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How African Stars Played In Europe

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This concludes our cov
erage for Saturday, 27 August. Please join AfricanFootball tomorrow for more coverage of the continent’s best players in Europe at the weekend.
Full time in the Ligue 1 matches, where Thievy Bifouma’s Bastia went down 2-0 away to Caen, Benoit Assou-Ekotto has made a sub appearance for Metz in a 2-0 win over Angers, Ryad Boudebouz provided an assist for Montpellier in their 1-1 draw with Rennes, Mustapha Diallo scored for Guingamp in a 2-0 win at Nancy and Yassine Benzia provided an assist for Lille in their 1-1 draw at Nice.
Closing in on full time in France’s Ligue 1, while we’re half an hour away from kick-off in the late La Liga game which sees Leganes (who have Algeria’s Carl Medjani on the bench) host mighty Atletico Madrid.
News of another goal for Faouzi Ghoulam and Kalidou Koulibaly’s Napoli, who are now 2-0 up against AC Milan thanks to a second goal from Arkadiusz Milik.
Past the hour mark in the Ligue 1 games, Mustapha Diallo has scored to put Guingamp 1-0 up away to Nancy.
News of a goal in Italy, where Arkadiusz Milik has scored to put Faouzi Ghoulam’s Napoli 1-0 up at home to Italy. No further goals in the second half in France’s Ligue 1.
Back underway in the second half in the Ligue 1 games, while in Italy it’s still 0-0 between Kalidou Koulibaly’s Napoli and AC Milan.
Half time in France, no African goal scorers as yet, here are the scores so far: Caen 0-0 Bastia, Metz 1-0 Angers, Montpellier 1-0 Rennes, Nancy 0-0 Guingamp and Nice 1-1 Lille (where Algerian Yassine Benzia provided an assist for the latter’s goal).
Ten minutes from the second and last Serie A game of the day which sees Napoli host AC Milan. The former feature Faouzi Ghoulam and Kalidou Koulibaly in their starting XI.
Finished in the Premier League, where Eric Bailly’s Manchester United snatched a late, late 1-0 win over Hull City. In the Bundesliga, Ibrahima Traore’s Monchengladbach beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-1.
We’re also finished in Spain’s early games, where Aymen Abdennour’s Valencia lost 1-0 at Eibar, while Real Sociedad won 2-0 at Osasuna. Kicking off now is the third La Liga match, Real Madrid v Celta Vigo, which has no African involvement.
Done and dusted in Italy, where Kwadwo Asamoah, Mario Lemina and Mehdi Benatia have helped Juventus win 1-0 at Lazio.
We’re underway in France’s Ligue 1 evening games, where we are sure to have a few African scorers…
Nancy v Guingamp sees Guy N’Dy Assembe and Youssouf Hadji start for the former, while Mustapha Diallo features for the latter. Nice have Jean-Michael Seri in their XI for the visit of Lille, who feature Adama Soumaoro, Younousse Sankhare, Vincent Enyeama and Yassine Benzia.
Kwadwo Asamoah’s Juventus have a lead at Lazio thanks to Sami Khedira’s goal, while Aymen Abdennour’s Valencia are 1-0 down at Eibar. Further team news from France: Montpellier feature Ryad Boudebouz and Steve Mounie for their home match against Rennes, who have Rami Bensebaini, Giovanni Sio and Sitoe Mexer in their XI.
Let’s start looking ahead to French Ligue 1 matches kicking off at 20h00. Caen feature Syam Ben Yousseff for their home clash with Bastia, who have Thievy Bifouma and Mehdi Mostefa in their starting XI, while Georges Mandjeck and Cheick Doukoure start for Metz at home to Angers, who have Karl-Toko Ekambi, Cheick N’Doye and Ismael Traore in their run-on team.
Half time in the Premier League, Ahmed Elmohamady’s Hull are holding Man United 0-0. In the Bundesliga, Ibrahim Traore’s Monchengladbach are 1-0 up against Leverkusen.
Not many goals at the moment… still 0-0 between Hull and Eric Bailly’s Man United in the Premier League, as well as between Lazio and Juve in Italy, and Ibrahim Traore’s Monchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen.
Full time in the early Ligue 1 game, where Dijon have beaten Lyon 4-2 at home. The victors featured two African goal scorers: Julio Tavares of Cape Verde and DR Congo substitute Dylan Bahamboula.
Almost up to half time in Serie A, where Kwadwo Asamoah’s Juventus are being held 0-0 at Lazio.
Underway in both the Premier League and Bundesliga, while in France’s Ligue 1 Nicolas N’Koulou’s Lyon are 3-2 down away to Julio Tavares’ Dijon with about 20 minutes to play.
Fifteen minutes until the final Bundesliga game of the day, where Ibrahima Traore starts for Borussia Monchengladbach at home to Bayer Leverkusen.
In five minutes we have the first two La Liga matches of the day kicking off in Spain. Tunisian defender Aymen Abdennour starts for Valencia at Eibar, while Osasuna host Real Sociedad in the other fixture.
The six Premier League matches have wrapped up, here are the full time scores: Chelsea 3-0 Burnley, Palace 1-1 Bournemouth, Everton 1-0 Stoke, Leicester 2-1 Swansea, Southampton 1-1 Sunderland and Watford 1-3 Arsenal. The final game of the day in England kicks off in half an hour and sees Hull City host Manchester United. Ahmed Elmohamady starts for the former, while the latter have Ivorian defender Eric Bailly at centre-back.
Julio Tavares has scored for Dijon, who are holding Lyon 2-2 at half time in the early Ligue 1 game.
Victor Moses has a goal for Chelsea, making it 3-0 over Burnley as we approach full time in the Premier League matches which kicked off at 16h00.
We’re done and dusted in the Bundesliga, with the highlight from an African perspective the two goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to see Dortmund win 2-1 against Mainz. Here are the other results: Koln 2-0 Darmstadt, Augsburg 0-2 Wolfsburg, Frankfurt 1-0 Schalke and Hamburger 1-1 Ingolstadt. Modou Barrow has provided an assist to see Swansea pull a goal back against Leicester, it’s 2-1 to the champions at King Power Stadium.
The first Italian Serie A match of the day kicks off in 25 minutes and sees Lazio host champions Juventus. The home side has Angolan Bastos in their starting line-up, while Juve’s run-on XI features Moroccan Mehdi Benatia as well as Mario Lemina and Kwadwo Asamoah of Gabon and Ghana respectively.
Lyon lead 1-0 away to Dijon, with Clorentin Tolisso scoring to put Nicolas N’Koulou’s team ahead in the early Ligue 1 match. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has a second goal for Dortmund today, netting from the penalty spot to give them a 2-0 lead against Mainz.
Riyad Mahrez has just had a penalty saved, it remains 2-0 to Leicester against Swansea, while Watford have a goal back against Arsenal, with Odion Ighalo playing a role in a strike from Roberto Pereyra.
Everton lead 1-0 against Mame Biram Diouf’s Stoke after a penalty from Leighton Baines, while Wes Morgan has scored to put Riyad Mahrez’s Leicester City 2-0 up against Swansea.
We’re back underway in the second half of the Premier League matches, while in Germany Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s Dortmund remain 1-0 up against Mainz thanks to the Gabon attacker’s goal.
We’ve hit half time in the Premier League matches, here are the scores at the break: Watford 0-3 Arsenal, Chelsea 2-0 Burnley, Southampton 0-0 Sunderland, Leicester 1-0 Swansea, Everton 0-0 Stoke and Crystal Palace 0-0 Bournemouth. No African scorers as yet.
It’s not a great day for Odion Ighalo’s Watford, who now found themselves 2-0 down at home to Arsenal, while Victor Moses’ Chelsea have gone 2-0 up at home to Burnley.
Riyad Mahrez’s Leicester City have the lead at home to Swansea, with Jamie Vardy netting his first Premier League goal of the new season.
We have some early team news from the first Ligue 1 match of the day, which will see Dijon host Lyon at 17h00. Morocco’s Fouad Chafik and Cape Verde’s Julio Tavares start for the home side, while the visitors have Cameroonian Nicolas N’Koulou in their XI.
We have our first goals in the Premier League, with Eden Hazard putting Chelsea ahead against Burnley, while Nordin Amrabat gave away a debatable penalty which has seen Arsenal take a 1-0 lead at Watford.
We are underway across the Premier League matches, let’s hope for plenty of African goals and assists in England’s top flight this afternoon…
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has scored for Dortmund to give them a 1-0 lead at home to Mainz. The Gabonese striker is continuing where he left off last season…
Let’s move onto team news ahead of the 16h00 Premier League matches. Victor Moses is on the bench for Chelsea, who host Burnley; Pape Souare starts for Crystal Palace at home to Bournemouth, who have Max Gradel on the bench; Yannock Bolasie and Idriss Gueye start for Everton at home to Stoke, who have Mame Biram Diouf playing up front; Leicester City feature Riyad Mahrez and Daniel Amartey in their XI (Ahmed Musa’s on the bench) at home to Modou Barrow’s Swansea; Southampton host Sunderland, who have Steven Pienaar, Lamine Kone and Papy Djilobodji in their starting team and Wahbi Khazri on the bench; and finally Watford feature Nordin Amrabat, Adlebe Guedioura and Odion Ighalo (with Isaac Success on the bench) against Arsenal, who have Mohamed Elneny waiting in reserve.

We’re 10 minutes into five Bundesliga matches, here is the African involvement: Tunisia’s Anis Ben Hatira starts for Darmstadt away to Koln, Gabon’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will come up against Nigerian defender Leon Balogun for Dortmund v Mainz, Cameroon’s Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting starts for Schalke at Frankfurt and his compatriot Marvin Matip features for Ingolstadt at Hamburger.

We begin with news from the Premier League, where Kenyan Victor Wanyama played the full 90 minutes for Tottenham as they were held 1-1 at home by Liverpool, who had Senegal’s Sadio Mane and Cameroonian Joel Matip in their line-up. We have a further six matches in England’s top flight coming up at 16h00…

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Barcelona Open: Nadal’s Comeback Ended By World No 11

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Rafael Nadal’s injury comeback was ended by Alex de Minaur as the 12-time champion waved goodbye to the Barcelona Open for possibly the final time. Nadal, 37, returned to court on Tuesday after a three-month absence, making light work of 21-year-old Italian Flavio Cobolli in a straight-set win.
A day later, Nadal lost 7-5 6-1 to world number 11 De Minaur in round two.
Nadal, a 22-time major winner, has indicated he plans to retire in 2024 if he is unable to compete regularly.
The former world number one, now ranked 644th, has only played five matches since January 2023 because of hip and abdominal injuries.
Nadal is hoping to be fit enough to make a return to the French Open, where he won a record 14 men’s singles titles, next month.
Facing a player of De Minaur’s pedigree was always likely to be a considerable step up, and a truer test of his level than his comeback outing against 62nd-ranked Cobolli.
The 25-year-old Australian tried to test Nadal’s movement by using drop shots early in the match, an effective tactic which helped him move 2-0 in front and tee up another break point for 3-0.
But Nadal survived to hold and improved his level, producing a number of explosive cross-court backhand winners as he fought back to lead 4-3.
Another backhand winner, this time down the line, even drew a clap of the strings from De Minaur and teed up another break point for Nadal.
Taking the chance would have left Nadal serving for the set, but De Minaur recovered and won 19 of the next 24 points to win an opener lasting more than an hour.
After so long out, and with playing on consecutive days, Nadal’s endurance was always going to be tested, particularly against an opponent known for his athleticism.
De Minaur played smartly in a one-sided second set and broke Nadal’s serve three times, silencing the Barcelona crowd in the process, to secure an impressive victory.
Nadal left the court bearing his name – for what could be the final time – to a standing ovation and rapturous send-off.
Meanwhile, British men’s number two Jack Draper reached his 10th ATP Tour quarter-finals at the BMW Open in Munich.
Draper, 22, fought back after a rain delay to earn a 4-6 6-1 6-1 win over
German world number 179 Rudolf Molleker at the clay-court event.

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Leverkusen Chief Backs Alonso To Join Madrid

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Bayer Leverkusen chief executive Fernando Carro has claimed that Xabi Alonso will coach Real Madrid, while also lending fresh hope to Liverpool.
Alonso’s remarkable success at Leverkusen, who clinched their first-ever Bundesliga crown at the weekend, has positioned him as one of the most sought-after managers in Europe, with Liverpool and Bayern Munich previously leading the chase. Despite the interest, the 42-year-old Spaniard has affirmed his commitment to remain at the helm of the Bundesliga outfit for at least one more season.
However, Leverkusen’s leadership acknowledges the challenge of retaining Alonso over the long term, given his burgeoning reputation and the inevitable interest from top clubs across Europe. Among the potential destinations for Alonso, Real Madrid stands out prominently as Carro expressed his belief that Alonso could eventually return to the Spanish capital, where he enjoyed a distinguished playing career.
Speaking to Tidesports source, Carro also suggested Liverpool still have a chance of striking a deal for Alonso one day, as he stated: “I have no doubt that Xabi Alonso will coach Real Madrid at some point. What I am not clear about is when, but that he will end up at Real Madrid I have no doubt, as it is also possible that he trains Liverpool or Bayern.
There are a lot of clubs interested, that’s how it is, which doesn’t mean that in the future he can’t coach some of the clubs mentioned, especially his former teams as a player. But he feels comfortable here, otherwise he wouldn’t continue. We will maintain our ambition to play in the Champions League next year.”
Despite Real Madrid’s current managerial stability under Carlo Ancelotti, whose contract is due to run until 2026, reports suggest that the club’s hierarchy views Alonso as the ideal candidate to succeed Ancelotti when his tenure concludes. The backing of Real Madrid’s board, including club president Florentino Perez, further solidifies Alonso’s prospects of potentially assuming the managerial reins at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2026. Allegedly aware of the esteem in which the club’s leadership holds him, Alonso has opted to remain at Leverkusen, biding his time for a potential return to Real Madrid.
Alonso is focused on preparing Leverkusen for the second leg of their UEFA Europa League quarter-final against West Ham at London Stadium on April 18, following their 2-0 victory in the first leg at BayArena.

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Barca Blame Referee, Panic For Loss To PSG

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Barcelona had a two-goal aggregate lead and were seemingly in control of their UEFA Champions League quarter final second leg match against Paris St- Germain in Spain until it all turned to chaos.
A disaster performance from the referee, panic from Barcelona’s players and an unnecessary expulsion, according to Barca sources, were all blamed on a dramatic Tuesday evening at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys as PSG ran out 4-1 winners.
Barcelona centre-back Ronald Araujo’s sending off turned the tide in their Champions League quarter-final as PSG came from 3-2 down in the first leg to win the tie 6-4 on aggregate.
A double from Kylian Mbappe, a long-range strike from Vitinha and an Ousmane Dembele goal against his former club sent Barcelona spiralling out of control – and out of the competition.
As Barcelona turned in a performance riddled with mistakes, referee Istvan Kovacs had a busy evening. The Romanian showed three red cards to the hosts – manager Xavi’s frustrations getting the better of him, before a member of his coaching staff was dismissed for dissent. That only compounded the damage done by Araujo’s red-card inducing challenge on Bradley Barcola early in the first half.
“The referee was really bad. I told him his performance was a disaster. I don’t like to talk about referees, but it had a clear impact in the season and it has to be said,” Xavi told news men.
“We are very upset and angry because the red card was the decisive factor in the match. With 11, we were in a good position, playing well and in command.
“It’s too much to flash a red card in a game like this. There was another game after that… It is a pity that the work of the season was ruined by an unnecessary expulsion.”
Araujo’s early exit allowed PSG to build momentum. The goals flowed; Barcelona collapsed. Joao Cancelo needlessly brought down Dembele in the box, allowing Mbappe to score the first of his two goals from the penalty spot.
“You can’t make mistakes in the Champions League,” former Barcelona striker Thierry Henry said after the game.
“If you make mistakes, you pay the price straight away and that’s why it is so hard to win that competition because you cannot make one mistake.”
Having left Paris with a 3-2 victory, Barcelona got off to the perfect start in their second leg when Raphinha deflected in teenager Lamine Yamal’s cross.
But Barcelona’s lead did not last long and PSG took control in the second half as the cards came from Kovacs.

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