Category: Sports

After the conclusion of the first batch of the UEFA Champions League round of 16, the European football governing body has released the tournament’s team of the week.

In a publication on UEFA’s official website on Thursday, March 7, the football governing body announced that five players from Bayern Munich made the 2023-2024 UEFA Champions League team of the week.

Bayern Munich have the most players in the team of the week after overturning a 1-0 first-leg defeat in the Champions League round of 16 against Lazio. Recall that the German Bundesliga giants qualified for the quarter-final stage of the competition 3-1 on aggregate after defeating Lazio 3-0 at home.

Manchester City, the reigning champions of the tournament, have two players in the team of the week following their 6-2 aggregate win over Copenhagen.

Paris Saint Germain who knocked out Real Sociedad have just Kylian Mbappe in the team of the week.

Real Sociedad, RB Leipzig, and Copenhagen who have ended their journey in the campaign have a player each in the team.

Below is the 2023-2024 UEFA Champions League team of the week after the first batch of the round of 16:

Goalkeeper
Manuel Neuer (Bayern) – 6 points

Defenders
Manuel Akanji (Man City) – 13 points

Matthijs de Ligt (Bayern) – 10 points

Eric Dier (Bayern) – 7 points

Willi Orbán (Leipzig) – 11 points

Raphaël Guerreiro (Bayern) – 9 points

Midfielders
Mikel Merino (Real Sociedad) – 7 points

Mohamed Elyounoussi (Copenhagen) – 9 points

Forwards
Julián Álvarez (Man City) – 10 points

Harry Kane (Bayern) – 13 points

Kylian Mbappé (Paris) – 13 points

Note that the second (last batch) of the Champions League round of 16 will take place from Tuesday, March 12 to Wednesday, March 13.

The post Bayern Munich, Man City Dominate UEFA Champions League Team Of The Week appeared first on Naija News.

The manager of Chelsea, Mauricio Pochettino, has admitted that if he was a Chelsea fan, he wouldn’t have been happy with the current state of the club.

Chelsea who won the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup, and the FIFA Club World Cup, barely three seasons ago are totally a shadow of their former selves.

Last season, they finished below the top 6. This season, they are on the verge of doing the same as they currently sit in the 11th spot on the league table with 36 points in 26 games, after 10 wins, 6 draws, and 10 defeats.

This abysmal run has left Chelsea fans frustrated especially after throwing away a one-goal lead to draw 2-2 against Brentford on Saturday, March 2.

Pochettino who became the coach of the struggling Premier League giants ahead of the 2023-2024 season has noted that the club’s fans deserve to be frustrated as he admitted that his team has not been able to meet expectations.

“We need to accept the frustration,” Pochettino told reporters on Thursday.

“Maybe if I was a fan I’d be the same because we are not matching the expectation.

“We must be responsible for our performance and try hard to improve.”

Note that since Todd Boehly and his consortium took over the Premier League club in May 2022, the two-time Champions League winners have spent over £1 billion in signing new players.

Despite the huge investment in recruitment within the space of two seasons, Chelsea are yet to have anything to show for it.

Ahead of the Chelsea vs Newcastle United Premier League clash which is scheduled to take place at 9 p.m. on Monday, March 11, Pochettino pleaded for the club’s fans to support his team at Stamford Bridge against their visitors.

“We are suffering negativity but we can’t stop believing, we must keep believing and try to perform on Monday,” Pochettino said.

“I really believe we can succeed. Of course, we need our fans. We hope the fans will be behind us on Monday to help us win the game. That is so important for our players.

“We can believe that we can start to win games to get close to qualifying for Europe. The opportunity is there but if you give up belief we will go down [the league].”

The post Pochettino Admits He Wouldn’t Have Been Happy If He Was Chelsea’s Fan appeared first on Naija News.

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The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has denied reports that it appointed former Nigeria international Austin Eguavoen as an interim manager of the Super Eagles.

Naija News recalls that Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro stepped down at the weekend after the expiration of his contract.

Following Peseiro’s resignation, reports emerged in a section of the primary media and social media that the NFF had mandated Eguavoen to step in as the interim manager of the Super Eagles. Enyimba International coach Finidi George, who was Peseiro’s assistant to the recently concluded AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire, will serve as Eguavoen’s assistant until the NFF names a substantive manager for the Super Eagles.

But a source at the NFF told The Nation that such a report was a “joke.”

The source dismissed with a wave of the hand the purported Eguavoen’s link to the Super Eagles job, adding that the former national team captain is not even being considered to take over on an interim basis.

The source said: “There’s nothing for Eguavoen as far as I know, and, in fact, nobody ever mentioned him in any capacity for the Super Eagles,” the source said, adding that those thrusting Eguavoen forward for the job are only jokers.

“I think those guys are just joking. Nobody has mentioned Eguavoen as Super Eagles’ interim manager.”

The post NFF Denies Viral Report Of Eguavoen’s Appointment As Super Eagles’ Interim Coach appeared first on Naija News.

German Bundesliga club, Borussia Dortmund are not planning to keep Manchester United star, Jadon Sancho beyond this summer due to financial complications.

Jadon Sancho had the best of his football career at Borussia Dortmund between 2017 and 2021 before Manchester United signed him for a transfer fee worth €85 million.

He fell out with Manchester United coach, Erik Ten Hag in 2023 which forced the Dutch tactician to throw him out of the team because the 23-year-old winger refused to apologize for calling the coach a liar on social Media.

To save his football career, Manchester United agreed for him to return to Borussia Dortmund where he had the best time of his football career. The loan deal reportedly has a buy option.

Unfortunately, things have not worked out perfectly for Jadon Sancho despite playing more regularly than his last two seasons at Old Trafford.

He has made seven Bundesliga appearances in which he has provided two assists since he returned to Germany on January 11, 2024. But that is not convincing enough for Dortmund to give him a permanent deal no thanks to his big weekly wages which is believed to be over £250,000 per week.

“In the end, it will take money, a lot of money. Definitely more than we have at the moment,” Borussia Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl told German TV channel Sport1.

“We got over 80 million euros for Jadon. Manchester United will, of course, have an interest in either taking him back in the summer or selling him again in a deal that makes sense for them. Whether that also makes sense for us will be the next topic.”

The post Borussia Dortmund May Rule Out Permanent Deal For Jadon Sancho appeared first on Naija News.

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