Sports
Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia fire Napoli past Cagliari
Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia fire Napoli past Cagliari
Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia combined to give Napoli a 2-1 win over struggling Cagliari on Saturday and send their side into Serie A’s Champions League places.
The inspiration behind last season’s stunning league title triumph, Napoli’s attacking stars struck a goal each as the reigning champions moved up to fourth.
Kvaratskhelia swept home the decisive strike in the 75th minute, six minutes after Osimhen’s headed opener and shortly after Leonardo Pavoletti had equalised for the away side.
Walter Mazzarri’s side are two points ahead of fifth-placed Roma and Bologna, who face off on Sunday, following their third home win of what has been a troubled league season to date.
And Matteo Politano insisted that Napoli’s title defence is not over even though they are 11 points behind Inter Milan ahead of the league leaders’ match at Lazio on Sunday night.
“We’re slowly recovering some ground,” Politano told DAZN.
“We’ll keep taking it one game at a time but we want to fight for the Scudetto. There’s still a long way to go.”
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Claudio Ranieri’s Cagliari stay 16th, one point above the relegation zone and Empoli who are at Torino in Saturday’s late match.
Napoli won a match whose kick-off was delayed by 30 minutes after strong winds in Naples led to concerns over stadium safety.
Turnstiles at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona were left closed longer than usual while inspections to the ground’s roof were carried out.
No major damage was found, and once the match got underway Napoli pushed forward but struggled to break down resilient Cagliari.
After a series of wasted half chances Amir Rrahmani headed onto the base of the post just before the half hour, but Cagliari were in the game and dangerous on their forays forward.
Osimhen opened the scoring in the 69th minute when he powered a header through the hands of Cagliari’s despairing goalkeeper Simone Scuffet.
It was Osimhen’s second in as many games in all competitions as he looks to have fully recovered from his hamstring injury.
Napoli fans will be hoping that reports of Osimhen reaching an agreement to extend his contract to 2026 are accurate, as the 24-year-old is nearing a new deal which takes his salary to 10 million euros a year and has a release clause set at around 130 million euros.
Pavoletti, who shot Cagliari out of the relegation zone last weekend, bundled in his fourth goal of the campaign three minutes later.
But the home crowd was soon back on their feet for Kvaratskhelia’s winner, which came after superb hold-up play from Osimhen led to the Nigerian drilling over a low cross which his Georgian strike partner crashed in off the post.
That was Kvaratskhelia’s first home goal since late September and gave Napoli their second straight win in Naples after beating Braga midweek to reach the Champions League knockouts.
Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia fire Napoli past Cagliari
Sports
French football star, Paul Pogba’s blackmail trial begin in Paris
French football star, Paul Pogba’s blackmail trial begin in Paris
Six men linked to Juventus and France midfielder Paul Pogba go on trial Tuesday, accused of blackmail, attempted extortion of millions of euros and holding the player at gunpoint.
The case at the Paris criminal court has shocked the French football world because the alleged perpetrators include three childhood friends and Pogba’s own brother Mathias.
Tuesday’s trial comes on top of football woes for Pogba, whose career has struggled since France’s 2018 World Cup win when he scored against Croatia in the Moscow final.
He suffered repeated injuries that led to his 2022 departure from Manchester United, returning to Juventus where he remained in and out of treatment.
The Turin club this month cancelled his contract following his suspension until March 2025 for doping.
The six defendants in Paris are accused of attempting to squeeze 13 million euros ($13.5 million) out of Pogba.
His brother, Mathias was the one to go public in the case, publishing a video on social media in August 2022 promising revelations about his younger brother that were “likely to be explosive”.
In a subsequent clip, Mathias accused Paul Pogba of casting an evil spell on his France teammate, Kylian Mbappe.
Paul Pogba’s lawyers and his agent Rafaela Pimenta said in a statement later the videos “came on top of threats and attempts at extortion”.
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He had already filed criminal complaints in Italy and France in July that year.
Pogba told French investigators he had in March 2022 been “tricked by childhood friends” from the gritty Paris suburb where he and Mathias grew up.
He accused them of snatching him before he was held at gunpoint by two hooded men with assault rifles, demanding 13 million euros for “services rendered” and blaming him for not helping them financially.
Pogba said at the time that he had paid them only 100,000 euros.
The footballer said he had also been pressured at the France national team’s training centre in Clairefontaine, at one of his homes in Manchester, and at Juventus’ training ground.
Pogba added that he had also paid a bill of more than 57,000 euros that the same friends had racked up at the Adidas store on Paris’ glitzy Champs-Elysees avenue.
“It’s been really difficult for me off the pitch, what’s happened, it’s been especially hard mentally,” Pogba told broadcaster Al-Jazeera at the end of the last season.
“Money changes people, it’s the truth, it can destroy a family, start a war”.
Paul Pogba’s lawyer Pierre-Jean Douvier declined to comment ahead of the case when contacted by AFP.
His friends have all denied the allegations.
They had “a friendly relationship, with chats, joking around, and alongside that, yes, maybe Paul Pogba gave them a helping hand,” said Karim Morand-Lahouazi, a lawyer for one of the accused.
French football star, Paul Pogba’s blackmail trial begin in Paris
Sports
Ronaldo’s brace propels Al Nassr toward AFC champions league quarters
Ronaldo’s brace propels Al Nassr toward AFC champions league quarters
Cristiano Ronaldo delivered a stellar performance for Al Nassr, scoring twice in their 3-1 victory over Al Gharafa in Qatar.
The win, secured at Al Bayt Stadium on Monday, leaves the Saudi champions needing only three points from their final three group matches to reach the AFC Champions League quarterfinals.
The 39-year-old faced initial frustration after several missed chances in the first half. However, Ronaldo broke the deadlock just 50 seconds into the second half, heading home Sultan Al Ghannam’s pinpoint cross from close range.
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Angelo Gabriel, a summer signing from Chelsea, doubled Al Nassr’s lead in the 58th minute. Moments later, the Brazilian setup Ronaldo for his second goal of the night, bringing his tally to four in this season’s competition. The Portuguese star was substituted in the 74th minute after his decisive contributions.
Al Gharafa pulled one back through Joselu, Ronaldo’s former Real Madrid teammate. However, their hopes of a comeback were dashed when Seydou Sano received a second yellow card and was sent off in the 84th minute.
The victory ensures Al Nassr remains unbeaten in five matches in the Western zone of the draw. They now sit second in the 12-team standings, inching closer to a coveted spot in the tournament’s last eight.
Ronaldo’s performance reaffirms his status as a key player, driving Al Nassr’s aspirations in the rebranded AFC Champions League.
Ronaldo’s brace propels Al Nassr toward AFC champions league quarters
Sports
Mo Salah disappointed as Liverpool fails to offer new contract
Mo Salah disappointed as Liverpool fails to offer new contract
Mohamed Salah says he is disappointed by Liverpool’s failure to offer him a new contract and believes he is “more out than in” as he nears the end of his existing deal.
The 32-year-old, who has scored 12 goals in all competitions this season, is out of contract at the end of the 2024/25 campaign.
The Egypt international showed his enduring value on Sunday, scoring twice in Liverpool’s 3-2 victory at Southampton, which took them eight points clear at the top of the Premier League table.
But his comments after the match suggest Salah, who arrived at Anfield in 2017 and has won the Champions League and Premier League with the club, could leave for free.
“We are almost in December and I haven’t received any offers yet to stay in the club,” he said. “I’m probably more out than in.
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“You know I have been in the club for many years. There is no club like this. But in the end it is not in my hands.”
Salah is one of the three key Liverpool players who will soon be heading into the last six months of their deals, with Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold also out of contract at the end of the season.
All three will be free to speak to overseas clubs in January if they do not sign an extension before then.
Asked if he was disappointed not to have received an offer from Liverpool, Salah added: “Of course, yeah. I love the fans. The fans love me. In the end it is not in my hands or the fans’ hands. Let’s wait and see.
“I’m not going to retire soon so I’m just playing, focusing on the season and I’m trying to win the Premier League and hopefully the Champions League as well. I’m disappointed but we will see.”
Mo Salah disappointed as Liverpool fails to offer new contract
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