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.