Valencia Ends Barcelona's Goals Scoring Carnival, Force Barca To A 1-1 Draw

Photo:www.goolfm.net

Valencia played host to Barcelona in a heated league match that ended 1-1. The first 45 minutes ended in a Goaless draw before Suarez scored for Barca in the 59 minutes and in the 85 minutes, Santi Mina scored the equalizing goal for Valencia.

Barcelona have so far enjoyed winning with high margin in their last four matches, which comprised of the UEFA Champions league, Primers league and Copa Del Rey, scoring twenty goals in just four matches.

Barcelona beat Roma 6-1 in Champions League, beat Madrid and Real Sociedad 4-0 each in the primera league and beat Villanovense 6-1 in the Copa Del Rey.

Despite the draw, Barca still remain on top of the La liga table, two points clear off Athletico Madrid, who are currently second on the table.

Mali Beat Egypt To Help Dream Team Qualify For Knockout Stage!

Photo: www.naij.com

The U-23 Eagles have qualified to the semifinal stage of the U-23 CAF African Cup of nations after playing a Goaless draw with Algeria.

Both teams qualified with five points each, thanks to Mali who helped the duo qualify with ease, after beating Egypt 1-0. Algeria will top the group on goal difference, while Nigeria will be runners up.

Algeria and Nigeria both needed a win to guarantee themselves of the top spot in the group, while Egypt also needed a win to keep the hope alive, but losing to Mali was the surest way of joining Mali out of the tournament.

Nigeria will meet host Senegal in the semifinal, while Algeria take on South Africa. Both matches will be played on December 9. Winners will get automatic tickets to the Rio 2016 Olympics, while the winner in the third place play-off will also qualify for the Olympics.

Bournemouth Beat Chelsea At Stamford Bridge To Move Out Of Relegation Zone

Photo:bleacherreport.com

Bournemouth shocked Chelsea to score in the 82nd minutes of the match and beat Chelsea with a lone goal to move out of relegation zone.

This is not just shocking but embarrassing as Mourinho's men failed to score a goal at Stamford Bridge to at least get a draw.

Chelsea is yet to win two league matches in a month since the beginning of this season, losing again at Stamford is a clear indication that the trend may continue in the month of December and this is really bad for a defending champion.

Bournemouth have joined the list of teams that got the maximum three points needed at Stamford Bridge.

Leicester City Move To The Top Of Premiership After Mauling Swansea 0-3

Photo:www.bbc.co.uk

Leicester City defeated Swansea City 0-3 to go to top of the English Premier league. Thanks to hat-trick coming from Mahrez who ensured the team go back to the top.

Manchester City who were on top earlier lost to Stoke City by 2-0, the need for Leicester to climb back to the top became imperative as only a win was needed and Ranieri men did the needful.

West Ham Force Manchester United To Goaless Draw At Old Trafford

Photo:www.telegraph.co.uk

Manchester United were forced to a barren draw by West Ham United at Old Trafford after 90 minutes of play.

Van Gaal men made series of goal attempts but none yielded the desired result, as West Ham were conscious in curtailing the United attack.

Stoke Shock Manchester City, spoil Iheanacho party

Photo:www.fox sports.com

Stoke City beat Manchester City 2-0 at Britannia stadium, with two goals coming from Marko Anautovic in the first half.

Stoke were in total control of the game, outplaying a Manchester City that was without an attack that was determined to score. Kelechi Iheanacho's introduction in the second half of the game contributed nothing to the attack as Stoke had permanently caged the attack of Manchester City.

Stoke City created several chances to increase the tally, but poor finishing denied them the opportunity to do the needful.

I Abandoned Jose Mourinho's Offer For Pep Guardiola - Douglas Costa

Photo:www.90min.com

Douglas Costa has revealed recently that he abandoned Mourinho's offer in place of Pep Guardiola.

The former Shakhtar Donetsk player informed that he admired Mourinho and wanted to go to Stamford Bridge, but when Pep came for my signature, I did not think twice.

I made conscious effort to join Bayern due to Guardiola's presence, because I know I will learn more from him and Bayern, he told goal.com.

Iheanacho Can Replace Aguero - Pellegrini

Photo:www.football365.com

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini said Kelechi Iheanacho can take the place of Aguero who is currently injured and out for some time.

Manchester City will be playing Stoke City today without Aguero and Wilfred and Kelechi Iheanacho is the best option to make a replacement for the team. "We are not buying in January he told goal.com but what we are concerned about now is how to replace the injured players with what we have.

Pellegrini further said that Manchester City
has what it takes to get the best players in the world. City is currently trying to get Barcelona's Lionel Messi and will not give up on it, and there are speculations that the club is also trying to get Pep Guardiola to Etihad.

Conditions For U-23 To Qualify To The Knockout Stage

Photo: www.goal.com

As the team prepare to play their last group match against Algeria, we present to you the conditions under which Dream Team will Qualify.

U-23 Eagles will qualify if:
(1) They beat Algeria outrightly; Or
(2) They draw Algeria and Mali beat Egypt; Or
(3) They lose to Algeria and Mali beat Egypt;  Or
(4) They lose to Algeria and Egypt draw Mali;

1. They will NOT qualify if:

(1) They lose to Algeria and Egypt beat Mali, Or
(2) They draw Algeria and Egypt beat Mali.

Madrid Sacked From Copa Del Rey For Fielding Ineligible Player

Photo:www.today.ng

Real Madrid have been expelled from the Copa Del Rey Cup, for fielding an ineligible player. Madrid fielded Denis Cheryshew who received three yellow cards last season while on loan to Valencia in same tournament.

The rule does not allow such a player to play in the first match of the next season. Madrid was also fined the sum of €6,001 in line with the provisions of article 76 of the disciplinary code, Madrid will have 10 days to appeal to the decisions.

Siasia Has Never Had A Smooth Ride In Group Stage Matches.

Photo: the eagle on line.com.ng

First, let me start by saying  that only three teams will qualify for the Olympics, meaning that first, second and third will qualify, and for you to qualify you must have played in the Semi- final of the tournament, that is the first stage.

Interestingly, Nigeria is currently struggling to qualify from the group stage, and this is Samson Siasia's usual style of play in group stages. In Holland 2005 when Siasia was in charge, the U20 qualified with four points, finishing second behind Brazil who topped the group with seven points. The team then drew Brazil 0-0, lost to South Korea 1-2, and eventually beat Switzerland 3-0  to qualify.

In Beijing 2008, the then dream team waited for the last day of match to win and eventually qualified with seven points finishing top, Siasia said then that he must qualify and finish first because he wanted to avoid playing Argentina in the knockout stage. In 2009, the then U-20 lost two matches to Venezuela and Spain and managed to qualify with three points as best losers, and that was Siasia's worst performance in a group stage.

I am not in anyway trying to justify that this process is good irrespective of what comes out of the match against Algeria tomorrow, but I just need to point out that something is technically wrong with the defence of this team. How can we take a lead in first half in two straight matches and in the second half something unusual happens? Why should this be? And for how long will this continue?

Anyway, Siasia should gather his technical crew and look critically at this case,even if it will require adapting a style of continuous scoring more goals as a form of defence rather than conceding and not being able to score in the second half. Trust Nigerians, all they know is Qualify! Qualify!! Qualify!!! If you don't qualify, the next thing is s**k.

Asia Plans To Rule The World In Female Football

Photo:FIFA.COM

Asia is set to rule the World as far as female football is concerned. In 1991 China PR hosted the maiden edition of the FIFA Women World Cup welcoming the entire world to her country. In 2011, Japan won the FIFA Women's World Cup. In 2015 Japan reached the final , while Asia had three teams in the quarter final, confirming that they have put the structure on ground to rule the world.

Presently, there are lots of grassroots developmental programmes going on in Asia with the hope of making the continent, monopolize women football. Female Coaches have met and if the programmes they put on ground materializes, the semifinal of women World Cup will be having at least two countries from Asia.

FIFA Acting President Issa Hayatou Falls Asleep

Photo:thebiglead.com

FIFA acting President Issa Hayatou surprised everyone during a FIFA meeting, when the 69 years old football administrator abandoned proceedings of meeting and slept off.

It will be recalled that FIFA President Sepp Blatter was suspended due to ongoing corruption investigation cases, and Hayatou was appointed to act in that capacity.

Since his appointment as Acting FIFA President, Hayatou had probably been restless and involved in several meetings which probably was not part of his programme earlier, and as such got so tired that the poor man had to sleep off during meeting not minding that the cameras were probably focused on him.

It will be recalled that Hayatou contested as FIFA President in 2002 and lost to Sepp Blatter,he is the first FIFA President to sleep while on duty.

FIFA Ranking: Oliseh Drag Super Eagles To 66th Position In FIFA Ranking

                                               Photo:goal.com

The Super Eagles of Nigeria are currently 66 position in FIFA ranking and 14 in Africa, according to the latest FIFA ranking for men football.

As at September, the Eagles were 53, in October they moved upward to 52 and dropped again to 59 in November. However, the team have dropped drastically from 59 to 66 position in the world, making the team among the worst movers in the month.

Super Eagles are yet to play Egypt who are currently 57 position on the FIFA ranking in a two legged qualifier, and the outcome of that match could to a large extent determine the position Nigeria will take in the future.

SAD NEWS: Barcelona Prepare To Sell Messi, Neymar and Suarez Due To Financial Crisis

                                          Photo:itv.com

The management of FC Barcelona are preparing to sell the trio of Messi, Neymar and Suarez. This is due to the fact that the wage paid on the three players account for 73 % of the club's revenue and the club is in serious financial battle The Sun reports.

It will be recalled that coach Luis Enrique kept the trio on bench in Barca's 6-1 defeat of Villanovense and this could mean that the club could win without the trio. Manchester City and Manchester United have shown great interest in the deal.

Messi, Neymar and Suarez are assets to the club, and they will be missed by the club as they played very significant role in Barca's winning of the treble of Champions League, League and Copa del Rey.

Barcelona Beat Villanovense 6-1: Messi, Neymar, Suarez Not Part of Action

Photo: article.an.com

Barcelona beat Villanovense 6-1 to progress to the round of sixteen of the 2015/2016 Copa del Rey.

The trio of Messi, Neymar and Suarez were conspicuously missing in action as coach Enrique opted to try younger players from the Barca team B.

Alves opened the scoring in the fourth minute to put Barca ahead, Sandro scored a hat-trick while Munir scored a brace, making the Catalans ride over their opponent easily.

Barcelona has scored twenty goals in four consecutive matches, inclusive of league, Champions League and Copa del Rey.

Liverpool Demolish Southampton At St. Mary's Stadium

Photo: bleacher report.com

Liverpool beat Southampton 1-6 in the fifth round of the Capital One cup, with Divock Orgi scoring a hat-trick.

The defeat is Liverpool's ever biggest league cup victory against any top flight club. It was total demolition of Southampton at St. Mary's stadium and Klopp was very pleased with that.

Kenya, South Africa, Ethiopia Leads in All-Time Olympic Medals

Photo:
As the 2016 Olympics gathers momentum, Sports Intelligence take you round the performance of Africa's All-Time top 10 at the Olympics.

S/N   COUNTRY        GOLD. SILVER. BRONZE
1.      Kenya.                 24.        33.         29.
2.      South Africa.      23.        26.         27
3.      Ethiopia.              21.        7.           17
4.      Egypt.                   7.          9.           10
5.      Morocco.              6.         5.            11
6.      Algeria.                5.          2.            8
7.      Nigeria.                3.          8.           12
8.      Zimbabwe.          3.          4.            1
9.      Tunisia.                3.          3.            4
10.    Cameroon.          3.          1.            1

Nigeria will need a miracle to meet up with Algeria and Morocco in the 2016 Olympics.

Nike Is Set To Dump Ronaldo For Neymar

                                            Photo:goal.com


One of the World leading Sports Kit manufacturing and Marketing companies Nike, are set to abandon Real Madrid Star Cristiano Ronaldo, For Neymar Da Silva of Barcelona.

According to Spanish financial Newspaper  El Economist, Nike are patiently waiting for Ronaldo's contract with them to expire so that they can change the brand with a younger and promising player.

Ronaldo is 30, while Neymar 23 and age seem not to be on the side of Ronaldo anymore. This calls for a replacement and Neymar is been tipped as the new brand ambassador of Nike. Neymar is among the final three nominees for Ballon D'or

Shocking: Barcelona To Pay Neymar's Former Club £1.4m For Neymar's Nomination In Ballon D'or

                                            Photo: ESPN

Barcelona will pay Santos FC of Brazil the sum of £1.4 million which is part of one of the clauses included in his contract if nominated amongst the final three for the Ballon D'or.

Neymar was nominated alongside Messi and Ronaldo and the terms of the contract need tobe quickly looked at. The said sum is not related to Neymar winning the Ballon D'or but with his enlistment in the final three.

Lionel Messi is favourite to win, but critics have argued that Messi and Ronaldo have so far monopolized the award in the past seven years. Hence, if this criticism is going to influence voters, Neymar is likely to get the award.

Those expected to vote in the award are National team coaches of countries, Captain of National sides and Media representatives from each country.

World Best Coach 2015: Two Former Barcelona Players Clash

Photo: www.the national.ae

FIFA has released the final list of the three coaches that would contest for the 2015 World Best Coach. They are Jorge Sampaoli national team coach of Chlie, Luis Enrique Barcelona Coach and Pep Guardiola Bayern Munich Coach.

Interestingly, two former Barcelona players, Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique will be at logger heads to decide on who win the individual award.

Guardiola guided Bayern to win a title in 2015, which is the German Bundesliga. While Enrique guided Barcelona to win the clubs third treble of League, Coppa del Rey and UEFA Champions League title. Barca also won the UEFA super cup with Enrique.

All roads will lead to Zurich on January 11, 2016, to decide if any of these former team mates would win this award or leave it for Sampaoli, who guided Chile to win the world's oldest football tournament Copa America.

It also worthy to mention that this is the first time Luis Enrique and Jorge Sampaoli will be nominated for the award, while Pep Guardiola have won it on two occasions.

Angers Hold PSG To Goaless Draw, Cavani Failed to Score

Photo:www.101greatgoals.com

The match between Angers and Paris Saint Germain ended in a goaless draw, in what bookmakers had predicted that PSG will win.

The absence of Zlatan was felt in the game as Cavani who was the point man, failed to deliver his side by scoring a single goal.

Cavani has scored a total of 42 goals in 78 appearances for PSG which is an average of 0.5 goal per match, within 2013-2015, and this is not really good for a proclaimed worlds class striker.

Kelechi Iheanacho Scores As Manchester City Defeat Hull City 4-1

Photo: goal.com

Super Eagles and Manchester City forward Kelechi Iheanacho has put his name on the score sheet for his club, as they maul Hull City 4-1 in the quarter final round of the Capital One Cup.

Manchester City took the lead in twelfth minutes through a goal scored by Wilfred Bony, and score line remained 1-0 by half- time.

Hull City proved to be a hard nut to crack in the second half, until Kelechi Iheanacho broke into their defense in the 80' minutes and scored the second goal, before De Bruyne scored a brace in the 82 and 87 minutes respectively.

When the Eagles were SUPER!

Photo:goal.com

This was the team that skyrocketed Nigeria to no 5 in FIFA ranking in the world. The highest FIFA ranking any African country has reached.

(1) How many of the players here have handled any Nigeria national team as a coach?
(2) Mention the names of the players and all the national sides they have handled?

Chelsea Fan Plan End of Year Party...

Photo:YouTube

An ardent Chelsea fan based in Lagos has planned to host all Chelsea fans as a way of formally saying good bye to the year 2015.

Mr. Alex who reside in Lagos disclosed this exclusively to Sports Intelligence, but also pointed that terms and conditions will apply.

He said, 'we are looking at December 30, just as we are yet to conclude arrangement with venue. Alex further pointed that admission shall strictly be by complete Chelsea attire and i am sure that only true Chelsea fan will wear our jersey, particularly in this period of trial.

The chief host further pointed that although Chelsea is not doing well this season as they are currently 15 on the table, the party may take place irrespective of Chelsea performance.

Ronaldo Will Not Leave Madrid For Benitez, He Will Retire in Madrid

Photo: daily news service.co.uk

Speculations have been on that Ronaldo will leave Madrid for another club, but recent happening proved otherwise.

Ronaldo's agent Mendez confirmed to French TV that Ronaldo will retire in Real Madrid, despite speculations in the Press that he will be going to  Manchester United, PSG or Monaco.

Although Ronaldo has been under preforming since Benitez took over as new Manager of the club, this is not enough for him to leave.

The 30 years old Ballon D'or winner has a contract that keeps him at Madrid till 2018, and he hopes to stay and finish his contract Mendez told French TV.

However, Madrid have a tradition of not keeping players for long and retirement as what interests the club is results. Iker Casillas was one of the players that everyone thought would retire in Madrid, but he woke up one day and found himself in Porto.

Ronaldo will need to up his performance in goal scoring and help his club win titles, as this is important to Madrid.

Today In History West Ham Beat Chelsea 3-1

Photo:www.dailystar.co.uk

December 1 will be ever memorable in the hearts of West Ham fans as that was the day they defeated Chelsea 3-1 in the year 2012. On October 24, 2015, West Ham having gathered confidence from the December 1 2012 defeat mauled Chelsea again by 2-1.

Spanish Laliga Players Have Dominated World Football!

Photo: world sport.blogs.cnn.com

Players plying their trade in the Spanish Laliga have dominated the Ballon D'or in the last eight years.

The last time a player from the English premier league made it to the final list was in 2008, and that was when Ronaldo was in Manchester United. He eventually won it and moved to Real Madrid as though he was told that he will not emerge again if he remained there.

In 2014 Bayern Munich and German World Cup winning goal keeper, Manuel Neuer, made it to the last three and settled for the third position, with Ronaldo and Messi finishing first and second respectively. While the 2015 edition have Messi, Ronaldo and Neymar all from Spain.

Currently, Spain leads in UEFA club ranking, while Germany and England are second and third respectively. The current performances of Barcelona and Madrid in the past five years is such that bookmakers can always predict them to be among the semifinalists in the Champions league.

England need to do more and step up their pace in continental football, so that they can find their way and contend with the major contenders. But, with the emergence of Neymar on the list, its a Spanish continuity affair.

Neymar Makes Debut At Ballon D'or Final List

Photo:English.ahram.org.eg

Ronaldo, Messi and Neymar made the final list of the FIFA 2015 Ball on D'or for men contest.

This is the first time Neymar will be making it to the final three, while Ronaldo and Messi are regulars. Ronaldo and Messi have made the last three since 2008, with Ronaldo winning it three times while Messi four.

Neymar first proved himself to compete with Ronaldo and Messi in the 2015 UEFA champions league final, when he scored ten goals and finished joint top scorers with the duo.

Moreover, Neymar's style of play has changed drastically, he is now a player to reckon with in terms of assists and finishing. In fact, while Messi was away due to injury, Neymar stepped into the big shoes and ensured that his club was not lacking in goals.

Critics have argued that the domination of Ronaldo and Messi in the individual title race, has made the award less competitive and clamoured for a broader participation.

The winner of the 2015 Ball on D'or award will be announced on January 11 2016 in Zurich Switzerland.

Banana Provides 90 Minutes Strength To Athletes, Alves Knows.

Photo:www.total pro sports.com

Research has shown that banana gives 90 minutes strength, and this is very significant because the normal regulation time of a typical football match is 90 minutes.

No wonder why Barcelona right-back defender Dani Alves, had stopped on several occasions on the field to pick up banana thrown at him and munch during football matches.

Alves knows the secret of banana, and anyone who has monitored his role and style of play in Barcelona, will tell that is very difficult to ascertain if Alves is a defender or an "attacking defender". He aggressively joins in attack and leisurely comes back to defend.

Arsenal Couple Wed in Arsenal's Colour, Emulate Kanu Nwankwo

Photo:LIB

This lovely couple who are ardent fans of Arsenal celebrated their wedding in Arsenal colour.

Their love for football and Arsenal is clearly shown in the manner with which they adorned their marriage ceremony in Arsenal colour. Not even the cake was spared, as they had their cake designer put up something that looks like the FA trophy which Arsenal won in the last season.

This wedding is a reminiscent of former Super Eagles captain, KANU Nwankwo, who had the Concord Hotel painted in Arsenal's colour during his wedding.

U-23 Eagles Almost Made Siasia and Nigerians Mad!

Photo: theeconomyng.com

The U-23 Eagles eventually beat Mali yesterday in an U-23 African Cup of Nations Group B match.

The match which scoreline ended 3-2 in favour of the Dream Team IV, saw the young Eagles take the lead in the first half by 3 goals to nothing.

The second half started with several attacks launched by the young Malians, and it looked as if the fifteen minutes break gave them ample time to know the weakness of the Dream Team IV.

The attacks yielded results for the Malians and two goals emerged from the attacks within a space of thirty minutes. Nigerians who were celebrating and praising the team after the first half win, went gaga and immediately changed their tone and started cursing the team.

However, there was a sigh of relief when the referee blew the final whistle, leaving the scoreline 3-2 in favour of the Dream Team IV.                                                                                                                                            The U-23 African Cup of nations tournament also doubles as Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic qualifier.

Shocking! Chelsea Is Yet To Win Two League Matches In a Month

Chelsea have crawled to the 14th position of the table, after playing a goaless draw with Tottenham. The barren draw earned them a lift from 15 to 14.

Chelsea's best performances so far in league matches this season was their 2-0 home defeats of Arsenal and Aston Villa, while their worst defeat is the Manchester city mauling of Chelsea at Etihad by 3-0.

Unfortunately, within the four months used so far in this season, Chelsea is yet to win two league matches in a month. In August, their only win was their 2-3 defeat of Westbromich, in September 2-0 defeat of Arsenal, in October 2-0 defeat of Aston Villa while in November 1-0 defeat of Norwich City.                                                                                                                                                       This is really bad for a defending Champion, and if this trend continues, they will comfortably be at the relegation zone by January.