SPORTS DIGEST

Nail-biting would be an understatement as both the Serie A and the Premier League head into the final game week of the season to determine who reigns supreme in both leagues.

After Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Southampton on Tuesday night, just one point separates defending champions Manchester City and Quadruple chasers Liverpool with the latter hosting Wolves at Anfield and City welcoming Gerrard’s Aston Villa at the Etihad in what promises to be a mouthwatering season finale. After being bundled out by Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League, City were left with only the league title to fight for while Klopp’s army are hunting for their third trophy this season and just their second league title in 30 years.

However, Jurgen Klopp downplayed their prospects of snatching the league from Manchester City but insisted that they will fight to the end. “We’ve never given up. We’ll give it a try, It’s our home game, last home game of season. The atmosphere will be outstanding. We’ll try to use it. We have to do our job. Football is a tricky game sometimes. Aston Villa play on Thursday and then Sunday,” he said. His counterpart Pep Guardiola remains optimistic amid the pressure going into the final day. “It will not be easy. there will be a lot of emotions. We have to train calm and arrive fresh. I assure you something: it will be sold out in the Etihad Stadium and we’ll do the best performance possible to win the game and win the title,” he said.

All Premier League matches will kick off at 1800Hrs on Sunday with everything to fight for from the Championship to the top four race and the relegation battle. Manchester City have to match Liverpool’s result against Wolves to win the title.

SERIE A SCUDETTO BATTLE

After years of Juventus dominance, a draw will be enough to hand AC Milan their first Scudetto in 11 years at the expense of city rivals and defending champions Inter Milan.

AC Milan travel to Sassoulo on the final day as Inter Milan host Sampdoria at the Sansiro on Sunday 1900Hrs in what promises to be a grandstand finale. Milan lost to Sassoulo while Inter Milan drew 2-2 with Sampdoria  in the reverse fixtures this season thus predicting how tough of a battle the title decider is promising to be in the  final game week of the season.

Considered as underdogs by pundits at the beginning of the season, rejuvenated Milan are on the drivers seat and on the brink of securing just their third league title since the turn of the century having won the Scudetto in 2004 and 2011. Inter Milan on the other side hope to overcome Sampdoria and Milan to slip up for them to reclaim the league title. However, for AC Milan any positive result is enough to win the title.

RACE FOR PL TOP FOUR

Another intriguing battle is the race for European football next season as the Gunners gunned down by Newcastle on Monday fight it out with Tottenham Hotspurs who currently sit fourth, two points ahead of Arsenal with one game to go. Arsenal’s lack of consistency might just have costed them a place in the coveted UEFA Champions League football after losing two games in a row just weeks after dismantling Chelsea, Manchester United, West Ham and Leeds United consecutively.

The gunners who are staring at six years without Champions League football can only do their best against Everton and hope that relegated Norwich can pull a surprise against Spurs who need just a draw on the final day to seal a Champions league spot.

THE FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL

Everton, Leeds United and Burnley are on the opposite end of the table battling for survival with one more team set to join Norwich and Watford in the Championship next season. Interestingly, all the three teams have been on an upward trajectory in recent weeks with crucial wins. However, Everton have tough games on paper against Crystal Palace and Arsenal in comparison to their opponents who have relatively easier final day fixtures.

The toffees are currently 16th having played 36 games, just two points ahead of Burnley in 18th who also have two games remaining. Leeds are sandwiched in between on 35 points having played one more game than both sides. 

Amidst the final day drama and fights in the title race, the final UCL spot and the relegation battle just who will have the last laugh?

Fresh from a 4-1 clobbering at home in the hands of Premier League new boys Brentford FC, Chelsea, the European champions were yet again on the receiving end following a 3-1 battering by 13-time champions Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League quarter finals at Stamford Bridge.

An inevitable Karim Benzema who recently bagged a hat-trick that sank French champions Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16 grabbed yet another treble at the expense of Chelsea with two immaculate headers in the space of three minutes in the first half before Kai havertz pulled one back for Chelsea just before the break. However, Chelsea shot-stopper Edouard Mendy made a costly mistake just 40 seconds into the second half to hand the French striker a second hat-trick in back-to-back Champions League games. Benzema, 34, now joins elite company becoming only the fourth player to do so after Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Luiz Adriano.

Thomas tuchel was sceptical about his team’s performance terming it far from their standards since the international break claiming that their Champions League defence had come to an end, ruling out a remontada at the Bernabeu next week. The German clearly stating after his sides shambolic display his focus was on the Premier League game against Southampton over the weekend. “If we keep on playing like this will lose in Southampton and then we don’t want to think about the Bernabeu, will get hammered in Bernabeu, ” he said.

On the flip side Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti was full of Praise for his striker Karim Benzema who scored yet another hat-trick. ” Benzema is a complete player not just striker, he scores a lot of goals and also helps the team in possession and holding the ball in the right positions, ” he said

Chelsea who have shown the ability to overcome adversity in the recent past will have an enormous task to pull what will be one of their finest achievements yet to knock Real Madrid out of the Champions League and reach the last four.

Elsewhere, an early Arnaut Danjuma close range strike gave Spanish side Villarreal a 1-0 first-leg win over a below par Bayern Munich who had no single shot on target until the second half. Villarreal who qualified for the Champions League by beating Manchester United in last season’s Europa League final and knocked Juventus out of the round of 16 yet again showcased their tactical master class by silencing Robert Lewandoski and the free-scoring German champions.

Villarreal manager Unai Emery who defeated Bayern Munich in September of 2017 at the Parc des Princes yet again haunted the German side after ending their 25 away games unbeaten run in the Champions League.

The former Arsenal manager lauded his teams performance terming it an almost perfect game but admits that they will have it tough in the second leg at the Allianz Arena in Germany. “It would have been perfect if we had sealed a bigger advantage, we are not going to rejoice that we have won, as we could have done better at times. We want to be demanding and go one step further. Next week we will find it more difficult.” He said

Other Champions League quarter-final results included Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City seeing off a stubborn Atletico Madrid 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium courtesy of a Kevin de bruyne strike as liverpool Hammered Benfica 3-1 with goals from Ibrahima konate, Sadio Mane and former FC Porto attacker Luis Diaz as Darwin Nunez pulled one back for Benfica.

All eyes turn to the second leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals which are scheduled for April 11th and 12th next week.

Kakamega Homeboyz ran riot to cement their spot at the league summit after humbling Ulinzi stars 4-0 with braces from Michael Isabwa and David Okoth over the weekend. The Kakamega-based outfit are now 10 points clear off second placed defending Champions Tusker FC who were held to a 1-1 darw at home by bankers KCB.

Ulinzi who have been roaring in the league in recent years are struggling for form with only 26 points from 22 games this season and they are currently 15th on the log this season. However, head coach Benjamin nyangweso is optimistic that the soldiers can overcome The Troubles and register good results in the remaining League matches in coming weeks

Elsewhere AFC leopards who have been posting mixed results, blowing hot and cold humiliated law enforcers Police FC 3-0 at the nyayo National Stadium on Sunday. Omune and Mukangula gave the leopards the lead going into halftime before John Mark Makwata wrapped the win for the them with an improvised sensational overhead kick in the second half. The win took Ingwe to 10th on the log with 28 points from 26 games.

Speaking to the Press after the game AFC leopards boss Patrick Aussems was ecstatic after the win saying that it gave his team a much-needed confidence booster edging closer to the end of the season adding that the hard work being put by the players in training was finally paying off. The Belgian hopes that his team can build momentum from their outstanding performance over the weekend in their quest to finish in the top five by the end of the season.

Parmenas Ocholla’s stoppage-time winner gave Gor Mahia a much needed 2-1 win over Wazio FC to keep their title hopes alive being only 11 points behind runaway League leaders kakamega homeboyz. The loss left Wazito FC 16th on the log with 20 points from 24 games

In other results City Stars bundled bandari United 2-1 to go third on the Premier League table. Elsewhere Sofapaka were held to a barren draw by Talanta FC as Posta Rangers registered a 2-1 win over Mathare United and so did kariobangi sharks over Bidco United.

Sadio Mane’s Lions of Teranga added insult to injury after eliminating the pharaos of Egypt from the World Cup qualifiers only a little over a month after winning the AFCON at the expense of Egypt in Cameroon. The African champions will join South American champions and the Asian champions for the the world Cup later this year in Qatar.

The match was decided on post-Match penalties after it ended 1-1 on aggregate. Both teams missed their first two penalties including captains Kalidou Koulibaly and Mo Salah who surprisingly took the first penalty but blasted it over the cross bar. However Chelsea shot stopper Edouard Mendy heroics came to play saving Mostafa Mohamed’s penalty before Sadio Mane sent El-shanawy the wrong way to seal a world cup berth for Senegal sending the home fans into rapture.

Egypt’s manager Carlos Queiroz has stepped down from his position after the loss with the Egyptian FA filing a complain to FIFA over Laser beams being pointed at their players during the shoot-outs as well as claims of racism after their bus was attacked and players targeted by the Senegal fans after the game.

Elsewhere, a Karl Toko Ekambi sensational stoppage time winner in extra time saw the Indomitable lions book their slot in Qatar on away goal rules at the expense of Algeria. The Desert foxes looked to have booked their slot after left back Ahmed Touba leaped highest to score from Rashid Ghezzal’s corner to equalize for the former African champions just four minutes before Ekambi’s game winner. Rigobert Song was visibly elated after their qualification it being his first important task after being appointed close to a month ago after their Semi-finals exit at the AFCON in January. On the flip side Djamel Belmadi who was left in tears following their shock elimination by Cameroon has vacated his role as the National team Head coach following their failure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup.

Nigeria suffered a shock exit in the West African Jollof Derby on the away goal rules after a 1-1 stalemate with Ghana at the MKO Abiola nation stadium in Abuja. The black stars who missed the 2018 edition in Russia took the lead through Arsenal’s Thomas Partey but the hosts equalized from the spot through Watford’s Troost-Ekong. The result meant Atto Addo became the second ingenious coach to take Ghana to the global showpiece after Kwesi Appiah in 2014.

Dr. Joseph Kabungo, a COSAFA official sadly lost his life in Abuja after riots rocked the stadium following Nigeria’s elimination from the World Cup qualifiers.The Zambian medical practitioner is said to have lost consciousness after he was beaten and stepped on as fans tried to make their way out of the stadium due to the stampede. COASAF has mourned the death of the acting doping officer saying he was a dedicated man who loved the sport. “We mourn the passing of our CAF/FIFA official and we extend our condolences to the family, he was one of the outstanding Zambian football personalities that flew the Zambian flag at global football events,” read part of the statement.

Morocco and Tunisia also booked their slots at the Continental showpiece following their victories over Democratic Republic of Congo and Mali respectively. Morocco thumped DR Congo 4-1 in the second leg and 5-2 on aggregate as Tunisia drew at home but advanced on aggregate following the 1-0 away way at Mali last weekend.

The five African slots for the World Cup have all been booked with Ghana, Senegal, Morocco, Tunisia and Cameroon carrying the continent’s hope on their shoulders at the global tournament to be held in Qatar later this year.

An high octane Ferrari masterclass ruled the Formula 1 season opener in Bahrain full of drama as defending champion Max Verstappen and his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez both suffered suspected fuel pump issues right at the death to hand Lewis Hamilton an unpredicted podium finish.

With the sweeping new technical regulations, the fascinating 57 lap battle in Sakhir delivered the expected new dawn in F1. Ferrari were obviously the biggest beneficiary showcasing their shear dominance with an Immaculate one-Two finish with Charles Leclerc and Carlo Sainz respectively, snapping their 45 races winless streak stretching back to 2019 in Singapore when Vettel and Leclerc secured 1-2 for Ferrari.

Interestingly, four of the top six cars are powered by Ferrari in what clearly rubberstamps the power and aggression that Ferrari boast of as compared to the Mercedes powered cars.

Mercedes who have bossed the charts in recent years seemingly do have a big task on their hands despite the surprise podium finish by 7-time world champion Lewis Hamilton with their car suffering inconsistent bumps and lack of speed. However, new recruit George Russell managed his best ever finish in F1, fourth just behind his teammate Hamilton. Both Team principal Toto Wolf and Hamilton admitted that they have a huge task at hand but are optimistic the 8-time constructor champions can overcome their struggles and post good results at the end of the season.

On the flipside Red Bull racing were looking set for a big haul of points from the 2022 season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix but it all went up in smoke in the last three laps and both drivers retiring from the race. Team principal Christian Horner was left disappointed with his team who are the reigning drivers’ championship winning team failing to score points on the season opener. “It was a brutal finish to that race for us,” said Horner. “What looked like a decent haul of points for us evaporated in the last couple of laps there,” he added.

For Red Bull however, their focus shifts to Saudi Arabia for the second race of the season in the Jeddah circuit in a race that they most importantly have to secure points in their pursuit to claiming the title this season.

Max Verstappen, the defending champion rued the missed opportunity after going toe to toe with eventual winner Charles Leclerc from the early stages to almost the end of the race. “I mean, what happened at the end is obviously very frustrating, but of course before that, quite a few issues,” said Verstappen at the end of Sunday. “First of all the balance was off. I didn’t have the same feeling as on Friday on the long runs, so that was a bit disappointing.

Kevin Magnussen secured an impressive P5 finish on his return to the Formula 1 with Haas and the only rookie this season Zhou Guanyu securing a point for Alfa Romeo, becoming only the 66th debutant to secure a point on the opening race of the season. His teammate Valtteri Bottas also secured eight points after finishing 6th in his first season away from Mercedes.

McLaren Mercedes also suffered problems with their power unit a problem that saw their drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris both failing to secure points. However the power unit issue affects all Mercedes powered cars, something that needs a proper fix sooner rather than later.

After all the drama at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix eyes now turn to the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah next weekend as the Red Bull and Mercedes both try to counter the visibly powerful and power hungry Ferrari.

The 2022 F1 season is taking shape with all teams set and ready after last season’s final day drama in Abu Dhabi,a race that saw race director Michael Masi being dropped for the new season. However, top of the headlines include 2021 champion Max Verstappen signing a bumper five-year contract extension reportedly worth $55m a year, coming level with Hamilton’s pay at Mercedes in a contract that will see him at Red Bull at least until 2028.

All 10 teams have already unveiled their new cars for the new season, with the highly anticipated aerodynamic rule change that is aimed at creating closer competitive order and closer on-track racing. One of the most stunning cars is the Ferrari’s F1-75, whose sidepods attracted a lot of attention with a concave top surface featuring cooling louvres and a wide profile. The team will be banking on it’s pair of drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc to give fellow rivals Mercedes and Red Bull a run for their own money. Team principal Mattia Binotto biggest job this season will be to bring Ferrari back to the limelight, having been off the pace for the last couple of seasons and their last win tracing back to 2008.

The AMR22 from Aston Martin was a beauty of a reveal with a sidepod design as well as a relatively high riding nose and front wing arrangement. Team principal Mike Krack will be hoping that his drivers, veteran Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll will be up to the task this season with their new beast.

Despite Ferrari and Aston Martin launching one of the most sleek cars, eyes will be on Mercedes AMG team and Oracle Red Bull Racing as they continue with they new found rivalry from last season’s dramatic season finale. While Dutch Max Verstappen will be fighting to defend his title, Hamilton, his main competitor will be hunting to not only dethrone Max but also win and unprecedented 8th world title and become the most successful F1 driver of all time.

Lewis Hamilton will be racing alongside new teammate George Russell who is expected to play a very significant role in Hamilton’s charge for the title as well as Mercedes’s ambition to win a 9th consecutive constructors championship. On the other hand Max Verstappen will be banking on his teammate from last season Sergio Perez in his quest to defend his title.

Elsewhere, F1 team Haas has terminated Nikita Mazepin’s contract. “Haas F1 team has elected to terminate, with immediate effect the title partnerships with Uralkali and driver contract of Nikita Mazepin”, read part of the team statement. In relation to the termination, there will be no Russian grand prix this season with the contract terminated until further notice due to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

Alfa Romeo will be the only team this season with a new pair of drivers consisting of former Mercedes Driver Valtteri Bottas and this season’s only rookie Guanyu Zhou, who will be the first Chinese driver to race in F1. According to F1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali the induction of Zhou into the F1 this season is fantastic for the sport and the millions of passionate Chinese fans that now have a home hero to cheer all year long.

Another close battle to watch this season will be the giants clash between Ferrari and McLarren, both who are eager to join the fray of frontrunners this season. Mercedes-powered McLaren’s duo Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo will be hoping to match the might of Ferrari having been the only pair to secure their team a one-two finish in 2021.

The season opening race is scheduled for the 20th of March at the Bahrain Circuit and the drive to survive season 4 edition coming a week earlier on the 11th of March.

In what promises to be an another entertaining season, will Red Bull’s Max Verstappen overcome Mercedes’s Lewis Hamilton yet again or will the latter wield his power and reclaim the world title?.