Banyana Banyana head coach, Desiree Ellis believes there is still plenty to play for in their 2024 Olympic Games qualifier against the Super Falcons of Nigeria.
The reigning African champions lost 1-0 to Nigeria in the first leg at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja on Friday night.

 

Asisat Oshoala converted from the spot two minutes before the break after Chiwendu Ihezuo was fouled inside the box by Noko Matlou.
Ellis’ side were outplayed by the Super Falcons in the keenly contested encounter.
The gaffer is however optimistic her team will turn things around in the second leg.

 

“Look, we said it was going to be a tight game but we are hopeful of overturning this result in the second leg,” Ellis was quoted by Safa.net.

“We are still in the game. We created a couple of chances, a penalty decided the match but the game is not over. I thought in the second half we raised our game a lot and created good chances and could have equalized.

“Maybe we could also have gotten a penalty at the end when Jermaine was fouled but I’m very proud of the team and we will take it back to Pretoria.”

[Leadership]

 

Arsenal star, Kai Havertz has singled out the club’s defenders for praise following the Gunners’ Premier League 3-0 win over Brighton on Saturday.

Havertz said what Arsenal defenders are doing at the back is outstanding after they recorded another clean sheet against Brighton to go top of the Premier League table.

He said how they defend the box is ‘incredible.’

 

Arsenal defenders include the likes of Gabriel, William Saliba, Ben White’s and Oleksandr Zinchenko.

“The attitude and work-rate of the boys is phenomenal and everyone put everything into that game – that is why we are successful right now,” Havertz said at his post-match interview after the game.

“The boys at the back, what they are doing is outstanding and everyone is involved in that. We try to get the ball high up the pitch, but how they defend the box is incredible.”

[DailyPost]

 

 

Brighton boss Roberto de Zerbi has said they could not compete with Arsenal due to injuries, as they lost 3-0 on Saturday.

Bukayo Saka opened the scoring for the Gunners from the penalty spot in the first half.

Goals from Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard in the second half ensured Arsenal took all three points at the Amex.


De Zerbi, speaking to BBC MOTD, said: “We played a good first half and played well in the second half until the second goal. After that, we played not so good and deserved to lose against one of the best Premier League sides. With our injured players, we can’t compete against Arsenal.

“We are sorry and disappointed for our fans. We wanted to get points, to win the game and compete in better ways. We are having a tough moment because we are playing without a lot of injured players. It is tough.”

The manager of Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp seems to have figured out how to beat Manchester United at Old Trafford at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 7.

In an interview with Liverpool’s official website, Jurgen Klopp who is expected to leave the Anfield club at the end of this season said the only way his team can beat Manchester United at Old Trafford is if his team plays a very good game.

 

Manchester United have been very inconsistent this season as they have recorded 12 defeats, 3 draws, and 15 wins which left them on the 6th spot with eight games in their hands.

Amidst their inconsistency, they have managed to knock out in-form Liverpool from the quarter-final stage of the FA Cup with a man down on March 17. The thrilling encounter ended in a 4-3 victory for the Red Devils.

Hence, their meeting at Old Trafford which is a must-win for both sides (for Liverpool’s title hopes, and Manchester United’s European spot hopes), is expected to be more or less a final.

Ahead of the game, Jurgen Klopp admitted that Manchester United are a very strong team especially while playing in front of their home fans. Hence, he urged his team to double their output if they want to stand a chance against the Red Devils coached by Erik ten Hag.

“United is a top side playing at home, we all know that,” Jurgen Klopp said.

“Football is not that easy. We have to find a way to cause United problems and they will try exactly the same.

“On that level, with this opponent, in this stadium, we better play a really good football game, to be honest, if we want something there.”

[NaijaNews]

Nigerian track and field icon, Tobi Amusan, will return to the world stage on April 20 when she competes in the women’s 100-meter hurdles at the Wanda Diamond League season in Xiamen, China.

Tobi Amusan, the Three-time African Games winner who is still a world record holder in women’s 100m hurdles, has been listed among 12 Olympic gold medallists and 27 world champions who will compete at the Egret Stadium in Xiamen for the 2024 Diamond League season.

 

Note that the 26-year-old Amusan is the defending champion of the Wanda Diamond League title. She won the 2023 edition of the tournament in Eugene, Oregon, for the third consecutive season.

Amusan won the race in September 2023 within 12.33 seconds, which was his season best.

In this year’s edition of the tournament, the legendary Nigerian athlete will compete against Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, world champion Danielle Williams, and world indoor champion Devynne Charlton.

Recall that in the last edition of the Diamond League season, Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico finished second within 12.38 seconds, while Harrison of the United States finished third within 12.44 seconds.

The 2024 Diamond League in Xiamen will be more or less an exhibition of what will come at the 2024 Olympics. Note that Tobi Amusan, who holds the world record of 12.12 seconds from the 2022 Diamond League, has also qualified to compete at the Paris Olympics this summer.

[NaijaNews]

Turkish club Trabzonspor have been ordered to play six home matches behind closed doors after violent scenes marred a league game with rivals Fenerbahce last month, the country’s football federation (TFF) said Wednesday.

Two Fenerbahce players, Dutch defender Jayden Oosterwolde and goalkeeper Irfan Can Egribayat, were also fined and handed one-match bans by the TFF’s discipinary board.

Oosterwolde was punished for kicking a Trabzonspor fan who had run onto the pitch with his face covered.

A group of Trabzonspor fans invaded the pitch after the final whistle of the 3-2 home defeat on March 17.

 

The attacks took place as the Fenerbahce players and coaching staff celebrated their victory, goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic being punched in the face.

The Black Sea team must also pay two fines totalling 3.1 million Turkish lira ($97,000).

Nigerian international Bright Osayi-Samuel escaped punishment after punching a fan on the pitch.

His actions “did not meet the threshold for a violation of disciplinary rules,” the board said.

FIFA boss Gianni Infantino called the scenes “totally unacceptable”.

It is not the first time violence has affected the Turkish Super Lig this season.

The championship was suspended for a week in December after a referee was attacked during a match between Ankaragucu and Rizespor.

Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca, alongside other men, attacked referee Halil Umut Meler on the pitch after the match, injuring the official.

A number of Fenerbahce trips to Trabzon in recent times have also been marred by violence.

A 2016 game against Trabzonspor was abandoned in the closing minutes after an assistant referee was attacked by a home supporter.

 

The year before that the Fenerbahce team bus came under attack from a gunman en route to the airport on the way back from the neighbouring Black Sea city of Rize, leaving the driver seriously injured.

In 2014 a match between Trabzonspor and Fenerbahce was called off at half-time after the Istanbul club’s players were pelted with objects thrown onto the pitch by home fans.

Trabzonspor, who won the Turkish title two years ago, also found themselves in the spotlight in 2015 when the club president locked the referee and his assistants inside the stadium overnight in protest at the decision not to award his team a penalty.

They were eventually released in the early hours of the following morning after a phone call from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

AFP

 

Real Madrid legend Marcelo has named his all-time best XI players that he has shared the pitch with in his glittering career.

The Brazilian left-back accomplished everything in his career with Real Madrid and the Brazil national team.

Marcelo included current and former football stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Ronaldo Nazario in the list.

 

He went with Keylor Navas as the goalkeeper and picked Chelsea’s Thiago Silva to partner former Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos in the centre-back position.

In the midfield, Marcelo went with the likes of Casemiro and Luka Modric.

Marcelo’s all-time best XI (via Madrid Xtra):

Ronaldo Nazario, Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Casemiro, Roberto Carlos, Sergio Ramos, Thiago Silva, Rafinha and Keylor Navas.

[DailyPost]

Napoli might look into the Super Eagles squad, as they look for a replacement for Victor Osimhen.

Osimhen is all but set to leave the Italian champions this summer.

However, the Serie A side are now looking at the 23-year-old’s compatriot, Victor Boniface to replace him.


Boniface, who plays for Bayer Leverkusen in Germany, has scored 10 goals and provided eight assists in just 15 starts.

His impressive displays have seen him win the Rookie of the Month award four times consecutively.

However, he suffered an adductor injury, which has sidelined him for most of the Rückrunde while Leverkusen continued their pursuit of silverware on multiple fronts.

Italian transfer expert, Niccolò Ceccarini, has shed light on Napoli’s transfer plans, mentioning Boniface among the strikers on their radar.

Ceccarini stated, as reported by Calcio Mercato, “In addition to him, there is also Benjamin Sesko. Also in this case the evaluation is the same as Gimenez, Leverkusen’s Boniface.”

Napoli might look into the Super Eagles squad, as they look for a replacement for Victor Osimhen.

Osimhen is all but set to leave the Italian champions this summer.

However, the Serie A side are now looking at the 23-year-old’s compatriot, Victor Boniface to replace him.

 

Boniface, who plays for Bayer Leverkusen in Germany, has scored 10 goals and provided eight assists in just 15 starts.

His impressive displays have seen him win the Rookie of the Month award four times consecutively.

However, he suffered an adductor injury, which has sidelined him for most of the Rückrunde while Leverkusen continued their pursuit of silverware on multiple fronts.

Italian transfer expert, Niccolò Ceccarini, has shed light on Napoli’s transfer plans, mentioning Boniface among the strikers on their radar.

Ceccarini stated, as reported by Calcio Mercato, “In addition to him, there is also Benjamin Sesko. Also in this case the evaluation is the same as Gimenez, Leverkusen’s Boniface.”

[DailyPost]

Mikel Arteta said Tuesday that Arsenal may have to win all of their nine remaining Premier League games if they are to be crowned champions as he prepares for the “most beautiful part of the season”.

The second-placed Gunners are two points behind leaders Liverpool ahead of a busy April schedule following Sunday’s gritty goalless draw at title rivals Manchester City.

Arteta, who is also preparing Arsenal for a Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich, urged his side to embrace the challenge, starting with Wednesday’s game at home to relegation-threatened Luton.
 

“It’s going to have to be really close to that,” he told a pre-match press conference when asked if Arsenal need a 100 percent record from now on to finish top of the table.

“When you see the level and the consistency of the other teams and historically what is needed to win in this league, it’s not going to be very far from that.”

The Spaniard added: “This is where we want to be and now we want to take this opportunity and make it happen.

“We worked every single day with that enthusiasm and passion to make it happen and enjoying the moment as well.

“I see the team really flowing and they are really excited about playing each game and that has to drive this energy until the end.

“I am full of energy and it’s the most beautiful part of the season.”

Arsenal’s fixture against Luton is the first of eight matches this month, including the two clashes with Bayern.

Although they will be huge favourites to beat Luton, they needed an injury-time winner to leave Kenilworth Road with a dramatic 4-3 victory in early December.

Asked about his memories of that game, Arteta said: “Especially how tough it was to win there, how difficult they have made it for every team…They deserve more credit than any other team in this league, how they’ve done it, what they transmit as a team and what they generated and it’s going to be a really tough match.”

 [Vanguard]