The University of Ilorin football team, Ilorin warriors on Saturday, 3rd November lost the third position to OAUGiants of Obafemi Awolowo University in the just concluded Higher Institution Football League (HIFL)

The Giants won the bronze in a 3:1 score against the Warriors at Agege Stadium, Lagos on Saturday.

Ilorin warriors qualified for a third place match after losing at the semifinals to University of Calabar with a 2-nil defeat

Real Madrid ended their long wait for a Spanish La Liga victory by beating Real Valladolid 2-0 on Saturday with two late goals. Real Madrid It was interim coach Santiago Solari’s first home game in charge of the struggling European champions, and it was fitting that they won. Brazilian teenager Vinicius Jr. gave the new coach and an impatient Bernabeu crowd a lift in the 83rd minute by cutting in from the left and firing a shot.

Phlex goes beyond borders with new EP, features Rayvanny in BamBam The shot was heavily deflected into the net off Real Valladolid’s Kike Olivas and awarded as an own goal to the defender. Real Madrid had been fortunate not to go behind on two occasions in the second half when Ruben Alcaraz and Toni Villa hammered the crossbar. But the home side sealed a first win in six league games when captain Sergio Ramos netted an 88th-minute penalty kick. The win lifted Real Madrid provisionally from ninth place up to sixth in the standings on 17 points. They are now seven behind leaders FC Barcelona who beat hosts Rayo Vallecano 3-2 later on Saturday.

Still reeling from their humiliating 5-1 defeat at Barca last week, Real made an impressive start against a Real Valladolid side unbeaten in their last six outings. But their early chances soon dried up and they were loudly booed off at halftime. “When things don’t go your way you have to keep calm and keep sacrificing and we kept believing, even though we were up against a team who have been playing very well. “It was a difficult occasion because of the run we’ve been in and changing coach,” Ramos said. “We have to lift ourselves up, we understand the fans’ frustrations and why they are booing. We have to change that, and after we scored the fans were lifted again. With a few good results we’ll get the fans believing in us again.” Gareth Bale was given particularly rough treatment from the home fans when he was substituted. Not even usual favourite Marco Asensio escaped the howls of unhappy supporters when he made way for Vinicius, who had barely played under Solari’s predecessor Julen Lopetegui.

NYSC extends deadline for registration to Oct. 27 Vinicius had excited fans in the Copa del Rey against Melilla in midweek and his flair and bursts of pace injected some verve into Solari’s side. It led to them finally breaking the deadlock, even though the goal owed a lot to Olivas’ unfortunate attempt to block the shot. The goal was harsh on Valladolid and sucked the life out of the visitors, whose defender Nacho gave away a clumsy penalty kick by falling into Benzema. Ramos coolly converted from the spot, transforming the earlier boos into relieved celebrations. “We needed to win, and you don’t get out of tough moments like the one we are in by winning easily,” Solari said of the scrappy nature of the victory. “I would like to win every game 7-0 with three bicycle kick goals but football is more complicated than that. “You have moments of beauty when everything goes well and delicate times when you have to be organised, serious and show competitive spirit.”

Source: bit.ly/UCJNEWS2JEnGGs

Barcelona has sealed their second title of the season against Deportivo La Coruna with a 4-2 win that saw Lionel Messi score a hat-trick.

Ernesto Valverde's side are bidding to go through the league season unbeaten and went into the game 12 points clear of Atletico Madrid, and a further four clear of Real Madrid.

With the Copa del Rey already in the trophy cabinet, Barcelona have now clinched a domestic double.

The only disappointment is that the Catalans has failed to make a major impact on the Champions League this season.

UCJ, UNILORIN.

Arsenal were gifted the upper hand before the game had barely started when Sime Vrsaljko was given his marching orders for two yellow cards in the opening nine minutes, at Arsene Wenger's last home game for the club after 22years as the longest serving manager in the English topflight.

Manager Diego Simeone quickly followed him down the tunnel for his remonstrations on the touchline.

However, it did take until the start of the second half for Arsenal to take the lead, with Lacazette jumping above his rivals to head home from eight yards out.

But Griezmann out-muscled Koscielny before prodding home with his second bite of the cherry to put the tie back in Atletico's hands.

The game ended 1-1 at the emirates stadium at England, Arsenal was fantastic throughout the game, but, the defensive mishap by skipper Laurant koscienly cost them a risk of an away Goal.

The second leg that would determine who would make the final is next week at Spain.

Afoguarantor,

The draw of the UEFA championship league has tied Liverpool v Roma and Bayern Munich v Real madrid,  Making it teams from England, Italy, Germany and Spain remaining in the competition respectively.

Mohammed Salah would face  his former team where he scored 34goals in 83appearances, having scored 39goals in 44 appearances for Liverpool. Any team that qualifies between the both teams, would play in the final of the competition, Liverpool, arguably, having upper hand than Roma.

The match between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid would be one of the toughest and Interesting Matches of the competition, as both teams are fantastic and sharp in terms of counter attack.

However, Zinadane Zidane's men seems to be the favourite to qualify for the final, As Bayern Munich, having narrowly booked a space in the semis.

Afoguarantor,

UCJ, UNILORIN.

Manchester United came from two goals behind to claim a remarkable victory against Guardiola's Manchester City.

Mourinho’s men becomes the first team to defeat City at Etihad stadium in the last sixteen months, after a defeat by Chelsea last season.

An header from City captain and a goal from Ikay Gundogan gave Pep Guadiola’s men first-half lead in a match that victory for the runaway leaders would have handed them the league.

At the resumption of the match, United scored two goals in three minutes courtesy if their talisman, Paul Pogba.

At 72nd minutes, United won a free kick, taken by Alexis Sanchez and scored by Chris Smalling completed a remarkable comeback for United.

City worked hard to get an equaliser but Sergio Aguero’s late effort was denied by brilliant David De Gea while Raheem Sterling hit the woodwork.

Source

By AFP

Anthony Joshua was taken the distance for the first time in his professional career before winning a unanimous points decision in his world heavyweight title unification fight with Joseph Parker in Cardiff.

After 12 rounds , Britain ’s Joshua triumphed 118 -110 , 118 - 110 , 119 - 109 on the three judges ’ scorecards .

Victory extended the London 2012 Olympic champion ’ perfect pro record to 21 wins from as many bouts but was the first in which he’d failed to do so by a knockout.

It also saw International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Association champion Joshua add Parker’s World Boxing Organisation belt to his collection.

This result was New Zealand boxer Parker’s first defeat in his 25 -fight pro career.

Saturday’s contest in front of a 78 , 000 capacity crowd at the Principality Stadium was the first time two previously undefeated heavyweight champions had met for a world title in Britain .

Joshua’s win should move him closer to a bout against Deontay Wilder, the American who holds the World Boxing Council ’s version of the heavyweight title .

Wilder had been due at ringside but didn ’t show and a confident Joshua, speaking to Sky Sports, after his win was confirmed : “Wilder, let ’s go baby . “Bring him here and I ’ll knock him spark out .”

He added : “Remember that I am the unified heavyweight champion of the world. “That is 21 professional fights with six world title fights in it. “My strategy was to stick behind the jab and that secured me another world title belt .”

With Joshua earning a reported £15 million and Parker £ 7 million , this was easily the biggest fight of the beaten boxer’s career . “I lost to the better champion tonight ,” said Parker. “We will back again stronger and I ’m happy I went the twelve rounds .”

Shortly before the bout started , Parker ’s promoter , David Higgins , came to the press seats at ringside while an undercard bout was taking place to allege Joshua ’s camp had tried to get his boxer’s hand wraps changed in a bid to unsettle his man .

Higgins said a Welsh supervisor, acting at the behest of Joshua’ s camp tried to get Parker ’s hand wrap changed before he in turn complained to Robert Smith , the general secretary of the British Boxing Board of Control.

Higgins insisted Parker ’s hands were being wrapped just the same way as they had been for all the fighter ’s previous professional fights , with Smith, he said , allowing the binding to stay as it was.

Joshua had weighed in at 17 st 4 lbs ( 110 . 4kgs ) on Friday , well down from a career high of 18 st 2 lbs ( 115 .5 ) against Carlos Takam last time out , while Parker came in at 16 st 12 lbs ( 102 .3 ).

As Parker ’s mother looked on from ringside , Joshua took charge in the centre of the ring early in the first round .
A cut around Parker’s left eye was evident from the third round.

Joshua tagged Parker with a solid left in the fourth and landed again seconds before the bell ended that round.

But Parker made some good connections in the fifth and there was a furious exchange early in the sixth , before Italian referee Giuseppe Quartarone intervened .
Joshua, having been struck late when the referee tried to break up the fight , incurred the wrath of Parker ’s trainer, Kevin Barry , when he too landed late in the eighth round.

Both boxers were frustrated by the referee’ s early interventions just when it seemed either one of them might unload with a sequence of punches.

The cut round Parker’ s left eye worsened and blood emerged from the wound in the tenth round . But a game Parker kept going and the boos at the end of the contest appeared to be aimed at the referee rather than the boxers.

NEXT 10 EPL FIXTURES FOR TOP 6 TEAMS

MANCHESTER CITY

1. Leicester (H)
2. Arsenal (A)
3. Chelsea (H)
4. Stoke (A)
5. Brighton (H)
6. Everton (A)
7. Man UTD (H)
8. Tottenham (A)
9. Swansea (H)
10. West Ham (A)

MANCHESTER UTD

1. Newcastle (A)
2. Chelsea (H)
3. Crystal Palace (A)
4. Liverpool (H)
5. West Ham (A)
6. Swansea (H)
7. Manchester City (A)
8. WBA (H)
9. Bournemouth (A)
10. Arsenal (H)

LIVERPOOL

1. Southampton (A)
2. West Ham (H)
3. Newcastle (H)
4. Manchester UTD (A)
5. Watford (H)
6. Crystal Palace (A)
7. Everton (A)
8. Bournemouth (H)
9. WBA (A)
10.Stoke (H)

CHELSEA

1. WBA (H)
2. Manchester UTD (A)
3. Manchester City (A)
4. Crystal Palace (H)
5. Burnley (A)
6. Tottenham (H)
7. West Ham (H)
8. Southampton (A)
9. Huddersfield (H)
10. Swansea (A)

ARSENAL

1. Tottenham (A)
2. Manchester City (H)
3. Brighton (A)
4. Watford (H)
5. Leicester (A)
6. Stoke (H)
7. Southampton (H)
8. Newcastle (A)
9. West Ham (H)
10. Manchester UTD (A)

TOTTENHAM

1. Arsenal (H)
2. Crystal Palace (A)
3. Huddersfield (H)
4. Bournemouth (A)
5. Newcastle (H)
6. Chelsea (A)
7. Stoke  (A)
8. Manchester City (H)
9. Brighton (A)
10. Watford

Afoguarantor,

UCJ, UNILORIN.

 Alexis Sanchez who has been heavily linked to Manchester City with the Sky Blues appearing set to wrap up a move for around £20m having originally agreed a £60m fee with Arsenal last summer. He has sealed a mover to Manchester United. The final signature was made  around 8pm on Monday.


Manchester United stole in with a late and unanticipated approach to secure the signing of Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal, who is set to earn a whooping Premier League record of around £350,000 a week on a four-and-a-half-year deal having allowed his Arsenal contract to run down to its final six months.


Henrikh Mhiktayan was part of the deal, he has also signed for the Gunners, with the 29-year-old signing with the Gunners until the summer of 2021.



UCJ, Unilorin.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) have stated that a couple of friendly games for the Super Eagles of Nigeria ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

With the Super Eagles of Nigeria already drawn in Group D of the 2018 FIFA World Cup alongside Argentina, Croatia and Iceland, the NFF have finalised preparation plans.

Amaju Pinnick and Gernot Rohr added more friendly games for the Super Eagles ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup  (Pulse)

In addition to the already arranged friendly games against Poland in Warsaw on Friday, March 23 and England in London on Saturday, June 2, the NFF have announced that the Super Eagles will face Serbia in London on Tuesday, March 27, DR Congo in Abuja or Uyo on Monday, May 28 and Czech Republic on Wednesday, June 6.

Super Eagles of Nigeria have been drawn alongside Argentina, Iceland and Croatia in Group D of the 2018 FIFA World Cup  (Twitter/FIFA)

The NFF at the press conference announced that a friendly with a yet to be identified South American team will be organised to prepare the Super Eagles for Argentina.

The friendly games are to prepare the Super Eagles for their Group D opponents  (Instagram).

The Super Eagles of Nigeria had already played Argentina in a friendly game in November 2017 which they won 4-2.

Amaju Pinnick at the event made it known that the friendly game against DR Congo has been arranged to prepare the Super Eagles for an African opponent which they are likely to meet in the second round.

“We have the ambition of going all the way and we believe we will meet an African team on the way,” Pinnick said.

The Super Eagles of Nigeria will kick off their 2018 FIFA World Cup campaign on Saturday, June 16 against Croatia.

Source: pulseNG.com

UCJ, UNILORIN.

Alexis Sánchez was excluded from Arsenal's match squad against Bournemouth on Sunday which eventually led to a 2-1 defeat. This was the latest indication that he is switching clubs in this Transfer window. Reportedly, Manchester rivals, City & United are vying for the Chilean's signature.

Arsenal's boss, Arsène Wenger finally admitted last Friday that Alexis Sánchez would not sign a new contract at Arsenal; his deal is set to expire in the summer. And, with Sánchez’s agent due in England for talks, the saga has now entered its end game.

Speaking ahead of the game against Bournemouth, Wenger said: "Sanchez is being vague at the moment. "His situation is not completely decided one way or the other, so I left him at home."

Asked whether a resolution is "fairly imminent", the manager replied: "Yes. Don't read too much into it, because even I don't know really what way it will go."

Afoguarantor,

UCJ, UNILORIN.

Anfield provoked a sense of dread for City, who last won at the Merseyside ground in May 2003, and they collapsed under an unsustainable weight of individual errors as Liverpool ran amok after half-time.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain produced a midfield performance to thrill the Liverpool faithful in the wake of Philippe Coutinho's departure to Barcelona and opened the scoring with an excellent ninth-minute opener on an afternoon of high-class finishing.

Leroy Sane scored at the near post to draw City level five minutes before half-time and Jurgen Klopp's choice of goalkeeper might have come in for greater scrutiny.

Roberto Firmino's 10th Premier League goal of the season arrived courtesy of a deft finish in the 59th minute and Sadio Mane added a third 126 seconds later, having found time to hit the post in between.

City were down as Mohamed Salah completed a dizzying spell of three goals in nine minutes and, although Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan set up a grandstand finish, Liverpool deservedly inflicted a first defeat upon Pep Guardiola's side in 23 top-flight games this season.

We all know what happened next...
Take a bow, @22mosalah . pic.twitter.com/od11d9oz3A — Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 14, 2018

Liverpool appeared to be closing in on a second before the increasingly ragged league leaders were roused by Sane's exquisite talent.

The Germany winger chested down Kyle Walker's searching pass, darted inside Joe Gomez, skipped beyond a squared-up Joel Matip and clattered a strike past Karius at his near post as Gomez slid in vain.

FULL TIME | We fight till the end! #lfcvcity
4-3 pic.twitter.com/dXVJN1WoQY — Manchester City (@ManCity) January 14, 2018

Ederson saved sharply from Salah but was then left exposed by Stones, the centre-back misjudging Oxlade-Chamberlain's throughball and allowing Firmino to get goal side and clip a delicate finish beyond his countryman.

Mane then rattled the post with City's defence reeling but the Senegal international made no mistake in the 61st minute, clattering into the top corner.

Salah passed unselfishly on that occasion and could scarcely believe his luck when an utterly scrambled City were harried into a series of defensive mistakes, culminating in Liverpool's top scorer lifting a marvellous finish into an unguarded net from 40 yards as Ederson languished in no-man's land.

Manchester City remain 15 points clear at the top of the Premier League and such advantages are not built without considerable reserves of courage.

B. Silva was a lively introduction from the bench and converted after Gundogan's 84th-minute shot was blocked. The Germany international then controlled and finished tidily in stoppage time but Liverpool held on to let a shaft of light into the title race.

source: goal.com

UCJ, UNILORIN.

Barcelona and Croatia midfielder Ivan Rakitic has opened up on life at Camp Nou after Neymar left Spain last summer.

In August 2017, Neymar parted ways with Rakitic at Barcelona to join Paris Saint-Germain in a transaction worth €222 million, making him the world's most expensive player.

The Croatian who will be on parade against the Super Eagles at the World Cup in June in an interview with MARCA said he wished Neymar never left.

"I'm not going to lie to you. I would prefer that Ney was here with us. Apart from being a great player, he is a friend and I am very fond of him.

"After that, we have to continue. Barcelona is not one, two or five players. It is the biggest club in the world and we have to keep working.

"It would seem better to be able to count on him, but if he is not there, we join forces to be even better."

Rakitic and his team-mates who have since moved on after the shocking Neymar exit are currently deaders by nine points in the league, in the next stage of the Champions League and are in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals.

UCJ, UNILORIN.

espnfc.com.ng

The ESPN FC panel engage in a heated debate about whether 2017 belonged to Cristiano Ronaldo, Mohamed Salah or Harry Kane.

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah won African Footballer of the Year with his team mate Sadio Mane finishing runners-up and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in third.

Kevin de Bruyne discusses his ESPN FC 100 ranking and explains what Pep Guardiola has done to Manchester City.

Craig Burley responds to ESPN FC's Mark Ogden's assessment of Kevin De Bruyne, which compares him to the likes of Vieira, Keane and Gerrard.

Jose Mourinho spent years positioning himself as the opposite of Arsene Wenger, the serial trophy winner against the supposed "specialist in failure." Not recently: if the Frenchman had a reputation as football's leading economist, the Portuguese has appeared intent on securing that for himself.

Manchester City's spending became a focus for a suddenly fiscally conscious Manchester United manager. Then Liverpool's did when Jurgen Klopp made Virgil van Dijk the most expensive centre-back in footballing history. Mourinho may be sat watching City against Liverpool on Sunday, calculator ready to add up the sums.

And if so, some of the sums could appear inconvenient. City got Kevin De Bruyne for an initial £54.5 million, Liverpool Mohamed Salah for £36m. In the current, inflated market, each ranks as a bargain. De Bruyne remains City's biggest buy and was the second costliest in English football, after United's purchase of Angel Di Maria, when he joined in 2015. 

Salah has already lost his title as Liverpool's record signing to Van Dijk though, and even if the Dutchman had not joined, Naby Keita would have taken that mantle from him when that move officially goes through.

As it is, their combined cost only just exceeds United's £89m outlay for Paul Pogba. The comparison is obviously inexact -- different players, different roles, different clubs, different transfer windows -- and imperfect: but for injury, Pogba, who started the season superbly, would presumably have had a far greater impact.

Instead, De Bruyne and Salah's recent achievements outstrip his. There are other figures for Mourinho to consider in his numbers game: De Bruyne's six goals and nine assists in the Premier League and Salah's 17 goals and five assists; only two players have ever been directly involved in more than his 22 goals in their first 21 games in the division. The Belgian is the joint leader in the assist charts (tied with teammate Leroy Sane), the Egyptian, second only to Harry Kane in the scoring stakes.

Together, they are the frontrunners for the Footballer of the Year award: it is a decision that may force voters to choose between Salah's individual impact and De Bruyne's role as the finest player in the best team.

Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne have taken the Premier League by storm in their the second go around.

Recognition has already come their way. The Liverpool winger is the newly-anointed African Footballer of the Year. The City midfielder was named the best player on the planet in the ESPN FC 100. Pep Guardiola has deflected talk of De Bruyne being the finest in the world by invoking Lionel Messi but said in September that: "Kevin is one of the best players I have ever seen in my life."

Consistent performers have excelled on major stages. The City man has endorsed his credentials with goals against Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham and two assists against Liverpool. His Anfield counterpart has scored home and away against Arsenal as well as finding the net against Tottenham and Chelsea.

And Chelsea, more than most, can count the cost of their excellence. De Bruyne was sold for £18m, Salah for £15m. They seemed fine prices for reserves who only started two and six league games for the club respectively. They looked less astute pieces of business when they returned to England for a combined £90.5m. They seem still less so when Philippe Coutinho's £142m fee has reframed others' values.

They are two of the three who got away from Stamford Bridge in Mourinho's reign; the third, Romelu Lukaku, has now been reunited with the Portuguese at United. The two Belgians were particularly impatient to get first-team football. Klopp, who feels Salah is physically stronger now, has said the Egyptian was a "kid" at Chelsea and has exonerated the London club.

Yet that feels generous. Salah arrived at Stamford Bridge as De Bruyne left for Wolfsburg but they can tell a similar tale. Mourinho's pecking order was set in stone. It reflected the primacy of Eden Hazard as the creator in chief, but also his preference for the prosaic talents of Willian and Oscar, tacklers who brought positional discipline to the final third.

It also highlighted an institutionalised short-termism. De Bruyne is 26 now, Salah 25. They are at their peak. If they have improved further and faster than expected and if neither represented the finished article in his Chelsea days, there should have been signs that such energetic performers had the capacity and determination to improve.

That improvement came elsewhere, in the Bundesliga and Serie A, and was accelerated upon their return to England. Now Salah is the Premier League's most potent winger, prompting comparisons to Arjen Robben; defenders know he will cut infield on to his left foot and shoot, but still seem unable to stop him from doing it. Now De Bruyne may be the closest thing in England to the player Steven Gerrard was, with his passing and crossing range and long-range shooting.

Mourinho benefited from Robben's brilliance at Chelsea; he wanted to add Gerrard's dynamism to that side, too. Perhaps a manager who regrets United's business before he arrived will calculate that United paid a similar amount for the misfits Morgan Schneiderlin and Memphis Depay as De Bruyne cost City in 2015. Perhaps one with a new-found interest in the numbers will pretend not to notice Salah only cost £4.5m more than he paid for Victor Lindelof last summer.

Lionel Messi has equalled Gerd Muller's long-standing scoring record with his 365th Liga goal for Barcelona.

Messi played a one-two with chief partner in crime Jordi Alba and finished with a volley to put his side 1-0 up on the way to a convincing 3-0 victory.

And, in doing so, La Pulga drew level with the ex-Bayern and Germany superstar to match a record which has stood for 39 years.

He has now scored 365 times for the Blaugrana in 400 La Liga games, levelling Muller's historic mark achieved with a single club in one of Europe's top five leagues.

That record could fall as soon as next Sunday, when Barca visit Real Sociedad.

Messi had already smashed one of Muller's previous milestones in December, scoring his 526th goal for Barca in all competitions against Real Madrid to overtake the German's tally for a single club.

UCJ, UNILORIN.

Arsene Wenger lost an FA Cup third-round tie for the first time as holders Arsenal were stunned 4-2 by Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

Wenger has lifted the famous trophy on seven occasions – including three of the last four years – but saw his much-changed side undone by two Eric Lichaj goals along with penalties from Ben Brereton and Kieran Dowell in a classic cup tie at the City Ground.

The likes of Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette were all rested as Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck were afforded rare starts in an unfamiliar Arsenal XI.

But Wenger's plan backfired against a Forest side who are still without a permanent manager following the sacking of Mark Warburton last month.
Lichaj's headed opener was swiftly cancelled out by Per Mertesacker but the American restored the hosts' advantage with a stunning volley just before half-time.

Forest had a cushion when 18-year-old Brereton showed composure beyond his years to beat David Ospina from the spot following a Rob Holding foul on Matty Cash, but a late Welbeck strike threatened to make it a tense last 10 minutes for the home side.

However, Gary Brazil's men were awarded a second penalty when Mathieu Debuchy brought down Armand Traore from behind, allowing Dowell to convert from the spot, and Joe Worrall's red card mattered little as Forest held on for a famous win.

The result represents Arsenal's first third-round defeat since they lost in a replay to Sheffield United eight months prior to Wenger's appointment in 1996.

4 - Nottingham Forest are the first team from a lower division to score 4+ goals against Arsenal in an #FACup tie since Hull City in January 1908. Thrashed.
6:46 PM - Jan 7, 2018
29 1,347 1,180 OptaJoe
@OptaJoe

Wenger's decision to make nine changes appeared ill-judged when Lichaj ghosted into the six-yard box beyond a napping visiting defence to power home a header from Dowell's free-kick after 20 minutes.

But Wenger – serving the first match of a touchline ban following his treatment of referee Mike Dean after last weekend's 1-1 draw with West Brom – had something to celebrate in the stands three minutes later when his side levelled.

Reiss Nelson was awarded a soft free-kick on the left side of the penalty area and, after Holding headed Walcott's delivery onto the left-hand post, Mertesacker was on hand to prod home with the outside of his left boot.

Ospina had touched wide a Cash chance prior to the opener and was forced into two one-handed diving saves by the excellent Brereton before Lichaj produced a moment of magic that left the Colombian helpless.

Lichaj controlled Holding's clearing header on his chest on the edge of the box a minute before half-time and lifted a sublime volley beyond Ospina into the top-right corner.

Arsenal offered little by way of a response early in the second half and Holding made a vital interception to prevent Brereton getting on the end of a dangerous Tyler Walker cross.

But the teenage frontman netted the goal his performance merited in the 64th minute, with Holding rightly penalised by referee Jon Moss.

The previously ineffective Welbeck made the most of a Jordan Smith mistake to side-foot home as Arsenal set up a tense finish, but Debuchy's foul on former Gunner Traore led to the Dowell penalty that wrapped up the win.

Dowell slipped as he struck the ball, but suspicions of a double touch were eventually dismissed by the officials to ratify Forest's two-goal advantage.

And, while Worrall was sent off for a tackle on Chuba Akpom and Walcott came close to pulling another one back, a poor Arsenal were beaten by the better team on the day in a result that will be an unwelcome addition to Wenger's record.

Source: goal.com

When you talk about the world's richest footballer and who it might be, the household names will pop into your brain - your Ronaldos, Messis and Beckhams of the world.

They've all made an absolute fortune thanks to their handy careers on the pitch, and mega commercial/marketing deals arranged off it.

But what if we told you it was actually some 19-year-old kid who plays in Leicester City's reserves? Yup, the world's richest footballer is none other than Faiq Bolkiah, who's worth an estimated $20 billion (£14 billion).

Footballers are known for making money - many would argue an unfairly large amount - but oddly for Faiq that's not actually the reason why he's totally wadded. As well as being a sportsman, Faiq is also the nephew of Hassanal Bolkiah, the Sultan of Brunei.

Born in LA, the talented winger has been playing over in England for a while now - having started out at AFC Newbury when he was younger.

In 2009 Southampton then added Faiq to its academy, and in 2013, despite not having a contract, Arsenal offered him a trial. He competed with them in the 2013 Lion City Cup - even landing a goal in the competition.

Chelsea then offered him a two-year deal, though after just one year Faiq left to join Leicester on a three-year contract.

He's yet to make a first team appearance for Leicester, but he's played for Brunei a fair bit - representing his country a total of nine times, and scoring once. But as we said, Faiq's wealth doesn't come from his footballing career so much as his filthy rich fam.

When Faiq was seven, his dad Jefri decided to celebrate his 50th birthday in quite literally the most lavish way ever - roping in Michael Jackson to perform a private concert for the family. The price tag for that one? A cool £12.5 million ($17 million).

UCJ, UNILORIN.

Philippe Coutinho will become Barcelona’s most expensive signing after a deal worth €160 million was agreed with Liverpool, which is the new British transfer record.


La Liga’s leaders will part with €120m as a guaranteed base fee, with another €40m in performance and appearance-related add-ons that are expected to be triggered.


The 25-year-old will move ahead of Ousmane Dembele as Barca’s highest-cost recruit, also surpassing Paul Pogba as the biggest player trade involving an English club.


Liverpool failed in their exhaustive efforts to convince Coutinho, who did not travel with the squad to a warm-weather camp in Dubai , to remain on Merseyside until the end of the season at the very least.


He is now the third most expensive footballer in the world, behind Paris Saint-Germain pair Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.




UCJ, UNILORIN.

Diego Costa scored and was sent off on his LaLiga return as Atletico Madrid beat Getafe 2-0 at the Wanda Metropolitan.

The Spain striker, who netted in the Copa del Rey win over Lleida on Wednesday, struck his side's second goal after Angel Correa's opener before picking up a second yellow card for his subsequent celebration.


Costa's dismissal was one of the flashpoints of an ill-tempered clash in the capital, in which eight other players were booked and referee Jose Luis Munuera Montero was forced to speak with the Atletico coaching staff shortly before a half-time tussle between the players.


Head coach Diego Simeone started Costa, who had recovered from a knock picked up at Lleida, alongside Antoine Griezmann but it was Correa who broke the deadlock with a clever finish in the first half.


Costa was involved in an argument with Juan Cala as he left the pitch at the interval and he was booked for raising an arm to Djene Dakonam just six minutes before his goal and ensuing red card.


Atleti were fairly untroubled in the closing stages despite their man disadvantage, though, meaning they move to within six points of leaders Barcelona in the table, having played a game more.




UCJ, UNILORIN.