Catch up on all the biggest headlines from the past week of sporting action across Basketball, Football, Tennis, the National Sports Festival and more.
BASKETBALL
History Maker: Steph Curry Surpasses Wilt Chamberlain’s GSW points record
Stephen Curry has usurped the legendary Wilt Chamberlain’s 17,783 points to become the Golden State Warriors’ all-time leading points scorer.
Curry scored 53 points in a 116 – 107 triumph over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night.
“It’s crazy. Anytime you hear his name, it’s kind of daunting because you know his records are so hard to – some of them are even impossible to eclipse, I think. You understand how great of a player he was.
“I can’t remember how many games he played as a Warrior, and how many I’ve played, but to be anywhere near him in any record book or now be on top, it’s surreal, and it’s wild. Because if you grow up in the game of basketball and you hear his name, you know it’s something extremely special, no matter what it is.”
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
BOXING
Blockbuster: Site for Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury agreed
Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury have both approved the offer of a site for their blockbuster undisputed heavyweight title bout, according to promoter Eddie Hearn.
“I don’t want to talk too much about it. All I will say, which I haven’t said to anyone yet, is that both sides have approved the site offer they want to go with. Now we’re just finalizing the site deal. We’re in a great place.”
Eddie Hearn via Behind The Gloves
With Fury confirming site offers from Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and with Hearn also speaking recently with the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan about potentially staging a fight at Wembley, it seems as though one of the fights will be staged outside of the United Kingdom.
There’s also been a lot of speculation among fans about Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium being a possible destination after both Hearn and Fury posted photos of the stadium online.
Making this destination even more realistic is Vegas announcing plans to open the stadium to allow a maximum 100% capacity of spectators in as from June 1.
FOOTBALL
Home Sweet Home: Former Leicester City forward Ahmed Musa “sensationally” rejoins Kano Pillars
Nigerian Professional Football League side Kano Pillars on Tuesday confirmed that Super Eagles captain Ahmed Musa has rejoined the club on a short-term deal.
The 28-year-old has put pen to paper with Sai Masu Gida after spending the last six months without a club since parting ways with Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr.
TENNIS
Giant Killer: Dan Evans knocks Novak Djokovic out of Monte Carlo Masters
World number 1 Novak Djokovic fell to his first defeat of 2021 in the hands of British number one Dan Evans as his Monte Carlo Masters campaign came to an abrupt end.
In the first match between the pair, Evans, who himself has not found his best form on clay in recent times, held his own against a sloppy Djokovic to claim a straight sets 6 – 4, 7 – 5 triumph over the 18-time Grand Slam winner.
What They Said
Dan Evans:
“He gave away some cheap ones today, which he never normally does. But I’m just really happy.
“He kept me waiting a little bit in the changing room at the start of the match. That got me a bit extra fired up.
“My game plan was to try to bring him forward and have him hit the ball low in the court.
“It was difficult to get to the net and I felt sometimes I was doing too much running.
“But I also thought I did a good job to get out of my service games. He had so many break points and didn’t take them, so I was a little lucky there.”
Djokovic: “To be honest, this has been one of the worst matches from my side I can recall in the last few years.
“I felt awful on the court overall. Nothing worked. Just one of those days.
“It was just an awful performance. I can’t take any positives away from this match. It definitely leaves a bitter feeling exiting the court this way.
“He deserved to win. He was a better player. He was just more focused I guess and played with a better quality in the decisive moments.
“He’s really a nice player to watch, not a great player to play against. Lots of talent. He’s very unpredictable with his shots. He dismantled my game.”
European Football
The Boys Separated From The Men: Champions League semi-final draws complete
Chelsea will make a first semi-final appearance in seven years after defeating Zaidu Sanusi’s FC Porto 2-1 on aggregate.
The Blues lost 1-0 on Tuesday night, in what was a home game on paper, following Mehdi Taremi’s spectacular overhead kick in injury time – with both legs played at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium in Seville due to ongoing Covid-19 protocols in England and Portugal – but a 2-0 first leg win ensured Thomas Tuchel’s side progressed to the last four.
The last four will see Chelsea take on Real Madrid who qualified at the expense of Liverpool following a 3-1 aggregate win.
The reigning La Liga champions produced a professional performance at Anfield, in a largely one-sided game which saw a spirited Liverpool side create all the chances but struggled to put the ball in the net, as the game ended goalless.
The other semi-final will see French Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain take on English Premier League side Manchester City after both teams knocked out Bundesliga outfits Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund respectively.
PSG lost 1-0 in the return leg played at the Parc de Princes on Tuesday, with the game’s only goal scored by PSG’s former Cameroon striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting who beat Keylor Navas with a close range second half header, but a 3-2 win from the first leg in Germany meant it was Mauricio Pochettino’s side who progressed to the last four courtesy the away goal rule.
Manchester City on the other hand, won 2-1 against Dortmund at the Signal Iduna Park on Wednesday to win cap an impressive 4-2 aggregate win.
17-year-old Jude Bellingham gave the home team a first half lead, but City responded with two second half goals; first through Riyad Mahrez from a penalty, before Phil Foden continued from where he left off in the first leg as he fired home another winner to send Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City to their first ever semi-final appearance.
Champions League semi-final draw in full:
- PSG vs Manchester City
- Real Madrid vs Chelsea
The first legs of the semi-finals will be played on Tuesday, April 27 and Wednesday, April 28, while the second legs will be staged a week later on Tuesday, May 4 and Wednesday, May 5, respectively.
Europa League: Arsenal Set For Emery Reunion, United to face AS Roma in last four
Arsenal are set to take on former manager Unai Emery’s Villarreal in the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League after triumphing 5-1 over Slavia Prague on aggregate.
Goals from Alexander Lacazette (2), Nicolas Pepe and Bukayo Sala saw the Gunners thrash Czech side 4-0 in the return of their quarter-final clash at the Sinobo Stadium on Thursday night.
Villarreal are also through to the semi-finals after seeing out the challenge of Croatia’s Dinamo Zagreb to win 2-1 at the Estadio de la Ceramica, meaning they won the tie 3-1 on aggregate.
Arsenal captain Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang did not partake in the game after revealing that he caught malaria while on international duty with Gabon a few weeks back.
The other semi-final will be contested between another English side Manchester United and Serie A’s AS Roma.
Edinson Cavani’s opening goal in the sixth minute and a second off an own-goal by Jesus Vallejo was enough to see United through to the last-four with a 4-0 aggregate win over La Liga side Granada CF.
Europa League semi-final draw in full:
- Manchester United vs Roma
- Villarreal vs Arsenal
The first legs of the semi-finals will be staged on Thursday, April 29, while the second legs will take place a week later on Thursday, May 6.
The final is scheduled to take place in Gdansk, Poland, on Wednesday, May 26.
National Sports Festival
- Big Brother Naija star wins medal
- Team Delta crowned overall champions
Former Big Brother Naija housemate Mike Edwards won bronze for Team Rivers in the long jump category.
Edwards, who represented Team Delta at the last edition in Abuja 2018, flew into Nigeria from his base in the United Kingdom and decided to turn out for Rivers after a reduction in the number of athletes per state due Covid-19 regulations prevented him from teaming up with the Delta contingent.
‘’I’m grateful for the opportunity to compete and represent Rivers State taking home the Bronze this time. Congratulations to all the athletes who took part. We’ll see what’s about to happen next.’’
Meanwhile, Team Delta emerged overall champions of the competition and won the right to host the next edition next year.
