Chelsea and Tottenham dominate the shortlist for the Premier League Player of the Season award.

Chelsea and Tottenham players have dominated the recently released Premier League Player of the Season award list. Harry Kane who netted a total of 22 goals for Spurs this season and Manchester United’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic who scored 17 goals in his first season were omitted from the list.
 

Premier League Player of the Season shortlist

Dele Alli (Tottenham)
Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea)
Christian Eriksen (Tottenham)
Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
N’Golo Kante (Chelsea)
Romelu Lukaku (Everton)
Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal)
Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham)

Victor Moses Signs Endorsement Deal With Opera

Opera (www.Opera.com) is kicking off a partnership with football professional Victor Moses, Chelsea starter and Nigerian national team star player. Moses will be the brand ambassador of Opera Mini  the most popular browser in Africa. Starting today, Moses will be featured in the new Opera Mini TV commercial as well as a range of collaborative projects extending throughout 2018.
“Football is one of the most popular types of content consumed by Opera Mini users throughout Africa”, says Jørgen Arnesen, Global Head of Marketing and Distribution at Opera. “Victor Moses is a perfect match for Opera, being not only a high performer, but also a great role model and natural ambassador of his home country Nigeria.”
This coincides with Opera’s recent announcement to invest $100 million USD (30 billion Nigerian nairas) in Africa  over the next two years with the goal of strengthening the internet ecosystem in countries such as Nigeria.
Nigeria is home to the second largest population of Opera Mini users. Search, social networking and sport are the most popular content consumed by Opera Mini users in this country. One fourth of them check out live scores and sports news when browsing. This number is relatively higher than the ones in other African countries.
On the topic of the recent partnership, Victor Moses states, “I am proud to be in partnership with Opera and am looking forward to working together. The Opera team have taken me through their plans and vision for the brand in the Nigerian market and it’s made me incredibly excited about the future. I’m delighted to be a part of such a groundbreaking campaign.”
Opera recently launched its first nationwide TV and radio commercials to announce a faster and more affordable internet experience with the Opera Mini browser. Already airing in South Africa and Kenya, there will be a special version for Nigeria. Victor Moses will be challenging his on-field speed against Opera Mini’s.

Juventus are through to the Champions League final

Juventus have reached the Champions League final after beating Monaco 2-1 , 4-1 on aggregate in Turin today.  After their 2-0 win in last week’s first leg, goals from Mario Mandzukic and Dani Alves sent the Italian club to its 9th European Cup final. They conceded a goal for the first time in this season’s knockout stages.
According to reports, the club will collect a minimum of 126m euros in Champions League revenues.  Juventus haven’t lost at home since August 2015 and will now face either Real Madrid or Atletico in the final on 3 June in Cardiff, their 2nd Champions League final in 3 years. They have joined AC Milan as the two sides to have reached the most Champions League finals (6) since 1992.

Fabregas becomes the first player to assist 10 goals in 6 Premier League seasons.

The assist king!
Chelsea’s Cesc Fabregas has become the first player with 10 or more assists in six different Premier League seasons. The new record was established during Chelsea’s 3-0 victory over Middlesbrough at Stamford Bridge on Monday. The 30-year-old Spain international delivered an assist to Diego Costa’s 23rd minute goal and then Nemanja Matic in the 65th minute.

“I feel the quality of my minutes whenever I’ve been on the pitch have been fantastic, so maybe my contribution has been even bigger than when I’ve played more in other seasons,” Fabregas said.
He has now surpassed Chelsea legend Frank Lampard last month with his 103rd assist in a 4-2 victory against Southampton but remains  56 assists behind Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs, who assisted on 162 goals during his career.
 

'He still needs to leave ". Our top 10 reactions to Arsenal Vs Man United game.

Arsenal Wenger did the nearly incredible today, beating his arch rival Jose Mourinho for the first time in an English Premier League game and ending Manchester United’s 25-match unbeaten run. Goals from Xhaka and Welbeck ensured that the Gunners kept their top-four hopes alive. Check out our top 10 reactions to the game.
https://twitter.com/PrideOfLondon86/status/861307939000397824
https://twitter.com/ClassicFergie/status/861255442084667392


https://twitter.com/TrollFootball/status/861265729945034752


https://twitter.com/DialSquare52/status/861323341692641280

UEFA Introduces New Form Of Penalty Shootouts.

European football governing body, UEFA, is set to introduce a new form of penalty shootouts in football.
UEFA is looking to replacing the conventional alternating spot-kicks with the new system similar to the tie-break in tennis.
It was tried out at the European Under-17 Championship, which began in Croatia on Wednesday. Teams take turns in a shootout, with the choice of who goes first decided by a coin toss.
For example, team A goes first, then team B, then team A again. This new system is referred to as ‘ABBA’ and sees team A followed by team B – before team B goes again.
Team A would then get two successive penalties, until there is a winner.

Lionel Messi’s four-match international ban has been lifted

 
Lionel Messi has four match international ban for insulting an assistant referee lifted by FIFA. Following a hearing which took place in Zurich on May 4 2017, the FIFA Appeal committee has upheld the appeal lodged by the Argentinian Football Association on behalf of Lionel Messi, against the decision taken by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee. Lifting the sanctions imposed on him, the FIFA Appeal Committee set aside the decision taken by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee on 28 March 2017, which had found the Argentinean guilty of directing insulting words at an assistant referee during Argentina’s World Cup qualifier against Chile.

 They concluded that the evidence available was not sufficient.

“The Appeal Committee nevertheless underlines the importance of always showing respect to the match officials, stressing that such a principle is essential in football and any unsporting conduct that may be contrary to the principles of fair play cannot be accepted. In view of the above decision, the suspension for four matches imposed on Lionel Messi, which entered into force on 28 March 2017, and the fine of CHF 10,000 have been lifted,” the statement read.
He can now feature in Argentina’s next matches.

Italian legend, Francesco Totti to retire at the end of the season

Francesco Totti will retire at the end of the season after 25 years at Roma. The Italian has spent 25 seasons,  featured in 783 games netted 307 goals, and delivered 197 asissts at the club.  His retirement was announced by Roma’s new sporting director, Monchi.
“I already knew that he had this agreement with the club [to become a director] and that this was going to be his last year as a player before starting as a director. Francesco is Roma and I’m going to ask him to be close to me. Even if I can only learn one percent of what he knows, that is already a lot.” Monchi said.
The 40 year-old who has been with Roma since the age of 13, making his  debut in 1993 is out of contract in the summer. He is the player with the most goals scored for a single team (250, Roma) in Serie A history.

Ibrahimovic shares recovery update

Hours after his agent, Mino Raiola dismissed reports that, Manchester United striker, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has suffered a career-ending injury, the ex Sweden international has shared an exciting update on his recovery. The former PSG’s spell on the sidelines is going to be shorter than expected as he has declared himself fixed and stronger after undergoing knee surgery.
Recall that he suffered the injury during a Europa League clash against Anderlecht last month. His agent put out word on Monday that is client, “will make a full recovery AND HAS NOT SUFFERED A CAREER-ENDING INJURY.”

Ibrahimovic is in high spirits and has given Manchester United fans an extra reason to be happy today and all week.An update on his instagram page, Ibrahimovic reads, “Fixed, done and stronger. Once again thank you for the support. We will enjoy my game together soon.”
 

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