It was a weekend of mixed fortunes in the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) as Matchday 10 delivered upsets, and some brilliant individual performances across various centres. In Bauchi, Wikki Tourists ended Shooting Stars’ impressive five-game unbeaten run with a convincing 2-0 victory. Abdullahi Usman opened the scoring in the 31st minute before Jonathan Mairiga doubled the hosts’ advantage three minutes before halftime, sealing an important win for the Tourists. At the New Jos Stadium, Plateau United triumphed 2-1 over Enyimba in a thrilling encounter. Monday Gideon fired the hosts ahead five minutes after the restart, but Jonathan Jacob levelled…
Author: Damilola Amuda
Real Madrid came out on top in an enthralling El Clasico, defeating Barcelona 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu to extend their lead at the top of the LaLiga table to five points. Jude Bellingham scored and assisted for the first time in La Liga this season, the England midfielder produced a defence-splitting through ball to tee up Kylian Mbappe for the 22nd-minute opener, before his 43rd-minute tap-in restored his side’s lead, five minutes after Fermin Lopez had levelled for Barcelona. It was Bellingham’s fourth goal in five appearances in the clash between the league’s top two sides, with Xabi Alonso’s…
Aston Villa became just the second team in top-flight history to follow a five-game winless start with four consecutive victories after Matty Cash’s first-half strike condemned Manchester City to their first Premier League defeat since August. A City side that had opened the scoring in their last 10 matches were left with an unfamiliar feeling when the hosts netted the winner on 19 minutes courtesy of Matty Cash’s precise left-foot finish from the edge of the box after a corner, but the visitors were unhappy with the set-piece being awarded, feeling Lucas Digne had fouled Matheus Nunes in the build-up. City…
Eberechi Eze scored against his former club as Arsenal beat Crystal Palace to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table to four points. Eze who joined the Gunners in a deal worth £67m in the summer, scored the only goal of the match from another trademark Arsenal set-piece. Declan Rice curled a free-kick into the area which was knocked down by centre-back Gabriel, then Eze acrobatically fired the ball into the corner of the net. The Gunners came out for the second half with real purpose, and five minutes after the restart, they very nearly doubled…
Bryan Mbeumo netted twice as Manchester United survived a late scare against Brighton to claim a third successive Premier League win for the first time since February 2024, moving them up to fourth in the table. United were cruising after an hour thanks to goals from Matheus Cunha, who broke his 16-match scoring drought by scoring for the first time for his new club. The Red Devils added a second when Luke Shaw’s challenge found its way to Casemiro, and his 25-yard strike deflected off Yasin Ayari and rolled past a stranded Bart Verbruggen, before Mbeumo followed his goal at Liverpool by driving home…
Brentford heaped further misery on Premier League champions Liverpool with a well deserved 3-2 victory at the Gtech Community Stadium. An emphatic midweek triumph at Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League ended a sequence of four successive defeats in all competitions for the Reds – but it proved to be a false dawn as the weaknesses that have plagued Arne Slot’s side this season surfaced yet again. Michael Kayode’s lethal long throw exposed Liverpool’s shaky rearguard in the fifth minute, with Dango Ouatarra scoring from Kristoffer Ajer’s flick-on. Mohamed Salah came close to an instant response for the Reds, but he…
Nigeria’s Flamingos wrapped up their Group D campaign at the ongoing FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco in style, defeating Samoa 4–0 to secure their first win of the tournament — and a spot in the Round of 16. It was a dominant performance from start to finish, with Queen Joseph stealing the spotlight. The young forward opened the scoring in the 13th minute, firing home a confident strike to give Nigeria an early lead. She doubled her tally just 15 minutes later, calmly slotting past the Samoa goalkeeper in the 28th minute to make it 2–0. The Flamingos…
Rivers United have officially secured their place in the group stage of the CAF Champions League after a thrilling 3-1 victory over Black Bulls of Mozambique on Saturday. Finidi George’s men triumphed 3-2 on aggregate in the second preliminary round, marking a historic achievement for the Port Harcourt-based side — their first-ever appearance in the group stage of Africa’s most prestigious club competition. The game started brightly for the River United, with Wasiu Falolu opening the scoring in the 15th minute. The Nigerian club continued to dominate, and just three minutes before halftime, Maclyn Biokpo coolly converted from the penalty…
Sunderland climbed to second place in the Premier League (PL) table, coming from behind to stun Chelsea in a brilliant 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge, ending the Blues’ run of four straight wins in all competitions. Having made their best eight-game start to a PL season since 1999/2000, Sunderland were dreaming of going second in the table, but those aspirations were dealt a swift blow after just four minutes. Hitting the Black Cats on the counter-attack, Pedro Neto picked out Alejandro Garnacho, who raced down the left before pulling the trigger to drill a low strike through Robin Roefs’ legs, marking his first goal for Chelsea. The…
The race to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games has officially come to an end, with Amdavad (Ahmedabad), India, set to take the spotlight. Although Nigeria missed out on the hosting rights this time, the Commonwealth Sport Executive Board has pledged to actively support and accelerate Nigeria’s ambitions to bring the Games to Africa in the near future — potentially as early as 2034. This commitment aligns with Commonwealth Sport’s broader strategy to secure a sustainable future for the Games and expand their global footprint, including a long-awaited debut on African soil. At its latest meeting, the Executive Board confirmed its…