Author: David Great

In a dramatic turn of events, Bayer Leverkusen’s impressive 35-match unbeaten streak in the Bundesliga came to an end as RB Leipzig secured a thrilling 3-2 comeback victory. The decisive blow came from Lois Openda, who scored twice to snatch victory for Leipzig. Leipzig began the match with high energy but soon found themselves on the back foot. Edmond Tapsoba’s header was saved by Peter Gulacsi, and Piero Hincapie’s close-range shot hit the bar. The situation worsened for Leipzig as Marco Rose was dismissed, becoming the first Bundesliga manager to be sent off twice in his career. Leverkusen edge Stuttgart…

Erling Haaland secured back-to-back hat-tricks as Manchester City beat West Ham United 3-1 in the Premier League, taking the Citizens to an 18th consecutive unbeaten head-to-heads against the Hammers. Many will have expected West Ham to sit back but Julen Lopetegui’s men flew out in the early stages with a venomous Jarrod Bowen strike stinging Ederson’s palms. Man City soon turned the match in their favour, though, as Haaland uncharacteristically headed over before refinding his clinical edge in the 10th minute to punish Lucas Paquetá’s poor touch by collecting Bernardo Silva’s through ball and coolly finishing. The chances kept coming…

Barcelona maintained their 100% winning start to the La Liga season as they delivered a 7-0 thumping to newly-promoted Real Valladolid – a result that extends their unbeaten run in home league head-to-heads, which stretches back to November 1997. Fresh from scoring the winner on his Barcelona debut, Dani Olmo was handed a first start here and he was at the forefront of the action in the early stages. Lamine Yamal’s delicate cross to the back post could only be dragged across goal by Robert Lewandowski and into the path of Olmo, but his close-range effort rattled the post. He…

Life without Ivan Toney started in perfect fashion for Brentford, as they cruised to a 3-1 victory over Southampton at the Gtech Community Stadium. As a result, the visitors have opened a league campaign with three consecutive defeats for the first time since 2012/13. Saints boss Russell Martin handed a start to his new goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, and he was straight into the action, rushing off his line to smother an effort from Mikkel Damsgaard inside the opening two minutes. The visitors responded well to that early scare, with Joe Aribo hitting the frame of the goal with an unorthodox…

China and the Philippines accused each other on Saturday of deliberately ramming their coast guard ships near a flashpoint shoal in the South China Sea, the latest in a spate of similar incidents in recent weeks. China claims almost all of the economically vital waterway despite competing claims from other countries and an international court ruling that its assertion has no legal basis. A Chinese coast guard spokesperson said Saturday’s incident took place off the disputed Sabina Shoal, which has emerged as a new hotspot in the long-running maritime confrontations between Manila and Beijing. Sabina Shoal is located 140 kilometres…

Olympique Lyonnais have signed Galatasaray’s Ivory Coast winger Wilfried Zaha on loan for the 2024-2025 season, the Turkish club said in a statement. Galatasaray said Olympique Lyonnais will pay a temporary transfer fee of 3 million euros for the player. In July 2023 Zaha joined Galatasaray on a three-year deal following the expiration of his Crystal Palace contract. The wide forward scored 10 goals in all competitions for the Istanbul-based side, but fell out of favour towards the end of last season. He only played in two friendlies for Ivory Coast last year and was left out of their Cup…

Crystal Palace have signed forward Eddie Nketiah from Arsenal on a five-year deal, both Premier League clubs said on Friday. The 25-year-old joined Palace for a fee believed to be around £30 million. “It’s amazing to sign for Crystal Palace. I’m excited to get going,” Nketiah said in a statement. “Every time I come back to South London, it always puts a smile on my face, so it’s good to be back home.” Nketiah has scored 38 goals in 168 appearances for the north London club. He joined Arsenal’s academy at the age of 16 and made his first team…

Newly appointed Super Eagles manager, Bruno Labbadia, has turned down the job less than two weeks before crucial Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Benin and Rwanda, according to reports from German publication Kicker. The Nigeria Football Federation had announced Labbadia’s appointment on Tuesday, positioning him as the successor to Finidi George, who resigned in May. “Bruno Labbadia will be the 37th head coach of the Super Eagles. The NFF confirms an agreement with the German coach to lead the senior national team,” the NFF’s statement read. But with only days left until he was expected to take charge,…

Bournemouth goalkeeper Neto has joined Arsenal on a season-long loan deal, the Premier League club announced on Friday after England keeper Aaron Ramsdale sealed a permanent move to Southampton. Brazil’s Neto, who previously played for Juventus, Valencia and Barcelona, has made 61 Premier League appearances for Bournemouth since joining the club in 2022. “I’m realising a dream in my life, a dream come true, and I’m really, really happy,” Neto said. “I had two dreams as a kid to play for a football team. It was my team in Brazil, where I grew up and became a professional footballer, and…

The Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Police Force, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, has condemned the practice of “arrest by proxy,” describing it as unacceptable and an act of wickedness. Arrest by proxy is said to refer to a situation where a person is arrested on behalf of another individual, often without the arrested person being involved in the alleged crime. Responding to a question about the legality of arrest by proxy on X.com on Friday, Adejobi wrote, “Arrest by proxy is unprofessional, illegal, and unacceptable. Re-echoe it. “You can’t arrest the mother in place of her son for an offence she…