Messi scores a hat-trick against Leganes

Many Barcelona fans were probably angry when they heard that Messi was in the starting line up to face Leganes. This is not because the player is off form or that they do not like him. In fact, they love him too much to care for his fitness and wanted the coach to allow him a breather especially considering the number of crucial games that Barcelona are still yet to play. This concern is valid but coach Valverde had other ideas. He did not want to compromise on achieving the record which his club was set to equal if they brought their A game. Messi scored a sublime freekick on the 27th minute to open the scoring for Barcelona. This is his sixth goal that he scored from a free-kick this season. The Argentine magician was on the score sheet again 5 minutes later from a pass by Coutinho. 2 goals were enough before the break before Leganes came from the break with a hunger for scoring. They gave Barcelona a scare as their impact substitute, Claudio Beauvue, came close to scoring when he headed over from a good position. Pique also squandered an opportunity from close-range to make it three as he blazed his shot over the top. El Zhar’s goal on the 68th minute looked like it was going to spoil the record for Barcelona with the way they were playing in the second half. Messi then later on made sure that there wasn’t going to be any comeback from Leganes as he controlled Ousmane Dembele’s pass before scoring his 39th goal in all competitions. Do you think Valverde should have rested Messi in this match?

Bayern win 6th straight Bundesliga Title

Bayern Munich thrashed Augsburg 4-1 to claim their sixth successive Bundesliga title. The German champions were disappointed by an early own goal by Sule which gave the advantage to Augsburg in the 18th minute. Before Augsburg’s confidence grew, Joshua Kimmich took up the creative responsibility and crossed in for Tolisso who scored in the 32nd minute. From then on, it was all Bayern as Kimmich also provided a goal for James Rodriguez only six minutes later. Arjen Robben’s half-volley and Wagner’s header confirmed the victory for the side and sparked the title-winning celebrations on a day that Frank Ribery was born. This victory means that Bayern Munich have now won 27 Bundesliga titles and this is the fourth title for coach Jupp Heynckes, who came out of retirement to replace Ancelotti late last year. Bayern have undeniably dominated the domestic league. This makes one wonder what their rivals are doing and if they are doing enough to stop this consistent team. Borussia Dortmund their closest rivals for years have recently fallen backward and are not as competitive as they used to be. It seems as if they have given up considering that most of their talented players and that of the rest of the teams in the league, are just lured to the German champions which weakens them.

Manchester United earn bragging rights by defeating City 3-2

The result means that Manchester City’s party has to be postponed. Manchester City were looking to be confirmed the champions of the 2017/18 season after defeating Manchester United on Saturday. Only a win would do on the occasion and 30 minutes into the match, they were already 2 goals up and on-course to be the champions. Leroy Sane delivered in a fantastic ball that was met by the City skipper, Kompany who bullied Smalling and scored he opener past De Gea.  Gundogan scored the second just a couple of minutes later after fooling Nemanja Matic with a beautiful turn before picking the ball into the net. City probably thought they were going to run away with the win. Little did they know that Paul Pogba had something planned to spoil the party as he scored a brace moments after the restart. The game was level at 2-2 thanks to Pogba’s first goals against a top 6 team in the Premier League. Alexis Sanchez, who provided the second for the Frenchman, was at it again as he whipped in a pass that was volleyed home by Smalling and give United the lead in the match. Manchester City were denied a clear penalty late in the match after substitute Aguero came on and was crunched on the shin by Young in the box but the referee waved clear. The Argentine tried to leave a mark on the match with an effort that only required a world-class save from De Gea to stop it from entering. Raheem Sterling also squandered a glorious opportunity to level the matters in the derby which ended 3-2 to United. Paul Pogba went home with the man of the match award and this piled pressure on a City side that has a mountain to climb in reducing the 3-0 deficit in the UEFA Champions League Quarter-Finals.

The other derby played on the same day was not as entertaining as it ended in a goalless draw. Everton were made to wait for their first win against Liverpool in a longtime.

England Women vs Wales Women ends in a goalless draw

Phil Neville took over his first Qualifications tournament as the England boss and saw them draw against the leaders of the group. The two teams are vying for top spot in the World Cup qualifiers with only one team getting a guaranteed position at the 2019 World Cup Finals in France. Wales had the first attack of the match on the 8th minute as Rachel Rowe met the ball on the volley and Telford was there to parry the ball to safety. A minute later, the England defense was tested again from a corner kick and Lucy Bronze cleared the ball which looked like it had crossed the line. England had little in the match until Jordan Nobbs took a shot from 25 yards out. The ball looked destined for goal until Wales keeper, Laura O’Sullivan met it and pushed it onto the bar before it went out on the 33rd minute. The first half did not produce much after that and the teams went for a break at 0-0. Ellen Drive also tested the Wales goalkeeper on the 71st minute with a thunderous strike but the keeper was having none of it. Laura O’Sullivan was the clear man of the match with some fantastic saves to keep the Lionesses at bay.

Derby Weekend - Saturday: Merseyside Derby Preview Everton vs Liverpool

Liverpool face Everton in the Merseyside Derby on Saturday. The English Premier League clash between the two could not come at a better time for the Reds who are fresh from defeating Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League. The Liverpool team played their hearts out in that match which makes one wonder if they will have enough energy and drive for the match against their local rivals. First of all, the fans have to behave in the match otherwise there could be serious repercussions on the day. Liverpool are expected to lineup without their star forward, Mo Salah who is the current top goal scorer in the EPL with 29. The Egyptian genius was forced off the field with a suspected groin injury in their last match and his manager, Jurgen Klopp, has said that he will not risk playing the player if he is not 100% fit. The player has been recovering in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. Adam Lallana, Joel Matip, and Joe Gomez are the other absentees from Klopp’s side. Danny Ings is looking likely to start the match which affords a well-deserved rest to Firmino.

Everton manager Sam Allardyce believes that the derby came at the right time and could be their opportunity to claim some bragging rights over a club that is focused on the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals. He plans on nullifying Liverpool attack. Everton are expected to have Idrissa Gana Gueye back to compete after missing the club’s last match against Manchester City last weekend. Ashley Williams also returns after completing a 3 match ban. The blues will be looking to get one over Liverpool after having only won 1 of their last 22 meetings with the club in the league. What’s your prediction of the early kickoff? Will Everton finally best Liverpool in the league after a long struggle?

Derby Weekend - Saturday: Manchester City vs Manchester United Preview

The two clubs are facing each other in what is called a Manchester Derby this Saturday. Many predicted that the title race would be a close one this season when the two Manchester teams were swooping teams by more than 3 goals in the first matches of the season. Some predicted that Mourinho’s United would clinch the title ahead of their rivals after collecting 3 pieces of silverware and Manchester City failing to lift any. Guardiola strengthened his team during the transfer window and made sure that they had players who can follow his philosophy and dominate the EPL. The preview of the derby is listed in three points.

Injuries – Manchester City are without their left back, Mendy who has been long-term absentee. The noisy neighbors also have doubts on their star striker Sergio Kun Aguero who is facing a late fitness test for the match. The striker missed their UEFA Champions League clash against Liverpool and is hoping to be fit against United. Meanwhile, Manchester United are only without their 2nd choice goalkeeper, Sergio Romero who got injured on international duty.

Form – City are the team to beat this season having won 27 matches already and are just one win away from reaching their record of 28 wins which they achieved in the 2011/12 season. This will mark the 21st  time that Guardiola faces Mourinho in a competitive match and the Spaniards have won on 9 occasions.

Season Expectations – Manchester United have been largely disappointing this season. They started off well and promised to be a team that can challenge on all fronts until they got knocked out of the Champions League and the Carabao Cup. Mourinho was interviewed today and openly stated that he is motivated to finish second in the league because he admits that he cannot catch up with Guardiola’s team. A win for Man City confirms the title for the team that has been a joy to watch. City have already won the Carabao Cup and are still in the Champions League, but only just. Who do you think will win this derby?

Derby Weekend-Sunday: Which Real Madrid will show up against a resurgent Atletico

Los Blancos are now clearly one of the favorites to win the Uefa Champions League for the third time in a row after Cristiano Ronaldo helped them dismiss PSG 5-2 and also put them in position to qualify for the semi-finals in bicycle style, winning 3-0 at Juventus. However, the prospects have not been as exciting back home, after a slow start to the La Liga season that saw them fail to beat any of their main title rivals, losing 3-0 to Barcelona at home and drawing 0-0 with Atletico at Wanda Metropolitano. They now sit third on the log, four points adrift of Atletico and thirteen behind the Catalans. Their form has drastically improved, winning 8 of their previous 9 league games but the title is now realistically out of reach and a second place finish might save Zidane some blushes. Sunday’s derby will be what it has always been about, pride more than the points.

Real will face a tricky Atletico who are also fairly confident after putting themselves in a good position to qualify for the Europa League semi-finals after beating Sporting CP 2-0 on Thursday. Atletico might still be looking bag as many points as possible hoping that Barcelona might unlikely slip giving them second chance at the title. Diego Simeone’s men have won the three of the last eleven at the Bernabeu after having waited since 1999 to beat Los Blancos away from home.

Griezmann, Costa, Ronaldo, Bale or Isco? Who will draw first blood? Join the conversation in the comment box below.

Derby Weekend - Sunday: Chelsea out to settle two scores with West Ham

Seven games remain the 2017/18 English Premier League season. Time is running out for the Blues to book a Champions League spot by making it into the top four and the Hammers have to continue fighting tooth and nail in every single match to stay alive in England’s top flight. Realistically, top four might now be out of reach for Chelsea who sit in 5th, eight points behind Spurs who humbled them to a 3-1 defeat at the bridge, last timeout.

Heading into this match, it will be about two things for Chelsea; avenging their 1-0 loss at West Ham in December 2017 and secondly restoring some pride. They have fallen to several London opponents this campaign including Crystal Palace, Arsenal in the Carabao Cup and most recently Spurs. The Champions will need to make a statement and give the fans something especially now that a trophyless season might be dawning given that they will have to beat Spurs in the FA cup semi-final should they want a chance to get their hands on some silverware. Antonio Conte’s men will be boosted by the return of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and the Spaniard, Pedro from injury.

West Ham will be without Michail Antonio, who will miss the rest of the season following his injury in their 3-0 win demolishing of strugglers Southampton. The possible return of talisman Manuel Lanzini is, however, an exciting prospect for the Hammers fans.

Manager remarks:

“We have to try to do everything to continue to have the possibility to fight for a place in the Champions League. It won’t be easy, we have to be realistic, but at the same time we have to give all of ourselves. We must show pride, desire, will to fight until the end of the season - this must be our target now.”

— Antonio Conte

“We’ll go there and give them great respect but with a game-plan to bring points back here to West Ham. They have to win all their games as a top club so don’t think for a minute that they will switch off. We have to hope we catch them on an off-day and we perform well. If we do, I hope we can give them a really good game.”

— David Moyes, West Ham Manager

International Women’s Friendlies: Nigeria loses big to Les Bleues

Prior to the match held in Le Mans, the Super Falcons had vowed to put up a fight against the team which is 33 places above them in the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings on the 5th spot. The match result, however, seems to suggest that they might have done the exact opposite or maybe perhaps fortune departed them yesterday. What’s true is that the match was a horror show to Nigerian eyes as they fell 8-0 at the hands of the merciless French team. Eugenie Le Sommer opened the scoring 20 minutes into the match followed by Montpellier’s Valerie Gauvin who then took the match ball home after completing her hat-trick in the 78th minute. Diallo, Thiney, and Leger were also on the score sheet together with Faith Ikidi who capped off the horrendous evening by putting the ball in her own net.

The Super Falcons have now equaled their worst defeat in football history, 8-0 against Norway in 1995 and 8-0 against Germany, 15 years later. Swede Coach Thomas Dennerby’s first day on the job will be one he will be anxious to put past him after he had to field an experimental squad due to the absence of key players, in particular, the African Women’s player of the year, Asisat Oshoala who was facing alleged disciplinary issues with her Chinese club.

Nigeria will play the winner of the match between Gambia and Burkina Faso to book a spot at this year’s Women Africa Cup of Nations hosted by Ghana from November 17 to the 3rd of December.

Abroad: Lacina Traore speaks out on false identity allegations

The Monaco forward, on loan at Amiens, has been involved in a spat with the president of Etoile Sportive d'Abobo (ES Abobo) over claims that he had changed his name and reduced his age in order to jump ship into Europe. Kone claimed that Lacina was called Traore Menene when his Ivorian club signed him in 2005 and that his real age is 29, not 27 as the records say. He also added that ES Abobo should receive cuts of the transfer fees he has accumulated whenever he switched clubs.

The Ivorian forward nicknamed the “Big Tree” for his 203cm body frame has hit out at the outspoken Kone, denying coaching relations with the “prosecutor” though recognizing his relevance in the West African nation football world. Traore also added that his family back in Ivory Coast would visit the ES Abobo boss though his solution to fix the situation is to have his lawyers deal with this in court once the season is over. He remains level headed and hopes for a strong Ligue 1 finish for Amiens.

“He’s tarnishing the honor of my family. My parents call me all the time. They want to go and meet him, but that’s not the solution. The law will speak. And the truth will win out. I’ll never accept what he says. He can’t say I’m someone I’m not.”

— Lacina Traore

It’s not uncommon to hear reports of African players reducing their ages to play more rewarding football abroad, but there’s no substantial evidence to validate or nullify the claims. What do you think of such reports? Join the conversation using the comment box below.

Lara Dickenmann leads Switzerland to a 1-0 win against Scotland Women

A well-organised Swiss side grinded out a 1-0 win against Scotland to make their perfect record of 5 wins in 5 matches so far. Switzerland are top of the group with Scotland in third and the race for top spot was up for grabs. Every team wishes for a captain fantastic like Sergio Ramos does for Real Madrid to come to the rescue in desperate times. In this match, the Swiss captain, Lara Dickenmann came through and scored the decider past Lee Alexander on the 32nd minute. Dickenmann almost scored the second in a match where the Scottish team struggled to break down their opponents.

Scotland coach Shelley Kerr had this to say after the match, “Switzerland are higher ranked than us, they’ve been to a World Cup before, so there are positives to take because we matched them in the second half.”

So who qualifies for the World Cup? There are two possible ways to make it to the tournament finals. First, there is an option of topping the group. These teams will be guaranteed a place in the 2019 World Cup tournament being hosted by France. Scotland’s chances of doing so are looking unlikely and they might need to consider the second option. The other option is a playoff for one final place by the 4 best runners-up.

Scotland will be hosting Poland on Tuesday and will have all this at the back of their minds. They cannot afford to lose focus on qualifying for the most prestigious soccer tournament.

What happened to Ben Arfa?

The French forward Hatem Ben Arfa is celebrating over a year without playing football ever since his fallout with the president of the club. The player was brought in from Nice on a Bosnian transfer after a stellar season which produced 17 goals in Ligue 1 and produced 6 assists. The 31 year old was pretty much in Unai Emery’s plans right until a joke he made angered his bosses. A joke to the Emir of Qatar about not being able to get in contact with President AL Khelaifi placed the player in hot soup and the president swore that the player would not set foot in the Parc De Prince again wearing the PSG colors. His manager was forced to just accept the players fate because he also is employed and holds no power in such decisions.

The player then shared a picture of himself on his birthday with a caption which read, “Here goes to one year without football. This calls for celebration.”

He’s now counting down to the day he leaves the club when his contract expires this June and he just can’t wait. The player has also turned down some offers from clubs in Europe in exchange to stay at PSG and collect his weekly salaries which proves that he is somehow paying back to the harsh decision of not paying him. He is believed to be planning on buying pizza for the whole squad as he squanders the last pennies of the club that have damaged his career. Do you think that both parties have been mature in dealing with this situation? Drop your thoughts below

Ozil artistry saw Arsenal beat CSKA Moscow by 4 goals to 1

A master class from Ozil stunned the Russian side in the first leg of the Quarter-Final clash between the two teams. The artistry of the German was the highlight of the match as we were at the heart of almost all the action that led to goals for the Arsenal side. Arsenal started well in the match and managed to score early in the first half with a goal from Ramsey in the 9th minute. This came 2 minutes after the player put the ball in the net but was correctly ruled offside as Ozil, the man who found him in the box, was just offside before squaring for the Welshman. CSKA Moscow were having none of this as they replied with a beautifully taken free kick from 25 yards out by Golovin in the 15th minute. Game on, it was. About ten minutes later, Ozil found himself in the box and was brought down before he could pull the trigger. The resulting penalty was converted by Lacazette who recently returned from injury. Ozil was at it again when he provided a dinked pass to Ramsey who lifted himself up and flicked past Akinfeev. A 2 goal advantage for Arsenal and the home side were not satisfied. Mesut Ozil got to the byline and pulled the ball back for Lacazette to finish his second of the night from 15 yards out. This meant that Arsenal went into the break with a 4-1 lead. Ramsey found other opportunities to score the third but spared them and one curler hit the far post in a match that was dominated by the Arsenal side. Wenger’s men have started to play beautiful football again. Can they replicate this performance in the away leg and qualify for the next round?

On the same night, Atletico Madrid played against Sporting Lisbon and ran away with a 2-0 win courtesy to goals from Koke and Griezmann.

Lazio won 4-2 against Salzburg with Lulic, Parolo, Anderson and Immobile scoring a goal apiece while Berisha and Minamino scored the two for the away side.

Timo Werner scored the decider for RB Leipzig in their match against Marseille which leaves the clash very open and up for grabs in the return clash.

Libya: Ban on hosting matches could be lifted after FIFA’s visit

FIFA’s director of African and Caribbean member associations, Veron Mosengo-Omba is in Tripoli, Libya on a two-day visit to discuss and get first-hand experience of how football has developed in Libya since the 2011 ban. The civil war which constituted the death of President Muammar Gaddafi attributed to the unrest and since then the Libyan national team have played home international matches in countries such as Mali, Egypt, and Tunisia over the past five years. Club football was not an exception as the clubs had to use neutral venues for their matches.

The visit by Libyan Football Federation (LFF) has increased hopes that the visit by Mosengo-Omba will provide leeway for the North African to get approval to host international matches in their backyard once more.

“The delegation will check the security situation in Libya so it can report back positively to Fifa and help lift the stadium ban that has been imposed since 2013,” the statement continued.”

— Statement by LFF

Earlier on, the FIFA director had not been shy to declare the intention of his visit:

“It is not me who will take the decision, but I will report because I’m the envy of the Fifa president. I will address the report of my visit to him, and then the competent body of Fifa will decide how and when to bring international matches in Libya”

— Veron Mosengo-Omba

Despite the not so ideal conditions, the Mediterranean Knights of Libya qualified for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations and won their first senior African title in the form of the 2014 African Nations Championship (CHAN). They finished fourth in 2018 CHAN finals in Morocco.

Abroad: Naby Keita earns new nickname at Die Rotten Bullen

The Guinean’s time at German side, Red Bull Leipzig is fast expiring while his popularity is fast growing. The Syli Nationale player was once again the star of the Die Rotten Bullen show as they dispatched Hannover 96 by 3-2 away from home. Naby Keita’s consistent performances have won him hearts and earned his nine-year-old team some money when they agreed a transfer deal understood to be in the region of £66 million with Liverpool in August 2017.

The story coming from German is that Bundesliga has given him a new nickname with the aid of autocorrect.

“Thanks to the magic of autocorrect, Naby Keita has earned the nickname ‘Baby Keith”

— Bundesliga official twitter account

From now onwards, fans are expected to shout the 23-year-old’s nickname whenever he touches the ball, starting the UEFA Europa League first leg Quarter-Final match, where they beat Olympique Marseille by a goal to nothing.

Can you imagine how Liverpool will line up next year, with the African connection of Salah, Mane, and Keita in their ranks?

Absa PSL Awards: The “March Criminals” are all from Orlando

The South African Premier Soccer League awards for the month of March have been decided and the boys in black and white are looking good. The former Ugandan national team coach who now calls the Orlando part of Soweto, home, walked away with the manager of the season award for the second time this season. Coach Micho has revitalized Orlando Pirates’ goalscoring form in a “water into wine” fashion after a slow start to the 2017/18 campaign. The Buccaneers have now scored five times and registered two wins out two in the month of March. His team. Pirates have won their last five PSL matches and currently occupy the second spot on the log, a point behind Mamelodi Sundowns, though they have played one more game.

Coach Micho’s boys are not only following his instructions on the pitch but also to the podium. The 30-year-old Musa Nyatama won the player of the month award, recognized for his Kevin De Bruyne-esque performances, playing defense-splitting passes, giving assists and nonchalance defending. The guys command the midfield like no man or woman’s business. His Zambian teammate, Justin Shonga grabbed the goal of the month award for his stoppage time thunderbolt against Chippa United. Shonga’s goal will be in contention to win the Absal-lutely goal with the season together with the best goals of other months.

The player and coach of the month awards were decided by a panel of judges made up of the broadcast media and football analysts while the goal was voted for by the fans.

Monaco draw brings PSG closer to Ligue 1 Title

Ligue 1 defending champions Monaco, drew 1-1 against Stade Rennes. Gnagnon scored the opener for Rennes on the 20th minute and his celebrations were made shorter by a quick comeback from Monaco who scored through Lopes 9 minutes later. Rennes continued to dominate the game and almost found a winner when Benjamin Andre headed against the post as well as Hunou heading his effort wide off the target. This result means that Monaco have failed to reduce the distance between them and rivals Paris Saint-Germain in the season run-in. PSG have now been gifted the opportunity to win the Ligue 1 this weekend if they manage to defeat their opponents Saint-Etienne provided that Monaco lose against Nantes. It is just a matter of time before PSG win it because they were the favorites from the go. Monaco lost their teenage prodigy Mbappe to PSG as well as other crucial first team players who moved across Europe. Their rivals gained from Monaco’s loss as they lured their forward as well as adding a world class player in Neymar to their team. The only disappointment for them is their shambolic Champions League campaign which ended in an early exit. Will they learn from that experience and provide a good challenge in the next? Tell us why you think so in the comment section below.

Fishlock: England game not do or die

The 2019 Women’s World Cup qualifiers are around the corner and Wales are set to face England at St Mary’s Stadium on Friday, 6th of April, 2018. Wales are ranked 34th in the world rankings and are looking forward to using their underdog status to their advantage as they face the Lionesses. The fixture brings together two teams who are fighting for the top spot in the qualifiers with Wales lying top with 10 points and England just behind with 9 points having played a game less than the leaders.

Fishlock is quoted to having said, “This game is huge for us but it’s not do or die. We have four games to get where we want to get to and if we put everything into this game it might derail what we’ve got to do next.”

She said this after sensing the hype and atmosphere building up towards the match. She encourages her teammates not to get swirled up emotionally and lose focus in the match which is expected to bring a huge crowd. Fishlock has 108 caps for Wales already and is hopeful that her team will break the duck and finally qualify for a major tournament in the 2019 World Cup in France. Wales have not conceded yet in the qualifiers and are looking to get one over the English side that is ranked as the second-best team in the world. Friendships will be put on hold. Fishlock is desperate for Wales to qualify with her country such that she would trade all her individual accolades to do so if only she could. We hope this passion does not go to waste and that her teammates will help her dream come true.