Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, has said his team cannot think about winning a fifth consecutive Premier League title, following a 2-2 draw at Crystal Palace on Saturday.

The champions had to come back twice at Selhurst Park to earn a point.

However, the hopes of taking three points were hit after Rico Lewis was shown a second yellow card.

City remain in fourth place, eight points behind leaders Liverpool.

Arsenal and Chelsea could both go four points clear of Guardiola’s men, if they win at Fulham and Tottenham respectively on Sunday.

“We take a point. We fought incredibly and came back twice.

“It’s a season to suffer. We’ll see what happens in the last months.

“We cannot talk about the title race when we lose four games in a row and draw.

“We’ll try to recover players. We’ll see in the last month,” Guardiola said.

Real Madrid striker, Kylian Mbappe, has taken full responsibility for his side’s 2-1 defeat at Athletic Club on Wednesday night.

Mbappe missed his second penalty in one week as the LaLiga champions suffered a fourth loss in their last seven games in all competitions.

Athletic took the lead thanks to Alex Berenguer’s effort in the 53rd minute.

Mbappe had the chance to level from the spot, but he stroked another weak shot that was saved by Julen Agirrezabala.

Madrid equalized in the 78th minute when Jude Bellingham fired home a rebound.

However, an error by Federico Valverde saw the ball break for Gorka Guruzeta to score the winner one minute later.

Writing on Instagram, Mbappe said: “Bad result. A big mistake in a match where every detail counts.

Junichi Inamoto, the first Japanese player to play in the Premier League, will retire at the end of the season, the 45-year-old announced in a social media post on Wednesday.

The midfielder earned 82 international caps and scored the winner in Japan’s first win in the World Cup in a 1-0 victory over Russia in 2002.

Inamoto played his first match in England’s top-flight league at Fulham the same year, after an underwhelming season at Arsenal. He also played for West Bromwich Albion, Cardiff City, Galatasaray, Stade Rennais and other European clubs before returning to Japan in 2010.

“I have done it all… I have been so happy to be able to continue playing football until I’m satisfied with my life,” Inamoto, who currently plays for Japanese fifth-tier side Nankatsu SC, wrote on Instagram.

Manchester United are unbeaten in their first three games under Ruben Amorim and have climbed into the top half of the Premier League table but the Portuguese faces the first real test of his managerial skills at high-flying Arsenal tomorrow.

United, who are in ninth place 15 points adrift of leaders Liverpool, have struggled to score this season with 13 goals in their first 12 league matches, but the floodgates finally opened on Sunday when they thumped Everton 4-0 at Old Trafford.

However, they travel to the Emirates knowing full well the scale of the task at hand, having lost their last three meetings with Arsenal, who are in second spot, six points above United.

“It’s the best team that we have faced by far. But a test is every game. If you saw the last game (against Everton), it was really tough…,” Amorim told reporters .”It’s important to be brave (on Wednesday), when I say it’s brave it’s not pressing all the time higher. It’s not the same. You have to understand the game, the moments of the game. We need to have the ball, that is a key point.

“We want to have the ball, we want to dominate some moments of the game, because you know these matches it’s hard to control all the game. We have to be brave and play the game.”

Amorim said captain Bruno Fernandes, who was taken off in the 66th minute on Sunday, trained with the team and would be fit, adding: “I saw him already (on Monday) morning. He’s fit and he doesn’t need a lot of rest. He’s prepared to play.”

Amorim also praised 19-year-old defender Leny Yoro, who was signed from Lille this year but has yet to play in a competitive fixture for United after picking up a foot injury in pre-season.

“His fitness is better. I think he’s going to be in the squad. The rest I have to see because some players are tired. We have to assess them in tomorrow’s training,” Amorim said.

“I think he (Yoro) is a special talent. We have to be careful in these first moments because we didn’t have too many training (sessions) together. He’s been training, not alone but in a small group of players.

“He’s really fast he’s a modern defender, that is good when you want to press high and you leave a lot of strikers – especially in this league – one v one. I think he can manage that. He’s very good with the ball, I’m really excited.”

Arsenal have gone second in the Premier League table, following a 5-2 win at West Ham in Saturday’s late kick-off.

The Gunners are the only title challengers that played today, with most of the big games scheduled for tomorrow.

And they took full advantage by claiming maximum points at the London Stadium.

Gabriel Magalhaes opened the scoring from a corner-kick, before Leandro Trossard tapped in Bukayo Saka’s low cross.

Arsenal captain, Martin Odegaard, stroked home a penalty, before Kai Havertz ran through to make it 4-0.

The hosts fought back with two goals from Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Emerson Palmeri. But Saka scored again from the spot.

Mikel Arteta’s men now have 25 points, six behind Liverpool who host Manchester City on Sunday.

Super Eagles striker Victor Boniface has come under heavy criticism in Germany for using his mobile phone while driving too fast and recklessly on the highway.

This comes just weeks after he was involved in a car crash in Frankfurt that he escaped with minor injuries.

Photos of him scrolling his phone while driving his Mercedes Benz while hanging out with Nigerian rapper Zoro Swagbag were posted on his social media.

It showed he was driving at 141 kilometres per hour on a highway that allows only 120 kilometres per hour.

The fact that he also liked the post on social media did more damage to his reputation.

Germany’s leading newspaper Bild published the flood of criticisms against the Super Eagles striker’s for going recklessly against the traffic laws.

The player is currently sidelined by a thigh injury he suffered while on Super Eagles duty against Rwanda recently.

LALIGA leaders Barcelona’s 125th anniversary celebrations were spoiled by Las Palmas who claimed a shock 2-1 victory on Saturday after Fábio Silva scored the winner to extend the hosts’ winless league run to three games.

In a game dominated by Barça, who had 70% of possession and peppered the goal with almost 30 shots, it was Las Palmas who made their few chances count to claim a famous triumph.

Barça remain on 34 points and lead second placed Real Madrid by four but their rivals now have two games in hand, while the victory moved Las Palmas up to 14th place on 15 points.

“I think when we don’t score the goals, the team struggles a little bit and this is what we have to change,” Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said.

“If we don’t score a goal, then maybe it’s possible for us to keep a clean sheet. So we have to defend better as a team, not only the last four or the defensive players, but the whole team and we can do it better.”

Rave-of-the-moment, Ademola Lookman, is yet again in the mix for his recent rich vein of form with Atalanta after the Lega Serie announced the six candidates for November’s Player of the Month.

The 27-year-old Nigeria International has been among the goals for Atalanta in the month under review after netting thrice including a brace in that famous 3-0 win against top of the table side, Napoli.

In the on-going campaign, Lookman has registered an impressive nine goals and five assists in 15 appearances across all competitions with Atalanta.

In a vote to be decided by fans, Lookman will compete for the coveted Serie A November’s Player of the Month along with five others including Alessandro Buongiorno (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter), Moise Kean (Fiorentina), Marcus Thuram (Juventus) and Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio).

“The six players has been selected taking into account the advanced analysis of Stats Perform, created from the tracking data recorded with the Hawk-Eye system,” Lega Serie A explained. “The rating system, patented in 2010 with K-Sport and scientifically validated, considers not only statistical data and technical events, but also positional data. This makes it possible to analyse crucial aspects such as movement without the ball and thus optimal movements, game choices, and the contribution to the technical and physical efficiency of the team, which allow for an objective and qualitative evaluation of the performance.

“For the final calculation were considered the matchdays from 11 to 13 of Serie A 2024/2025.”

Marcus Thuram, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and Mateo Retegui were named Serie A Player of the Month for August, September, and October, respectively.

The Confederation of African Football has appointed match officials from Togo to take charge of the 8th African Nations Championship qualifying match between the senior B teams of Ghana and Nigeria, scheduled for the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday, 22nd December 2024.

The engagement is the first leg of the qualifying fixture between both teams, with the second and concluding leg to take place at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo on Saturday, 28th December.

Aklesso Gnama will be in the role of referee, with compatriots Jonathan Ahonto Koffi, Wassiou Tchamolla Ourotou and Kossi Fabrice Senyo as assistant 1, assistant 2 and fourth official respectively.

Ivan Gator Brown from Liberia will serve as commissioner while Beninoise official Hugues Alain Adjovi will be in the role of referee assessor.

For the return leg in Uyo, Moroccans Hamza El Fariq, Abdessamad Abertoune, Zakaria Bouchtaoui and Hicham Temsamani will work as referee, assistant 1, assistant 2 and fourth official respectively, with Prince Kai Saquee from Sierra Leone as commissioner and Miboti Moise from the Democratic Republic of Congo as referee assessor.

The game in Accra will commence at 4pm Ghana time (5pm in Nigeria) while the return leg will kick off at 5pm.

The winner on aggregate will qualify for the 8th African Nations Championship finals, to be hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania – which will use the event as dress rehearsal to test-run facilities and equipment for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations finals they have been selected to host. The tournament will hold between 1st and 28th February, 2025.

The 15,000-capacity Pa-Ngele Oruta Township Stadium in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, is expected to erupt with excitement as Abakaliki FC, nicknamed ‘The Rice Boys’, take on Madiba FC of Lagos, also known as ‘The Oshodi Boys’ in the Conference B of the Nigeria National League (NNL) 2024 curtain raiser.

Abakaliki FC, formed in October 2024 by the Ebonyi State government, will face a stiff challenge from Madiba FC, who finished third in the NNL Super 8 tournament in Enugu last season. Madiba FC boasts of an experienced coach in Solomon Bala and retains eighty per-cent of their players from the previous season.

On the other hand, Abakaliki FC is led by experienced coach Ifeanyi Onyedika, who has previously coached defunct Ebonyi Angels, Dolphins, Wikki Tourists of Bauchi, and Briller FC of Enugu. With the full backing of Ebonyi State Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru and the presence of two-time Distinguished Senator Obinna as its Chairman, Abakaliki FC is poised to spring surprises in front of their home fans.

The match is expected to be a closely contested encounter, with both teams having the potential to secure a win. However, pundits predict that the game might end in a draw, given the government backing of Abakaliki FC and Madiba FC’s consistency in the NNL.

Fenerbahce manager, Jose Mourinho, has debunked speculations that he is set to bring Cristiano Ronaldo to the club.

With Ronaldo’s time at Al Nassr coming to an end, it was claimed Mourinho wants to bring his compatriot back to European football.

But Mourinho has joked that the 39-year-old would only visit Turkey for food or to see him.

“News about Cristiano Ronaldo to Fenerbahçe is ridiculous,” Mourinho said.

“Cristiano might come to Istanbul to eat because it’s right in the middle of the road between Saudi and Portugal.

“Or maybe he’ll come see his old friend Jose; we can eat at my hotel!”.

Alex Iwobi scored a goal of the highest quality as Fulham suffered a crushing 4-1 defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Craven Cottage on Saturday, Soccernet.ng reports.

Iwobi curled a spectacular left-footed shot into the top far corner to hand Fulham the lead in the 220th minute of the encounter.

It was the Super Eagles midfielder’s third Premier League goal of the season and his 25th in the competition.

However, Wolves fought back progressively through a Matheus Cunha brace and further strikes from João Gomes and Gonçalo Guedes to secure only their second win of the campaign.

The hosts deservedly took the lead with a chance born from Wolves errors. Rayan Ait-Nouri gave the ball away needlessly in his own half and after a cross was missed by Jimenez. Gomes then gave the ball away to allow Iwobi to curl it into the far corner from the edge of the box.

Cunha’s assist for Joao Gomes shortly after half-time put the visitors ahead and Wolves then managed the occasion well to keep Fulham at bay.

Brazilian star Cunha was then assisted by Gomes with an effortless curl into the top corner to make it 3-1 and send the away fans into raptures.

Goncalo Guedes added a late fourth to seal the victory.

The race for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) concluded on Tuesday, confirming the 24 teams set to compete in Morocco next December.

While several teams secured early qualification, others, such as the Benin Republic, clinched their spots at the last moment.

The hosts, Morocco automatically qualified for the tournament.

However, teams like Ghana and several others failed to qualify for the competition.

Here’s a full list of teams that failed to qualify for AFCON 2025.

1. Lesotho

2. Liberia

3. Eswatini

4. Namibia

5. Burundi

6. South Sudan

7. Malawi

8. Gambia

9. Madagascar

10. Central African Republic

11. Cape Verde

12. Togo

13. Ghana

14. Sierra Leone

15. Chad

16. Ethiopia

17. Kenya

18. Congo-Brazzaville

19. Mauritania

20. Rwanda

21. Libya

22. Niger

23. Guinea

24. Guinea-Bissau

The English Premier League has confirmed the dates for the 2025/26 season, set to kick off on Saturday, August 16, 2025, and conclude on Sunday, May 24, 2026.

In a significant move to address player welfare, the league has introduced changes to the festive period schedule. For the first time, no two match rounds will occur within 60 hours of each other during the holiday fixtures. This adjustment aims to ease the physical demands on players, a long-standing concern during the hectic Christmas period.

Additionally, there will be no matches scheduled on Christmas Eve in 2025, a decision expected to be warmly received by players and fans alike.

The Premier League shared these updates in a statement titled “Dates for 2025/26 Premier League Season Confirmed” on its official website, emphasizing its commitment to balancing competitive intensity with player well-being.

The statement read: “The schedule continues to allow more rest time for players over the festive match-round period, with no two rounds taking place within 60 hours of each other. This is in keeping with commitments made to clubs to address the congested Christmas and New Year schedule.”

The statement further explained that the adjustments reflect the Premier League’s dedication to maintaining its competitive edge while safeguarding player well-being.

Key details of the schedule include 33 weekends and five midweek match rounds. The league noted, “The start date of August 16 allows for the maximum player rest time available—83 clear days—from the end of the 2024/25 season. The season end date of May 24, 2026, ensures the Premier League season finishes ahead of the FIFA 2026 World Cup call-up period. There will be no fixture on December 24, 2025.”

Fans can look forward to an action-packed season spanning nine months.

The National Sports Commission has announced Enugu State as the host of the 23rd edition of the National Sports Festival in 2026.

NSC Director-General, Bukola Olopade, disclosed this in a statement on Friday in Abuja.

He said the decision was reached after a top management meeting of the NSC.

According to him, the coal city emerged from a competitive bidding process and the state is set to deliver a world-class event.

The NSF, a biennial multi-sports event, brings together thousands of athletes from the 36 states and the FCT to celebrate sportsmanship, national unity and sporting excellence.

Meanwhile, before Enugu State takes centre stage, the 22nd edition of the festival is set to be held in January 2025 in Ogun, with the Gateway State set to deliver a world-class event.

Olopade, the former chairman of the Local Organising Committee for the Ogun 2025 NSF revealed that the Games will host over 15,000 athletes.

He reaffirmed the NSC’s commitment to supporting Ogun in delivering a premium tournament.

Olopade said that the early selection of Enugu State for the 23rd edition of the Games was in line with international best practices.

“With Enugu’s selection for the 23rd edition, the festival promises to uphold its legacy of excellence, inclusivity, and showcasing the best of Nigerian sports talent.

“This marks the first time the South-Eastern State will be staging the event since its inception in 1973,” he said.

He noted that the early announcement of Enugu would give the state enough time to prepare adequately for the Games and also enhance the corporate image of the Festival.

NAN reports that the 21st edition of the Games was hosted by Asaba, Delta, with over 11,000 athletes participating in the tournament.

Super Eagles caretaker coach, Augustine Eguavoen, has lamented his team’s performance in the defeat to Rwanda on Monday.

The Amavubi stunned their hosts 2-1 at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo in a 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying encounter.

Samuel Chukwueze gave Nigeria the lead one minute before the hour mark.

Thorsten Spitler’s men however rallied to claim all three points with goals from Jimmy Mutsinzi and Innocent Nshuti.

“Below standard, and I feel very sad,” Eguavoen said after the game.

“This result was not what we planned for. We scored and were pushing for a second goal, but, quite against the run of play, we conceded. I tried to change the formation, but it didn’t work.”

Super Eagles of Nigeria have expressed disappointment following their 2-1 shock home defeat to Rwanda in a 2025 Africa Cup Nations, AFCON, qualifier on Monday.

Rwanda defeated Nigeria at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in their final AFCON group D encounter.

AC Milan’s Samuel Chukwueze gave the Super Eagles the lead before the hour mark.

Chukwueze dribbled past three Rwandan players before slotting the ball in the net.

Rwanda fought back and equalized via Jimmy Mutsinzi in the 72nd minute.

The visitors took the lead for the first time in the game through Innocent Nshuti three minutes later.

Reacting, the Super Eagles in a tweet on their X account, wrote:

“We are disappointed to have ended our great run in the Afcon 2025 qualifiers with a home loss.

“We will bounce back. Thank you for all your support through the qualifiers and see you in Morocco.#soarsupereagles.”

Ola Aina left the Super Eagles ahead of their last 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying fixture against Rwanda on Monday, because of a special request by his club.

Nottingham Forest boss, Nuno Espirio Santo, spoke with Nigeria’s interim coach, Augustine Eguavoen.

Santo pleaded with Eguavoen to send Aina back to the UK, especially since the three-time African champions have already sealed qualification.

The Eagles are certain to finish as Group D winners ahead of their final game in the qualifying series after they drew 1-1 with Benin Republic on Thursday.

It led to Santo appealing for the early release of Aina, as Forest prepares to travel to Arsenal after the international break.

With Aina unavailable, Fenerbahce defender Bright Osayi-Samuel is expected to step up and start at right-back against Rwanda.

Ruud van Nistelrooy has broken his silence since he departed Manchester United following Ruben Amorim’s arrival.

The former Netherlands striker returned to Old Trafford last summer to take the role of assistant manager to Erik ten Hag.

Van Nistelrooy was then installed as interim manager after Ten Hag was sacked in October.

During his brief spell, Van Nistelrooy achieved three wins and a draw.

Although some players were clamouring for the Dutchman to stay, the club announced his exit hours after Amorim touched down in the UK.

On Friday, Van Nistelrooy wrote on Instagram: “To everyone at Manchester United Football Club, in particular the backroom staff, the players and the fans.

“I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your incredible efforts and support. It has been a privilege and honour to represent the club as a player, coach and manager, and I will always cherish the memories we have shared together.

“M.U.F.C will always have a special place in my heart, and I hope there are many more glory days at Old Trafford very soon – not only because I want the club to do well, but because you all deserve it!

“All the best and take care, Ruud.”

Atalanta winger, Ademola Lookman says he is now a better player.

Lookman played a crucial role in Atalanta’s UEFA Europa League success last season, scoring a hat-trick in the final against Bundesliga champions, Bayer Leverkusen.

The Nigerian international has also been La Dea’s best player for the last two seasons.

The 26-year-old finished in 14th position in the 2024 Ballon d’Or.

The former Leicester City player is also the overwhelming favourite to win CAF Men’s Player of the Year.

“I have the confidence in my ability to create, to score goals, to help my teammates, to assist them, “Lookman told BBC.

“In the past two years, I believe I have been able to take my game to a new level and show that on a more consistent basis.