Newcastle United halted Aston Villa’s 17-match unbeaten run in the Premier League at home, securing a commanding 3-1 win fuelled by Fabian Schar’s first-half brace.

Following a morale-boosting FA Cup triumph at Fulham, Newcastle aimed to avoid a fifth consecutive league defeat, a feat not experienced since 2021.

Despite early promise, clear-cut chances were scarce until Anthony Gordon’s close-range effort was deftly saved by Emiliano Martinez.

Undeterred, Newcastle capitalised on their positive start, with Schar netting two goals in four minutes, first converting Kieran Trippier’s corner and then doubling his tally after Gordon’s attempt hit the bar.

In the second half, Newcastle extended their lead as Jacob Murphy scored via a tricky deflection from Alex Moreno after Miguel Almiron’s delivery.

Villa responded with determination, as Ollie Watkins notched his 50th Premier League goal from Leon Bailey’s cut-back, setting the stage for a thrilling final quarter-hour.

Despite Villa’s late surge, Newcastle’s defence held firm, securing their first league win since mid-December.

Aston Villa hope to bounce back against Sheffield United on Saturday after their first home defeat in the Premier League since February 2023.

Al Ettihad striker, Karim Benzema could be reunited with former Real Madrid team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr before the January transfer window closes.

Benzema’s future is uncertain and he has been linked with away from the Saudi Pro League club.

According to L’Equipe, the French striker has spoken to a Riyadh-based club, fuelling speculations that he could link up with Ronaldo at Al-Nassr.

Head coach of Al-Ittihad, Marcelo Gallardo, is believed to have frozen Benzema out, with the club open to letting him leave on a temporary deal in January, but only within the Saudi Pro League.

Other than Al-Nassr, league leaders Al-Hilal are also being linked with the player.

Super Eagles defender, Ola Aina, has named the most skillful player in the team.

Aina has been one of Nigeria’s finest players at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

The Nottingham Forest fullback has been hailed for his quality on and off the ball.But he regards AC Milan’s Samuel Chukwueze as more skilful.

Speaking to reporters after training on Monday, Aina was asked if he was the most talented player in the Super Eagles squad.

He replied “I don’t know. I don’t think so”.

When pressed further on who was the most skilful player, Aina added, “Samuel Chukwueze. Yeah, I think it’s Samuel.”

Chukwueze has featured in three of Nigeria’s four games at the AFCON, starting in the wins over Cote d’Ivoire and Guinea-Bissau.

The organisers of the youth League have revealed that the venue for the South-South qualifiers has been moved from Asaba to Port Harcourt.

The chairman of the organising committee, Pastor Emeka Inyama, made the disclosure in Abuja.

The reason for the change in venue was not revealed.

Akwa United, Bayelsa United, Bendel Insurance and Rivers United are the teams that will be participate at the new venue.

Teams are expected to arrive at their zonal grounds on January 30 while screening and documentation will hold on January 31.

Other zones are Kaduna for North East and North West, Enugu for South East, Ekiti for South West and Lafia for North Central.

The zonal qualifiers of the competition is billed to hold between February 1-3 across all centres.

Former Manchester United captain, Roy Keane has blamed Tottenham Hotspur star Guglielmo Vicario for his role in Manchester City’s FA Cup-winning goal on Friday.

Keane believes Pep Guardiola’s side targeted Tottenham’s ‘weak’ goalkeeper during the encounter.

Recall that Man City qualified for the fifth round of the FA Cup after securing their first-ever win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Friday night with a 1-0 victory.

Nathan Ake scored the only goal of the match after 88 minutes, prodding home after Vicario was unable to hold onto Kevin de Bruyne’s corner.

However, Keane feels Vicario failed to command his area.

“The goalkeeper has got to command that six-yard area,” Keane told ITV Sport.

“A goalkeeping coach I used to work with years ago, he used to say – and I loved it – you come with violence. You come and attack that space and clear people out of the way. You have got to let them know you are there. If defenders are backing into you, be physical. Command that area.”

“They had worked on that, they knew there was a weakness,” Keane added.

“We were getting frustrated with it too, we thought City might try a few shot corners but they persevered and eventually got it right. They looked at that goalkeeper and said, “right he will be weak in that area.”’

Arsenal is competing with Bayern Munich to sign Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi for their manager Mikel Arteta in the summer.

The Premier League North London club failed with an attempt to sign Zubimendi last year.

The Gunners instead decided to spend the majority of their summer budget on a £105 million deal for Declan Rice.

Bayern Munich, on the other hand, were not successful in their bid to sign Joao Palhinha from Fulham last summer but remains in the market for a new central midfielder once this season is over.

According to Bild’s Bayern Insider podcast, Zubimendi is one of The Bavarians’ top targets for the summer but Arsenal are providing ‘serious’ competition.

The report added that Arteta has already held talks with Zubimendi and the 24-year-old Spanish footballer would be open to joining Arsenal.

Zubimendi has a €60 million release clause in his current deal with Real Sociedad.

Liverpool’s manager, Jurgen Klopp, has revealed his decision to step down from the role at the end of the season, emphasising he is “running out of energy.”

Appointed in October 2015 with a contract set initially until 2026, Klopp’s tenure has been marked by significant achievements, including winning the Champions League in 2019 and securing Liverpool’s first league title in 30 years during the 2019-20 season.

“I told the club already in November,” said Klopp, who disclosed his decision with Liverpool leading the Premier League.

“I love absolutely everything about this club, I love everything about the city, I love everything about our supporters, I love the team, I love the staff. I love everything. But that I still take this decision shows you that I am convinced it is the one I have to take,” Klopp explained.

Expressing his commitment but acknowledging waning energy, Klopp stated, “I know that I cannot do the job again and again and again and again.”

Klopp, the only Liverpool manager to achieve victories in the league title, European Cup/Champions League, FA Cup, and EFL Cup, steered Liverpool to their sixth European Cup in 2019 and lifted the Premier League trophy in 2019-20.

While Klopp secured domestic cup success in the 2021-22 season, Liverpool narrowly missed a quadruple, finishing second in the Premier League to Manchester City and losing the Champions League final to Real Madrid in Paris.

Despite a silverware-less season last year, Liverpool remains in contention for four trophies this term, recently securing a place in the Carabao Cup final by defeating Fulham on Wednesday.

Kwara United head coach Kabiru Dogo has revealed that the team is working to bring in more new signings before the end of the transfer window.

Dogo disclosed this during a chat with newsmen in Ilorin.

He pointed out that the reinforcement would bring healthy competition to the team.

Dogo, however, commended new recruit Afeez Nosiru on his debut against Sunshine Stars.

“Having Afeez in the team is a bonus to us; he brings experience, commitment and dedication to the team,” he stated during his address.

“We are also working on bringing in new faces that will help us through the hostilities of the second round.”

The president of the Cameroon Football Federation, Samuel Eto’o, was seen celebrating their qualification for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations last 16 with players and coaches of the team on Tuesday night.

In a clip that has gone viral on social media, Eto’o joined the jubilation in the dressing room, following their 3-2 win over Gambia in their final Group C fixtures.

The former Chelsea and Inter Milan striker danced and hugged all the players.

The Indomitable Lions will now face Nigeria in the Round of 16.

The Super Eagles finished second in Group A behind Equatorial Guinea.

Nigeria defeated Cameroon 3-2 the last time both countries played each other at the same stage in 2019 in Egypt.

Chelsea will face either Liverpool or Fulham in the Carabao Cup final.

The Blues thrashed Middlesbrough 6-1 at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night to qualify.

Boro came into the second leg of the semi-final tie with a slim 1-0 advantage.

However, they were blown away by Mauricio Pochettino’s men in the second leg.

At the end of the first half, Chelsea were leading 4-0, thanks to Jonny Howson’s own goal and goals from Enzo Fernandez, Axel Disasi and Cole Palmer.

Palmer and Noni Madueke added more goals after the break, while Morgan Rogers added a late consolation for the visitors.

Liverpool head into the second semi-final against Fulham with a 2-1 lead from the first leg.

Chelsea Women are closing in on a deal to sign Mayra Ramirez from Levante for a club-record fee.

The 24-year-old has impressed at the Spanish club, scoring six goals in seven league games this season.

Last term, the Colombian netted 14 times.

Chelsea are looking to bring in a striker this window, after Sam Kerr suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.

Kerr suffered the injury during a warm weather training camp in Morocco earlier this month.

Ramirez is set to become Chelsea’s most expensive signing, surpassing the £250,000 fee paid for Pernille Harder from Wolfsburg in 2020.

Jose Peseiro says Super Eagles must be more clinical if Nigeria want to go far in the knockout stages of AFCON 2023.

Nigeria booked their passage into the last 16 after defeating Guinea Bissau on Monday, thanks to a first-half own goal by Opa Sangante.

The win was enough to earn them second place in Group A.

Nigeria dominated the game but poor finishing ensured it was a tense encounter to the end, with Victor Osimhen missing several chances to secure the three points earlier in the contest.

Both teams also had late goals correctly ruled out for offside.

Peseiro said during a post-match conference that the team could not afford to continue to miss clear chances in front of goal as it might be detrimental to Nigeria’s progress in the tournament.

“It is a new competition that is starting for us. The most important part of a competitionin is the knockout stage.

“We will have to be more clinical in front of goal because the slightest mistake will be fatal for us,” he said.

Nigeria are in the round of 16 of the AFCON for the 17th time.

They will next face the runners-up of Group C – either Guinea or Senegal – on Saturday.

Police have been mobilised after supporters of the host nation Cote d’Ivoire resorted to violence following the country’s disastrous 4-0 loss to Equatorial Guinea in their final group game on Monday.

ÀIn a video seen by Peoples Gazette, the body of a bus apparently forced to be abandoned as a result of the violence was riddled with holes that looked like it was pelted by stones.The windows of the bus were also shattered.

Another video showed things being burnt in the streets of Abidjan as police could be seen converging around the area.

“Had to run for cover after escaping on the bus,” a Nigerian journalist covering the tournament said in a WhatsApp group for reporters covering the 2023 AFCON.

“…and hide my journalist tag,” he added.

The shocking defeat to Equatorial Guinea left Cote d’Ivoire with a very slim chance of advancing to the knockout phase of the tournament as one of the four third-best-placed teams in the group stage.

With three points and a negative three-goal difference, the Ivorians can only hope that fewer than four teams better their group stage record to have the chance of reaching the round of 16.

Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria have already taken the two automatic qualification tickets to the round of 16 from Group A.

The Nigeria Men Handball team on Sunday defeated the Kenyan opponent 32-23 in their third game at the ongoing Africa Men’s Handball Cup of Nations in Egypt.

This is first victory of the team after losing their two earlier matches against Angola and Tanzania.

Nigeria will play a placement match against Republic of Congo on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

The team also known as ‘Golden Arrows’ were determined to win their match to avenge their two earlier matches.

They started on a good note by defeating Kenya in the first half by 16-9 and finally won by 32-23 at the end of the second half.

The assistant coach of the Nigerian team, Solomon Yola, said the team would fight to win their next match.

He said, “It is unfortunate that they lost their previous games but they also fought well in those games. They played well and we can see the result.’’

They lost their first match against Angola at 24-26 and they also lost their second game against Tanzania at 19-36.

The team is grouped in group D alongside with the 10-time champion, Tunisia, as well as Angola and Kenya.

The 26th Africa Men Handball Nations Cup, which started on January 17 in Cairo, Egypt, is expected to end on January 29.

Kano Pillars Football Club on Sunday defeated visiting Heartland FC of Owerri 2-1 in one of the match day 19 fixtures of the Nigerian Professional Football League.

The match was played behind closed doors at the Sani Abacha Stadium, Kano, following sanctions including a N12 million fine imposed on the Pillars by the League Management Company.

This was as a result of encroachment by some of Kano Pillars supporters into the pitch which caused a delay in the live coverage of their home game against Plateau United in a match day 17 encounter.

Kano Pillars midfielder, Suleiman Idris, scored in the 47th minute, while Rabiu Ali doubled the lead when he converted a penalty in the 85th minute.

Clement Ogbobe scored a consolation goal for the visitors in the added time through a well taken free kick.

Sunday’s result ensured Pillars finished the first stanza of the league in the fifth position with 32 points from 19 games and would play their next game against Heartland FC after the break.

After the game, Heartland Coach, Chris Obi, said that the match was tough, noting that players of both teams gave a good account of themselves.

Mr Obi explained that Pillars’ determination to win the game at home paid off, as his team would go back and prepare for the second stanza of the league.

He said that would continue to work on the players to improve the club’s performance.

“The league is still open and Heartland is not a write-off; no one is sure of winning the league. We are going to improve in the remaining 19 matches to ensure we finish well,” he said.

On his part, the Assistant Coach of Kano Pillars, Abubakar Musa, expressed satisfaction with his players’ performance throughout the encounter.

“We knew it was going to be a tough match, so we trained hard and it paid off,” Musa said.

He said the victory would boost his team’s morale towards making a great impact in the second phase of the league.