Arsenal breathe new life into their title bid after their 3-1 victory over Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday. The Gunners go within two points of leaders Liverpool, who lose in the league for the first time since September. Arsenal went in front in the 14th minute after Bukayo Saka opened the scoring. Martin Ødegaard’s pass to Kai Havertz cut the Reds open and Saka was on hand to finish after the German’s initial shot was saved. Arsenal’s dominance grew after the opener, although Ødegaard couldn’t make that translate into a second goal, as his effort was blocked by…
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South Africa head coach Hugo Broos says his team is fully ready for face Nigeria in the semi-final of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Ivory Coast. The Bafana Bafana progressed to the last four of the competition after a thrilling penalty shootout win over Cape Verde on Saturday night, after full time and extra time ended goalless. “When we got to the penalty shootout, it was a special thing for the players, because during training they were scoring them. When we have a goalkeeper who stops 4 penalty kicks, this is not luck but a lot of hard…
Ronwen Williams saved four of the five penalties in a remarkable penalty shootout to send South Africa through to the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) semi-finals for the first time since 2000. The Bafana Bafana beat Cape Verde 2-1 on penalties after regulation and extra time ended goalless. After beating pre-tournament favourites and highest-ranked African nation Morocco in the Round of 16, Hugo Broos seems to be finding the same ingredients which saw him claim the trophy with Cameroon in 2019. Both sides did have numerous scoring opportunities, but played out the first half with greater emphasis on not losing…
According to report from French outlet Le Parisien, French forward Kylian Mbappe has decided to sign for Real Madrid once his contract with PSG expires at the end of the season. Los Blancos have remained confident they can secure a free transfer agreement for Mbappe, but nothing has been confirmed at the start of 2024. It is thought that Mbappé will soon announce his intention to leave Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season and join Madrid on a free transfer. The French captain had come close to making this move in May 2022. However, PSG have persuaded Mbappé to extend his contract for another two…
Hosts Ivory Coast scored in the final minutes of regulation and extra time to reach the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) semi-finals for the first time since 2015 after beating Mali 2-1 on Saturday. The Ivorians played the majority of the game with 10 men after Odilon Kossounou was sent off two minutes before halftime after a second yellow card. Mali were enraged, yet their mood quickly brightened when a spot-kick was given at the second time of asking, this time after Kossounou bundled into Lassine Sinayoko in the box. Adama Traoré steeped up to take the penalty kick, but…
Former Chelsea star Eden Hazard said Lionel Messi is the only footballer better than him during his playing days. The Belgian disclosed this while speaking to L’Equipe in his first major interview since retiring from football. Hazard, who decided to quit the game last summer, after a disappointing time at Real Madrid said, “Lionel Messi is perhaps the only player who is better than me, I loved watching him when he was at Barcelona. I didn’t like watching him much afterwards, but he is the best in history. It is impossible to take the ball away from him. “Cristiano Ronaldo is…
Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has turned down an offer from Al-Shabab in Saudi Arabia. The ‘Special One’ is out of work after he was sacked by Italian club Roma in January. Saudi side Al-Shabab quickly made their move but, according to reports, Mourinho is not ready to move to the Middle East as he waits for better options. Italian champions Napoli are also keen on talking to the former Inter Milan manager, with the Portuguese determined to remain in Italy. Mourinho was spotted in Barcelona over the weekend, but hasn’t disclosed why he travelled to Spain. Barca head coach Xavi remains under pressure…
The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, was at the Stade Felix Houphouet Boigny stadium in Abidjan, the capital of Cote d’Ivoire, for the Super Eagles quarterfinal games against Angola on Friday. Ademola Lookman is the hero for Nigeria as the Super Eagles reach the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) semi-finals after a 1-0 victory over the Palancas Negras of Angola. Obi was in the stands to support the Nigerian national team in their quest to win the AFCON title for the fourth time. Also in Ivory Coast are the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, the Minister of Labour and…
Ademola Lookman is the hero for Nigeria as the Super Eagles reach the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) semi-finals after a 1-0 victory over the Palancas Negras of Angola on Friday. After his double against Cameroon in the last 16, the winger has Nigeria remaining on course for a first AFCON title since 2013. The Angolans had already upset the odds by reaching the last eight of this tournament for the first time since 2010, and they gave Nigeria a huge scare in the opening exchanges when Gilberto flicked on Fredy’s corner into the path of Mabululu, who was brilliantly…
Three-time African champions Super Eagles of Nigeria defeated the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon 2-0 in the last-16 to progress to the quarter-finals of the ongoing Africa Cup on Nations (AFCON) in Ivory Coast. That was a third consecutive victory in this tournament and with decades of AFCON history under their belt, Nigeria enter this match as red hot favourites to progress, backed by their formidable record in AFCON quarter-finals since the introduction of the final eight in 1992 (W9, L1). Head coach José Peseiro has been adamant that his side aren’t looking any further ahead than their next game, declaring all…