Sports

*Club Will Bow, Hand Him Big Say In Signings *With Wide Network, He Could Attract World-Class Players By Jacob Steinberg & David Hytner Chelsea’s players believe Xabi Alonso is the ideal candidate to become their next head coach. Talks with Alonso’s camp are moving in the right direction and the feeling in the dressing room is that the former Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen manager is the man for the job, to get the team back on track. No agreement is in place and Chelsea are keeping an open mind as they work to appoint a successor to Liam Rosenior,…

By Sid Lowe, at the Camp Nou, & David Hytner, at the London Stadium This time it was Marcus Rashford who delivered the knockout blow, on Sunday, 10 May. Three days after the fight between Fede Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni that ended with Real Madrid’s vice captain (Valverde) taken to hospital and the crisis at the club laid painfully bare for all to see, they went to the Camp Nou and finally relinquished the league title they had effectively lost long ago. For the first time in 94 years a meeting of sport’s greatest rivals decided La Liga, 62,000 fans…

*Make Them Drop Points, He Urges *Akor Adams Wins It For Sevilla *Atletico Lose Again By Jamie Jackson, at the Etihad Pep Guardiola playfully urged West Ham to take points off Arsenal in the title race when the leaders play them on Sunday (today), saying: “Come on you Irons,” at the end of his press conference after Manchester City beat Brentford on Saturday. City’s 3-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium closed the gap to Mikel Arteta’s team to two points but Arsenal cannot be caught if they win their last three matches, starting at the London Stadium against West Ham.…

By Sid Lowe The Vice-captain was taken to hospital for stitches having been laid out by his midfield partner. Another midfielder said he wouldn’t play any more; as if he was going to play anyway. The manager wasn’t asking for much, just that they didn’t swan out there as if wearing tuxedos --and that’s still asking too much. The centre-back hit the left-back. The winger fell out with the last coach. The captain fell out with this coach. And the superstar, already accused of not caring, swanning off to Sardinia, drives out of the training ground, past the cameras and…

Seven games remain: three for Arsenal, four for Manchester City. Seven opportunities for more twists and turns in the title race? Just as City appeared to be building their trademark relentless charge at the end of the season, they self-destructed in the space of 13 minutes at Everton. Jérémy Doku’s extraordinary late equaliser has given them a lifeline, but that 3-3 draw has handed the initiative back to Arsenal. Five points separate the sides and the equation is now brutally simple: if Arsenal win their last three games, they will be crowned champions for the first time in 22 years,…

*Final Is Scheduled For Saturday 30 May By Nick Ames, at the Allianz Arena It cannot always be a laugh a minute. Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) will play Arsenal in the Champions League final and they made sure of that by getting serious, nullifying an off-key Bayern Munich on Wednesday night and rarely wobbling after adding to their first-leg lead. Luis Enrique’s team should have won by more in a match that did not, and probably never could, hit the previous week’s heights, but their triumph was underpinned by an aptitude for the dirtier work that would serve them well in…

If Arsenal finally wins the UEFA Champions League, the name Bukayo Ayoyinka Temidayo Moses Saka will enter the club's folklore for having scored the only goal that took them to the final, after 20 solid years. Apparently determined to throw overboard all the age-long doubts and pervasive perception of the club as the nearly-men of English football, this version of Arsenal on Tuesday night at the Emirates shifted the gears to get the job done -a place in the Budapest final to face either Bayern Munich or defending champions PSG, both of whom lock horns tomorrow (Wednesday). In Abuja, as…

*Arsenal: 76pts, 35 Games Played; Man City, 71pts, 34 Games Played Somewhere in London, a celebrated former Everton midfielder may have raised a toast to his old club. Manchester City avoided a damaging defeat, on Monday night, with virtually the last kick of the game at Everton but two dropped points handed Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal the advantage in their pursuit of a first league title in 22 years. Jérémy Doku opened the scoring in magnificent style and ended the scoring in similar fashion in the 97th minute – six minutes of stoppage time had been signalled – to rescue a…

*'I Cannot Shake Hand Of Someone Israelis Brought To Whitewash Their Fascism And Genocide' The depth of animosity between Palestinians and Israelis visibly ate into football yesterday as an attempt by FIFA president Gianni Infantino to get representatives of both feuding entities to shake hands at a global football forum, fell flat. Infantino confirmed his intention to stand for re-election for a third full term next year after an attempt to orchestrate a handshake between both delegates at the FIFA congress backfired. The Palestinian Football Federation president, Jibril Rajoub, refused to stand alongside Israel FA vice-president, Basim Sheikh Suliman, in…

*She's Now Face Of Nigeria's Diplomatic Architecture *Sola Enikanolaiye Is New Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Another promotion has come the way of Ambassador Bianca Odinakachukwu Olivia Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, as President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday elevated her to Minister of Foreign Affairs. This followed the recent resignation of the Minister, Yusuf Tuggar, to run for elective office in 2027. For 57-year-old Bianca, the former Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria, ex-Miss Africa, and ex-Miss Intercontinental, the latest step-up in her diplomatic career is the crowning glory of a journey that has seen her become Nigeria's…