document belonging to a Panama based law firm, Mossack Fonseca, exposed many top political leaders and business individuals from all around the world, who maintained shell companies in tax havens. According to the EFCC Director of Information, Mr. Osita Nwaja, “These papers (Panama Papers) did not emanate from Nigeria but they touch the lives of the people of Nigeria and corruption as well as money laundering have gone beyond national borders as we are seeing from these papers.…
The Nigerian Army has announced that members of the Boko Haram sect are fleeing their hideout in Sambisa forest. Punch reports that Army spokesman, Col. Sani Usman said “This is to inform the public that due to aerial bombardment and concerted efforts of the ground troops, and facing imminent annihilation, Boko Haram terrorists have been deserting Sambisa forest in droves trying to disperse to various parts of the country. “The cowards are running away from their well noted enclave in the Sambisa forest for their lives. Consequently it becomes necessary to inform the public, especially well meaning Nigerians, to be…
The ongoing fuel scarcity in the country is expected to end soon as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has announced the reopening of the Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries. According to the NNPC, the Port Harcourt refinery has commenced operations while the Kaduna refinery is expected to begin operations by next week. This was disclosed by the NNPC’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Garba-Deen Mohammed while speaking to journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, April 12, 2016. “Port Harcourt (refinery) has been refining for quite a while now, from last week, between three and five million litres. We…