Super Eagles forward Ahmed Musa and his Leicester teammates have been told to double effort if they are to return to winning ways in the EPL on one hand and come close to re-enacting the super performance the achieved last season on the other.
Coach of the side Claudio Ranieri who gave the charge sounded more like a medical doctor when he submitted that the only medicine available for the defending champions is to work harder and become a more compact team. He reminded the players that the time to fight against relegation is not at the tail end of the season but as early as possible.
“The relegation is very close to us and we have to react.
“I expected difficulties [this season], but not so strong. I expected some more points.
“That’s normal after a team like Leicester win the title. Now we have to be compact, continue to work hard, because there is only one medicine – work hard and be together,” he said
Leicester have only managed to garner 12 points in 12 matches and last recorded victory October 22nd thanks to a 3-1 defeat of Crystal Palace at the King Power Stadium with the Nigerian international grabbing the first goal in the 42nd minute.
Ranieri will be hoping to sing victory song as his side hosts Club Brugge in Tuesday’s Champions League clash. Champions League tie away to København a fortnight ago ended goalless. The former Chelsea and Athletico Madrid coach will no doubt be praying for mother luck to shine on Musa and his teammates to give him something to cheer about.
Tag: Super Eagles
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Champions League: *Ranieri banks on Musa against Brugge
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Watford 2-1 Leicester: Musa plays for 12 mins, Ighalo missing
Super Eagles forward, Ahmed Musa was in action for just 12 minutes as Premier league defending champions, Leicester City failed in their bid to earn away point Saturday.
Musa just back from international break where he contributed in no small measure to Eagles defeat of Algeria in the World Cup qualifiers, was ushered in 12 minutes to the end of match with the visitors already 2-1 down.
Compatriot Odion Ighalo was however an unused substitute for Watford.
Etienne Capoue had shot the homers into the lead in the first minute of the match with teammate and Argentine import Roberto Pereyra increasing the tally 11 minutes later.
Leicester’s consolation goal came in the 15th minute thanks to a penalty converted by Algerian international Riyad Mahrez who incidentally scored Algeria’s only goal in 3-1 loss to Nigeria November 12 at the Nest of Champions.
Musa who came in as replacement for homeboy Marc Albrighton could not remedy the situation but ensured that Leicester maintained their 58 to 48 possession ratio to the end.
The result left Leicester in 14th position on 12 points only two above the relegation zone, as their poor away run continued with a fifth defeat in six games.
It was however double delight for Nigerian international Victor Anichebe as he grabbed two goals in 22 minutes to ensure Sunderland 3-0 win over visiting Hull City. Teammate Jermaine Defoe had grabbed the first goal in the 34th minute before Anichebe took over finding the net in the 62nd and 84th minutes respectively.
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Iheanacho joins Man City training
Super Eagles forward Kelechi Iheanacho took part in Manchester City’s training session on Tuesday after helping Nigeria to secure a 3-1 win over Algeria in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier on Saturday.
Iheanacho featured for 90 minutes for the Eagles but failed to find the back of the net at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo as Nigeria won successive games to remain on top of Group B with maximum points.
The 20 year old took part in Tuesday’s session at the Manchester City training ground as they prepare for their Premier League game against Crystal Palace this weekend under the watchful eyes of City manager, Pep Guardiola and his assistant, Mikel Arteta.
It was however a depleted squad that saw the return of injured players as the Citizens await players still on international duty.
Bacary Sagna has returned to full training after five weeks out with a hamstring tear and will be in contention for the game at Selhurst Park.
Tuesday’s session also featured Yaya Toure who is also back in contention for a place in the City team after saying sorry for comments made by his agent Dimitri Seluk.
Other first team players in training include Spanish duo of Jesus Navas and Aleix Garcia, Fernando Reges and Pablo Zabaleta.
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Mikel should quit Chelsea now, Ikpeba advises
Ex-International Victor Ikpeba has expressed concerned over John Obi Mikel’s lack of playing time at Chelsea.
Mikel has fallen way down the pecking order since Antonio Conte took control in the summer.
The former African Footballer of the Year advised Mikel to swallow his pride and move to another club to save his career.
Ikpeba observed that Mikel was too tired during Saturday’s 2018 World Cup qualifier against Algeria at the Godswill Akpabio stadium in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State before he was substituted.
“I am concerned that Mikel is not getting playing time at Chelsea. He needs to have enough playing time. On Saturday (during World Cup clash against Algeria) he was very tired because he lacked playing time in Chelsea. Mikel should know better why he is not playing at Chelsea.
“I can understand the support he is getting from fans and coach but the truth is that he needs to play regularly even if it is with reserve team. When I played in Belgium and I didn’t get enough playing time with first team I played with reserve team to keep myself fit. He should forget about pride and go to another club,” Ikpeba said.
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Howard canvasses friendlies for Eagles
Super Eagles will need grade A friendly matches to shape up ahead of the second phase of World Cup qualifiers in August. This was the submission of former international Franklin Howard while assessing the performance of the Gernot Rohr led side so far.He described two victories in a roll against Zambia and Algeria respectively as a major boost noting however that non-qualification for the Nations cup in January in Gabon means the team will have to wait for close to nine months before the next set of qualifiers. Such long gap according to him can affect performance unless efforts are made to organise friendly matches that will ensure that the current blend among players continues.“We just have to ensure that they boys play quality friendly matches to shape up for the next phase, they have done very well so far but will need to continue the blend to consolidate,” he said.The former 3SC coach dismissed debates in some quarters over whether the team can continue to lead the group, insisting that it would be difficult for both Cameroon and Algeria to clinch victories in Ndola like the Eagles did.“After losing at home to Eagles the Zambians will want to avoid another home defeat so it will be difficult for other teams in the group to win in Ndola,” he predicted.Of the four teams in the group Cameroon and Algeria qualified for the AFCON 2017 in Gabon while Nigeria and Zambia failed to make it. -
Mutiu: Rohr can take Eagles to special heights
Former Nigeria international Mutiu Adepoju has claimed that current Gaffer of the Super Eagles Gernot Rohr can lead the team to ‘special heights’ following his 100% start to life in charge of the three-time African champions.
Nigeria are top of Group B of the CAF 2018 World Cup qualifier after wins over Zambia and Algeria.
However, after lacklustre performances by the team which resulted in failure to qualify for two consecutive African Nations Cup, Mutiu have been very impressed by the resurgence of the Super Eagles under the guidance of the German.
“It is commendable how Gernot Rohr has improved team work in the Eagles and the players have developed a good team spirit which is very important for the growth of any team in the world,” Mutiu told SportingLife.
“Right from the first time I met the Eagles manager, he looks calm and have convinced me that he can take the team to a special height.
“Going forward the team should not be complacent because there are still four matches to be played so they should stay focused.”
Some section of the media observed that the Super Eagles last seven goals in competitive matches have been scored by players plying their trade in the premier league but Mutiu insists that it was a collective effort and it doesn’t matter who scores.
“Goals can be scored by anybody so we shouldn’t just look at the fact it is being scored by players in the premier league or in the Nigerian league. It’s lovely that the players are in form,” the headmaster informed.
Nigeria leads Group B with six points, four more than second placed Cameroon while Zambia and Algeria have a point each in third and four place respectively.
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Eagles’ defeat won’t diminish our value – Algeria’s captain
As former Africa’s highest rated team to becoming the third’s best, Algeria’s captain, Carl Medjani believes the 3-1 loss to Nigeria’s Super Eagles in the 2018 World Cup Qualifiers would diminish their rating as a top team in the continent.
Medjani told Lebuteur.com after the encounter described the Nigerian side as a talented team. “We played against a very large team, composed of very talented players, and playing in very big clubs in Europe. Otherwise, we are very disappointed with this defeat, but that does not diminish our value, because in the second half we showed what we were able with a first-class performance,” Medjani said.
He, however, ruled out giving excuses for their defeat, “I’m not looking for excuses, only in parallel, we do not have the right to miss so many opportunities to score, that’s why I say that efficiency has failed us. I repeat, we played against very good Nigerian players who knew how to put us in difficulty.
“When we play Nigeria, it is not easy, with all due respect to the other teams we go or have faced. I say that in this kind of game we measure and we see the progress that remains to be made. We have been considered a great team for a long time, but I say that we are not yet, we still have to work very hard to reach the level we are trying to reach,” he added.
The player is not giving up on their chances of making it to Russia 2018, “No, I do not agree, because nothing is lost yet, there are still games, and we will fight until the last minute, although we know it will be very complicated. We must not lie, we came across a very high group, but in football everything is possible, we must not lose hope but we must remain realistic,” Medjani said.
Meanwhile, President of the Algerian Football Federation, Mohamed Raouraoua, was very disappointed with the defeat but said: “It is true that there was a very good reaction in the second half, only it was not enough to be able to score goals. We lost the match that we should not lose, because of this inefficiency in front. But we did not succeed on the decisive occasions. Our players have made a lot of effort, but the result has not. There are still points to be taken, but it will be very difficult”
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We faced a tough Nigerian team, Leekens admits
Despite his disappointment over his lads’ 1-3 loss to Nigeria in the 2018 World Cup Qualifiers, Algerian coach, Georges Leekens has admitted that the Nigerian side was not an easy nut to crack.
“I must say that many things remain to be done. We still have a lot of work to do on the tactical level. We will have the opportunity to review what did not work well in this match against Nigeria. We must now think of Zambia. This team has held Cameroon and it will be difficult to beat. It proves that our next opponent has quality. We faced a great team from Nigeria,” Leekens said.
“Let us also not forget that we had in front a very large team of Nigeria. We found great difficulties in the first or second period. This is what explains this result. This difficulty was expected. I also know that it will be more and more difficult in the coming days, because there is no easy team in this group but nothing is lost yet,” he added.
On Algeria’s chance of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup, Leekens was, however, optimistic, adding that, “In my eyes nothing is not yet played, as there are still more matches left and everything can be done by then. In any case, I refuse to believe those who say that we are eliminated. Mathematically, nothing is played and there is still a chance to pass. We will fight to the end for the Algerian people,” he explained.
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Eagles’ performance thrills IBB
Former President General Ibrahim Babangida could not hold his joy Saturday as Super Eagles flogged Desert Warriors of Algeria 3-1 to earn their second victory of the World Cup qualifiers.
He did not only give the entire team a pat on the back for the impressive run but also singled out Chelsea duo Victor Moses and John Obi Mikel who scored 25th , 42nd and 90th minute goals for Nigeria respectively. The Minna born General went ahead to urge his followers on twitter to retweet his submission as a mark of love for the Nigerian team who by their performance have consolidated on leadership of the group with six points and five goals in the kitty .
“I am really proud of the super Eagles. RETWEET if you also do. Mikel and Moses” he enthused
The encouter drew creme dela creme of the society including senate President Bukola Saraki to the nest of Champions. Also on hand to cheer the Eagles to victory was the former Akwa Ibom State Governor Senator Godswill Akpabio who incidentally built the venue
One of the thrilling highlights was the moment Arsenal forward Alex Iwobi re-enacted the trade mark of his nephew and former Super Eagles captain Austin Okocha, flipping the ball above the heads of two Algerian players to the admiration of fans.
An equally satisfied former international Jonathan Akpoborie later summed up his feeling “Very good victory for Nigeria today,” he said -
Battle of Uyo: Kanu calls for massive support
.Insists on three points
Former Super Eagles captain Nwankwo Kanu has urged Nigerians to turn out in large numbers to support the Eagles as they file out against Algeria on Saturday.
The former Arsenal and Portsmouth ace opined that the Gernot Rohr tutored side has prepared adequately for the Uyo showdown, adding that all that is needed now is for soccer loving Nigerians to play the role of the 12th player.
The two time African footballer of the year did not bother to predict possible score line of the match which the Algerians have equally dubbed a must win, but declared that only three points will be good enough.
“”Come on let us all support our dear Eagles against Algeria. 3 points is all we want and our boys are ready and all the need is our support, “he submitted Friday.
Meanwhile business especially sales of souvenirs has picked up in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital ahead of the tie billed for 5pm on Saturday. A number of soccer fans who spoke to Sportinglife on telephone revealed that dealers in T-shirts, flags and caps have been making brisk business even as others have taken to betting with predictions ranging from 1-0, 3-2, 3-1 to 3-0 all in favour of Eagles.