Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe has identified Jamaal Lascelles, Kieran Trippier, and Matt Ritchie as the three players who helped his team beat Chelsea 4-1 in Saturday’s Premier League tie.

Howe said Lascelles, Trippier, and Ritchie made sure that Newcastle did not surrender to Chelsea at St. James’ Park.

He also said that the Magpies made a statement against the Blues.

Newcastle opened the scoring through Alexander Isak, but Raheem Sterling equalised for Mauricio Pochettino’s side with a fine free-kick.

However, three second-half goals from Lascelles, Joelinton, and Anthony Gordon gave the host all three points.

Speaking at his post-match interview after the game, Howe said: “It was a real statement of character within the squad. We really asked the players to step up, and we really deserved to win. Big positives from today.

“The leaders within the group set the tone: Jamaal Lascelles, Kieran Trippier, Matt Ritchie. They make sure we don’t surrender.”

[DailyPost]

Manchester City will host league rivals Liverpool at Etihad this afternoon in the Premier League matchday 13 fixture.

Man City head into the game following a thrilling 4-4 draw against Chelsea while Liverpool defeated Brentford 3-0 courtesy of a Mohammed Salah brace.

Pep Guardiola’s side are on top of the Premier League table with 28 points from 12 games, while Liverpool are 2nd with 27 points.

Man City’s team news:

Man City’s striker Erling Haaland missed Norway’s final Euro 2024 qualifier against Scotland due to an ankle issue.

Goalkeeper Ederson also didn’t travel with Brazil for the international break, while Sergio Gomez (ankle), Mateo Kovacic (thigh) and Nathan Ake (knock).

Kevin De Bruyne (hamstring), John Stones (thigh), and Matheus Nunes, was declared “clinically unfit” while on duty with the Portugal national team, are set to watch from the sidelines.

Liverpool’s team news:

Liverpool’s medical team must make late calls on a number of players, including Joe Gomez (knock), Ryan Gravenberch (knee injury), Ibrahima Konate (hamstring injury) and Curtis Jones (hamstring injury).

However, all four players trained with the team ahead of the tough fixture.

But all of Andrew Robertson (shoulder injury), Stefan Bajcetic (calf injury) and Thiago Alcantara (hip injury) are still out with long term injuries.

Man City XI: Ederson, Walker, Akanji, Dias, Ake, Rodri, Silva, Alvarez, Foden, Haaland, Doku

Liverpool XI: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Tsimikas, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai, Jones, Salah, Nunez, Jota

[TheNation]

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta says he wants Takehiro Tomiyasu to stay.

The Japan defender is a January target for Bayern Munich.

Anthony Joshua could revisit the Rumble in the Jungle as part of an “iconic” bout around the 50th anniversary of the legendary fight, says Eddie Hearn.

Promoter Hearn says talks have taken place over the heavyweight contender fighting in Africa, and that government backing for an event is available.

Joshua, 34, has Nigerian ancestry but has never fought on the continent.

“It’s something that would be iconic for the sport,” Hearn told BBC World Service’s Newsday of the proposals.

“When we’re visiting these countries, there’s government funding to stage these events.

“Sometimes that isn’t forthcoming in all areas but there have been discussions and I think it will happen in time.”

Muhammad Ali and George Foreman contested the heavyweight world championship in Zaire – now Democratic Republic of Congo – in October 1974 in one of the greatest fights of all time.

Both men were champions during the long careers that made them legends, with Ali knocking out Foreman in the eighth round to win the WBA, WBC and Ring titles.

Joshua held the WBA belt for a combined total of almost four years and has been IBF, WBO and IBO champion, although he is currently aiming to win back the titles he failed to regain from Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia in August 2022.

[Thisday]

Popular Nigerian professional footballer, Asisat Oshoala has warned people against flooding her DMs to beg for money.

The Barcelona striker in a Snapchat post on Thursday cautioned that she would no longer condone individuals flooding her inbox with excuses like their wives just giving birth or wedding expenses.

Speaking on how much she has been of help to people, Oshoala urged netizens to make use of their common sense and set their priorities right.

“While I enjoy having fun here, there are certain things that should be common sense.

“I help a lot of people here, but there are situations I won’t condone or support, such as ‘My Wife Just Gave Birth,’ ‘I Want To Have a Wedding,’ and so on. Use your common sense. Set your priorities right,” she wrote.

[DailyPost]

Former Super Eagles number one goalkeeper and captain, Vincent Enyeama, has revealed that he lost the desire to follow the national team after he was forced to retire from the team in 2015.

Enyeama, who began his career spanning over two decades with Ibom Stars, is regarded as one of the best goalkeepers that have come out of Africa.

He made his Super Eagles debut at the 2002 World Cup in Japan and captained the team on several occasions. He won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2013, after winning bronze in the 2004, 2006 and 2010 tournaments.

As the Super Eagles continue to face goalkeeping problems after his exit, many fans have suggested that he be appointed a goalkeeper coach so he could mentor another shot stopper in his calibre, but Enyeama hinted that he lost touch with Super Eagles after the spat with coach Sunday Oliseh made him quit the team with 101 caps.

“Sincerely, I’ve not been following Nigerian football right from the day I left and with due respect, I was really treated like shh..,” he told Ufuoma Osusu, Hotsports executive producer in an interview.

“I mean I was treated like a piece of used material; so I decided to put a block between me and the national team and that went on for a long time. It’s now that I’m beginning to follow the goings-on from a distance.

“But I really put a stop to watching Nigerian football and the national team because I was deeply hurt. It’s now I am really becoming gradually at ease. I think I have made personal changes to move on and change chapters and pages to slowly reconcile myself with the system.

“To state the fact, I can’t really say much about the National Team and the goalkeeping and all of that because I am not watching them.”

He added that he was glad with his achievements in the sport.

“I feel accomplished. I feel very accomplished. It’s not easy to achieve the feat that I have achieved all these years. It’s not an easy feat. To God be the glory, I went through all these years, achieved the glories, achieved all the laurels, achieved everything that I’ve got and that makes me feel great.

“I had so many great moments in my career. The truth is that I can’t really specify or single out any particular one as special. But AFCON 2013 remains one of the best moments because we won that trophy and Enyimba 2003 and 2004 also paints a good memory in my career history because we emerged champions of the continent by winning the CAF Champions League twice. These are very memorable moments among other moments for me.”

[Guardian]

Nigerian duo Victor Osimhen and Asisat Oshoala have been nominated for the 2023 Globe Soccer best men and women player awards respectively. 

The nominees for the awards were unveiled on Tuesday by the organisers with the Napoli star battling 29 others for the prize.

Other nominees for the men’s award are Nicolò Barella, Jude Bellingham, Karim Benzema, Yassine Bounou, Antoine Griezmann, Ilkay Gundogan, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and Robert Lewandowski.

Lautaro Martínez, Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi, Kim Min-Jae, Luka Modric, Cristiano Ronaldo, Harry Kane, and Vinícius Jr are also in contention for the men’s best player prize for the award.

Last year, the Nigerian forward, who led Napoli to a first league title in over 30 years, got the Emerging Player of the Year gong in the Globe Soccer Awards.

Osimhen’s Year

Osimhen was ranked eighth in the 2023 Ballon d’Or awards, the highest-ever finish by a Nigerian player.

He is also in pole position to win this year’s African Player of the Year prize when the ceremony is held next year.

For the women’s category, Oshoala who won a treble with Barcelona last season including the Champions League, will battle teammate Aitana Bonmati among others.

Other nominees are Sam Kerr, Alexandra Pop, Olga Carmona, Esther Gonzalez, Patri Guijarro, Mapi Leon and Salma Paralluelo

In the coaching category, Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola headlines the list of nominees and is favourite to scoop the award after a treble-winning season with the English Premier League outfit last term.

But he has to contend with Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta, Lionel Scaloni, Carlo Ancelotti, Xavi Hernandez, Simone Inzaghi, Luis de la Fuente, Jonatan Giraldez, Marcel Koller and Sarina Wiegmann.

Already, online voting has started for the different categories and will run until December 7th. After this, a 30-member jury from the football industry will then pick the awardees.

The Globe Soccer Awards winners will be unveiled in a ceremony on January 19, 2024.

Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami will face Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr next February in the Riyadh Season Cup for what could be the final showdown of the global football icons.

Eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi, who joined the US squad in July and sparked a championship run in the Leagues Cup against US and Mexican clubs, is expected to meet Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d’Or winner.

Messi, 36, led Argentina to last year’s World Cup crown and has long been a rival of Portugal captain Ronaldo, 38.

Inter Miami was named the guest international side and will join Saudi Pro League sides Al-Hilal and Al Nassr in next February’s Riyadh Season Cup, but no exact dates for matches at Kingdom Arena in the round-robin competition were announced.

Miami also features Messi’s former Barcelona teammates Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets who combined for five La Liga crowns.

Ronaldo, a five-time Champions League winner, is joined by former Liverpool standout Sadio Mane and former Inter Milan captain Marcelo Brozovic on Al Nassr.

Al-Hilal features Brazil all-time leading scorer Neymar, who is recovering from a knee injury.

Last January, Ronaldo made his first appearance in Saudi Arabia following his move to Al Nassr with a Riyadh All-Star XI that lost 5-4 to a Paris Saint-Germain side featuring Messi, Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Sergio Ramos.

Czech Republic coach Jaroslav Silhavy said Monday he was stepping down, only minutes after watching his side clinch automatic qualification for Euro 2024 with a 3-0 win over Moldova.

“Even though we are happy now, we had already decided before the game not to continue,” the 62-year-old coach told Czech Television in a post-match interview.

Silhavy took up the role in 2018, leading his team to the quarter-finals of Euro 2020 before failing to qualify for last year’s World Cup in Qatar.

The Czechs have now secured a spot at next year’s Euros in Germany but he has come under fire for the team’s lacklustre performances in Group E where they finished second behind Albania, winning only four out of eight games.

The Czech team was also hurt by last weekend’s scandal as West Ham defender Vladimir Coufal and two other players were sent home after spending Saturday night at a night club.

“The pressure was enormous, beyond comprehension at times. It was one of the factors behind our decision,” said Silhavy.

A former defender, Silhavy’s future was put in doubt after the Czechs crashed to a 3-0 loss in Albania in October.

The Czech Football Association did not fire him but trimmed his contract until November 30, with an option to continue if the Czechs qualify for Euro 2024.

Saturday’s party, however, was another nail in his coffin as Coufal, Aris Thessaloniki defender Jakub Brabec and Sparta Prague striker Jan Kuchta were photographed in a night club two days before the Moldova game.

The players apologised, but football pundits slammed the poor atmosphere in the team, pointing a finger at Silhavy.

The coach himself said the affair was “a big disappointment” as all three had been in the starting line-up for last Friday’s 1-1 draw with Poland in Warsaw.

“I won’t say whether I was successful or not,” Silhavy said on Monday.

“You can see we have done some work, we have been working here for more than five years and there’s nothing we should be ashamed of.”

He said he would travel to Germany as a fan.

“Germany is near (the Czech Republic). We will definitely go and cheer for the boys.”

AFP