Sunday 15th May, 2016:
Warri Wolves 2 – 0 Sunshine Stars
Wikki Tourists 4 – 0 Shooting Stars
Abia Warriors 1 – 0 Rivers United
Lobi Stars 2 – 0 Giwa
Enyimba 2 – 0 Ifeanyi Uba FC
Kano Pillars 0 – 0 Heartland
Akwa United 1 – 0 Nasarawa
Enugu Rangers 4 – 1 Ikorodu United
Plateau United 1 – 1 El-Kanemi Warriors
Chelsea manager-elect Antonio Conte has been cleared of any wrongdoing in a match fixing scandal from 2011. The 46-year-old, who will lead Italy at Euro 2016 next month, was accused of doing nothing to halt a scandal while in charge of Italian side Siena. However a judge in Cremona acquitted Conte because the accusations of sporting fraud were baseless. Conte, who served a ban in connection with the case in 2012, will take charge of Chelsea after the Euros.
Thousands of Australian aircraft enthusiasts have watched the world’s largest plane, the Antonov An-225 Mriya, arrive in Perth. The 84m-long plane, which weighs 175 tonnes without cargo or fuel, was transporting a 117-tonne generator. Traffic blocked roads on Sunday as crowds gathered to watch the plane’s arrival. The plane picked up its cargo in Prague and stopped at locations in the Middle East and Asia on its way to Australia.
Arsenal captain Mikel Arteta and fellow midfielder Tomas Rosicky will leave the Premier League club when their contracts expire this summer. Arteta, 34, joined the club in 2011 and made 150 appearances, scoring 17 goals. Rosicky, 35, signed in 2006 and was given an award for 246 appearances and 10 years of service before the Gunners’ final-day win over Aston Villa. Manager Arsene Wenger described the pair as “two exceptional players and influences in the dressing room”.
West Ham have announced the free signing of midfielder Havard Nordtveit from Bundesliga side Borussia Moenchengladbach. The 25-year-old Norway international has signed a five-year deal and returns to London six years after leaving Arsenal to join Bundesliga side Borussia Moenchengladbach. Nordtveit played 187 games for the German side, scoring 12 goals. “It has always been a dream for me to play in the Premier League and now I have a big opportunity to do that for West Ham, I cannot wait to start,” he said. “This team has something special, a spirit in the team that I can fit into.”
Mauricio Pochettino said he suffered the lowest point of his managerial career as his Tottenham side fell to a 5-1 Premier League defeat at Newcastle. Spurs needed a point to finish second, and above Arsenal for the first time since 1995 – but failed as their north London rivals beat Aston Villa 4-0. Pochettino said: “I think today we showed that this wasn’t a team that had played well through the whole season. “I think this was my worst day as a manager in England or Spain.”
Arsenal Ladies have won the Women’s FA Cup after beating Chelsea Ladies 1-0 at Wembley Stadium on Saturday. They won the trophy for the 14th time in front of a record crowd of 32,912 people. Danielle Carter’s goal in the 18th minute secured the win for Arsenal. Club captain Kelly Smith said: “The team were outstanding today, from the first minute to the last minute we really turned up. “We wanted the cup back and we’re really pleased with how the performance went.” Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala played shone brilliantly for Arsenal Ladies in the final and was unfortunate not to have scored in the 43rd and 61st minutes before she was replaced in the 88th minute.. The pace of Carter and Oshoala, complemented by the central figurehead of 37-year-old Kelly Smith as part of a three-pronged attack, ensured Arsenal had all the best chances and Chelsea’s defence struggled in the first half, with their experienced centre-half Niamh Fahey not fit enough to be more than a substitute.
Serena Williams chose an excellent moment to claim her first title of the season, and thus head into next week’s French Open as a worthy favourite. Steffi Graf’s long-standing record of 22 grand slams can rarely have been more under threat. Williams has been on her game throughout the BNL Internazionali d’Italia, lifting the title without even dropping a set. But Madison Keys did give her a stern examination before slipping to a 7-6, 6-3 defeat. “I’m so proud of you,” said Williams to her compatriot as they shook hands at the net. “You’re a future No. 1 for sure.” At 21, Keys is seen as a champion in waiting in the same way as Nick Kyrgios – a close contemporary in age and even ranking. And this week has produced her best results since her run to the semi-finals of the 2015 Australian Open, which also ended in a defeat at Williams’s hands.
John Terry on Sunday spoke of his desire to stay at Chelsea, but did not declare whether or not he will be at Stamford Bridge next season. The 35-year-old defender has made 703 appearances since his debut in October 1998, but was suspended for the concluding 1-1 draw with Premier League champions Leicester. Terry, whose current contract expires on June 30, has been offered a one-year contract extension and is considering the offer.
Sunday 15th May, 2016:
Arsenal 4 – 0 Aston Villa
Chelsea 1 – 1 Leicester
Everton 3 – 0 Norwich
Newcastle 5 – 1 Tottenham
Southampton 4 – 1 Crystal Palace
Stoke 2 – 1 West Ham
Swansea 1 – 1 Man City
Watford 2 – 2 Sunderland
West Brom 1 – 1 Liverpool
Man United vs Bournemouth game was called off for security reasons as we reported earlier.
Top Four Teams:
1. Leicester
2. Arsenal
3. Tottenham
4. Manchester City
A controlled explosion has been carried out at Old Trafford after a suspect package was found before Manchester United’s match against Bournemouth. Greater Manchester Police described the device as “incredibly lifelike” but confirmed it “wasn’t viable”. The Sir Alex Ferguson Stand and the Stretford End were evacuated before the game and sniffer dogs brought in. Kick-off, due at 3pm, was delayed and shortly afterwards the match was abandoned on police advice. A bomb disposal team carried out the explosion at about 4:30pm.
Andy Murray gave himself the perfect birthday present as he won his first Italian Open title with a 6-3 6-3 victory over Novak Djokovic. It was a first win on clay against Djokovic in five attempts for the Scot, who turned 29 on Sunday. He broke serve once in the first set and twice in the second in Rome to win in one hour and 35 minutes. Murray will return to second in the world rankings before the French Open, which begins on 22 May.
Pep Guardiola signed off his three years in the Bundesliga with a ‘beer shower’ on Saturday as Bayern Munich lifted a fourth straight German league title after Saturday’s 3-1 win over bottom-side Hanover. Bayern’s 28th win in 34 league games triggered party scenes at the Allianz Arena as the Bavarians celebrated their 26th German league title. This was Guardiola’s 20th trophy as a coach after 14 in four years with Barcelona and now six in three years in Munich before leaving to coach Manchester City next season. It was only a matter of minutes after the final whistle before he was soaked in beer as his players emptied over-sized glasses over the Spaniard in the traditional title celebrations.
Barcelona sealed their 24th La Liga title as Luis Suarez took his tally for the season to 59 goals with a hat-trick in a 3-0 win at Granada to hold off Real Madrid’s late-season surge. Real registered their 12th consecutive La Liga win, 2-0 at Deportivo la Coruna thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo’s double, but finished a point behind their bitter rivals. Suarez’s treble also sees him become the first player in seven years other than Ronaldo and Barca teammate Lionel Messi to win the Pichichi award for La Liga’s top goalscorer with 40. Barca had seemed set to cruise to the title until a run of three consecutive defeats for the first time in 13 years last month. However, they bounced back like champions as, inspired by Suarez’s 14 goals, they scored 24 times without reply in the last five games to win the title.
Senegal’s Fatma Samba Diouf Samoura has been appointed as FIFA’s first female secretary general. She succeeds former secretary general Jerome Valcke, who was banned from football-related activity for 12 years. Samoura, 54, spent 21 years working for the United Nations and will start at football’s governing body in June. “It is essential FIFA incorporates fresh perspectives as we continue to restore and rebuild our organisation,” said FIFA president Gianni Infantino. “She has a proven ability to build and lead teams, and improve the way organisations perform. Importantly for FIFA, she also understands that transparency and accountability are at the heart of any well-run and responsible organisation.” Samoura’s appointment, announced at FIFA’s congress in Mexico City, completes a new-look to an organisation which has been dogged by corruption allegations under Valcke and previous president Sepp Blatter. Blatter, who had led FIFA since 1998, stood down last year and was later suspended from football for six years for breaching ethics guidelines. On his appointment in February, Infantino said he would “work tirelessly to bring football back to FIFA and FIFA back to football”. Samoura, who will undergo an eligibility check before her role is ratified, currently works for the UN in Nigeria, and speaks four languages.
Leicester City forward Jamie Vardy has won the Premier League Player of the Season award. Vardy, 29, has scored 24 goals so far this season to help Leicester to their shock Premier League title success. Vardy had been named on a 10-man shortlist for the award, along with clubmates Riyad Mahrez, N’Golo Kante, Kasper Schmeichel and Wes Morgan. Tottenham’s Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Toby Alderweireld were also on the shortlist along with West Ham’s Dimitri Payet and Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil. The England international had already been named Footballer of the Year by the Football Writers’ Association, while Mahrez earlier won the PFA Player of the Year award.
Chelsea have confirmed that John Terry and his agent met with chairman Bruce Buck and director Marina Granovskaia this week. He has been offered a new one-year contract at Chelsea. and an offer was forthcoming. He is now considering the offer.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic will leave Paris St-Germain at the end of the season. The 34-year-old Sweden striker’s contract with the French champions expires in the summer, and he has been linked with Manchester United, Los Angeles Galaxy and AC Milan. “I am very proud,” he said. “I came like a king, I leave like a legend but I will be back.” PSG said Ibrahimovic leaves as “the greatest striker and one of the very best players in the club’s history”. Ibrahimovic is the club’s record goalscorer despite only joining the club in 2012, his 152 goals coming in 178 appearances.
Watford manager Quique Sanchez Flores will leave the club after their final match of the season on Sunday. The Spaniard, 51, was appointed in June 2015 following the club’s promotion to the Premier League. The Hornets are 13th in the Premier League, but have won just two of their past 11 top-flight games. “The club and me don’t have the same point of view about the season,” said Sanchez, who also guided Watford to the FA Cup semi-finals. “We don’t have the necessary conditions to activate the clause to renew my contract so I will leave Watford as a consequence. “I felt completely happy with this year and I have enjoyed this experience.” Former Real Madrid and Valencia player Sanchez will leave after Sunderland visit Vicarage Road on Sunday.
The 38-year-old Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who just earned a new contract with the Old Lady has received a Leicester City signed shirt which he joyfully displayed on twitter.
Naija Sports Crib 