Sports

UPDATED: PSG To Face Real Madrid In Revised Champions League Last 16 Draw

Published

1 year ago

December 13, 2021

NewTimes

Paris Saint-Germain will play Real Madrid while Liverpool take on Inter Milan in two of the standout ties in the last 16 of the Champions League after an embarrassed UEFA was forced to redo Monday’s draw following a “technical problem”.

PSG had initially been paired together with Manchester United but the reworked draw sees them play Real while the Old Trafford side will face Spanish champions Atletico Madrid.

UEFA had earlier blamed a “material error” due to a “technical problem with the software of an external service provider” as it announced that the draw for the first knockout round of its flagship competition would have to be redone.

With the draw being streamed live from UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, the problem was made evident when Manchester United’s name was drawn to face Villarreal, despite the fact the two clubs could not have played one another having been in the same group.

Record 13-time European champions Real are unlikely to be happy with the new draw as they had initially been paired with Benfica in the very first tie before the problems occurred — a clash with the PSG of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe is, on paper, a far tougher tie.

Liverpool face a similar situation. Having initially been drawn against knockout-phase debutants Red Bull Salzburg of Austria, they now face three-time former winners Inter, the Serie A champions and current Italian league leaders.

Salzburg instead got Bayern Munich, while Manchester City take on Sporting Lisbon and Benfica will play Ajax.

Villarreal face Juventus, while the one tie in the original, botched draw that was repeated later sees reigning champions Chelsea face French title-holders Lille.

The first legs will be played in the second half of February with second legs in early March.

This season’s Champions League final will be played in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg on May 28.

First legs to be played on 15-16 February and 22-23 February and second legs on 8-9 March and 15-16 March.

Last 16 match-ups in the UEFA Champions League following Monday’s revised draw:

Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) v Bayern Munich (GER)
Sporting Lisbon (POR) v Manchester City (ENG)
Benfica (POR) v Ajax (NED)
Chelsea (ENG) v Lille (FRA)
Atletico Madrid (ESP) v Manchester United (ENG)
Villarreal (ESP) v Juventus (ITA)
Inter Milan (ITA) v Liverpool (ENG)
Paris Saint-Germain v Real Madrid (ESP)

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Sports

30 percent of Pele’s Assets Go To Widow – lawyer

Published

2 weeks ago

March 8, 2023

NewTimes

Pele

The 30 percent of the assets of the late legendary footballer Pele will go to his wife,according to his will disclosed by his lawyer.

The will states that Marcia Cibele Aoki, Pele’s third and last wife, will inherit his mansion in Guaruja, a seaside resort town south of Sao Paulo, where the couple lived, according to her lawyer Luiz Kignel.

Other assets belonging to Pele, who died after battling cancer in late December at age 82, include more real estate and a stake in the Pele brand, Kignel said, adding that a complete inventory has yet to be made.

The remaining 70 percent is reserved for Pele’s children, including an unrecognized daughter that he may have.

“He indicated the possibility of the existence of another daughter, whose recognition will depend on a DNA test, which could not be carried out (on Pele) due to the pandemic and the state of his health,” said Kignel.

According to Kignel, the woman in question is a Brazilian national and she has taken legal steps to be recognized as Pele’s daughter.

In September 2022, a court in Sao Paulo ordered Pele to submit to a DNA test, according to the G1 website. The test must now be performed on one of his seven recognized children.

Sports

Obasanjo Shines, Scores Hat-trick As BBHS Mark 100 Years

Published

2 months ago

January 24, 2023

NewTimes

Obasanjo Shines, Scores Hat-trick As BBHS Mark 100 Years

By John Michael Ojo
It was a moment of joy yesterday in Ogun State as former President Olusegun Obasanjo, captained the football team of Baptist Boy High School, Abeokuta the state capital to a glorious victory in a novelty match as part of the activities lined up to mark the 100th anniversary of the college.

As a former student of the college, Obasanjo who toed the path of contemporary European stars like Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappe and Neymar in the match, was the star attraction for spectators, many of whom are also former students of the school.

READ ALSO: Why Nobody Can Stop Me From Supporting Obi – Obasanjo

The encounter which saw the old students battle it out with former teachers of the college ended in a 3-0 victory in favour of the old students with all three goals coming from the former president.

Among the high-profile old students present at the event are Bukola Olopade, a former Sports Commissioner in Ogun State; and Hakeem Akintunde, who is the Chairman of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) in the state.

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Sports

Everton Fires Frank Lampard

Published

2 months ago

January 23, 2023

NewTimes

By John Michael Ojo
Relegation threatened Premier League side, Everton has relieved its manager, Frank Lampard of his role as the club’s head coach.

Frank Lampard, a former Chelsea midfielder and coach was sacked on Monday after an agreement was reached by Everton’s board, following a run of poor performances recorded under the tenure of the former British star.

With only three wins so far this season in the Premier League, Everton currently sits in 19th place with 15 points after 20 games played.

READ ALSO: Chelsea Fires Lampard

The news of his sack, was convened to him by Farhad Moshiri, the club’s major shareholder through a telephone call after a 357-day spell in charge of the club.

There have been wide speculations over his sack after Everton’s 2-0 loss to West Ham, with Lampard reportedly in a meeting with Moshiri, Chairman Bill Kenwright and Everton’s Director of Football, Kevin Thelwell.

Frank Lampard took over at Goodison with Everton 16th in the table, six points above the relegation zone.

Everton had 10 defeats in the remaining 18 games of the season, but secured their survival with a 3-2 comeback victory against Crystal Palace on what Lampard called “one of the greatest nights” of his career.

He won only 12 of his 44 matches in charge in all competitions, a win percentage of 27.27 that is far worse than his record at Derby (42.1%) and Chelsea (52.4%).

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