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Napoli’s slim chances of Champions League football were dealt another blow on Sunday after a 2-2 home draw in their Serie A match with struggling Frosinone.
Walid Cheddira’s first brace in Italy’s top flight earned a point for Frosinone in Naples.
It left ailing Italian champions Napoli in eighth, six points behind fifth-placed Roma, who can extend their advantage when they face Udinese later on Sunday.
Italian clubs’ strong performances in European football mean a top-five finish in Serie A is almost certain to gain a spot in the Champions League.
Napoli are increasingly unlikely to be among that group, and were booed off the pitch at a sparsely-populated Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Francesco Calzona’s side looked set for sixth place when Victor Osimhen diverted home Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s mishit shot in the 63rd minute.
Instead Cheddira, who had previously levelled Matteo Politano’s stunning early opener after the away side were gifted possession by Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret, headed home his second 10 minutes after Osimhen’s strike.
Frosinone stay just inside the bottom three and level on 27 points with 17th-placed Verona, who are outside the relegation zone on goal difference and face Atalanta on Monday.
Eusebio Di Francesco’s team deserved the draw from an eventful game in which Meret initially looked to be the hero after he saved Matias Soule’s penalty on the half-hour mark.
Frosinone have only won one league match since late November but successive draws with Genoa, fourth-placed Bologna and now Napoli have boosted their hopes of staying up.
Later Inter Milan host Cagliari at the San Siro, where a win will guarantee an opportunity to seal their 20th league title in the Milan derby on Monday week.
Inter are a whopping 14 points ahead of closest challengers AC Milan, who are at Sassuolo on Sunday.
Beating Cagliari will ensure the derby will be a chance for Inter to claim the Scudetto regardless of how Milan do in their match.
[Vanguard]
Former England women’s player, Eniola Aluko, has become the first black woman to own a club in Italy.
Aluko has acquired a major stake in FC Como’s female team.
The 37-year-old confirmed this in a post on her X page, where revealed she is a part of a $100 million ownership group, known as Mercury 13, which acquired a majority stake.
Como Women was only established in 2020, and they use a 3,700-capacity stadium.
They currently play in the top flight of the Italian Serie A.
Eniola, who is the sister of former Super Eagles player Sone Aluko, was born in Lagos to Nigerian parents in 1987.
But she eventually naturalized to England and played for the Three Lionesses.
Former Manchester United defender, Rio Ferdinand, has identified the two fixtures that will cost Arsenal the Premier League title.
With seven matches left, the Gunners can go back to the top of the table with a win over Aston Villa on Sunday.
But Ferdinand believes that Mikel Arteta’s men will suffer two more defeats before the season’s end, which will eventually cost them the title in the process.
While predicting the run-in for TNT Sport, Ferdinand tipped Arsenal to lose 2-1 away at North London rivals Tottenham, before falling to another defeat against United at Old Trafford in the penultimate game of the campaign.
According to him, Erik ten Hag’s side will run out 3-2 winners against Arteta’s men.
Brazil and AC Milan legend KaKa’s ex-wife, Caroline Celico, has revealed that she divorced him because he was “too perfect” for her.
Kaka, 41, married his childhood sweetheart Celico in 2005 before they divorced in 2015, spending ten years in their marriage together.
The divorced couple had two children together, but Celico was not happy and has now revealed she felt something was missing.
“Kaka never betrayed me, he treated me well, he gave me a wonderful family, but I was not happy, something was missing,” she was quoted on The Sun.
“The problem was, he was too perfect for me,” Celico declared.
Celico, a Brazilian socialite, joined Kaka’s church after they married and later became an Evangelical pastor but quit in 2010.
The 36-year-old later married Eduardo Scarpa Julião in 2021 and the couple are now expecting their first child.
Kaka also found love again with partner Carolina Dias whom he started dating in 2017.
He had a decorated career which saw him win nine major trophies, including the World Cup with Brazil in Korea/Japan 2002 and the FiFA Confederations Cup in 2005 and 2009.
He also won Serie A and the Champions League with AC Milan, as well as La Liga with Real Madrid.
Kaka was also named FIFA World Player of the Year and Ballon d’Or both in 2007.
Tim Simpson, the manager of Nigerian-born Australian UFC fighter, Israel Adesanya, said his client is disappointed not to be a part of the star-studded UFC 300 event.
Israel Adesanya returned from his almost six-month break from the UFC recently and declared his attention to feature in the UFC 300. Then, his target was to challenge middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis for the title.
Adesanya almost got the deal but Plessis pulled out from the fight which ought to take place at the UFC 300 which is scheduled for today, April 13.
The South African fighter said he pulled out from the fight because he hasn’t fully recovered from the injuries he sustained in a successful bout with Sean Strickland at UFC 297 in January.
Afterward, Israel Adesanya couldn’t find an alternative fighter to battle with leaving him out of the UFC 300 roster.
Adesanya’s manager said the Nigerian-born fighter is not happy over the development but noted that his client is open to fighting du Plessis on the upcoming UFC 305 card on August 17 in Perth, Australia.
“Israel was very upset that he didn’t do it (at UFC 300),” Simpson said on The MMA Hour.
“I believe Dricus was not ready. I think he had some sort of procedure after the last fight. Again, this is what’s been put publicly by Israel and (coach) Eugene (Bareman). But yeah, he really, really wanted it. He was upset, he wanted to be here and do it, he really, really wanted to do it. He loves big moments, the title fight coming back. I was texting (UFC executive) Hunter (Campbell) and couldn’t get it done on Dricus’ side, but Izzy was ready to go.”
Wembley Stadium looks set to host the all-British heavyweight clash between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
The long-awaited bout looks set to go ahead if Fury wins against Oleksandr Usyk on May 18 in Riyadh.
And Fury’s co-promoter Bob Arum is confident that London rather than Saudi Arabia will play host to the super fight.
He said: “The Saudis also, with having all this money, who can dictate the place, are very intelligent and they would, I think, like nothing more than to do that fight in Wembley with 95,000 people where they were the promoters.
“I think that would do more for their image than doing that fight – Fury and Joshua – in Saudi. But that’s up to them. That’s what I feel in talking to them briefly about the future.”
Joshua still might have a wait to finally fight Fury with the latter potentially facing a double header against his Ukrainian opponent.
“Looking at Tyson Fury, if he beats Usyk and fights Usyk again and beats him and then does a massive fight hopefully in the UK at Wembley Stadium,” he told Sky Sports, “that would really put an exclamation point to his great career.
“But let’s not put the cart before the horse. May 18 is an awfully competitive, really competitive heavyweight championship fight for all the marbles. He will give Tyson Fury everything Tyson can handle.
“I really believe from the reports I get that Tyson has really buckled down and is training very, very hard for this.”
Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, has admitted his team cannot afford to drop more points in the Premier League title race.
The champions are looking to win the trophy for an unprecedented fourth consecutive season.
However, they are currently in third place, behind rivals Arsenal and Liverpool on the table.
City will play Luton Town first, before Liverpool host Crystal Palace and Aston Villa travel to Arsenal on Sunday.
“The Premier League is so important. I expect a game similar to the Premier League when we won 2-1 at the end of the FA Cup. We have to be ready.
“We’re fighting for the title, we cannot drop points,” Guardiola told reporters today.
[DailyPost]
A former boss of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Amaju Pinnick believes ex-Super Eagles star George Finidi has all it takes to coach the senior male national team.
Finidi was in charge of the Super Eagles in their last two games following the departure of Jose Peseiro as the team gaffer after leading Nigeria to a second-place finish at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cote d’Ivoire.
The NFF is in search of Peseiro’s replacement, Pinnick who is the immediate past president of the football body is backing Finidi for the top job.
“I’m not an authority on this because I don’t know. But what I know is that some coaches were shortlisted, some applied and, somebody asked me a question, if I were to subscribe to a local coach and I corrected him right away that I don’t believe in the word local. They are indigenous coaches and if I were to subscribe to anyone at the moment, because of the smooth transition from Peseiro, I should say Finidi George, and I don’t have any regrets about it,” he said in an interview with Channels Television
“If it was Amuneke that was there during this transition, I would have said Amuneke because they had the same gifts, they played the same level, they won the same tournament, you know. But the difference between Amuneke and Finidi is a Finidi as a coach, came down to Nigeria and coached a local club, one of our indigenous clubs and he also won the league with this in the club. I brought him on as one of the assistant coaches.
“And when he was interviewed, you could see his humility and modesty in him. And if you see controversy among some of his colleagues, you will never hear anything about Finidi being a player’s agent, Finidi collecting money from this.
“No, he’s somebody that is primed and really and truly wants to work.”
Super Eagles forward; Ademola Lookman has said that his game style has been patterned after Senegalese forward, Sadio Mane.
Lookman played for Charlton Athletic, Everton, RB Leipzig, Fulham and Leicester City before moving to Serie A side Atalanta.
The Nigeria international joined Atalanta for a fee in the region of nine million euros paid to Leipzig at the start of the 2022-2023 season.
The winger has scored 24 goals and made 12 assists from 65 all-competition appearances.
The former England youth teamer has now revealed that his game is shaped on former Liverpool star Sadio Mane.
“The guy who I always looked at the most would have to be Sadio Mane,” Lookman told The Athletic.
“Looking at his threat in the box, his threat in those little tight spaces, his movement — I have watched a lot of his game in particular.
“I watch my clips back, and it’s nice to be able to see your performance from a different perspective.
“It gives you more belief in knowing that you’re getting better and developing in certain areas.”
Nigerian football star, Victor Osimhen could be heading to Ligue 1 champions, Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season.
Osimhen, one of the most sought after strikers in football at the moment is wanted by Premier League giants, Chelsea and Arsenal.
But PSG are close to wrapping up a deal with Napoli for the talismanic forward, according to Caught Offside.
The French club are rumored to be willing to pay Osimhen’s entire release clause, which is estimated to be worth €120m.
In addition, they are eager to extend an offer of a four-year contract to the striker, who will make €13m a season at PSG.
Chelsea, unlike PSG, are not in a position to pay Osimhen’s entire release clause due to their financial state.
Osimhen, aged 25, has scored 14 goals in 26 appearances across all competitions for Napoli this season.
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Super Falcons captain, Rasheedat Ajibade has debunked claims the side adopted a defensive approach in their clash against South Africa in Pretoria on Tuesday.
Randy Waldrum’s side held the Banyana Banyana to a 0-0 draw in the second leg of the 2024 Olympic Games fourth round qualifying tie.
The result ensured their passage to Paris 2024 following a 1-0 aggregate win
Ajibade, who scored the decisive goal in the first leg, claimed the Super Falcons played to win in South Africa.
“We didn’t hold back, we wanted to score goals,” the Atletico Madrid forward told reporters.
“We respect South Africa, but we wanted to play the way we played in the first leg at home in Abuja.”
[DailyPost]
Athletics has become the first sport to offer prize money to Olympic champions, announcing that the 48 gold medallists in Paris this year will earn $50,000 each to end a 128-year tradition.
Although the concept of purely amateur competition has long since disappeared from the modern Olympics with athletes often receiving payments from sponsors and professionals taking part for years, the World Athletics (WA) decision is a major shift.
WA President, Sebastian Coe, said there had been no discussion with the International Olympic Committee, only that his organisation had given the IOC a heads-up shortly before announcing the $2.4 million prize pot.
“While it is impossible to put a marketable value on winning an Olympic medal, or on the commitment and focus it takes to even represent your country at an Olympic Games, it is important we make sure some of the revenues generated by our athletes are directly returned to those who make the Games the global spectacle that it is,” Coe told reporters.
“I don’t believe this is remotely at variance with the concept that the IOC often talks about, which is recognising the efforts that our competitors make for the overall success of the Games.”
Norway’s Olympic 400m hurdles champion Karsten Warholm welcomed the news.
“I think it’s good so I want to salute them for it,” Warholm said in an interview. “It doesn’t change my motivation to win because for the Olympics I’m not in it for the money. The gold medal is worth a lot more to me personally.”
The IOC said it was up to each International Federation (IF) and National Olympic Committee (NOC) to determine how to best serve their athletes and the development of their sports.
“The IOC redistributes 90% of all its income, in particular to the NOCs and IFs. This means that, every day, the equivalent of $4.2 million goes to help athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world,” the ruling body said.
A total of $540 million was allocated to the 28 sports at the Tokyo Games, with World Athletics receiving the most at $40 million.
Paris Saint-Germain boss, Luis Enrique has reflected on their 3-2 defeat to Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie on Wednesday.
Raphinha opened the scoring at the Parc des Princes, but the hosts went in front thanks to goals from Ousmane Dembele and Vitinha.
Barca levelled the game through another Raphinha goal, before Andreas Christensen headed in the winner.
Enrique, speaking to TNT Sports, said: “It was a pity because I think we started the match properly and in a good mood. Disappointing after we conceded the goal.
“Second half started in the best way but suddenly we suffered the second goal. We created some chances but for us it’s a pity.
“There’s still the spirit to go to Barcelona and try to win.
“Sometimes you have to change things and it happens just when we draw the match, we created more chances. The team was at a high level at that moment. But they are a good team.”
World No 1 Novak Djokovic made an emphatic start at the Monte Carlo Masters with a 6-1 6-2 win over Russia’s Roman Safiullin to ease into the third round in a rain-delayed day three on Tuesday.
Djokovic, who pulled out of the recent Miami Open as he tries to balance his schedule, looked fresh as he broke Safiullin’s serve three times in the opening set and a further two breaks in the second was enough to seal the win.
“I think even the games that I lost I had break points in those games. It is a really great first match at the start of the clay season,” he said.
On Sunday, Djokovic overtook Roger Federer as the oldest No 1 ranked singles player in ATP rankings history, at 36 years and 321 days.
“I met (Rohan) Bopanna yesterday, who is the oldest doubles No 1 in history. He said we had a combined age of 80, but he does contribute to the 80 more than I do,” Djokovic joked.
Musetti defeated Djokovic at the third round stage last year.
“Last year as well, I started off well at this tournament and the second match I lost, so I hope to maintain this rhythm,” Djokovic added.
German fifth seed Alexander Zverev made light work of his second round match, defeating Sebastian Ofner 6-3 6-4.
[DailyTrust]