Sports Bulletin: Wednesday, April 7th, 2021.

• UEFA Champions League: Action And Reaction
• Latest Transfer News: Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero, Ibrahima Traore, Jesse Lingard, Hakan Calhanoglu, Simy Nwankwo, Achraf Hakimi & More
• NBA Wrap Up
• Updates From The 20^th National Sports Festival: Edo 2020

Champions League Action and Reaction: Liverpool Outclassed And Outthought In Madrid as City Leave It Late Against Dortmund

Catch up on all the action attraction from both centers of Tuesday night’s action – from the Spanish capital city of Madrid, to the city of Manchester in England.

Photo Credit: Visionhaus/Getty Images 

R. MADRID 3 – 1 LIVERPOOL

La Liga champions Real Madrid defeated Premier League champions Liverpool 3-1 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final clash at the Estadio Alfredo di Stefano on Tuesday night.

A dreadful first-half performance, which saw Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp correct his selection mistake by taking off Naby Keita for Thiago, saw the Reds fall 2-0 behind, with Vinicius Junior finishing off Toni Kroos’  brilliant long pass and Marco Asensio pouncing on Trent Alexander-Arnold’s miscued header to finish from close range.

Liverpool showed more attacking intent at the start of the second half with Mohamed Salah pulling one back to instill some belief for the visitors.

The next twenty minutes saw the Reds enjoy their best attacking spell of the game as they pushed for an equalizer, but up stepped Vinicius again with the third.

The Brazilian redirected Luka Modric’s pass in front of the Reds’ box which beat Alisson Becker at his near-post to restore Real’s two-goal cushion and tame Liverpool’s momentum.

As much as Jurgen Klopp might believe his side have still got a chance in the return leg at Anfield on April 14^th, he would also know it’s a huge mountain to climb, especially without the usual intimidation of Liverpool’s 12^th man, the fans.

“If you want to go to the semi-final, you have to earn the right to do so.

“We didn’t do that tonight, especially in the first half.

“We just didn’t play good enough football to cause Real Madrid more problems. We made it too easy for them.

“The only good thing I can say, apart from the goal, is it’s only the first half of the tie. We didn’t deserve a lot more but that one goal and the second half was OK. It gives us a lifeline.”

Klopp told BT Sport

Over at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City left it late to beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in a highly entertaining game.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

MAN CITY 2-1 BVB

English youngster Phil Foden scored a stoppage-time winner to save City’s blushes after Marco Reus had combined superbly with Erling Braut Haaland in the 84^th minute to cancel out Kevin De Bruyne’s first half opener.

Ahead of next week’s return leg in Germany, Dortmund left the Etihad feeling aggrieved after center referee Ovidiu Hategan controversially denied them an equalizer when penalizing what later proved on replay to be a legitimate goal by English teenager Jude Bellingham with the score at 1-0.

The former Birmingham City starlet thought he had drawn the game level when he reacted quickest to a through ball to poke into an empty net, but after it appeared he was kicked by the onrushing City goalkeeper Ederson, the goal was ruled after the Romanian referee blew for a foul against the Bundesliga side and refused to consult VAR.

Referee Controversy

After the fulltime whistle had gone, one of the assistant referees, Octavian Sovre, followed Haaland down the tunnel and got the 20-year old to sign him an autograph, but Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola – linked with a move for Haaland – seemed unfazed.

“Maybe he’s a fan of Haaland.

“Maybe it was for his son or daughter.

“I’ve never seen it before, but the referee and the linesman were correct, they did a good job. That’s all.”

Pep Guardiola

It was a brilliant result for Pep Guardiola’s side as they seized the advantage in this tie, but for Dortmund, especially having scored an away goal, this tie looks far from done and you would expect them to carry this anger into next week’s return leg at the Signal Iduna Park. Should make for a great game.

Quarter-final Action Continues Tonight

Champions League action continues tonight with reigning champions Bayern Munich welcoming Paris Saint-Germain to the Allianz Arena in a repeat of last year’s final, while Chelsea welcome Porto to Stamford Bridge.

• Bayern Munich 20:00 PSG
• Chelsea 20:00 Porto

All times are set in West-Central African standard 

TRANSFER NEWS: Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero, Ibrahima Traore, Jesse Lingard, Hakan Calhanoglu, Simy Nwankwo, Achraf Hakimi & More

• Manchester City have confirmed that they have completed a deal to keep influential Belgian midfielder Kevin de Bruyne, 29, at the club until 2025.
• AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 39, is in talks to sign a contract extension at AC Milan, according to the BBC.
• City are also interested in Sheffield United and Norway midfielder Sander Berge, 23, as they look to replace 35-year old Brazil midfielder Fernandinho, according to Voetbal24. 
• Sergio Aguero, 32, wants to move up the Premier League’s all-time goal scoring charts, which could help Chelsea in their bid to sign the Argentine when his contract ends in the summer, according to the Evening Standard.
• Aguero is willing to miss out on Champions League football next season in order to stay in the Premier League – with Chelsea and Tottenham among the clubs he would consider, according to the Telegraph. 
• Manchester United may join Liverpool in the race to sign RB Leipzig’s French centre-back Ibrahima Konate. The 21-year-old is expected to cost around £34m, according to Eurosport. 
• West Ham will attempt to sign England midfielder Jesse Lingard on a permanent deal this summer, but the Hammers fear Manchester United will demand a high price for the in-form 28-year-old, according to Mail. 
• Arsenal will consider selling French striker Alexandre Lacazette in the summer transfer window. Inter Milan, Roma, Sevilla and Atletico Madrid are interested in signing the 29-year-old, according to 90min. 
•  Tottenham are preparing a move for RB Leipzig’s Austrian midfielder Marcel Sabitzer, 27, according to Football Insider. 
•  Juventus, Arsenal and Chelsea are interested in AC Milan’s Turkey midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu, 27, who could be available on a free transfer at the end of the season, according to Sky Italia.
• Nigeria international Simy Nwanko’s displays have earned him interest from Genoa, with clubs in France and Belgium also interested in acquiring his services in the next transfer window, according to Gazzetta dello Sport via Tuttomercatoweb.
•  Villarreal’s 28-year-old striker Gerard Moreno is among Atletico Madrid’s key targets this summer – but the Spaniard’s release clause is 100m euros (£85.6m), according to Marca.
•  English forward Theo Walcott, 32, will join Southampton permanently in the summer when his loan spell at the Saints from Everton ends, according to Talksport. 
•   Everton will demand £21.4m if they are to sell 26-year-old Colombia centre-back Yerry Mina, according to TeamTalk.
•  Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman has urged French forward Ousmane Dembele, 23, to stay at the club, despite interest from Manchester United, according to Metro.
•  The father of Uruguay midfielder Lucas Torreira has called on Arsenal to allow the 25-year-old, who is on loan at Atletico Madrid, to leave the club this summer, according to Radio Continental, via Mirror. 
• Arsenal are preparing a “firm offer” for Inter Milan right-back Achraf Hakimi, 22, with the Gunners considering the Morocco international a potential replacement for 26-year-old Spaniard Hector Bellerin who could be allowed to leave in the summer, according to AS, via Metro.
• Wayne Rooney’s Derby County and Championship rivals Cardiff City and Huddersfield Town have been linked with a move for Accrington Stanley and Northern Ireland striker Dion Charles, 25, according to the Sun.
• Everton are monitoring Blackburn Rovers’ former England Under-21 striker Adam Armstrong, 24, according to Football Insider.
• Leicester City midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall will consider returning to Luton Town on loan next season if opportunities with the Foxes remain limited, according to the Leicester Mercury.

Basketball: NBA Wrap Up

• Point guard Steph Curry contributed 41 points to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 122-121 triumph over the Milwaukee Bucks, who were without their injured talisman,  Giannis Antetokounmpo.
• Elsewhere , the Atlanta Hawks cruised to a 123-107 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. The Hawks also set a record for the most attempts made in a quarter without a miss after converting each of their 11 three-point efforts in the third quarter.
• The Los Angeles Lakers scraped past the Toronto Raptors to record a 110-101 victory.
• Cameroonian star Joel Embiid scored 35 points for the Philadelphia 76ers in their 106-96 win over the Boston Celtics, with Danny Green adding 17 points.
• The Chicago Bulls also defeated the Indiana Pacers 113-97, with Paul George scoring 36 points and Kawhi Leonard adding  29, while the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 133-116. 
• The Miami Heat fell to a first defeat in five games after losing 124-112 against the Memphis Grizzlies.
• Last but not least, the Denver Nuggets recorded a 134-119 triumph over the Detroit Pistons.

20^th National Sports Festival: Edo 2020

Eight-month Pregnant? No Problems At All!

Team Lagos yesterday stole the headlines at the ongoing games in Benin City as an eight-month pregnant woman, Aminat Idrees cliched  gold medal in Taekwondo.

Aminat’s aggression and agility looked almost unbelievable for spectators inside the taekwondo hall as she, alongside male teammate Arowora Roqeeb, won gold in the mixed poomsae category to deliver Team Lagos’ first gold medal on Tuesday.

She has now shot to the top of the individual medals chart after also winning silver in the female category of the team poomsae event, as well as an individual bronze in the same category.

Medals Table As At Tuesday, April 7^th 

The event was officially declared open yesterday (Tuesday) by Nigeria’s Minister for Youth and Sports, Sunday Dare.

Dare advised Nigerian youths to be good ambassadors of the country while embracing peace and exploring better life through their acquired skills.