Chelsea won the League Cup by beating Tottenham 2-0 and had its Premier League title chances boosted by Manchester City’s loss at Liverpool on Sunday, raising the prospect of a second trophy-laden era under Jose Mourinho. Two deflected shots settled a tight cup final between London rivals at Wembley Stadium, with Chelsea captain John Terry opening the scoring in the 45th with the aid of a ricochet off Eric Dier. Diego Costa’s attempted shot then span into the net off Kyle Walker’s outstretched leg in the 56th, propelling Mourinho to his first piece of silverware in his second spell at Chelsea. The Premier League title could also be heading to Stamford Bridge after City lost 2-1 at Anfield to leave Chelsea with a five-point lead and a game in hand.

The country’s flagbearers on continent advanced to the first round of Caf competitions on Saturday with the exception of Enyimba who play Buffles de Borgou on Sunday (today), Goal reports.

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Coach Stephen Keshi has described as “a slave contract” what has been offered him to continue as Nigeria coach, vanguard reports. Keshi said he has received his new contract from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), but has been far from impressed what has been offered him. “From the clauses I have seen so far, I don’t know what words to use but the contract can be described as a ‘slave contract’”, he remarked probably in reference to clauses which make him answerable to several persons and committees. Further checks showed he has been offered a two-year contract effective from March 1, 2015 with him to meet several targets or else the deal is off. He should reach the semifinal of the 2016 CHAN and also the last four of the next AFCON or the contract will be called off at “the absolute discretion” of his employers. He will also have to abide by a code of conduct. Keshi himself revealed that he will be paid five million Naira (less than $25,000), which was what he also received during his initial three-year contract, which ran out after last year’s world Cup in Brazil.

Nigeria’s quest to play Ghana next month in London in an international friendly has been scuttled due to a FIFA directive. According to the FIFA regulations, no country should play two games across two continents in three days, Vanguard reports. The Nigeria Football Federation had announced the Super Eagles would play Bolivia on March 26 in Uyo (Africa) and then take on the Black Stars on 29 March in London (Europe). This means the Ghana Football Association can now consider proposals from teams including Australia. It has the option to play all two matches during the FIFA free window next month either in Europe or Asia. Ghana finished second at the just ended 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea after losing 9-8 on penalties to Ivory Coast. The Super Eagles were seeking to use the game against their sworn rivals to kick-start their preparations for the 2017 African qualifiers.

Saturday 28 February:

West Ham 1 – 3 Crystal Palace

Burnley 0 – 1 Swansea

Man Utd 2 – 0 Sunderland

Newcastle 1 – 0 Aston Villa

Stoke 1 – 0 Hull

West Brom 1 – 0 Southampton

Sunday 1 March:

Liverpool 2 -1 Man City

Arsenal 2 – 0 Everton