Author: Chief Editor

Bayern Munich can be crowned Bundesliga champions for the ninth successive season on Saturday with top-scorer Robert Lewandowski returning from injury and eyeing the league’s all-time record of 40 goals in a single campaign. Bayern are ten points clear at the top of the league and an away win at Mainz will guarantee the title with three games remaining. Head coach Hansi Flick dropped a bombshell last weekend by saying he wants to be released from his contract at the end of the term and wants to sign off with the league title. The Bavarians are boosted by the presence…

The focus is firmly back on the race for the top four in the Premier League this weekend after the brief distraction of the ill-fated European Super League. In the chaos earlier this week it was unclear whether the clubs that had signed up to the breakaway league would even be allowed to play in the traditional European competitions next season. But Champions League qualification remains the big prize. Third-placed Leicester, Chelsea, West Ham, Tottenham and Liverpool are realistically vying for two spots as the season enters its final stretch, with the Manchester clubs firmly established in the top two.…

Antonio Conte compared his jittery Inter Milan team to an orchestra as they approach a first Serie A title in over a decade having endured back-to-back draws before travelling to Hellas Verona this weekend. Inter were held against Napoli and Spezia but maintain a 10-point advantage as nearest rivals AC Milan lost last time out and next travel to Lazio. “It’s inevitable to feel a bit of pressure,” said Conte, “especially as lots of our players are challenging for something important for the first time.” Inter won their 18th and last Serie A crown in 2010, the year they also…

UEFA meets on Friday with revenge on some members’ minds following the attempted Super League breakaway, while the fate of a handful of European Championship host cities is also on the agenda. In the space of 48 hours, between Sunday evening and Tuesday evening, European football’s governing body, aided by fans and politicians, quelled a mutiny by 12 English, Spanish and Italian clubs who presumed to form their own quasi-closed tournament which would have threatened UEFA’s own Champions League and the federation’s governance of the game. Nine clubs, including all six in England, subsequently withdrew and even if Juventus, Barcelona…

The Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology (OAUSTECH), Okitipupa, Ondo State, has directed its students to resume on April 26, for 2019/2020 second semester lectures. Mr Ganiyu Saliu, the institute’s registrar made this known in a circular he issued on Friday in Okitipupa. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the resumption directive was the aftermath of the lifting of the industrial action by the university unions. The teaching and non-teaching staff members of the institution had three weeks ago embarked on industrial action over unpaid salaries and others by the state government. The students, led by the…

Treble-chasing Manchester City face a Tottenham side desperate to end their trophy drought in the League Cup final as two members of the failed European Super League clash at Wembley on Sunday. Just seven days after the bombshell revelation that City and Tottenham were among 12 clubs plotting the breakaway Super League, they will contest the first major silverware of the English season. Alarmed by the furious public backlash against the Super League, City’s Abu Dhabi-based owners were the first to lose their nerve when they pulled out on Tuesday. City’s exit sparked a chain reaction that saw Tottenham withdraw…

Lionel Messi gave up the chance for a hat-trick on Thursday as Barcelona held off a late fightback from Getafe to win 5-2 and stay in the race at the top of La Liga. Messi scored twice and could have had a third in injury-time at Camp Nou but deferred a penalty to Antoine Griezmann, who completed what was, in the end, a comfortable victory. “He’s the best in the world, he never lets up,” said Barca coach Ronald Koeman. “If he lowers his concentration you never notice. Hopefully he stays for many more years.” After beating Athletic Bilbao to…

Manchester United fans breached security at their club’s training ground on Thursday as they protested against the Glazer family for the owners’ role in the failed European Super League plot. United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was forced to speak to around 20 supporters after they blocked both entrances to the Carrington headquarters. The protestors unfurled banners that read “51% MUFC 20”, “We decide when you play” and “Glazer out”. The 51 percent is a reference to fans holding the majority of voting rights at a club, which is commonplace in German football. They posed for photos outside the entrance to…

Brazil’s Olympic football coach, Andre Jardine, said on Thursday he wants to pick star forward Neymar for the Games in Tokyo later this year, but admitted it would be “difficult.” Neymar inspired Brazil to their first Olympic gold medal in football on home soil in 2016, ending a six-decade odyssey. “Given we want to take the strongest possible squad, Neymar is our main player,” Jardine said in an interview published on the Globo Esporte website. Any potential participation for Neymar would need his French club Paris Saint Germain’s agreement since they are under no obligation to release players for competitions…

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) are to implement joint measures to curb delay and corrupt practices at the ports. The Director General of NIMASA, Dr Bashir Jamoh, disclosed this in a statement by Mr Philip Kyanet, Head Corporate Communications, NIMASA, on Thursday in Lagos. He said that the agencies noted that full automation of processes at the nation’s ports would go a long way to curb human interface, delays and corruption. He said that they agreed to harmonise the implementation of Port and Flag State Administration to minimise direct human contact…