Sports

Mane equals Drogba’s Champions League goal scoring record as Reds down Villarreal

Published

1 year ago

April 28, 2022

Liverpool and Senegal hotshot striker, Sadio Mane, has equalled a goal scoring record held by Ivory Coast and Chelsea legend, Didier Drogba, when he scored Liverpool’s second goal as they beat Villarreal 2-0 in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final match played at the Anfield on Wednesday.

With the goal, the 30-year-old Afcon winner moved level with Drogba with his 14th goal in the Champions League knockout stages.

Mane who played only 73 minutes in the match, latched on to fellow African striker Mohamed Salah’s exquisite through ball in the 55th minute and poked past Geronimo Rulli in the Yellow Submarine’s goal to double his side’s lead, edging them closer to May’s final.

Jurgen Klopp’s men had gone in front after Jordan Henderson’s cross was deflected in off Villarreal defender, Pervis Estupinan, less than two minutes before Mane struck.

The Senegal star matched Drogba’s output with his goal number 14, which is the record for an African player in Champions League history.

Back in 2012, Drogba had won the UCL with Chelsea after bagging a memorable header in the final against Bayern Munich before scoring the winning penalty in the shoot-out.

But Drogba’s achievements could be eclipsed by Mane who is hoping to lift his second European trophy in May.

In February, Mane also overtook the Chelsea icon in the Premier League goalscoring charts, becoming the top African goalscorer with his 106th goal and has gone on to notch a further three strikes to take him farther clear of Drogba, who retired in 2018 after a trophy-laden career with Chelsea.

14 – Sadio Mané has tonight netted his 14th goal in the UEFA Champions League knockout stages, equalling Didier Drobga’s record as the African with the most such goals in the competition’s history. Pride. pic.twitter.com/fwVTLoxqbf

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 27, 2022

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Sports

Ndidi, Iheanacho, Daka suffer relegation with Leicester City

Published

8 hours ago

May 29, 2023

Akanimoh Etim

The three African players at Leicester City, Nigerian internationals, Wilfred Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho, as well as Zambian striker, Patson Daka, will have to contend with Championship football next season as Leicester was relegated from the English Premier League on Sunday.

Despite defeating West Ham 2-1 in the final game of the season, Leicester were relegated following Everton’s 1-0 win against Bournemouth.

Iheanacho grabbed an assist in the West Ham win but it was not enough to stop Leicester City from being relegated from the Premier League.

While Ndidi and Daka were missing from the game through injury, Iheanacho started and played 77 minutes, providing an assist for Harvey Barnes’ opening goal in the eventual 2-1 win.

His assist and the eventual win for Leicester on the final day were not enough to rescue their season however, as Everton’s 1-0 win over Bournemouth ensured that they finished above Leicester in the final non-relegation place in the league.

If they remain with the team next season, the African trio will face the ignominy of playing in the lower cader of English football.

Sports

History made as Al Ahly wins BAL 2023 at first attempt

Published

1 day ago

May 28, 2023

Akanimoh Etim

Al Ahly Basketball Club of Egypt has written its name in the annals of history after it was crowned champions of the 2023 Basketball Africa League on Saturday, in its first attempt.

The Cairo giants defeated Senegal’s AS Douanes in the finals played at the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda, 80-65 to win the 2023 BAL title.

The win marked Al Ahly’s first-ever appearance in the BAL finals in their first-ever appearance in the competition, similar to their opponents, AS Douanes of Senegal

Al Ahly which entered the Nile Conference of the BAL as Egypt 2022 Egyptian Super League champions, started the competition with a bang as they won four out of the five games to reach the playoffs.

The Reds went on to beat hosts REG and Malian giants stade malien to reach the playoffs finals which was for the third consecutive season.

In the finals proper, Al Ahly waited for the third quarter to inflict a final blow to beat AS Douanes 80-65 to win the BAL title after a low scoring first half that saw Al Ahly heading to the locker room with slim 38-33 lead.

Star man, Nuni Omot led the way for Al Ahly, finishing with a game-high 22 points, with Corey Webster adding 13 points off the bench.

Omot was named the 2023 Hakeem Olajuwon BAL MVP award winner, as Al Ahly became the second Egyptian side to win the tournament since Zamalek won the inaugural BAL season.