Author: Chief Editor

Ousmane Dembele volleyed in a 90th-minute winner against Real Valladolid on Monday to fire Barcelona to within a point of Atletico Madrid ahead of next weekend’s Clasico in La Liga. Barca looked set for a damaging stalemate at Camp Nou after Atletico’s defeat by Sevilla on Saturday but Valladolid had Oscar Plano harshly sent off with 12 minutes left and Dembele snatched a 1-0 victory. His strike could prove a crucial moment in the Spanish title race, with Barca now breathing down Atletico’s necks ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Real Madrid, who are three points off the top. If Ronald…

Mohamed Salah scored for the 26th time this season in all competitions and fellow Egyptian Trezeguet ended an eight-month goal drought in the English Premier League at the weekend. Salah claimed the second goal as Liverpool moved back into contention for a top-four finish and Champions League qualification with a 3-0 triumph at Arsenal. Trezeguet struck twice as mid-table Aston Villa bagged three goals in the final 12 minutes to overturn a deficit and inflict a 3-1 defeat on strugglers Fulham. Here, AFP Sport rounds up the performances of Africans in the major European leagues: ENGLAND MOHAMED SALAH (Liverpool) He…

Zinedine Zidane believes Real Madrid is being underrated ahead of the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Liverpool on Tuesday. Madrid has endured a patchy season but remains alive in the Champions League and La Liga, with the gap to Atletico Madrid down to three points with nine games left. And if they can overcome Liverpool, they will have a semi-final to come against either Chelsea or Porto and be within sight of a 14th European triumph. “I think my team has been underestimated,” said Zidane in a press conference on Monday. “I trust my team a lot…

Borussia Dortmund striker Youssoufa Moukoko, 16, is out for the rest of the season with a foot injury, the German club said Monday on the eve of their Champions League quarter-final, the first leg, at Manchester City. Moukoko, who became the youngest player in Champions League history last December, tore ligaments in his foot while on Germany Under-21 duty late last month. He is sidelined for the European quarter-final, first leg in Manchester on Tuesday and the return on April 14, as well as the rest of Dortmund’s Bundesliga campaign. Moukoko sat out Saturday’s 2-1 home defeat against Eintracht Frankfurt…

Pep Guardiola praised “exceptional” Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland as he admitted Manchester City could spend the kind of money required to sign a player of his calibre. City is one of several top clubs linked with a blockbuster move for Haaland in the close-season. The 20-year-old Norwegian is the talk of Europe after scoring 33 goals in 32 games this season while becoming the youngest player to reach 20 career goals in the Champions League. Already well aware of Haaland’s quality, City boss Guardiola has a chance to take a closer look when Dortmund visits the Etihad Stadium for…

Mohamed Salah can silence the critics who question his loyalty to Liverpool by avenging the most painful moment of his career when the Egypt star faces Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday. Salah sparked howls of indignation among Liverpool fans recently when he refused to rule out the possibility of playing for a Spanish club in the future. The fact that Salah was speaking to Madrid-based newspaper Marca at the time only increased speculation that he was laying the groundwork for a move to Real Madrid. “I hope to be able to play for many more years.…

Abracadabra is now commonly used as an incantation in the performance of magic. Literally it is used as the more you look, the less you know or see. Abracadabra is the best word to describe what is going on in Port Harcourt Refinery. The Refinery is situated at Alesa Eleme, which is 19 kilometres from Port Harcourt city. I have visited the refinery thrice. Twice I accompanied my two bosses, Alhaji Gidado Idris, GCON and Chief Ufot Ekaette, CFR, both late Secretaries to the Government of the Federation. My last visit to the refinery was three years ago with a…

On Wednesday March 31 2021, a new trend was introduced in the contest for the November 6, 2021 governorship election of Anambra State, when one of the aspirants, Prof. Charles Soludo was attacked. Soludo, who is running on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), was attacked at the Civic Centre in his Isuofia Community, Aguata Local Government council, where he had gone for a meeting with the youths of the area. The bloody attack, allegedly carried out by some young men, resulted in the death of three police officers, guarding the former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)…

‘They’re being mischievous’ The South West Zonal Caretaker Committee of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has apologised to the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) over threat and insult by Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde over the zonal congress. In a statement, yesterday, by Secretary of the Caretaker Committee, Daisi Akintan, Governor Makinde’s threat that there would be dire consequences if the South-West zonal congress was not held on Saturday April 10, 2021, was described as unfortunate and unbecoming of someone who used the party’s platform to become governor despite being inconsistent as a member. Rising from its meeting in Abeokuta, Ogun…

Tottenham’s bid for a top-four finish in the Premier League suffered a setback as Joe Willock’s late strike rescued a 2-2 draw for lowly Newcastle, while Southampton took a huge step towards survival with a 3-2 victory over fellow strugglers Burnley on Sunday. Jose Mourinho’s side were just five minutes away from moving into fourth place when Willock equalised at St James’ Park. Joelinton had put Newcastle ahead, but Harry Kane struck twice in four minutes before the break. Even Kane’s latest heroics weren’t enough for Tottenham though and they now sit in fifth place, two points behind fourth-placed Chelsea…