Month: February 2021

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LUIS SUAREZ HITS BRACE IN ATLETICO 2-2 DRAW AGAINST CELTA VIGO

Atletico Madrid slipped up in La Liga for the first time in nine games on Monday as Celta Vigo snatched a late equaliser to deliver a ray of hope to Barcelona and Real Madrid. Luis Suarez scored twice at the Wanda Metropolitano to overturn Santi Mina’s opener for Celta, with Atletico on course to restore their 10-point lead at the top of the table.

But Facundo Ferreyra slid in to score in the 89th minute to earn a deserved 2-2 draw for the visitors, meaning Atletico’s advantage at the end of the weekend is reduced to eight, still with a game in hand.

“We played quite well but they had a strong finish and a draw was probably fair,” said Diego Simeone.

Atletico still have a considerable cushion but after Real Madrid and Barca beat Huesca and Real Betis respectively, there is at least room for encouragement for the chasing pack. Real Madrid can cut the gap to five points if they win at home to Getafe on Tuesday.

Suarez shows no sign of letting up, the Uruguayan now with 11 goals in his last nine games and 16 for the season.

Those 16 goals in 17 games played for Atletico make him the fastest player to score that many for a La Liga club in the 21st century, one game faster than Cristiano Ronaldo after he joined Real Madrid.

Atletico have been hit hard by coronavirus in recent months, the club confirming another two positive cases on Monday afternoon.

Thomas Lemar and Hector Herrera join Mario Hermoso, Joao Felix and Moussa Dembele on the list of those currently out after contracting the illness.

“We have to make the best of it,” said Simeone. “We have footballers who can take advantage of the opportunities and we hope that the boys recover.”

Celta, who stay 10th, were the better side in the first half, dominating possession and taking a deserved lead after 13 minutes when Hugo Mallo curled in a cross from the right for Mina to head in.

Atletico rarely troubled Celta but managed to go in level, Suarez scoring with their first shot on target. Marcos Llorente’s driven cross evaded four sets of Celta toes and found him at the back post.

Lucas Torreira came on at half-time for Felipe — Atletico reverting to a back four — and within five minutes they were ahead.

Geoffrey Kondogbia floated a ball out to the left and Renan Lodi volleyed it across goal, where the sliding Suarez arrived on his knees to finish.

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Celta almost had a second when Iago Aspas bundled through but Kondogbia darted back to make a superb tackle, just as the striker was about to shoot.

Atletico were moments away but caved with one minute left, a brilliant through ball by Aspas freeing Augusto Solari, whose cross found Ferreyra two metres out

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NIGERIAN FOOTBALLER CHARGED WITH MONEY LAUNDERING IN ROMANCE FRAUD

One of Malta’s most prolific Nigerian footballing imports, Sunday Eboh, has been charged with four others in a romance fraud case.

Eboh, Maltese national Alexandra Pace, Nigerian nationals Collins Eguavoen, Marvis Iyeke and Tony Ogbonna were arrested late Monday night to be charged with money laundering.

Police said that an elderly Maltese woman fell victim to the fraud after engaging in an online relationship with who she thought was an American soldier deployed in Afghanistan. The soldier was supposedly returning to Malta once his deployment ended.

Despite never meeting with the soldier, the woman took the relationship seriously, and transferred €58,000 to the person who allegedly asked her to pay for his expenses.

Investigations by the police revealed the alleged fraud was being carried out in the country by a group of people who were seeing that the money was being deposited in a number of local bank accounts. The money was being transacted in small amounts and laundered.

The police were able to identify who was behind the scam and arrested five individuals aged between 28 to 58 years of age.

Police suspect Ogbonna is the mastermind in the operation, although no account was traced back to him.

Eboh has played for a host of Maltese teams, namely Marsa, Birkirkara, Victoria Hotspurs, Marsaxlokk, Floriana, Naxxar Lions, Birzebbugia, and Pembroke. He also played for Greek side Apollon Smyrnis.

Magistrate Doreen Clarke refused bail after the prosecution raised fears that the accused could tamper with evidence or approach the vulnerable victim.

This is the first case which will see people being charged for online fraud through a virtual relationship.

The prosecution was led by lawyers Dr Karl Muscat, Dr Sean Xerri de Caro and Dr Abigail Caruana Vella from the office of the attorney general. They will be assisted by Inspector Sarah Zerafa from the Paola district and Inspector Claire Borg from the Economic Crimes Squad.

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HARRISON, BAMFORD ON TARGET AS LEEDS BEAT CRYSTAL PALACE 2-0

Jack Harrison and Patrick Bamford scored in either half as Leeds beat Crystal Palace 2-0 to climb into the Premier League’s top 10.

Harrison’s deflected shot gave Leeds a flying start and Bamford tucked home a rebound for his 12th league goal of the season early in the second period.

Leeds secured their 10th top-flight win of the season and gained sweet revenge for a 4-1 defeat at Selhurst Park in November.

They should have won by a bigger margin after spurning several chances, but registered a first clean sheet in seven matches this year.

Palace, who arrived in freezing West Yorkshire on the back of two straight league wins, were a clear second best for most of the match.

Eberechi Eze’s individual brilliance was too fleeting to halt a Leeds onslaught, while the Londoners lacked a cutting edge in the absence of injured top scorer Wilfried Zaha.

Leeds were quick to punish Palace for allowing them too much space on the edge of the penalty area when Harrison’s well-struck shot deflected off Gary Cahill to give the home side a third-minute lead.

Vicente Guaita was forced into a sprawling low save soon after to turn away Bamford’s excellent header from Ezgjan Alioski’s cross.

Bamford should have extended Leeds’ advantage in the 22nd minute after out-witting the Palace defence on the halfway line.

But after spinning Cahill for a free run on goal, the Leeds striker ballooned his shot tamely off target.

Palace began to pose more of a threat as the first period progressed, with Eze’s individual brilliance keeping Leeds’ rearguard on their toes.

Jordan Ayew fired the Londoners’ first shot on target low into Illan Meslier’s hands in the 36th minute.

Leeds defender Pascal Struijk headed Raphinha’s free-kick over the crossbar and somehow headed well wide from in front of goal after diving on to Kalvin Phillips’ cross.

Palace’s appeals for a penalty just before half-time when Ayling eased Ayew off Jairo Riedewald’s throughball were waved away by referee Andre Marriner.

Leeds made another fast start to the second period, extending their lead in the 52nd minute.

Raphinha’s thumping shot was well saved by Guaita and Bamford followed up to turn home the rebound from eight yards.

Eze could have hauled Palace back into it in the 67th minute but he blazed substitute Michy Batshuayi’s cutback over the crossbar.

Stuart Dallas’s fizzing low drive then forced a great save from Guaita and Harrison’s angled effort struck the crossbar as Leeds chased a third goal.

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FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP: BAYERN MUNICH BEAT AL AHLY TO SET UP FINAL WITH TIGRES

Bayern Munich moved closer to clinching their second-ever FIFA Club World Cup title by defeating Al Ahly in the penultimate round of the competition. The reigning European champions put in an impressive performance to cruise to a 2-0 victory on Monday.

The Bavarians, having named a strong starting lineup for the test, were fully in control from start to finish. It did not take them long to leave their mark with Robert Lewandowski opening the scoring in the 17th minute. The Polish striker then put the game to bed by heading home his second of the night in the 86th minute.

With the night’s result, Bayern Munich will take on Mexican side Tigres in the final of the FIFA Club World Cup on Thursday. The latter defeated South American champions Palmeiras to set up the showdown with Hansi Flick’s. They resultantly became the first team from the CONCACAF region to reach the final of the competition.

For Bayern Munich, the upcoming clash presents them with the opportunity to win their sixth title in 12 months. The German club stamped their dominance in 2020 by securing the German league title and DFB Pokal, the UEFA Champions League, as well as the German and European Super Cups

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UCL: MAN CITY’S CLASH WITH BORRUSIA MONCHEGLADBACH MOVED TO BUDAPEST.

Manchester City’s Champions League tie away to Borussia Monchengladbach will be played in Budapest due to travel restrictions imposed amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Premier League leaders will follow Liverpool in travelling to the Hungarian capital to face German opposition, with City’s round-of-16 first-leg match on February 24 to be played at the Puskas Arena.

Liverpool are due to play RB Leipzig at the same venue eight days earlier.

A ban on foreign nationals arriving into Germany is due to expire on February 17, a day after Liverpool’s match, but the restrictions are expected to be extended, leading Gladbach to seek alternatives for their own fixture.

A UEFA statement said: “UEFA can confirm that the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 first-leg match between Borussia VfL 1900 Monchengladbach and Manchester City FC will now take place at the Puskas Arena in Budapest.

“The date of the match (24 February 2021) and kick-off time (21:00CET) will remain the same.

“UEFA would like to thank Borussia VfL 1900 Monchengladbach and Manchester City FC for their close cooperation and support, as well as the Hungarian Football Federation for their assistance and agreeing to host the match in question.”

Leipzig are due at Anfield for their return leg on March 10, while Gladbach are scheduled to travel to the Etihad Stadium on March 16.

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HAMILTON AGREES NEW ONE-YEAR DEAL WITH MERCEDES

Lewis Hamilton has ended his long-running contract saga with Mercedes by signing a new one-year deal.

The seven-time world champion’s extension was announced by the sport’s all-conquering team on Monday ahead of the new Formula One campaign which gets under way in Bahrain next month.

Hamilton (36) will be bidding to win an unprecedented eighth world title.

Hamilton has been in the unusual situation of being out of contract since his last £40million (€45.5 million)-a-year deal expired on the final day of December.

But after several weeks of negotiations with Mercedes, the British driver’s future has finally been settled, albeit with both parties agreeing to only one extra year.

“I am excited to be heading into my ninth season with my Mercedes team-mates,” said Hamilton, who has spent much of the off-season training in America.

“Our team has achieved incredible things together, and we look forward to building on our success even further, while continuously looking to improve, both on and off the track.”

Hamilton, who persuaded his Mercedes team to change their livery from silver to black to highlight the fight against racism, added: “I’m equally determined to continue the journey we started to make motorsport more diverse for future generations, and I am grateful that Mercedes has been extremely supportive of my call to address this issue.

“I’m proud to say we are taking that effort further this year by launching a foundation dedicated to diversity and inclusion in the sport. I am inspired by all that we can build together and can’t wait to get back on the track in March.”

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said: “We have always been aligned with Lewis that we would continue, but the very unusual year we had in 2020 meant it took some time to finish the process.

“Together, we have decided to extend the sporting relationship for another season and to begin a longer-term project to take the next step in our shared commitment to greater diversity within our sport.”

Hamilton surpassed Michael Schumacher’s record number of victories last season and emulated the German by winning a seventh title.

Wolff, who has overseen Hamilton’s six of seven triumphs at Mercedes, added: “Lewis’s competitive record stands alongside the best the sports world has ever seen, and he is a valued ambassador for our brand and our partners.

“The story of Mercedes and Lewis has written itself into the history books of our sport over the past eight seasons, and we are hungry to compete and to add more chapters to it.”

Hamilton galloped to last year’s title, wrapping up the record-equalling triumph with three rounds remaining at November’s Turkish Grand Prix.

But the Briton was forced to miss the penultimate round in Bahrain after he contracted coronavirus.

His stand-in, Englishman George Russell, was on course for a brilliant win before a Mercedes pit-stop howler and puncture derailed his chances.

Russell (22) is entering the final year of his three-season contract with Williams and will be eyeing a seat at Mercedes in 2022.

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MIKE DEAN TO MISS PREMIER LEAGUE MATCHES AFTER DEATH THREATS

Referee Mike Dean has decided not to officiate at any Premier League games this weekend after he and his family received death threats following recent controversial red card decisions, media reported on Monday.

Dean was criticised after he sent off Southampton defender Jan Bednarek during their 9-0 defeat at Manchester United last Tuesday and West Ham United midfielder Tomas Soucek during Saturday’s 0-0 draw away to Fulham.

Bednarek was sent off for a last-man challenge on United forward Anthony Martial, while Soucek was dismissed after appearing to accidentally elbow Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic in the face.

Both decisions were overturned on appeal.

Mike Riley, chief of the refereeing body PGMOL, condemned the abuse directed at Dean.

“Threats and abuse of this nature are totally unacceptable and we fully support Mike’s decision to report these messages his family received to the police,” Riley said.

“Nobody should be a victim of abhorrent messages like this. Online abuse is unacceptable in any walk of life and more needs to be done to tackle the problem.”

Dean will take charge of Leicester City’s FA Cup fifth-round tie at home to Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday, the BBC said.

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CITY LOSS: KLOPP SAYS LIVERPOOL AFTER TOP FOUR

Jurgen Klopp says top four is now Liverpool’s ‘main target’ after suggesting Alisson’s blunders at Manchester City could have been down to cold feet.

The Liverpool goalkeeper twice passed straight to City players as Pep Guardiola’s side stormed to a 4-1 win at Anfield which puts them five points clear of Manchester United at the top of the Premier League table and 10 points ahead of defending champions Liverpool, with a game in hand on both.

Liverpool currently sit fourth, one point ahead of West Ham and Klopp accepts his priority is now to ensure his side qualify for next season’s Champions League, with a successful title defence looking out of reach.

“That is of course our main target, that is clear,” Klopp said when asked about a top-four finish. “We will try everything.

“There is enough games to play to secure that – but we have to win games and tonight we didn’t.”

On Alisson’s errors, which allowed City to add their crucial second and third goals through Ilkay Gundogan and Raheem Sterling, Klopp said: “You cannot hide them.

“It’s two [instances] where we didn’t give him a lot of options, especially around the first one. I think the second one, yeah, he just mis-hit the ball.

“I don’t know, it’s not a real explanation for it but maybe he had cold feet or something. It sounds funny but could be. But there’s still the opportunity to kick it in the stands.

“But Ali has saved our life plenty of times, no doubt about that, and tonight he made two mistakes and that’s how it is.”

Despite the mistakes and impact of the defeat on Liverpool’s hopes of winning back-to-back Premier League titles, Klopp insisted he was happy with the performance of his team.

He felt his side could have gone on to win when Mohamed Salah’s penalty cancelled out Gundogan’s opener and believes Liverpool would have been closer to City if they’d been at that level throughout the season.

“If you lose 4-1 it is of course not our day but a big part of the game was a brilliant game from my side,” he said.

“We played really good football. I really liked it. In the first half we played really good football. Against City it doesn’t mean you are 2-0 or 3-0 up it only means you’re in the game. I’m not sure what the possession was but it was for sure not what it’s like usually for City.

“Start of the second half, City changed their system slightly to a 4-4-2. It’s a little adaptation in the end but in that start of the second half we didn’t give enough options to play and gave the first goal away.

“They scored that goal, we scored the equaliser, which in that moment it looked like the game could now go in our direction. We looked really good again.

“We make two massive mistakes, that’s clear. Everybody saw them, they used them. 3-1 down in a game like this is really tough to take and then [Phil] Foden with a genius situation where he scores the fourth goal.

“The performance was good most of the time. Really, really good, on a high level. If we’d played more often like tonight, we would not be 10 points behind City.

“The goals, we made massive mistakes. Against each team it is a problem, against City it’s a killer. And that’s why we lost the game.”

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LIGUE 1: GOLOVIN HITS HATRICK IN MONACO GOAL THRILLER WIN, DAVID’S DOUBLE HELP LILLE GO TOP.

Jonathan David’s red-hot form continued as the LOSC forward scored both goals for the leaders at Raymond Domenech’s struggling Nantes. David has hit form at just the right time for LOSC’s title chances, his purple patch coinciding with Burak Yilmaz’s injury.

David, who didn’t net his first Lille goal until November, has now scored five in his last five outings. His first (9′) saw him slam the ball past Alban Lafont after a defensive mix-up and the Canadian international added a second with his left foot on the break (83′), set up by Renato Sanches. Lille have won their last six league matches and are not going away at the summit, while Nantes have now gone 15 games without a maximum haul.
NANTES 0-2 LILLE


Golovin, the Russian international, has been superb since returning from injury and he scored a fabulous hat-trick to ensure Niko Kovac’s side’s winning run continued at the start of 2021. Golovin added an assist to his triple salvo in a match that Nîmes made difficult for Monaco without being able to prevent the Principality club recording a seventh win of 2021.

After Golovin had scored two (3′ and 12′), Zinedine Ferhat inspired Nîmes’ comeback, setting up the first for Lucas Deaux (23′) and scoring the second (32′). Golovin’s fantastic free-kick (62′) put Monaco ahead again before Golovin turned provider for Kevin Volland (78′). Niclas Eliasson (81′) ensured there would be a nervy finish.
NIMES 3-4 MONACO


Gaêtan Laborde scored twice as Montpellier ended their winless streak at nine matches. Téji Savanier and sub Petr Skuletic scored the other Montpellier goals in a match in which Dijon scored first through Senou Coulibaly. Coulibaly was sent off for a second yellow card in the second half.
MONTPELLIER 4-2 DIJON


After eight home games without a win, Nice finally came good at Allianz Riviera. They were sent on their way by a Souleyman Doumbia own goal, with Myziane Maolida and Amine Gouiri adding the gloss to the scoreline.
NICE 3-0 ANGERS


ASSE made it seven points from three games as they beat high-flying Metz. Romain Hamoula’s free-kick was tipped onto the post by Alexandre Oukidja and the luckless John Boye ended up scoring the own goal that decided the match. SAINT-ETIENNE 1-0 METZ

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SEIRE A: IBRAHIMOVIC BREAKS 500 GOAL BARRIER AS AC MILAN WINS TO GO TOP

Zlatan Ibrahimovic took his tally to more than 500 goals in a remarkable club career after scoring twice in AC Milan’s 4-0 battering of Crotone and help his team return to the top of Serie A.

Ibrahimovic fired Milan ahead in the 30th minute with his 500th club goal and extended that tally in the second half. Ante Rebic scored two goals in less than a minute shortly after.

The Swedish veteran was the star of the show, though, maintaining his incredible form 22 years after making his professional debut for Swedish club Malmo in 1999.

“It means that I have scored a few goals in my career,” said the Swede who was substituted with 15 minutes to go.

“The important thing is to continue to help the team in the best possible way. My job is to score and create situations to score.”

Ibrahimovic reached the landmark in 825 games, having played for three Serie A sides, Juventus, Inter and Milan, as well as Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United, Barcelona, Ajax and Los Angeles Galaxy.

He has now scored 396 league goals, 57 in European competitions and 48 in cup games.

The former Sweden striker returned to Milan in January 2020 and has scored 27 goals in 37 appearances since.

He has scored 14 league goals in 11 games this season, two short of top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo. Ibrahimovic also scored 62 times in 116 international appearances for Sweden.

Milan, meanwhile, move two points above second-place Inter Milan, who won 2-0 at Fiorentina on Friday. The two Milan teams meet in two weeks.

“We’re thinking one game at a time. Today we just needed to win and we did that. We did well in the second half, in the first half we were too slow,” Milan captain Alessio Romagnoli said.

“We’re thinking about the Champions League as an objective, then at the start of April we will see.”

Crotone came into the match rock bottom having lost five of their previous six matches.

Milan thought they had taken an early lead but Davide Calabria’s goal was disallowed as Ibrahimovic had been offside in the build-up.

They did break the deadlock when Ibrahimovic played a one-two with Rafael Leao before placing an angled drive into the far side of the goal.

Ibrahimovic’s 501st club goal was perhaps the easiest he has scored as he was left unmarked, six yards out, to tap in Theo Hernandez’s low cross.

That was in the 64th minute, and Crotone then fell apart.

Rebic headed in Hakan Calhanoglu’s corner in the 69th and then, moments later, fired in the rebound after Ibrahimovic’s effort had been parried by Crotone goalkeeper Alex Cordaz.