Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri hailed Jamie Vardy’s stunning goal in the 2-0 win over Liverpool as “unbelievable,” while the striker said he is not planning on leaving the club anytime soon. Vardy showed why he is so highly valued at the King Power Stadium on the hour mark as he got on the end of a long ball from deep by Riyad Mahrez. The England striker was instantly on the move, leaving Dejan Lovren trailing, and he allowed the ball to drop over his shoulder before unleashing a first-time half-volley from 25 yards which screamed over Simon Mignolet. Shortly after…
Author: David Folami
Bayern Munich’s injury crisis in defence has worsened with Javi Martinez ruled out of Sunday’s Bundesliga match against Hoffenheim and set to miss the coming weeks. Bayern’s director of sport Matthias Sammer confirmed reports Martinez has injured his left knee, the same joint in which he tore the cruciate ligament in August 2014, but played it down. “It’s not a big story,” he told German Sky, as Bayern played a three-man defence against Hoffenheim in Munich. “He has a problem and accordingly, our doctors have taken various measures and he’ll be examined again.” Martinez is the 15th Bayern player to…
Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri believes his impressive crop of young stars can achieve even more as they target a club record of 13 successive league wins with the visit of Genoa on Wednesday. The four-time consecutive champions have put their miserable start to the season behind them and closed to within two points of leaders Napoli following a 4-0 rout of Chievo in Verona on Sunday. After being ruled out of title contention at the start of the season, Allegri was only too happy to announce the Old Lady is back with a bang. “Our 12 consecutive wins are a…
Manager Francesco Guidolin had mixed emotions about Swansea City conceding a late equaliser against West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday, but focused on the positives as the point put more distance between the Welsh side and the relegation zone. Salomon Rondon’s equaliser deep into stoppage time prevented the Swans from claiming all three points at the Hawthorns, but Guidolin’s men extended their unbeaten league run to three games to move five points clear of the relegation scrap. “Football is like this,” Guidolin told the club’s website (www.swanseacity.net). “I’m disappointed but optimistic because I watched my team play very well. “We lose…
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says his side are playing catch-up in the Premier League title race after Tuesday’s goalless draw with Southampton left them five points behind leaders Leicester City with 14 games remaining. A four-game winless streak in the league has seen Arsenal slip to fourth in the table after Tottenham Hotspur’s 3-0 victory over Norwich City took Mauricio Pochettino’s men ahead of the Gunners on goal difference. “We have to catch that back and we have a difficult programme, especially away from home. We need to respond quickly away from home now,” Wenger told the club’s website (www.arsenal.com).…
Stoke City manager Mark Hughes has bemoaned his side’s poor start in Tuesday’s 3-0 Premier League defeat at Manchester United, saying the concession of two early goals left the Potters with too big a deficit to make up. Jesse Lingard opened the scoring for a rampant Red Devils in the 14th minute before Anthony Martial’s curling finish made it 2-0 nine minutes later as the hosts netted in the first half of a game at Old Trafford for the first time since September. Wayne Rooney’s tap-in seven minutes after the break was enough to seal all three points for Manchester…
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini does not believe that the impending arrival of Pep Guardiola to succeed him will overshadow the club’s four-pronged quest for silverware this season. Tuesday’s 2-1 win at Sunderland gave Pellegrini a 65th Premier League victory in 100 games, a ratio bettered only by former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, who won 73 of his first 100 English top-flight matches. The Chilean’s record eclipses that of Alex Ferguson over his first 100 games in the English top tier and is better than both predecessor Roberto Mancini and Liverpool’s Rafael Benitez. But it will not prevent him being…
A representative of Brazilian club Santos told a Spanish court on Tuesday they had felt cheated by Neymar and his father after details of the football star’s transfer to Barcelona emerged, judicial sources said. Appearing before a judge in a Madrid court specialising in major financial affairs, Fatima Cristina Bonassa, representing the club where the player started his career, said the Brazilian striker was an adult at the time of transfer and knew what he was signing. Bonassa was heard for five hours by Judge José de la Mata over alleged irregularities in Neymar’s transfer to Barcelona in 2013, following…
Manuel Pellegrini’s hopes of seeing out his Manchester City reign this season in a blaze of glory were boosted on Tuesday as the masterful Sergio Aguero delivered again in an unconvincing 1-0 win at struggling Sunderland. One day after City announced Pep Guardiola would be taking over from Pellegrini as manager at the end of the season, the Chilean’s push for a second Premier League title received impetus from a familiar source as City’s matchless Argentine netted after just 16 minutes. In Pellegrini’s 100th Premier League match in charge of City, Aguero’s typically composed finish after a deflected cross fell…
Southampton keeper Fraser Forster produced a series of stunning saves to frustrate Arsenal and leave the Gunners without a win in four league games. Forster twice denied Mesut Ozil in the first half as Arsenal struggled to create opportunities. He was even busier in the second half as the hosts pressed for a breakthrough, making one flying save to keep out a curler from Olivier Giroud and two efforts from Theo Walcott who came on as a substitute. Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez, making his first start since November after returning from injury, had another effort cleared off the line as…
A wonder-goal from England striker Jamie Vardy helped prolong Leicester City’s remarkable Premier League title challenge as they defeated Liverpool 2-0 at the King Power Stadium on Tuesday. Vardy scored both of the Foxes’ goals, taking his tally to 18, and the first was a stunning strike from the right-hand corner of the penalty area that capped another astonishing night for his team. That goal, on the hour-mark, was followed by a close-range goal 11 minutes later that gave Leicester a deserved win and maintained their three-point lead at the top of the table. Leicester might have claimed the lead…
Manchester United reminded their fans of a bygone era after a superb performance gave the winners of a record 20 English league titles a 3-0 home win over Stoke City in the Premier League on Tuesday. Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial struck in the first half and Wayne Rooney was on target after the interval, scoring his 99th league goal at Old Trafford and taking his Premier League tally in January to five goals and two assists. The result kept United in the hunt for a top-four finish, while it also eased the pressure on Dutch manager Louis van Gaal.…
Boko Haram terrorists have reportedly killed six people in a fresh attack on a Borno State community. The insurgents are said to have invaded Goniambari village in the Kaga Local Government Area of Monday, February 1, 2016. According to a fleeing resident, identified as Mallam Modu Abari, the attack occurred between 6:30pm and 7pm. The terrorists reportedly burnt down houses and vehicles in the village before carting away foodstuffs and livestock. The attack comes just days after Boko Haram members killed 86 people in an attack on Dalori, also in Borno. Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the sect…
The Plateau Chapter of All Progressive Congress (APC) says it has started offline registration of new members in the state. The Chairman, Mr Letep Dabam, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jos on Monday that new members were being received ‘in droves” at the polling units. “The directive from the headquarters is that new members should normally be registered online, but with the number of people seeking to come in, we have to first do it offline and move the details online later,” he said. He said that party officials at the polling unit levels had been directed…
The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has been named the 2015 Man of the Year by Thinkers Magazine. This was disclosed via a statement released by the Secretary of Thinkers Communications Limited, Hajiya Saratu Muhammad on Sunday, January 31, 2016, The Nation reports. The statement reads: “In Nigeria, nay Africa, it is rare for an opposition party to defeat a ruling party as done by APC in 2015.” “What makes Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s contributions impressive is that as far back as 2013, he spearheaded the move to form an all-encompassing party that can…
Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has condemned the extravagant lifestyle of some Governors, saying they live like emperors, yet demand sacrifice from the citizens. Speaking today, February 1, at the inaugural conference of the Ibadan School of Government and Public Policy, held at the University of Ibadan, he said corruption returned to the country on a high scale after he left office. Obasanjo said he set up anti-graft agencies like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) when he became the President in 1999 after he realised that corruption…
President Muhammadu Buhari on the evening of Monday, February 1, arrived at the Presidential Wing of the Muritala Muhammed International Airport on his way to Ogun state, where he is visiting for two days to celebrate the state’s 40th anniversary. The President was received by the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr. (Mrs.) Idiat Oluranti Adebule, Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, former Interim National Chairman of All Progressives Congress, Chief Bisi Akande and APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed among others were also part of the President’s entourage.
The Ekiti state Governor, Ayo Fayose, is one who has constantly aired his opinion on national issues, not minding whose ox is gored. This time the Governor has asked President Buhari to leave the judiciary alone to do their work. This is coming on the heels of a comment by Mr. President where he said “On the fight against corruption vis-à-vis the judiciary, Nigerians will be right to say that is my main headache for now.” According to recent reports, Fayose said “President Buhari should have simply told the whole world that he hated the Nigeria Judiciary because he lost…
Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti state, in his usual vocal manner has questioned the claim by the Buhari led government, that it has technically defeated Boko Haram. Speaking through his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Fayose said “Isn’t it now necessary for the President to fulfill his promise of leading from the front and getting his Information Minister, Lai Mohammed to go and hold a press briefing in Sambisa forest unguarded by military men so as to show to Nigerians that indeed, they have defeated Boko Haram technically?” This is coming on the heels of…
Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose has said that he couldn’t appoint the former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) secretary for the state, Tope Aluko as his Chief of Staff due to his greed and lust for money. Fayose made the comment via a statement released by his media aide, Idowu Adelusi in response to allegations that he had rigged the June 2014 elections in the state. The statement reads: “From Aluko’s ranting, one could see that he wants to poison our waters because he did not get the position he expected in our administration.” “He complained that he was not made…