Author: David Great

South Korea defeated Saudi Arabia 4-2 in a penalty shootout to progress to the Asian Cup quarter-finals after their thrilling last-16 contest ended 1-1 after extra time on Tuesday at Education City Stadium. After South Korea’s Cho Gue-sung levelled in late in the second-half to cancel Abdullah Radif’s opener, Sami Al-Najei and Abdulrahman Ghareeb’s penalties were saved, sending South Korea to the last eight of the Asian Cup, where they face Australia. In a goalless first half, Saudi Arabia hit the crossbar twice from a corner while Son Heung-min was the only South Korean player to test the keeper with…

Tottenham are considering making a late bid for Chelsea’s 23-year-old England midfielder Conor Gallagher. (Times – subscription required) La Liga president Javier Tebas believes there is a “more than 50%” chance that France striker Kylian Mbappe, 25, will join Real Madrid in the summer after his Paris St-Germain deal comes to an end. (Goal) Brentford’s deal to sign 18-year-old Norway winger Antonio Nusa from Club Bruges is stalling. (Sky Sports) Granada have revived their loan move for Manchester United’s 22-year-old Uruguay winger Facundo Pellistri. (Manchester Evening News) Aston Villa are considering selling academy graduate Jacob Ramsey to raise funds in order to comply with profit and sustainability regulations, with Newcastle, Tottenham and Bayern Munich interested in the £50m-rated 22-year-old English midfielder. (Athletic -…

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is on a three-man shortlist to replace Xavi at Barcelona, along with Liverpool’s outgoing boss Jurgen Klopp and Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann. (Gerard Romero via Sun) Arteta is considering stepping down as Gunners boss at the end of the season despite having 18 months left on his contract, although there has not yet been any approach from Barcelona. (Sport – in Spanish) Former Germany and Bayern Munich boss Hansi Flick is also being considered by Barcelona. (Bild) Paris St-Germain are confident of signing Newcastle United’s 26-year-old Brazil midfielder Bruno Guimaraes this summer. (Mirror) PSG and Newcastle are interested in a summer move for 24-year-old AC Milan and Portugal forward Rafael Leao. (Telefoot – in French) Brentford have agreed a £25m deal with Club Brugge for…

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations and Senator representing Ogun West senatorial district on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, Solomon Adeola, on Sunday empowered 5,000 market men and women in the senatorial district with grants. In his address at the empowerment programme held in Ilaro, Yewa South Local Government Area of the state, Mr. Adeola explained that it was important to contribute to the socioeconomic development of communities and the nation at large. He noted that the concept, tagged “Oloja Yayi,” which signified his regular support fund for market men and women, had come to stay in…

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a Brazil returnee for ingesting 60 wraps of cocaine at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. The suspect was arrested on January 21 during an inward clearance of passengers travelling from Sao Paulo, Brazil, through Addis Ababa. NDLEA’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, stated on Sunday in Abuja that the suspect initially refused to undergo a body scan, raising health concerns in a desperate bid to evade arrest. He added that the suspect, however, accepted the offer to be placed on excretion observation. “Shortly after he was ushered into NDLEA’s observatory,…

Men of the Lagos police command have arrested two suspected cultists, Hammed Olawale, 20, and Japhet Oderinde, 23, in the Igando area of the state. The Lagos command’s spokesperson, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the arrest in a statement he posted on his verified X handle @benHundeyin on Sunday. He said the suspects were arrested following a distress call. “The suspects were arrested by officers from Igando after responding to a distress call that two rival cult groups had gone on rampage. “The two suspects were found in possession of a locally fabricated semi-automatic pistol with four live rounds of 9mm…

Bayern Munich have signed French defender Sacha Boey from Galatasaray on a four-year contract until 30 June 2028, the German champions announced on Sunday. The 23-year-old signed a four-year contract with Galatasaray in 2021 from Stade Rennais. There were no financial details about the Bayern move, but German media reported it was worth around 30 million euros. “This is a dream come true for me. It’s an honour for me to get to play for such a big club like Bayern. I’m really looking forward to my new team and getting to play with all these great players in the…

Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez announced on Saturday that he will stand down at the end of the season after his team fell 5-3 at home to Villarreal in La Liga, their third defeat in their last five games in all competitions. Barcelona is third in the league with 44 points, ten behind leaders Real Madrid and eight behind second-place Girona. “I’d like to announce that as of June 30 I will not continue as Barca coach,” he told a press conference after meeting with club president Joan Laporta for over half an hour. “It is a situation of common sense…

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the 36 state governors in the country and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Mr Nyesom Wike to “disclose details of federal allocations meant for local governments in your state and the FCT and the actual disbursement of the allocations to the local governments since the return of democracy in 1999.” SERAP also urged them “to promptly invite Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the actual disbursement and spending of federal allocations meant for local governments in your…

Atalanta striker, Ademola Lookman scored a brace as Nigeria defeated old rivals Cameroon 2-0 on Saturday, advancing to the quarter-final of the Africa Cup of Nations holding in Ivory Coast. The impenetrable Super Eagles kept the Indomitable Lions at bay until Lookman sealed the victory in the 90th minute in front of 22,085 supporters at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium in Abidjan. The Super Eagles in the early stage of the round of 16 encounter had a Semi Ajayi goal disallowed due to a VAR review, but Victor Osimhen’s continuous bullying of the Cameroon defenders resulted in Lookman scoring in…