Champions League
Neymar: No place for racism
Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir played their Champions League match to a conclusion on Wednesday, 24 hours after it had been suspended, with Neymar scoring a hat-trick before saying both teams had felt compelled to make a stand against racism in what was an unprecedented protest over an alleged comment by an official. PSG won the game 5-1 after it restarted where it had stopped the previous day, in the 14th minute, following a touchline argument over accusations the Romanian fourth official, Sebastian Coltescu, had described Basaksehir’s Cameroonian assistant coach Pierre Webo as “black”, or “negru” in Romanian. “Sometimes in extreme circumstances these things need to be done to see if the world can change a little,” said Neymar, who together with other players and the new team...
Nigerian midfielder sees red as 10-woman SL Benfica fall at Chelsea
Christy Ucheibe got sent off in Wednesday’s Uefa Women’s Champions League first leg, Round of 32 encounter as 10-woman SL Benfica suffered a 5-0 loss at home to Chelsea. The Nigerian midfielder was first cautioned in the 31st minute for a foul on Fran Kirby before receiving a second yellow card for a bookable offence against Erin Cuthbert in the 74th minute. Having squeezed past POAK and Anderlecht to the Round of 32, the Portuguese champions hosted the English giants at the Benfica Stadium with the ambition of boosting their next round chances. The hosts made a false start in the encounter when Fran Kirby opened the scoring for the visitors after just two minutes. In the 29th minute, Guro Reiten set up Millie Bright to double the lead for Chelsea before Reiten bagged her brace of assists,...
CAFCL: Plateau United threatens protest against Tanzanian side
Nigeria Professional Football League side, Plateau United, have given an indication they would be lodging a protest against Simba SC for the alleged antics they deployed to progress in the CAF Champions League at their expense. Plateau United on their official Twitter handle said they are planning to report the Tanzanian club to the continent’s football ruling body for falsely claiming two of their key players tested positive for COVID-19 and were thus not allowed to play in Saturday’s second leg tie. The club while posting a negative result of one of the players alleged the false-positive results was only meant to weaken the team and give Simba SC an undue advantage. “The management of Plateau United is looking to petition CAF to look into the antics of @SimbaSC_EN who kept out two of our...
Juventus hit back to beat Torino
Juventus came from behind to beat Torino 2-1 on Sunday with US midfielder Weston McKennie among the scorers for the first time since he joined the Italian champions on loan. McKennie’s close-range header on 78 minutes put Juve level after Nicolas Nkoulou had given Torino a first-half advantage. After McKennie’s equaliser, Leonardo Bonucci produced an 89th-minute winner to lift Juve to second in the table, three points behind AC Milan who visit Sampdoria on Sunday. Inter Milan can overtake Juve by beating Bologna in Saturday’s late match. Before the game in Turin, Cristiano Ronaldo was presented with a special jersey commemorating his 750th career goal. But Ronaldo played a supporting role for once as 22-year-old McKennie, on loan from German club Schalke 04, scored a first Serie A goal and...
Quique Setien: Barcelona yet to inform me of sack
Former Barcelona coach Quique Setien claims the Catalans have not compensated him for his early dismissal, or even called to inform of his contract termination three months on. Setien replaced Ernesto Valverde in January signing on a contract until 2022 as the club hoped to reconnect with their philosophy of exciting, possession-based football. However, Setien’s time at Barça was marred with problems, from an apparently strained relationship with talisman Lionel Messi that reportedly spread to other members of the squad, to underwhelming results and performances on the pitch. The culmination of numerous issues at the club was the 8-2 humiliation by Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-final. The embarrassing result contributed to Messi’s desire to leave and effectively spelled the...
Andre-Villas Boas: Marcelo Bielsa’s nomination for The Best FIFA Coach award ‘scandalous’
Marseille boss Andre-Villas Boas has taken a swipe at Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa’s nomination for The Best FIFA Coach Award. The Argentine has joined a five-match shortlist that also includes Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, Sevilla’s Julen Lopetegui and Bayern Munich’s Champions League-winning coach Hansi Flick. Bielsa was at the helm as Leeds returned to the top flight of the English game for the first time in 2004, but Villas-Boas has suggested that these achievements pale into comparison with other coaches who have been overlooked. “Bielsa? Bielsa has to win a prestigious trophy,” he told the media on Friday. “But he’s not among the best five coaches in the world in 2020. It’s a scandal. He won the Championship!” Villas-Boas, who risks provoking the M...
Thomas Tuchel defends outburst following Champions League win
Thomas Tuchel says he “understands” criticism of Paris Saint-Germain but dismissed its credibility when coming from fans and journalists watching from a “sofa”. PSG were out of sorts in the Champions League on Tuesday, as last season’s beaten finalists scraped a narrow 1-0 win at RB Leipzig. The decisive goal, an 11th-minute Neymar penalty, was one of just three shots on target mustered by PSG over the course of the match. Tuchel said after the game that he would not apologise for winning in a somewhat ugly fashion, with Leipzig enjoying 63 per cent of possession and managing 15 shots in total. He put the underwhelming performance down to fatigue caused by the team’s packed schedule, though it was not their only unimpressive display in recent months. Before Tuesday, PSG had lost three of t...
Manchester City ease into Champions League last 16
Manchester City booked their place in the last 16 of the Champions League but there were more concerns for Pep Guardiola over his side’s lack of ruthlessness in a 1-0 win at Olympiakos on Wednesday. Phil Foden’s low strike nine minutes before half-time ensured City deservedly kept up their 100 percent record in Europe this season. But a one-goal margin of victory was a scant reward for the visitors’ dominance even with a heavily-rotated side. Guardiola made five changes to the team beaten 2-0 at Tottenham on Saturday to see City off to their worst league start since the first few months of the club’s Abu Dhabi-backed ownership. Scoring goals has been City’s big problem in the Premier League, but they had scored three in each of their opening three Champions League wins over Porto, Marseill...
Jurgen Klopp: Liverpool will not have 11 fit players without changes
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said the Premier League’s top six could be left without 11 fit players unless changes are made to protect the welfare of stretched squads. Already depleted by an injury crisis, the Reds will play three games in six-and-a-half days this week. Klopp’s men saw off Leicester City 3-0 in Sunday’s late Premier League kick-off and will welcome Atalanta to Anfield in the Champions League on Wednesday before travelling to Brighton for Saturday’s 1230 GMT kick-off. “If we keep playing Wednesday night and Saturday 12.30, I am not sure we finish the season with 11 players, all the top six or seven,” said Klopp in an impassioned interview with Sky Sports, the largest domestic rights holder of Premier League games. Under the terms of a £4.5 billion ($6 billion) deal for th...
Ciro Immobile helps Lazio win at rain-drenched Crotone
Ciro Immobile scored on his return from coronavirus isolation as Lazio beat rock-bottom Crotone 2-0 under driving rain in southern Italy on Saturday. The post Ciro Immobile helps Lazio win at rain-drenched Crotone appeared first on TODAY. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Internet revenue.
Neymar returns for PSG ahead of Champions League resumption
Neymar is set to return from injury for Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1 on Friday with a view to facing RB Leipzig in a crucial Champions League match next week, the club said. The post Neymar returns for PSG ahead of Champions League resumption appeared first on TODAY. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Internet revenue.
Senator Kalu: I’ll buy 35% stake in Arsenal FC
The representative of Abia North Senatorial District, Orji Uzor Kalu, has declared his interest in investing in Premier League club, Arsenal FC. The post Senator Kalu: I’ll buy 35% stake in Arsenal FC appeared first on TODAY. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Internet revenue.
