Picks of the week: The fight for the crown resumes in the EPL with City, Liverpool, and Arsenal getting the first win. Similarly, Remo, Rangers, and Edo Queens display top-notch performances on the continent while the NBA unveils a new season schedule. Elsewhere, UFC ‘s battle for Africa ends with Du Plessis’s victory as Bagnaia returns to championship lead on the tracks.
At last, the English Premier League has made its return and as the season begins, the question on everyone’s mind is which of the debutant clubs, title contenders, managers, and players will shine the brightest as the big clubs this season appear to be dazzling with new approaches, zeal and passion while the ultimate question remains can anyone stop Man City from making it five titles in a row.
Manchester United started the party with a narrow 1-0 victory against Fulham. New manager Arne Slot also started on a bright note with an expected 2-0 victory against League debutants Ipswich Town. Mohammed Salah got a goal and an assist in their opening game.
Arsenal devoured Wolves 2-0. Brighton, just like last season, brightened their first game with a 3-0 victory against Everton while Newcastle who was reduced to ten men early in their game against Southampton succeeded in getting a 1-0 win, Aston Villa who is referred to as party crashers defeated Westham United 2-1 as well as the club to beat this season Manchester City picking up from their Community Shield win to get a 2-0 victory against Chelsea.
Edo Queens continued their stunning form on the continent and are off to the next phase of the CAFWCL after finishing top of the group with 9 points. After a 3-0 nil win against Hasaascas Ladies FC and securing a place in the semi-finals, Edo Queens went ahead to a 1-0 victory against Omnisports Etincelle, and the lone goal was courtesy of Joy Jerry in the 41st minute of the game.
Still, on the continent, El-Kanemi warriors waited late to snatch a draw against Dadje FC in their first preliminary-round encounter of the CAF Confederation Cup. The game ended in a one-all draw, with El-Kanemi getting their equaliser through Ajiji Samuel late in the game.
Remo Stars got a convincing 2-1 victory against ASFAR of Morocco in their CAF Champions League first-leg encounter in Ikenne. Remo Stars took the lead early in the 19th minute of the game through Nduka Junior’s header. But, the tempo changed in the second half as ASFAR levelled up in the 50th minute through Joel Beya’s goal. Alas, the second goal for Remo came courtesy of Sodiq Ismail. The return leg will be in Morocco.
In the same vein, Rangers International secured a 1-0 away victory against Zilimadjou FC, who opted to play their home matches in Uyo, which is the approved ground for Enugu Rangers; the return leg will be on the same ground as Rangers are hoping of getting into the second round of the CAF Champions League.
In the world of unlimited sports, The World Athletics, FIBA, and FIFA all released rankings during the week in athletics, basketball, and football.
The recent rankings released by the World Athletics body showed Favour Ofili, Samuel Ogazi, and Chukwuebuka Enenkwechi, as well as other athletes of Nigerian descent, moving up the ranks. Favour Ofili moved up from 31st to 8th place in the women’s 200m rankings. In the men’s 400m, Ogazi is now 3rd in Africa and 12th in the world, a huge leap from 23rd; in the men’s shot put, two-time African champion Chukwuebuka Enenkwechi is placed 7th in the world while long jumper Ruth Usoro and Pristina Ochonogor moved to 22nd and 25th respectively. However, the Athletics Federation of Nigeria unveiled an 18-man list for the U-20 World Athletics Championship in Peru slated for August 27- 31. The list consists of 8 men and 10 women who will compete in 8 events.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s basketball men’s national team, D’Tiger’s dropped four places in the latest FIBA rankings, from 39th to 42nd position, occupying 6th position in Africa.
The Super Falcons of Nigeria retained their spot as the 36th-best team in the world and first in Africa despite crashing out from the group stage of the Olympics 2024.
In other news, the UFC 305 first-ever African fight between Isreal Adesanya and Dircus Du Plessis in the early hours of today saw both fighters settle the scores despite Du Plessis defeating Isreal Adesanya in the fourth round of the contest to retain his middleweight title.
The contest had a bitter build-up after Du Plessis said he was the first real African champion. Momentum shifted during the fight from the first round to the fourth, where Du Plessis finally won the contest on the ground. Following the contest, Du Plessis paid tribute to Adesanya and apologised.
The NBA officially unveiled the entire schedule for the 2024/25 regular season. The opening night of the new season will be on October 22, with the regular season concluding on April 13. The NBA Cup group stage will start on November 12 and will continue every Tuesday and Friday through December 3, while the semi-finals and championship game for the NBA Cup will be on December 14 and 17. The All-Star weekend is set for February 14-16 in San Francisco, and with the tournament play slated for April 15-18, the playoffs will begin on April 19.
On the MotoGP tracks, defending champions, Francesco Bagnaia retook the lead on the championship table after winning at the Austrian GP. Bagnaia went into the weekend three points behind Jorge Martin but won the sprint on Saturday to go level on points and held Martin to a win to hold a five-point advantage in the championship standings.
