Author: Chief Editor

James Milner’s injury-time penalty earned a dramatic win over in-form Leicester City and maintained Liverpool’s flawless start to the Premier League season. Brendan Rodgers’ side looked to be on course for a hard-earned point on his return to Anfield after James Maddison’s low finish 10 minutes from time equalised Sadio Mane’s 40th-minute strike. And then, with the clock ticking into stoppage time, a communication breakdown between Leicester keeper Kasper Schmeichel and substitute Marc Albrighton ended with the latter bringing down Mane. The penalty was awarded after consultation with the video assistant referee (VAR) and Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp celebrated wildly…

All eyes will be on the San Siro in Milan today when the reigning Serie A champions Juventus look to fend off the challenge of Antonio Conte’s new-look Inter Milan. FC Internazionale are preparing to invite the giants of Turin to San Siro for a clash that could see Juventus overtake the Nerazzurri by one point. The last time Inter faced Champions League disappointment midweek, they went into the weekend and destroyed AC Milan in the derby. Perhaps last Wednesday’s disappointment against Barcelona can have the same effect on the Nerazzurri when they line-up against the champions of the last…

Jurgen Klopp believes Leicester City are “100 per cent” contenders for Champions League qualification as only their name sets them apart from the Premier League’s top six. Leicester are not considered among the established elite in England, despite winning the title in 2015-16, but they head into Saturday’s game against Klopp’s Liverpool sitting third in the table. With Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester United all showing signs of weakness in the opening weeks of the season, the possibility of Leicester breaching not just the top six but the top four has been openly discussed. Klopp certainly sees no reason why…

Mauricio Pochettino has no doubt that his Tottenham players remain fully committed to the club despite their troubled start to the campaign. Tottenham have won just three of their 10 matches in all competitions this season and were thrashed 7-2 by Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Tuesday. Pochettino admitted last week his side’s poor run of form could be down to an unsettled squad, with a number of players rumoured to have pushed for a move away during the close season. Three days on from the home humiliation at the hands of Bayern, however, the Argentine coach shot down…

Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, Thursday called for the prosecution of builders found culpable in building collapse incidents in any part of the country, describing such action as the only way to send a strong message to builders to comply with the national building standards. Fashola, who spoke in his office in Abuja while hosting members of the National Building Code Advisory Committee who paid him a courtesy visit, said where an investigation has been concluded in any event of building collapse and someone was found not to have complied to any of the building standards, such…

Manchester United’s pursuit of a late second goal against Arsenal was a good reflection of their attempt to appoint a director of football. You just knew they weren’t going to get it. Under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, United have scored twice or more in just one of their past 15 matches in all competitions, a stat that grows more worrying with every passing minute. Against Arsenal, the image of Solskjaer berating Andreas Pereira for not sticking to the right flank was a fitting one for his time in charge. Trying to force a limited central midfielder to play as a winger…

Abimbola Adelakun The past two weeks were most humiliating for Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. He was systematically denuded of the power due to his office, and reduced to “VP Academics” in the eyes of the public. He is now seen as consigned to running the official errands that require putting a debonair face to otherwise unpleasant tasks. His humbling was compounded by writers who, in their bid to sympathise with his travails, ended up rubbing in the embarrassment of his situation. Someone decried the “…systematic and instalmental, harassment, intimidation, degradation and denudation of our dear beloved Vice President….” Another one…

The absence of the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed,  from  court on Wednesday stalled the trial of the Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission Ishaq Kawu, over alleged misuse of office and misappropriation of N2.5bn Federal Government fund for Digital Switch-Over programme. Kawu is being prosecuted  by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission. A   statement  by  spokeswoman for the ICPC, Rasheedat Okoduwa, stated that the minister was scheduled to make an appearance before  the  Federal High Court  in Abuja as a prosecution witness. The statement added that he was expected to explain his role in…

The  Department of State Services on Wednesday handed over Andulrasheed Maina to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for prosecution. A senior EFCC official, who confirmed the development to The PUNCH, said the ex-chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team, who was arrested on Monday,  was quizzed by operatives immediately. Our correspondents had reported exclusively that the former director would be handed over to the anti-graft agency this week. The DSS  had claimed Maina’s  20-year-old son Faisal pulled a gun on its operatives in an attempt to resist his father’s arrest on Monday. Confirming the arrest of the ex-PRTT chief…

Manchester United continue to struggle for form under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and their failings are never more obvious than in routinely underwhelming performances in Premier League away games. A quick glance at the club’s top-flight record outside Old Trafford since a 3-1 win at Crystal Palace on February 27 shows four defeats, three draws and zero victories. Their homesickness would be of less concern were results gained with any ease in Manchester but cannot be overlooked if the top four is to be a realistic aim. Ahead of Sunday’s excursion to struggling Newcastle United, where Solskjaer’s men have an ideal…