Sports

Three Talking Points From The Premier League’s Opening Weekend

Published

2 years ago

August 14, 2023

Manchester City showed why they remain the team to beat on the Premier League’s return this weekend as the English champions cruised to a 3-0 win at Burnley.

Arsenal got their title challenge off to a winning start, but had to survive a nervy finish in beating Nottingham Forest 2-1.

The game of the weekend ended in a 1-1 draw between Chelsea and Liverpool, while Tottenham were also held 2-2 at Brentford in their first taste of life without Harry Kane.

AFP Sport looks at three talking points from the opening weekend of the season:

Caicedo chase explained

Moises Caicedo of Brighton & Hove Albion looks on during the Premier League Summer Series match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Newcastle United at Red Bull Arena on July 28, 2023 in Harrison, New Jersey. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Chelsea and Liverpool took their battle in the transfer market for the signature of Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo onto the pitch at Stamford Bridge.

But both sides showed why they are willing to break the Premier League transfer record by spending at least £110 million ($140 million) for the Ecuadorian.

Liverpool started without a recognised defensive midfielder and an attack-minded front six looked slick early on as Luis Diaz gave the visitors the lead.

Chelsea, though, were soon able to pick the Reds’ defence apart with ease and could easily have given Mauricio Pochettino a dream start as Blues boss.

Pochettino’s midfield options have been decimated by a clearout to trim down a bloated squad.

And they appear the front-runners to land Caicedo with Stamford Bridge the 21-year-old’s preferred destination.

Mind over matter for City

man-city-burnley

Manchester City’s Spanish manager Pep Guardiola (R) speaks to his players during the English Premier League football match between Burnley and Manchester City at Turf Moor in Burnley, north-west England on August 11, 2023. (Photo by Darren Staples / AFP) /

City ended last season over a month after Burnley had concluded their Championship campaign, but a lack of preparation time for the new season did not show on opening night.

Pep Guardiola insisted the champions are far from their physical best.

“We are still away from our best form but we have to try to not drop points in this period with this amount of games,” said Guardiola.

“How you solve this lack of preparation is a question of mentality.”

But Erling Haaland’s finishing was as sharp as ever to ensure there was no slip-up from City.

The Norwegian took just over three minutes of the new season to find the net before smashing home a sumptuous second off the underside of the bar.

Newcastle flex strength in depth

newcastle-

Newcastle United’s Swedish striker #14 Alexander Isak (C) celebrates with teammates after scoring their third goal during the English Premier League football match between Newcastle United and Aston Villa at St James’ Park in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, north east England on August 12, 2023. (Photo by Ian Hodgson / AFP)

As many of the game’s biggest names chased the riches on offer in the Gulf in recent months, Saudi-backed Newcastle have again resisted the temptation to splash out on stars.

However, Sandro Tonali and Harvey Barnes enjoyed dream debuts in a 5-1 demolition of Aston Villa that exemplified the new-found strength in depth on offer to Eddie Howe.

Tonali smashed home just six minutes into his St James’ Park bow after a cross from Anthony Gordon, who had started ahead of Barnes.

Howe’s decision to select Alexander Isak over Callum Wilson was also rewarded with two goals by the Swede.

But Barnes made a stunning impact off the bench as he teed up Wilson for Newcastle’s fourth before rounding off the scoring in stoppage time.

The Magpies will need a stronger squad as the demands of a first Champions League campaign for 20 years kick in.

On this evidence, though, their rise since the Saudi Public Investment Fund took charge under two years ago shows no sign of stopping.

AFP

Sports

NFF In Fresh N1.4b FIFA Women World Cup Scandal

Published

4 hours ago

November 28, 2025

Editor

Former Super Falcons head coach, Randy Waldrum, has questioned the Nigeria Football Federation’s (NFF) management of the monies that the world football governing body, FIFA, gave the federation for the team’s preparation for the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, reports allnigeriasoccer.com.

Waldrum’s team was eliminated from the championship in the second round by England through a penalty shootout. But the American alleged in a viral video on X that his team was handicapped by the NFF’s failure to make available the fund needed to properly prepare the side for the championship.

He alleged that the NFF received $960,000 from FIFA in October 2022 to support the Super Falcons’ preparations for the tournament.

He said: “I have a real close contact here in the US that is very connected with some of the board at FIFA. This person told me that in October, every country was given $960k from FIFA to prepare for the World, where is that money.

“If Nigeria got that money why didn’t we have a camp in November? We went to Japan, we flew in and played the game and went home. Some of our players didn’t arrive until the morning before the game, I think five players who were going to start for me, arrived the night before the game and the game was 4:00pm and they traveled 16 hours on the plane. And we played Japan and then we went home. We wasted the last five days of that window to train.”

Waldrum, who affirmed that FIFA provides financial support to federations that are unable to afford business-class travel, with deductions made from their World Cup earnings.

According to him, the NFF had no justification for suboptimal logistics. “So, all these questions I have is where is this money? And the other thing I found out through my FIFA connections is that if countries don’t have the money to buy business class tickets for everybody, FIFA will fund the money and buy those tickets and just deduct it from the monies you get from FIFA after the World Cup.

“So there’s no excuse to say we didn’t have money to buy tickets and then we didn’t have camps. These are the kinds of things that the people of Nigeria don’t question. In the US, they would be questioned. If the US Soccer Federation was doing the same things, the US Soccer Federation would have to answer to it.”

The coach also faulted the NFF for failing to maximise FIFA-approved staffing provisions, noting that while FIFA allows up to 22 technical staff members, Nigeria travelled with only about 11.

“So if FIFA will pay bonuses for up to 22 people, why didn’t we have 22 people? I didn’t have an analyst and I scout. Listen, the US has a scout in Europe, watching teams play in these exhibitions, in case they face them at the World Cup,” he explained.

“We didn’t even have scouts going with us to Australia. I didn’t even have anybody to scout games. If we got out of our group, I didn’t even have anybody to scout games in other groups. Everything I had to do was on videos and what I could pick up online.”

Sports

EPL: Berbatov Names Team That Can ‘Surprise’ Arsenal In Title Race

Published

3 days ago

November 25, 2025

Editor

Former Manchester United striker, Dimitar Berbatov, has named the team that could “surprise” Arsenal in the Premier League title race.

The Gunners are now six points clear of second-placed Chelsea, thanks to their 4-1 demolition of Tottenham on Sunday.

Mikel Arteta’s men could extend that lead to nine points, when they travel to face the Blues this weekend.

Berbatov has now said he expects Arsenal to be “really tested” over the hectic festive period and says their title credentials will become clearer in the New Year.

“Of course Liverpool are low in the table and Man City are dropping points, but there are other teams like Chelsea who can surprise people,” Berbatov told ESPN.

“Six points is a good cushion but in the Premier League it’s nothing and can go very quickly.”

Sports

Champions League: Arteta Gives Arsenal Injury Updates Ahead Bayern Munich Clash

Published

3 days ago

November 25, 2025

Editor

Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, has given injury updates on his squad ahead of Wednesday night’s Champions League clash with Bayern Munich.

The Gunners have won their first four matches in the competition without conceding a single goal.

Arteta’s men will be looking to continue their perfect start with a win over Bayern at the Emirates.

Arsenal could have captain Martin Odegaard back for the game, alongside Gabriel Martinelli and Noni Madueke.

“Yeah they are [Madueke and Martinelli in contenton to start] and we’re going to have a meeting now to decide on Martin [Odegaard],” Arteta told reporters today.

“He was very close for the previous game.

“We are confident he can be in the squad as well.”