EPL Roundup Matchday 30

Gabonese striker, Pierre Emerick Aubameyang continues to lead the charge in the revitalised Arsenal side which had been lacking confidence recently. He scored away against Brighton in the Gunners’ 2-1 loss and added to his tally yesterday in emphatic style. The Batman, quickly latched on to Mkhitaryan’s silky pass and rounded the goalkeeper before finding the back of the net, capping off with an acrobatic celebration. He later on assisted the Armenian for Arsenal’s third goal. Elsewhere, Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez did what he does best for Leicester - assist and score goals. The Manchester City transfer saga seems to be behind him now. Riyad and Nigeria’s Kelechi Iheanacho, who scored his first EPL goal for the Foxes, were both on the scoresheet as Leicester embarrassed bottom of the table West Bromwich Albion, 4-1. Serge Aurier also grabbed a goal in Tottenham’s 4-1 win over Bournemouth together fellow Ivorian, Eric Bailly who returned to Man United’s starting line up. Bailly stopped Salah from scoring a goal for the first time in eight starts for Liverpool but couldn’t help but finish off Sadio Mane’s cross into his own net.

The midfielder confirms when he will hang his boots

One of Fergie’s servants has finally come to terms with reality and has decided to hang his boots at the end of the current campaign. Michael Carrick has been a midfield enforcer in the Manchester United team under five different managers including Sir Alex Ferguson, David Moyes, Ryan Giggs, Louis Van Gaal and Jose Mourinho. He is well known and respect for his basic play that slows down the pace of the team and allows them to dominate possession with his quick short passes and rare long balls to the wing. The 36 year-old would have probably wanted to continue playing but has been given little opportunities ever since Mourinho took over and the chances of him playing this season were shuttered by the emergence of McTominay who is younger and fresher than the experienced defensive midfielder. A health problem also contributed to that decision as he has undergone a procedure to correct his heart rhythm. This problem started in the Burton game and also happened in training. We wish him all the best in his last year and hopefully he can lift one more trophy before he retires.

SkySports pundit suspended for unacceptable reaction

Former Liverpool captain and current SkySports pundit Jamie Carragher, pictured on the left, has been suspended after a video surfaced on the internet after Liverpool lost 2-1 to Manchester United. He was recorded spitting out from his car at a young girl who was driving with her father. The two were caught off guard as the former player rolled down the window of his car and spat in the direction of the fans. This behavior is unacceptable coming from a player who used to be a leader in his team and is a TV Personality that people look up to. He has since apologized to the family and has been suspended from his duties at SkySports who denounced his actions. Do you think a suspension is too harsh a punishment for the pundit who was goaded by many fans several times before this incident? Let us know your thoughts below in the comment section.

Mourinho hits back at Frank De Boer

Manchester United boss has hit back at Former Crystal Palace boss Frank de Boer about his recent comments on how Jose Mourinho has been handling Marcus Rashford. De Boer praised the young forward’s impact in the Liverpool match as he scored a brace in a tough match. He went on to say that it is a ‘pity’ that Rashford is playing under Mourinho presumably because he is not allowing the player to progress by playing a lot of games. This might be due to the fact there are many players in front of him in the pecking order including the January signing Alexis Sanchez. However, de Boer’s comments brought about a fiery comment from Mourinho who is quoted to having said that Frank is the worst Premier League manager in history. He managed only 7 matches in the EPL with all of them defeats and scoring none in the process before facing the sack. Mourinho turned the conversation from the player to his record and ambition for winning. He stipulated that Rashford would be a failure if he was coached by the former Palace boss because that is what Frank knows how to do. Do you think Mourinho’s reaction is justifiable? Drop your comments below.

The cycle continues at Southampton

Mauricio Pellegrino is the latest Premier League manager to face the sack after a chain of disappointing results. It is recorded that the average Premier League manager does not last longer than 1 year and 3 months. The Southampton manager has been let go after a run of one win in the last 17 games. He confirmed on Saturday that his players looked like they had given up when they lost 3-0 to newly promoted Newcastle. The club have now decided that new management is the solution for the team that has been playing some entertaining football in the past few years. Assistant manager Carlos Compagnucci and first-team coach Xavier Tamarit have also parted company with the club. Do you think that this culture of sacking managers in the Premier League is the only way to guarantee success?

Is China becoming a Dream Destination for African Footballers?

The Chinese Super League has become notorious for snatching big name players under the very noses of the most established clubs. What does this all mean? Are witnessing a revolution in professional football? Should we start picking our favorite teams in the CSL and wear their t-shirts? Honestly, why China? Let us see how my mind tries to answer this question in the next few lines.

A fortnight ago, Cedric Bakambu became the most expensive African player in history after completing his move to Beijing Guaon from the La Liga’s yellow submarine, Villarreal. The Chinese side forked out 65 million pounds eclipsing the 35 million pounds that Liverpool paid for Mohamed Salah or what they might pay for Naby Keita in the summer. The DRC forward is not the typical, aging player wrapping up his career in Asia, he is well in his prime at the age of 26. Even though he had attracted interest from a host of other European giants after rubbing shoulders with Lionel Messi in the scoring charts, he opted for the Chinese club. It is not only Cedric, there are many more.

In the same period, we also witnessed Cameroonian captain, Benjamin Moukandjo switching one CSL club for another and Ghanaian Richmond Boakye joining Coach Fabio Capello at Jiangsu Suning. Honestly, it is mainly because these Chinese sides have become the highest bidders in their spending spree to attract big names to boost the support for the local game. The Nigerian international, Odion Ighalo shared in an interview with Sky Sports that EPL side Watford released him to Changchun Yatai F.C because they were prepared to pay more. Even, the Belgium midfielder, Alex Witsel at 20 years of age, turned down Juventus for Tianjin Quanjian revealing that the Chinese side presented a more lucrative offer for his family.

Other African players who switched to China include Ivory Coast captain, Gervinho, Demba Ba, Asamoah Gyan, Didier Drogba, Stephane Mbia, Nigeria’s John Obi Mikel, Barcelona’s Seydou Keita, Obafemi Martins only to mention but a few. These players have also mingled with talent from other regions in the form of the Brazilian Oscar who moved from Chelsea to Shanghai SIPG, Hulk, Carlos Tevez, Ramires, Yannick Carrasco, Alexandre Pato and most recently Javier Mascherano who left Barcelona. These big money captures by Chinese clubs have undoubtedly justified the means by giving the league an image and its competitiveness will only increase.

The recent capture of Bakambu and the big money sell of Paulinho to Barcelona in the summer, who has been phenomenal for the Catalans by the way, continue to provide more evidence that the CSL can outbid any club and most importantly produce world-class players. More so because of the influence of great managers like Manuel Pellegrini, Fabio Capello and Fabio Cannavaro. The CSL may as well have become the top destination for any African player because of the prospects cash influx and career growth without being overshadowed by the likes of Messi and Ronaldo.

CSL runs from March to November every year and limits the number of foreign players to five per team, including a player from the Asian Football Confederation countries. We might all need to consider learning how to pronounce the CSL’s team names. They are here to stay.

Per Mertesacker: The effects of football on a professional player

Current Arsenal captain Per Metersacker opened up on the challenges faced by professional players before the game. The 33-year-old centre-back revealed that he suffers from anxiety attacks and sometimes feels like vomiting if he turns his stomach. The player goes to extremes of chocking himself violently in order to avoid that from happening. Imagine what everyone else goes through if the captain of the team struggles like this. No wonder the Arsenal team often shows lack of fight and bravery when it matters the most. The soon-to-retire player also reflected on the match between Germany and Italy which was played in 2006 when he was still 21 years old. He talked about how he could not wait for the match to end because it was a burden both physically and mentally. It seems that there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes before the matches start. Let us wait to hear other confessions of players when they are about to retire.

Dortmund Snatched a Late Win Over Frankfurt

Chelsea loanee Michy Batshuayi has stepped in to fill Aubameyang’s shoes and has not disappointed. The striker has been on fine goalscoring form since his move as he has registered 7 goals and 1 assist in just 8 appearances in both the Bundesliga and the Europa League. 2 of those goals came in today’s match against Eintracht Frankfurt which his team won 3-2. Typical rollercoaster it was as Reus’ own goal was canceled out by Jovic in the 75th minute. Batshuayi then scored two minutes later and gave the advantage to Dortmund. When Blum scored in the 91st minute, everyone thought that they had rescued a point for their team only for Batshuayi to go behind the Frankfurt defense and score the 94th-minute winner past Lukas Hradecky. This means that Borrusia Dortmund (3rd place) are only just a point behind Schalke 04 in the league. The race for UEFA Champions League qualification continues.

Allegri: Madrid Are the Team to Beat

Juventus coach Allegri believes that Real Madrid are once again the title favorites after eliminating PSG. The Spanish club had been struggling in form this season as they are currently sitting in 3rd place with just a point ahead of Valencia in fourth. Allegri feels that Madrid are the team to beat and he is keen to avoid them in the quarterfinal round. “This is because their focus is solely on that competition and also that there is nobody else that deals with games in this competition like they do,” said Allegri. He said the same about Barcelona who are hungry for the title which has eluded them in the past two seasons when Real Madrid were dominating. Barcelona host Chelsea on Wednesday for the final clash between the two. Many celebrations will come from the qualifying teams if another big club in Barcelona falls at this early round. Let us wait and see who gets to pack their bags this round because this tournament never disappoints.

Arsenal Win 3-0 Against Watford

Arsenal are seemingly beginning to bounce back after a long difficult spell. Arsene Wenger’s side dispatched Watford by 3 goals to nil in the Emirates Stadium on Sunday. This is their first win in after losing 3 games straight before this match. Mustafi scored the opener from a Mesut Ozil cross before Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang scored the second thanks to a Mkhitaryan assist on 59 minutes. It was a delight to see the striker celebrate with his traditional summersault which is very familiar to those that followed him during his days in Germany. The pair combined once again like they did in Dortmund as this time the striker turned provider to Mkhitaryan’s goal in the 77th minute. It is also worth mentioning that Petr Cech saved Troy Deeney’s penalty and went on to secure his record 200th clean sheet in the Premier League. The keeper got the man of the match award after making some fine saves in the match. Mesut Ozil’s assist makes him the fastest player to reach 50 Premier League assists in 141 matches. What a day to remember for the record-breaking duo!

Premier League Round Up - United grind out 2-1 win

Jose Mourinho says he does not care whether people think that his team did not deserve the victory against Liverpool. Marcus Rashford scored two goals early in the match before Eric Bailly scored an own goal for Liverpool in the second half. The coach’s comments are probably coming from a place where he has received a lot of criticism for his defensive tactics and also omitting arguably the future of English football in Marcus Rashford from his first team. He has managed to shut his critics as he has cemented his 2nd place position and increased the gap to 5 points.

In other news, Chelsea beat Crystal Palace with the same scoreline as Man Utd with Willian scoring on the 25th minute before Kelly scored an own goal to make it a two goal advantage for Chelsea. Patrick Van Aanholt eventually scored on the 90th minute for Palace but it was too little too late for a comeback.

Is Ligue 1 Enough Of A Challenge For Neymar?

Spanish football expert Guillem Balague of SkySports gave his views on the rumors surrounding Neymar after his team was eliminated from the UEFA Champions League by Real Madrid. It is said that the Brazilian star is disappointed by his team’s lack of hunger to be competitive in the tournament which he hoped to win again in different colors to those of Barcelona. The player was in red hot form before his latest injury as he had scored 29 goals and provided 19 assists in just 30 matches across all competitions. It is believed that someone close to the player is the one who is being used as a spokesman to attract the attention of Real Madrid who have already tried to sign the player three times in the past. If that is to happen, Madrid would have to fork out something around €400m to lure him from PSG. Whether the club would actually allow him to leave is another story. What is to expect is an increase in the number of articles published between now and the end of season about Neymar and his possible transfer to different clubs in Europe.

Sanchez's Manchester United Career Off to a Mixed Start

Alexis Sanchez switched from Arsenal to Manchester United in a swap deal that involved Henrikh Mkhitaryan going the other way. The player was frustrated by the lack of ambition that is surrounding the Emirates Stadium. What he probably did not expect was that his move to the Red Devils would not yield instant results like he did at Arsenal. Most recently, his coach Jose Mourinho admitted that the team is not getting the best out of the forward. This is because he came in as a big profile signing that was expected to bring back the attacking aura to the second placed team but had little time to gel with the philosophy of the coach and the chemistry of the team. That is still yet to happen. In his defense, Mourinho is a defensive minded coach and his tactics are mostly centered on counter-attacking the opposition which does not suit the winger who always demands the ball and wants to have a go at defenders. Time is running out for the winger before critics start calling him a flop because his current return of 1 goal in 441 minutes in the Premier League is quite shocking for a player with his abilities. After turning in his best performance to date in a 2-1 win over Liverpool at Old Trafford, he will be looking to build some momentum both in the league and Manchester United's upcoming 2nd leg against Sevilla in the Champions League. 

Race For EPL Top Goalscorer

Mohamed Salah of Liverpool is on par with Harry Kane as the English Premier League top goal scorer with 24 already to his name this season. The Egyptian winger is the talk of the moment and was interviewed by former Liverpool player Jamie Carragher on Friday. The player reflected on the fact that he has managed to score against all the other top 6 teams except for Manchester United and he feels he still has some unfinished business. He recalls the missed chances in the game played at Anfield and has been studying De Gea’s weaknesses because he is planning on scoring past the goalkeeper who is in the form of his career as well. The player says he looks for a goal in each game and wants to continue with his impressive form and go on to win the golden boot ahead of the best strikers in England. Do you think the Egyptian has what it takes to outscore Harry Kane, Sergio Aguero and the rest? Drop your comments below.

Domestic Leagues: WWE star meets with Amabhakabhaka (Orlando Pirates)

It has been a great week for the Soweto giants. Apart from winning bragging rights in the derby over the weekend against bitter rivals, Kaizer Chiefs and participating in the #noexcuse campaign against gender based violence, they got to chill with Titus O’Neil in South Africa. The WWE wrestler, commonly associated with the brand name, Titus Worldwide in the WWE, got to share some lessons with the Buccaneers. The play together and pray together!

Abroad: Cameroon’s Gaetan Bong claims involved in a racial abuse case

Gaetan bong claimed that West Brom’s Jay Rodriguez racially abused him when his Brighton & Hove Albion visited the Baggies at the Hawthorns on 13 January, 2018. The English striker seemed to have pinched his nose when the two clashed and afterwards Bong approached the referee. Rodriguez still remains defiant on his stance on the allegation and had until today to respond to the Football Association, which would make a decision to hand him a five-match suspension, if he is to be found guilty. Jay has already hired top lawyers to represent his case and we are monitoring the development of the case.

Russia 2018: Former Nigerian coach believes Rohr should have included more local based players in his squad

Gernot Rohr’s decision to include two Nigerian Professional Football League players in his 28 man squad for the upcoming friendlies against Serbia and Poland did not  sit in well with former coach, Austin Eguavoen. Eguavoen believes that the Nigerian coach could have reaped more from the players who reached the final of  2018 African Nations Championship, eventually losing to hosts Morocco.

"I saw the list and it's a good one," he told Complete Sports Nigeria, "but I think there should be more players from the league in his squad."

Players who ply their trade abroad are usually preferred in terms of representing African countries in major tournaments. One of the popular arguments against such decisions, is that team chemistry and passion may be compromised.

PSG Behavior Under Scrutiny

To add salt to the Real Madrid-inflicted wound, the Parisians have now gotten the attention of the UEFA board who are looking to investigate on their compliance with the Financial Fair Play rules and the behavior of their ultras. The cash-rich club have invested a lot in their squad as they spent hundreds of millions to find talent in each position in the pitch and possibly a substitute for each bar those two players in the picture, Rabiot and Kimpembe who have come through their academy. UEFA has made a conscious decision to intervene and analyze their books especially because of their recent deals of Neymar and Mbappe whom they bought in a collective $380 million deal in the summer of 2017. The other issue is about the behavior of their fans who used flares and lasers, blocked the stairways and were terribly organized in their match against Real Madrid. The club has already received penalties before with a section of their ground being closed due to indiscretions. Could they be banned from making any purchases in the coming two transfer windows? Anything is possible in the game of football.