Seven-time champions Enugu Rangers are holding on to a slim goal difference league at the top of the 2023/24 Nigeria Premier Football League table after falling to a 4-3 defeat against Katsina United at the Muhammadu Dikko Stadium in Katsina on Sunday.

The match-day 29 encounter opened up to a frenetic start with four goals in the opening 20 minutes.

Midfielder Azeez Falolu opened the floodgates in the seven-goal thriller with his fourth goal of the season for Katsina as early as the fourth minute, but Godwin Obaje responded for the visitors six minutes later.

Michael Ibe restored Katsina United’s lead in the 16th minute, but it took Rangers just two minutes to level up again through Saviour Godwin.

Ibe bagged his brace on the stroke of halftime to give the hosts a 3-2 lead while Andrew Idoko doubled the advantage five minutes after the restart, before Joel Odoh reduced the deficit to 4-3 for Rangers in the 81st minute.

In Lafia, Danbani Alao’s 58th minute goal was all Lobi Stars needed to secure a 1-0 win over Enyimba and keep the pressure on Rangers in second place.

Niger Tornadoes continued with their impressive goal scoring form as they hit relegation-threatened Gombe United 5-0 in Kaduna, while Heartland also won for the first time in four matches beating Sporting Lagos 3-1 in Owerri.

Kwara United needed a penalty from Isiah Ejeh to secure a 1-1 draw at home against Bendel Insurance, who took a first half lead through Meyiwa Oritseweyinmi.

In Akure, Tunde Adeniji marked his return to Sunshine Stars with a goal, which secured a 1-1 draw against visiting Bayelsa United. The result means Kennedy Boboye’s side remain winless after three matches, just as Bayelsa United continue to swim out of relegation waters.

Oleksandr Usyk has revealed his respect for Anthony Joshua and expressed that he didn’t require an apology from the Briton ahead of his upcoming fight with Tyson Fury next month.

Back in August 2022, Usyk clinched victory over Joshua in Saudi Arabia, following a previous triumph over the 34-year-old at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. However, post-fight, Joshua’s actions drew controversy when he took some of Usyk’s belts and threw them away.

In February last year, Joshua apologized for his actions, stating: “Listen, I’m not perfect. It’s not the right thing to have done. I didn’t speak to Usyk but I spoke to Wladimir [Klitschko] and said give yourself a pat on the shoulder and tell him ‘well done and I apologize’, that’s man-to-man. But it was just raw, it may not make sense to a lot of people but it made a lot of sense to me and it was just how much it means, to a degree. I thought I would feel like that at the end of my career and when it’s all said and done I’d just be like ‘wow, what a rollercoaster, I made it through the trenches’.”

However, Usyk, speaking to Seconds Out, expressed his respect for Joshua and asserted that he didn’t need an apology in the first place. He stated, “I don’t have bad feelings about Joshua because I respect this man. He’s a great man. He’s a great boxer, an Olympic champion, and two times world champion. I think it’s emotion. I respect this man. No, I’m good.”

Usyk remains confident ahead of his fight with Fury next month. The duo is set to meet in the first heavyweight showdown since the days of Lennox Lewis.

Usyk is optimistic about his chances against Fury, expressing his ambition for a future fight in Ukraine. He stated, “Not if, when? I want to do a fight in Ukraine at the big stadium, Olimsky. My goal is to make a fight in a stadium. I think I [will] do it.”

Regarding the upcoming fight between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson, Usyk believes that the criticism directed towards the duo is exaggerated and sees no issue with the fight. He commented, “Listen, listen, it just shows, Tyson is a big, big famous man, who is well known around the world. Yeah, Jake Paul is young guy who won at boxing who wants to help young guys but it’s a big show. If people want to see the show, OK, give it to them. For me, I think it’s OK.”

The Fury vs Usyk match is scheduled to take place in Riyadh on May 18. With Fury winning 34 of his 35 fights and Usyk clinching victory in all 21 of his bouts so far, the encounter promises to be a thrilling showdown.

Liverpool failed to return to the top of the table with after a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford as rivals Manchester United did their bit to try and derail the Reds’ quest to send off Jurgen Klopp with an English Premier League title, which would put Liverpool level with United on 20 league crowns.

They are behind Arsenal on goal difference, with both teams locked on 71 points. Champions Manchester City are a further point adrift.

It was an end to end start to the match on April 7 with the home team having a goal by Alejandro Garnacho disallowed after two minutes after the Argentinian strayed just offside.

From then on though, all the action in the first 45 minutes came at the opposite end as United failed to register a shot. The last time they did not record a shot in the first half of a Premier League game was in April 2022, during a 4-0 defeat by the Reds.

The last time that happened at Old Trafford was in October 2015, when they drew 0-0 against City.

Liverpool, meanwhile, had 15 first-half shots, four of them on target as the Red Devils continued their tendency to allow opponents to pepper their goal with shots. Before the game on April 7, the Red Devils had faced 526 shots in the Premier League, more than any other time in the 20 full seasons since Opta began keeping records.

While United have suffered from injury issues all season, which saw them start with three teenagers in a Premier League match against Liverpool for the first time, there was no shortage of experience on the pitch in the likes of Raphael Varane, Casemiro and Harry Maguire.

The Reds opened the scoring on 23 minutes when Darwin Nunez escaped the attentions of Aaron Wan-Bissaka from a corner and headed the ball on to an unmarked Luis Diaz, who finished past Andre Onana.

It was the Uruguayan striker’s 13th assist this term, more than any other Premier League player.

The Reds should have, however, gone into the break with more than a one-goal lead as only Onana kept the Reds in the game with saves from the likes Dominik Szoboszlai and Mohamed Salah.

It was a similar story to the teams’ FA Cup quarter-final clash in March, when United took advantage of the Reds’ profligacy to sneak a 4-3 win.

And so it seemed again at the start of the second half on April 7, when United scored with their first shot of the match.

Bruno Fernandes pounced on a loose pass by Jarell Quansah just inside the Liverpool half in the 50th minute and launched a first-time shot over a stranded Caoimhin Kelleher for his 50th Premier League goal.

Indeed, the Red Devils could take have taken a shock lead minutes with their second shot but a flying Casemiro just failed to get a boot on a cross into the box.

Liverpool’s second-half nightmare continued on 67 minutes when Kobbie Mainoo received a pass into box by Wan-Bissaka with his back to goal and proceeded to swivel and launch a lovely curling shot into the top corner of Kelleher’s goal.

He became the first 18-year-old to score in the Premier League against Liverpool since Cesc Fabregas for Arsenal in May 2005, and became the Red Devils’ youngest scorer against Liverpool in the Premier League.

But as it was in the defeat by Chelsea in midweek, United conceded a needless late penalty after Wan-Bissaka brought Harvey Elliott down in the box.

Salah stepped up and scored from the spot, his sixth goal at Old Trafford, more than any other player in Premier League history.

Napoli scored three goals within six second-half minutes as they clinched a 4-2 victory at Monza on Sunday to keep alive their slim hopes of a top-four finish in Serie A.

The defending champions are seventh in the table with 48 points, 10 points behind fourth-placed Bologna, who played out a goalless draw at Frosinone earlier on Sunday. Monza are 11th with 42 points.

Napoli still find themselves in a challenging position in the table, trailing both AS Roma and Atalanta who sit in fifth and sixth place with 55 and 50 points respectively. Atalanta have two matches in hand before their clash at Cagliari later on Sunday.

Coach Francesco Calzona preferred not to discuss how the season could end for Napoli.

“We are forced to take it one game at a time because it doesn’t only depend on us,” he told DAZN.

“We have to keep winning and maintain some hope of finishing in the top spots. If we play like the second half, we can have hope but not if we play like we did in the first half.”

Calzona said he had had a serious talk with the players during the break

“During halftime we talk, we discuss the problems, try to resolve them. The lads got the message but it’s not just today, I’ve been saying this for a long time.”

STUNNING GOALS

Milan Duric nodded in the opening goal for Monza nine minutes into the match, outmanoeuvring Napoli’s Juan Jesus to connect with a cross.

While Napoli focused on achieving an equaliser, Monza goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio performed admirably to maintain his side’s advantage going into the break.

The second half was frenzied, with five goals coming in 13 minutes at the sunny Stadio Brianteo.

Napoli began their comeback 10 minutes into the second half, when Victor Osimhen rose so high to nod in the equaliser that he landed on his face, requiring a brief moment of treatment before continuing.

Two minutes later, Matteo Politano unleashed a perfectly executed left-footed volley from outside the box, finding the far right corner and leaving the stadium stunned by the display.

With Monza in disarray, Napoli secured their third goal in the 61st minute, when Piotr Zielinski unleashed a shot from distance that struck the underside of the bar and found the net.

Andrea Colpani demonstrated that Monza could also produce impressive goals by curling a shot into the corner a minute later to keep alive the home fans’ hopes.

Giacomo Raspadori scored Napoli’s fourth goal after 68 minutes, less than a minute after being substituted, by sending in the rebound from a save by Di Gregorio.

“They were spectacular goals but I like to underline Raspadori’s goal because he believed to the end,” Calzona said.

“Strikers must have that instinct to attack the goal even when it seems unlikely that the ball will come to him.”

Banyana Banyana game plan was to either beat the Super Falcons at home as they did two years ago in Lagos or earn a draw in Friday’s first leg match of Olympic qualifier in Abuja.

That did not happen as Rasheedat Ajibade’s penalty kick earned Nigeria an outright 1-0 win over South Africa – a first win since the Super Falcons’ 1-0 win in Limbe, Cameroon in 2016.

But according to an account in the South African Football Association website, “Banyana Banyana will have to give it all in the second leg.”

Banyana Banyana came back from the first half break a much more improved side but failed to convert the few chances that came their way.

“Outstanding goalkeeper Kaylin Swart had to work overtime to deny the hosts from extending their lead.

“Despite creating numerous chances for an equaliser, the game ended 1-0 for the Super Falcons.”

The two African giants will lock horns for the second leg on Tuesday at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria where coach Desiree Ellis’ charges will be hoping to overturn the deficit.

Coach Ellis believes they are still in the game and can turn things around in the second leg on Tuesday.

“Look, we said it was going to be a tight game but we are hopeful of overturning this result in the second leg.”

Cameroon’s football federation (FECAFOOT) held an emergency meeting on Saturday and asked its president to propose an alternative coach for the national team, deepening a standoff with the sports ministry.

FECAFOOT on Wednesday accused the ministry of unilaterally appointing Belgian Marc Brys as coach and other staff to manage the Indomitable Lions, who are five-times African champions.

The dispute risks a potential ban from international competition as world soccer’s governing body FIFA has strict rules against government interference in national federations.

In a statement, FECAFOOT said its emergency committee had met on Saturday and unanimously confirmed that the federation had not been involved in the appointments in alleged contravention of regulations.

As a result, it asked its president Samuel Eto’o to propose a national coach and other management staff for the national side within 72 hours.

Responding to a request for comment, a spokesperson for the ministry said the result of the FECAFOOT meeting was “an appeal. It is not yet a decision.”

On Friday, Sports Minister Narcisse Mouelle Kombi wrote to FECAFOOT to defend the coaching appointments, which he said were in accordance with national and international rules.

Kombi said the ministry’s move “in no way affects the autonomy of FECAFOOT and does not violate any of the ‘supranational regulations’.”

A spokesperson for the ministry confirmed the authenticity of the letter.

Kombi’s letter also said the salaries requested by three candidates earlier proposed by the federation for the position of coach ranged between 1.5 million euros ($1.6 million) and 2.5 million euros per year.

“These are excessive amounts never paid to any coach in the history of the Indomitable Lions,” Kombi said.

FECAFOOT did not respond to a request for comment on the letter.