Sports

Man City beat Man Utd in Community Shield penalty shoot-out

Published

2 years ago

August 10, 2024

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Manchester City avenged their FA Cup final defeat to Manchester United to lift the Community Shield 7-6 on penalties on Saturday, after a 1-1 draw at Wembley.

The game exploded into life in the final 10 minutes as Alejandro Garnacho gave United the lead before Bernardo Silva levelled in the 89th minute.

Pep Guardiola’s men then edged a marathon shoot-out as Jadon Sancho and Jonny Evans failed to score for United.

City have won the Premier League for a record four consecutive seasons but it is the first time in that run that they have won the season opener after defeats to Leicester, Liverpool, and Arsenal in the past three years.

The English champions were severely hampered by the absence of a series of key players due to their late return to pre-season after competing at Euro 2024 and the Copa America.

City’s England trio of Kyle Walker, John Stones and Phil Foden, as well as Spain midfielder Rodri are yet to return to training following their efforts in reaching the final of Euro 2024.

By contrast, United boss Erik ten Hag showed his desperation to win more silverware by thrusting teenager Kobbie Mainoo straight back into the heart of the action after his starring role for England in Germany.

Despite also leaving Kevin De Bruyne and Silva on the bench, City controlled the game early on with the electric Jeremy Doku causing havoc down the left.

James McAtee could be handed his chance to shine this season by Pep Guardiola with Julian Alvarez set to join Atletico Madrid.

And McAtee, who spent last season on loan at Sheffield United, was inches away from making his mark with a curling effort that came back off the post midway through the first half.

United Rue missed chances

Ten Hag’s job is widely believed to have been saved by beating City back in May and he will feel his side should have got the better of their rivals once more.

United were being starved of possession but still managed to create the better of the chances.

Amad Diallo should have gone for goal himself rather than trying to square to Bruno Fernandes with the goal gaping as half-time approached.

Fernandes started in an unfamiliar centre-forward role due to the absence of Rasmus Hojlund through injury and a lack of match fitness for Joshua Zirkzee.

The United captain thought he had opened the scoring with a stunning strike on the hour mark that was ruled out for offside.

Garnacho was introduced for the final half-hour and brought more pace and invention to the United attack.

The Argentine teed up Marcus Rashford, who could only hit the post with just Ederson to beat.

Garnacho thought he had won the game on 82 minutes as he jinked inside the City defence and fired low into the corner.

However, City rallied and levelled in the final minute of the 90 when Oscar Bobb’s cross was headed in by Silva.

The Portuguese midfielder was then the first to miss in the shoot-out as his effort was saved by Andre Onana.

Sancho, though, experienced more penalty woe at Wembley after missing in the final of Euro 2020 for England.

His spot-kick was brilliantly saved by Ederson, who then fired in himself to keep City alive.

Evans gave City the chance to win it when he blazed over.

And it was a tale of redemption for Manuel Akanji, whose saved penalty cost Switzerland in their Euros quarter-final against England, as the centre-back stroked home the winner.

AFP

Sports

WrestleMania 42: Nigerian wrestler Oba Femi beats 10-time WWE Champion Brock Lesnar

Published

5 days ago

April 20, 2026

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Nigerian professional wrestler, Isaac Odugbesan, popularly known as Oba Femi, defeated 10-time WWE Champion, Brock Lesnar, on his WrestleMania debut on Sunday.

The clash, one of the headline matches at WrestleMania 42, ended on a dramatic note as the 27-year-old Nigerian overpowered the veteran.

Lesnar left his wrestling gear in the ring after the match — a gesture widely regarded in professional wrestling as a sign of retirement.

Oba Femi, also known as “The Ruler,” is a former NXT champion and has spent just three months on WWE’s main roster.

The contest began with both wrestlers testing each other’s strength before Lesnar briefly seized control with a series of offensive moves.

However, Femi absorbed the pressure and responded with a dominant display, shifting momentum in his favour.

Lesnar delivered an F5, but Femi quickly recovered, hitting a chokeslam before finishing the contest with his “Fall From Grace” sit-out powerbomb for the pinfall victory.

The bout quickly became a major talking point on social media, with fans reacting to the upset win.

Femi, a former shot put athlete, is a two-time NXT Champion and a one-time NXT North American Champion.

Born in Lagos, Odugbesan competed in track and field during his school years before signing with WWE in 2021 through its NIL programme.

He went on to win the 2023 NXT Men’s Breakout Tournament and the 2024 Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge.

During the WrestleMania Sunday post-show, Femi sent a message to Roman Reigns, popularly known as the “Original Tribal Chief,” drawing a loud reaction from fans as he hinted at a possible title challenge before the end of the year.

Sports

BREAKING: CAF overturns Afcon final result, declares Morocco winner

Published

1 month ago

March 17, 2026

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The Confederation of African Football (Caf) has overturned the result of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals and declare MOROCCO the winner of the title.

Senegal beat Morocco 1-0 in the final on 18 January in a match which was overshadowed when the Senegalese players refused to play after the hosts were awarded a stoppage-time penalty with the match goalless.

Following a delay of around 17 minutes, the players did eventually return and Brahim Diaz’s penalty was saved before Senegal’s Pape Gueye scored an extra-time winner.

However, that result has now been overturned by CAF.

A statement by the African Football’s Governing Body said that Senegal are “declared to have forfeited the final match” with the “result of the match being recorded as 3-0 in favour” of Morocco.

Sports

FG fulfils promises as D’Tigress receive national honours, house documents

Published

1 month ago

March 17, 2026

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The Federal Government has fulfilled its outstanding promises to the senior women’s national basketball team, D’Tigress, delivering National Honour certificates and title documents for houses in Abuja.

The presentation took place in Lyon, where the African Champions are currently participating at the FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifying Tournament.

The move follows a directive from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu aimed at clearing a backlog of promises made to the team following their 2023 Afrobasket victory in Kigali, Rwanda.

The Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Mallam Shehu Dikko, led the delegation alongside the Director General, Hon. Bukola Olopade. Speaking during the handover, Dikko characterized the prompt delivery as a “clear departure” from previous administrations, where state-promised rewards often faced multi-year delays.

“This is a prompt fulfilment of promises made by a President who leads with action,” Dikko stated. “Mr. President is giving every Nigerian athlete a renewed confidence that sports is a serious business capable of changing lives.”

While the physical assets (housing and honours) have been delivered, the NSC Chairman confirmed that the cash rewards promised to the squad are currently in the final stages of administrative processing. He assured the players that disbursement into their respective bank accounts is imminent.

The Director General, Hon. Bukola Olopade, noted that the current administration of President Tinubu is institutionalizing a “reward system” modelled after developed sporting nations to ensure high-performance outcomes.

President of Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), Engr. Musa Kida, credited the Presidency for prioritizing athlete welfare, citing it as a “legacy of a lifetime” for the sports sector.

Head Coach Rena Wakama and Captain Amy Okonkwo formally accepted the documents, affirming that the timely delivery of these incentives would serve as a catalyst for the team’s upcoming international qualifiers.