Sports
African Scorers In Europe: Manucho Scores, Sees Red In Spain
It was a red card filled day for African players in Europe at the weekend following a harvest of red by three of them.
Angola’s Manucho saw red in Spain, Ivory Coast’s Cheick Tiote and South Africa’s Steven Pienaar were also sent off in England.
However, 28 African players registered their names on the score sheets across Europe, albeit, Demba Ba scored against his team.
SPAIN
In Spain Angola striker Manucho scored the opener in the ninth minute for Real Valladolid away to Malaga but his early jubilation was spoiled when he was sent off on 81 minutes, and his side lost 2-1.
Morocco striker Youssef El-Arabi pulled a goal back for 10-man Granada but his side still went down 2-1 at home to Real Zaragoza.
NETHERLANDS
Ivory Coast striker Wilfried Bony became top scorer in the Dutch top-flight at the weekend after his two goals for Vitesse Arnhem helped his side to secure all three points in the 3-0 win over NAC Breda.
Zambia striker Jacob Mulenga secured the points for Utrecht with his 40th-minute goal as his side came from behind to beat ADO Den Haag 2-1.
FRANCE
League holders Montpellier continue to struggle after losing 2-1 to Rennes. Morocco midfielder Younes Belhanda scored in the 69th minute from the penalty spot for Montpellier. Cameroon midfielder Jean Makoun had given Rennes a 13th-minute lead.
Vincent Aboubakar scored twice in the last 10 minutes for Valenciennes who crushed Lorient 6-1. The Cameroon striker had only been on the pitch as a substitute for two minutes when he scored his first goal of the season in the 81st minute before helping to finish the rout in the last minute.
GERMANY
Karim Matmour gave Eintracht Frankfurt the lead in the fifth minute as they strolled to a 3-1 win over Hannover ’96. It was the Algeria midfielder’s first goal in the Bundesliga this season.
UKRAINE
Nigeria striker Issy Lucky Idaho scored the vita third goal for Zorya who picked up all three points by beating Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 3-2.
GREECE
The Greek league’s top scorer Rafik Djebbour from Algeria took his tally to eight goals after scoring twice at the weekend for Olympiakos who dismissed Xanthi 4-0.
RUSSIA
Anzhi Makhachkala maintained their lead at the top of the table after coming from behind to beat Spartak Moscow 2-1. Anzhi equalised through their Ivory Coast striker Lacina Traore who came on as a second-half substitute to level in the 64th minute.
Nigeria’s Ahmed Musa continued his fine form after scoring his fifth goal of the season for CSKA Moscow in their 2-0 win over Rubin Kazan.
BELGIUM
Ebrahima Ibou Sawaneh became the top scorer in the league after his hat-trick inspired Leuven from a goal down to a 4-1 win over Club Bruges. The Gambia striker, who has 11 goals this season, scored twice in the first half and completing his hat-trick in the 78th minute from the penalty spot. Leuven’s fourth goal came through their Zimbabwe midfielder Ovidy Karuru.
Morocco midfielder Moustapha Oussala scored the only goal of the game as his side Kortrijk edged out Gent to move to fourth position in the standings.
Lokeren won 3-0 away at Zulte-Waregem with the Tunisia striker Hamdi Harbaoui scoring the third goal in the 81st minute.
Mechelen played the last three minutes with 10 men after the Cameroon defender Antonio Ghomsi was sent-off, but they still beat Cercle Bruges 2-1 with Ghana midfielder Abdul-Yakinu Iddi scoring the opening goal.
Cameroon striker Aloys Nong scored twice in the last two minutes for Mons who came from behind to beat Standard Liege 3-1. Gambia striker Mustapha Jarju had equalised for Mons in the 34th minute.
TURKEY
There were plenty of African goal scorers in the game between Antalyaspor and Sivasspor. Nigeria’s Isaac Promise scored twice, while two other goals by Senegal striker Lamine Diatta and Morocco midfielder Ismail Aissati gave Antalya a 4-2 victory. Sivasspor’s Nigeria striker Michael Eneramo scored one of the goals for his side in the 48th minute.
Senegal striker Moussa Sow equalised for Fenerbahce in the 23rd minute in his side’s 1-1 draw with Bursaspor.
Another Senegalese, Diomansy Kamara, scored twice for Eskisehirspor who outclassed Karabukspor 5-2.
ENGLAND
Malian Modibo Maiga was on target for West Ham, helping his side to beat their fellow Premier League newcomers 4-1. Maiga, whose two other goals since his pre-season transfer came in the League Cup, had only been on the pitch five minutes when he beat three Southampton defenders with a fine run before curling his shot past Artur Boruc.
There was misery for two of Newcastle’s Africans involved in the 1-1 draw at Sunderland and Newcastle. Ivory Coast Coast midfielder Cheick Tiote was sent off mid-way through the first half for crunching into Steven Fletcher with his foot high. Senegal striker Demba Ba scored an own goal late on, deflected John O’Shea’s header into his own net, to hand Sunderland a share of the points.
Everton’s South African midfielder Steven Pienaar was another to see red. The former Bafana Bafana captain was dismissed for two bookings in the second half of a 1-1 draw at QPR. Pienaar ‘s second booking was for a trip on Jose Bosingwa, a decision which Everton boss David Moyes called “ludicrous”.
SCOTLAND
Kenyan striker Victor Mugabe Wanyama scored twice in the space of six minutes to help Celtic beat St Mirren 5-0. Nigeria defender Efe Ambrose also scored in the game as Celtic led 4-0 at half-time.
Lamine Yamal scored a landmark first hat-trick of his career as Barcelona beat Villarreal to ensure they will stay top of La Liga.
The 18-year-old put the home side in control at half-time by scoring twice in nine minutes, both from Fermin Lopez assists.
Villarreal then pulled a goal back through Senegal midfielder Pape Gueye and the visitors spurned a great chance to equalise.
But Lamine Yamal struck again before substitute Robert Lewandowski made it 4-1 in stoppage time to send Barcelona four points clear of Real Madrid, who host Getafe on Monday.
Lamine Yamal’s feat, at the age of 18 years and 230 days, made him the youngest player to hit a first treble in La Liga this century, according to statisticians Opta.
Fermin was one of four players to come into Barcelona’s starting line-up, promoted after scoring the final goal as a substitute in the 3-0 home win over Levante.
The 22-year-old midfielder pulled the strings, creating the game’s first clear-cut chance for right-back Jules Kounde, who dragged his shot horribly wide of the far post.
Lamine Yamal had a speculative effort held by Villarreal goalkeeper Luiz Junior but made no mistake from his next chance, and created a superb second goal from nothing.
Fermin pounced on a loose ball in midfield before playing in Lamine Yamal, who took a touch before slotting in the opener.
The teenage Spain international then received the ball out on the right wing and beat two defenders before firing high past Junior and inside the far post.
Junior made a point-blank save from Dani Olmo right after half-time and Villarreal halved the deficit moments later, with Gueye converting from close range after a corner fell into his path.
The visitors had won three of their past four games to climb above Atletico Madrid into third place, nine points behind Real, and Ayoze Perez should have drawn them level after 54 minutes.
Barcelona keeper Joan Garcia failed to clear after rushing out to halt a Villarreal counter-attack, leaving two covering defenders between Perez and the goal, but the ex-Newcastle and Leicester forward shot wide from outside the box.
Tempers flared on the sideline, with each team’s head coach booked, before Barcelona’s Hansi Flick brought on Pedri for Olmo.
The 23-year-old Spain midfielder helped the hosts regain control before threading a fine pass through to Lamine Yamal, who beat Junior from a wide angle to reach 13 La Liga goals this season and a combined 101 goals and assists for club and country.
Pedri and French defender Kounde then combined for the latter to square for Lewandowski to tap in his 11th La Liga goal of the season.
VAR Challenge System Underway(8)
Fifa referees’ chief Pierluigi Collina has said that there will be further trials of a challenge system as part of a two-year review of the video assistant referee (VAR).
The International Football Association Board (Ifab) announced the review at its annual general meeting on Saturday, the 10th anniversary of its initial approval of VAR trials.
Football Video Support (FVS), which allows coaches to make two challenges per match, is already being tried out in Italy, Malta and Spain.
Collina, who chairs the referees’ committee of world football’s governing body, said it was likely those trials would be replicated elsewhere.
“It is probable that in the next weeks we will open the possibility to join the trial for the next season to member association and competition organisers,” he said.
The very existence of VAR has been questioned at times this season in particular, with many claiming the game would be better without it.
Collina, who was voted the world’s best referee five times, said: “In Italy, we say that in every wonderful marriage, there is a crisis after seven years.
“So it might be possible that people fall in love with the VAR, and then after some years… crisis.”
Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham said in any assessment of VAR, it was paramount to “keep the game flowing” and “we don’t want to see more delays”.
Bullingham said the FA was against VAR checks on corners, which have been approved for use at this summer’s World Cup, and the competition opt-in would not be used in England.
But he is supportive of a challenge system.
“It changes the dynamic,” Bullingham said. “It reduces the amount of times when there is a VAR intervention and effectively puts the onus on the coach.
“That’s something which we might continue to learn as we trial that model.
“Parts of the game [that use FVS] fundamentally can’t afford for VAR at the moment.
“But that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily the wrong model for the future.”
El-Kanemi Warriors boosted their push up the Nigeria Premier Football League table with a 2-0 victory over Abia Warriors on Saturday, dealing a blow to the visitors’ hopes of securing a continental ticket.
The matchday 27 encounter, played at the El-Kanemi Warriors Stadium in Maiduguri, saw the home side take control in the first half before sealing the result late on.
Referee Hannah Elaigwu oversaw proceedings, assisted by Zango Muhammed and Aminu Salihu, with Zubairu Abubakar serving as fourth official.
El-Kanemi made their intent clear early and were rewarded in the 22nd minute when Daddy Abdulrahman converted from the penalty spot to hand the hosts the lead.
The goal settled the home side, who managed the remainder of the first half effectively to carry a 1-0 advantage into the interval.
Abia, chasing a top-three finish for the second consecutive season, pushed forward after the restart but struggled to break down a disciplined El-Kanemi defence.
Their ambitions suffered a decisive setback four minutes from time when Bashir Musa struck to double the advantage, ensuring the points remained in Maiduguri.
The victory lifts El-Kanemi to sixth place on 41 points from 27 matches, leaving them just two points behind fifth-placed Abia, who have played a game more.
For the visitors, the defeat dents their pursuit of a continental berth. They remain one point behind third-placed Enugu Rangers and two adrift of Ikorodu City in second, with both sides holding games in hand.
League leaders Rivers United sit on 46 points and appear firmly in control at the summit, also with three games in hand, intensifying the pressure on the chasing pack.
Abia Warriors will look to revive their challenge when they host Shooting Stars at their makeshift home in Aba on matchday 29, while El-Kanemi travel to Bauchi to face Wikki Tourist as they seek to build on their momentum.
Adams, speaking in an interview with Sporty TV, was asked to identify the quietest player in the Super Eagles camp and did not hesitate.
“Lookman and Sems (Semi Ajayi). Both of them. He doesn’t speak. I think I heard him speak maybe three times in one month. That argument with Osimhen on the pitch was one time, then we had a talk in training, and the next one was on my phone when I watched him in an interview,” Adams said.
The revelation offers a glimpse into the personality of a player who has been anything but quiet with his performances. Lookman has contributed seven goals and assists in seven games since joining Atletico Madrid from Atalanta in January, drawing praise from all corners of European football.
Adams was then asked to pick between his Nigerian teammates and other world-class players, and his answers were telling. Given the choice between Lookman and Kylian Mbappe, he chose Lookman without hesitation. Between Victor Osimhen and Erling Haaland, he backed Osimhen.
His most passionate response, however, came when asked to compare Chidera Ejuke with Barcelona sensation Lamine Yamal.
“Chidi, every day, anyday. Chidi is the best dribbler I have seen with my eyes. I think football has shifted to statistics, so I will say yes, (Chidi is underrated). If he was scoring goals, people will pay attention to the dribbles, but in terms of what he can create, I think he is the most dangerous player I have seen,” Adams said.
Ejuke currently has 18 LaLiga appearances for Sevilla this season, with one goal and one assist, and has faced questions about consistency. But in the eyes of his international teammate, the numbers tell only part of the story.
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