Sports
Heavy Weights In Action As Champions Leaque Race Begins In Africa
While Esperance and Wydad Casablanca still bicker over who is winner of the last edition of the African Champions League, the campaign to find the 2020 winner gets underway, today.
Last season’s finalists are still embroiled in a boardroom dispute over the identity of the 2019 winner and are not involved in the first round after being handed a bye into the next round.
So, too TP Mazembe Englebert of the Democratic Republic of Congo but for the rest a stellar cast of competitors, including 11 former champions, begin their bid for glory this weekend.
Record winners Al Ahly of Egypt have been handed two ‘home’ matches against Atlabara of South Sudan, where a lack of facilities means they have to forfeit home advantage.
Sunday’s match at the Borg El Arab Stadium in Alexandria is actually Atlabara’s home game but they have asked the Egyptians to host the game there and then they will return in a fortnight and play again at the same venue.
It will be the same for Zamalek, when they take on Somali club Dekadaha at the Petrojet Stadium in Cairo onSunfaya and then host them again in two weeks.
It is the first time in 30 years that a Somali club participates in African club competition.
JS Kabylie of Algeria, who have won Africa’s top club prize twice, have a potentially difficult start against Al Merreikh of Sudan in Bejaia on Friday but French-born coach Hubert Velud said last week he was already confident he knew 90 percent of the composition of his team, even though they are yet to begin domestic competition.
USM Alger must do without four key players, who were not registered in time, for their meeting in Niamey with Niger’s champions AS SONIDEP.
The absence of Hichem Belkaroui, Karim Benkhalifa, Mohamed Benkhemassa and Adem Redjhimi presents a problem for coach Bilel Dziri, who will be ken to minimize their absence and play a conservative game.
South Africa’s Orlando Pirates will be seeking to redress the disappointment of going out in last season’s group stage and have an improved squad to take to Zambian rookies Green Eagles in Lusaka on Saturday.
Pirates coach Milutin Sredojevich is promising that after two seasons without bagging any silverware, he will now start to deliver: “People could speak this or that, we will just say visible trophies are around the corner. Invisible trophies that we’ve succeeded in is that we lifted our criteria and standards of our team,” he said.
Three-time winners Raja Casablanca travellde to the Gambia on Tuesday where they begin their title bid under 49-year-old Frenchman Patrice Carteron, who previously won the Champions League with TP Mazembe but was fired by Al Ahly of Egypt when they lost in the 2018 final to Esperance.
It has been almost four decades since Asante Kotoko last won the prize and they begin away at Nigeria’s Kano Pillars on Saturday.
“I’m very excited because this is what we all lived for, this is the real thing and we are going to give our all and hopefully it will be enough to bring home good result,” said Kotoko coach Kjetil Zachariassen. The Norwegian has only been in the job for a month.
Nigeria’s other representatives Enyimba begin away at Rahimo of Burkina Faso, who are based in Bobo-Dioulasso and won their first national title in May. In fact, they completed the double by beating AS Sonabel 3-2 in the cup final.
Sports
Tottenham Fight Back To Hold Brighton
Tottenham fought back from two-goals down to secure a deserved point against Brighton.
The Seagulls were second best for much of the match but found themselves 2-0 up after 31 minutes thanks to Yankuba Minteh’s early strike and Yasin Ayari’s powerful drive.
However, Richarlison halved the deficit just before half-time when he stopped a shot by Mohammed Kudus before slotting in.
Spurs dominated the second half but their finishing let them down as Richarlison and substitute Xavi Simons were both unable to make the most of promising opportunities.
But the equaliser came eight minutes from time when Jan Paul van Hecke turned Kudus’ cross into his own net.
Spurs then pushed for a winner as they looked to continue their impressive start to the season, but Brighton held on for the point.
Bundesliga: Kane Continues Goal Harvest (5)
Harry Kane scored his second hat-trick of the season as Bayern Munich overcame a shaky start to win at Hoffenheim and continue their 100% start.
The England captain, 32, broke the deadlock on the stroke of half-time with a clinical first-time finish from a cleverly worked low corner, and doubled Bayern’s lead from the spot after Albian Hajdari was harshly penalised for a handball.
That broke Hoffenheim’s resistance and Kane completed his ninth Bundesliga hat-trick with another penalty, given for a foul on substitute Michael Olise after a video assistant referee (VAR) check.
This time Kane sent home keeper Oliver Baumann the wrong way for his 13th Bayern goal in seven matches across all competitions this season, adding to his Champions League double against Chelsea last Wednesday.
“Hat-trick Harry is what they called me in school,” Kane told Tidesports source after the match. “That one kind of stuck when I was younger.”
“Any ball in the box, whether penalty or not, I back myself to hit the target.”
Hoffenheim had the better of the first 45 minutes, Fisnik Asllani only able to hit the post after goalkeeper Manuel Neuer passed straight to the Kosovan.
They eventually got some reward for their efforts, former West Ham full-back Vladimir Coufal’s deflected free-kick beating Neuer to earn the Czech his first goal for the club.
Ex-Liverpool winger Luis Diaz hit the top of the bar late on as he failed to continue his record of scoring in every Bundesliga game this season, but Serge Gnabry added a fourth for Bayern with the last kick, converting a rebound from a tight angle after Baumann saved from Joshua Kimmich.
Nicolas Jackson made his first start since joining Bayern on an initial loan deal from Chelsea, but the Senegal striker had a very quiet game before being replaced in the 62nd minute.
In Italy, Lorenzo Pellegrini fired Roma into the Serie A top four as Lazio had two players sent off in a fiery derby.
The midfielder found the bottom corner in the 38th minute as Roma extended their unbeaten run to four games against their city rivals.
Lazio have lost three of their opening games of the season and had Reda Belahyane and former Arsenal midfielder Matteo Guendouzi dismissed in late drama.
Roma started well and Rome-born Pellegrini claimed the vital goal – his fourth in a Rome derby after being available for transfer in the summer – following good work down the right by Matias Soule.
But the hosts will rue missed opportunities as Boulaye Dia, Mattia Zaccagni and Alessio Romagnoli all had openings.
With four minutes left substitute Belahyane was shown a red card for a late studs-up challenge on Manu Kone.
Danilo Cataldi struck the outside of the post for Lazio in a last-gasp effort to snatch a point, while team-mate Guendouzi was sent off for dissent after the final whistle.
Sports
Zidane’s Son Switches Allegiance To Algeria
Luca Zidane, the son of France’s World Cup-winning playmaker Zinedine, has switched his international allegiance from France to Algeria.
Born just outside Marseille, the 27-year-old goalkeeper had appeared for France at various youth levels.
The move, which was approved by Fifa, may enable Zidane to follow in his father’s footsteps by appearing at a World Cup, with Algeria expected to secure a place at the 2026 finals in North America in their qualifier against Somalia next month.
Zidane, who is the second of four brothers, all of whom came through the Real Madrid academy, currently plays for Spanish second tier side Granada.
He played two matches for Madrid and has La Liga experience at Rayo Vallecano, but dropped a level in 2022 to play for Eibar before heading to Andalusia in 2024.
Zidane qualifies for the North African country through his father, whose parents hailed from the Kabylie region of Algeria.
Zinedine Zidane, who is regarded as one of the games greatest players scored twice for France in their 1998 World Cup final victory over Brazil, but was famously sent-off in the 2006 final, which was won by Italy after a penalty shootout.
Sports
Man Utd Beat Chelsea To Ease Pressure
Manchester United capitalised on Robert Sanchez’s fifth-minute red card to secure a crucial victory over Chelsea in torrential rain at Old Trafford.
The first match in Premier League history to see two or more goals, red cards and substitutions in the first half was settled by goals from United skipper Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro, who was the other player sent off before the break.
It was Sanchez’s dismissal that set the course of the game though.
The Spain international raced from his goal to meet Bryan Mbeumo as the striker ran beyond the Chelsea defence.
Sanchez then upended the forward outside his area rather than allow him past to tap the ball into an empty net.
Enzo Maresca’s response to the red card was to take off both Pedro Neto and Estevao Willian and, as Cole Palmer had to be replaced after suffering a recurrence of a groin injury, Chelsea had lost three attacking players in the space of 20 minutes.
Trevor Chalobah pulled one back for Chelsea with a header 10 minutes from time but United kept their nerves at bay to make it to the final whistle with their lead intact.
The victory was United’s second of the season and came in front of minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who gave head coach Ruben Amorim assurances over his future 48 hours earlier.
It also means Chelsea have still not won at Old Trafford since 2013, when Sir Alex Ferguson was United manager.
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