Sport
Aston Villa thumps new boys Fulham 3 – 0
Aston Villa thumps new boys Fulham 3 – 0. Nakamba plays as Aston Villa beat Fulham 3 – 0. Villa are now unbeaten in eight games, including six wins, stretching back to last season. Aston Villa cruised to a comfortable Premier League win as they took advantage of another horrific defensive performance by Fulham.
Jack Grealish put them ahead with a shot on the bounce after John McGinn’s clipped ball over the top caught Fulham out. Conor Hourihane doubled their lead when McGinn laid the ball into his path.
And Tyrone Mings wrapped the game up early in the second half when he snuck in behind a high Cottagers line to stab home Hourihane’s free-kick – Villa’s third shot on target of the game.
That means Fulham have conceded 10 goals in their opening three games, which would have been a joint-record in Premier League history – if West Brom had not conceded 11 this season.
Fulham had a Bobby Decordova-Reid goal disallowed after a video assistant referee review for a foul, but that was one of their few clear chances at goal. Villa stayed up last season thanks to eight points in their final four games. Dean Smith’s side have carried that good form into this season with four wins from four games, including two in the Carabao Cup.
They will face much tougher tests than this one though.
Villa were clinical and scored with three of their five shots on target, all the result of good play. BBC Radio 5 Live’s Matt Upson called the link-up play between McGinn and Grealish for the opener “almost like telepathy”.
The second came from a nice passing move as Grealish found McGinn, who passed to Hourihane, with the midfielder slotting into the bottom corner. That was the earliest Villa have gone 2-0 up in a Premier League game since May 2011 – and the first time McGinn has set up two goals in a game for Villa.
Dean Smith’s side did not create too many clear opportunities, but still managed a third goal. Mings had the freedom of the penalty area to tuck home a left-wing Hourihane free-kick.
They never looked back and move onto six points from two games.
The unusual 17:45 BST kick-off time was so it did not overlap with the late game between Arsenal and Liverpool, which was changed so it was finished before pubs have to shut in England at 22:00 BST. Fulham are only the fourth team to concede at least three goals in each of their opening three Premier League games – following West Brom this season and West Ham in 2010-11 and 2017-18.
Scott Parker tried a five-man defence instead of his usual back four, but it did not work. Perhaps the problem is the personnel and not the tactics. Only one of their starting line-up – Ivan Cavaleiro, with Wolves in 2018-19 – has ever played in a Premier League team who have not been relegated.
There are a combined 10 Premier League relegations in 11 seasons (six with Fulham and four with other teams) among the rest of the team. They were sloppy for all Villa’s goals and their attacking tactics were one-dimensional.
Fulham ended the game with 36 crosses from open play – by comparison Villa tried two.
They thought they had a goal when Decordova-Reid pounced after Emiliano Martinez spilled Aboubakar Kamara’s shot. But after viewing the screen, referee Stuart Attwell decided Mitrovic had fouled Konsa as the first shot came in.
Bryan went close late on when his shot was tipped onto the bar by Martinez. Parker will have to go back to the drawing board again if Fulham are to stay up this season. The transfer deadline is in a week’s time.
Match stats – Villa’s best start since 1999
- Aston Villa registered a clean sheet for the first time in their last 27 away Premier League games, since a 0-0 draw with West Brom in January 2016.
- Villa have opened a Premier League campaign with back-to-back victories for just the third time, also doing so in 1995-96 and 1999-00.
- Fulham have failed to find the back of the net in consecutive home league games for the first time since January 2016.
- Aston Villa found themselves two ahead within 15 minutes in the Premier League for the first time since May 2011, when they led Arsenal 2-0 at the Emirates.
- Jack Grealish’s goal in the fourth minute was the earliest goal Aston Villa have scored away from home in the Premier League since Christian Benteke against Everton in February 2013 (second minute).
- Five of John McGinn’s eight-goal involvements for Aston Villa in the Premier League have come in London (two v Fulham, one v West Ham, Arsenal and Spurs).
- Aston Villa midfielder Conor Hourihane scored for the first time in his last 17 Premier League appearances, since netting against Norwich on Boxing Day 2019.
- Half of Aston Villa defender Tyrone Ming’s Premier League goal involvements (six in total in 52 games) have come in his last four appearances (one goal, two assists).
What’s next?
Both these sides are in Carabao Cup action against Championship sides on Thursday, before Premier League matches on Sunday.
Fulham visit Brentford (17:30 BST) and then Wolves (14:00 BST), while Villa host Stoke (19:00 BST) and then Liverpool (19:15 BST).
Soccer fans in Nigeria have expressed their confidence that the Super Eagles will win the Africa Cup of Nations tournament.
The Nigerian team qualified for the finals after defeating South Africa in the semi-final round of the competition. They face hosts Ivory Coast for the last game of the tournament today.
This will be the second match between both teams. The elephants of Ivory Coast suffered a 1- 0 defeat in their encounter with the Super Eagles at the group stage. Nigerian soccer fans say they are confident that the team will also win the final game.
Moshood Olatunji says, “We’re taking the cup. We’re not bragging and we’re not being pretentious and we’re not underestimating any group. But I think the Nigerian team started slow and they really worked as a team. The thing they had that I could see was the teamwork. They play for each other, they’re not playing for the coach, they’re actually playing for each other as a team. And I think if they carry that attitude into the finals, there’s no stopping us.”
Maxwell Ogbaje says, “I’m not surprised that we got to where we are today. We actually have a strong team. We have been at our best. It’s not just by chance, people see it that the one zero, one zero has always been a lucky thing, but it’s not. There’s actually good effort from the team that has brought that success.”
“Let them keep doing what they are doing especially the back 5. It’s a fantastic tactic that the coach Peseiro has been able to knock the boys with, so they should do what they do. They should be tight behind and they should take their chances. They should hit them on the counter and I believe if they are able to do that and they stay together, then Nigeria will be able to carry the day,” says Sam Maimagani.
It’s the eighth time Nigeria has made it to the finals in the Africa Cup of Nations and the 4th for Ivory Coast.
Nigeria is already a three-time winner of the Africa Cup of Nations and a triumph in today’s encounter will make it the 4th in 10 years.
A win for Ivory Coast will make them a three-time champion of the AFCON. Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu is expected to be at the game today to cheer the Super Eagles to victory.
Source: SABC
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Bayern Munich leapfrogged rivals Borussia Dortmund to clinch their 11th consecutive Bundesliga title in a last-day drama in German football on Saturday, May 27.
In a climactic season finale, Bayern Munich ended up celebrating an unexpected title win while Dortmund’s dream of their first league trophy since 2012 was left in tatters following a 2-2 draw with Mainz.
Dortmund were leading by two points before their last match for the season but were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Mainz on Saturday, allowing Bayern to finish in first place with a goal difference.
RB Leipzig and sensational Union Berlin are third and fourth respectively and will also compete in the Champions League next season.
Hertha Berlin and Schalke 04 have been relegated, while VfB Stuttgart will go into the relegation playoff.
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India is looking to a new generation of talented young cricketers led by teenage batter Shafali Verma to propel them to a first Women’s T20 World Cup title this month. Long-serving skipper Mithali Raj and record-breaking fast bowler Jhulan Goswami, trailblazers for women’s cricket in India, both retired last year.
New captain Harmanpreet Kaur said both players are still on hand to give advice, but it is time to look forward. Whenever we need they are always available to us, that’s what you expect from senior players,” the 33-year-old told a recent press conference.
“Nobody can fill their places, but the young girls who are getting the chances are doing well. One of the players who has grabbed her chance is Verma, an attacking opening batter who led India to victory in the inaugural U19 T20 World Cup in South Africa last month.
The 19-year-old will be back on familiar ground for the T20 World Cup, which is again in South Africa. It starts on February 10 and India are chasing a breakthrough first title, having been runners-up behind hosts Australia in the last edition, in 2020. Their first match is against arch-rivals Pakistan on February 12 in Cape Town.
Verma made her international debut at the age of just 15 and was in the team that reached the T20 World Cup final in 2020.
She also played in the one-day World Cup and was a member of the Indian side which took silver at last year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
The youngster looks up to big-hitting England batsman Liam Livingstone for inspiration and considers Indian great Sachin Tendulkar a role model. After captaining India to victory in the U19 World Cup, Verma said: “This is just the beginning.”
“When I entered the Under-19s, I only focused on winning the Under-19 Cup and we have won that today,” ESPNCricinfo quoted her as saying. I will look to take this winning confidence with me and win the senior World Cup.”
Besides Verma, the India team also includes Smriti Mandhana, Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma and Renuka Singh. The women’s game is making inroads in the cricket-mad country, with the inaugural Women’s Premier League set for March, ahead of the men’s IPL.
Last month, India’s cricket board auctioned off five women’s IPL teams for $572.5 million. The new generation “are ready to be the representatives of the modern generation of women’s cricketers”, cricket journalist Sharda Ugra told AFP.
“The women’s IPL is going to start and they are the perfect representation of the kind of Indian women cricketers that belong to the T20 generation. They have the right mindset and they are very, very talented.
Source: eNCA
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