Sports
Chelsea Spanks Spartak Of Moscow
Chelsea all but sealed their place in the next round with a ruthlessly impressive Champions League display on a plastic pitch in freezing Moscow.
Russian Yuri Zhirkov scored his first goal for the Blues with a spectacular long-range effort in the 23rd minute.
Nicholas Anelka then slotted a superb second just before half-time.
Spartak pressed after the break, but Chelsea – without Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard – stood strong in Carlo Ancelotti’s 100th Champions League tie.
The Italian’s vast experience in Europe’s premier club competition is the chief reason Chelsea employed him as manager last year – and convincing displays like this offer compelling evidence that he can repeat the Champions League success he achieved with AC Milan.
Chelsea now tops group F with three wins in three games, and a point from their next three games will guarantee qualification for the second round.
For the west Londoners, a trip back to the cavernous Luzhniki Stadium meant returning to the scene of their greatest disappointment – Manchester United defeated them in painful fashion after a penalty shoot-out in the 2008 Champions League final.
With the mercury touching freezing amid a virtual full-house of nearly 80,000 fans cheering Russia’s best-supported club on boisterously, some teams might have found it an intimidating environment.
But Chelsea, full of nous and understated confidence, made light work of a team who had won both of their previous group F matches.
Fourth in the Russian League table, Spartak did make a strong start as Dmitri Kamborov slashed just over after a brilliant surging run from Sergei Parshivlyuk sliced through Chelsea’s backtracking rearguard.
Brazilian striker Welliton – the Russian league’s top goalscorer – then swivelled in the box under close attention from Branislav Ivanovic to force a neat reaction stop from Petr Cech, who kicked the ball away from his near post.
But Chelsea soon got their foot on the ball to dominate a team quite clearly missing their playmaker and captain Alex.
A couple of decent long-range shots from Soloman Kalou and Michael Essien should have served as a warning, but Spartak’s failure to shut down space on the edge of the box proved costly in the 23rd minute.
John Mikel Obi pumped the ball long and, with the ball bouncing invitingly from a loose Spartak header, former CSKA Moscow player Yuri Zhirkov sprinted towards it to lash a looping volley high into the net above Andriy Dykan’s desperate dive.
With Anelka leading the line superbly in the absence of Drogba while his midfielders dominated their territory behind him, Chelsea eventually managed to quieten the incredible din from the stands.
With the club’s Russian owner Roman Abramovich watching, Essien’s cross was deflected away from danger just after the half-hour as Spartak struggled to make an impact with Welliton stranded alone in attack.
After squandering a good chance when one-on-one with Dykan, classy Anelka brilliantly notched his 50th goal for Chelsea – and his fourth in three Champions League games this season – just before half-time.
Essien rampaged through the heart of Spartak’s midfield before slipping a neat pass inside the channel his French team-mate was lurking in.
Anelka then accelerated forward before turning back inside the hosts captain Parshivlyuk with ease, confidently curling his classy low right-footed shot into the far corner.
Admirably refusing to give in, Spartak came out on the attack in the second half.
Kombarov, Welliton and Aiden McGeady all fired shots towards Cech’s goal, the Czech having to push the former Celtic winger’s effort over the bar after a vicious deflection.
Chelsea did manage the odd surge with Anelka the outlet – but Cech proved their busiest and most important player as Moscow pinged pacy passes together and pressed: two solid saves from Ibson around the hour mark clearly stung the hands of the visitors keeper.
Essien screwed a good chance wide in the 72nd minute after Kalou, soon replaced by young midfield hopeful Josh McEachran, had pulled the ball back with cool accuracy from the bye-line.
John Terry had not trained properly ahead of the match, but with him in typically defiant form, Spartak could not find a way though the determined wall of blue – and a determined Chelsea made plain their lofty Champions League intentions.
Yellow Greens stalwart Isaac Danladi and Female Yellow Greens’ Kehinde Amusa have been named the best male and female cricket players in Nigeria in the year 2025 by Africa’s premier cricket recognition platform, The Middle Stump, Tidesports source reports.
Danladi was the leading dangerman for Nigeria in the year under review, cementing his status as one of Africa’s most consistent all-rounders.
The 23-year-old left-handed batter and orthodox spinner has amassed 23 T20 International appearances, scoring 348 runs at an average of 19.33 with a strike rate exceeding 105.
His bowling economy of 4.89 across 16 wickets demonstrates control and efficiency in the shorter format. Danladi’s recent performances, including a Player of the Match award for a 64-run, 35-ball contribution, underscore his emergence as a cornerstone player for Nigeria’s competitive ambitions.
For Amusa, the 19-year-old also won the Young Player of the Year award, reflecting her smooth transition from the U-19 team to the senior side.
Amusa featured for Nigeria at the ICC U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup in Malaysia, playing a crucial role in the Junior Female Yellow Greens’ historic upset victory against reigning senior Women’s World Cup champions New Zealand.
The girls finished the tournament in sixth place and qualified for the 2027 edition.
At 19, she has already established herself as a versatile all-rounder for Nigeria’s senior women’s team.
During her debut at the 2025 Kwibuka T20i tournament in Rwanda, she showcased technical maturity with 23 runs off 28 deliveries while capturing two wickets for seven runs against Sierra Leone.
In other award categories, the Junior Female Yellow Greens also earned the award for Best Cricketing Moment of the Year for their victory against New Zealand. In a rain-reduced 13-over contest in Kuching, Malaysia, Nigeria posted 65 for six, which proved decisive when New Zealand managed only 63 for six in response.
Former junior international and the Nigeria Cricket Federation’s Development Officer in Lagos, Friday Udoh, earned Coach of the Year honours for his contribution to Nigeria’s coaching pipeline.
The award for Innovative Approach to Investing in Cricket honoured The Cricket Lab — a modern indoor facility that launched at Tafawa Balewa Cricket Oval on Lagos Island in March 2024. The facility addresses a fundamental constraint limiting Nigerian cricket development: weather dependency and inconsistent training venues.
Enabulele led some members of the commission’s management team on the tour that saw them visiting the tennis courts, swimming pool and indoor sports hall at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, and the basketball and volleyball courts at Wire Road Sports Centre.
The chairman expressed satisfaction with the level of renovation work already completed by the organisers of the Niger Delta Games, Dunamis Icon Ltd.
“The facility upgrade is 90 percent ready and we are very happy with what is on ground. The upgrade counts as one of numerous benefits of the Games being hosted by our state. The tennis court at the Samuel Ogbemudia stadium and the indoor halls are fully ready. Work on the swimming pool is ongoing and at an advanced stage. We are ready,” Enabulele declared.
The Edo State Sports Commission boss also paid a visit to the state contingent for the Games and urged them to return an improved performance to their outing in Uyo. He counselled them to be disciplined and to focus on their training in order to achieve the target set for themselves.
“We are ready for the 2026 Niger Delta Games. Congratulations to you all here. Remember we have a lot of intelligent and brilliant people in our state. So for you to be selected for the task,you are already a winner. From now on you should know you are now state Ambassadors because you are representing Edo state.
“As we are in this camp, discipline must be our watchword. We have set target for ourselves and to achieve the goals,you must be disciplined. Without discipline and commitment it is difficult to achieve much as sports men and women.
“In this particular edition of the Niger Delta Games,we are not just participating or adding to the number of teams, but we are working towards hosting to win. We can do it if we are disciplined as host state.” Enabulele said.
Ajibade returned to first-team action three weeks ago after being sidelined with injury since November.
Since joining the club in the summer, the Super Falcons star has made nine league appearances, providing one assist, but she is yet to open her goal-scoring account.
However, her influence on the pitch is undeniable. She recently led other Super Falcons players in the International Federation of Football History and Statistics Women’s Africa XI.
On Sunday, Super Falcons goalkeeper Nnadozie made four saves from seven shots faced, but it was not enough to prevent Brighton from losing 3-2 to West Ham United in the Women’s Super League.
It marked a second consecutive league defeat for Brighton Women, leaving them with just one win in their last five games. The goalkeeper has kept four clean sheets in 13 games since arriving in England in the summer.
Like Ajibade, Nnadozie was also named in the IFFHS CAF Women’s XI, reflecting her reputation as one of Africa’s leading goalkeepers through her performances for Nigeria, former club Paris FC, and current side Brighton & Hove Albion, where she has combined consistent shot-stopping with leadership responsibilities in 2025.
Defenders Michelle Alozie and Ashleigh Plumptre were also named in the IFFHS Africa XI defence.
Alozie, who recently switched from Houston Dash to Chicago Stars FC, is still warming up for the new season in the United States, as is the star of the 2024 WAFCON, Esther Okoronkwo, who is based in Canada.
Falcons’ build-up tournament
Meanwhile, the Super Falcons will begin their build-up to the 2026 tournament by competing in a four-nation West African tournament scheduled to take place in Abidjan later this month.
The team has confirmed participation in the invitational competition, organised by the West African Football Union (WAFU) B, which will run from February 27 to March 7, 2026, in Ivory Coast.
The tournament will feature four teams that have all qualified for WAFCON 2026, with hosts Ivory Coast joined by Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal.
The mini-tournament is expected to serve as a final competitive test for the teams, ending just 10 days before the start of the WAFCON finals in Morocco.
Although there are still some uncertainties surrounding the tournament — following the hosts’ reported request for postponement — the 2026 WAFCON is scheduled to run from March 17 to April 3, 2026.
Defending champions Nigeria have been drawn in Group C alongside Zambia, Egypt and debutants Malawi.
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