Sports

Ibrahimovic double wins Milan derby as Real Madrid, Barcelona suffer defeat

Published

4 years ago

October 18, 2020

Zlatan Ibrahimovic made a winning return to the AC Milan team as his quickfire double won the Milan derby, while Real Madrid and Barcelona suffered a shock defeats in La Liga.

Romelu Lukaku also scores for Inter Milan in derby; Real Madrid beaten by Cadiz in La Liga for the first time since 1991; Luis Suarez scores for Atletico Madrid but Diego Costa injured; Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Muller and Marco Reus all on the scoresheet in the Bundesliga

Ibrahimovic, a 39-year-old striker, had missed recent games after contracting coronavirus and only resumed training this week, but scored twice early on, Sky Sport reports.

Ibrahimovic put Milan in front after 13 minutes, tapping the ball in from the rebound after his penalty was saved by Samir Handanovic, and then struck again three minutes later from Rafael Leao’s cross.

In a breathless first half, Romelu Lukaku pulled one back for Inter in the 29th minute – the first Serie A goal Milan have conceded this season. Inter were awarded a penalty in the 75th minute but it was revoked for offside in the build-up.

Milan have won all four games so far and top the table with 12 points, while Inter have seven after their first defeat of the season.

Federico Chiesa was sent off on his debut for Juventus as Crotone earned their first point back in Serie A.

Juventus was without Cristiano Ronaldo and Weston McKennie, who both tested positive for COVID-19, and also had several other players out injured.

Simy gave Crotone a surprise lead from the penalty spot in the 12th minute after Leonardo Bonucci fouled Arkadiusz Reca.

Chiesa set up Alvaro Morata for the equaliser nine minutes later but was shown a straight red on the hour following a challenge on Crotone midfielder Luca Cigarini.

Juve thought they had scored a winner shortly after but Morata’s effort was ruled out for offside on video review by VAR.

Napoli were 4-1 winners against Atalanta, which was only their second loss since January.

Hirving Lozano scored twice for Napoli and there were also goals for Matteo Politano and Victor Osimhen in the first half. Sam Lammers netted a consolation for Atalanta in the 69th.

The only positive note for Atalanta from a miserable afternoon was the return of key forward Josip Ilicic. He has not played since July after being given compassionate leave because of personal issues.

triker Fabio Quagliarella set Sampdoria on the way to a comfortable 3-0 win at home to a disappointing Lazio.

The 37-year-old capitalised on poor marking by Lazio to head in from Tommaso Augello’s cross in the 32nd minute after Sampdoria had taken control of the game.

Augello added the second himself nine minutes later when a clearance landed at his feet and he thumped a left-foot shot into the net from the edge of the area for his first Serie A goal at the age of 26.

Lazio failed to take their second-half chances and substitute Mikkel Damsgaard wrapped the game up for Sampdoria in the 74th minute after the ball ricocheted around the Lazio area.

Spanish champions Real Madrid suffered a shock 1-0 loss at home to promoted Cadiz – their first La Liga defeat in over seven months.

Honduran forward Anthony Lozano put Cadiz ahead in the 16th minute, darting between Madrid defenders Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane to meet a cushioned header from Alvaro Negredo and lifting the ball over keeper Thibaut Courtois into the net.

Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane made four substitutions at half-time in a bid to turn the game around and brought on Luka Jovic later on. The Serbian striker soon putt the ball in the net but saw his effort ruled out for a clear offside.

Vinicius Jr missed the target with a free header, while Karim Benzema struck the bar from the edge of the area and Cadiz clung on to claim their first league win over Madrid since 1991.

Barcelona missed the chance to go top of La Liga after slipping to a surprise 1-0 defeat at Getafe.

Jaime Mata scored the only goal from the penalty spot early in the second half and that was enough to lift Getafe up to second, level on points with leaders Real Madrid, who were beaten at home by Cadiz earlier on Saturday.

Lionel Messi hit a post for Barca in the first half, but it was a frustrating evening for the Catalans and Getafe also hit the woodwork in the closing stages.

Barca’s first defeat of the season under head coach Ronald Koeman leaves them ninth in the table, three points adrift of Madrid with a game in hand.

Luis Suarez scored an early goal to help Atletico Madrid win 2-0 at Celta Vigo, breaking a short run of 0-0 stalemates against Huesca and Villarreal.

Suarez netted after a pass from Manuel Sanchez in the sixth minute at Celta’s Balados Stadium. Yannick Carrasco added a second goal in stoppage time when he headed in a rebound after fellow substitute Joao Flix hit the crossbar with a curling strike.

Celta had their chances to equalise in the first half, only to be stopped by the woodwork and goalkeeper Jan Oblak.

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Messi-less Argentina thrash Brazil 4-1 to secure World Cup qualification

Published

2 days ago

March 26, 2025

Trends Admin

Messi-less Argentina thrash Brazil 4-1 to secure World Cup qualification

Argentina qualified for the 2026 World Cup with a stunning 4-1 victory over archrivals Brazil in Buenos Aires on Tuesday.

Julian Alvarez, Enzo Fernandez, Alexis MacAllister, and Giuliano Simeone clinched an impressive victory for the world champions, who had already been assured of a World Cup spot following Bolivia’s 0-0 draw with Uruguay earlier Tuesday.

The goalless draw created a joyous mood at the Estadio Monumental before a ball was kicked, and Argentina continued the party with a scorching performance.

Alvarez of Atletico Madrid opened the scoring after only six minutes, latching onto Thiago Almada’s through cross and finishing from close range beyond Brazil goalkeeper Bento.

Argentina’s fortunes improved six minutes later when Chelsea’s Fernandez scored the hosts’ second goal of the night after Brazil’s back four failed to deal with a low cross.

Messi-less Argentina thrash Brazil 4-1 to secure World Cup qualification

Sports

Nigeria’s Super Eagles falter in W’Cup qualifiers against Zimbabwe, S’Africa lead, Egypt, Morocco qualify

Published

2 days ago

March 26, 2025

Trends Admin

Nigeria’s Super Eagles falter in W’Cup qualifiers against Zimbabwe, S’Africa lead, Egypt, Morocco qualify

Nigeria’s Super Eagles on Tuesday conceded a last-minute goal that dealt a major blow to their 2026 World Cup qualifying hopes.
While the Nigerian team failed to beat Zimbabwe in their sixth game played in
Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Bafana Bafana of South Africa defeated Benin 2-0 to consolidate the top spot.

The South African team leads with 13 points from six rounds, five clear of Rwanda (which drew with Lesotho 1-1) and Benin. Nigeria stayed fourth in the group with just seven points.
Elsewhere, Egypt and Morocco all but booked their places at next year’s tournament.
In the game between Nigeria and Zimbabwe, Victor Osimhen with a powerful header put the Super Eagles on course to claim just their second win in Group C after Friday’s 2-0 victory over Rwanda had rekindled their qualification hopes.
But the 21-year-old Chirewa, a late substitute, equalized in the 90th minute to earn Zimbabwe’s draw.
Eric Chelle, Super Eagles coach, named the same line-up that started the team’s 2-0 win over Rwanda on Friday.
Washington Arubi, the Zimbabwean goalkeeper, produced a couple of impressive saves to keep Nigeria at bay.
The goalkeeper clawed out a swerving header from Osimhen before denying the striker a few minutes later with another acrobatic dive to save a shot fizzing into his top corner.
Nigeria’s Super Eagles have three more matches in September and October to finally determine their fate for the next World Cup proper.
They are to meet Rwanda, South Africa and Lesotho on September 8, October 6 and October 13 respectively.
Only the nine group winners secure automatic qualification. The four best-placed runners-up will compete to be the African contender in FIFA’s six-country playoff for the last two qualification spots at the World Cup next year in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

How They Stand Now

South Africa — 13 points
Rwanda — 8 points
Benin Republic — 8 points
Nigeria — 7 points
Lesotho — 6 points
Zimbabwe — 4 points

Sports

Juventus to sign Osimhen with player-plus-cash offer

Published

4 days ago

March 23, 2025

Trends Admin

Victor Osimhen

Juventus to sign Osimhen with player-plus-cash offer

Juventus are preparing to offer a player-plus-cash deal to sign Nigerian international sensation Victor Osimhen from Napoli in the summer.

The Bianconeri have identified Osimhen as a key target for their offensive overhaul, and they are willing to include defender Federico Gatti in the deal to entice their Serie A rivals to negotiate.

According to Tuttosport, Juventus is aware of the complexities of the transaction, given Napoli’s reluctance to sell such a prominent player to a direct competitor.

Osimhen was instrumental in Napoli’s Scudetto-winning campaign in 2023, scoring 26 goals and becoming the first African to win the top scorer award as the club broke a 33-year jinx.

The Old Lady’s strategy includes capitalising on Napoli coach Antonio Conte’s fondness for Federico Gatti, hoping the centre-back will satisfy the Partenopei’s defensive issues while also enabling their pursuit of the Nigerian striker.

This move comes as Juventus prepares to unload Dusan Vlahovic and renegotiate Randal Kolo Muani’s loan with Paris Saint-Germain in order to extend his time at the Allianz Stadium beyond the summer.