UCL: Arsenal stumble to first loss of season against Lens – Newstrends
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UCL: Arsenal stumble to first loss of season against Lens

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UCL: Arsenal stumble to first loss of season against Lens

Tuesday’s thrilling Champions League match saw Lens come from behind to stun Arsenal 2-1 in France thanks to a goal from Elye Wahi in the second half. This was Arsenal’s first loss of the year.

In the 14th minute, Gabriel Jesus scored to calm a rowdy Stade Bollaert and get the Premier League team off to the best possible start.

However, the Ligue 1 runners-up from last season were quickly leveled by Adrien Thomasson, and the visitors saw Bukayo Saka limp out before halftime.

Wahi, the 20-year-old striker who became Lens’ club-record signing when he joined at the start of the campaign, then fired home in the 69th minute and his side held on for a famous victory.

The result lifts them above Arsenal to the top of Champions League Group B on four points, one above Mikel Arteta’s side.

The other game in the group on Tuesday saw PSV Eindhoven and Sevilla draw 2-2 in the Netherlands.

While Arsenal are back in the Champions League after six seasons away, Lens are appearing in Europe’s elite club competition again for the first time in over 20 years.

That made their first European home game of the campaign all the more special, especially as it came against a team Lens famously beat in the Champions League back in 1998.

Arsene Wenger’s Gunners had been the clear favourites against Lens quarter of a century ago and Arteta’s team were here, as they arrived in northern France still unbeaten this season.

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They underlined their status as the leading contenders in the group with a 4-0 demolition of PSV in their opening game, while Lens had taken heart from their performance in coming back to draw 1-1 away to Sevilla.

Saka was deemed fit to start for the visitors despite having limped off in the 4-0 win at Bournemouth in the Premier League at the weekend, and his presence was vital as Arsenal went ahead early on.

Jesus Strikes First

They had not mustered a shot until Saka pounced on a loose ball back towards his own goal from Thomasson. Saka fed Jesus and he finished clinically.

It was a harsh lesson for Lens on what can happen if you make the slightest mistake at this level, but they did not let their heads go down and capitalised on an Arsenal error to draw level on 25 minutes.

David Raya, again preferred to Aaron Ramsdale in goal, was out of his box when he tried to flight a pass out to the Arsenal right. The pass was intercepted and immediately sent forward to Wahi, who did brilliantly to control the ball and lay it off for Thomasson to score with a magnificent first-time strike.

Another setback followed for Arsenal as Saka went down just after the half-hour mark and was unable to carry on, with Fabio Vieira taking his place.

Both teams had chances shortly after half-time, but what had become an even contest hinged on two remarkable moments around the midway point in the second half.

First Takehiro Tomiyasu met an Arsenal corner first-time only to be denied by a stunning instinctive save from Brice Samba, and then Lens took the lead three minutes later.

Przemyslaw Frankowski curled a cross from the right flank back out towards Wahi in the middle, and the young striker swept a first-time shot low into the far corner to make it 2-1 and lift the roof off the stadium.

The home side then withstood an Arsenal assault in the final minutes, with one heroic block from Jonathan Gradit summing up their performance.

UCL: Arsenal stumble to first loss of season against Lens

(AFP)

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BREAKING: Super Eagles qualify for AFCON 2025

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Super Eagles players

BREAKING: Super Eagles qualify for AFCON 2025

The Super Eagles of Nigeria have secured their qualification for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco, following Libya’s 1-0 victory over Rwanda in Kigali.

This result leaves Rwanda with five points from five matches, rendering them unable to surpass Nigeria in the standings, even if they win their upcoming match against the Super Eagles in Uyo.

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Currently, Nigeria leads Group D with 10 points, followed by Benin with six points, Rwanda with five, and Libya at the bottom with four points.

Benin remains in contention for the second qualification spot and will face Nigeria in a crucial match tonight.

Libya is set to host Benin in the final Group D game on Monday.

 

BREAKING: Super Eagles qualify for AFCON 2025

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Mike Tyson back in ring to face Youtuber Paul

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Mike Tyson and Jake Paul

Mike Tyson back in ring to face Youtuber Paul

Nearly 40 years after making his professional debut, and 19 years after being battered into retirement, a 58-year-old Mike Tyson will climb back into the ring on Friday for a Netflix-backed bout that has drawn widespread condemnation across the boxing world.

Tyson, who terrorised the heavyweight division during an imperious reign in the late 1980s, is lacing up the gloves once more to take on Youtuber Jake Paul, 27, in an officially sanctioned fight at AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, in Arlington, Texas.

The fight, which will be comprised of eight two-minute rounds, was initially due to take place in July but was postponed in May after Tyson required medical treatment on a flight from Miami to Los Angeles after vomiting blood due to a bleeding ulcer.

That gory mid-air emergency has provided another piece of ammunition for the numerous critics who have condemned Friday’s contest as a macabre circus act that poses an unacceptable level of risk for Tyson, who last graced a professional ring in 2005, when he was beaten via a technical knockout after quitting on his stool against Irish journeyman Kevin McBride.

– ‘It shouldn’t be happening’ –

“Twenty years ago, Mike Tyson retired from boxing, and was shot to pieces, right? I mean, completely shot,” the prominent British fight promoter Eddie Hearn said this week.

“If anyone thinks that Mike Tyson should be in a ring at this age, you either have absolutely no emotional feelings toward the man, or you’re an idiot. It shouldn’t be happening.”

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Hearn’s rival promoter Frank Warren echoed those sentiments.

“Mike Tyson is 58 years of age and he shouldn’t be fighting,” Warren said after the bout was announced. “It’s as simple as that.

“Anyone with an ounce of brains knows that it is ridiculous. You can be on a motorway stuck in a traffic jam and you get to the end of it and all it is is people who have stopped to look at a crash — and that’s what this is.”

Tyson, who US reports say is being paid around $20 million for Friday’s contest, has brushed off the concerns for his wellbeing, insisting when critics from the boxing world are motivated by jealousy.

“I’m beautiful, that’s all I can say,” he said earlier this year. “The people who said that wish they were up here. No-one else can do this.”

Mike Tyson back in ring to face Youtuber Paul

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Alleged fraud: South Africa FA President, Danny Jordaan, arrested

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South African Football Association (SAFA) President Danny Jordaan

Alleged fraud: South Africa FA President, Danny Jordaan, arrested

South African Football Association (SAFA) President Danny Jordaan was arrested on Wednesday amid allegations that he misused the organization’s funds for personal purposes, as reported by local media.

Jordaan, renowned for his pivotal role in securing South Africa as the host for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, sought to block his arrest on Tuesday by filing an urgent application.

However, the Johannesburg High Court is scheduled to hear his case only on Thursday, leaving him vulnerable to arrest.

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The arrest stems from a raid by police on the SAFA offices in March, after which police spokesperson Katlego Mogale said the allegations are that “between 2014 and 2018, the president of SAFA used the organisation’s resources for his personal gain, including hiring a private security company for his personal protection and a public relations company, without authorisation from the SAFA board.”

Jordaan, 73, and his reported co-accused, SAFA chief financial officer Gronie Hluyo and businessman Trevor Neethling, are due to appear in court later on Wednesday.

Neither Jordaan nor SAFA responded to a request for comment from Reuters, but in his affidavit to court seeking to block his arrest, he denies any wrongdoing.

Alleged fraud: South Africa FA President, Danny Jordaan, arrested

(Reuters)

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