Points
CBN: Naira to fall further in January
Barely five days to the end of the year 2020, the Central Bank of Nigeria has disclosed that a survey carried out by its Statistics Department revealed that the naira is expected to depreciate further in January 2021. The report, titled, ‘December 2020 Business Expectations Survey Report’ added that there might also be a steady rise in interest rate from December till the next six months. The naira witnessed a sharp fall in recent weeks, reaching its lowest on November 30, 2020, when it exchanged for N500/$1. Since then, the dollar has been hovering between N460 and N470. As of Friday, however, one dollar exchanged for 465 in the parallel market. Also, the Nigerian economy had on November 21 slid into its second recession in five years when the economy shrank again in the third quarter. Th...
Kieran Tierney hopeful victory over Chelsea a turning point for Arsenal
Kieran Tierney is hopeful Arsenal’s 3-1 win over Chelsea can be a springboard to climbing the table. The Gunners came into the game on the back of a winless run in the league dating back to the start of November. Coach Mikel Arteta was forced into a reshuffle due to illness and a coronavirus scare , and the changes paid off for the Spanish coach as his side looked far more hungry than Chelsea. Alexandre Lacazette’s penalty following a foul by Reece James on Tierney set them on their way on 34 minutes. A brilliant free kick from Granit Xhaka on the stroke of half-time doubled the advantage, and Bukayo Saka’s cross-cum-shot over Edouard Mendy secured the three points despite Tammy Abraham netting a late goal for Chelsea. The win does little for Arsenal’s position in the table, as they only m...
Jurgen Klopp: Mo Salah is happy at Liverpool
Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp moved to dismiss speculation over Egypt forward Mohamed Salah’s future saying on Thursday he is happy at the Premier League champions. The 28-year-old gave an interview in Spain last week in which he said Barcelona and Real Madrid were top clubs and “who knows what will happen in the future”. This led to speculation over whether he was seeking a new longer-term contract beyond 2023 or he was upset Trent Alexander-Arnold had been given the captain’s armband for the Champions League group match with Midtjylland. “We do not speak about deals — well, not with you (the media). Why should we start now?” said Klopp at his press conference ahead of Sunday’s game with struggling West Brom. “Mo is in a good mood, always a good moment. He is in really good shape and that ...
Pep Guardiola: No new striker for Manchester City due to coronavirus impact
Manchester City’s strikers will have to rediscover their scoring touch because reinforcements will not be signed in January, manager Pep Guardiola has said. Guardiola explained that even with the backing of their Abu Dhabi owners, City were subject to the same financial pressures as their rivals due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. City have scored only twice in their last three league games but hope to welcome back Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus for Tuesday’s League Cup quarter-final with Arsenal. However, the League Cup holders’ record goalscorer Argentinian Sergio Aguero is sidelined by an undisclosed issue having had knee and illness problems already this season. Asked about the prospect of new blood coming to the club, Guardiola replied: “No I don’t think so because the eco...
Bernd Leno: Arsenal ‘don’t have time’ to feel sorry for themselves
Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno says there is no time for the players to feel sorry for themselves after an eighth Premier League defeat of the season ramped up the pressure on manager Mikel Arteta. Sunday is an unhappy first anniversary for the Gunners boss as he reflects on a 2-1 reverse at Everton that extended their winless run to seven league matches and left them just four points above the Premier League’s bottom three. “A lot of things are going wrong for us but we don’t have time to feel sorry for ourselves, we have to fight for every ball, for our team-mates,” said Leno. “Now the confidence is not at the top level but the only thing that can be said is we should stick together and come out of this situation.” The 28-year-old German said Arsenal showed a good attitude in the second h...
Jose Mourinho drums support for under-fire Steven Bergwijn
Tottenham Hotspur coach Jose Mourinho said the team are supporting Dutchman Steven Bergwijn who missed two clear chances in Wednesday’s top-of-the-table clash at Liverpool and received criticism on social media after the 2-1 defeat. “I don’t know what I can do apart from the player knowing in this club we are all together,” Mourinho told a news conference ahead of Sunday’s game at home to Leicester City. “We lose, we win and we draw all together. So he has us and we have him. In here we don’t feel any individual criticism, we never feel it that way, it is always about us, so no problem. “He’s one of my boys, period. There is no point to boo, to individualise. He’s a good professional, he works hard for the team, he gives everything he can.” Second-placed Spurs slipped three points behind L...
WAFU B Cup: Ghana fall to Cote d’Ivoire but book Niger date
Ghana have ended their group stage campaign at the ongoing Wafu B Cup of Nations in Benin with a 1-0 loss to Ivory Coast but will still progress to the next round of the competition courtesy of a 1-0 victory over Nigeria on the last matchday. Kossi Nguessan’s second-half free-kick proved the separating factor at Stade de Gaules in Porto Novo on Saturday. The Black Satellites ultimately finished second in a three-team group, setting up a semi-final date with Niger. The 2009 world champions had already booked the qualification to the next round of the championship before Saturday’s last group game, having amassed vital three points in their first game against archrivals Nigeria. Ghana coach Abdul Karim Zito made five changes to his starting line-up for Saturday’s game, bringing on Alhassan U...
Former Lobi striker glad to make Maghreb de Fès debut
Former Lobi Stars striker Sikiru Alimi says he’s delighted to make his debut for Moroccan side Maghreb de Fès football club. Alimi featured for the first time for the club in the league against RSB Berkane at the Stade Municipal de Berkane on Tuesday. The Striker came on in the second-half and helped his new side picked a valuable point away from home. After the match, Alimi said he’s satisfied with his debut and hopes things continue to get better. “I’m glad to have made my debut for this great Club, hopefully we will continue to grow and get Better…Bonne Courage,” he tweeted. I’m glad to have made my debut for this great Club,hopefully we will continue to grow and get Better…Bonne Courage pic.twitter.com/MsW76IwcW4 — Alimi Sikiru (@sikiru16) December 8, 2020 Mas De Fes are currentl...
Governor Fayemi hails Ooni on fifth coronation anniversary
The Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, has congratulated the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, on his fifth coronation anniversary. The Governor said the foremost traditional ruler has been making very significant impact in the development of Yoruba land in particular and Nigeria in general since his ascension to the exalted throne. Fayemi, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Yinka Oyebode, hailed the Ooni for using his position to promote peace among the various ethnic nationalities in the country as well as working with relevant stakeholders and institutions to advance the socio- economic development of the people. Describing Ooni Ogunwusi as a vibrant, visionary and progressive monarch, the Governor noted that the Arole Oodua has always been in the forefr...
Roy Hodgson ‘really pleased’ as Crystal Palace hit 5 goals in West Brom rout
Wilfred Zaha was outstanding for Crystal Palace as they took advantage of the controversial dismissal of Matheus Pereira to claim their first points in three games with a rout at West Brom. Zaha had missed Palace’s previous two matches – both of which ended in defeat – after testing positive for Covid-19 but quickly found his feet again at The Hawthorns with a typically lively attacking display that included two goals and an assist. It was from his low cross that Darnell Furlong diverted the ball into his own net to give the visitors the lead and his whipped finish into the far corner that restored the advantage after Conor Gallagher’s low, driven equaliser. Between these two Zaha contributions, though, came the incident that completely altered the complexion of the game – Pereira’s red ca...
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...
Eberechi Eze named Crystal Palace Player of the Month
Eberechi Eze has expressed his delight after he was named Crystal Palace’s W88 Player of the Month for November. “It’s a great privilege and I’m grateful the fans have been entertained by my performances. It’s a great pleasure. “Leeds was a huge game for me. It was the perfect opportunity for me to come in and to stake my claim. It was a great performance by the boys, great points on the board.” The summer signing shone for netting his first Premier League goal in style, rifling home a free-kick against Leeds United at the start of the month and bagging an assist in the same game. Frustrating results followed for the Eagles, but fans felt Eze stood out, choosing him for the POTM accolade with almost 64% of the vote. Eze beat Nathaniel Clyne (10%) to first place in the vote after the defend...
