The opening half was tense as Egypt defended deep and Senegal searched for openings.

Nicolas Jackson’s 19th-minute shot over the bar was the closest chance before halftime.

Senegal captain, Kalidou Koulibaly, exited injured in the 23rd minute.

His earlier booking rules him out of the final, dealing a blow to the Lions of Teranga.

After the restart, Senegal dominated possession while Egypt remained disciplined.

“From the start, we played together and managed the game well,” Mané later reflected.

The decisive moment came in the 78th minute when Mané struck from the edge of the area, calmly placing the ball beyond Mohamed El Shenawy.

Egypt pushed forward late, but Senegal held firm.

Edouard Mendy saved Egypt’s first shot on target in stoppage time to secure victory.

“We stayed focused and deserved the win,” man-of-the-match Mané said, praising Senegal’s composure in a tightly contested encounter.

The victory sends Senegal into their third AFCON final since 2019.

“The final will be tough, but we will prepare well and give our best,” Mané said.

Source: NAN

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In front of a raucous home crowd at the Stade Charles Konan Banny in Yamoussoukro, Senegal made a blistering start and took the lead just four minutes into the match.

A superb cross from Sadio Mane found Habib Diallo, who calmly chested the ball down before firing a rocket into the top corner.

Stunned by conceding so early, the hosts gradually grew into the game with neat interplay in midfield between Franck Kessie and Jean Michael Seri.

Ibrahim Sangare posed a constant threat on the wing while strikers Sebastien Haller and Nicolas Pepe stretched Senegal’s defence.

The Elephants had the better of the first half but in spite   several near misses, a Senegalese wall of Kalidou Koulibaly and Abdou Diallo,  repelled everything thrown at them.

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Senegal almost doubled their lead early in the second half when a spectacular Ismaila Sarr’s effort forced a fingertip save.

Cote d’Ivoire were unfazed and continued pressing.

The game turned on a pivotal 86th minute moment.

Pepe burst into the box and was clumsily brought down by Edouard Mendy.

After a VAR-reviewed incident, Franck Kessie coolly sent Mendy the wrong way from the spot to equalise,  sending the home crowd into a frenzy mood.

In extra time, chances came and went for both sides but the scores remained level.

In the shootout, each side netted their first four penalties.

But when Kalifa Coulibaly’s effort came off the upright, Kessie stepped up to smash home the winning kick, capping a remarkable turnaround for the hosts.

After a disastrous group stage, Cote d’Ivoire showed tremendous resilience and spirit to dethrone Senegal, who will have to relinquish their title.

The Elephants march on, redemption complete.

Few gave the Elephants hope coming into this last 16 clash against star-studded Senegal.

However, led by captain Serge Aurier, the spirited hosts fought until the end and rode their luck at times against profligate opponents.

This result blows the tournament wide open.

The defending champions are out, and the unfancied hosts, march on in dramatic style.

Source: NAN

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“I am here in Saudi Arabia. I am in Hilal,” Neymar announced in a short video clip released by Al-Hilal.

PSG also confirmed the move, calling Neymar a “club legend.”

Neymar signed a contract for two seasons with the option to extend for another season, Al-Hilal announced.

The signing took place at the Four Seasons George V hotel in Paris.

PSG is reported to have received 90 million euros (98.25 million dollars) for the transfer, according to Saudi Arabia-funded news channel Al-Arabiya.

The channel further reported that Neymar’s income would be 100 million euros.

The Brazilian could make his first appearance for his new club on Saturday in the scheduled match against Al-Fayha.

The announcement is the latest in a string of transfers to Saudi Arabian teams, along with stars Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Sadio Mané and others.

The swaps into the Saudi Pro League have had a major impact on the transfer market this year, raking in hundreds of millions.

Neymar had not joined serial winners PSG in their disappointing 0-0 start to the season against FC Lorient.

The Brazilian, who is known just as Neymar, had moved to the Parisian team from FC Barcelona in 2017 for a record sum of 222 million euros.

However, the footballer was never really happy at PSG.

He missed out on the UEFA Champions League victory he had hoped for with the club, and fans were not happy with him.

In early May, dozens of supporters had gathered outside Neymar’s luxury mansion, shouting “Neymar out!”

The British newspaper The Independent reported on Monday that Neymar had actually wanted to continue his career in Europe.

All the top European teams — Manchester United, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Manchester City and FC Bayern Munich — had offered the 31-year-old a spot on their team.

But Neymar’s price was too steep for them all.

Only FC Barcelona committed to paying the transfer fee and salary, but Neymar decided not to return.

At PSG, Neymar was no longer wanted.

Coach Luis Enrique and sports director Luis Campos want a fresh start — without the Argentine world champion Lionel Messi, who has moved to a U.S. team, and without Neymar.

It is still unclear whether the team’s third world star, Kylian Mbappé, will also leave the club.

Al-Hilal is said to have offered the 2022 FIFA World Cup top goal scorer a whopping 300 million euros, which the 24-year-old refused.

Neymar, on the other hand, was swayed by the club’s hefty sums.

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Just like Ronaldo, who was the first star player to move to the desert state late last year, Neymar is now setting his sights on the Saudi league.

But it is a league which is still relatively insignificant in sports terms.

Neymar joins a long list of stars who have also been tempted by Saudi Arabia’s enormous salaries.

These include former Bayern Munich forward Sadio Mané, Real Madrid’s ex-goal scorer Benzema and Liverpool’s long-time captain Jordan Henderson, to name a few.

German coach Matthias Jaissle also signed a contract with Al-Ahli.

Critics see the country’s massive investment in professional football and other sports as an attempt at bettering its image through top-level sports.

Saudi Arabia has been largely slammed by the international community for its human rights record.

Source: dpa/NAN

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Germany teenager Jamal Musiala rifled Bayern Munich ahead after RB Leipzig had failed to clear a corner-kick after 14 minutes.

Ex-Liverpool forward Mané then tapped in on the half hour from Serge Gnabry’s pass as the Bavarians quickly got used to life without new FC Barcelona signing Robert Lewandowski.

Benjamin Pavard made it three before the interval.

The season curtain-raiser between last term’s Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich and the German Cup winners was held in Leipzig.

But the hosts did little to threaten the visitors until Marcel Halstenberg’s second-half header.

Gnabry and Christopher Nkunku then traded goals before Dani Olmo’s late strike for RB Leipzig made things interesting, only for Leroy Sané to score at the death.

“I’m really, really happy to win my first trophy with Bayern Munich. I’m looking forward to more trophies,” Mané said later on.

Bayern Munich coach Julian Nagelsmann, formerly at RB Leipzig, started Senegal’s African Player of the Year while other new signings such as Matthijs de Ligt began on the bench.

RB Leipzig’s Domenico Tedesco meanwhile included Austria midfielder Konrad Laimer, heavily linked with a move to Bayern Munich.

But left-back Angelino was missing as he looks for another club with Hoffenheim’s David Raum set to arrive.

After a minute’s silence and applause for late Germany great Uwe Seeler, the first excitement came when Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer raced out of his box.

But he failed to clear the ball, only for his defenders to mop up for him.

Bayern Munich then took the lead but it was more to do with RB Leipzig’s casual defending than anything.

After some pinball in the box, 19-year-old Musiala pounced and made no mistake.

A lot is expected of midfielder Musiala this season — with Bayern Munich set to play without an out-and-out striker — and he passed his audition with aplomb.

RB Leipzig, linked in the media with former Borussia Mönchengladbach sporting director Max Eberl, thought they had soon levelled.

But Nkunku — Bundesliga Player of the Season last term — was rightly flagged offside.

Mané then made the headlines, even though in truth it was one of the easiest goals he will ever score, with two more efforts later on chalked off for offside.

Musiala took centre stage again by setting up Pavard on the stroke of half-time.

But RB Leipzig’s defending was again loose following the departure of Nordi Mukiele to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).

Substitute Andre Silva struck the bar for RB Leipzig after the break and Halstenberg went one better with his own header from a corner-kick.

But any hopes of a comeback were quickly ended by Gnabry smashing into the roof of the net.

Nkunku’s 77th-minute penalty kick and Olmo’s fine finish came too late for the Red Bulls as Bayern Munich’s defence suddenly wilted, before Sané had the last laugh on the break.

“In the first half they simply showed their strength. They were coming from everywhere, left and right,” said RB Leipzig’s Tedesco.

“We’ve got to improve and bring the lads to a good level.”

The game clashed with the first round of the German Cup, meaning that RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich take on Ottensen and Viktoria Cologne at the end of August.

Bayern Munich kick off the Bundesliga campaign at Eintracht Frankfurt on Friday.

Source:  dpa/NAN

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The top three lists are from the lists of nominees previously revealed by CAF in both the men and women categories.

In the Player of the Year category, four-time winner Asisat Oshoala of Nigeria is in the hunt for a fifth crown.

However, she faces stiff opposition from Cameroonian Ajara Nchout Njoya and new entrant Grace Chanda of Zambia for the Women’s category.

In the men’s category, former winners Mohamed Salah (Egypt) and Sadio Mane (Senegal) will have to battle it out with Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.

However, the list for the National Women Team of the Year award was not among those released due to the absence of a major women’s competition during the period under review.

The Organising Team for the CAF Awards 2022 slated for 20h00 local time (19h00 GMT) has reviewed the selection process for this important category.

The Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, WAFCON, will be factored as one of the criteria in deciding a winner befitting of the status of the award and women’s football in general.

The winner will be announced on Saturday during the WAFCON final match.

Full list of top three nominees (in alphabetical order);

Player of the Year (Women)

Ajara Nchout Njoya (Cameroon and Internazionale Milano)

Asisat Oshoala (Nigeria and Barcelona Women)

Grace Chanda (Zambia and BIIK Kazygurt)

Player of the Year (Men)

Edouard Mendy (Senegal and Chelsea)

Mohamed Salah (Egypt and Liverpool)

Sadio Mane (Senegal and Bayern Munich)

Interclub Player of the Year (Women)

Andile Dlamini (South Africa and Mamelodi Sundowns)

Bambanani Mbanie (South Africa and Mamelodi Sundowns)

Evelyn Badu (Ghana and Sekondi Hasaacas Ladies/Alvaldsnes)

Interclub Player of the Year (Men)

Achraf Dari (Morocco and Wydad Athletic Club)

Aliou Dieng (Mali and Al Ahly)

Mohamed El Shenawy (Egypt and Al Ahly)

Young Player of the Year (Women)

Doris Boaduwaa (Ghana and Sekondi Hasaacas Ladies)

Evelyn Badu (Ghana and Sekondi Hasaacas Ladies/Alvaldsnes)

Yasmine Zouhir (Morocco and AS Saint-Etienne)

Young Player of the Year (Men)

Hannibal Mejbri (Tunisia and Manchester United)

Karim Konate (Cote d’Ivoire and ASEC/RB Salzburg)

Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal and Tottenham Hotspur)

Coach of the Year (Women)

Bruce Mwape (Zambia)

Desiree Ellis (South Africa)

Jerry Tshabalala (Mamelodi Sundowns)

Reynald Pedros (Morocco)

Coach of the Year (Men)

Aliou Cisse (Senegal)

Carlos Queiroz (Egypt)

Walid Regragui (Wydad Athletic Club)

Club of the Year (Women)

AS FAR (Morocco)

Hasaacas Ladies (Ghana)

Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)

Club of the Year (Men)

Al Ahly (Egypt)

RS Berkane (Morocco)

Wydad Athletic Club (Morocco)

National Team of the Year (Men)

Cameroon

Egypt

Senegal

Goal of the Year

Gabadinho Mhango (Malawi and Orlando Pirates)

Pape Ousmane Sakho (Senegal and Simba)

Zouhair El Moutaraji (Morocco and Wydad Athletic Club)

Source: NAN

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The continental football governing body, in a statement on its website, said the awards would be held ahead of the final match of Africa’s flagship women competition.

The competition, Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, WAFCON, tagged “Morocco 2022”, is scheduled to take place between July 2 and July 23.

“The event will also coincide with the two-year anniversary of the launch of the CAF Women’s Football Strategy.

“In line with that, a new category of award — Inter-club’s Women Player of the Year — has been introduced following the successful roll-out of the CAF Women’s Champions League in November.”

CAF added that just like it was in previous editions, there would be several categories of awards to be presented.

These would be in addition to the coveted prizes of the Men’s and Women’s Players of the Year.

“Other categories include the Inter-clubs Player of the Year, Young Player of the Year, National Team of the Year, Coach of the Year, Club of the Year, and Goal of the Year.”

CAF disclosed that the winners would be decided by votes from captains and coaches of the Member-Associations, selected journalists, CAF Technical Study Group members and CAF Legends.

The period under review for the awards is from September 2021 till June 2022.

The previous edition of the CAF Awards was held in 2019 in Hurghada, Egypt.

Senegalese forward Sadio Mane and Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala scooped the African Player of the Year’s awards for men and women respectively.

Source: NAN

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After the 1-1 draw with Tottenham on Saturday, Liverpool’s championship hopes looked bleak while they were being held to the same scoreline at Villa Park.

But the Reds’ superior quality ultimately came up trumps.

Much of the pre-match attention focused on how Liverpool legend and Villa manager Steven Gerrard could be the one to further derail his former side’s quadruple bid.

Douglas Luiz’s early opener suggested a shock could be on the cards.

But Joel Matip swiftly equalised, and from that point Liverpool were generally the greater threat, eventually completing the turnaround just past the hour, thanks to Mane.

Liverpool’s underwhelming start culminated in a defensive mix-up between Kostas Tsimikas and Matip allowing Douglas Luiz to test Alisson and then smash home the rebound.

But the Reds quickly levelled through Matip in the sixth minute.

The Cameroonian prodded into the empty net after Virgil van Dijk beat Emiliano Martinez to a loose ball in the Aston Villa penalty box.

While Liverpool struggled to establish any real control in a feisty first half, the better chances continued to go their way.

Mane headed just wide, and Naby Keita comically mishit an attempt from 10 yards with the goal at his mercy.

It was a tighter affair in the second half, though Liverpool’s next clear-cut opportunity proved decisive.

Luis Diaz did well to pick out Mane from the left, and the Senegal forward brilliantly twisted his body to meet the cross with a header into the bottom-right corner.

Aston Villa failed to hit back as Danny Ings had a goal disallowed for offside.

Liverpool now turn their attentions to the 2021/2022 English FA Cup final match next, as they face Chelsea at Wembley on Saturday.

They will then go to Southampton three days later in the league, while Aston Villa host Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Source: dpa/NAN

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The Irishman scored the decisive kick, with his opposite number — sent on specifically for the shoot-out with two minutes of extra time remaining — blazing over.

The penalty kicks finished 11-10 after 21 of 22 efforts were perfectly dispatched.

In a thrilling and absorbing final match at Wembley, both sides had goals ruled out for offside in normal time.

Joel Matip fell foul of Virgil van Dijk’s transgression and substitute Romelu Lukaku marginally strayed ahead.

Extra time could not settle it and it ultimately came down to the goalkeepers, but not in the way usually imagined in a shoot-out.

Kelleher — who started after manager Jürgen Klopp kept faith with him for Cup competitions — was successful from the spot.

Kepa, who had barely touched the ball after coming on, was not.

“I got close to a few, and I forgot I scored the winning penalty kick,” Kelleher said later on. “All the penalty kicks from the lads were class. For me, it was more hit and hope.”

Kelleher had played in every League Cup game bar one this season, and then only because first-choice Alisson Becker needed game time after COVID-19.

He was the hero in the quarter-final penalty kicks shoot-out against Leicester City.

Kepa had similar outings in the Cup competitions but his “live” game time in the final amounted to less than three minutes.

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel adopted the policy he had done in the 2020/2021 UEFA Super Cup final match in August by swapping the otherwise excellent Edouard Mendy for the Spaniard.

Kepa had famously refused to come off in the 2018/2019 League Cup final.

It barely affected his shot-stopping as virtually all the penalty kicks taken were unstoppable, but could not have helped his rhythm or feel for the occasion.

Penalty kicks were almost inevitable after two of the Premier League’s top three sides went blow-for-blow over 120 minutes.

But disallowed goals and the odd on-pitch confrontation added to the occasion.

Mohamed Salah was making only his third League Cup appearance for the club in nearly five years.

He had lost his previous two appearances against Chelsea in September 2018 and Arsenal in October 2020.

It was also third time lucky for Klopp, who had lost his last two Wembley appearances.

That was in the UEFA Champions League final with Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool in the 2016 League Cup final, when they were beaten by Manchester City on penalty kicks.

As expected Chelsea started without Lukaku, although the withdrawal of midfielder Thiago Alcantara after injury in the warm up was a significant blow to Liverpool.

The midfielder, in tears on the bench, had to be consoled by teammate Alisson at kick-off.

The late change unsurprisingly affected Klopp’s side who, for 15 minutes, appeared to struggle with Chelsea’s front three and left wing-back Cesar Azpilicueta pushing on.

Having got their act together Klopp’s side began to dominate possession — they had a 10-minute spell where they had the ball 87 per cent of the time.

Mendy got down low to block Naby Keita’s shot before brilliantly getting up to deny Sadio Mane’s close-range follow-up.

Liverpool thought they had taken the lead when Matip nodded home from Mane’s header.

But the video assistant suggested referee Stuart Atwell look at the monitor, and it was chalked off for an offside against Van Dijk, who had blocked Toni Rudiger’s run.

Lukaku had a goal ruled out in the first extra period on a tight-looking offside call and Havertz for one less so in the second.

A series of impeccable penalty kicks followed before Kelleher brought home Liverpool’s first domestic Cup in a decade in unlikely circumstances.

Commenting on Kelleher, Klopp said: “In professional football, there should be space for sentiment.

“He is a young boy, we ask him to do a lot. He starts playing in the competition and then we get to the final and I tell him he cannot play?

“I am two things, a football manager and a human being.”

Source: dpa/NAN

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City’s surprise home loss to Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend ignited hopes of another exhilarating title race if Liverpool win their game in hand against Leeds, and that never looked in doubt.

After taking a 15th-minute lead through Salah’s penalty, the title chasers were unrelenting, as Joel Matip’s first league goal of the season and another Salah spot-kick effectively put the game to bed before the interval.

Salah was again instrumental in the move that led to Mane slotting home the fourth 10 minutes from time, before the Senegalese forward added his second in the 90th minute.

Virgil van Dijk headed home the sixth in stoppage time to complete the perfect evening for Klopp’s men and send a real message of intent to City.

The victory, Liverpool’s ninth in a row in all competitions, moved them on to 60 points from 26 matches, three behind the champions — the closest they have been to them since Christmas Day.

“I think for people outside it is better to have three or six-point gap than to have a 20 or 30-point gap, so it is more exciting,” Klopp told reporters.

“But we have to win a lot of the games against all the difficult opponents and that will be a tricky task. We will give it a try.”

Leeds slipped further into the relegation battle, remaining 15th and only three points clear of the bottom three.

Coming into the match, Leeds had conceded at least twice in each of their last five away league games, having also shipped four at home to Manchester United on Sunday.

It did not take them long to concede at Anfield under the lights, with Stuart Dallas handling in the penalty area, and Salah slotting home.

While Liverpool continued to dominate, Leeds did pose a threat on the counter, but their inability to make a few promising situations count proved costly as Salah supplied a perfect pass for Matip to add the second goal.

The hosts threatened to run riot as another sumptuous pass from Salah set Mane free, but the Senegalese striker was brought down by Luke Ayling in the penalty area.

Salah made no mistake from the spot – the 19th league goal of the season for the division’s top scorer.

Liverpool, who took their Anfield league goal tally to 50 for the season with that second penalty, should have had at least one more before the break, with Fabinho and Salah both missing clear-cut openings.

Salah was in the mood for another Premier league hat-trick, but wasted another glorious chance on the hour mark, blazing over from a good position.

The Egyptian had to settle for another wonderful pass in to Jordan Henderson, who squared for Mane to make it four.

Mane thought he had completed the scoring having reacted fastest to the rebound to make it 5-0 after substitute Divock Origi’s shot had been saved.

Van Dijk, however, got in on the act, as the English Premier League’s most porous defence conceded again.

“Two different teams in class,” Leeds midfielder Adam Forshaw said. “It is difficult coming to a place like this but we are missing big players, we have missed them through the season.

“Tonight feels like the end of the world but we are still in an okay position, we can’t feel sorry for ourselves.”

Given how close Liverpool and Manchester City are, the title could be decided on goal difference and this result will do Klopp’s side a world of good in that regard.

Source: Reuters/NAN

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An upset looked to be on the cards when Milot Rashica handed Norwich the lead in the 48 minute as he skipped past Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain before striking home.

However, Mane struck back with a superb acrobatic effort shortly after, and Salah put Liverpool ahead just three minutes later with his 150th goal for the club.

January arrival, Diaz ended doubts of a Norwich comeback in the 83rd minute when he opened his Liverpool account with a delightful chip over opposing goalkeeper Angus Gunn.

The result put a dent in Norwich’s hopes of staying off relegation, with Dean Smith’s side failing to keep pace with 17th-place Newcastle United, who earned a draw away to West Ham United earlier on Saturday.

Liverpool remain in second place on 57 points after 25 games.

Source: Reuters/NAN

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