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Two-time European champions Benfica reached the Champions League quarter-finals with a 3-1 aggregate win against Zenit St Petersburg.

 Benfican won the European Cup in 1961 and 1962.

The Portuguese side won the first leg 1-0 but Zenit levelled the tie in Russia on Wednesday when Hulk scored a second-half header.

However, Nicolas Gaitan nodded in after the hosts’ keeper Yuri Lodygin had pushed a shot onto the bar.

Talisca then sealed a 2-1 win on the night with a late drive.

Zenit, managed by former Chelsea and Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas, had been looking to reach the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time. Naijabet.net

Continue reading “Benfica reached the Champions League quarter-finals with win against Zenit St Petersburg.”

Former Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez will be Newcastle’s preferred choice as manager if they replace Steve McClaren.

McClaren is still in charge after talks with managing director Lee Charnley.

The 54-year-old, whose side are 19th in the Premier League, has taken training all week and spoke to Charnley by phone on Wednesday after a planned face-to-face meeting failed to take place. Naijabet

His future remains unclear but he is expected to take training on Thursday before Monday’s game at Leicester.

The Magpies are in danger of a second relegation in seven years after five defeats in six league games, including Saturday’s 3-1 loss to Bournemouth.

Spaniard Benitez was sacked as manager of Real Madrid in January after only seven months in charge of the La Liga side.

The 55-year-old spent six years in charge of Liverpool, winning the 2004-05 Champions League, and had an interim spell with Chelsea, with whom he won the Europa League in 2012-13.

Continue reading “Newcastle target Rafael Benitez as next Manager”

Chelsea’s Champions League hopes were ended by Paris St-Germain at the last-16 stage once more as Zlatan Ibrahimovic inspired the French champions to victory at Stamford Bridge. Naijabet.com

Zlatan Ibrahimovic  has scored in four consecutive Champions League matches.

PSG built on their 2-1 lead from the first leg when Ibrahimovic crossed perfectly for Adrien Rabiot to score from close range after 16 minutes.

Diego Costa’s smart finish put Chelsea level on the night before half-time, but his departure through injury on the hour and Ibrahimovic’s simple finish from Angel di Maria’s delivery seven minutes later sent PSG into the last eight.

The visitors, who knocked Chelsea out on away goals at this stage last season, ended the night in total control.

Chelsea – 10th in the Premier League – now face the prospect of being without European football next season, with Costa and Eden Hazard limping off injured before Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final at Everton.

Former Everton and Manchester United manager David Moyes is coming to Nigeria.

He will be among the dignitaries expected to be present at former Nigeria defender Joseph Yobo testimonial game this summer. Naijabet

“I was David Moyes’ first signing at Everton, and he has confirmed to me that he will be here for the game”, Yobo announced at a news conference in Lagos.

The former Captain of the Super Eagles went further to announce that the game will be played in his home city of Port Harcourt.

“It has been an absolute honor for me to have represented my country, and played at the highest level for over 13 years, and I am humbled to see so many great people turn out here”.

Other stars to be present that day include Jay-Jay Okocha, Nwankwo Kanu, Taribo West, Peter Rufai, Victor Ikpeba, Yahaya Toure and Henry Nwosu.

Chelsea have reached the knockout stages of the Champions League 12 times in the past 13 seasons, making the quarter-finals eight times.

The Blues have scored in their past 22 Champions League home games; the last time they failed to score was in the 1-0 defeat by Manchester United in April 2011. NAIJA AND BET

57% of Chelsea’s Champions League goals this season have been scored from set-pieces (eight out of 14), the highest ratio among the 16 teams left in the competition.

Diego Costa has scored only one goal in his past 15 Champions League games, against Maccabi Tel Aviv in September 2015.

This is PSG’s fourth successive season in the knockout stages, the best run in their history; they have been eliminated in the quarter-finals in the past three years.

Continue reading “Chelsea VS P S G Match facts Preview”

Barcelona have unveiled plans to remodel their Nou Camp stadium with the capacity rising to 105,000 by the 2021-22 season.

A joint bid by Japanese architecture company Nikken Sekkei and a Catalan studio won the tender to remodel the home of the La Liga champions.

The Nou Camp has a capacity of 99,354 and is the biggest stadium in Europe. Naijabet.com

The redevelopment will also see the roof ring the entire stadium with all the seats being under cover.

Work is scheduled to start in the 2017-18 season and will not prevent the club from hosting games.

Continue reading “Barcelona Stadium capacity to rise to 105,000 by 2021”

Anyone seeking to understand Chelsea’s steady return to form under interim manager Guus Hiddink will find a partial explanation in the unassuming figure of holding midfielder John Mikel Obi.

As well as being unbeaten in their 12 league games to date under Hiddink, Chelsea’s average number of goals conceded per game has dropped from 1.625 to 1, and Mikel’s defensive nous has been an important factor.

“He’s the ideal player to bring balance to the team,” Hiddink said earlier this year.

“He knows where the strength of the opponent is and he knows exactly how to cope with that.

“He doesn’t do it in a very brutal way — he’s very, very elegant. What I like to see very much is not just a quality player, but a player who can defend so smoothly. It’s beautiful to see.”

It is a configuration that has helped Chelsea climb to 10th in the league, kindling hope that they may yet succeed in overturning a 2-1 deficit in today’s Champions League clash at home to Paris Saint-Germain.

Mikel missed the two previous Champions League ties with PSG over the last two seasons. An unused substitute in both legs of the quarter-final in 2013-14, he was recovering from knee surgery last season.

But he has already made his mark on this season’s last 16 tie, having been the source of two goals in the first leg at Parc des Princes.

Continue reading “Guus Hiddink :Mikel is the ideal Player to bring balance to the team”

Wolfsburg reached the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time after Andre Schurrle’s goal sealed a 4-2 aggregate win over Gent.

The Germans had the best chance of a dour first half but Joshua Guilavogui’s 20-yard shot was saved by Matz Sels.

They wrapped up victory when Julian Draxler picked out Schurrle after a driving run to the byeline.

Danijel Milicevic’s shot wide from Moses Simon’s cross was the closest the Belgian team came to scoring ,Naija.com.

Dieter Hecking’s Wolfsburg side have dropped to seventh in the Bundesliga after a disappointing sequence of one win in nine games, but they deserved victory against plucky but limited opponents.

Before the game, Gent coach Hein Vanhaezebrouck said his side would need a “miracle”, but they lacked the attacking quality to fashion clear-cut chances.

The Belgian champions beat Valencia, Lyon and Zenit St Petersburg to qualify from the group stage, but they never threatened a repeat here.

And Schurrle’s late strike ensured that Belgium’s wait for a first Champions League quarter-finalist would continue.

The Gunners were gifted the lead when Hull’s David Meyler set up Olivier Giroud to slot home.

Aaron Ramsey almost scored an own goal to let Hull back in but Giroud volleyed in to extend Arsenal’s lead.

Theo Walcott wrapped up the victory for the holders when he side-footed in and then rifled in a late shot. Naijabet.com

Giroud celebrated the birth of his baby boy on Monday and manager Arsene Wenger hoped it would inspire him to break his 11-game scoring drought.

The France striker was restored to the starting line-up, along with fellow forward Walcott, but the pair initially struggled against Hull, who had not conceded in six previous home games.

The Tigers were employing a three centre-back formation and rarely looked like being breached until Meyler’s mistake allowed Giroud to slot in his first goal since 13 January.

Continue reading “Arsenal beat Hull City in FA Cup, Ended a run of five games without a Win”

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 40th goal of the season as Real Madrid reached the Champions League quarter-finals with a 4-0 aggregate victory over Roma.

Leading 2-0 from the first leg, Real peppered the visitors’ goal, although Edin Dzeko and Mohamed Salah wasted chances for Roma at the Bernabeu.

It proved costly as Ronaldo crashed in at the near post before setting up James Rodriguez for an angled finish. Naijabet

Roma hit the post but Real made the last eight for a sixth successive term.

With Zinedine Zidane’s team 12 points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona, and disqualified from the Copa Del Rey, winning the Champions League remains their only realistic chance of silverware.

Continue reading “Real Madrid reached Champions League quarter-finals with a 4-0 aggregate victory over Roma.”

Leicester City have been the surprise package in the Premier League this season and are clear at the top by five points with nine games left to play.

An “earthquake” made by football fans celebrating a goal has been recorded for the first time in the UK.

A University of Leicester team installed a seismometer near Leicester City’s  Power stadium and reported a minor quake with a magnitude of 0.3.

The tremor was attributed to a “sudden energy release” made by Foxes fans when Leonardo Ulloa scored a last-minute winner against Norwich, in February.

A seismometer was installed by geology students, and the British Geological Survey (BSG), at Hazel Community Primary School, 500m (0.3 miles) from the King Power Stadium, as part of a project to detect earthquakes around the world

However, Paul Denton, a seismologist from the BSG, said the team wondered if football fans would affect the detectors. Naijabet

Continue reading “Earthquake caused by Leicester City fans after last minute Winner”

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