Sports

Jesus’ brace help Arsenal beat Leicester City to maintain 100% start

Published

4 years ago

August 13, 2022

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Highly impressive Gabriel Jesus scored his first Premier League goals for Arsenal as the Gunners beat Leicester City in an entertaining encounter at Emirates Stadium.

The Brazilian striker, signed from Manchester City in the summer, scored twice before the break and missed several chances for a hat-trick as well assisting his side’s other goals.

William Saliba’s own goal early in the second half gave Leicester hope, but Granit Xhaka struck just two minutes later to restore Arsenal’s two-goal lead.

James Maddison again reduced the arrears, only for Gabriel Martinelli to quickly made it 4-2 as the Gunners maintained their 100% start to the season.

Leicester were awarded a penalty before half-time when Jamie Vardy and Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale collided, but the decision was overturned by referee Darren England after consulting with the video assistant referee.

After scoring, Jesus was twice thwarted by Leicester keeper Danny Ward before half-time, and the 25-year-old also hit the side-netting from close range with 10 minutes of the game to go.

While Jesus was never quite a second fiddle at City, where he scored 58 times in the Premier League, he is clearly relishing being the focal point of Arteta’s plans in north London.

He showed off different aspects of his talents on his home debut, producing a superb chip to open the scoring before showing more predatory instincts to latch on to a defensive header from Vardy to nod past Ward for his second.

Jesus was denied by Ward’s boot with his next chance and then stayed on his feet when he could easily have won a penalty under pressure from Jonny Evans, only to roll his shot just wide of the post – and all before the sides had returned to the dressing rooms for a break on a roasting hot day in the capital.

His neat touches set up Xhaka and Martinelli’s goals, yet Jesus will regret missing out on what would have been his second Premier League hat-trick when he shot into the side of the goal from close range.

His best league return for City was 14 goals in the 2019-20 season, but now installed as first-choice striker under Arteta, he could surpass that in an Arsenal set-up that promises to be highly entertaining.

The only question marks for the hosts were how they conceded when seemingly in control, but each time they hit back inside two minutes to suggest they have resilience as well flair.

Stuttering Leicester need strengthening

Leicester’s only signing of the summer so far came in the week leading up to this match, but the arrival of Alex Smithies on a free transfer as third-choice goalkeeper is not a move that will have set the hearts of Foxes fans racing.

The signs at Emirates Stadium were that Brendan Rodgers’ squad needs bolstering urgently, especially with rumours linking Wesley Fofana and James Maddison to Chelsea and Newcastle respectively.

And when Youri Tielemans was substituted after an hour, some Arsenal fans greeted his departure with a cheeky chant of “we’ll see you next week”.

But the starting line-up, unchanged from the draw with Brentford six days earlier, suggests this is just about Leicester’s first-choice selection – and if that is the case then they will need to improve to avoid a struggle this season.

The introduction of Kelechi Iheanacho gave the Foxes more bite, and his good work provided Maddison with the chance to size up Ramsdale before shooting between this legs to give his side hope again.

But another lapse at the back within a few seconds put the 2015-16 champions two goals down once more, and this time there was no way back.

BBC FOOTBALL

Sports

Nine African teams in World Cup last-32 round

Published

2 weeks ago

June 28, 2026

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Following the conclusion of the group stage, nine African countries have confirmed their places in round 32 of the 2026 World Cup.

Algeria and DR Congo are the latest teams from the continent to seal their last-32 ticket at the ongoing competition.

They join Morocco, South Africa, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Cape Verde, Ghana and Senegal in the business end of the competition, breaking the previous record of just two African teams at a World Cup knockout round.

Tunisia is the only country on the continent to qualify for the World Cup, but failed to progress beyond the group stage.

DR Congo qualified after earning their first-ever World Cup victory, 3-1 over Uzbekistan, in their last group stage match on Saturday in Atlanta. Yoane Wissa’s brace and Fislon Mayele’s strike helped the Leopard turn around a game that started disastrously for them.

The victory takes DR Congo to the top of the eight best third-placed teams, and they will face England next on Wednesday.

Algeria also managed to squeeze into the last 32 through the best losers’ route. A 3-3 draw against Austria in their final group game ensured they displaced Iran for the final slot.

Ghana also clung to the third-placed ladder to advance despite their 2-1 loss to Croatia in their last Group game. The Black Stars will face Colombia in the next round on July 3.

ROUND OF 32 FIXTURES (All Nigerian time)

South Africa vs Canada — June 28 — 8 pm — Los Angeles Stadium

Brazil vs Japan — June 29 — 6 pm — Houston Stadium

Germany vs Paraguay — June 29 — 9:30 pm — Boston Stadium

Netherlands vs Morocco — June 30 — 2 am — Estadio Monterrey

Ivory Coast vs Norway — June 30 — 6 pm — Dallas Stadium

France vs Sweden — June 30 — 10 pm — New York New Jersey Stadium

Mexico vs Ecuador — July 1 — 2 am — Mexico City Stadium

England vs DR Congo — July 1 — 5 am — Atlanta Stadium

Belgium vs Senegal — July 1 — 9 pm — Seattle Stadium

United States vs Bosnia and Herzegovina — July 2 — 1 am — San Francisco Bay Area Stadium

Spain vs Austria — July 2 — 6 pm — Los Angeles Stadium

Portugal vs Croatia — July 3 — 12 am — Toronto Stadium

Switzerland vs Algeria — July 3 — 4 am — BC Place, Vancouver

Australia vs Egypt — July 3 — 7 pm — Dallas Stadium

Argentina vs Cape Verde — July 3 — 11 pm — Miami Stadium

Colombia vs Ghana — July 4 — 2:30 am — Kansas City Stadium

Sports

Athletics Open: Amusan wins gold, sets new record in Taiwan

Published

1 month ago

June 6, 2026

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Nigerian and world women’s 100m hurdles world record holder, Tobi Amusan,on Saturday won the women’s 100m hurdles gold at the New Taipei Athletics Open in Taiwan.

Amusan struck gold ahead of Taiwanese duo Bo Ya Zhang, who settled for second place in 13.17s, and Yi Po-an took third place in 13.37s.

The 29-year-old’s winning time of 12.72s is also a new meeting record, chalking off 0.08s off the previous mark of 12.80s held by Nia Ali, US Olympic silver medalist and former world champion.

Amusan was dominant in the qualifiers for the final, blowing away the field in Heat 2, and continued the form in the final to deliver a swashbuckling race that thrilled the crowd.

She took the lead outright after the fourth hurdle, leaving Zhang behind.

The three-time Senior Africa Athletics Championship winner crossed the finish line before the last competing athlete cleared the final hurdle, to the amazement of screaming spectators.

It is the second consecutive race Amusan will break a meeting record this athletics season, she also broke her meeting record in the women’s 100m hurdles event at the Rabat Diamond League.

She has won three of five races this season, and has not failed to claim a podium finish.

Sports

Arsenal win EPL title after 22 years

Published

2 months ago

May 19, 2026

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Arsenal are English Premier League (EPL) champions after Manchester City failed to win at Bournemouth.

Pep Guardiola’s Man City drew 1-1 with Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium to hand Arsenal an unassailable four-point lead with just one match remaining to the end of the season.

The Gunners win the EPL title for the first time in 22 years, since the legendary Invincible side won it in the 2003/04 season.

In the club’s 100th season without relegation from the EPL, the club will celebrate its centenary participation with a league title won on the back of a record 28 EPL wins that surpassed the 26 wins recorded by the Invincibles. The defence prevented opponents from registering a shot on target in six matches, equaling a 23-year league record, and also scored a record 17 goals from corner kicks.

Mikel Arteta’s tough side has led the table for most of the season before a late mini-collapse, and Man City’s late surge in form nearly threatened their title ambition for a second season in a row.

City’s late resurgence, however, was initially stunned by Everton in early May and completely collapsed against Bournemouth.

Guardiola’s side visited the Vitality Stadium aware that any result other than a victory would seal Arsenal’s title. But they lacked the execution for the mission after falling to a wonderful strike from Junior Kroupi in the first half.

City were only kept in the game by Bournemouth’s profligacy in front of goal. When Erling Haaland’s equaliser was squeezed home in the eleventh hour of the game, even the most faithful City supporter knew it was too little, too late.

Arsenal and Arteta secured the league earlier than they would have predicted, giving City a prodigious title run-in.

The league triumph is Arteta’s second major title with the North London club since joining in December 2019, adding to the English FA Cup trophy won within six months of his tenure in May 2020.

The 44-year-old Spaniard wins his fourth title overall and can win his fifth — and third major trophy — with victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League final next weekend.