Victor Osimhen will have to wait to etch his name his Napoli’s history book after Boulaye Dia’s sensational equaliser earned a 1-1 draw for Salernitana to deny the Partenopei their Serie A title in 33 years

It was a difficult day for Osimhen, who had five shots but could not find a way through.

Inter’s victory over Lazio earlier on Sunday meant a win would be enough for Napoli to secure their first Scudetto since the Diego Maradona era.

Stadio Diego Armando Maradona was rocking at kick-off following news of Lazio’s defeat, though the home fans had to wait until the 23rd minute for their first clear opening when Osimhen headed over from a free-kick.

Mathias Olivera looked set to seal his name in Napoli history after heading the Partenopei ahead in the 62nd minute.

Yet Dia’s brilliant 84th-minute effort means Luciano Spalletti’s side will have to wait until at least Wednesday to officially win the title.

The league leaders wasted a lot of chances to seal the game and Dia made the hosts pay, cutting in from the left, getting the better of Osimhen and drilling a wonderful strike into the top-left corner, with subsequent saves from Ochoa frustrating a fervent crowd.

Had Napoli won a game that was delayed by 24 hours in order for public security to be reinforced in the city of Naples, it would have represented the earliest Scudetto success by a side in terms of remaining games before the end of the league season (six).

However, Napoli will have to wait. They lead by 18 points, meaning the title is all but theirs, though there will be frustration that they failed to get the job done at home, with their supporters waiting in droves outside the ground.

Lazio are in action again on Wednesday, and should they fail to beat Sassuolo, the title will be Napoli’s.

England

Onuachu, Aribo (Southampton)

Paul Onuachu and Joe Aribo did not make the match squad in Southampton’s 3-1 defeat to Newcastle in a Premier League fixture played at St James’ Park on Sunday.

The 28-year-old striker is yet to register a Premier League goal for the struggling Saints in ten league matches

Compatriot Aribo has struggled to get regular playing time and has only featured in three Premier League games since January 2023.

Dennis, Awoniyi (Nottingham Forest)

Taiwo Awoniyi was in action as Forest lost to Brentford 2-1 in a Premier League fixture at Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday.

The 25-year-old had 56 minutes of action before coming off for Andre Ayew as Forest’s run of poor results continues.

Countryman Emmanuel Dennis was not in the squad as the striker is currently out with an injury.

Eze, Olise (Crystal Palace)

The duo Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise, two Palace players of Nigeria descent players scored and assisted respectively for Crystal Palace in their 4-3 win over West Ham United in the Premier League fixture on Saturday at Selhurst Park.

Olise gave Jordan Ayew on goal to equalise for Palace in the 15th minute as scored the winning goal from a penalty spot in the 66th minute.

Italy

Dessers, Okereke (Cremonese)

David Okereke was in action and scored the opening goal for Cremonese to take his goal tally to six as the home side were held to a 1-1 draw against Verona at the Stadio Giovanni Zini on Sunday.

The 25-year-old striker scored in the ninth minute and was outstanding in the match before coming off for Felix Afena-Gyan in the 70th minute.

While compatriots Cyriel Dessers was a second half substitute as they came on for Daniel Ciofani in the 70th minute but was not impressive in the encounter.

Osimhen, Troost-Ekong (Napoli, Salernitana)

Striker Victor Osimhen was in the starting lineup as Napoli missed a chance to seal their first Serie A title in 33 years following their 1-1 draw against Salernitana at the Diego Armando Maradona on Sunday

The 24-year-old Serie A top scorer was impressive all day but could not add to his 21 goals in 26 matches, but the Gli Azzurriare are 18 points clear of the table but will have to wait till the next feature to win their first Scudetto since 1990.

Defender William Troost-Ekong was an unused substitute for Salernitana.

Tyronne Ebuehi (Empoli)

Defender Ebuehi was handed a starting role by Paolo Zanetti but could not stop his side from their 2-1 away defeat to Sassuolo in a Serie A fixture played at the Stadio Mapei – Citta del Tricolore on Sunday.

The 27-year-old defender has made 21 league appearances and scored two goals this season.

Lookman, Aina(Atalanta, Torino)

Ademola Lookman was not in Gian Piero Gasperini’s squad as Atlanta defeated Torino 2-1 in a Serie A fixture played at the Stadio Olimpico Grande on Saturday.

A goalless draw in the second leg of their CAF Confederation Cup quarter-final clash against Young Africans of Tanzania in Dar es Salaam meant Rivers United were eliminated from the competition.

The Nigerians avoided defeat against their hosts, but it wasn’t enough to overturn the two-goal deficit they suffered at home in the first leg as the fixture ended 2-0 on aggregate.

Congolese striker, Fiston Mayele, struck twice in Uyo last week to hand the Tanzanians the advantage, going into the second leg.

Following a series of pre-match drama that’s had Rivers United claiming that their official team bus burgled and sprayed with toxic chemicals that led to five of their players catching the flu on Saturday evening, the game itself was also marred by floodlight failure, forcing the game to halt for over half an hour before the commenced again.

The current Nigerian Professional Football League champions will now turn their attention to the domestic scene with three outstanding games awaiting them as well as a high-profile Federation Cup round of 64 clash against Enyimba.

Young Africans will now face Marumo Gallants in the semi-finals after the South African side eliminated Pyramids of Egypt 2-1 on aggregate.

Marumo Gallants won the second leg 1-0 after earning a 1-1 draw in Egypt last week.

City defeated Fulham on Sunday to go above Arsenal by a point, with a game in hand

Manchester City have climbed to the top of the English Premier League table after a hard-fought 2-1 away win over Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday.

With the victory, City have toppled Arsenal Gunners to lead the EPL table by a point since 17 February and still with a game in hand.

Manchester City thus go top of the Premier League for the first time since February 17.

Pep Guardiola’s men were pushed until the end by Fulham, who stuck doggedly with the in-form champions throughout the match.

Argentina’s World Cup winner Julian Alvarez was the City protagonist. He won the penalty through which Erling Haaland netted his 50th goal in a quite stupendous season and also scored the winner with an outrageous attempt from outside the box on the cusp of half-time.

Pep Guardiola named a side shorn of both Kevin de Bruyne and Bernardo Silva, who had performed admirably in the 4-1 over Arsenal and in came both Alvarez and Riyad Mahrez.

City were the team on the ascendancy from the start and they won a penalty as early as the second minute after Tim Ream’s clumsy tackle on Alvarez.

Haaland stepped up and sent the ball to the left side of Bernd Leno’s post to give the treble-chasing City side the lead. It was in keeping with history as Fulham have never kept a clean sheet against City in the league.

But Fulham stunned City with an unlikely equaliser in the 15th minute. Andreas Pereira played a long ball into the box, and Harry Wilson, who had made a run across the blind side of Manuel Akanji, nodded down the ball into the path of Carlos Vinicius, who controlled and smashed his shot past Ederson.

City were stunned and Fulham became more buoyant and assured on the ball though City could have gone ahead after Alvarez robbed Ream of the ball but Palhinha made a goal-saving tackle to keep the game at 1-1.

Ream, injured in the action, went off for Issa Diop in the 22nd minute. Haaland had another half chance in the 26th minute but Tosin Adarabioyo ushered out the danger.

But City took the lead in the 36th minute. After receiving a pass from Mahrez, Alvarez did well to protect and pirouette away from a lunging Palhinha before producing an outrageous effort into the corner of the net.

The second half was more of the same as Fulham were resolute in defence and ready to pounce on any City mistake. Jack Grealish was almost on the score sheet two minutes into the second stanza but Leno diverted his attempt against the crossbar. Leno was forced into another save from Alvarez in the 51st minute as City sought a bigger winning margin.

Pereira and Akanji clashed heads and the game had to be stopped for some minutes. There was a flashpoint between Grealish and Tete and both had to be cooled down with Yellow cards.

Eight minutes were added on but City played out the game in the Fulham half to leap above Arsenal as they chase a third consecutive EPL title.

The game finished in tense fashion, but City are back at the summit of the Premier League – a point ahead of the Gunners having played a game fewer

The South Sudan Football Association expressed its regret in a statement and acknowledged the decision made by the Confederation of African Football.

The South Sudan U17 National team has been disqualified and sent home from the ongoing 2023 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) U17 tournament in Algeria after five of their players failed the MRI test conducted on the team

The South Sudan Football Association (SSFA) expressed its regret in a statement and acknowledged the decision made by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

SSFA Spokesperson Albino Kuek Deng revealed the MRI test was conducted on 26 April and was intended to confirm that all players met the age eligibility criteria established by the competition’s regulations.

However, 48 hours after the test was conducted, the SSFA said they received a notification from CAF indicating that five players failed the MRI test and were deemed ineligible for participation in the competition.

It said two of these players had previously passed the MRI eligibility test in Ethiopia during the zonal qualifiers in September 2022.

“We immediately wrote a complaint to CAF medical committee an official complaint against their decision attaching the MRI results we did in Juba, in accordance to Article 27.6 sub article (iii) of the U17 regulations. The complaint was rejected by the medical saying that their first and second readings remains the same.” a part of the statement issued by the SSFA read.

The SSFA said it understands and respects the disqualification decision made by the competition’s organisers.

“We fully understand and respect the decision made by the competition’s organizers, and we apologize to our fans, sponsors, and partners for any disappointment this may cause.

“South Sudan Football Association would like to emphasize that we have always been committed to fair play and sportsmanship. We have taken all the necessary steps to ensure that all our players meet the eligibility criteria set by the competition’s regulations. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, some of our players were unable to participate in the competition.”

Meanwhile, the SSFA expressed gratitude for the ongoing support from fans, sponsors, and partners and stated its intention to participate in future competitions.

A press conference is being planned to provide further information about the team’s disqualification, it said.

 Nigeria’s defender Lawali was named Man of the Match.

Two-time champions Nigeria picked all three points in a 1-0 win over Zambia to commence their Africa U17 Cup of Nations in Algeria on a promising note on Sunday.

Favour Daniel struck powerfully past the Zambian goal-tender from a goalmouth melee 14 minutes to the end in Algeria’s second city, giving Nigeria all the honours in a largely average encounter that opened the campaign in Group B.

Nigeria dominated for large swatches of the evening at the Stade Mohamed Hamlaoui but ineffective short passes and poor shooting in front of goal denied them an avalanche of goals against a Zambian team that failed to bite.

Both teams hit the woodwork in the first period and Abubakar Abdullahi saw his efforts saved twice as Nigeria piled on the pressure.  

The five-time world champions were set to take a two-goal win into their clash with Morocco on Wednesday but substitute Light Eke made light work of a penalty kick awarded two minutes into additional time and gave the goalkeeper no worries. 

Nigeria defender Yahaya Lawali was named Man of the Match.

After their encounter with Morocco on Wednesday evening, the Eaglets will play South Africa in their final match of Group B on Saturday.

The four top-placed teams at the 12-nation finals will represent Africa at this year’s FIFA U17 World Cup.