Sports

*Barca Overcome Frankfurt From Behind By Nick Ames, at Stadio de Bergamo, & Andy Hunter, at San Siro There were no answers to Chelsea’s search for consistency here. Instead there was a late, potentially damaging defeat that leaves them staring down the barrel of a February playoff for the last 16, along with further suggestions they lack what it takes to face down a tough away assignment at this level. Enzo Maresca’s side looked well set when João Pedro scored against the run of play after 25 minutes. Atalanta had begun to flounder before Gianluca Scamacca’s leveller but grew in…

*Finally, Isak Scores For Liverpool Arsenal would surely have taken a draw beforehand against a Chelsea team that have emerged as surprise title rivals in recent weeks – and especially when they realised they had to play without William Saliba, who injured himself in training on Saturday. It was a different story on Sunday, 30 November when, in the 38th minute, Chelsea were reduced to 10 men after Moisés Caicedo’s X-rated challenge on Mikel Merino. It was one of those that made you wince upon each replay, the stand-in Arsenal striker fortunate to emerge unscathed. It was Chelsea’s sixth red…

They fell last week in the Champions League to Bayer Leverkusen, Chelsea, and Arsenal, respectively, however the trio of Manchester City, Barcelona and Bayern Munich showed character in picking themselves up with wins in yesterday's domestic league matchups. When Phil Foden struck the winner in the second minute of added time,vs Leeds yesterday, Pep Guardiola’s leap was laced with relief at Manchester City’s pursuit of Arsenal still being live. They are back up to second, as of yesterday though, four points behind the Gunners, who travel to Chelsea on Sunday (today). This was Leeds’s fourth straight league reverse but the…

Estêvão’s Stardust Gives Maresca Dilemma Chelsea fans have fallen hard for Estêvão Willian. They want the Brazilian prodigy to play as much as possible but Enzo Maresca has tried not to rush him. The head coach has handed the 18-year-old four league starts this season and could put him back on the bench when Chelsea host Arsenal on Sunday. The more exciting move, though, would be to throw Estêvão in from the start after his wonder goal against Barcelona. The youngster is fearless. There is a logic to going with more experience against Arsenal, however, and Estêvão is one hell…

By John Brewin The Big Winners *Bayern Munich’s unbeaten run and claim to be the best team in European football were both punctured at the Emirates. Arsenal were rampant against an opponent who had handed them so much pain in the past. The Gunners opened the scoring through their habitual set-piece goal, Jurriën Timber fulfilling the role of the absent Gabriel Magalhães. Lennart Karl, the 17-year-old, showed off his chops with a fine goal; from within Bayern have found the player they desired when they were thwarted in moving for Florian Wirtz. After that, Declan Rice and Eberechi Eze took…

This was billed as a clash of two of the best teams in Europe and for most of a cold evening in north London on Wednesday night, it felt like it. An absorbing game that ebbed and flowed throughout had Bayern Munich’s rising teenager Lennart Karl cancel out Jurrien Timber’s opening goal from a corner before substitutes Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli sealed a deserved win for the home side. It maintains their 100% record in the Champions League and sends them top of the table. Harry Kane let it slip in the buildup that scoring against Arsenal gives him…

By Sam Tyav, Makurdi Benue State Government has assured fans of Lobi Stars FC that their darling club would soon start playing their home matches in Makurdi, the State capital. Speaking with some members of Sport Writers Association (SWAN) in Makurdi, after inspecting work on McCarthy stadium, the State Commissioner for Youth, Sports and Creativity, Hon. Tiza Isaac Imojime said that efforts were being made to sandfill the pit at the stadium preparatory to the Lobi Stars home matches being played in Makurdi. Imojime explained that the pit was excavated for pillars to be mounted for spectators, but they needed…

Citing emotions and heat of the moment, Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle has apologized to players and officials of DR Congo after he made allegations of voodoo in their 4-3 penalty win over Nigeria in Sunday's World Cup Africa final playoff in Rabat, Morocco. The game ended 1-1 after 120 minutes, with Mechak Elia cancelling out Frank Onyeka’s early goal. Calvin Bassey, Moses Simon, and Semi Ajayi all missed for the Eagles, with Chelle clashing with the DR Congolese bench at the end of the shoot-out. After the game, Chelle told reporters that someone in the opposing technical area had…

Nigeria will not play at the 2026 World Cup after they were beaten 4-3 on penalties by DR Congo in a play-off in Rabat, Sunday night,16 November,2025. In reflection, Nigeria had qualified for six of the seven World Cups between 1994 and 2018. After failing to qualify in 2022, tonight's defeat means they will miss consecutive World Cups for the first time since 1990. When it is considered that there could be double the amount of African teams next summer than there were in Qatar, this is a huge failure from Eric Chelle and his players. Nigeria's game tonight was…

As Nigeria battles DR Congo's Leopards tomorrow in the final Africa playoff of 2026 World Cup, it could be a mistake to assume the victors over Cameroun are pushovers. The Leopards boast an array of stars who ply their craft in Europe's top leagues and will be expected by their countrymen to put in a massive shift to undo seeming favourites, the Super Eagles. Their squad has big-name stars who can humiliate any opponent on a good day. They include: *Cédric Bakambu, a forward who plays for Real Betis in La Liga. He is an experienced goalscorer and a key…