Sports

*It Is For A Deserved Farewell, Country's Football Association Says Though he has hung his international boots, eight-time Ballon D'Or winner Lionel Messi has been called up by Argentina to make a farewell ⁠appearance in a home friendly in October following his retirement, the Argentinian Football Association (AFA) has confirmed. “We invited ⁠the best player in ⁠the world ​to play, the icon of our selection, our captain Lionel Andrés Messi, to have a deserved farewell on 6 October, here in Argentina,” the AFA President, Claudio Tapia, said on social media. Argentina will play three home friendlies during the 21 September…

By Sylvia Kodilichukwu, Enugu Enugu State Sports Council has begun screening for players to represent the South-East state in the football event of the forthcoming National Sports Festival (NSF), tagged 'Coal City Games 2026'. A statement issued by consultant to the council for the games, Boniface Onovo, disclosed this. The Coal City Games is scheduled to run from 27 November-11 December, 2026 at various centers in Enugu metropolis. Onovo said the venue for the screening will be University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus stadium (UNEC stadium) and hold from Wednesday, 16 September to Friday, 19 September, from 3:00pm. According to him,…

*Barca Overcome Levante Late Scare *PSG Record First Win, Move Up From 15th Position Erling Haaland's goal helped Manchester City win a highly controversial Manchester derby at rivals Manchester United despite playing with 10 men for more than 70 minutes. City midfielder Phil Foden was shown a straight red card for kicking out at Bruno Fernandes and United followed it with a period of dominance, hitting the post either side of half-time. But City scored the game's only goal on the break in the 60th minute when Haaland tapped in Josko Gvardiol's low, deflected cross at the back post. Haaland…

*Real Madrid Pummel Rayo By Jacob Steinberg, at Stamford Bridge The chants from the away end about winning the league were sung in jest, but Hull continue to show they are here to stay. Sergej Jakirovic’s dogged, intelligent side are third in the Premier League after extending their unbeaten start to four games and can even count themselves unfortunate not to have beaten another of the Big Six after pushing Chelsea to the limit in an absorbing battle at a frustrated Stamford Bridge on Saturday (yesterday). Hull were 2-1 up at half-time and they had the chances to snatch the…

By David Hytner, at Old Trafford It was a night for romance given the astonishing story that Azerbaijani club Sabah brought with them to Old Trafford for their Champions League debut, today (Thursday) This is a club that did not even exist a decade ago and nobody saw their bolt to the title in Azerbaijan coming last season; in 2024-25, they had finished 41 points off the top. The job that their manager, Valdas Dambrauskas, has done since taking over in the summer of last year is extraordinary. It was also a night for cold, hard reality. Manchester United, popularly…

*Arsenal Grind Out Narrow Win Ferran Torres scored a hat-trick and Ousmane Dembélé also starred as holders Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) began their quest to win a third successive Champions League title by thrashing Slovan Bratislava 6-1 at the Parc des Princes in Paris on Wednesday (today). Last year’s Ballon d’Or winner Dembélé had scored twice by the midway point of the first half in the French capital, and then set up Spain’s World Cup final hero Torres to make it 3-0 by the interval. Torres, a close-season signing from Barcelona, added two more just after the restart to complete his…

*Nigeria Kick-off Time May Be An Hour Behind 18:45: Barcelona - Feyenoord.18:45: Stuttgart - Viking.21:00: Liverpool - Atl. Madrid.21:00: Napoli - Arsenal.21:00: PSG - Slovan Bratislava.21:00: Sporting CP - Galatasaray.*PHOTO CAPTION: Rodri could feature today in first Champions League game for his new club Barcelona.

Norway star Erling Haaland scored the only goal against Coventry on Saturday and was the match winner once more on Tuesday night (yesterday), nestling a header into the far corner and rolling home another to take his tally to 36 Champions League goals for Manchester City in only 40 appearances. City have been knocked out by Real Madrid in each of the past three seasons but their return to Lisbon's Estadio do Dragao - where they lost the 2021 final against Chelsea - was a much more pleasurable experience. Coach Enzo Maresca's side have started the Premier League season with…

All The Matchups (Nigeria time may be behind by one hour): 18:45: AEK Athens - LASK.18:45: Club Brugge KV - Aston Villa.21:00: Dortmund - Villarreal.21:00: FC Porto - Manchester City.21:00: Lille - Betis.21:00: Real Madrid - Inter. Several Nigerian foreign stars are expected to line up for their clubs today and in other games this week as the league phase of the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League kicks off. A number of intriguing encounters are set for Matchday 1. Some of the stars who may line up today include Zaidu Sanusi of Portugal's Porto and Moses Usor of LASK of Austria.…

Ronald Koeman Jr, the goalkeeper son of the former Netherlands player and manager Ronald Koeman, scored two penalties for Dutch side Telstar to rescue a point in their Eredivisie match with Cambuur, on Sunday. His second spot-kick was converted in the 11th minute of added time. Koeman Jr, 31, converted his first penalty on 63 minutes before his ice-cool equaliser. He previously scored from the spot at the end of last season to ensure his side avoided relegation from the Dutch top flight. Yamal’s Double Powers Barcelona To Valencia Rout, Now Three Points Clear Of Real Madrid Lamine Yamal struck…