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Liverpool suffered a defeat of no consequence in Toulouse

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A much changed Liverpool XI fall to the club's first defeat in the Europa League this season having been edged in a five goal thriller in France as it finished 3-2 to the host inside the Toulouse Stadium. Jurgen Klopp made series of changes to the starting XI in Luton on Sunday, with Caoimhin Kelleher replacing Alisson Becker in goal while only Joe Gomez, who started in left-back in the one all draw was the only member of the defence to feature. Kostas Tsmikas, Joel Matip and Jarrel Quansah made up the other three member of the four man defense. Alexis Mac Allister kept his place in the midfield in the company of Wataru Endo and Harvey Elliot. A completely new look attack comprised the trio of Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo and 17-year-old Scottish sensation Ben Doak, who made his second start in the competition having started in the 3-1 win away to LASK. Despite Liverpool enjoying a fair share of the possession earlier on, it was the host who drew the first blood six minutes after the half...

A chaotic Premier League weekend makes Man United's labored win 'golden'

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Bruno Fernandes scored a late winner in Craven Cottage to help Manchester United earn a vital three point against Fulham, ending a run of back-to-back defeats in domestic competitions. The same week, only United's city rival, Manchester City won of all the four clubs in the Premier League top five, with Tottenham Hotspur taking on Chelsea later on Monday night. Arsenal fall to their first league defeat at Newcastle United courtesy of a controversial second half goal through Anthony Gordon while Liverpool were held in a 1-1 draw by newly promoted Luton Town. Darwin Nunez missed a clear cut chance to give the Reds the lead and they were punished moments later as former Manchester United Academy player Tahith Chong scored on the break to give Luton the lead. Luis Diaz ensured Jurgen Klopp's men left Kenilworth Road with a point as he scored in the fifth minute of added time to level the score. Aston Villa fall to a first defeat in six games as Nottingham Forest pulled a very big u...
Bruno Fernandes scored a late winner in Craven Cottage to help Manchester United earn a vital three point against Fulham, ending a run of back-to-back defeats in domestic competitions. The same week, only United's city rival, Manchester City won of all the four clubs in the Premier League top five, with Tottenham Hotspur taking on Chelsea later on Monday night. Arsenal fall to their first league defeat at Newcastle United courtesy of a controversial second half goal through Anthony Gordon while Liverpool were held in a 1-1 draw by newly promoted Luton Town. Darwin Nunez missed a clear cut chance to give the Reds the lead and they were punished moments later as former Manchester United Academy player Tahith Chong scored on the break to give Luton the lead. Luis Diaz ensured Jurgen Klopp's men left Kenilworth Road with a point as he scored in the fifth minute of added time to level the score. Aston Villa fall to a first defeat in six games as Nottingham Forest pulled a very big u...

Ralf Rangnick proffered a permanent solution but United choose to make more casualties with Erik Ten Hag

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Ralf Rangnick appeared to have unraveled the puzzle at Manchester United during his short stint as the club's interim manager but the hierarchy did not take heed to his priceless advice. Albeit the German did not enjoy the best of time in the helm of affairs in Old Trafford, Rangnick, who had proven to be more of a administrative minded man prior to his appointment at the club did left blueprints that could have healed the club completely. Looking back and you'll realize it could have been more worth it had speculations of him becoming the club's Director after leaving the Coaching role come to pass. Even in his early days as a professional football coach, Rangnick did not have a reputation of thriving when the stake is high but he flourishes more in an environment that gives him the avenue to build from scratch. The notion was proven truth during his time at Stuttgart, Hannover and even Schalke, where he helped all these teams finesse nightmares into glamour. His appointme...

Eighth place Victor Osimhen set new standard for Nigeria in 2023 Ballon d'or

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Victor Osimhen has become the highest ranked Nigerian in the Ballon d'or history having finished eighth in the 2023 edition of the award. Napoli striker Osimhen broke the long standing achievement of Kanu Nwankwo, who finished 11th in the Ballon d'or ranking at the age of 20 in 1996 for performance with Ajax and Nigeria. Osimhen 24, won the Capocannoniere last season having scored 26 goals to finish top scorer in the Seri A while leading Napoli to a first Scudetto success in 33years. He also helped the club reach a first-ever UEFA Champions League quarter finals while also finishing top scorer in the 2023 AFCON qualifiers with ten goals, doubling the tally of the next player in the list. Osimhen became the eighth Nigerian to be nominated for the prestigious award that celebrates individual brilliance, when his name was included in the 30 man shortlist released in September. He comes after  • Finidi George (1995) • Daniel Amokachi (1995) • Austin Jay-Jay Okocha (1995) • Nwankwo ...

Doping in sports and the popular culprits in football

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Doping in sports is a huge crime as it damages its credibility, and athletes are viewed to have committed an offense when they test positive for illegal performance-enhancing drugs (PED). What is doping ? According to Merriam Webster defines doping as the use of a substance (such as an anabolic steroid or erythropoietin) or technique (such as blood doping) to illegally improve athletic performance. In sports, such action is regarded as cheat, and grave consequences always come with it. Not only that, but on the players' part and their safety, as in the long run, such substances have a long-lasting side effect on the health of the players. Why do athletes dope (take illegal performance-enhancing drugs (PED)) ? There are several reasons take illegal performance-enhancing drugs, and it also depends on the type of sports the athletes in question do. The majority of the reasons is to boost performance. Athletes are also tempted when injured and do not have enough time to recover before ...

A sign of what is to come but no excuse for Chelsea's late capitulation in the London derby

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Chelsea ended a run of three straight home defeats to Arsenal in an enthralling London derby match in the Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening. While many will see it as a positive omen for the host, which is rightly so, it was very poor game management by both the players and the manager to allow the visitors snatch a point later on the night. Arsenal was there for the taking. It was the worst display by Mikel Arteta's side in recent years and despite having a two goal cushion, Mauricio Pochettino's side were unable to see out the win from a very comfortable position. Cole Palmer and Mykaylo Mudryk continue to show signs of finally settling into their rhythm under Mauricio Pochettino, much to the delight of the home support as the Blues were all over their rival from the North for the first 70 minutes in the Bridge. Both players also scored in either half, with Mykaylo Mudryk scoring his first ever Chelsea goal in the Stamford Bridge with a wonderful cross-cum-shot, which caugh...