Arsenal hit by another injury as Gabriel’s season ends on surgeon’s table
Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes will miss the rest of the season with his hamstring injury requiring surgery, the Premier League club have confirmed.
Nigeria Sport News
Pedro Neto late strike clinches comeback win for Chelsea at Fulham
Pedro Neto fired a spectacular winner in stoppage time as Chelsea’s late show secured a 2-1 win over west-London rivals Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Victor Osimhen to Man United transfer 'agreement' as £86m price tag for striker revealed
Victor Osimhen is becoming increasingly linked with a move to Manchester United ahead of the summer transfer window opening.
Liverpool on brink of title, Leicester and Ipswich prepare for drop
LONDON: Liverpool can wrap up a record-equalling 20th English title on Sunday when Leicester City and Ipswich Town are both likely to have their relegation from the Premier League confirmed. After several nail-biting Premier League title races that went down to the wire, Arne Slot’s Liverpool have turned this one into a procession as rivals fell by the wayside. Despite trailing champions Manchester City and Arsenal early in the campaign, Liverpool have been top for all but one week since Sept.
Jacks helps Mumbai beat Hyderabad in IPL
MUMBAI: The Mumbai Indians batters and bowlers starred in a comfortable four-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League on Thursday. England all-rounder Will Jacks shone with both bat and ball, picking up two wickets to help restrict Hyderabad to 162 for five and then hitting a 26-ball 36 to help bolster his team’s chase. Five-time champions Mumbai won the toss and bowled on a sluggish pitch at Wankhede Stadium. Decent knocks from openers Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickleton helped set up the chase, while skipper Hardik Pandya smacked a quick 21 runs off nine balls toward the end to seal the game. The match helps restore a bit of Mumbai’s mojo, pushing them into a crowded mid table. They have three victories in seven matches. Pandya said the way his team bowled was “very smart and spot on.” “We stuck to simple, basic plans,” the Mumbai skipper said, adding that once the pressure to get boundaries eased in the second innings, they “pushed the pedal at the end.” Hyderabad openers Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head kicked off the first innings with a 59-run partnership before Sharma, who hit 40 runs off 28 balls, departed in the eighth over. The team then struggled for momentum with Kishan (2) and Head (28) falling to leave Hyderabad at 83-3 at the end of the 12th over. Disciplined bowling from Jasprit Bumrah and Jacks continued to restrict Hyderabad’s batsmen but a valiant late-innings knock from Heinrich Klaasen (37) infused a glimmer of hope. Young Aniket Verma then smacked a quick 18 runs off eight balls. In reply, Mumbai’s openers made a solid start as Sharma hit 26 and Rickleton 31.
Verstappen ‘very relaxed’ about his F1 future
JEDDAH: Max Verstappen played it cool as speculation swirled around his Formula One future on Thursday, with Red Bull’s four-times world champion saying it was not on his mind and he was ‘very relaxed’. Red Bull’s motorsport consultant Helmut Marko said after last Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix that the team were concerned the Dutch driver might leave at the end of the season. Verstappen finished only sixth, a week after he won in Japan, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri winning from pole with fastest lap. “I don’t know,” Verstappen said when asked by an Italian reporter ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix why Ferrari were not being mentioned as a possible destination as well as Mercedes and Aston Martin.
Young Saudi artist designs Fernando Alonso’s helmet for Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
JEDDAH: Spanish driver Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin’s two-time Formula 1 world champion, will wear a special Saudi-inspired helmet for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit this weekend.
Nigerian federation, league and club found negligent for player’s death, says FIFPRO
NAIROBI: A Nigerian club, the league and the country’s football federation (NFF) were found negligent for the death of player Chineme Martins after he collapsed during a game in March 2020, players’ union FIFPRO said on Thursday. Martins, who played for Nasarawa United, died aged 23 when he collapsed during a match where the medical services were deemed insufficient. According to FIFPRO, the National Industrial Court of Nigeria ruled the club “breached their duty of care” toward Martins and they must compensate his family.
Saudi Arabia down Korea to move into Asia U17 final
TAIF: Abdulrahman Al-Otaibi was the hero once more on Thursday as Saudi Arabia beat South Korea on penalties to move into the final of the U17 Asian Cup. After 90 minutes of tense final semifinal action ended 1-1, the goalkeeper saved two spot kicks to give the young Green Falcons a 3-1 shootout victory. Roared on by thousands of fans at the Okadh Stadium in the western city of Taif, the hosts, who last won the title way back in 1988, found it difficult however to get past the South Koreans who were looking for a third title in total. Both had squeezed through their respective quarter-finals via a penalty shootout, Saudi Arabia defeating Japan while Korea got past Tajikistan, and it was not a surprise that the opening exchange were relatively quiet.