Ousmane Dembele to miss 'some time' after injury on league debut for Barca

Barcelona completed the comeback vs. Getafe and remain perfect in La Liga courtesy of new-signing Paulinho's strike late on. Ernesto Valverde maintains record signing Ousmane Dembele still needs more time to adapt with Barcelona.

BARCELONA -- Barcelona face an anxious wait to discover the severity of the injury that forced Ousmane Dembele to hobble out of Saturday's 2-1 victory over Getafe.

Dembele, making his first start in La Liga, fell to the ground clutching his hamstring after sprinting for the ball just after the 20-minute mark.

Barcelona's record signing immediately signalled to the bench that he would be unable to continue and was replaced by Gerard Deulofeu.

A club statement soon after read: "Ousmane Dembele has a hamstring injury in his left leg, more tests are needed to find out the extent of the injury."

Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde admitted after the game that Dembele is "going to have to spend some time on the sidelines."

"It's a muscle problem," Valverde added. "We think it's a tear, but we will do more tests tomorrow.

"It's a shame because he was just getting up to scratch with the team's dynamic. We hope he won't be out for a long time."

The Catalan club paid an initial €105 million to sign Dembele from Borussia Dortmund in August, although that could rise to €145m with add-ons.

The France international made his debut as a substitute in last weekend's 5-0 win against Espanyol at the Camp Nou, providing the assist for Luis Suarez's stoppage-time goal.

He then made his full debut in the midweek victory over Juventus in the Champions League and kept his place at Getafe.

Speaking about the expectation surrounding the 20-year-old on Friday, Valverde called for patience.

"He's getting better in training all the time, but we'll see how he does competitively," he said. "We hope he's going to keep giving us more and more. You always ask about him, but we have to give him time."

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BREAKING NEWS: Another Coach sacked in England

The wave of sacking in England has claimed another big casualty as the hammer has fallen on another gaffer.

Birmingham City

have sacked manager Harry Redknapp following a run of six defeats in eight Championship matches this season. 

Saturday's 3-1 home defeat to Preston North End proved the final straw for the club, who announced the decision shortly after full-time.

Redknapp was appointed in April and helped the Blues narrowly avoided relegation from the second tier last term.

But they now sit just one spot above bottom-placed Bolton and have lost six straight matches in all competitions. Former Everton midfielder Lee Carsley, part of Redknapp's backroom staff, will

takeover as caretaker manager. 

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Something is beginning to annoy Neymar at Paris Saint-Germain

There’s an argument to be made that the best attacking trio in world football right now doesn’t come from La Liga.

We haven’t seen enough of Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele to pass judgement, while Karim Benzema’s hamstring injury means it could be some time before BBC - Benzema, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo - take to the stage together for Real Madrid.

There are no such problems at the Parc des Princes, however, where Neymar, Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe have torn through every defence they’ve faced this season.

Already this season, the three forwards have combined to score 16 goals for Paris Saint-Germain.

So PSG’s decision to splash the cash on Neymar and Mbappe in the summer already looks justified.

The Parisiens made Neymar the most expensive player in history when they paid Barcelona £198 million for the Brazilian, while Mbappe’s initial loan move from AS Monaco will become a £168m permanent deal in 2018.

Despite the early success - PSG have won all five Ligue 1 matches and destroyed Celtic in the Champions League this week - trouble could be on the horizon, if SFR Sport are to be believed.

Why Neymar is getting annoyed
There are many mouths to feed at PSG and it’s claim that Neymar is beginning to become irritated at not being the number one penalty taker.

That honour is instead bestowed upon Cavani, who scored from the spot in the 5-0 win over Celtic on Tuesday.

Watch: Cavani doesn't let Neymar take PSG penalty
There was an incident last month in PSG’s match against St. Etienne when Neymar was caught seemingly asking Cavani if he could take a penalty, with the Uruguayan refusing.

Yet much has been made about Neymar’s quest to win the Ballon d’Or and SFR Sport claim he has privately been complaining about being behind Cavani in the pecking order, thus denying him the chance to add some extra goals to his tally.

Messi would let Neymar take penalties at Barcelona
Back in 2015, Neymar said he was left “speechless” when Messi let him take a penalty in Barcelona’s 8-0 win over Cordoba.

“It's a detail I will never forget,” the Brazil international said, per Sport.

“He could have scored a hat-trick, but he left the penalty to me. It left me without words. I learn a lot from him, both on and off the pitch.”
It doesn’t seem as if Cavani will be quite so accommodating.

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Getafe Fans Chant ‘Neymar’ But Then This Happened

There were some worried faces in the visitors section of the Coliseum Alfonso Perez Stadium on Saturday evening when Getafe took the lead and the fans started chanting: “Neymar! Neymar!” But then, this happened! Did you see it?

The Bluagrana saw their perfect start to La Liga season come under threat when Gaku Shibasaki managed to put Getafe in front just before the break.

It was a lead that sparked the home fans to chant Neymar’s name around the arena, but a half an hour later, Denis Suarez’s equalizer saw their songs subside.

A draw seemed destined to be shared between the two teams, but Paulinho, who was the first signing after Neymar’s exit, stepped up and scored a beautiful strike to claim all three points for Barcelona.

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Super Eagles Player Onazi Ogenyi And His Wife Welcome Baby Girl (Photos)

Super Eagles player, Onazi Ogenyi and his wife, Sandra who celebrated their first wedding anniversary last month have welcomed a baby girl.

The proud dad shared photos of his new baby girl and wrote;

“Only God knows how I feel right now. God you are faithful�� this is the best gift you can get on a new month. #proudfather #godisgreat #myprincess� #makeyla �������”

More photos below…

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Arsenal Star Sanchez Disagrees With His Own Agent Over Exit Talks (Full Story)

Alexis Sanchez is at odds with his agent, Fernando Felicevich, over his Arsenal future.

The player wants to leave the Emirates, while Felicevich is urging him to see out the remaining 11 months of his deal with the Gunners and leave on a lucrative Bosman next summer.

Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain are desperate to sign Sanchez this summer, but his agent feels they would be even bigger next season when he becomes a free agent.

Sanchez turns 29 in December and is conscious that he has only won one La Liga with Barcelona and two FA Cups with Arsenal in his career.

He recently admitted that he is desperate to win the Champions League.

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BREAKING!! Barcelona Star Neymar Confirms He Will NOT Be Travelling Back With Squad To Spain (Read)

Barcelona forward, Neymar, has confirmed he will not be travelling with the rest of the team back to Spain, affter Saturday night’s Miami Clasico.

There had been reports from China that his commercial commitments in Shanghai on Monday had been cancelled, but Globoesporte in Brazil says the trip is still on.

This means that the match against Real Madrid, could be the last time he sees his team-mates still as a Barcelona player.

The rest of the squad are due to touch down back in Spain on Sunday afternoon, while Neymar will fly straight to Asia for various commercial commitments.

Paris Saint-Germain are ready to break the world transfer record for the Brazilian, by activating his £196m release clause.

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Luxury Items Worth N165M Stolen From John Terry’s Mansion (Item Listed)

The list of items stolen by burglars from John Terry’s home while he was on holiday has been revealed.

According to the Daily Mail, the thieves raided the former Chelsea captain’s mansion and made way with items worth an ‘eye watering’ £400,000 or N165m.

The raiders knew the Englishman was not home after he posted pictures of himself enjoying a ski trip on Instagram.
After seeing his posts the prolific burglars broke into the footballer’s £5million mansion in Oxshott, Surrey, and spent hours ransacking the property.

My princess on the Slopes @sum26terry 

A post shared by Toni Terry (@toniterry26) on Apr 23, 2017 at 1:44am PDT

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PSG, Barcelona, Dortmund Win Domestic Cup Titles

A 91st-minute own goal by Issa Cissokho on Saturday gave Paris St-Germain a dramatic Coupe de France final match victory over Angers.

Unai Emery’s side looked set for extra time but Cissokho, brother of Aston Villa defender Aly, headed a corner into his own net in injury time.

Angers, playing in the final for the first time since 1957, escaped in the first half when Angel di Maria’s deflected cross hit the post.

But Nicolas Pepe then hit the post at the other end for the underdogs.

Emery has been under intense pressure after a disappointing first season at the Parc de Princes, with PSG finishing eight points behind Ligue 1 champions Monaco.

They were also dumped out of the UEFA Champions League in the last 16.

Victory at the Stade de France ensured they will end the season with two trophies, having won 4-1 against Monaco in the French League Cup final in April.

But Emery has still arguably underachieved since replacing Laurent Blanc, who won the domestic title in each of his three seasons in charge.

They found it hard work against a physical Angers.

Their defender Ismael Traore was lucky not to be sent off in the second half for an appalling studs-first lunge into Julian Draxler’s shin.

Di Maria hit a free-kick into the side netting, and Edinson Cavani went close late on.

But Angers looked as if they had held out for an additional half-hour until Cissokho’s moment of misery in the first minute of stoppage time.

In Spain, Lionel Messi was inspired as FC Barcelona beat Alaves 3-1 on Saturday to secure the Copa del Rey for the third year running and give coach Luis Enrique a winning send-off.

Luis Enrique is leaving the club after three years in charge at the Nou Camp.

Ibai Gomez hit the post for Alaves before Messi scored his 54th goal of the season with a 20-yard curler.

Theo Hernandez bent in a free-kick to equalise, but Neymar turned in from close range and then Messi played in Paco Alcacer right on half-time.

It has been a disappointing season for FC Barcelona, who finished runners-up to Real Madrid in La Liga and were eliminated from the Champions League by Juventus in the quarter-finals.

They did at least restore some pride with victory over last season’s second division champions in what was the final match to be played at Atletico Madrid’s Vicente Calderon Stadium.

There were some records set along the way as Enrique’s team retained the trophy, having beaten Athletic Bilbao and Sevilla in the last two finals.

Messi, who struck the opener after exchanging passes with Neymar outside the penalty area, became the first player to score in four Copa finals since Athletic Bilbao’s Telmo Zarra in 1950.

Neymar, who forced in Barca’s second when Messi played in Andre Gomes to cross low from the right, is the first man in recent years to score in three successive Copa finals.

This has not happened since Ferenc Puskas, who achieved the feat with Real Madrid between 1960 and 1962.

Messi’s through pass for the third goal was sublime, and was finished calmly by Alcacer —- who has been inconsistent since his move from Valencia last summer.

The one major worry for FC Barcelona was a nasty head injury to Javier Mascherano, who was carried off on a stretcher after an early collision with Marcos Llorente,

He suffered concussion as well as a cut to his head, and an injury to his right knee that will need further tests, the club said afterwards.

In Germany, Borussia Dortmund defeated Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 to win the German DFB Cup.

Ousmane Dembele scored first for Dortmund in the 8th minute before Ante Rebic equalised in the 29th minute. A second half goal by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang sealed the victory for Dortmund.

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Aggrieved Arsenal Fans Have Launched A “WEXIT” (Wenger Exit) Campaign

Arsenal fans who are not happy with their trophyless position raised over £3,000 on Saturday to demonstrate against how their club is being ran, and also to persuade the Club’s French Manager, Arsene Wenger, to leave the club.

Some of the placards they carried for the demonstration read;

“Arsene 4th place is not a trophy, Arsenal FC not Arsene FC”, “Wenger out”

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Wenger to reveal future at Arsenal soon after 3-1 loss to West Brom

Arsene Wenger has said he will announce his plans “very soon” after reaching a decision about his future as Arsenal manager.Wenger would not confirm what that decision was but the Frenchman is under increasing pressure with Arsenal’s season on the brink of collapse after six defeats in the last nine matches in all competitions.

The Gunners lost again yesterday, a 3-1 defeat at West Brom leaving them in fifth place in the Premier League and five points adrift of the Champions League qualification spots.

It led to Wenger being asked questions again regarding his future – with his contract set to expire at the end of the season.“I know what I will do so you will know very soon. You will see,” said Wenger.

“Today I do not worry about that.”Wenger had previously said that he had yet to decide what he would do, with the offer of a new two-year contract on the table.

The 67-year-old, who has been in charge of Arsenal since 1996, continues to divide opinion among the club’s supporters. Anti-Wenger fans flew a plane over The Hawthorns trailing a banner asking him to leave while another later proclaimed “In Arsene We Trust #RESPECTAW”.

“I watch the game, I do not watch the stands,” said Wenger.“I believe we have to deal with that and you focus on your job, no matter what people think.”

Asked if he felt making his intentions public might help change the atmosphere among supporters, he replied: “I don’t know. We are in a unique bad patch like we’ve never had in 20 years where we lose game after game at the moment and that is much more important than my future.”

The Arsenal boss, who insisted that he had not informed anyone at the club of his decision, does not necessarily think the uncertainty surrounding his future is impacting on his players.

“I don’t know about that,” said Wenger.“In this job it is like having a problem with your engine, there are problems but you have to find the most important one.“The most important one today was that we had 77 per cent of possession and didn’t create many chances. We have to focus on that.” 

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Uefa Champions League and Europa League Draw

Champion League Draw

Tuesday, 11 April
Juventus Game 1 7:45 PM Barcelona	Dortmund Game 1 7:45 PM Monaco
Wednesday, 12 April
Atlético Madrid Game 1 7:45 PM Leicester City	Bayern Munich Game 1 7:45 PM Real Madrid
Tuesday, 18 April
Leicester City Game 2 7:45 PM Atlético Madrid	Real Madrid Game 2 7:45 PM Bayern Munich
Wednesday, 19 April
Monaco Game 2 7:45 PM Dortmund	Barcelona Game 2 7:45 PM Juventus

   Europa League Draw

UEFA Europa League: Quarter-Final Fixtures
Home Leg First	vs.	Away Leg First
Anderlecht	vs.	Manchester United
Celta Vigo	vs.	Genk
Ajax	vs.	Schalke
Lyon	vs.	Besiktas
UEFA

The first legs will take place on Thursday, April 13, with the second legs scheduled for a week later on Thursday, April 20.

All times are in West Africa Standard Time

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‘Arsenal May Not Make Top Four’- Arsene Wenger Says

Arsenal boss, Arsene Wenger, has hinted that his side may find it difficult making the top four in the Premier League this season.

League leaders Chelsea, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspurs, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United are all vying for four Champions League places.

Arsenal have already dropped from the top four with Manchester United chasing closely.

He noted that he is well aware of the threat West Brom pose to his team’s top four ambitions.

He told news conference “They are experienced, organised and efficient from set pieces. This season they have done very well in midfield and up front.

“It is a balanced team with good size, very equipped to deal with the Premier League.

“This season they’ve done very well in midfield. They have played very well, and up front they have Hal Robson-Kanu and Salomon Rondon who have done very well for them as well.

“It’s a very balanced team with a good size who are equipped to deal with the Premier League.

“It’s true that it is tough because West Brom is traditionally always a very difficult game, but as well it’s an opportunity for us to come back to the position that is much closer to Chelsea.

“It’s a strange championship because there’s no continuity at the moment – we’ve had games cancelled, then after you play away, you don’t play, you play FA Cup and you play away again.

“So you don’t really know where you stand. You don’t have the same number of games, you don’t have the continuity home and away. What is for sure is that we are in a position where we can’t waste points.

“We want to play in the Champions League next season. We have a tough job because we have six or seven teams fighting for the places and how well we do until the end of the season will of course depend on that.

“On the rest, we are in the semi-finals of the FA Cup, we have an opportunity to do that as well. So overall those are our targets. After that, success is basically to take the maximum out of the potential of the team. Where is that? We will see.”

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‘Jamie Vardy Is A Cheat’- Sami Nasri Blasts

Sevilla midfielder Samir Nasri has accused Jamie Vardy of cheating following his red card in Leicester’s Champions League victory on Tuesday.

Nasri, 29, was dismissed for a second yellow card in Sevilla’s 2-0 last-16 second-leg defeat, as the Foxes reached the quarter-finals 3-2 on aggregate.

Nasri and Vardy clashed in the second half and were booked for butting heads.

But the on-loan Manchester City star believes Vardy’s response convinced referee Daniele Orsato to take action.

“For me he’s a cheat because if he was a foreign player you, the English press, would be saying he’s a cheat,” he said.

“They were winning 2-0, play the game like a man. You are not better than us but you are winning 2-0 and will qualify, just play the game.”

But England striker Vardy refuted Nasri’s allegation, saying: “I’m not a cheat and I never have been. That’s all I’ve got to say on the matter.”

A Leicester spokesman added: “The club refutes entirely any allegation that questions the professional integrity of Jamie or any of its players.”

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NewsBaze App Now Available, Get Yours Now!

The fastest and easiest way to get notified or stay updated to NewsBaze articles is by installing our application. NewsBaze App is now available for Android users with many branded you will surely like.

Features of Newsbaze app
          

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FA Cup!! Chelsea 1-0 Man United (RESULT)

Chelsea capitalised on Ander Herrera’s sending-off to win a hard-fought FA Cup quarter-final with holders Manchester United and maintain their pursuit of a domestic Double.

Herrera’s dismissal for two fouls on Eden Hazard gave the advantage to the Blues midway through the first half.

The brilliant N’Golo Kante fired home the only goal – his second this season, both of which have been against United.

Chelsea dominated thereafter but spurned chances to add to their lead.

United, who were without forwards Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Wayne Rooney and Anthony Martial, produced just one clear opportunity – Marcus Rashford denied by Thibaut Courtois.

Chelsea join Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester City in a semi-final line-up featuring four of the top five teams in the Premier League.

Who was your man of match?

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Barca Vs PSG Match Could Be Replayed As Online Petition Hits Over 200,000 Signatures

Heavy pressure is currently being mounted on UEFA for the replay of the Barca-PSG Champions league encounter which recorded controversial incidents.

A petition demanding that Barcelona’s Champions League second leg match with PSG be replayed has garnered over 200,000 signatures online according to a recent update by Goal.com as at 10:11am, 13th of March, 2017 – Nigerian time.

Barcelona overcame a four-goal deficit from the first leg in Paris to triumph 6-1 in the Nou Camp and book their place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

The match, which saw Barcelona score three goals in the last five minutes, was hailed as ‘the greatest comeback in football history’ as Sergi Roberto’s stoppage time finish capped off a miraculous performance.

But one Real Madrid fan has demanded the tie be replayed due to the performance of referee, Deniz Aytekin. Aytekin was heavily criticised for his performance in the Nou Camp after he gave two controversial penalties for Barcelona and turning down PSG’s appeals for a spot-kick when Javier Mascherano slid in on Angel Di Maria.

Real Madrid fan, Luis Melendo Olmedo, has set up the petition on change.org and has asked that Uefa strike the result from the record.

Olmedo cites “incidents that seriously damaged PSG as a result of the German referee Deniz Aytekin, who gave Barcelona an advantage with his refereeing decisions” as the inspiration behind the petition.

Barcelona defender Javier Mascherano admitted he had fouled Di Maria in the penalty area with the Argentine closing in on goal.

“I made contact with Di María. It’s obvious it was a foul. I’m not going to lie about it,” he told Spanish newspaper AS.

Despite the number of people who have already signed the petition, the absence of any such appeal from PSG means there is no prospect of UEFA ordering an unprecedented replay.

Barcelona’s hopes of winning La Liga were dealt a devastating blow on Sunday evening as they fell to a 2-1 defeat to 17th placed Deportivo La Coruna.

Luis Enrique was forced to make five changes to the team that beat PSG on Wednesday as Alex Bergantinos’s 74th minute goal was enough to consign the defending champions to a shock defeat.

The result leaves Barcelona one point clear of Real Madrid at the top of the table, but Zinedine Zidane’s side have two games in hand and will replace their rivals as La Liga leaders with a victory on Sunday evening.

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Wawu!! Cristiano Ronaldo Sets Another La Liga Record, Check it out

Real Madrid forward, Cristiano Ronaldo, yesterday set another record when he became the active player to have scored the most headed goals in the La Liga.

Ronaldo surpassed Atletico Bilbao’s Aritz Aduriz.

Ronaldo scored in the 41st minute in Madrid’s 2-1 win over Real Betis at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium on Sunday when he headed home Marcelo’s cross.

Ronaldo has scored 46 headed goals in La Liga, more than any other current player in the competition, surpassing Aduriz’s 45.

After Real Betis took the lead through Antonio Sanabria, Marcelo’s cross located an unmarked Ronaldo who powered his header into the net for the equalizer.

Sergio Ramos sealed maximum points with an 81st minute winner.

The Portuguese’s header was his 19th league goal of the season and it allowed him to leapfrog Aduriz who was tied with the Portuguese star on 45 headers before the game.

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La Liga!! Read Why Barcelona Lost 2-1 Against Deportivo La Coruna (Read)

Barcelona’s La Liga title hopes were hit as they followed up their famous Champions League win over Paris St-Germain with a defeat at struggling Deportivo La Coruna.

Luis Enrique made five changes from the side who beat PSG 6-1, with the injured Neymar ruled out.

Barca were below par, falling behind to a close-range Joselu finish.

Luis Suarez equalised seconds after the restart but an Alex Bergantinos header sealed Depor’s win.

Real Madrid go top by two points after defeating Real Betis with 2-1 win at 19:45 GMT, while Zinedine Zidane’s side still have a game in hand on the defending champions after that.

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La Liga!! Real Madrid 2-1 Real Betis (RESULT)

Sergio Ramos’ late winner sent Real Madrid back to the top of La Liga following a 2-1 win against Real Betis at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday night.

Madrid had found themselves behind after 25 minutes after an own goal from goalkeeper Keylor Navas, the first shot-stopper to put through his own net in the league this season.

However, Cristiano Ronaldo equalised for Real with his first-ever goal against Betis four minutes before half-time and after right-back Cristiano Piccini had been shown a 78th-minute red card, Ramos headed the home side’s winner nine minutes from time.

Los Blancos move two points ahead of Barcelona, having played a game less than the champions.

Who was your man of match?

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