Picks of the week: Dele-Bashiru’s goal powers Super Eagles past stubborn Libya. Ikorodu City gets maiden win, Lobi Stars and Heartland grab vital points as Aryna Sabalaneka claims a historic three-peat.
The Super Eagles of Nigeria got all three points with a late winner in Nigeria’s dramatic 1-0 win over Libya in the 2025 AFCON qualifiers match day 3 at the Godswill Akapbio stadium. The game appeared to be gearing towards a draw until Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, with a superb assist from Moses Simon, found the back of the net in the 87th minute for Nigeria. Afterwards, Ademola Lookman’s goal was ruled out for offside, which caused a call for their usage of VAR in qualifying matches. With the win, Nigeria has garnered seven points from three matches, maintaining their lead in Group D. The Super Eagles will take on Libya in the return leg slated for October 15th, 2024.
The Nigerian Premier Football League last weekend wrapped with Ikorodu City getting their first win, Heartland FC grabbing a point, and Lobi Stars under new manager, Daniel Amokachi also secured an away point. The NPFL matchday six had six home wins and four draws and produced thirteen goals. Here’s the full result from the NPFL matchday six.
The anticipation for the CAF Confederation Cup group stage was intensified as the draws were concluded, and the impressive lineup of clubs was revealed.
Former African champions Enyimba were drawn alongside defending champions Zamalek SC, their compatriots AL Masry and Mozambique Black Bulls In group D.
On the international scene, title holders in the UEFA Women’s Champions League, Barcelona, were beaten by Manchester City 2-0 to start their defence with a loss. Naomi Lazell and Khadija Shaw gave their side the win. Meanwhile, Pernille Harder’s 13-minute late hat trick gifted Bayern a 5-2 win over Arsenal. Also, Sonia Bompastor’s Chelsea side beat Real Madrid 3-2.
After Manchester City’s dominant display in the UEFA women’s Champions League, they are back on top of the Women’s Super League table with ten points as they won 2-0 against Liverpool courtesy of Bunny Shaw’s brace while Chelsea, Manchester United and Brighton are close behind with nine points each. Here’s the full result from match week four of the WSL.
In other sports, World No.1 Jannik Sinner proved too strong for 37-year-old Novak Djokovic in the Shanghai Masters as he surged to a 7-6, (7-4) 6-3 triumph to become the first man to win more than six titles in a calendar year since 2016 when Andy Murray won nine. Sinners victory, which was his seventh title in 2024, denied Djokovic a 100th career title. On the other hand, world no.2 Aryna Sabalaneka completed a historic three-peat at the Wuhan Open after defeating no.7 Zheng Qinwen 6-3, 5-7, 6-3. Sabalaneka, who was also a champion in 2018 and 2019, became the first woman to win three consecutive titles at Wuhan running her unbeaten strick at the tournament 17-0.
