SPORTS
Pochettino Hails Manchester City Ahead Of Stamford Bridge Clash
Chelsea boss, Mauricio Pochettino heaped praise on Pep Guardiola and Manchester City ahead of their visit to Stamford Bridge in the Premier League.
City are the reigning champions and current league leaders having won nine of 11 games so far, while Chelsea are languishing down in 10th despite picking up a much-needed win over Spurs last time out.
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino labeled Manchester City the “best team in the world” ahead of their visit to Stamford Bridge on Sunday in the Premier League.
City, the reigning champions, are currently top of the table by a point from Tottenham having won nine of 11 games to start this season.
Chelsea under Pochettino, who joined the Blues in the summer, are already 12 points behind their rivals but were boosted by a thrilling 4-1 win over Spurs last time out.
The Argentinian is aware of the size of the task coming up against Pep Guardiola’s side but refused to describe Chelsea as the “underdog” ahead of the clash.
“For me, it is the best team, the best coaching staff, the best manager,” Pochettino said. “We need to praise, we need to tell the truth, it is the best or one of the best organisations in the world.
“When you show the results it’s because you are doing things top to bottom really well. We need to give credit to all of the organisation.
“It’s going to be a challenge, we want to compete against them, I think we are going to try and compete our best, and what we want is three points, they are important for us.”
He added: “Chelsea is never the feeling of the underdog. The feeling always is you are Chelsea. When you say Chelsea it is impossible, the history is there.
“I think we cannot go and say we are the victim on Sunday, we need to go and try to be a protagonist.
“Monday going to Tottenham and finishing the game 4-1 showed we have character and talent to compete and fight with the best clubs in England. Now it’s about bringing that confidence that will for sure help us to be more competitive.”
- Eurosport
Napoli striker Victor Osimhen has been announced as the award winner for the Italian Footballers’ Association Footballer of the Year for his outstanding performance with the Napolitans last season.
Osimhen’s 26 goals were crucial in the Partenopei winning their first Scudde in 33 years.
Other awards presented during the Monday night presentation were team of the year, coach of the year, club of the year, and goal of the season.
Despite a difficult start to the 2023-24 season and subsequent injury troubles, Osimhen has maintained his outstanding goals-per-game ratio, with six from ten following the 14th game week.
Rafael Leao, Gianluigi Buffon, Cristiano Ronaldo, Andrea Pirlo, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic have previously received the honour.
Dr. Alex Otti, Governor of Abia State, has declared that his administration is serious about using sports to connect the people and grow the state’s economy.
Governor Otti made the remarks during a meeting with a delegation from Sports Nigeria, a private-sector initiative aimed at bringing the government and the business sector together to harness talent and develop sports infrastructure in Nigeria.
“We are very deliberate about using sports to unite our people who could support our economy and also to do a few other things that we have mentioned here,” the Governor stated.
He stated that Abia State is endowed with tremendous abilities and promised to support any initiative aimed at harnessing them for the development and growth of the state’s sports industry.
The State Chief Executive Officer revealed that the Nsulu Games Village in Isiala Ngwa North has already been designated as an entertainment and games village.
Dr. Otti went on to say that the state already has a quality production brand that would be given greater attention in terms of manufacturing. He told the team that the details of its presentation would be investigated and areas of interest for collaboration found, and he commended the delegation for its commitment in sports development in the state.
Earlier, while making a presentation to the Governor on a document titled, “Abia State Sports Infrastructure Investment – A Value Proposition”, the Chief Executive Officer, Sports Nigeria and Chairperson, Nigerian Football League, Mrs. Nkechi Obi, said her organisation specialises on facilitating cross sectional alliances to build sports.
She sought the commitment of Abia State Government in providing necessary support for the development of the framework, strategy policy and implementation plans critical to sports infrastructural development, disclosing that Abia stands to benefit bountifully through community empowerment, job creation and economic growth, social cohesion and health wellness.
According to her, everything that is needed for sports development is supposed to be done at the State level and stressed the need for Abia to leverage sports to boost development.
As Liverpool locks horns with LASK Thursday night, Jurgen Klopp wants goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher to seize his chance when deputising for Alisson in the Europa League.
Alisson sustained an injury in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Manchester City and is expected to be sidelined for two weeks.
Kelleher has featured five times this season across the Carabao Cup and Europa League.
“He [Kelleher] would have played anyway,” Klopp said.
“He deserves his opportunity to get a few more games and hopefully he can show his full potential.”
The Republic of Ireland international has started three games in the Europa League this campaign, conceding five goals, but the Reds top Group E as they prepare to face bottom side LASK at Anfield.
Kelleher has made 25 appearances across all competitions since graduating from Liverpool’s academy to make his senior debut in 2019.
He is also likely to be handed further game time against Fulham in the Premier League on Sunday before trips to Sheffield United and Crystal Palace, and Union St-Gilloise in the Europa League over the next fortnight, while Manchester United visit Anfield on 17 December.
Liverpool are also set to be without forward Diogo Jota after the Portuguese limped off at the Etihad.
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