It’s been a year since Robin van Persie swapped Fenerbahce for Manchester United, and the striker is preparing to face his old team tonight. The striker thinks he could still be at United if Sir Alex Ferguson had remained manager. “When I signed that was the idea, that Sir Alex would stay on for a few more years, but in football things change,” he said. “I am proud of my 11 years in England. My kids were born there. I still like England a lot. I like the English way of living. It is not only about the way I left, what went wrong or right. There is a bigger picture.”

Borussia Monchengladbach changed their English language Twitter handle to ‘A German team’ after spotting a Scottish pub was having trouble spelling their name before Wednesday’s Champions League meeting with Celtic. Now that was sarcastic from Monchengladbach after they beat Celtic two nil right there in Scotland.

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Wednesday 19th October, 2016:

Arsenal 6 – 0 Ludogorets Razgrad

Barcelona 4 – 0 Manchester City

Celtic 0 – 2 Borussia Monchengladbach

Bayern Munich 4 – 1 PSV Eindhoven

Paris Saint Germain 3 – 0 Basel

Dynamo Kiev 0 – 2 Benfica

Napoli 2 – 3 Besiktas

FC Rostovo 0 – 1 Atletico Madrid

Between 1996 and 2001 they shared Barcelona’s midfield. They made their Spain debuts within 18 months of each other. Both have marked a first season in the Nou Camp dugout with a treble. Team-mates, allies and friends, but tonight Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique’s causes are in contest rather than concert.

Tokyo 2020 Olympic events could be held in part of Japan hit by the 2011 Fukushima earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in a bid to cut costs. Rowing canoe/kayak sprint events and baseball/softball are among sports that could be moved 400km north of Tokyo. The International Olympic Committee is holding talks with organisers after a review showed costs could exceed £23bn ($28bn) – four times the estimate. But IOC president Thomas Bach said “we have to respect” athletes.

Life as a goalkeeper can be cruel – just ask CSKA Moscow’s Igor Akinfeev. The Russia international was three minutes away from ending an unwanted record on Tuesday by keeping his first Champions League clean sheet in 10 years. That was until Monaco’s Bernardo Silva struck in the 87th minute of the Group E tie in Moscow. Akinfeev, 30, has now conceded in his past 40 games in Europe’s top competition, dating back to a goalless draw against Arsenal on 1 November 2006.

Fenerbahce’s team plane has been forced to make an emergency landing after it was hit by a bird on its way to the UK for Thursday’s Europa League game against Manchester United. The private chartered aircraft was travelling from Istanbul in Turkey when it was diverted to Budapest, Hungary. A second plane was then sent from Istanbul to pick the team up from Budapest and take them to Manchester. The club’s Twitter account tweeted there was “nothing alarming” after the incident. Fenerbahce, who are ninth in Turkey’s Super Lig, are currently top of the Europa League group and a point ahead of United, who are in third. Former Nigeria international and Fenerbahce striker, Emmanuel Emenike is thought to be on the said plane.

I always marvel when I read articles written by our dear Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. She really has the “gift of writing”. Please endeavor to read her piece on Nigeria’s failed promises here.

Leicester City will not face UEFA charges after FC Copenhagen fans let off flares before Tuesday’s Champions League game at the King Power Stadium. European football’s governing body has opened disciplinary proceedings against the Danish champions for supporters in the away end “setting off fireworks”. UEFA holds host clubs responsible for security inside and around the stadium, “unless they can prove that they have not been negligent”. The charge against FC Copenhagen will be dealt with by the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body on November 17.

Five-time Olympic champion Chen Ruolin has retired from diving at the age of 23. The Chinese diver, who also won six world championships, won the 10m individual and synchronised events at Beijing and London before adding a final synchronised gold with partner Liu Huixia in Rio. “She has a neck injury which may cause some problems if she continues with her career,” China diving team manager Zhou Jihong said.

Sam Allardyce (Football) – former England manager, also previously in charge at Limerick, Sunderland, West Ham, Bolton, Newcastle and Blackburn, is 62.

Evander Holyfield (Boxing) – former world heavyweight champion, is 54.

Paul Hartley (Football) – former Scotland and Celtic midfielder, now manager at Dundee, is 40.

Heikki Kovalainen (Motor racing) – Finn who won the 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix with McLaren, is 35.

A second swimmer has died after taking part in the Hong Kong Harbour Race. An event spokesman said a 59-year-old woman named Cheung died on Wednesday, having been pulled from the water on Sunday and taken to intensive care. A man died during Sunday’s event. Both were in the ‘leisure’ category for slower swimmers. World aquatics governing body Fina announced a review of the race and other open-water events globally following Sunday’s death. Three thousand swimmers registered for the 1.5km race, which resumed in 2011 after a 30-year break because of fears of pollution levels in the water. Hong Kong is one of the world’s busiest ports, used by more than 400,000 vessels every year.

The busy dual carriage Trans Amadi road (Oginigba end) in Port Harcourt blocked by cattle rearers as workers go to work. What do we do about these cattle on the streets?

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Tuesday 18 October, 2016:

Bayer Leverkusen 0 – 0 Tottenham

CSKA Moscow 1 – 1 Monaco

Real Madrid 5 – 1 Legia Warsaw

Sporting Lisbon 1 – 2 Borussia Dortmund

Club Brugge 1 – 2 FC Porto

Leicester 1 – 0 FC Copenhagen

Dinamo Zagreb 0 – 1 Sevilla

Lyon 0 – 1 Juventus

Werder Bremen striker Ousman Manneh scored his first Bundesliga goal two years after arriving in Germany from The Gambia as a refugee. “This is the greatest moment of my life,” says Manneh, who only started playing football two years ago.

Pep Guardiola is preparing for “something special” when he returns to Barcelona with Manchester City this week. The 45-year-old may now be in charge at the Etihad Stadium but for many he remains synonymous with Barca and he is sure to be the main focus of attention ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League clash at the Nou Camp. Guardiola came through the Catalan giants’ famed youth system, became an influential member of their first team – and a Champions League winner – before going on to enjoy even greater success as their manager. Two more successes in Europe’s elite competition, and three LaLiga titles, were among the 14 trophies he won during a glorious four-year stint that made him the most sought-after coach in world football.

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Borussia Dortmund say they are prepared to hold talks with Real Madrid over sale of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, despite the Spanish club’s transfer embargo. But the Bundesliga club insist they are not in a position to have to sell the impressive striker, who was a target for Manchester City during the summer. Real are currently appealing their two-transfer-window ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport but, as things stand, cannot sign any players until January 2018.

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Two imposters sneaked on to a float during the celebratory Rio 2016 parade in Manchester, the British Olympic Association (BOA) has confirmed. The pair, dressed in Team GB tracksuits and wearing plastic medals, admitted to Sky News they “blagged” their way on to the float and joined the celebrations. The float was carrying Britain’s gold medal-winning women’s hockey team and athletes from the modern pentathlon.

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Martina Navratilova (Tennis) – nine-time winner of the women’s singles at Wimbledon, and 18-time grand slam singles champion, born 1956.

Thomas Hearns (Boxing) – former world champion, born 1958.

Robbie Savage (Football) – former Leicester, Birmingham, Derby and Wales midfielder, now TV pundit, born 1974.

Mike Tindall (Rugby union) – former England captain and Gloucester centre, born 1978.

Lindsey Vonn (Skiing) – four-time overall World Cup champion and double Olympic gold medalist from the United States, born 1984.