Nigeria claimed the top prize at the Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations in Senegal after their 2-1 success over their Algeria counterparts in Dakar on Saturday. All three goals were scored by the Nigerians, including defender Segun Oduduwa putting the ball in the wrong end of the post.
Probably the stand-out result of the weekend, a shocker at that was provided by Vitality Stadium. Joshua King stunned his former club Manchester United as his second-half goal earned AFC Bournemouth a famous 2-1 Barclays Premier League win. The sill season continued on Sunday with Newcastle United’s dramatic 2-1 win over Tottenham.
Liverpool almost experienced a similar fate but a late Divock Origi strike earned them a point against West Brom. Arsenal kept marching on to the top of the table with a 2-0 win over Aston Villa.
OLYMPIC JOY FOR SA
South Africa defeated Senegal 3-1 on penalties on Saturday to win the third-place playoff at the Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations and secure the final qualification spot for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
The hero was undoubtedly goalkeeper Jody February, who saved a penalty in regulation time as well as three in the shootout to see Owen Da Gama’s side emerge triumphant despite Senegal’s dominance for most of the match at the Stade Leopold Sedar Senghor in Dakar.
Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech confirmed his reputation as one of the best goalkeepers in Barclays Premier League history when he equalled the competition’s clean sheet record in the win over Aston Villa.
The Gunners claimed a 2-0 victory to go top of the league table, a result which means Cech, who moved to Emirates Stadium in the summer, has recorded 169 clean sheets during his time at Chelsea and Arsenal, level with the mark set by David James.
Cech has taken only 349 BPL appearances to reach that figure, compared to the 572 it took James to set the target during spells at Liverpool, Aston Villa, West Ham United, Manchester City and Portsmouth.
Player....... Clean sheets....... Appearances
- Petr Cech...... 169.......... 349
- David James........ 169......... 572
- Mark Schwarzer......... 151......... 514
- David Seaman........... 140......... 344
- Nigel Martyn........... 137.......... 372
SWEET CHERRIES RECORD
In beating Manchester United 2-1 at Vitality Stadium on Saturday AFC Bournemouth equalled a record set only once before in the Barclays Premier League.
After a 1-0 triumph at Stamford Bridge last weekend, the Cherries became only the second team to beat Chelsea and Manchester United in consecutive Barclays Premier League matches. Everton were the first, in February 2010.
It was also unlucky 13 for United as they succumbed to a promoted team in the Barclays Premier League side. The previous and 12th occasion that United had been beaten by a side who were in the Championship the season before was when losing 5-3 to Leicester City in 2014/15.
This time around, Louis van Gaal was left facing growing pressure after Josh King's goal earned Bournemouth a 2-1 win on Saturday and condemned Manchester United to a second costly defeat in a week.
Having been forced to defend his record in the face of heavy criticism following his side's Champions League exit at Wolfsburg, United manager Van Gaal again saw his team undone by alarming defensive lapses.
Elsewhere, Olivier Giroud and Aaron Ramsey scored as Arsenal capped a memorable week by climbing to the Premier League summit with a 2-0 victory over ailing Aston Villa while Divock Origi scored his first Premier League goal in the 96th minute to earn Liverpool a 2-2 draw in a heated match against West Brom.
LA LIGA SHOCKS Atletico Madrid turned up the heat on champions Barcelona when they fought back to secure a 2-1 win at home to Athletic Bilbao in La Liga on Sunday as Real Madrid slipped off the pace with a 1-0 loss at Villarreal.
Atletico's battling victory put them level at the top on 35 points with Barca, who surrendered a 2-0 advantage and were held 2-2 at home by Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday, their second consecutive draw after last weekend's 1-1 stalemate at Valencia.
Barca are ahead on goal difference, while Real are five points adrift in third after Roberto Soldado scored against his former club to give fifth-placed Villarreal, who have 27 points, the spoils at the Madrigal.
Real had Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema together in attack but they could not make a host of chances count and the defeat heaps more pressure on under-fire coach Rafa Benitez.
EURO 2016 DRAW Spain will begin their bid for an unprecedented third successive European Championship title against Croatia after the draw for the 2016 finals was made at the Palais des Congress. World champions Germany are to meet Ukraine, Poland and Northern Ireland in Group C.
Spain, who were also drawn in the same group as Czech Republic and Turkey, open up against Group D opponents Croatia in Bordeaux on June 21.
Hosts France, who won the eight-team Euros on home soil in 1984, will launch the championship against Group A rivals Romania in Paris on June 10.
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"It is always like that. It is not new. It is a matter of belief. Believe in the manager or not. That is the most important thing. Last year the fans all showed their belief and that is the most important thing.
"But for me the most important thing is the commitment of my players to perform as we have agreed and I can only tell you they want to do that," said Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal after his club’s latest flop.
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