SPORTS
Liverpool Close on Man City as Arsenal Draw Blank
Liverpool kept hope of a Premier League title race alive as a 3-1 win over Crystal Palace cut the gap on leaders Manchester City to nine points, while Arsenal missed the chance to move into the top four after being held 0-0 by Burnley.
Jurgen Klopp’s men also have a game in hand to come on the champions and face City away in April with the chance to further reduce the gap.
By the time Liverpool take the field again on Premier League duty, they should be bolstered by the return of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane from their international duties at the Africa Cup of Nations.
The visitors showed no sign of missing their talismen as they blew Palace away in the opening half hour before being forced to hang on in the second half.
“It was a bit Jekyll and Hyde football today,” said Klopp after a performance of two halves from his side. “It showed how insanely good we can be and how bad as well”.
Virgil van Dijk’s towering header from Andy Robertson’s corner opened the scoring just eight minutes in.
Robertson was the creator again when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain doubled Liverpool’s lead with a calm finish.
However, Palace served warning of what was to come in the second half before the break as Alisson Becker had to make fine saves from Michael Olise and Jean-Philippe Mateta to keep the Eagles at bay.
The Brazilian spread himself brilliantly to deny Odsonne Edouard’s backheel, while Conor Gallagher somehow failed to turn in Olise’s dangerous cross in a blistering start to the second period from the hosts.
Palace finally got their reward with a brilliant move as Jeffrey Schlupp and Mateta teed up Edouard for a tap-in.
Alisson was needed once again to keep his side in the lead and turn Olise’s inventive lob behind.
But Liverpool’s two-goal cushion was restored in controversial circumstances a minute from time when a penalty was given after a lengthy VAR intervention for Vicente Guaita’s block on Diogo Jota.
“When we scored, the game was there for us to go and try and get that draw. But the referee killed our legs today,” said furious Palace boss Patrick Vieira.
Fabinho sent Guaita the wrong way from the spot to seal the points to Klopp’s relief.
Meanwhile, Arsenal failed to bounce back from their League Cup semifinal defeat to Liverpool in midweek as Mikel Arteta’s men were frustrated by a Burnley side that had not played a league game since January 2.
The Clarets have up to four games in hand on some of their relegation rivals and gave their hopes of survival a huge boost despite remaining bottom of the table.
Nick Pope kept the Gunners at bay despite enjoying over 75 per cent possession and having 20 shots on goal.
The finals of Gov. Peter Mbah Secondary Schools Games, on Thursday began in Enugu with the arrival and accreditation of athletes at Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium Enugu.
Dan Onwuegbuna, Director, Information, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Enugu State, said in a statement on Thursday that the games would be held between Aug.
7 and Aug. 10 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium and the Enugu State Sports Council.“The games is designed to help the state discover talents to represent the state at the forthcoming U15 National Youth Games scheduled to take place in Asaba, Delta, from Aug. 26 to Sept. 6,” he stated.
Onwuegbuna said that apart from representing the state at the Youth Games in Asaba, talented athletes discovered would represent the state in other competitions.
He quoted the Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Lloyd Ekweremadu as thanking Gov. Peter Mbah for approving the games.
Onwuegbuna said that the games was made possible following the collaboration between the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the state Post Primary Schools Management Board (PPSMB).
The games finals followed the outcome of the inter- Secondary Schools competitions held at the local government areas in the six Educational Zones in the State – Enugu, Agbani, Awgu, Udi, Nsukka and Udenu.
“The games will feature athletics, boxing, chess, basketball, volleyball, football, tennis and scrabble,” Onwuegbuna stated.
Super Falcons goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie has been nominated for the 2025 Women’s Yachine Trophy, the Ballon d’Or award for the best female goalkeeper.
The 24-year-old recently joined Brighton Women FC from Paris FC after helping the French side win their first major title in nearly two decades.
Nnadozie delivered a heroic performance in the final of the 2025 Coupe de France Féminine, where Paris FC edged Paris Saint-Germain 5-4 on penalties following a goalless draw at Stade de l’Épopée in Calais.She was also instrumental in Nigeria’s success at the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), where the Super Falcons secured a record-extending 10th continental crown against host nation, Morocco.
Her standout displays earned her the Best Goalkeeper award and a place in the Team of the Tournament.
Other nominees for the Yachine Trophy include Ann-Katrin Berger (Gotham FC), Cata Coll (Barcelona Femeni), Hannah Hampton (Chelsea Women) and Daphne van Domselaar (Arsenal Women).
Nigeria’s Super Falcons maintained 36th position in the latest FIFA women’s world ranking.
The latest ranking was released on FIFA’s official website yesterday.
While the Super Falcons remain the number one team in Africa, WAFCON 2024 runners-up Morocco are third on the continent and dropped to 64th spot in the world.
Former WAFCON champions Banyana Banyana of South Africa maintained 54th place in the world and second in Africa.
Ghana’s Black Queens who claimed third place at the WAFCON dropped to 67th position in the global ranking.
The Super Falcons recently won their 10th Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) after coming from 2-0 down to beat hosts Morocco 3-2 in the final.
Second half goals from Esther Okoronkwo, Folashade Ijamilusi and substitute Jennifer Echegini completed the turnaround.
Okoronkwo, scored a goal and provided two assists against the Moroccans was Named Player of the Match.
Chiamaka Nnadozie was named Goalkeeper of the Tournament while Captain Rasheedat Ajibade won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.
Meanwhile, World champions Spain (1st, up 1) had an impressive run to the final of the UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 with five back-to-back wins, which was enough to see them reclaim top spot in the ranking, a position they previously held from December 2023 to June 2024.
The USA (2nd, down 1) have therefore been knocked off their perch, which they had occupied since August 2024.
However, three convincing home wins in friendlies during this period have kept the USA in contention, and they are now sitting less than two points behind Spain.
The top 10 has been shaken up completely since the June edition of the ranking, with France (6th, up 4) performing best among them.
France completed a flawless group stage at the European Championship before falling to Germany in the quarter-finals.
The next edition of the Women’s World Ranking will be published on 11 December 2025.
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