Kelechi Iheanacho came off the bench to keep Leicester in contention for a place in the League Cup final as the Nigerian striker’s late goal earned a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa on Wednesday.

Brendan Rodgers’ side fell behind to Frederic Guilbert’s first half goal in the semi-final first leg at the King Power Stadium.

But Iheanacho equalised after the break with his sixth goal in eight appearances this season.

Leicester will feel they should have won after dominating for long periods, but the team in second place in the Premier League will have to finish the job at Villa Park in the second leg on January 28.

Rodgers has a remarkable record of advancing from his last 30 domestic cup ties with Liverpool, Celtic and Leicester.

But the last team to beat Rodgers in a domestic knockout competition were Villa in the FA Cup semi-final in 2014-15 when he was Liverpool manager.

And Villa, whose last major trophy was the 1996 League Cup, will feel they are in pole position to reach the final after surviving a stern examination.

The second leg winner will play Manchester City or Manchester United in the final at Wembley, with City leading 3-1 after their first leg at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

Leicester last won the competition in 2000, beating Villa in the semi-finals that year, and they were well on top at the start.

A scuffed clearance from Douglas Luiz was collected by Ayoze Perez, who saw his deflected effort flash just wide.

Jamie Vardy was back after missing three games due to the birth of his daughter and a calf injury and took the fight to Villa.

He seized Marvelous Nakamba’s wayward header before testing Orjan Nyland, then saw his low drive blocked by Villa’s keeper moments later.

But, having soaked up Leicester’s early blitz on a rain-drenched evening in the east midlands, it was Villa who snatched the lead against the run of play in the 28th minute.

– Infused with confidence –

Anwar El Ghazi was playing in an unfamiliar role up front due to Wesley’s injury and Jonathan Kodjia’s illness.

The winger drifted back out to the left flank to deliver a cross that landed perfectly for Guilbert, who got in front of Ben Chilwell and stabbed his volley in from close-range.

The French defender’s first goal since August was Villa’s first shot on target in the match.

Infused with confidence after that bolt from the blue, Smith’s team were inches away from doubling their lead before half-time.

Jack Grealish’s inswinging free-kick found Ezri Konsa and the Villa defender headed against the bar from inside the six-yard box.

Leicester wrestled back the initiative after the interval and Nyland alertly smothered the danger when Vardy tried to latch onto a through ball.

Tyrone Mings won header after header as Villa tried to weather the storm and when James Maddison did get past the defender with a bold burst, Nyland was on hand to make another good save.

Maddison tried again with a run onto Ricardo Pereira’s pass, but the Norwegian saved at the near post.

Leicester’s pressure finally told in the 74th minute.

Luiz, put in trouble by Konsa’s sloppy free-kick, lost possession to Hamza Choudhury and Vardy found Iheanacho, who shot high past Nyland from 15 yards.

Vardy nearly won it in the closing minutes, but his shot rippled into the side-netting just as Leicester fans were anticipating a dramatic finale.

Source: AFP

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first Serie A hat-trick to lift Juventus top of Serie A with a 4-0 win over Cagliari on Monday as Zlatan Ibrahimovic made his debut for AC Milan in a goalless draw against Sampdoria.

Portugal forward Ronaldo struck for the fifth consecutive league game to move the champions back above Inter Milan in their first match since the Italian SuperCup defeat to Lazio in Saudi Arabia last month.

Maurizio Sarri’s side had been pegged back in the first half by the sixth-placed Sardinians who have been pushing for a spot in the Champions League places this season but fell to their third consecutive defeat.

The second-half was all one-way traffic with 34-year-old Ronaldo breaking the deadlock just after the interval.

He added a second from the penalty spot on 67 minutes with Argentina’s Gonzalo Higuain coming off the bench to strike a third on 81 minutes, before Ronaldo completed his hat-trick a minute later.

Juve are three points ahead of Inter in the table with Antonio Conte’s side travelling to Napoli later on Monday, looking to keep pace with the eight-time reigning champions.

Atalanta closed to within a point of fourth-placed Roma, who lost 2-0 to Torino on Sunday, with a 5-0 rout of Parma, having also beaten AC Milan by the same scoreline before the winter break.

The side from Bergamo were already three goals up before the break thanks to Alejandro Gomez, Remo Freuler and Robin Gosens, with Josip Ilicic adding a double in a nine minute second-half spell.

– Ibrahimovic returns –

At the San Siro, Swedish star Ibrahimovic made his debut for Milan coming off the bench after 55 minutes against Sampdoria.

The 38-year-old came on for Poland striker Krzysztof Piatek to deafening applause from the 58,000 crowd in his first appearance after rejoining the club last week.

But there was little else to cheer for the hosts who extended their winless run to three games and remain 12th in the table.

New Fiorentina coach Giuseppe Iachini had to settle for a 1-1 draw against Bologna in his first game after taking over from Vincenzo Montella.

The Tuscany side had lead for most of the game after Marco Benassi volleyed in on 27 minutes but Riccardo Orsolini grabbed a point for Bologna deep into injury time.

Source: AFP

Jose Mourinho says Tottenham will be “intelligent” in the January transfer window and there will be no quick fixes at the Premier League club.

Mourinho has repeatedly said that he will not be overhauling his squad this month and that any business could be dependent on players leaving.

One player who appears to be on his way out of the club is midfielder Christian Eriksen, whose contact expires in June, but it is not certain he will depart this month.

Mourinho, whose side have stumbled in recent weeks, walked into the club with his eyes wide open and said he was on the same page as chairman Daniel Levy.

“That was very clear for me and is very important for me to understand that before I came,” said the Portuguese boss, who took over from the sacked Mauricio Pochettino in November.

“This is our first transfer window, not the last,” he added. “We are going to have one in the summer, we are going to have one in 2021 January, we are going to have another one in the summer of 2021.

“We are going to have to try to be intelligent and we have to try to make the right decisions, not just for now, but for the development of a cycle.”

Spurs are struggling for numbers ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup trip to Middlesbrough.

Harry Kane, Tanguy Ndombele, Ben Davies, Danny Rose and Hugo Lloris are all injured and many players have played three games over the Christmas period.

Mourinho said he was likely to call on youth at the Riverside but emphasised that such a move did not mean the FA Cup was not important for the eight-time winners.

“Everybody’s going to be involved,” he said. “If you go to our squad and no Rose, no Davies, no Lloris, no Kane. I don’t know if Eric Dier will be ready but he is still to come back.

“When you say no, no, no, no, no you have to say (Oliver) Skipp, (Japhet) Tanganga, (Troy) Parrott, the young boys in.”

Source: AFP

Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana says he has been overlooked by top clubs because he is black.

The 23-year-old is currently in his fourth season with the Eredivisie giants, and has established himself as Cameroon’s No.1 in the past two years.

Onana joined the Barcelona academy in 2010 having come through Samuel Eto’o’s Foundation in his native Cameroon, before linking up with Ajax in 2015.

He enjoyed a breakout season in 2016/17 when he played 46 times as he helped Ajax reach the Europa League final, where they lost 2-0 to Manchester United in Stockholm.

And he says that it was after that season when he was first approached by one of Europe’s elite clubs, only to be told that the colour of his skin could hinder his chances of a transfer.

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool have extended their lead at the top of the English Premier League to 13 points with a game in hand, after outclassing their second-placed hosts Leicester City 4-0 on Boxing Day.

Liverpool dominated the first half, and went ahead in the 31st minute, when Brazilian Roberto Firmino nodded home a cross at the back post.

Leicester kept the score-line respectable only until the 71st minute, as James Milner set in motion a 3-goal blitz from the penalty spot after a handball in the area.

Firmino then bagged his second of the night, after firing into the top corner, to finish off a beautiful team effort in the 74th minute.

Trent Alexander-Arnold, who had helped set-up all of his side’s first 3 goals, rounded off the rout by drilling home the 4th from outside the box.

Liverpool now have 52 points from 18 matches, while Leicester are on 39 from 19.

PSG striker Edinson Cavani is poised to move to Atletico Madrid in a transfer deal which could be inked in the coming days, the Marca sports daily reported Monday.

Rumours of a possible move from Paris Saint-Germain have been on the cards for months, but may be imminent, given the Uruguayan forward’s frustration at being left on the bench, the Spanish paper said.

“The transfer could take place in the coming days. In principle, the agreement would be for two-and-a-half seasons, although it is still up for discussion,” it said of Cavani, whose contract with PSG is up in June.

But securing PSG’s agreement for an immediate transfer of their best-ever goal scorer, which would likely happen during the winter transfer window that opens on January 1, would doubtless be subject to much negotiation.

French radio station RMCsport also said Cavani had inked a deal with the Madrid club, and that PSG were “open to the idea of letting Cavani go this winter”.

Although Cavani is currently not a regular PSG starter, the Parisians are likely to need him from February when they enter the decisive phase for Ligue 1, the Champions League and domestic Cup action, Marca said.

Source: AFP

Mikel Arteta has been given the job of reviving the fortunes of Arsenal after he was appointed head coach of the English Premier League side on Friday.

The 37-year-old Spaniard, who played more than 100 games for the Gunners between 2011-16, signed a three-and-a-half year contract and ends a three-year stay as Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Manchester City.

Arteta, who will be officially presented to the press later on Friday at 1700 GMT, replaces compatriot Unai Emery, who was sacked last month.

The former midfielder, who will sit in the stands for Saturday’s match against another of his former clubs Everton, faces a massive challenge, with Arsenal having won just once in 12 matches — beating West Ham under interim manager Freddie Ljungberg.

“This is a huge honour. Arsenal is one of the biggest clubs in the world,” Arteta said in a statement.

“We need to be competing for the top trophies in the game and that’s been made very clear to me in my discussions with Stan and Josh Kroenke (owner and club director, respectively) and the senior people from the club.

“We all know there is a lot of work to be done to achieve that but I am confident we’ll do it.

“I’m realistic enough to know it won’t happen overnight but the current squad has plenty of talent and there is a great pipeline of young players coming through from the academy.”

Head of football Raul Sanllehi said the club had interviewed other candidates before opting to pursue Arteta.

“We met several top-class candidates and Mikel stood out to every single one of us as the perfect person for us,” he said in a club statement.

“Mikel understands Arsenal Football Club and what it means to our fans around the world. We look forward to him getting down to work and bringing the best out of our squad as we work to get our season back on track.”

Source: AFP

Carlo Ancelotti has reached “an agreement in principle” to become the next Everton manager, Sky Sports News reported Monday.

Ancelotti arrived in Merseyside earlier Monday, with Sky saying talks between the English Premier League club and the veteran Italian boss had “progressed well”.

The 60-year-old could be confirmed as the Goodison Park boss in succession to the sacked Marco Silva before Everton’s League Cup quarter-final against Leicester on Wednesday.

Ancelotti was himself dismissed as manager of Napoli last week despite taking the Italian club into the last 16 of the Champions League after they had slipped to seventh in the Serie A table.

If he is appointed, it would mean Ancelotti was returning for a second spell in English football after a two-year stint at Chelsea from 2009-11 that yielded a Premier League and FA Cup ‘double’ for the London club in his first season in charge.

Meanwhile former Everton striker Duncan Ferguson is set to continue as caretaker manager for Wednesday’s match at home to Leicester.

The Scot took over after Silva was sacked on December 5 and promptly oversaw a morale-boosting 3-1 win over Chelsea before guiding Everton to a 1-1 draw away to Manchester United on Sunday.

Ferguson, however, has distanced himself from taking the job on a full-time basis.

“Duncan Ferguson is to remain in caretaker charge of Everton for Wednesday night’s Carabao (League) Cup quarter-final against Leicester, the club can confirm,” said an Everton statement issued Monday.

Source: AFP

Thirteen-times winners Real Madrid were drawn against English champions Manchester City while title-holders Liverpool must face Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid in the Champions League round of 16 following Monday’s draw.

Real Madrid ended up in pot two after finishing second in their group behind Paris St Germain and City were the unlucky team to be paired with them when their name was pulled out at UEFA headquarters.

City, who will be at home in the second leg, have yet to beat the Spanish side with two draws and two defeats in their previous four meetings.

However, their manager Pep Guardiola has a much more encouraging record with nine wins, four draws and four defeats in 17 meetings as coach of Barcelona and then Bayern Munich.

“It’s a difficult one,” said Manchester City’s director of football Txiki Begiristain. “Real Madrid are the best. We want to be the best so we have to try and beat them. It’s always a pleasure to play against Real Madrid. We know them very well. They know our manager.”

Liverpool and Atletico Madrid’s previous meetings have produced one win for each team and two draws with both teams scoring four goals.

PSG to play Dortmund

Only Europe’s biggest five leagues—England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain—were represented in the draw and 11 of the 16 teams also reached the knockout stages last season.

Both England and Spain managed to get all four of their teams into knockout stages. Elsewhere, Serie A champions Juventus will face French side Olympique Lyonnais and PSG will play Borussia Dortmund.

Barcelona were pitted against an unpredictable Napoli, the first time the two sides have ever met.

Napoli fired coach Carlo Ancelotti immediately after beating Genk to make sure of their place in the last 16 and replaced him with Gennaro Gattuso, who has never coached in the Champions League before.

“A great team, a great challenge, two fascinating races. We will face them without fear,” he said.

Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur side, who reached the final last season, will play RB Leipzig, who are in the knockout stages for the first time, while Chelsea were drawn against Bayern Munich.

Despite their erratic domestic form, Bayern were the only team to complete the group stage with a 100% record.

Serie A side Atalanta, who reached the last 16 on their first participation in the Champions League despite losing their first three group matches, were drawn against Valencia.

(REUTERS)

Jurgen Klopp has agreed a contract extension with Liverpool until 2024, the Premier League leaders announced on Friday.

Klopp, who moved to Anfield in 2015, guided Liverpool to Champions League glory in June and they are currently eight points clear at the top of the Premier League.

“For me personally this is a statement of intent, one which is built on my knowledge of what we as a partnership have achieved so far and what is still there for us to achieve,” the 52-year-old Klopp said in a statement on Liverpool’s official website.

“When I see the development of the club and the collaborative work that continues to take place, I feel my contribution can only grow.”

During his first campaign at Anfield, Liverpool reached the finals of both the League Cup and Europa League but lost both.

They lost 3-1 to Real Madrid in the 2018 Champions League final but regrouped and became European champions for a sixth time after a 2-0 win against Tottenham in Madrid this year.

Liverpool lost just one match in the Premier League last season, racking up 97 points — the best in the club’s history — but missed out on the title by a solitary point to Manchester City.

So far this season, Klopp has overseen Liverpool’s surge to the top of the Premier League, where they currently sit eight points clear after 15 wins from their opening 16 matches.

They have not won the English top-flight title since 1990.

Source; AFP