IN UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE
Manchester United has dragged their season out of the ashes in quite extraordinary fashion as the team scored twice in stoppage time of extra time to complete a staggering comeback from four-two down against ten-man Lyon at Old Trafford.
United appeared to be heading out of the competition in the worst possible manner as they tossed away a two-goal lead in the space of seven minutes before conceding twice in extra time.
Manuel Ugarte, Diogo Dalot, Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo, Harry Maguire scored a goal each for Manchester United, to make it five-four win over Lyon.
It was up there with the most famous games this stadium has ever seen and means Ruben Amorim’s side now face a semi-final with Athletic Bilbao.
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Tottenham star Dominic Solanke’s first-half penalty kept the team’s season alive as they defeated Eintracht Frankfurt one-nil to reach the semi-finals of the Europa League.
Tottenham wasted several chances to take control of the tie during a one-all draw in the first leg last week, but in Frankfurt Ange Postecoglou’s side spent large spells without the ball and under pressure.
Spurs were awarded a penalty as half-time approached when Frankfurt goalkeeper Kaua Santos mistimed his jump and clattered into James Maddison while attempting to claim a long ball forward.
Tottenham will face either Lazio or Bodo/Glimt in the final four.
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Athletic Bilbao star Nico Williams’ late goal finally ended Rangers’ Europa League dreams as the team reached the semi-finals to maintain their hopes of winning the tournament on home soil.
After battling to a goalless draw at Ibrox despite playing most of the first leg with ten men, Rangers needed a near-perfect performance against La Liga’s fourth-place side, and were still in the tie with eleven minutes left.
However, Spain international Williams headed home Oscar De Marco’s beautiful cross to kill Rangers’ chances of a second final in four seasons, after Oihan Sancet’s penalty in first-half stoppage time broke the deadlock.
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Chelsea has booked its place in the Europa Conference League semi-finals despite a disappointing defeat at home to Legia Warsaw in the second leg of their last-eight tie.
The Blues hit back through Marc Cucurella’s close-range finish after the Polish visitors had stunned Stamford Bridge with a Tomas Pekhart penalty for the 10th-minute opener.
Enzo Maresca’s men had no answer following Legia’s second from French defender Steve Kapuadi in the 53rd minute.
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Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has signed a new two-year contract with the club.
The 33-year-old centre-back’s previous contract had been set to expire at the end of the season.
The Dutchman has joined forward Mohamed Salah, who signed a two-year extension last week, in committing his future to the club.
The Dutchman, who made three hundred and fourteen appearances for the Reds, was named Liverpool captain in 2023 following Jordan Henderson’s departure.
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Former Liverpool fullback Stephen Warnock believes the contract extensions of Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah are a big boost for Reds manager Arne Slot.
Warnock stated that the duo are going to be a big part of what happens next too at Anfield.
Chelsea women’s final Premier League home game of the season against Manchester United women has been moved to ensure there is no clash with the Women’s FA Cup final between the two teams on Sunday, 18th May.
Instead, the Premier League game will be played on Friday, 16th May.
The entire round of matches was scheduled for 18th May as the Premier League had already pledged it would not hold any games on men’s FA Cup final day on 17th May.
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IN NIGERIA
Former international Seyi Olofinjana believes the Super Eagles can still qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The Super Eagles endured a tough qualifying campaign with one win, four draws and one defeat from six games.
Éric Chelle’s side occupy fourth position in Group C with seven points, six points adrift leaders South Africa.
The Super Eagles will face Rwanda and South Africa when the qualifiers resume in September.
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Former Nigerian International Sunday Oliseh has disclosed that the 1994 Super Eagles remain the best team Nigeria have ever produced.
Recall that the 1994 Eagles, which Oliseh belongs to, won the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations.
The team also qualified for the 1994 World Cup, where they narrowly lost two-one to Italy in the round of 16.
Also, a large number of the players that featured at both competitions, were part of the team that won the 1996 Olympic games.
Oliseh, via his X handle, noted that no Nigerian team can ever match what the players achieved.
Flying Eagles head coach Aliyu Zubairu has unveiled final 24-man squad for this year’s Africa U20 Cup of Nations taking place in Egypt.
Zubairu selected first-choice goalkeeper Ifeanyi Harcourt, defender and captain Daniel Bameyi, midfielder Sulaiman Alabi Jojo and forward Kparobo Arierhi.
Others are defenders Adamu Maigari and Emmanuel Chukwu, midfielders Caleb Ochedikwu and Simon Cletus, and forwards Clinton Jephta, Divine Oliseh and Precious Benjamin.
The seven-time African champions and two-time World Cup runners-up will depart the shores of Nigeria for Egypt on Sunday.
The Flying Eagles is expected to play a couple of friendly matches before their opening match of the competition against Tunisia in Cairo on Thursday, 1st May.
Tickets for the high-profile semi-final of the Unity Cup match between Nigeria and Ghana is officially on general sale with prices reaching as high as five hundred and thirty-two naira for premium seating at the Gtech Community Stadium in West London.
The Super Eagles which confirmed the sales on its X handle noted that the tournament will feature Nigeria, Ghana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago and is scheduled to take place during the final week of May 2025.
Nigeria will face arch-rival Ghana in the second semi-final on Wednesday, 28th May, while the tournament will kick off a day earlier with the opener between Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.
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Nigeria defender, Nelson Abiam has joined Lithuanian champions Zalgiris Vilnius.
Abiam put pen to paper on a three-year contract with his new club.
The centre-back made history in the 2023/24 season, becoming the first-ever defender to finish as his club’s top scorer with five goals for Doma United.
He last played for Nigeria Premier Football League, NPFL, outfit Kano Pillars.
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Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo has confirmed that the availability of the duo of Super Eagles players, Ola Aina and Taiwo Awoniyi remains uncertain ahead of Monday’s trip to Tottenham Hotspur.
The pair were not involved in training on Thursday.
Nuno revealed he would make a final assessment on them closer to the game.
The city of Calabar, the capital of Cross River State located in Southern Nigeria, is set to host the third edition of the Calabar Marathon this Saturday, 19th April, 2025.
The race is part of a bold initiative by the Cross River State Government to redirect the energy of the youths from drugs and crime towards positive, life-affirming activities.
The Nigeria Women’s Football League Premiership season witnessed a total of eight games played across various stadia in the country with 18 goals scored, as newcomers Benue Queens recorded its first win in the league.
Benue Queens recorded its first win in the league following a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Ibom Angels at the Lafia Township Stadium.
Joy Ikyagh’s 57th-minute strike proved decisive in Lafia, ending a frustrating 11-game run without a win—comprising 10 losses and one draw—for Coach Liadi Bashiru’s debutant side.
In Benin City, reigning champions Edo Queens extended their unbeaten streak with a dominant 3-1 win against Dannaz Ladies at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium.
World 100 metres hurdles record holder Tobi Amusan has been officially listed among the entrants for the 2025 Diamond League season opener in Xiamen, China, as she begins her quest for another title-winning campaign on the global circuit.
The entry list for the Xiamen Meeting, confirms Amusan’s participation in what is set to be a highly competitive field.
The event will take place on 26th April at the Egret Stadium and will feature nine track and seven field events in the main program, marking the third edition of the Chinese leg of the prestigious athletics series.
The coaches of Nigeria’s U-18 and U-20 women’s handball teams have announced final squads of 14 players each for the IHF Women’s Trophy Zonal Phase.
The competition will take place in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, from 20th to 24th April, 2025.
Both teams trained for two weeks at Rowe Park Sports Centre, Yaba, Lagos, and departed for Abidjan on Thursday morning.
Coach John Uzor of the U-18 side selected Joy Omole of Defender Babes and her sister, Shola Omole, alongside Princess Ojie and Fausat Balogun.
Also named are Success Duru, Sharon Okonkwo and Chetachi Ngaodurubie of COAS Babes, among several others.
The Nigeria Aquatics Federation is set to organise a three-day National Junior Swimming championship in Abuja.
According to a statement by Secretary of the federation, Taiwo Oriss, the tournament billed for 23rd to 25th April, will feature kids from over 30 clubs, schools and states in the country.
According to president of the federation, Chinonye Aliyu the championship tagged `Swim for Life’ is dedicated to nurturing the next generation of swimmers from the age of eight to 14.
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OTHER LEAGUES
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti will leave the team after the Copa Del Rey final on 26th April, in the wake of the Spanish giants’ Champions League exit to Arsenal.
Holders Real lost two-one to the Gunners on Wednesday as they crashed out at the quarter-final stage, and Ancelotti immediately heaped doubt on his future by admitting he could be about to depart.
Brazil is hopeful of appointing the former Juventus, AC Milan, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Napoli and Everton boss, with negotiations now expected to ramp up.
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Santos forward Neymar left the field in tears after injuring his leg just 34 minutes into his first start in the Brazilian Serie A Championship this season.
The 33-year-old, who returned from six weeks out with a thigh injury against Fluminense, was handed a start against Atletico-MG on Wednesday.
The former Barcelona forward was wearing a special number 100 shirt to commemorate his 100th appearances at Santos’ Vila Belmiro stadium.
The former Paris St-Germain forward has made eight appearances for Santos and scored three goals since returning to the club from Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal.
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OTHER SPORTS
In Basketball; There will be a familiar last name at Canada Basketball’s U-19 training camp.
Abdul Aziz and Abdul-Malik Olajuwon, the sons of Basketball Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon, were among 47 players invited to participate at the April session in Toronto on Thursday.
Hakeem Olajuwon spent 18 seasons in the NBA, concluding with the 2001-02 season as a Toronto Raptor.
The Lagos, Nigeria, native was a two-time NBA champion, was named league MVP in 1994 and made 12 all-star teams.
He played for Team USA at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, winning a gold medal as a naturalized American citizen.
The Olajuwon kids’ connection to Canada is through their mom.
In Tennis, Top seed Carlos Alcaraz eased into the quarter-finals of the Barcelona Open with a straight-set win over Laslo Djere.
Spanish world number two Alcaraz, who triumphed at the Monte Carlo Masters last week, won 6-2, 6-4 against Serbia’s unseeded Djere.
The four-time Grand Slam winner suffered a blip in the second, falling 4-2 behind, before securing the final four games to triumph.
The 21-year-old will play fifth seed Alex de Minaur in the last eight on Friday after the Australian thrashed Britain’s Jacob Fearnley.
Unseeded Fearnley beat Spain’s Roberto Carballes on Monday for his first ATP Tour win on clay, but was defeated 6-1, 6-2 by De Minaur.
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Still on Tennis, French Open’s tournament director Amelie Mauresmo, says Rafael Nadal will be honoured in a ceremony at this year’s French Open.
Mauresmo said a ceremony would be held on Court Philippe Chatrier at the end of the day session on Sunday, 25TH May.
The Spanish great, who retired in November, won fourteen of his twenty-two Grand Slam titles at Roland Garros.
No other player has won as many singles titles at one Grand Slam event as Nadal at the French Open.
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Also, Serena Williams says she would have been banned for twenty years and had some of her Grand Slam titles taken away if she had committed the same anti-doping offence as men’s world number one Jannik Sinner.
Italy’s Sinner, is serving a three-month doping ban after reaching a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency over two positive drugs tests last year.
Former world number one Williams, winner of 23 Grand Slam titles, claimed in 2018 that she was a victim of “discrimination” over the volume of drug tests she was required to carry out.
An article published by website Deadspin in 2018 revealed that Williams had been tested out of competition by the US Anti-Doping Agency on five occasions by June that year more than twice as many times as other top American players.
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In Formula one, Max Verstappen says he is very relaxed about his future despite Red Bull’s difficult start to the 2025 Formula 1 season.
Following his sixth place at the Bahrain Grand Prix last weekend, Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko told Sky Germany he has “great concern” about Verstappen potentially leaving the team.
The Dutchman, who is aiming to win a record-equalling fifth consecutive drivers’ title this year, is third in the championship, eight points behind leader Lando Norris of McLaren.
Round five takes place in Saudi Arabia this weekend.
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In Rugby sFormer Ireland fly-half Johnny Sexton will join Andy Farrell’s British and Irish Lions coaching team for this summer’s tour of Australia.
Sexton, who retired after the 2023 Rugby World Cup, played on two Lions tours in 2013 and 2017.
The five-time Six Nations winner has been working with Ireland in a casual coaching capacity since last November’s Autumn Nations Series and will take up a full-time position with the Irish Rugby Football Union from 1 August.
His new role with the IRFU will involve coaching the senior men’s team, while he will also work with various men’s and women’s age-grade sides.
The British and Irish Lions will face Argentina in a send-off game in Dublin on 20 June before travelling to Australia.
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SOCCER ACTION CONTINUES THIS WEEKEND
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IN NIGERIA PREMIER FOOTBALL LEAGUE
ON SATURDAY
Lobi Stars vs Enugu Rangers
Bendel Insurance vs Nasarawa United
ON SUNDAY
Niger Tornadoes vs Bayelsa United
Plateau United vs Akwa United
Heartland Owerri vs Kwara United
Enyimba vs Kano Pillars
El Kanemi Warriors vs Ikorodu City
Shooting Stars vs Remo Stars
Katsina United vs Abia Warriors
Rivers United FC vs Sunshine Stars
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IN ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
ON SATURDAY
Brentford vs Brighton
Crystal Palace vs Bournemouth
Everton vs Manchester City
West Ham United vs Southampton
Aston Villa vs Newcastle United
ON SUNDAY
Fulham vs Chelsea
Ipswich Town vs Arsenal
Manchester United vs Wolves
Leicester City vs Liverpool
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IN SPANISH LA LIGA
ON SATURDAY
Rayo Vallecano vs Valencia
Barcelona vs Celta Vigo
Mallorca vs Leganés
Las Palmas vs Atlético Madrid
ON SUNDAY
Real Valladolid vs Osasuna
Villarreal vs Real Sociedad
Sevilla vs Deportivo Alavés
Real Madrid vs Athletic Club
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IN ITALIAN SERIE A
ON SATURDAY
Lecce vs Como
Monza vs Napoli
Roma vs Hellas Verona
ON SUNDAY
Empoli vs Venezia
Bologna vs Inter Milan
AC Milan vs Atalanta
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT.
EVERY CHAMPION WAS ONCE A CONTENDER THAT REFUSED TO GIVE UP…WORDS FROM ROCKY BALBOA.
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