Sports

Gabriel Jesus inspires Arsenal to Champions League win over Sevilla

Published

6 months ago

October 25, 2023

Gabriel Jesus inspires Arsenal to Champions League win over Sevilla

Gabriel Jesus continued his love affair with the Champions League with a fine goal and assist as he led Arsenal to victory over Sevilla.

The Brazil forward may not boast the most prolific strike record but he has now scored an impressive 23 goals in 41 appearances in Europe’s elite club competition and he was the difference here as the Gunners won 2-1.

A piece of magic from Jesus set up compatriot Gabriel Martinelli to open the scoring on the stroke of half-time before he doubled the lead with a fine, curling finish of his own – although he later limped off having moments earlier held his hamstring.

A thunderous Nemanja Gudelj header reduced the arrears on the hour but Mikel Arteta’s side saw out the closing stages to secure victory, moving top of Group B in the process.

Martinelli should have put Arsenal ahead inside eight minutes after being played through on goal by Jesus, only to shoot straight at the advancing Orjan Nyland.

Moments later Lucas Ocampos stabbed an effort just wide at the other end as both sides looked to strike early in an atmospheric Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium.

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David Raya’s inclusion in the Arsenal goal at the continued expense of Aaron Ramsdale was again a talking point before the game and the Spaniard gifted possession to Sevilla at the midway point of the first half but the home side failed to take advantage.

Neither team created anything else of note until stoppage time when, firstly, Sevilla easily cut through the Arsenal defence but Youssef En-Nesyri failed to hit the target as he dragged a shot wide.

Arsenal then took the lead, having escaped another Sevilla attack they broke at pace and a fine touch and perfectly-weighted pass from Jesus set Martinelli in behind. This time the Brazilian made no mistake, calmly rounding Nyland before rolling the ball into an empty net.

The Gunners should have doubled their lead soon after the restart but captain Martin Odegaard blazed over when well-placed inside the box.

Jesus, though, was in confident mood and extended the advantage with a fine solo goal, moving in off the left to curl a finish past Nyland.

Sevilla responded well and got themselves back into the contest when Gudelj powered a header past Raya from Ivan Rakitic’s corner.

The Europa League holders came within inches of equalising soon after, as substitute Mariano Diaz’s strike was tipped onto the crossbar by Raya.

Jesus did not have chance to savour a memorable performance as he gingerly hobbled off to be replaced by Eddie Nketiah with 10 minutes left on the clock.

Arsenal, though, were able to navigate through the difficult closing stages, surviving a late onslaught to secure victory ahead of the return game at the Emirates Stadium in a fortnight’s time, where another three points will leave Arteta’s side sitting pretty.

Gabriel Jesus inspires Arsenal to Champions League win over Sevilla

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Don’t impose assistants on Finidi — Udeze warns NFF

Published

5 hours ago

May 4, 2024

Trends Admin

Finidi George

Don’t impose assistants on Finidi — Udeze warns NFF

Ifeanyi Udeze has warned the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) not to impose assistants on Super Eagles head coach, Finidi George.

Finidi is reportedly not willing to work with his former Super Eagles teammates Emmanuel Amuneke and Daniel Amokachi, who are favoured for the assistant coach position.

Amuneke and Amokachi also applied for the head coach position.

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There are reports that the former winger is already shopping for a foreign assistant.

Udeze posited that any move to impose an assistant on the new gaffer will be counter productive.

“I don’t want to see an ex-player who will come and give Finidi problems,” Udeze a member of Super Eagles squad to the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan told Brila FM.

“The NFF must not give him assistants who will try to take the job from him.

“He should instead be given a free hand to bring his assistants.”

Don’t impose assistants on Finidi — Udeze warns NFF

Sports

UCL: Füllkrug gives Dortmund 1-0 first-leg win over PSG

Published

3 days ago

May 2, 2024

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UCL: Füllkrug gives Dortmund 1-0 first-leg win over PSG

Jadon Sancho put in a performance of a lifetime as Borussia Dortmund’s Niclas Füllkrug fired in a first-half goal to seal a 1-0 victory over visitors Paris St Germain in a compelling Champions League semi-final first leg on Wednesday.

Nico Schlotterbeck floated a pass into Füllkrug’s path and the Germany forward controlled the ball with a perfect first touch before drilling a low shot past keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma in the 36th minute.

PSG, fresh from being crowned Ligue 1 champions and desperate to win their first-ever Champions League trophy, found it hard going against a disciplined German defence, especially in the first half with forward Kylian Mbappe largely neutralised.

With the return leg in Paris next Tuesday, the winner of the tie will face either Bayern Munich or Real Madrid, who drew 2-2 in their first leg in Germany, in the final at Wembley on June 1.

“It was a well-deserved win, a good team performance,” said Dortmund coach Edin Terzic. “We could have scored more goals, but so could they.”

“That’s why the result is OK from my point of view. We ran a lot, but that’s necessary in a game like this.”

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“You have to earn your way to Wembley. All we need now is a draw in the second leg, but we also want to win next week.”

The win also confirmed Germany will get a fifth qualifying spot for next season’s Champions League, with Dortmund being the main beneficiaries at the moment, sitting in fifth place in the Bundesliga with three games left to play.

Dortmund went close just before halftime with Marcel Sabitzer but Donnaruma blocked his shot. The French side improved after the break and went agonisingly close to an equaliser in the 52nd minute with Mbappe curling a shot onto the far post and then Achraf Hakimi also hitting the woodwork on the rebound.

Four minutes later Fabian Ruiz saw his stooping header sail wide after being left completely unmarked in the box before Dortmund keeper Gregor Kobel kept out Ousmane Dembele’s close range effort in the 71st.

Dortmund, winners in 1997 and looking to reach their first final since 2013, soaked up the pressure as PSG’s Vitinha narrowly missed the target 10 minutes later.

The German team defeated Spanish opposition, Atletico Madrid 5-4 on aggregate to reach the semis and would hope to do so to get pass PSG in Paris.

UCL: Füllkrug gives Dortmund 1-0 first-leg win over PSG

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UCL: Vinicius scores double as Real Madrid hold Bayern Munich in semi-final showdown

Published

4 days ago

May 1, 2024

Trends Admin

UCL: Vinicius scores double as Real Madrid hold Bayern Munich in semi-final showdown

In Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final first leg, Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior scored double, including an 83rd-minute equalizing penalty, to secure a 2-2 draw at Bayern Munich.

Vinicius gave Real the lead after 24 minutes, but Bayern took control of the game in four second-half minutes, with Leroy Sane scoring and Harry Kane converting a penalty.

Kim Min-jae practices judo. shoved Rodrygo in the box with eight minutes remaining, and Vinicius stepped up, drowning out a chorus of shouts and whistles to blast home.

The draw puts Madrid in the driving seat ahead of next week’s return leg at the Santiago Bernabeu. Bayern, who dominated large parts of the match, will still have hopes of making it to Wembley’s final in June.

Before the match, the Bayern fans unveiled a giant banner depicting Franz Beckenbauer which spanned all the way from the grass to the rafters. It was a fitting tribute on a night featuring the most-played fixture in European Cup history.

Famed for their composure on the biggest of stages in this competition, the 14-time winners struggled early, Bayern dominating possession and field position while spurred on by a ferocious home crowd.

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Sane had a chance after just 40 seconds and another minutes later, while Kane chipped a shot from halfway just over the bar as the leggy visitors struggled to cope.

Madrid’s continued success in this competition, including in their quarter-final win over Manchester City, has been built on absorbing pressure before striking.

The visitors repeated the trick for the opener, breaking Bayern’s dominance in ruthlessly simple fashion while showing the hosts how easy scoring goals can be.

Toni Kroos collected the ball from a corner and drilled a defence-splitting pass along the ground which found Vinicius galloping in acres of space on the penalty arc.

Without a Bayern player in range, Vinicius calmly slotted the opener past a helpless Manuel Neuer, changing the complexion of the match completely.

Bayern, who have six European Cups of their own, were not awed and continued to push but could not break through; their best chance of the remainder of the half came through a free kick, with Kane finding a huge gap in the wall but blasting wide.

With Real seemingly in cruise control, Bayern grabbed hold of the match early in the second-half, scoring twice in four minutes.

Eric Dier found Sane down the right flank. The Germany winger, who had missed several chances in the first half, dribbled into the box before unleashing an unstoppable rocket at the near post, his first goal for Bayern in any competition since October.

The hosts’ next attack came down the left, with the ever dangerous Jamal Musiala felled by Lucas Vazquez in the box. Referee Clement Turpin pointed straight to the spot and Kane had no hesitation either, sending Andriy Lunin the wrong way to take the lead.

With Bayern in control, Real went on the counter and it was Kim’s turn to give away a clumsy penalty, with Vinicius confidently slotting in the equaliser.