OLT SPORTS

Creativity in a team's play is highly underrated. Football has gone past the pass and shoot age, or playing long balls and hoping your strikers get them, with creativity, football has been evolved to a whole new level with tactical plays giving it more sauce. Martin Ødegaard loan move to Arsenal awaits official confirmation. Photo Credit: Twitter   Yes, certain managers and teams have been able to build a different styles of plays over the ages, But it is kind of difficult to create goals without your midfield. Especially the Central attacking midfield players. About seven years ago, a certain Norwegian, 16 year old kid was able to burst into scene when he represented his country Norway in an international match. He is fantastic , no doubt, so much that European heavyweights vie for his signature. In the end, it was Real Madrid who won the battle. Odeegaard, 22, is a talented left-footed playmaker and because of his age and the nature of his parent club, Real Madrid, he has been su

Liverpool, under Jurgen Klopp have never made it past the fifth round of the Emirates FA Cup, and have been eliminated in the fourth round this year by Manchester United. Liverpool's poor form pounced on by Manchester United to eliminate The Reds from the FA Cup. Photo Credit: Twitter/ Liverpool FC Liverpool's poor form continued on Sunday evening when they were bundled out of the Emirates FA Cup by Manchester United at Old Trafford. The Red have never made it past the round five in six tries, bowing out to West Ham United, Wolverhampton Wonderers and West Bromwich Albion in Klopp's first three seasons in the fourth rounds. It was Wolves again in the 2018-19 season, beating Liverpool 2-1 in the third round. It was a 2-0 loss to Chelsea last season that ended their FA Cup run, it was the first and only time they made it to the fifth round under Jurgen Klopp. This season, Manchester United are on hand to capitalize on their recent poor performance to book a place in the fifth

Chelsea Football Club are set to appoint Thomas Tuchel as the club's new manager after the sacking of Frank Lampard, earlier today in the aftermath of the recent poor performances. Chelsea are close to announcing Thomas Tuchel as the new manager. Photo Credit: Twitter Thomas Tuchel will arrive in London just few weeks after being dismissed by PSG - Paris Saint German after the club could no longer endure their slow start to the league season under the German. Tuchel, 47, has oversaw 451 games, winning 255 and losing 106 while managing Borrusia Dortmund and Mainz in the BundesLiga, and PSG- Paris Saint German, recently in the French top-flight. The German has won seven trophies as a manager, with six coming in his time in France with PSG, while his other title was the DFB-Pokal won with Borussia Dortmund in the 2016-17 season. He took PSG to their first UEFA Champions League final last season, but was unfortunate to be on the losing end in Lisbon to Bayern Munich. Tuchel is one of t

It is always going to be a bigger responsibility taking over as the manager at an elite football club. Being a legend of this club makes the fans love to want to give one of their own a chance. A lot of teams have tried this, and works well for some well known teams. Underfired Chelsea manager Frank Lampard. Photo Credit: Twitter/ Goal Being a novice in this field, was never a subject of discussion among Chelsea faithfuls, when the club appointed her legend Frank Lampard as the manager at the end of 2018-19 season, when Maurizio Sarri was dismissed from his post. Every club with her own tradition, and for Chelsea, success is expected of a new manager from the off, as evidence with past managers of this football club, but owing to the situation last term, as the club were serving transfer ban, Frank Lampard was hailed for his fourth place finish in the league, as the season ended without a silverware, after losing two finals. The Englishman has been exposed this season after an eventful

Back when Los Blancos splashed out so much in the mid of the 2000's, barcelona still dominated them locally. Yes, Real have always been known for spending big but has it really worked out in recent years ? Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane. Photo Credit: Twitter Ever since Zenedine Zidane's wonder goal won them the Champions League against Bayer Leverkusen in 2002, Real Madrid had to wait 12 years later before they could get an European silverware after being knocked out seasons after seasons by teams that never even spent half of what they did, and even see their Spanish counterpart, Barcelona win the trophy three times and consecutive league titles, whilst the later relied mostly on her academy players, then. In comparison, Los Merengues had to shatter their transfer record twice yet, had no success in the Champions League. Maybe the time money does it all is gone. The art of football will never come with money. For Barcelona, Leo Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandes and

Spanish giants, Real Madrid are arguably the best European Club, owing to their achievement in the past and the present. Los Blancos have won the more European Champions League titles than any other team, while accumulating a good number of local ones too. Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane. Photo Credit: Twitter/ Footy Mercato They were one of the best sides that dominated in the 20th century. Their domination was thanks to their Galactico policy, as they signed players with exceptional talents to make up a squad of players. Recently, the evolvement of football has halted their domination as football clubs have integrated in their style of play and most of the teams now work and depend on team plays and recognized football DNA, which makes it difficult for teams depending on a certain player's brilliance. Since winning the league in the 2007-08 season, Real Madrid added three more in twelve seasons. This happened due to the tiki taka approach employed by FC Barcelona, who won eight

When it comes to the German duo, almost every individual turns into a football analyst because the belief of people, when Chelsea splashed the cash last summer was that both will hit the ground running, owning to their stellar performances in the concluded season. Timo Werner and Kai Havertz have endured a slow start to life at Chelsea and have put Frank Lampard under pressure. Photo Credit: Twitter/ Talk Sports That would not be too much to ask anyways as Chelsea under Frank Lampard last season were fair enough despite their inability to add players, still manage to make the top four finish and were unlucky to be the beaten finalist in The Emirates FA Cup at Wembley. After addressing what could be seen as their weakness in the summer, and even added extra legs, Chelsea have found themselves in a situation which they may not have foreseen, when they played the last of their seventeen games unbeaten at normal time across all competitions this season which took place between September 23

Every football fan at the beginning of this season would have thought that Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte would become the ideal centre back combination for Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, but the future had it's plans. Manchester City's John Stones is now showing the form that made the club sign him from Everton. Photo Credit: Twitter/ WhoScored Laporte, sidelined for weeks, Manchester City had to try a different alternative. Yes, Nathan Ake would have been the next guess, but despite been give the opportunity to play, it is the Young Englishman that has taken his chances well. With Dias and John Stones stamping their authority at the heart of defence for Manchester City, The Citizens have finished over 80% of their matches with a clean sheet. Fascinating. Portuguese defender, Ruben Dias may deserves more of the credits, but while checking Dias' matches with other CB pairings, the defensive records hasn't been so nice, conceding five in a match against Leicester C

Premier League club Everton have confirmed Colombian International James Rodriguez arrived from Real Madrid last summer on a free transfer. James Rodriguez of Everton. Photo Credit: Twitter The 29year old signed a two year contract with an option of one more with the Merseyside club in September last year and a lot has been said on how much The Toffees paid for the golden playmaker. The club have now confirmed that they did not pay any transfer fee to Spanish giants, Real Madrid for the signature of James, who was frustrated at Real Madrid and wanted out at all means. The former Monaco midfielder made a good start to life in England having contribute to six league goals (three goals, three assists) but injuries have interrupt his season and his performance has slow down in recent weeks but his impacts see the club currently sitting fifth in the league. Afolabi Kehinde Hassan

Liverpool have been far below the standard they have set in the last two seasons so far this campaign and this fact has been obscured by their misfortunes with injuries and Covid. Joel Matip of Liverpool down injured in a Premier League match. Photo Credit: Sport Mole Jurgen Klopp's side have racked up 33 points after 17 league games this season, their worst tally at this stage since the last couple of seasons. In the 2018-19 season when The Reds eventually finished the season in a disappointing second place, they have scored 45 points at this stage of that season, winning 14 of the games and drawing just three. They have also scored 37 goals compared to the 34 of this season, yet they never score seven in a game as they did against Crystal Palace this season. In their title winning campaign last season, 49 points has been earned at this stage and a total of 42 goals scored, with the likes of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander Arnold proving a thorn for

Robert Holding has signed a new contract with Arsenal which will keep him at the club for at least 2024. Rob Holding (middle) signing his contract extension with Arsenal. Photo Credit: Facebook/ Arsenal The 25 year old, who joined The Gunners in 2016 for £2m from Bolton Wonderers has been an ever present figure at the club, and is becoming more a regular starter in recent months. The England international has form a solid partnership with summer signing Gabriel Magalhaes and is also thriving alongside Spanish defender, Pablo Mari, who takes the place of Gabriel due to Covid-19. Four games shy of making his 100th senior team appearance for the club, Rob Holding has shown patient since his arrival and is now reaping the dividends of his wait. Credits to the former Bolton Wonderers defender though, as he has make good use of the opportunities presented to him. Rob Holding of Arsenal in a FA Cup final against Chelsea in 2017. Photo Credit: Facebook/ Arsenal Having gone ahead of the like of

When Manchester City legend David silva left the Premier League club last summer, virtually most thought the club should be in market to sign a replacement as there were options in the market. Phil Foden celebrates scoring against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup. Photo Credit: Twitter/ Phil Foden However, Pep Guardiola decided to trust in Phil Foden to fill the space left by the vacated magician, thereby saving the club a possible £50m worth of transfer fee. The beauty of football at the feet of certain players just makes it look like the greatest achievement mother earth has ever made. At 20, Young Phil Foden is taking the world at large by storm. Consistent displays and brilliance with the ball on the pitch, Phil Foden has been able to score eight goals, and assist three more in all competitions, yet, we are yet to play half of the games this season.   The amazing fact in this beautiful run is despite the fact that he has played a handful of games, he never ceases to perform way above exp

All the Premier League big boys made it into the fourth round of the Emirates FA Cup and it will not be getting any easier as teams get confirmation of their opponents in the next round and the possible opposition in the rounds that follows. The Emirates FA Cup Trophy. Photo Credit: Twitter/ Emirates FA Cup Defending champions Arsenal will be on the road against either of Southampton or Shrewsbury Town. The Gunners see off Newcastle United in the previous rounds thanks to impressive extra time showing, winning 2-0 after 120 minutes of football match. Southampton were scheduled to take on League One side, Shrewsbury Town on Saturday night but the game was postponed due to Covid-19 outbreak at Shrewsbury. The match will now be rescheduled to be played before fourth round fixtures begin. Else, Shrewsbury Town will forfiet a chance to make it to the next round.  The winner of this fourth round fixture will meet either of Chorley or Wolverhampton Wonderers. Non league side Chorley, who knoc

Lionel Messi (48) surpasses Cristiano Ronaldo (47) in club free-kick goals as Barcelona run riot against Granada. Lionel Messi celebrates with Antoine Griezmann against Granada. Photo Credits: Twitter/ Barcelona Antoine Griezmann was at the heart of things as clinical Barcelona beat Granada to go three points shy of Real Madrid, who played a goalless draw at Osasuna over the weekend. The Catalans took the lead in the 12th minute after Sergio Busquest's pass deflects off Roberto Soldado. The lead was doubled five minutes after the half hour mark when Granada lose possession and the ball finds Griezmann, who teed up Leo Messi as the Argentine scored his 10th league goal of the season. Messi got his second of the night with a scrumptious free-kick before the break, taking him ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo for most free-kick scored in club competition. Antoine Griezmann finally put a nail in the coffin three minutes after the hour mark, connecting with a dinked cross from Ousmane Dembele

Cristiano Ronaldo becomes the only player to score at least 15 goal in each of the last 15 seasons as Juventus overcome the resistance of Sassuolo to claim maximum points in Turin. Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring the third goal as Juventus beat Sassuolo 3-1 at the Alianz Stadium in Turin. Photo Credits: Twitter/ Faisal HQ Sassuolo were reduced to 10men late in the first half after Pedro Obiang lounges in and caught Federico Chiesa by the ankle, and the after referee Davide Massa reviewed the incidence on the VAR, changed the first awarded yellow to red card. Danilo gave Adrea Pirlo's side the lead five minutes after restart, unleashing a wonderful strike from 18 yards out. However, the lead lasted only eight minutes as Martinique international Gregoire Defrel, who makes his 100th appearance for Sassuolo leveled up with a sliding shot after connecting with the pass from Hamed Traore. Juventus were rewarded for their dominance in the closing stages as fatigue set in for 10man Sa

It is no coincidence that Arsenal came back to life immediately Emile Smith Rowe started his first Premier League game against Chelsea in December. Emile Smith Rowe celebrates scoring for Arsenal in a FA Cup win over Newcastle United on Saturday. Photo Credits: Twitter/ Arsenal The Arsenal Academy graduate has been sensational for the Gunners even in his cameos in Europa League games after returning from the sidelines. The 20year old made his first appearance of the season in a 3-0 Arsenal win over Molde in the Europa League, replacing Alexander Lacazette with 15 minutes left and assisting Folarin Balogun for Arsenal's third on the night. He came on for Alexander Lacazette, when Rapid Wien visit The Emirates and scored Arsenal's fourth, just three minutes off the bench. Emile Smith Rowe got his first start in the final group game of the Europa League and assisted Mohamed Elneny's goal in a 4-2 Arsenal win. Being a creative midfielder, lacking in Mikel Arteta side in the lea

Arsenal might have identified the perfect player to satisfy their long for creativity in the middle of the park with Norwich City's Emiliano Buendia. Emiliano Buendia has been at the top of his game since the last four seasons. Photo Credit: Twitter/ BBC Sports The Argentine has been a revelation since joining Norwich City in the Championship from Getafe in the summer of 2018, winning the English Championship and hence, gained promotion to the top-flight while displaying some remarkable performances. The former Getafe man had contributed to 20 goals in 38 Championship appearances in the 2018-19 season, eight goals, 12 assists, and was voted third best player at the club in the ending of the season awards. Unfortunately, the 24 year old and Norwich went down in their first season in the Premier League as toothless Norwich City were relegated back to the Championship. However, Buendia did made his mark as his 83 chances created was only bettered by Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish and

Prospects don't come better than that. When you have a 19 year old kid doing wonders, singlehandedly carrying your team, its either your team has big issues, or that kid is simply fantastic. Bukayo Saka celebrates scoring Arsenal's third goal in the 3_1 win over Chelsea. Photo Credits: Twitter/ Bukayo Saka But when a kid is way past fantastic, then you have "Bukayo Saka". The English teenager has proven to us that despite situations of his team, the ability to stand out amongst peers is what makes you a better player. Arsenal still don't know what treasure they have. With elegant touches, and beautiful movement with the ball, Bukayo Saka is a joy to watch, but what makes him better is his Versatility and ability to adapt to different football positions well. Saka has played as a left back, right and left winger, side midfielder, yet he is only 19.  Bukayo Saka has continued where he left off last season and has been crucial for Arsenal this season. Photo Credits: